-Rehabilitating a Child Soldier-

Walking the Line

A pair of boots crashed through the underbrush, trampling the tall grass as the half ran, half tumbled down the hill.

Someone was following them more tentatively, as if they were a bit on edge about the situation that they were putting themselves in.

Their eyes always ended up trailing back to the sky. It was late afternoon on a dreary day,  grey clouds had rolled in this morning, blocking out the typically blue sky, and hiding the sun from view. If you were to take a deep breath on the top of that hill, you would be able to feel the moister enter your lungs.

...It was going to rain...

"Come on, Boo!" The blonde child called up from the bottom of the hill, a shit eating grin plastered on his face. "It's time for your initiation into the Dream SMP community."

"... Are you sure this is a good idea, Tommy?" Ranboo timidly asked the fifteen year old, whose braces would normally glint in the sunlight, giving him a headache.

"Of course I am! I never have any bad ideas. Besides, it's only a bad idea if we get caught." Tommy grinned from the bottom of the hill, pulling the hood of his red cloak up over his blonde hair. The tiny, plush horns sewn to the top trembled in the light breeze.

He had come here with a purpose, one that wasn't watching the shadows grow as the dark clouds rolled in. 

He had the intent of giving the new member of the server, the half enderman, a proper welcome to the SMP. And what better way to do that than to troll George by messing with they house that he had tapped out of so many fights to go work on.

It may have come from a bitter pettiness, but Tommy was excited. Adrenaline was crossing through his body, making its rounds through his head, and snuffing out any thoughts that would contradict this.

George never did anything. He only ever slept. He didn't fight, he didn't barter, but somehow, the crown of the server had fallen to him.

And as much as Tommy disliked Eret, at least they had done something to earn it. Not only that, at least Eret was qualified.

"It's just a harmless prank." Tommy mumbled aloud, letting his thoughts become statements, "What's the worst that could happen..? I'm sure my dads will understand."

Ranboo didn't respond, but they did follow the hooded blonde over the rickety bridge that lead up to the exceptionally cozy house. A sheet of lush, green moss had begun to grow over the wooden frame, making the building mesh in with the surrounding hill.

Tommy's strides began to slow as they got closer to the house. It wasnt clear if he was staring to have second thoughts about this, or if the reality of the situation was starting to weigh on him in the slightest.

Nonetheless, when they arrived at the door, Tommy pushed it inwards without much objection.

Once inside, Ranboo began to plaster up stupid posters with dumb memes on them, teasing the absent king while Tommy got down to his own buissness.

He wasn't exactly sure what he would find while going through George's stuff, but stealing items of interest was a habit of his past that he had yet to shake. He didn't care much for the diamonds he found laying around... Skeppy had enough of those to put the mines out of business... But there were other shiny things that interested him far more than any gemstones could.

Gold.

Tommy scattered George's belongings as he rummaged through stuff, looking for that sleek shine of something worth taking.

As he did that, Ranboo did make a hasty attempt to clean up after him, though, it was a lost cause... Tommy could tear through things much quicker than Boo could organize them. It was actually impressive how quickly the teenager could rip apart the small house, leaving no room for organization, and no hope for some items to find their way back the where they originally rested.

Alas, he did eventually find a few golden apples, which he happily shoved into his bag, loosely discarding a lighter in order to make room for them.

It was a crappy lighter, not one of the ones he had borrowed from Sapnap, but rather one that he had found, laying around on the ground, somewhere on the server that he had long since forgotten.

Tommy then turned back to the few crates he hadn't gone through, rolling up the sleeves of his trench coat and exposing his bandaged arms before returning to his craft.

The bandages weren't there for a medical purpose. Heaven only knows what Bad would do to him if he came home with such a reckless injury again. He'd be in for at least an hour of getting chewed out while Dad fixed his arms.

No... The bandages where there to prevent that. For a tactical purpose. Skeppy had taught him that. 

"If you don't know what you're going to be handling throughout the day, try to have something covering your hands, just incase it happens to be pokey."

Tommy smiled to himself as he thought of his old man's words... His father... The man who he would wake up at sunrise to train with.

"Um... Tommy! We have a problem!'

Tommy quickly swung around, ready to defend them. However, he was met with a worse problem than George returning home...

There was an orange glow consuming the wooden floorboards, sparked by his own lighter.

Shit.

Tommy internally began to beat himself up over not hearing the click of the top popping open, as he pulled out a bucket, rushing outside to fill it with water. When he returned, the scene was worse...

Ranboo was doing his best to contain it, but George's house was being consumed by a very alive blaze. Even after Tommy tossed his water over it, he knew. There was nothing he could do but watch the smoke mesh with the clouds in the dark sky...

Only the rain could stop the fire now... but by then it would be too late.

George's house would be a reck... and it was their fault...

... Well... It didn't have to be...

Tommy practically flew over the bridge to where Ranboo was staring in horror at the burning house. The frustrated blonde grabbed him by the tie, and then pulled him down to eye level firmly.

"Listen, if anyone, anyone at all, asks about what happened here today, we deny it. They have proof? They earn a witness. You never went anywhere near George's house today. You saw me heading over. Got it?"

Tommy sternly finished, and coldly twisted his expression to brand the idea that this was serious into Ranboo's head. And it worked, by the time it was all said and done, the hybrid was ridged, and could only nod by the time Tommy released him. And when Tommy pointed in a direction, he obeyed without question, slinking off into the distance, trying to escape the chilled glare.

Of course, it wasn't his fault. Tommy knew that. It was his own stupid and negligent behavior that got him here. He had forgotten one of the first rules of trolling...

... Never let your guard down, regardless of who your victim is... It only takes one mistake from you to ruin it...

Tommy's expression faltered, as a frustrated breath escaped his body.

And then he sat. He knew he had to get out of here soon, but he sat anyways.

The grass was damp and thick, and it soaked into his coat and bandages as he dug his nails into the ground. 

Relaxing.

He leaned back on his arms, watching at the fire ate away at the once adorable little cottage... watching at the luscious moss darkened and shriveled as it was consumed... He found light in the situation by enjoying the warmth of the flames...

When the rain started to hail down of him, pelting his body in a contrasting cold, he knew it was time. 

...He stole one more thing...

A final glance at the dying house.