For a moment, Cleo was too surprised to answer.
"Hello?" came the voice again. "Is someone down there? I heard fighting."
Cleo snapped to her senses. "Yes, I'm down here! Do you mind getting some blocks so I can get up?"
"You didn't bring any supplies?" The voice sounded somewhat accusing.
"In my defense, I thought I was only going for a walk. I didn't expect to have a near-death experience in a cave."
"Alright, give me a moment." Cleo heard the sound of dirt being dug. A few minutes later, about two dozen dirt blocks fell through the hole. Cleo caught them and pillared up.
"Thank you." Cleo squinted at the bright sunlight, adjusting her hood. She looked around to see who her savior was.
"Right here," the voice said, holding out a hand and helping Cleo up.
Cleo sized the figure up. The man had brown hair and wore glasses. He had on a blue t-shirt with an "@" symbol printed on it. His hands were stained with the dirt he'd dug. Cleo hadn't seen him before. He looked surprisingly normal next to the rest of the group back at the clearing.
"I'm Cleo." Cleo introduced herself immediately. "Let me guess. You just came through a portal and have no idea where you are?"
The man nodded slowly. "I'm Joe...but how did you know?"
Cleo started leading him back towards the clearing, her walk to the beach forgotten. "It's how most of us got here."
»»————- ★ ————-««
Joe's portal was an average Nether portal, which he went through to go to his Nether hub. Instead of finding himself in the hellish dimension, though, the portal took him from the Overworld to the Overworld.
Cleo was delighted when she learned that Joe was just as interested in the portals as she was. Unfortunately, he didn't have any more insight than the rest of them. Cleo stayed determined, though.
"You need to take a break," Joe said one day, about a week after he'd arrived. Cleo had been working non-stop on her portal theory.
"Just a minute," Cleo muttered, her face shadowed under her hood. Her reddish-orange locks fell across her face. Joe hadn't asked about her hood situation, and she was thankful for that.
"Do you want to go exploring or something along those lines?"
"Not really..."
"We're going exploring, Cleo."
"Nooooooo."
"Come on," Joe pulled her up from her sitting position. "Remember to bring supplies this time," he added, a small smile at the corner of his mouth.
Cleo groaned slightly and grabbed a pack, stuffing random blocks and tools inside.
Joe was waiting for her by the map Wels had made. "Well, Wels has already explored the west. I'm thinking we go north. Maybe it'll be more snow and mountains."
Cleo shrugged, not really caring where they went.
"Should we take some horses? Or are you fine with walking?"
Another shrug.
"Should I light my hair on fire?"
Cleo started to shrug, then caught herself and playfully glared at Joe. "We should get going."
"Thought you'd never say so." Joe led her through the trees, heading north.
»»————- ★ ————-««
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Hermitcraft: Origins
Fanfiction"Each world has its own story. Even if you tried to get a story from me, I wouldn't be able to tell you half of it. There is so much life in each build and block, and each event has told their own tale. But it has to start somewhere." Fate has the o...
