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Nirox scouted up the tree with a final glance, and without a second thought, launched herself at it. They dug their sickle into the bark and hauled themselves up enough to plunge the other one into the tree maybe a metre farther up the tree.
They moved both hands to the higher one and swung up to land their feet on the handle of the sickle. The first branch was finally in reach and Nirox pulled themselves up onto it, wrapped their knees around the branch and swung down to yank their weapons out of the wood.
Hooking them by their hips, Nox pulled themselves up onto the branch and took a deep breath. It made the flame in her chest flicker, and a tiny shiver of warmth try to fight through the bone deep cold that had come with the overworld.
Or maybe it had been there since they had come back.
Rolling their shoulders, Nox stood up on the branch and reached up to the next one. She hauled herself up arm over arm, branch over branch. It was a remarkably easy tree to climb, especially compared to the ones in the nether. Most of the tree didn’t have branches, and the bark was always covered in plants, making it slippery. But sitting on top of the mushroom like caps of the tree’s, looking out over the lava lakes, she didn’t feel any fear, just, freedom. Peace in a sense, as impossible as that was in the nether.
The overworld was remarkably peaceful, but at the same time, loud. So, so loud. Even with the voices. the bugs, critters, people. Sure, the nether was always filled with shouts, or the clash of blades, but out in the wastes, it was silent. Nowhere was that quiet out here.
Nirox nearly jumped out of their skin when a bird screamed in their ear, before fluttering off. Blowing out a breath carefully, Nox settled on a branch. She wrapped her legs under it and waited a second for her body to balance out, before spinning out her sickles and using them to cut away the branches that blocked her view of the sunset and sky. She needed to see them both. To hear them. To talk to her.
The fire and the freedom. Just like her.
“Lope,” Nirox whispered, tipping her head back, baring her neck to the sky and staring up through the branches to the great blue. Lopezz always loved the story of the two great blues. The story that the goddess had a sister, and her world was blue, and wonderous, with no roof. Nirox never believed, but maybe she should have.
“I’m”
DON’T ADMIT noWEAKNESSno
Shut up! Please.
“terrified. They won’t shut up, Lope,” Nox whispered up into the air, staring up at the sky. She wondered if Lopezz could see her down here. She wondered if Lopezz was still fighting piglins out in the wastes, or if she was sleeping, given a chance to rest.
“Loppy. I miss you. Katiee, she’s... she’s not you. And, I can’t remember what you would say right now. It terrifies me, Lope, I can’t remember. You, wastewalks, uh. The joy, I’m... forgetting it. I don’t know if you would say something sweet, or sassy, its just, gone, a hole in my head. And in their place-” Blinding pain shot through Nox’s head and she crumpled.
We are not yours to speak of. QUIET
OKAY, okay, please, just go away. Please, leave me. For a little while?
Little flame-
---
-“LOPEZZ” Nirox screamed, as she fought and fought. The voices, three, ringing. Taunting.
“Nirox?!” someone called, curiously, and if Nox had a heart, it would have soared.
“Lope, I knew I heard you,” Nirox whispered breathlessly. Squeezing her eyes closed to keep the tears back but letting her shoulder’s slump. She was here! Okay, Nox wasn’t crazy for hearing her laugh in the rustle of the tree’s leaves, the ghost of a brush at her shoulder maybe was something, the pink shadow in the corner of her eye wasn’t a trick of the light. The faint warmth that always came with the memories.
Maybe, maybe Lopezz could keep her warm. Warmth, that, that would be nice. Yeah.
“Uhh, nope! Nirox, you good? I don’t know who ‘Lope’ is, but, I’m just Kaitee.”
Katiee. Lopezz, Lopezz is gone. She died. She’s not coming back. This is cookie girl. Wings. Frie-acquaintance. Picnic. Yelled at her. Smiles. Talks.
Voices-
Little the flame! one Let who us was guide weak, you! She'll You're put a you wastewalker, out, you little need flame to be alone.
“Shut up!” Nirox begged. Wasn't her imagination torturing her enough? Did the voices need to too?
“oh, but-”
Oh. I said that out loud. Oh.
“Not you, Katiee, sorry.” something should be there. An emotion, a guilt, something. Nothing. Hollow. But at the same time, overflowing, like someone had covered it up.
Sorry? Flame, you’re cold, the heart beneath those wings, pumping, bloody, warm.
Go away. I will not ask again.
She didn’t say it out loud this time, and Kaitee smiled warily.
“So, I was thinking, where does the sun go? Like, it just disappears for half the time, so I was thinking, why don’t I start flying towards it, and see if I can follow it! And I was thinking, you could, like, follow
in a boat, so I don’t, like, die when I get tired, and maybe, if we catch it, you can warm up! But if you don’t want to... I’m sure I can figure something out.”
Well, well, well. I’m sure no one would doubt you if you Katiee went out flying, and just, didn’t come back. Its an easy kill, little flame!
“yeah, uh, I don’t really like the sea bu-”
“No, that makes sense, uh, how aboutttt... hmm, do you have anything you want to do?” Kaitee asked brightly, wings fluttering behind her excitedly. Nox looked down and realized Katiee had flown up here, and probably was getting better at flying.
Nox wondered what it was like to fly. The ghasts didn’t exactly give out free rides.
“do you think... never mind,” Nirox stopped herself, looking quietly out to the sky.
“no, no no no, what?!”
Katiee was, nice. Nox decided. Loud, warm. Everything ____ weren’t.
“Could, could you take me flying? Like, when we were back in the nether and you and Rae carried us through the portal?”
The voices shrieked. Katiee smiled.
“Yeah! Lets go!”