The Tale | Dream SMP

I - Chapter Ten

Tommy found Tubbo standing in front of a large tree that towered above them all, tossing fertilizer over it. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously, stopping next to him.

Tubbo bit his lip and sighed. "I'm trying to fix Ponk's lemon tree."

At a second glance, Tommy realized that it really was a lemon tree, and that it was burnt. Jagged black lines ran through the surviving bark, curling the edges and generally making it look close to dead. A stab of pity shot through him. Ponk was a cool dude. No tree of his deserved such barbaric treatment.

"You can't fix a tree, Tubbo," Tommy said, putting a sympathetic hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Yes, I can," Tubbo said earnestly. "I will! I'll just nail some bark on top of the burnt bits and it'll grow over it like it's from the same tree. It'll be just like wedge grafting, right?"

"Can't you just let it heal naturally?" Tommy asked with a frowned, folding his arms in front of him.

Tubbo scratched his head, looking down at the bark in his hands. "Well...."

"Just give up, Tubbo," a voice said gloomily from behind them.

Tommy turned to see a man leaning against the trunk of a tree, his foot tapping impatiently on the ground. He wore a red, yellow, black camouflage mask that wrapped around his entire head, showing only his eyes. The bit of skin in sight was of a deep color. He wore a black sweater with a simple red logo right above his heart. Double grey lines ran down the arms of the fabric, and shoes with a similar scheme and palette. White pants with more red designs that did not look dirt friendly.

"Hey, Ponk," Tubbo greeted. "How are you?"

"Depressed," Ponk sighed, pushing himself away from the tree and walking over to them. "My tree is dead."

"It's not dead," Tubbo said helpfully. "It's just burnt."

Tommy gave the tree a scruntinizing look. "It's dead." He leaned away from Tubbo as the guy punched him on the arm. "What? It's true!"

Ponk placed a hand on the bark and sighed heavily. He moved the hand in a circle, as if trying to massage the tree and give it compassion. "I can't believe he would do this," he mourned.

"Who?" Tommy asked.

The man's face darkened. "Sapnap. That stupid basta---"

"What did you do to him, then?" Tommy interrupted.

Ponk raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Tommy shrugged. "Well, I don't know Sapnap that well, but I know that he's at least semi sensible. You must've done something to induce his wrath. What did you do to him?"

He could tell that he was treading into dangerous territory, but he couldn't help himself. Something about a possible fight allured to him.

"I messed with his house," Ponk said stoutly. "That does not give him a reason to burn down my tree."

"I think it's plenty of reason," Tubbo interjected.

Ponk scowled at him. "I thought that you were on my side."

"Uh... I--- I am. I just---"

His words were cut off by the loud screech of a bird. A small blue parrot fluttered down from the sky, dropped a rolled up piece of paper into Tubbo's hands from where it had been held in its beak, and flew away.

Tubbo unrolled the paper and glanced down at it. "Oh, um, I have to go see Alyssa."

"Alyssa?" Ponk asked, perking up noticably. "Neat. What does she want?"