Chapter Text
By the time the Sun was almost about to set you reached a dark oak forest.
You were angry at yourself for never realising how nice the area you lived in was. It’s not like you could have; you had spent most of your time in the mines you had dug out yourself.
Even when you went away to search for a fortress you didn't pay much attention to the environment. But now, you were “forced” to take in the sea of trees or green meadows. Marvel at the stillness of the weirdly close desert. You loved it.
You would’ve loved it more, had it not been for one of your ‘travel companions’.
“How charming... this cool air, these shadows... lovely~” The voice echoed in the air. You couldn’t see him, not like you were looking for him anyway. Quite the opposite...
Soon enough, you felt pressure on your shoulder and the smell of cheap cigarettes. It made you shiver, but you kept your eyes on the road.
Your donkey trotted peacefully, completely unaware of the danger near it. Its ears turned towards you only when August spoke. You wondered if it heard him.
Another chill ran down your spine, as you felt a pair of thick arms sneak around your waist. You looked down. This way you saw his long legs dangling at the sides of your donkey too. It was somewhat calming to see that August didn't have his knife with him now.
He didn't show up until now, making you believe the trip would be somewhat peaceful (even if you did catch sight of Lenny behind trees, they weren't hurting anyone after all).
"It's getting late. I saw a nice little cave up that hill. There's coal in it..." August mumbled into your ears. You never understood it when he tried to be considerate with you. That word and his name didn't belong in the same sentence at all.
Suddenly, you heard shuffling coming from one of the trees. You looked towards the sound. A familiar figure, tall and shy, hid behind a trunk.
"Hi Lenny!" You greeted the creature. They chirped back at you, which made you smile. Lenny was getting braver these past few days. Just last night, they finally took the meat you saved for them from your hands, instead of just scooping it up from the ground.
You also heard an arrogant click from behind you. August tightened his hold on you.
"Of course... That dirty spider gets your attention..." He grumbled. You rolled your eyes.
"You're one to talk." You regretted biting back immediately, but it was too late. August scoffed.
"Oh, so now I'm worth talking to, eh?" You didn't answer to that. Instead, you signalled your donkey to speed up. With a happy little jump, it did. As you expected, it shocked August, but instead of falling off, he grabbed onto you harder.
"Very funny..." He mumbled into your head.
You decided to set up camp when the Sun was finally touching the horizon. The place you chose was in the middle of a ring of trees. The night sky was partially blocked by their leaves. You managed to make a campfire and placed down the extra bed you took with you.
"We could've seen the stars better from the cave I talked about." August sighed into his cigarette he was about to light up. After some struggles with the lighter, he decided to use your campfire's flames. Soon the air smelled of his cheap tobacco.
"Do you have to smoke that here?" Your sudden words made August's grin widen.
"Do you not like it?" He leaned against a tree. "I brought this kind just for you. It's supposed to smell nicer than the other one."
You almost gagged. "Flattered."
You walked up to your donkey and took out some raw meat from the chest it carried. It was mostly beef and pork, courtesy of Lenny always "gifting" them to you. During the trip though, he caught you a chicken.
"I'd like some beef." August, now right behind you, said through the cloud of smoke he just puffed out. You made your way to the fire.
"I thought you didn't need to eat." You said, while placing the first batch of pork onto the logs. You heard August's coat shuffle as he shrugged and when he sat down onto the ground.
"I appreciate a nice dinner every once in a while. It's fine if it's raw, I like it bloody." August breathed out another puff of smoke loudly. You took a quick glance at him.
"Who said I'm giving you any?"
The silence that followed disappeared quickly, with August giving an annoyed sigh.
"Well... can I have some?"
You scoffed. "You can, when you catch it for yourself."
From the corner of your eye, you saw him throw the cigarette stick into the fire, then make his way up to you.
"You give that stupid worm the stuff as if it falls from the sky..." He growled.
