TW: SWEARING, YELLING, VIOLENCE
Also, can I say how much I LOVE this fanart? It's so good!!!!! (This is the second time I've used it as a cover and I just don't care) And this chapter is much longer than usual so be prepared for extra reading :)
CUTE LIGHTHEARTED CHAPTER FOR YOU ALL SINCE I MAKE YOU CRY SO MUCH <3
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~~~~ Ranboo's P.O.V ~~~~
I sit at the table in Techno's house with a cup of tea in my hands. As an Enderian, I don't need to eat or drink as much as the others, but sometimes I would anyway. Phil's tea was a perfect example. None of us knew his secret, but his tea tasted amazing.
Y/N sat opposite me polishing the limbs of a bow. She was going hunting today with Steve and the wolves. Somehow despite how often we went for supplies, we always were out of food. We had been cleaning weapons and finding new places to stash stuff since Tommy arrived and things kept disappearing. Speaking of Tommy, he disappeared this morning with some of the crows. I think he's meant to be getting corn for them in L'Manburg.
"Have you thought about what I asked you?" I ask Y/N. She sighs and looks up at me shaking her head. I tap her under the table with my tail letting her know it's alright.
I'd asked her if she wanted to see Tubbo. She declined, I expected as much.
"What has he been up to?" she asks, I can tell she's battling between whether her question is just politeness or if she's truly interested.
"He's been in the SMP a lot trying to stick together plans for the orphanage. He wants me to go with him tomorrow for some reason, I think he said to meet somebody?" I struggle to remember the exact details.
"That should be fun," she mumbles dipping her rag into more of the polish stuff she was using.
"Ranboo," a deep voice rumbles through the room. Techno climbs down the ladder and starts putting his boots on.
"Yeah?" I ask feeling a little nervous. Technoblade was a god, or at least we thought he was. Y/N and Techno confuse us sometimes, we can't quite work them out.
"You wanted me to train you, right? Meet me outside," he says curtly and walks out the door.
"Good luck," Phil chuckles as he sifts through papers at the desk. I think he was looking for a copy he wrote of an ancient text he found years ago. Y/N rolls her eyes and gives me a reassuring look.
I meet Techno outside in the frosty morning air, he's holding two bamboo sticks. I felt my stomach twist as I realised we would be doing combat training. I'm not great at combat...
"Do you remember much of our last lesson?" Techno handed me a bamboo stick. He had left his cloak inside and stood in a loose white shirt and his regular pants and boots. I was dressed similarly having left my jacket and crown inside.
"Uh yeah I think so," I stutter and Techno sighs and moves to stand next to me.
"That wasn't a confident 'I think so'" he points out. I catch sight of his dangling emerald earring and subconsciously I twitch my ear that has a matching one.
"Everything starts with your stance, your most important weapon in a fight is balance and coordination," Techno repeats for me and I hold my stick in front of me in a stance he'd taught me. Techno sighs.
"Keep your stance wide, and keep your body lower, when you attack balance is your best friend," Techno circles me from behind adjusting my stance as he does so with his bamboo stick. I smile as Techno ruffles my hair and moves to stand in front of me.
"Go," he says and I lunge forward.
I try desperately to remember where to put my hands on the stick when I attack. Techno parries every clumsy blow.
"Go faster!" Techno shouts and I huff and try to pick up the pace.
I use my height as leverage skipping out of the way of Techno's attacks and swinging at him when I can. Techno gets the upper hand and I start stepping back to try and avoid him, I unknowingly watch our feet.
"And when you're moving backwards, keep your eyes on me," I'm swept off my feet and hit the ground hard. Techno looms over me and I smile shyly he sighs and offers a hand to help me up.
"What do you fight for Ranboo?" his question stuns me momentarily.
"What?"
"You asked me to train you in combat, it was out of the blue if I were to be completely honest," I feel my tail flick about behind me. He turns his back to me and looks at the morning sun, waiting for me to answer.
