||Beefsteak || DSMP ||

15. Lighting Feelings on Fire (Among other Things)

Anita's POV
"You'll make it! I promise!"  Tommy said as he handed me a bag. "It has food, materials, and my letters for Tubbo. You'll be fine, just hurry!"
"I'll go when she gets back with food. If she runs into me out there-"
"Fine! Fine! Just hide it!" He whispered.
I slid it under the couch.
He breathed heavily.
"Hey.." I caught his eye contact.
"I'll get to him, okay? I'm sure he'll be doing fine. You need to take a breath. Belle can smell fear."
He exhaled a laugh. "Fuck.. that woman's got some problems."
I kicked his shin. "She's wonderful."
"You're a dick.." he grumbled.
I heard grass rustle outside.
"Go down! Go!" I pushed him and jumped on the couch.
"Don't fuck it up!" He whispered finally before sliding down the ladder.
Belle opened and shut the entrance, slamming a dead pig on the table.
"Dinner!" She said proudly.

I looked around as I waited at Tubbo's door, nervous to be outside.
He didn't answer, so I banged harder for longer.
"The hell-" I heard, muffled.
The door swung open and he covered his mouth.
"Anita- you came! Where did you-?? How did you-"
I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing tightly as my eyes watered.
I'd pushed him back and he stumbled, arms glued to his sides.
"Everyone's safe! We found a-"
He pulled back, my arms falling to my side and a hand landing on my mouth.
He shook his head slowly and I blinked, surprised.
He removed his hand and kept a finger to his lips. His eyes were wide as he walked around me and closed the door.
"You can't tell me, I'm sorry. Too many ears listening."
I sighed and nodded.
I turned and reached in my bag.
"Tommy wrote these, they have all the info and some words he wanted to say to-"
He snatched them from my hand and threw them straight into the fireplace.
"DUDE!"
"I'm sorry, Anita.. no lose ends. I'm glad you're here but- there were better choices."
I stepped back. "Huh..? It'd be better to just leave you here wondering and- and alone!?"
"Yes, it would." He said calmly. "Now you're not safe here and Belle isn't going to be the type to just let you live in this danger. She'll get killed or something will happen to you.." he explained.
I didn't know what to say until he turned to the kitchen.
"I was worried for you. I wanted to know you were safe, too. Tommy and I stayed up two whole nights because we were so worried for you. So sorry this isn't safe for me, and sorry that you threw those letters away, because knowing you're okay is all that I cared about."
He stayed turned, gripping the counter. "I'm not mad at you."
"I'm responsible for my actions. If something happens to me then- well, I knew the risk."
He turned and sighed. "You're crazy.."
"You're crazy for thinking anyone could kill Belle! She's the most indestructible, unbeatable-"

Belle's POV
I was bleeding, sweating, and most likely crying.
I didn't know at the point.
I was numb. But maybe that was better.
The cave was close, I could see it. But making it was another story.
The door opened and Tommy looked to me with a concerned expression.
"The hell happened to you??"
I was covered in feathers and small scratches, eyes puffy as I sneezed.
"Chicken. It was so.. ruthless?" I sneezed again.
"Are you allergic?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Well then why'd you get one..?"
I pushed past him without replying and put the chicken down, descending the ladder.
"Oh, Belle! Come sit!" Wilbur called from the campfire.
He was sitting with his brother, referred by both of them as Techno. He'd been here a single day and I had built up enough bitterness to last a lifetime.
Maybe I was projecting about Anita..
I decided to sit closer to Wilbur, even if his spastic behavior was unnerving at times.
"Oh! Did you know that you two are the only two people to ever formally defeat dream in combat??" He asked.
I looked past the fire and just saw another mask.
"I heard! I got the invitation late, sorry I didn't show. I heard it was a good fight."
"It wasn't." I replied quietly.
Wilbur laughed loudly and swung his arm over my shoulder. "She's so modest about it!" He shook me and I deadpanned. "He ran from the ring in the first five minutes."
"For real??" The man was impressed.
I pulled Wilbur's arm off of me and stood. "I panicked in the end and landed a lucky shot. It was a shameful victory."
"You're Funturian?" He asked and my eyes shot to him.
"Why??"
"Sorry- just the ears and horns, and now the strict fighting rules.."
"You've been?" I asked.
"A few times. The bowls that the Funturian people craft are unparalleled."
I almost smiled.
"You've traveled." I noted.
He nodded back.
Wilbur giggled. "Oh! Unlikely friends! How wonderful!"
He was batshit.
"Wilbur, you need fresh air." I suggested. "You're sounding like a lunatic again."
He laughed. "Right, right.. I'll go."
He patted my head as he passed me and I rolled my eyes.
"How long has he..?"
"Since we got here. I think it's the echoes. Hears everything too much. And he's lost everything. I don't blame him."
He nodded.
"I caught a chicken. It'll be made in about an hour."
"Cool. I'm uh.. farming potatoes."
"Underground..?"
"Yeah! Well, I'm getting the space ready to farm them. Better than nothing."
I sat back down by the fire.
"I worked hard to catch that nothing." I joked.
"Oh- that's not fair.." he argued with a sympathetic tone.
"No, please.. I need some time cleared anyways."
"Your sister?" He asked.
"Hm?"
"The girl who left before I got here."
I sat up straight. "She's not my sister, she's the princess."
"The princess! How'd Funtaurian royalty end up in this situation?!" He laughed.
I stood quickly.
"Funtaura is gone. She- we are the last alive."
He paused.
"Wait- when did that happen?" He asked, ignoring my obvious blaring emotion.
"Two months back."
"Odd.."
I scoffed. "And why's that..?"
"Because I ran into a Funtaurian man about a week ago."