A Rift Through Worlds (A Dream SMP x Hermitcraft AU)

Fox Hunt

Since Iskall left, the server had remained relatively peaceful. No, not peaceful but... quiet. Eerily quiet for a server known for unreasonable and preventable wars and its godforsaken land. There were no more wars, no more fights, no more... well... anything and it all happened because one person had been taken out of the equation for the foreseeable future. With Tommy gone from the server, and Dream having disappeared for a full week, it was eerily silent. Despite the major threat being gone, Fundy spent every single hour paranoid, hiding, daring not step his foot in plain sight.

How could he when Dream was hunting him?

He hadn't seen the man in a day but he knew. He knew that he was being hunted down and he was barely scurrying away like a little fox does from a pack of wolves.

Since the day he saved Iskall from a painful fate in prison -he had seen it in his ex-fiance's face, ever covered by that creepy porcelain mask: that unforgiving, cold look of a grudge. The air had grown thick, his aura darkening to a dangerous degree. He'd been lucky enough to have had been spared where he and Iskall had stood but as it did everytime, his time had run out.

In a way, Fundy was releaved that his luck had finally decided to desipate into thin air because all that time, he'd been gnawing the edges of his claws wondering when it would all be over. So, he was thankful to an extent. Dream being after him was not something he was happy about.

Their first encounter after that day had been a quick one. No armor, no visible fued but Fundy had spent enough time with Dream to know that the green-clad man had an itch underneath his skin. He had seen the way his fingers twitched ever so slightly, discreetly, trying to wrap around the handle of a blade that hadn't been there. He had seen the tiniest tilt of his head, the hairs at the back of his neck had stood up in the thick atmosphere Dream had brought with him. The man had only wanted to extract tiny pieces of information about Iskall and Hermitcraft, nothing more, nothing less. Then, he'd left without so much as a "goodbye", just a look and a wave that left Fundy petrified on his front porch.

It was only a matter of time until he'd deem him a threat.

Their second encounter had been their last. That one had seen Dream at Fundy's doorstep once more. However, he'd had the purple glimmer of netherite on him. It hadn't been a pleasant conversation and neither had it been a fast one as Fundy had hoped. It'd dragged on for too long and Dream had been asking too many questions about Iskall and Hermitcraft for Fundy's comfort. Like he'd be any help, he barely knew the man! Putting aside all the friendly chatter, the helpful advice and the heart-felt conversations that left butterflies fluttering in his stomach, they were no more than acquaintances; they had a professional relationship as he told Dream.

The admin had left with a scowl that day, an intimation for something bad.

If Fundy knew Dream -and he's most certain that he did-, the next time they'd meet on his doorstep would end in blood; Fundy's blood. He didn't want to stick around to figure out whether he'd be tortured or not before Dream would claim his life so, like a wise young-adult, a once strong soldier, he decided to run away. To hide. To go far, far away where no one would be able to find him and pray that whatever the mess he'd gotten himself into would resolve itself given enough time.

He'd left only a note behind him stating his reasons for his mandatory leave. He had only given a basic outline of his position and his suspicions of Dream, sleeping the hastily written letter under Quackity's doorstep. Hoping that Tubbo, Ranboo and Quackity would understand, he fled. It only took him a few days to exit the land of New L'Manburg which Ghostbur had been helping design and build and another one or so to step foot outside of claimed territory. Thankfully, no one had gone looking for him too early.