"Because I want to be able to protect Y/N better," Techno sends me a questioning side-eye.
"I know she's a great fighter, you trained her yourself, but she puts others before herself a lot. She doesn't think about her own safety, I want to be able to protect her so that she can keep doing what she loves," I say honestly and wait for Techno's comment, but instead he just sighs.
"When you fight, you cannot be afraid, you have to put your whole body into it. Everything you have, everything you are, you have to give on the battlefield. When everything is chaos and you have nothing but your emotions, your strategy and your sword." Techno looks back into the distance wistfully. I know he's speaking from experience.
"You just think about the life you'll have together after the war. You do it for them, that's how you know you can win," Techno looks back at me and suddenly his stick rests on my shoulder. I let out the breath I sucked in.
It's not just Y/N anymore though, it's Tubbo too. I don't know when that happened, but now Tubbo and Y/N were the people who I wanted to stay with me forever. But I'm not strong enough to protect them. I'm big and slow, that's the last thing you want to be in a fight. My expression must have been blank because Techno puts his stick down and leans on it thoughtfully.
"Deep down, you know you weren't built for fighting," Techno looks me dead in the eyes. I have to look away from his intense gaze. I hear the sound of voices, the open and close of a door and the scratch of a sled on the frosty ground. I watch as Y/N laughs at Steve who's leaning heavily on her side as she harnesses some of the wolves to the sled.
"What your enemy doesn't know is your true advantage. That is when you live for someone you're prepared to die," Techno's words rang true. We watched in silence as Y/N slid her sword into its sheath, slung a quiver and bow over her shoulders and set out into the snow. At the last second, she sees us and waves goodbye, we wave back.
"Back to it," Techno says and moves to face me.
He was right, when you live for something you're prepared to die. I would die for Y/N, and I would die for Tubbo too. I stand ready.
Keep my stance wide and stay low, I remind myself. We launch into our spar and this time I let Techno attack first.
I block. I know that I'm not a fighter.
Techno swings and I duck sliding across the frost and regaining my balance with a grin. If the time comes, I will draw my sword and fight.
Techno moves for another attack but I spin out of the way and land a hit on his back. I can make a difference, I can be there for them.
I will protect them with my life.
Techno swings back around, as he moves I notice a gap he leaves open. Exploiting it, I land a heavy hit on his stick and see it wobble slightly. Techno's eyes widen, and he pushes me back. I don't fall into the snow. I dig my feet into the ground and slide keeping a hand low for balance. As I slow I push off my heels and using my hand as a leverage point I swing wide and sweep Technoblade's ankles.
I quickly get on my feet and point my stick at his chin. Techno looks me in the eye, I can see his surprise. I couldn't believe that I had beaten him either.
"I'll do it for her," I say to Techno breathily heavily from the intense fight. He smiles mischievously but approval shines in his eyes. I stick a hand out and help him to his feet.
"Ok now do that again," he instructs.
"Yes sir!" I mockingly salute making the two of us chuckle.
We set up again to spar.
~~~~ Y/N's P.O.V ~~~~
I hold on tightly to the hand on the sled as the wolves speed across the ice. They were so big I only needed to hook four of them onto the harnesses to carry my weight. Steve ran alongside us as well as two other dogs that I could need to pull the sled once we'd loaded it with food.
I was looking for Elk. It would be our best find since they were so big we'd only need one of them instead of loads of Hares. We sped through a forest with sparsely located trees. I was hoping we'd find a more densely packed forest or a valley of some sort. Those tend to be places where Hares and Elk stay during the daytime.
Since it was spring, wildlife was in abundance which was great for hunting. Last night was unusually cold and snowed even though things were warming up. It didn't matter though, the wolves would be able to track anything I asked them to.
"Come on guys," I whistle and call to the dogs urging them faster. They panted happily as they ran, their tongues lolling to one side of their mouths.
Eventually, we came across a lake and I called for the dogs to slow down and stop. An idea hatched in my mind as I watched Steve sniff the unusually cold spring air. I unhook the wolves from their harnesses. They shake their fur excitedly and whine as they trot around waiting for new commands. I leave the harnesses on the sled and look at Steve.
