ch.26: nasturtium, for conquest and victory in battle

                                    

                                          
"Salmon!" You hear a voice call out to you as you stand with Tubbo at the edge of the clearing, speaking to Tommy. You'd run into him on your way back to camp, and had asked about the traps, only to be regaled with a tale of a big bird that he'd gone chasing instead. You turn to answer, only to see Techno across the clearing. Phil and Wilbur are behind him, seemingly eagerly discussing something. You wave to him, breaking away from your group to meet him halfway. 
                          
	He extends a hand shakily, as if for a handshake. You look at it for a moment before pulling him into a hug. He's tense as a board the entire time, but when you step back, you can practically see the apprehension melt off his face. 
                          
	"Gonna have to try harder than that to get rid of me," you joke, and to your surprise, not only does he smirk, but he laughs. Just a quick chuckle, but to you it felt like winning Olympic gold. 
                          
	"At this point, I don't think anything on earth could get rid of you for good," he deadpans, and you crack up, seeing his smirk widen into an actual smile. "You're like a cockroach, you just don't die." He means it as a compliment, and you take it as a high one. 
                          
	"Learned it from the best," you reply, and he shakes his head at you, still smiling. 
                          
	"At this point, I'm starting to think I learned it from you." You know it can't stay like this forever. That at one point in the very near future the two of you were going to be screaming at each other, arguing about what was right, what was moral. But for now, you could pretend that that day would never come. 
                          
	"Tommy found some berry bushes on his way back, come have some with us," you offer. He thinks about it for a moment, then nods. 
                          
               
                          
	The tents become the first minor point of contention, the first thing to break that blissful bubble. There's only three, and Techno needs an entire one to himself for reasons he refuses to explain. Something about night terrors and the ability to calm down. You and Wilbur offer to share one, but that still leaves Phil bunking with both of the kids, which he absolutely refuses to do, claiming that even old men need their proper beauty sleep. 
                          
	So Tubbo ends up in you and Wilbur's tent. You usually sleep in your uniform anyway, so it wasn't too much of a hassle. In fact, it was kind of nice to have someone to talk to as you stacked your armor and weapons nicely, readying them for the next day next to each of your bedrolls. You turn back and somehow, magically, yours has been combined with Wilbur's to create one big bed on one side, and leaving Tubbo's on the other. You smile and roll your eyes, sliding under the covers as Tubbo extinguishes the torch. 
                          
	Wilbur climbs into bed beside you, keeping what you know for a fact he's thinking of as a "respectful distance" away. You close your eyes, and soon after you're fast asleep. 
                          
	You're not sure if it's a dream or a memory at first. You're standing in the center of a great battlefield, the earth around you scorched and scored with arrows. Surrounding you is a great slate battlement, a huge wall blocking every mode of escape. You lift your bow, training it on a figure near the top of the wall. For all you could tell it was just a big green blob, attempting to climb its way into the tower that you knew Tubbo was currently defending. You can hear other people around you, the clashing of diamond and netherite, but you can't focus on them. 
                          
	You take a deep breath and hold it, steadying your aim before letting go of the arrow. Out, out, out as you watch its flight toward the green blob. It hits, and the blob begins to fall, tumbling from the battlements holding its neck. You blink, and all at once the very ground you're standing on is bathed in a tidal wave of flame. You look around, terrified, as you back up toward the van. The air is almost too hot to breathe, the fire already close enough to lick at your skin as you retreat.