there is only us | wilbur soot x reader

Chapter 17 - Crows

Wilbur POV

CW: blood, knives, minor manipulation and abuse

I turned my gaze upwards, studying the sky as I made my way through the underbrush.

I squinted against the sun, looking past the canopy. A distant bird call sounded somewhere to the north, growing louder by the second. Eventually the source of the noise flew above our heads, a blur of black wings contrasting with the brightness of the day.

"Crows," Tommy muttered, head craned upwards as well. "Ten of 'em."

The fact seemed useless to me, but the unsettled look in Tommy's eyes put me on edge.

"You counted them?" (Y/n) piped up with her eyebrows raised and her face turned upwards. She trudged along, just beside me, with a bedazzled dagger strapped to her leg. Tubbo trailed behind Tommy, (Y/n), and I, lost in his own world as he swung his bow from hand to hand.

Tommy scoffed and gripped the hilt of his sheathed sword, tense. "'Course I did."

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Tubbo's eyes were trained on the docile stag, muscles and string taut as he held the bow with expert caution. I could feel Tommy at my back, silent and still. Tubbo's gaze flickered to meet mine for a mere second, and he let the arrow fly without hesitation.

The stag fell to the ground, collapsing on itself. It bleated pathetically and quivered into silence, eyes rolling back in its head. A sudden yelp sounded from the right of us, startling everyone. A similar arrow whizzed through the clearing where the animal had stood and hit the tree, fletching trembling from impact. Scuffling and footsteps sounded, and a voice emerged from the trees, closer than I would have preferred.

"Who's there?"

My heart positively sank. Tommy's breath hitched and he grabbed my wrist in alarm. Tubbo remained unmoving, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. Of course, of all the people we could run into, it was freaking Sapnap.

"Hello?" A newer, rougher voice called from about the same spot, this one even more recognizable than the last. Dream. Why not? With our luck, George would be there to complete the trio.

And what do you know; the three of them moved into the clearing, huddled back to back to back. Tommy cursed under his breath, soft as the wind. He shifted a bit to relieve the pressure off his left leg, his flashy shirt peeking out from behind the trunk that obscured us from their vision. I hoped against hope no one would notice.

But they were hunters, just as we were. Sapnap saw it first. He whipped around, the strands of his headband curling behind his ears. His friends followed in suit, until they were all staring directly at us. Shit.

After a couple beats of silence, I slowly stood up from our hiding spot, leaves crunching under my weight. Tommy and Tubbo turned to me with incredulous expressions, no doubt wondering if I had gone mad. Not quite yet, I think.

I gestured for them to copy with the jerk of my head.

They hurriedly scrambled up from their positions, and together we revealed ourselves. Sapnap's grip on his bow faltered, a look of panic surfacing briefly, but it was gone before I could think to exploit it. George, that bastard, he smiled. Goddamn smiled, like he was happy to see us. I watched as the tension in his shoulders seeped away and something similar to relief flickered behind his eyes.

I studied the brunette more carefully, perplexed. His gaze bounced from the three of us, face falling as he searched for something that wasn't there. A frown settled on his lips after a brief moment, one hand moving to the hilt of his sword.