"Steve, can you go fishing for us? It might be nice to have something different to eat for once," I mumble the last bit to myself. Nothing against Phil and Ranboo's stews, they were just very repetitive. Steve gives me an understanding look and then he starts walking down the edge of the lake looking for fish.
"Come on dogs, let's go hunting," I smile and the rush in front of me into the treeline once more. We march forwards and eventually the trees thicken and we start travelling uphill.
Our breath comes out in steamy puffs as we climb. As the terrain levels, we reach a cliff. I look out over it and see a valley. I adjust my thick belt for the Hares I would catch and look around. The forest seemed like a good place to look for Hares but the valley would be perfect for Elk.
"Looks like we're splitting up," I mumble and whistle for the wolves. The biggest wolf, the female beta of Techno's wolf pack, sat eagerly in front of me. I dig into an inner pocket of my cloak and pull out a small cut of Elk pelt. I let her sniff it and some of the other wolves too.
"Go hunt these," I tell her and let out a short, sharp whistle signalling the start of the hunt. The wolves howl and whine as they sprint along the cliff back down the hill to where they can reach the valley.
I smirk and make my way into the forest. I take my bow from where I'd slung it over my shoulder and pull an arrow from my quiver. I tread silently through the forest listening closely for anything. My hearing was not as sharp as a wolf's, but it would still be useful.
Mostly I hear the shake of birds in the trees or the light breeze from the valley. But occasionally I hear the fast skitter of fearful paws in the snow. Then I shoot.
I don't know how long I'm hunting for, but eventually, I have three Hares and two squirrels on my belt. I sigh and stretch hoping that the wolves had better luck. I trudge back through the forest and find the tiny clearing on the cliff that overlooked the valley. I smirk when I see that it's occupied by a herd of Elk.
I notice a boulder on the cliff and take a seat ready to watch the action. I knew Techno's wolves, they were sharp and fantastic hunters. They're lurking here somewhere.
I unsheath my sword and take my sharpening stone from my pocket. I had a feeling we'd have some spare time today when I left and decided to bring it along. As I wait for the action to begin, I slide the stone along the crisp netherite blade. A metal so perfect that it made no noise, so as not to disrupt the hunt.
I feel the wind change direction and my skin feels electric as the hairs on my arms rise with my nerves. The Elk notice the change too. I watch as their heads perk up and they sniff the air, one lets out a warning groan and snort. They start running for the trees but I hear a growl and they spring back around to scatter.
I watch the wolves bolt from the treeline where they'd been invisible for as long as they needed to be. They force the herd to scatter and find a slow Elk they can pick off from the group. I watch in awe as the wolves work in perfect harmony to hunt it down.
Once it's dead, they howl. Something Techno taught them to let him know when they'd finished hunting. I smile and let out a whistle, they take a moment to look around bemused like lost puppies before they spot me and wag their tails forcing a bright laugh from my chest.
I head down into the valley, some of them meet me halfway happy as clowns.
"Well done puppies," I say to them giving them pats as we walk to get the Elk.
We reach the kill and the other wolves come to me begging for rewards and attention too. I give them all pats and kisses before sighing when I see the Elk. It was a decently sized male, upon closer inspection, I notice it has a fractured leg which is why it was slow. If it was healthy, there was no way it would have been caught.
"This is going to be a nightmare to drag back," I sigh knowing that a good Elk weighed about three-hundred kilograms.
"Right, some of you have to help me," I say to the dogs and pull some rope from my belt.
I tie it around the legs and leave multiple leads, one for myself and three more for some dogs to help me pull. We drag the Elk to the river, it was a painfully slow process but we made it eventually. I knew my muscles would be screaming in pain tomorrow but that was a problem for later.
I haul the massive animal onto the sled and look around for Steve, but he's not back at the sled yet. I do however notice a large pile of fish in the snow keeping them fresh.
