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There was a certain stillness to the air as Iris neared L'Manburg. Similar to the way the air becomes heavy before a storm. Nevertheless, this did not worry her as she had almost finished her supply run for the dye and logs. Dusk had come and gone fast, leaving her walking under the night sky.
The redhead had cursed silently after she saw the sun dip behind the mountains, leaving her to be guided by dull streetlamps. The last thing she had wanted to happen was tripping and having the timber become a paperweight above her.
Lucky for her, she was outside where Wi— uh Ghostbur resides, so she sipped off the heavy bag of supplies, softly dropping it on the ground. Although she loved talking to Ghostbur, it was often draining. He was almost the same Wil she knew before L'Manburg declared independence; joyful, easygoing, a clever sonneteer, and always in a sort of daze. But by virtue of this, it voided her after each interaction. The similarities of seeing his face pale and his voice air light, in lieu of his firm, confident voice and rosy cheeks, tolled her emotionally.
Not wasting any more time, she ruffled her coat, riding off any splinters of wood and ambled down the path. She let out a sigh of relief after finally finishing what should be a 2-hour job, which turned out to take 5 hours. She blamed her own tendency and ability to find distractions everywhere she went.
Iris briskly climbed her steps to her front door, not wanting to spend another minute in the chilly atmosphere and instead wanting to be snuggled in front of her fireplace. Yet, before she was able to wrap her hand around the doorknob, she spotted something folded in a neat pile on her doormat.
It looked like it was charred and had been through hell, her knees popping as she bent to pick it up. As she unfolded it, the redhead sharply inhaled, letting her eyes dart across the dark brown fabric. Wil's trenchcoat. Iris looked behind her, as well as across the wooden pathway where she came from. Someone must have placed it there while she was out.
She just stood there with her shoulders slumped, and head hung low, looking at the coat. Little water droplets landed on the cloth, quickly soaking within the fabric. Oh. The young woman was crying, and she had not even noticed. She hastily brought her hand to her face, rubbing it profusely to rid it. However, it was fruitless as more ran down her cold, pink cheeks. And it wasn't soon before her knuckles were white as she scrunched the fabric to her face, letting her chest let out silent sobs.
♔
Three sharp and deafening knocks woke her from sleep, launching her from bed. Still groggy with sleep, it took her a few seconds to understand where she was as the last fleeting memories of her dream disappeared. In her dream, she was back in pogtopia, buffing armour around a small fire with Tommy, Tubbo, Wil and Techno. Who she called family. Calls family.
Nevertheless, it was now fading to the back of her mind, soon remembered why she woke in the first place. She threw her bedsheets from her body, scampering out onto the chilly timber floorboards. Iris spared a look outside to see the sun just peeking from the horizon, with dew still coating her potted plants beyond her window. Who the hell wanted herself at this hour?
