Living in Me (Sequel to Not Gonna Die)

|Chapter 19| A New Constellation

It was a sad group that rode into Lord Ghetto's base, comprised of Generals Adam, Jerome and Jason, and Herobrine, who hadn't spoken another word since they had left the clearing where Queen Anne had made her final stand. No one paid them much mind as they rode into the fort except for Steve, who had been standing watch on top of the wall and greeted them with his usual grin.

"Welcome to our luxurious quarters, what's up?" Steve said happily, almost sauntering up to them. Herobrine dismounted without looking at his brother and a frown flashed over Steve's face. He glanced to the others, seeing their expressions that clearly said 'dangerous territory, watch your words'. The Generals could almost see the gears in Steve's head turning, putting together information before it clicked and he mouthed a curse that only they could see, then turned and stood alongside Herobrine.

"Come on, let's get you inside," he said, his tone still leaning towards the positive side. "I'll make you a burrito."

A small smile flickered across Herobrine's face and he let Jerome take his horse while he and Steve went inside the central building of the fort. The Generals led the horses around the side of the base to the stables and spent as much time as humanly possible unsaddling them and rubbing them down, talking quietly amongst themselves as they did so. When they finally could find no reason to stay in the stables, they slowly made their way into the central building in the fort.

The fort wasn't an overly large building so it didn't take them long to find the two brothers seated at a long table in the dining room, facing each other, each with a burrito in front of them, Steve talking enthusiastically while Herobrine ate his food, a faint smile on his face as he interrupted what Steve was saying, quietly saying something that seemed to throw the other off for a second before he recovered and said something back that made Herobrine chuckle a little, shaking his head.

Steve saw the Generals enter the room and pause a little at the door, but he waved them over with a gesture of his head and they took their seats beside the two. Herobrine must have noticed them sit but he didn't comment as he took another bite of his burrito. Steve had already almost completely finished his.

"It's not the most official place for a meeting," Steve said as the Generals took their seats, "but at least everyone can find it. I've sent a message to Lord Ghetto to-"

The doors to the dining room opened with a swoosh and Captain Andreas strode quickly in, his face impassive but his eyes concerned. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but Queen Anne went out with a patrol earlier today, they were supposed to be back an hour ago but they haven't returned yet..."

His words died off as he picked up on the expressions of the Generals and saw the pain in Herobrine's eyes as he looked away from the Captain and back down at his food. The burrito had turned to ash in his mouth and he had a hard time swallowing it down.

"Oh," was all that Captain Andreas could say.

"Take a seat," Steve said, not unkindly. "Lord Ghetto will be here soon, then we can talk."

Captain Andreas took his seat beside Jerome and they sat in silence, glancing at each other or at their hands, Herobrine staring at his half eaten burrito. It was no wonder that Lord Ghetto was confused when he walked in, but he was not tactless when he was informed of the fate of the Snow Strikers' patrol.

"The only question is whether we can or should send out more patrols," he said. "We don't want Entity's creatures to be able to get the jump on us but... we also don't want a repeat of this situation."

"It could be a plan of theirs," Jerome said. "If they can't face us in battle then they'll ambush us in small groups to try and bring down our numbers before we can fight them again."