Aesop: why’s it so hot in here
Joseph: it’s me obviously
Naib: actually… i kinda started a fire
It was a normal match. Or at least, it was supposed to. It was the usual team of Eli, Aesop, Naib, and William, fittingly dubbed Team ANEW for how often they were together, both in, and out of games. They were up against Joseph, who, fortunately, didn’t feel up to having a proper match, opting to just sit and watch the four do their thing. At the moment, the Photographer was watching Aesop and Eli decode by the dungeon entrance within the Sacred Heart Hospital map. William was busy sharing one of the stories of his past matches with Joseph. Usually, Aesop would prefer decoding alone, but since they weren’t in a serious match, he let it slide. Plus their company wasn't so bad. Despite William’s loud nature, there was something oddly endearing about his friendly nature, and Eli was quiet and calming by default, though sometimes the way he’d stare at you could be kind of unnerving.
“Oh yeah, speaking of...Where’d Naib go?” William paused one of his stories of a previous match to search around for their friend.
Eli also looked up from his side of the machine.
Aesop wiped some sweat from his brow.
“Is it just me or did the temperature just increase?”
“Huh,” William started fanning himself with his jersey, “You’re right.”
Eli merely hummed in agreement, taking his hood off to cool off some.
“Hey, guys!” Naib jumped over a wall, joining the group. He looked a bit burned, but he was wearing his “worn clothes” outfit so it was hard to tell if they were just part of the “look” or if they were recent. He looked almost guilty.
“Hello, we were just wondering where you were,” Eli greeted.
“Aha...I’ve just been around...Exploring. Yeah.”
Aesop paused in his decoding to fan himself. “Either way, why’s it so hot in here?”
The photographer smirked, “Well, it’s me obviously.”
“Actually,” Naib started, flushed with embarrassment, “I kinda started a fire…”
“You--What--How?” Eli was the first to break the silence.
“I-uh-I found a flare gun in one of the chests and was messing around with it, and it accidentally fired and hit some dry grass, and then it just...spread?”
Eli was trying extremely hard to stay calm. Aesop and William slowly backed away and prayed for their idiot of a mercenary, sensing his impending doom. Even Joseph was being wary of the Seer.
“WHAT MADE YOU THINK MESSING AROUND WITH A FIREARM WAS A GOOD IDEA?!”
Naib flinched, “I’m not dumb, I know my way around firearms and weapons and the like. I was a former Gurkha soldier and mercenary! I just...Since Martha fires that thing all the time during matches, and these maps seem to have some kind of protection against all kinds of wear and tear, I just thought it’d be fine! I didn’t think a fire would actually start!”
Eli sighed. He felt a headache coming on. Naib was probably one of the most unlucky people in his friend group. Of course, he can somehow magically start a fire when such a thing is supposed to be impossible. He even started smelling the smoke and could see a huge cloud of smoke and ash coming closer. The heat wasn't helping calm his nerves either. Joseph coughed once, gathering the attention of everyone in the small space.
“How about I surrender for today. I would rather not be charred coal today if I can, and the same can be said of you survivors as well.”
“Yes, please. Thank you, Joseph.”
The photographer nodded once before the notice of the hunter’s surrender popped up and they were transported back to their respective sides of the manor. If people noticed the slightly smoked smell coming from the four, they didn’t mention it. One look at them told the others that Naib had something to do with it. At that realization, a collective internal facepalm resounded throughout the halls, and everyone made sure to be extra nice to Eli for the rest of the day.
Finally got around to this! I absolutely love @totally-correct-idv ‘ s blog. But since I can’t draw very well, let alone, do a comic, I decided to try writing a story revolving around these quotes.
https://totally-correct-idv.tumblr.com/post/189973545690/aesop-whys-it-so-hot-in-here-joseph-its-me