he always comes when you're alone. there's no village on the map. he's from the other side of the barriers. you don't want to know where from, exactly.
the first time he comes, it's the start of the series. you're desperate for food. the soil is cold and rocky, and the only animals you've seen in days are wolves, as hungry as you. you don't like the smile he gives you, but your stomack wraps inside out when he offers you stew with big, juicy, best bits of mutton. you offer him your only emerald, hoping it'd be enough. he doesn't accept it, so you offer him your boots — brand new. he laughs, and his lips uncover his golden teeth. baffled, you tell him he can take whatever armor you're wearing, and you're ready to give all your gold and iron-- he clicks his toungue. then he opens the pack on one of his llamas. you feel the blood leave your face. he showes you a decapitated head. "cleo", he says and points at the head. "and eat all you want." you run as fast as you can. cleo meets you at the gates of your base. "what's going on?", they ask. "you won't believe it", you tell them, "i found a cow, and then creepers — CABLAAAM — blew it up to nothin'. but i have some rotten flesh. we'll make it 'till tomorrow." you can't unsee the line under their chin as they give you a pitiful smile.
the next time he comes, you point an arrow at him. "not interested", you say, loud and clear and furious. "go the fuck back where you came from". you see his golden teeth in the moonlight. he doesn't say anything, just takes out a bunch of glass bottles from under his cloak, shaking them so you see the liquids glow and shimmer. you hate this smile. and need these potions. cleo's still barely walking after those bastards trapped her. he sees your frown. "rendog," he says, as he runs his long nail across the orange potion. "skizzleman, impulse, etho." the dark red one, the pink one, the light blue one. you shake your head. "invisibility," you say. "scar," he replies. "how long does it last?" — "enough." the idea scares you. but it sounds easy enough. it sounds better and easier than dying in the nether. better and easier than your initial plan. the screams you'll hear worth everything. for cleo. you just need to make the butterfly flap its wings to make the firts domino fall. just make scar slip. you lower your bow and sigh. "where will i find you?"
and the last time he comes, you don't look back at him. you make him follow you around the high stone walls of the fort. under the berry bushes, scratching your arms, you dig up your secret chest. you open it and don't look inside. "what do you have to offer," you ask. you hear him laugh behind your back and still see his golden teeth. "you know how to make true friends, bdubs". your hands are shaking, covered in old blood. you lower your head and see a streak of ginger hair on your arm.
dailybridgerton
romaincrisis
2087
dededos