I take one of the baskets I'd brought for the fish and start filling it. It's not quite full, but Steve's done a great job. The snow would keep these good and frozen in the ice box when we got home.
I look into the sky seeing that the sun was now on the western side of the sky signalling the afternoon. I look at the dogs who were bored and had started to drink the lake water.
"Well, if we're stuck here until Steve comes back, we may as well have some fun," The wolves perk up and watch me closely as I head to the sled. In a small bag hooked to the handlebar, there was a red leather ball about the size of my fist.
I pull it out and wave it in the air. Immediately the wolves start whining and leap to their feet, begging me to throw it. Some snap at one another, desperate to catch the ball once it's thrown. I throw it as hard as I can, the dogs chase it as it sails high in the air and then crashes into the snow. I laugh as they tumble over one another clumsily trying to find where it had landed in the snow.
I throw it for them a couple more times and then I see Steve's head pop up out of the water; his mouth full of fish.
"Steve! Good job buddy!" I call to him. I hear him grunt in reply that makes me laugh. I imagine him replying "thanks, a little busy right now though."
He comes back to the shore and I take the fish putting them into the basket. Steve shakes off the ice-cold lake water and I strap all of our bounties securely onto the sled. I harness all six of the dogs this time and Steve gets a head start since he's tired and we'll catch up to him quickly.
Sure enough, a few minutes later we catch Steve in the sparse spruce woodlands.
****
The sun is edging closer to the horizon as we reach the house. I notice an aliferous figure and a glowing fire out the front by the stables. I hear Carl whinny and smile, he must have noticed us. Phil turns around and waves, I wave back wildly and I hear his distant laughter.
"Thought we'd cook dinner outside tonight," Phil says as we pull to a stop and I begin to unharness the wolves.
"That sounds great Phil," I smile and he helps me take the harnesses off.
"What's your haul?" he asks. I pull the tarp off the food and Phil whistles.
"Oh and there's more on my belt," I say pulling back my cloak to reveal the squirrels and Hares.
"Nicely done, Y/N. That's a good Elk too," Phil mentions and I hum in agreement.
"Oi Techno!" Phil shouts feigning sternness and making me laugh.
"What?!" Techno bursts out the door with an equal amount of enthusiasm.
"We have Elk for you to skin, there's no way I'm doing it," I call to him and he gives me a surprised look.
"Really?" he says and adjusts his blue Antarctic Anarchist Commune cloak and joins us. He lets out an impressed whistle.
"Nice going, I'll take it inside," I send him an amused smile as he lifts the dead weight onto his shoulder with ease and heads inside. He was definitely a blood god.
"Y/N! YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE IT! I'VE GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU!" Tommy's chaotic yells are accompanied by the boom of an opened door that makes me jump.
"You've got a what?" I ask chuckling as I rub my ears that Tommy's screaming had injured. Tommy's smug and excited grin glowed brighter than the firelight. He held the object behind his back and stares down at me comedically. I notice the glint of netherite behind him. I suppress my giggles.
"What is it?" I drag out my words.
"TA-DA!" Tommy swings the object around from behind his back with a winsome expression. I gasp and feel joy flicker like a light in my heart when I see the familiar weapon.
"My axe!" I gently take the leather-bound hilt and run my gloved hand over the golden engravings on the blade. I touch the beautiful engraving of the wing and the intricate shaping of the precious metal.
"How the fuck did you find this?" I ask excitedly and Tommy laughs, I rarely swear.
"I may or may not have put the good old dirty crime boy skills to use," Tommy sighs dramatically with a cheeky and brazen expression.
"In L'Manburg? How did you sneak in?" I ask letting sternness seep into my tone and Tommy squirms a little bit and mutters a string of nonsense that I don't understand.
"I was very much in disguise as a dapper businessman," Tommy straightens up and sticks out his bottom lip as if posing for a camera. I roll my eyes and punch his arm making him protest through his laughter.
