[ Cruel Winter - A Inanimate Insanity Invitational AU ]

Chapter 23 - Dont Pretend

Candle was sitting down, drawing in the dirt with a stick out of boredom. "Hmmph... I'm so bored..." She sighed.

She turned to Yin-Yang, who was casually snapping twigs. "Yin-Yang, I'm getting kinda bored of this place. Will we ever get to travel anywhere?" She asked, slinking over to Yin-Yang. Yin-Yang broke a stick between his hands. "As much as I'd love to, It's just not possible. We can't really risk being found by Nickel and... His gang... Or whatever." He admitted.

"Ok, but still, why can't we just go even farther away? Or-" Candle was cut off. "Look, Candle, we aren't leaving. That's just that." Yin-Yang snapped another stick. Candle looked to the side. "...Hey, Yin-Yang. What was it like? In the forest? Was it nice? ...Is Clover ok?" Candle asked.

Yin-Yang shot a glare at her. "Why would you care about Clover of all people?" He snapped.

"...Well, she seemed really distressed during the split... And she seemed a bit too loyal to Nickel... And I'm really concerned about her-..." Candle mumbled. Yin-Yang snapped yet another stick, as if he was taking his anger out on the stick.

"She's doing fine. I mean, if she was confident enough to lure me into a trap, I'm sure she's fine." he rolled his eyes. "...She lured you into a trap?" Candle asked. "Yep. She acted all innocent and helpful so I could trust her, and at the last second, she let me fall right into the hands–feet?–of Nickel. And then she began acting all confused! It was so- Ugh!" Yin-Yang tossed a stick in anger.

"Why do they all follow Nickel? It's all about him, isn't it?? Why don't they understand how much of an ABSOLUTE SCUMBAG Nickel is!?" He snapped.

"Look, Yin-Yang," Candle edged closer to him. "We don't know what's going on back there. We can't just make assumptions, you know? Clover isn't the kind of person who'd trick you, ok?" She sighed. "...I guess your right. But- I still don't forgive her." Yin-Yang retorted.

"...Well, you do you then, Yin-Yang..." Candle replied. There was a long moment of silence between them, only broken by the sound of Yin-Yang's sticks being snapped in half.

The situation was quickly cut off as heavy breathing could be heard on the mountain trail. "Huh?" Yin-Yang stood up. "Oh! Silver and Goo must be back!" Candle exclaimed. "Wait, Candle. It doesn't sound good..." Yin-Yang stepped forward, walking down the trail to meet Silver Spoon and Goo.

Candle could hear Yin-Yang gasping. Sooner or later, they all came up, but Silver Spoon was carrying someone. "Uh, Candle? We found this in a bush in the forest." Silver Spoon set the object down.

Candle peered at the body before gasping. "...Test Tube?" She stepped in front of Test Tube, kneeling down to her level. "Yeah, she had some pretty bad injuries on her neck... Knife injuries even." Goo mumbled. "We think she's still alive, since she's barely breathing, but she... Might be in some sort of coma..." He added, slipping over to Candle.

"How long has she been out for?" Candle asked, turning to them. "...We don't know." Silver Spoon muttered. "...Ah, dang it. Well, what are we gonna do with her?" Candle asked. "...I guess we'll just put her by the tree and wait for her to wake up. It's all we can really do..." Goo sighed. "...Ok then..." Candle tried lifting Test Tube up, but unfortunately, her strength was knowledge, not–well–strength.

She accidentally dropped Test Tube, leaving more cracks in her head. "Candle-!" Silver Spoon ran over and lifted Test Tube's body up. "You have to be careful! She's made of glass, yknow..." He sighed. "...Sorry..." Candle looked to the side.

She didn't get a response as Silver Spoon carried Test Tube to the bare tree, carefully setting her down beside it. Candle stepped back to the cliff of the mountain, sitting down and staring at the mountain below. All the way into the forest, blinking. She couldn't help but think something bad was happening–or–was about to happen down there. Like some trouble was brewing in the woods.

Candle shook her head. She didn't want to think about them, or their kingdom, or Clover's safety. She was loyal to her friends, not Nickel's peer pressure. Candle stood up and walked over to Yin-Yang nervously, putting her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs through her cloak.

