Family Ties (DreamSMP Fanfic)

Chapter 4: Flowers for the Sky

Doves' salutations fill the air until a music disc is played, it's bewitching notes echoing off the mountains. Morning mist blankets the valley, droplets of dew shining like jewels in the sun's golden glow. Footprints create a path to the center of the field, marching through tall grasses and wildflowers. There, on a blue plaid blanket, lay four new friends, watching the sunrise. A boy from the afterlife, a haunted halfling, a broken husband, and a girl with an unknown past.

The girl reaches her hand up, straining to touch the sky and relishing the soft warmth. She splays out her fingers and watches the sunlight dance. Squinting, she spots something on top of the mountain.

"Do you know what's up there?"

Ranboo turns his head to look at where she's pointing, "No clue."

"Looks like a fort to me," Tommy says with a toothy grin.

"It's definitely a pirate ship," Tubbo remarks.

They all give him a strange look, but it's Nyssa who says, "You know how pirate ships work, right? I'm pretty sure water is a necessity."

Tubbo defends himself in earnest, "But look at it! See the big beam that's falling over?" He points, "That's the mast, and right over there is the rest of the ship. It's a shipwreck, it's so obvious."

Ranboo puts a hand on his husband's shoulder in a concerned gesture, "But how did the pirate ship get on the top of the mountain? It can't fly."

Tubbo gets to his feet and starts to pace, "You see, long ago there used to be glaciers here, that's what carved the valley. And now there's no glaciers, meaning they must have melted." His voice picks up speed and he starts to wave his hands to prove his point, "Meaning, that at one point, there was a huge pool of water and the people would have needed a ship to travel, but they must've been drunk sailing and crashed into the mountain." He takes a deep breath and places his hands on his hips, "Any questions?"

Tommy raises his hand like a schoolboy, "So, the reason the pirate ship is in the sky is because the old people were drunk?"

Tubbo nods, "Yep, basically."

"Cool."

Nyssa and Ranboo share an incredulous look. "That was actually a lot more logical than I thought it would be," Nyssa confesses.

Ranboo shrugs, "I should've expected this, honestly. He's always trying to convince me that birds aren't real, so this wasn't too far-fetched."

"They're not real!" Tubbo exclaims vigorously, "The birds work for-"

Nyssa giggles when Ranboo covers up Tubbo's mouth with his palm, "Calm yourself."

Tommy tosses a cornflower at Tubbo, "Here, have some blue."

Picking up the flower, Ranboo tucks it behind Tubbo's ear and steps back, admiring his work.

Tommy whines, "Are we done theorizing now? Can we go see what that thing on the mountain really is?"

Nyssa hops up with a newfound zeal for adventure and starts walking, "C'mon, let's go explore!"

————————

About thirty minutes later they top the mountain sweaty and out of breath. Ranboo sheds his suit coat and takes a seat on a nearby stump. Tubbo pauses and takes a swig of water. "Go on ahead, we'll be there in a minute."

Smiling despite the sweat and dirt covering their bodies, Tommy and Nyssa continue down a cracked stone pathway. They follow it through dense spruce trees, finally reaching the structure they spotted from the valley.