"He stole one of my suits," I turn towards Ranboo's exasperated voice and notice a familiar friend floating down the stairs behind him.
"Hello, Ghostbur!" I smile brightly. I will admit I wasn't quite used to the Ghost yet, but Tommy introduced us and he was the cheeriest person around.
I was surprised that I didn't have a breakdown on the spot when I saw him or the first time. I suppose it had something to do with Ghostbur's aura. It was completely open unlike that of any person or hybrid or animal. I don't think I freaked out because I don't recognise Ghostbur as Wilbur, they feel like completely different people; Ghostur swears that they are.
"Hello Y/N! You look lovely, have some blue," he beams and hands me the pale blue substance. I smile and thank him whilst taking the blue. We watch as the colour changes from pale blue to deep ocean blue.
"Oh dear, Y/N are you feeling alright? Any troubles?" he asks worriedly, I shake my head and smile.
"Only stuff that has to do with my memories and Dream, I try not to think about it," I say quietly to him. As Ranboo passes us he pats my shoulder and sends me a comforting smile.
"Oh... well, that's not very nice. I hope you feel better soon," I nod and smile feebly. My expression is quickly replaced when I notice Ghostbur's outfit.
"Ghostbur, do you have an anarchist uniform?" I ask bewildered.
"Y-yes! I saw that Ranboo and Phil and Tommy and Techno were all matching and it looked like fun. So, Ranboo found me some extra clothes just for me to wear," Ghostbur's smile could have lit up the night. He was so pleased to be a part of the group.
Ghostbur's sweater had been replaced with a light blue jacket with white woollen lining and a long red scarf hun from his neck. His usually black beanie was also red and had a white fluffy ball on it. I noticed his boots were also fur-lined.
"Don't worry Y/N, I won't wear it in L'Manburg," he whispers excitedly to me making me giggle.
"Thanks, Ghostbur," I whisper back making him giggle.
"Oh and if it's any help to your worries about Dream. I do remember some things from before and I know he misses you. If you're doubting it, he definitely loves you a lot and I think he would be very happy to see you again," I smile at Ghostbur's kind words. I loved how much he wanted to help others, he was similar to Wilbur in that way. He just did it differently.
I mumble another thank you and then move to help Phil cook the fish. I notice that Tommy is wearing his navy anarchist cloak with gold lining and red earmuffs. Ranboo was wearing his Anarchist cloak too, I smiled at the thought of how we were all matching.
We chatter merrily among ourselves and Techno joins us after a little while. I have a feeling that Tommy will be smelling fresh meat before he falls asleep tonight.
"Phil, I'm bored. You must tell us a story because that's what old people do," Tommy jabs cheekily and Phil hums and turns over a fish on the campfire.
"Well if you're going to ask like that you're getting nothing," he wheezes a laugh.
"Phil, on Tommy's behalf please tell us a story," I say dramatically. I was intrigued at what story Phil might pull out for us.
"Oh yes please do tell us a story Phil," Ghostbur says and rolls onto his back as he floats in the air smiling playfully. Phil sighs and sits up and Ranboo bends down to take over Phil's fish-cooking duties.
"Ghostbur, do you mind if I tell a story with Wilbur in it?" Phil asks politely.
"Is it a sad story?" Ghostbur looks a bit worried.
"Nah mate, just happy things," Phil waves his hand in the air dismissively and Ghostbur tells him to go on.
"When you three were kids," Phil looks at Tommy and Techno.
"We used to go out on hikes every day to keep you busy,"
"I remember those," Techno interjects calmly and leans in to listen.
"So on one of these hikes, your mother decided to stay behind. I was left with you three chaotic children to babysit. We climbed to the top of your favourite hill to look at the view. Tommy had this slingshot that he took with him everywhere and the whole way he had been dragging behind up looking for rocks to use for it.
Like the little shit that you were, you decided it would be funny to run down the hill towards a quarry where there were lots of rocks. I didn't even realise until you and Wilbur started giggling," Phil raises an eyebrow at Techno who only laughs. I had a feeling he remembered this story. I looked at Tommy who seemed to be in deep thought.
