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"stay safe for me."
"Hey, Techno." Tommy said gravely, greeting the man as he walked into our little makeshift shack. I tuned them out as they talked, Wilbur looking just as solemn as I did. None of us exactly wanted Techno to be there except Tommy.
I abruptly stood up, ignoring the fact that I tipped my chair over in the process.
"I'm going for a walk." I muttered.
"Sage, you're wanted right now. Your being fucking hunted. Stay here if you want to stay alive." Wilbur ordered. I whipped around and got close to his face, not caring if my short temper was getting the best of me.
"Well Wilbur, what if I don't want to be alive." I spat. Everyone went quiet and a look of worry crossed Wilburs face.
"It's not that I want to die, but if I do I'm sure you'll be just fine without me." I said through gritted teeth. I took my chance as they all sat in shock and slammed open the door, rushing out.
"Sage, wait!" I ignored Wilburs call for me.
"Just let her go, man." I heard Tommy say faintly before their voices faded away.
They didn't understand. They still had each other. I wasn't very liked by most on the server, which is probably why I was exiled in the first place. Only my brother Eret still tolerated me, and I wasn't even close to him anymore after he betrayed L'manburg. Or should I say, Manburg. I guess being with Wilbur and Tommy was better then being alone, but it's not like they were quite fond of me either.
I yanked an apple off of a tree as I walked pass, inspecting its red skin, my reflection shining faintly in the small amount of light the moon provided. I stared back at my shameful reflection. My hair was a mess, stray hair falling from my braids, and my face had mud on it after fleeing Manburg.
Speak of the devil.
I stared up at the all to familiar building. The rainbow flags soaring high above it, swaying with the gentle summer breeze.
This was my last and only chance to see my brother again. I drew my sword carefully as I walked up, eventually pressing myself along the wall as I approached the entrance of the castle and stopped as I heard voices inside.
"Eret, we know she's your sister, but we trust you not to make the wrong decision. If you see her, kill her and her little friends, too." It was that god awful tyrant. J Schlatt.
I retreated into the bushes as footsteps got closer and eventually Schlatt walked out with Quackity and George trailing not far behind him. I waited a minute once they left to be sure they were really gone before I came out of the bushes.
I glanced around, double checking for anyone before I decided I was safe.
I walked in to see my brother, sitting high on his throne, his crown resting on his head. He didn't notice me at first as he had his face resting in his hands. He looked exhausted and upset.
"Hey." I said quietly. "From what I just heard your supposed to kill me, so it would be nice if you gave me some notice that I have to run."
He looked up slightly, dark bags under his eyes. For the first time during his reign as king, the edges of his mouth turned up into a smile. He stood up from his throne and walked over, enveloping me into a hug. I don't think he's ever hugged me before.
"Are you safe? And the others?" He asked worriedly, breaking the hug and putting his hands on my cheeks.
"We're holding up. We have Techno." I forced a small smile, the best I could manage in this situation.
"I've heard the rumors." He chuckled. We stood in silence for a minute, enjoying each others presence.
"I can't stay..." I said sadly.
"I know. I'm sure I'll see you soon, don't worry too much." I looked up at my older brother and almost laughed.
"I don't think I'll be the one worrying. Have you seen yourself?" I motioned to his eye bags. "Go get some sleep. I'll see you soon."
He nodded and gave me one last long hug.
"Stay safe for me."
[•••]
After my short moment with Eret I started to walk back to the bunker, my boots crunching in the leaves below me.
Do I really want to go back yet?
I thought the myself. No, I really didn't.
I scanned the trees around me, looking for a good one. I found one and started climbing, my hands cutting into the bark leaving them raw and stinging.
I climbed to the large and leaned against the tree, almost in a laying down position. I took a bite of the apple I had picked earlier and started fiddling with my nautilus shell that was in my pocket, letting my mind wander. I finally forgot for a moment that everything I did could put my life in mortal danger, but what's the fun with no risk?
"What do we have here?" A voice drawled from behind me. I didn't turn around, I could care less of who killed me or not at this point.
"A human." I muttered.
"Well what are you doing up in a tree in the middle of the night?" The boy asked.
"Oh just making a daisy chain because the world is so damn lovely." I said sarcastically, still focusing on the shell as the boy can into my view. He had a white mask on with a smiley face printed across the front, a netherite axe swung over his shoulder. He sure was wearing a lot of green. I hated green.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine." He laughed lightly as he sat next to me in the tree. Why did I have to pick such a spacious tree?
"If your here to kill me might as well get it over with." I snapped.
"Why would I want to kill you?" He asked, confused. I knew who this was, obviously. Everyone does. It's Dream. He runs the world, Yet he's almost never there. He's always off, doing some kind of adventure deep in the woods.
"Are you really that oblivious to what's going on in your own world?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Go ask J Schlatt, he'll happily fill you in. But Dream, I swear on my brother, if you tell him you saw me you are dead." I said as I hopped down from the tree and started walking away.
"Hey, I never got your name!" He yelled after me. I turned around, exasperated.
"Sage."
I finally got back to the bunker and closed the door behind me. I walked down the steps to see Wilbur and Tommy mining in the ravine they had found.
"She can be useful to us, she's a good fighter." Tommy explained as he chipped away at the cobblestone.
"But I can't stand her, Tommy! Her temper is worse then yours!" Wilbur protested.
"You know if you wanted to say something about my temper you could have said it to my face." I said in a sarcastic sing-song voice as I came down the steps and pulled my pickaxe from my limited inventory.
I started hacking away at the cobblestone, hitting it harder and harder out of anger. I don't know how I was going to bear living with these idiots.