Yin-Yang blinked at her. "Uh, Candle, are you ok?" He asked. "No..." She muttered. Yin-Yang put an arm around her. "Tell me what's wrong. I'll listen–probably. I might zone out, ahah." Yin-Yang laughed nervously. Candle chuckled, forcing a soft smile before returning to her sad demeanor.

"...Well. There's just so much on my mind right now. Ever since the divide, so much has happened. But I just feel like things aren't right there. Something's just–" Candle was cut off.

"Why do you care so much about them? Is it because of Clover? They're aligned with Nickel, why are you so focused on them?!" Yin-Yang's voice seemed to be growing threatening in a way.

"Yin-Yang, something's wrong there, I just know it! You said it before, Clover seemed nervous when you were there! And now Test Tube was found LYING IN A BUSH with cuts on her throat! Just because they're aligned with Nickel doesn't make them bad people, yknow?!" Candle's flame began to flicker.

"Candle, you don't know what your talking about. We don't defend Nickel OR his followers! WHY ARE YOU GETTING SO WORKED UP OVER SOMETHING THATS FUCKING POINTLESS??" Yin-Yang yelled.

"WELL MAYBE BECAUSE I CARE FOR THE WELL BEING OF PEOPLE! SOMETHING YOU CLEARLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IF YOU THINK EVERYONE FOLLOWING NICKEL IS EVIL." Candle snapped back.

Yin-Yang, he was too stunned to respond, just staring at Candle as her flame flickered angrily. "Yin-Yang, you need to stop being a dumbass and ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SOMETHING CLEARLY ISN'T RIGHT!! WHY ARE YOU BASING EVERYTHING OFF OF NICKEL???" She screamed.

Yin-Yang stood still for a moment. "...Because Nickel. IS NO GOOD." Yin-Yang pulled his gun from his pocket and aimed it at Candle's head. "AND IF THEY FOLLOW THAT NO-GOOD BITCH, THAT MAKES THEM JUST AS BAD AS HE IS. YA HEAR ME?!" Yin-Yang continued to hold her at gunpoint. "YIN-YANG, STOP BEING–" She stopped as Yin-Yang hit the trigger.

Candle closed her eyes. It was over. That was when she heard a metal bang deflect the bullet and drop to the ground. She opened her eyes.

"YOU'D BETTER STOP YOUR FUCKING NONSENSE BEFORE YOU GET HER KILLED, BITCH!" Silver Spoon snapped.

"SILVER, STAY OUT OF THIS. IT'S NOT YOUR JOB TO INTERVENE." Yin-Yang retorted. Goo slinked over to Candle. "Candle, come on..." The blue blob beckoned Candle into the little cave that they all slept in.

"SILVER, I'M DONE WITH YOUR NONSENSICAL GARBAGE! I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHY CANDLE LET YOU COME WITH US. WE SHOULD'VE FED YOU TO THE WOLVES, Y'KNOW THAT?! IT'D BE MUCH, MUCH BETTER IF YOU JUST LEFT!" Yin-Yang boomed.

"OH YEAH?! WELL YOU JUST TRIED TO MURDER OUR ALLY! YOU REALLY THINK THAT MAKES YOU ANY BETTER THAN I AM?!" Silver Spoon yelled. "DON'T ACT LIKE HIGH SCHOOL NEVER HAPPENED, SILVER." Yin-Yang blurted out of nowhere.

Silver Spoon froze. "Don't act like you weren't an awful person. Don't act like you didn't try to stop me from being friends with Candle. Don't act like you didn't bully Bot and Goo all the time, always making Clover defend them. STOP ACTING LIKE YOUR THE HERO HERE. YOUR. NOT." Yin-Yang shoved Silver Spoon and stomped down the mountain, likely to get some alone time.

Silver Spoon just stared, stunned. He just stood there for a while, staring into the distance. He felt a hand grab his hand. "Silver, are you ok...?" Candle asked. Silver Spoon's hands trembled for a while before he shook his head.

"Y-Yes, of course. L–Lets just- go back inside." Silver Spoon headed to the cave. "...Ok." Candle obliged.