"I had to fly after you and pick you up before you fell into the quarry and hurt yourself. Your Mum would have killed me. You wriggled and complained so much that I dropped you in a river. Wilbur and Techno jumped in too and started helping you find rocks to shoot at me as payback. The look your mother gave me when the four of us came home, soaking get and carrying armfuls of pebbles for your stupid slingshot."
Phil chuckles and shakes his head. Tommy looks up from the fire.
"I remember that slingshot," he mumbles. Something tickles the back of my mind I look at Ranboo and he shares my expression. The sling shot...
"OH WAIT! Hang on I'll be right back!" I say suddenly and jump up from where I'm sitting. I dash into mine and Ranboo's house looking for my old rucksack. I find it and pull out the little sword, yellow sweater and Tommy's sling-shot.
I run back to the fireplace with the strange bundle of objects in my arms.
"My sling-shot!" Tommy cheers as I pull it out for him. I give Techno his tiny sword, which he marvels at, and the yellow sweater to Ghostbur.
"Oh I like this yellow one, it matches the one I've got already!" Ghostbur hugs the sweater to his chest and I sit back down.
"Ranboo and I went past your old house when we passed through our old village on the road," I explain to the others who nod understandingly.
"Oh, I've got something else of Wilbur's too," we watch Phil disappear into the house and come back with a large wooden guitar.
"His first guitar, it was my old one too I guess but I never played it as much as he did," Phil smiles wistfully and Ghostbur perks up even more.
"I remember how to play the guitar!" he cheers and Phil hands him the instrument and Ghostbur hovers with it in the air.
"H-hang on Ghostbur. How the fuck are you holding stuff, aren't you like untouchable or some shit?" Tommy questions with a baffled expression.
"Well I can touch stuff but stuff can't touch me," Ghostbur smiles despite his cryptic response. I smile as Tommy just becomes more confused.
"WAIT OH PHIL! Do you remember the story you used to tell us as kids, about the soldier and poet and the king?" Ghostbur's eyes widened excitedly.
"Yes I remember," Phil replies nostalgically.
"I don't remember if you knew, but Aliverbur wote a song about the story-"
"Wait you remember writing a song? Don't you remember like nothing?" Tommy interrupts.
"Writing music was always happy, so they're happy memories, that's how I remember!" Ghostbur's child-like expression was contagious, I felt my expression morphing to match his energy.
"Can I play it for you?" Ghostbur asks sheepishly, we all nod and reply in a bunch of out of synch replies.
There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword
He will tear your city down, oh lei-oh lai-oh Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord
He will tear your city down, oh lei-oh lai-oh Lord
I pat my leg to the beat of the music and sway to the tune. I can't help but admire the people around me. Phil's wistful expression refused to leave his face, I could see his eyes slowly growing glossier. He missed Wilbur, we all knew this was probably the closest he'd ever have to getting him back. It was the closest any of us had.
As Ghostbur sang I noticed Techno's eyes light up and an idea glinted just below the surface. I raise an eyebrow as he walks over to me and holds ou his hand with a dramatic sweep of his cloak.
"Care to dance?" I feel myself melt a little bit. It's been so long since I danced with anybody...
"Of course," I bounce off my seat and we giggle making up dumb dance moves.
There will come a poet
Whose weapon is His word
He will slay you with His tongue, oh lei-oh lai-oh Lord
I spin out and Techno pulls me back in with a dumb grin on his face. Ghostbur continues singing as if we're not doing anything at all and Ranboo starts to clap along. I sqeal a little bit when Techno lifts me up and spins me in the air rousing laughter from the others.
But I can't help be reminded of someone whilst we move. A common damper on my high spirits. Someone that always had to arrive when I danced. What was it with dancing that made me think of him?
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord
He will slay you with His tongue, oh lei-oh lai-oh Lord
"You can't keep Y/N all to yourself!" Tommy jumps up grabbing one of my hands and one of Techno's. We swing our arms and laugh falling into rhythm with the song.
