<°In-Between°>

10-Death

A small bump from upstairs was all it took before you were taking burning coals from the furnace and strapping on your armour.

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Equipping your sword, you slowly made your way up the stairs, making sure no one was able to attack you. The lanterns hung above your bed were the only source of light in the large, dark, room. You kept your sword in a ready position and searched as quickly and quietly as possible. The shadow of several objects making your paranoia worse

A sound from the attic almost made you jump, but you kept your stance, ascending the stairs once again. The rows of chests made for a false wall that anyone could see through if they tried hard enough. A brewing stand and it's bottles lay strewn across the floor, the moonlight from a large skylight in the roof hitting the clear glass. Near the end of the chests an armour stand had fallen over and the extra pieces of armour you had were laying around it.

Whoever was here had no interest in stealing or they would've stolen the armour, it was niki's netherite after all and quite valuable. Which means whoever was here either wanted to kill you or-

As you turned the corner to the furthest part of the attic a small figure lay cowering away from you with every muscle in their body.

A small wolf pup was in the corner looking at you with fear as you held the gleaming sword. You quickly put it away and dropped to your knees near the little one, relief coursing through your body as you saw the not-so-killer intruder.

You rummaged through the chest behind you before finding a cluster of bones. Gently, you tossed them over to the cowering dog, you realized now that there were small bloodied paw prints on the floor leading to the figure. The poor thing had most likely crashed into your window and hurt it's paws on the glass.

Minutes passed as the pup slowly began to take the bones one by one, the tail tucked between it's legs coming to rest in a more relaxed position. The wolf took another bone from the floor and a small litter of red hearts fluttered around it for a moment before it sat, paw slightly lifted to shift away from the pain.

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Colored Pencil laid at the edge of your bed as you changed into your night clothes.

It had been a while since you had a pet, and naming them was something you were never particularly good at.

Once you were dressed you pat the bandaged canine on the head and retreated into your blankets.

Sleep clouded your mind like birdsong that night and for the first time in a while you felt safe, secure, and happy.

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(Tw- death, suicide, and mild gore for the rest of this chapter)

The next morning had passed smoothly. You introduced Ranboo, Techno, and Philza to your new pup, and ate breakfast with them before you and Ranboo headed to the portal.

It felt strange to walk to the portal alongside Ranboo after what had happened, but he hadn't brought it up since and you weren't going to go out of your way to talk about it either.

Ranboo's wristband began to ring as the two of you stepped through the thick essence of the portal. Once you were through he tapped on his wristband and the familiar, upbeat, voice of Tubbo rang through the call.