PHOENIX

Chapter Two: Schemes

After the morning fiasco, everyone in L'manberg was either pumping with new found energy and motivation, or stocking up on preserves to hold them over in their houses until the war is over. I, on the other hand, was pissed.

"Why didn't you tell me about this!" I exclaim, pretty much busting down the door to the Camarvan, and stomping inside with Fundy following right behind. Tubbo was currently attempting to frame the book declaring our independence, with Tommy yelling at him about how "It was all crooked and shit". Wilbur stood near the back of the van, looking through a chest for something. The camarvan was small with all of us trying to fit inside, but nevertheless it brought me a bit of comfort and nostalgia. All those years of me, Fundy, Tommy and Tubbo all pretending to be spies listening in on the adults plans.

"You were asleep?" Eret suggested, arms crossed, leaning against a counter with various potions sprawled out on it.

"You guys didn't seem to care that I was asleep yesterday when it was my turn to shear the sheep" I replied dryly as I marched past him and straight to Wilbur, who had finally found whatever it was he was looking for in the chest.

"Wilbur! You couldn't have at least given me a heads up about this?" I questioned, my eyes searching his, since they tend to hold the key to how he was feeling. He let out a deep sigh and turned away from me, fiddling with some papers.

"It was sort of a last minute thing, but we needed to do it for L'Manberg. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before the announcement" Wilbur apologised. Tubbo and Tommy were now chasing each other around the room, grabbing the book out of each other's hands. At one point they passed Fundy, who snatched it from Tommy's grip and placed it into the frame. Eret just sat back with a soft smile watching it all unfold. This entire scenario brought me back to one of the other reasons I was pissed.

"Can I also ask why Tommy and Tubbo got to sign the book and Fundy and I didn't?" I grumbled, folding my arms against my chest. Fundy looked just as dejected as I did, turning away to look towards the window of the van. Tommy and Tubbo were not only children, but three years younger than me. Everyone was quiet, which made me nervous. It was rarely quiet when Tommy was around.

"Tommy and Tubbo helped write some of it, as did Eret and I. They deserved to sign it just as much as I did" Wilbur explained, "They've been a big help with all of this so far, which is a nice change in character".

I knew Wilbur didn't say that to be mean, but the way he phrased it made me feel even worse than before. I will admit that me and Fundy have been goofing around here and there, but we've been collecting supplies and doing small things for the community for the past month, and I was a little upset we weren't getting credit for it. Especially Fundy, who looks up to Wilbur a lot, even though he hates letting Willbur know it.

"I'm helpful all the time!" Tommy announced, stealing a bunch of invisibility potions from off one of the counters.

"You're the farthest thing from helpful" Fundy replied, picking up the invisibility potions and putting them back in a neat row. Tommy and Fundy never got along very well, Fundy always felt that Wilbur paid more attention to Tommy than his own son, while Tommy always thought Fundy's mischievous pranks were more annoying than funny. Which, to be fair, was completely true.

"Well at least I don't go around flooding peoples houses with water" Tommy shot back, referring to when Fundy had filled Wilbur's house with water as a joke, creating a huge mess and ultimately led to Wilbur having to sleep in the camarvan for weeks before he was able to clean everything up. Needless to say, Wilbur is still a little salty about that even today.

"I apologised for that!" Fundy whined, "And look who's talking, You're the one stealing stuff from other people's chests for your own benefit".

"Alright that's enough!" Wilbur said, raising his voice. "We don't have time to argue, we need to be thinking out strategies for war". Wilbur turned back to the papers he had been holding, laying them flat on the counter in the center of the van. Taking a closer look, I realised these were maps of the SMP. We all gathered around the stone counter, studying the maps to come up with ideas. It was almost dinner before we finished, only coming up with a couple small ways to make us stronger. I could tell that Tubbo was trying to keep us all in good spirits while we planned, but by the end we were all exhausted, and almost at the point of giving up already. I would say I'm normally a positive person, but even I was feeling drained of motivation. We all went our separate ways, Tommy and Tubbo going to catch some salmon for dinner, While Wilbur and Eret continued to talk about a couple side plans to work on. Fundy and I decided to find a nice hill to picnic on. We trekked our way up the hill, finally reaching the top at sundown. I flopped onto the grass, irrevocably exhausted. Fundy dropped down next to me, setting the picnic basket to the side.