There will come a ruler
Whose brow is laid in thorn
Smeared with oil like David's boy, oh lei-oh lai-oh Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord
Smeared with oil like David's boy, oh lei-oh lai-oh Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh Lord
He will tear your city down, oh lei-oh lai... oh
We stop spinning in our silly circle as we start getting dizzy as Ghostbur's lyrics fade to a guitar solo. In my dizziness, I trip a little bit but am caught by two strong arms. I turn and smile at Ranboo who's expression had softened like butter.
"Can I have a turn?" he mocks a childish voice and I laugh a little bit. We gently sway and every now and again Ranboo spins me making me laugh a little bit.
"I seem to be everyone's first choice tonight," I joke and Ranboo smiles but his expression turns serious.
"⏃⍀⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⏃⌰⍀⟟☌⊑⏁? ⟟ ⍀⟒⋔⟒⋔⏚⟒⍀ ⊬⍜⎍ ⋔⟒⋏⏁⟟⍜⋏⟒⎅ ⌇⍜⋔⟒⏁⊑⟟⋏☌ ⏃⏚⍜⎍⏁ ⎅⏃⋏☊⟟⋏☌ ⏃⋏⎅ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔ ⏁⊑⏃⏁ ⋔⏃⎅⟒ ⊬⍜⎍ ⌇⏃⎅ ⌰⏃⌇⏁ ⏁⟟⋔⟒ ⍙⟒ ⎅⏃⋏☊⟒⎅," Ranboo's sudden switch in language was one I welcomed.
"⟟ ⏁⊑⟟⋏☍ ⟟'⋔ ⍜☍, ⏚⎍⏁ ⟟ ⌇⏁⟟⌰⌰ ⎎⟒⟒⌰ ⌰⟟☍⟒ ⟟'⎐⟒ ☌⍜⏁ ⍜⋏⟒ ⎎⍜⍜⏁ ⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⏃⋏⎅ ⏃⋏⍜⏁⊑⟒⍀ ⎎⍜⍜⏁ ⟟⋏ ⏃ ⋔⟒⋔⍜⍀⊬ ⍜⎎ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏁⍙⍜ ⍜⎎ ⎍⌇" I try to explain. Ranbo hums and nods.
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
"⍙⊑⏃⏁ ⋔⟒⋔⍜⍀⊬?" he asks gently.
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
"⏃⌰⍙⏃⊬⌇ ⏁⊑⟒ ⌇⏃⋔⟒ ⍜⋏⟒, ⍜⍀ ⍜⋏⟒⌇... ⟟ ⏁⊑⟟⋏☍ ⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒'⌇ ⏁⍙⍜. ⟟⏁'⌇ ⍜⎎ ⎅⍀⟒⏃⋔ ⏃⋏⎅ ⟟ ⎅⏃⋏☊⟟⋏☌ ⍜⋏ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⟒⏃☊⊑ ⏁⍜☌⟒⏁⊑⟒⍀, ⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒'⌇ ⏃ ☌⎍⟟⏁⏃⍀ ⏃⋏⎅ ⌇⟟⋏☌⟟⋏☌..." I trail off not wanting to dive in too deep fearing exposing how much longing I was truly feeling.
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
"⟟'⋔ ⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⟟⎎ ⊬⍜⎍ ⋏⟒⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ⏚⟒" I smile my thanks to Ranboo.
"HEY STOP TALKING ABOUT DEPRESSING SHIT THAT WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND!" Tommy shouts throwing his arms over our shoulders and nearly toppling us to the ground.
"What-"
"This is meant to be FUN! Don't go all mushy and shit, ain't nobody got time for that," Tommy sat the two of us back down and Phil pulled our fish out of the fire. It was cooked perfectly and tasted amazing.
The rest of the night was filled with random chatter about the day. Every now and again I'd sneak some fish to Steve who had decided to cuddle up at my side. Despite the warm company and fun hours, I can't keep Dream and the memories out of my head.