"Lenny brings me stuff too. You never took me out to dinner." You jest, faking an offended sigh. Even if he was to invite you, you would have declined, in fear of him pulling a Hannibal on you.
August was now seething.
"You know, I'm starting to feel that you don't like me." You casted him another quick glance. You saw his knife's blade reflect the fire's light. "You barely look at me, but when Lessie squeaks, you cradle it like a baby."
You swallow, as quietly as possible. Your nerves were on edge when you finally felt the cold metal against your neck. Thankfully, it disappeared just as quickly as it got there. And with it, August was gone too.
As you cooked your stash of meat in peace, you also took time to marvel at your elytra. It was a great effort to get it. A very great effort. Maybe it would've been easier if August hadn't had been trying to kill you the whole time. To his credit, he seemed to calm down after you finally reached the nether (a little).
Come to think of it, he was there on every adventure you had. He was an obstacle, sure, but he was there.
You wished to know why he was following you. If you did, maybe you could've gotten rid of him sooner.
If you did, you may've been free of the sudden feelings of missing him when he was gone.
Funny. He used to terrify you. That is until he killed you for the third or fourth time. After that, he just got annoying. One time he got you just before you could've set foot in a nether fortress. You started hating him after that.
Speaking of the Devil himself, you heard his footsteps approach you.
"Look what I got!" He called for you. Reluctantly, you lifted your head up. He wasn't wearing his hat now, leaving his messy hair stick in every direction possible, the longer strands of course just flowed off his shoulders. The hat itself was in August's hands, held upside down.
"You're pretty, what about it?" You asked. August then put his hand into the hat, then slowly pulled it out. He was holding a rabbit.
"Dinner." He said, with a toothy smile. The poor animal was shaking in his palm.
"Okay, then enjoy your meal, I guess?" You put the elytra away and went to check on the campfire. The porkchops were done.
"I caught it for you."
You blinked in confusion, occasionally looking back at your cooked pork. "I... uh... thanks?" You put the meat away. That's when it clicked for you.
August held the rabbit up by its ears, put his hat back on his head and pulled out his knife. "Want me to butcher it for you?" The face he asked this with made you shiver.
You got a hold of yourself and took out two pieces of beef. "Put it down. We have more than enough meat."
August scoffed, but thankfully you heard the animal's brief slam to the ground and when it ran away. "Danke, Schatz!"
The next moment, you and August were sitting by the fire next to each other. He was munching on the half raw beef, while you did the same with a more cooked one. August finished eating quickly. After swallowing the last bit of meat, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, meaning the camp once again smelled of it. You wondered if its smell drove away hostile mobs. Anytime August was with you on a longer trip, you barely saw a zombie or a creeper.
Going back in your memories, you realized that you may have been wrong, because you clearly remembered your very first night. How August watched in amusement when a small pack of zombies chased you.
Suddenly, the sound of twigs snapping could be heard coming from the trees. Yet again, you were proved wrong. That is, until you saw small white orbs staring in your direction and soon, a tall fuzzy silhouette appeared.
"Lenny!" You called out to them, relieved. Weirdly, they said nothing. Not even a squeak. In fact, looking closer, they were not looking at you. Following where their eyes looked, you realised that Lenny was looking where August was sitting. Looking at August, you couldn't see where he was looking, as now his hat was covering his eyes.
Could Lenny see August?
You took advantage of the fact that Lenny was not looking at you and slowly approached them, cooked pork in one hand. However, Lenny was quick to pick up on the delicious smell getting closer. They were quickly snapped out of the staring contest they had with the shadow demon (or whatever the hell August is) and now their attention was fully focused on you. You stopped and held up the meat.
"You want some?" You asked them. Now Lenny was staring at you. It looked like they were... confused. Much like you were in this moment. They didn't move. You took a few steps forward. They stayed, like a cemented statue.
"Lenny? What's wrong?" You speak again. You felt like your blood pressure dropped when you saw the tips of Lenny's fangs peeking out of their mouth. They were angry for sure.