feathers

tears

2 months
It had been two months, of walking through the forest Sapnap had written to Dream regularly, and with his help, he had learned a decent amount of new things. They walked through the forest, both Sapnap and Quackity were on the verge of insanity from hunger, they hadn't been quite successful lately.

"I swear... if we don't find anything to eat soon-" Quackity cried and Sapnap nodded "I don't know how long I can go without either-" Sapnap said, they were walking noticeably slower, their feet being pulled to follow their tired legs. They stopped when they heard something move in the bush "am I going mad or did you also hear that?" Sapnap asked Quackity as he nodded, grabbing his scepter tight "I heard that-" he said... looking around, tree griffins came from the forest, looking at the men like they were a nice meal. Quackity grabbed his scepter close, and Sapnap did the same.

One of them stood up on their hind legs trying to attack Sapnap who pulled away just in time "aren't y'all supposed to be guarding treasure or shit!" He asked confused as to why these beings were hunting in a forest. He ran from another griffin attack sliding over the forest floor, as his hand slid over the ground it left an orange trail, he raised his hand ropes of fire wrapping itself around one of the griffins, the being shrieked, the two griffins now fully focused on Sapnap and Sapnap alone.

He looked at them grabbing his staff and slamming it into one of the griffin's faces, as he did so it exploded leaving behind a pile of orange embers and ash, the last griffin raised a sharp claw, Sapnap tried to dodge it but it ended up taking a good chunk of flesh from his lower jaw "Ah-!" He exclaimed feeling the blood starting to gush from the open wound.

He fell back, Dream's book sliding out of the carrier and falling on the floor, he was about to grab it, but the griffin wrapped its sharp beak around the book and ripped the pages to shreds. "No!" Sapnap yelled the forest floor under him turning to ash as a wall of fire went for the griffin, killing it... all that was left now were three slightly burned griffin bodies and the ashes of what used to be Sapnap's only way of communicating home.

"God-" Quackity said, taking his eye off Karl who had also received a good scratching on his arm "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" Sapnap exclaimed "I'M DONE! I'M SO FUCKIN DONE WITH THIS-... I'M COLD I'M STARVING TO DEATH!... AND NOW DREAM THINKS I'M DEAD!" Sapnap raged the ground under them rumbling as he did so...

"Sapnap-"
"SAPNAP! You're gonna hurt someone!"

Quackity yelled as fire surrounded Sapnap's body as he fumed but it was like he couldn't hear them, burning lava seeped from his eyes.

"Sapnap..." the raveonette said, pushing through the rings of fire dancing around his body, trying to ignore the excruciating heat. He didn't know what to say, he just rapped his arms around Sapnap and hoped this'd calm him down. And after some time it did... the fire subsided and Sapnap sighed trying to get his emotions under control "I'm sorry... it's... just- I can't do this anymore" he said, trying to get the burning tears from his eyes.

"No- don't say that! You made it this far now you can't just go back! I promise you it won't be long until we'll be out of this mess". Sapnap looked at Quackity "why-? Why are you coming along... you could have given me one of your feathers and gone back to wherever you're from... why do you want to help me?" Sapnap asked, spilling the question he has had for quite some time now, he just never dared to ask.

"Sapnap... you saved my life! It's the least I could do. And besides," he spoke kindly, "I don't have a family... that was a lie to make sure you'd come... to make you think I had someone searching for me". He was smiling but Sapnap could sense the hurt in his voice "I- I'm so sorry- I didn't know!" Sapnap said and Quackity shook his head "Don't be... I've been an orphan since I can remember"

Sapnap sighed, a heavy weight resting on his lungs, he couldn't seem to get off. "We can loot the griffins for their flesh... it's not the best but it's food". Quackity said completely changing the subject and Sapnap nodded "Griffin sucks" he said confirming Quackity's statement. But it didn't matter, they looted the animals and, oddly enough they had never eaten anything better. Laughing and joking around the fire, Karl slid down from the stump he was sitting on multiple times.

"So... there was Dream, Punz, Callahan, and me... and this was maybe the first week of me being at the academy and..." he cut himself off to drink some water from his flask "we have this professor... Schlatt, he teaches brewing, so me and Callahan... found it no better to figure out what he was drinking from his flask... you see he always had this brown flask on his desk and people rumored that it was alcohol".

"So we took it! He was not happy! He ended up turning both me and Callahan into fucking animals for over 2 hours". Quackity laughed "Are you that dumb?!" He exclaimed Sapnap rolled his eyes saying: "it was for a better cause" he said doing an exaggerated hair flip.

"Did you ever find out what was in that flask?" Quackity asked and Sapnap nodded "yeah! You'd think like something like brandy or pure rum but no... what he had been drinking during those lessons... was art department PAINT WATER".

Quackity broke down laughing "AND I DRANK IT," Sapnap said making Quackity laugh even harder "NoO- you didn't you fucking didn't!" He exclaimed wiping a tear from his eye "oh my stomach hurts" he said wrapping an arm around his lower abdomen. "What did it taste like?" He asked giggling, making fun of Sapnap "I can't describe it it was strange".

Quackity laughed "Oh- you drank paint water" Sapnap looked at him and nodded "Yeah! And a fucking teacher drank entire bottles of it!" Quackity broke down laughing again "NoOo how is he alive?" He asked and Sapnap shook his head "HE ISN'T! Died from a heart attack in the middle of class". Quackity was laughing like a maniac "Nooo- why?"

Sapnap shrugged "I don't know he was strange... he tried to overthrow the headmaster once"
Quackity looked at Sapnap confused giggling softly "Isn't the headmaster technically the king? Because... it's the royal academy?" Sapnap nodded "Sort of... it's more of 'the prince's academy' but yes he did try to overthrow the royal family".

Quackity laughed... "No! Man, I'm starting to regret wanting to go to the academy". The raveonette smiled looking to the side slightly "well not every teacher's like that- and... it is the royal academy after all".

{rip Schlatt and his paintwater, he might be missed. Although not alot}