****
I sit on a stool at the breakfast bar; cold tea in hand. My thoughts refused to stop racing and all I could think about was Dream. The constant push and pull between revealing myself or staying hidden was becoming nightmarish. The voices only made the nightmare worse with their anxious chatter. They were both connected to my emotions but were separate beings simily living in my mind. If my mind wasn't distracted they'd start talking, loudly...
If I revealed myself, I risked a lot. I would be vulnerable, very vulnerable. Schlatt would know exactly where I am in an instant, if he doesn't know already. He'll come and take me back. Dream may be there to protect me but I don't know if he can stand up to Schlatt's forces.
Schlatt could invade and capture L'Manburg and the SMP like the hundreds of villages, kingdoms and towns we saw marked on Lorelei and Myles's maps. If I'm not there to stop him, who will be? Techno and I are the strongest warriors in the land, surely we should be protecting the people?
What about those towns? Will they ever be free? Do we just leave them? I don't want to leave them, not like how we were left behind.
Does Dream even want me anymore. He's gone mad, everybody knows it. People say he misses me, that my disappearance has made him mad. What if he's lost sight of what matters? Am I enough to pull him back?
The creak of a floorboard nearly makes me slam onto the floor as I startle and rock precariously on my barstool. I turn with a sowl on my face but it dissipates when I see Ranboo's tall shadow tip-toeing guiltily to the stool next to mine.
The seat scrapes the floor as he sets it so close to mine they almost touch. He takes his seat and wraps a comforting arm around my shoulders. I lean thankfully into his side with a sigh and feel his tail sweep and wrap gently around my ankle.
"What's wrong?" he speaks so quietly he may as well just whisper even though we were the only two people in our house.
"I can't stop thinking,"
"About?"
"Everything. Dream mostly," I angle my face so that my cheek is pressed against Ranboo's chest. I feel his head rest on top of mine.
"What do you mean?" I try to straighten out my thoughts before I answer.
"It's silly, but all I want to do is dance with him again, and hold him and juts see him but everybody says he's crazy," I puff and feel Ranboo's ear twitch lazily.
"Aren't villains just like everyone else? If you think about it, nobody is born a villain. It's what happens to them that makes it that way. They lose something important and with that they lose sight of reason," I pull away and give Ranboo a confused look.
"You have been spending too much time with Techno, you even sound like him now," Ranboo chuckles breathily and I let go of my cold mug and wrap my arms around his waist instead.
"What you say makes sense, but I can't have meant that much to him... enough to break him," I mutter the last part quietly but I think Ranboo still hears me.
"We both know he's lost more than just you. You're ok right? You said you were but..."
"I don't know Ranboo. I've noticed something else too, the voices are anxious too. Since they're connected to me, I wonder if they miss him too," I roll my eyes at my stupid prediction.
"What's stopping you?" Ranboo asks in a tone that suggests he's forgotten my reason.
"My memories..."
"But that means you're afraid of something that could be a lie unless you go and find out-"
"I know it's stupid, but it's suffocating," my voice is harsher than I intend it to be. Instead of shirking away, Ranboo only hugs me tighter. I feel myself dreading the moment when I have to try and force myself to sleep tonight.
"If you want to sleep in my bed with me again, I don't mind," he mutters. Sometimes I swear he's a mind-reader.
"Alright, I'll try to sleep," Ranboo helps me off my stool joking about how he doesn't want me to fall off because I'm short. I roll my eyes playfully and we banter all the way up the stairs and to his room until we start feeling tired and start to doze into sleep.
~~~~
HELOOOOOOO
NICE THICC CHAPTER HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!!!!
Also, I've put the visual for Y/N's axe below if you can't remember it. I have no idea how to describe it because it's literally too cool for words. I did not draw that picture! I searched around but couldn't find the artist :( whoever they are credits to them they are pog.
I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY/NIGHT/MORNING/EVENING <3 <3 <3