Chapter Text
There is something in his single player world. He knows there is, something or someone is following him, watching him. It was unsettling, and made his heartbeat speed up involuntarily. He wasn’t scared, more… weary of the possibilities.
The first time Derek noticed it was when he was in his house, something he had just recently completed. The area he had decided to build in was good location wise, an oak forest with a nearby river. Practical with a good view. To the south a good bit away there was a mountain range, snow just peaking out on top.
It had just turned night time as Derek made his way into his house. Early that morning he had set out, gathering resources he had desperately needed. He doesn’t quite yet have an animal farm so he had to search for some, shearing sheep and gathering eggs from wild chickens. There was also a lucky score at finding a wild beetroot, so tomorrow Derek plans to plant that.
Closing and locking his doors, Derek turned and took a moment to admire his little house. It was two floors, but the second was more of a loft than anything. It spanned across the back of the house, creating a high open space for his instincts to be satiated. His bed resided up there with a small book area and a table.
Below, a kitchen was tucked away into the furthest corner from the front door. Derek tended to be particular about his set up in that area, one pan sitting on the top of the furnace, the cupboards all organized and counters mostly clear besides the needed items. A small window allowed him to see into the small garden in the back yard.
Across from the kitchen underneath the stairs, multiple barrels and chests sat, some filled to the brim with items while others sat unused. In the open area a small couch was placed in front of the fireplace, a cozy area for when Derek wanted to simply relax with warmth. The floor was bare, but the wool he had gotten today will be used to make a couple different things, if he can stretch it far enough. Carpets, drapes, more blankets. He believes he grabbed enough for it all, but it will take time to go through the making process.
Derek put away the stuff for now, heading up the stairs into the loft. One more task he needed to do before sleep was to polish his armor. It had been a day or so and it was already showing, dullness and scuff marks scattered across the different armor pieces.
He reached up and began taking off his armor, feeling the pull of aching muscles as he moved. What he would give to have a proper hot bath instead of using the river, the water freezing him the majority of the time. Perhaps when he gets the chance, he could section off part of the river and install some sort of heating method, perhaps using magma blocks? A future project for sure, he has too many other things to do before that.
All his armor was set across the table, the supplies he needed right beside it. So, he got to work.
Derek fell into autopilot, his thoughts wandering elsewhere while he did this mind numbing task. He wondered how the main servers were doing, he's sure that there have been many events while he's been absent. The Great Hub must be decorated for Halloween, given that the end of October was approaching. The hubs always loved to go all out for each holiday, and when there wasn't a holiday then some other pop up event to keep busy.
The boots in his hands shone in the lanterns light, the gold reflecting the image of himself, face covered by his helmet. Two small wings protruded from the sides of his head, resting against the cool metal. Derek makes a note that he is going to need to preen soon, some feathers looking worse for wear. He reaches across the table for the next piece of armor, the gauntlets.
Derek had never been a big event person, always preferring to stay inside and read a novel or tinker on a personal project. His university work definitely kept him busy enough that he couldn’t even think about participating. Though that hadn’t been his reason to leave, the workload never bothered him, instead it was that he had simply gotten… bored. The work was redundant to what he already knew, books and essays he had read long before, the curriculum dragging on and on, nothing and no one was interesting.
The gauntlets in his hands were now done, shining, making the avian side of his brain satisfied. Derek let out a soft chirp, vocalizing his feelings. Before coming to this world, Derek had never let a peep leave his mouth near others. Even with the growing number of the population being hybrids, some players still didn’t enjoy hearing someone trill when they got an answer correct.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing past memories away in favor of deciding to polish his helmet next.
Reaching up, Derek carefully took his helmet off, shaking out his flattened curly hair. His head wings flapped, the bigger matching ones on his back twitching wanting to copy the movement. Instead he stretched out, arms reaching high above his head, spine popping from the pressure. A satisfied sigh left him, ready to start the next—
Thump
Derek tensed instantly, swiftly standing to look over the loft's balcony. A quick scan to the inside of his house betrayed no signs of what could have made that noise, the night just as quiet as it was before. The sound had been a light thunk, like something had hit glass. He gave the area another closer look, focusing on the large window that connected the lounge to the outside. There weren’t any curtains installed just yet, as he had other tasks to do before that, but he just might bump it up the list.
Outside was silent and dark, silhouettes of the trees lit up by the moonlight. Perhaps it was a bird? He knows that they have a hard time distinguishing glass from air, but it wouldn’t make sense for a bird to be flying this time of night. A mob wouldn’t attack his house unprovoked, and definitely wouldn’t be quiet like it is now.
Derek stood there a minute longer, unmoving, observing.
Perhaps he just imagined it. It is entirely possible that he did.
…
He decided to go check anyway.
What was the harm?
The sword he had placed earlier by his bookshelf was quickly retrieved, the blade held steady in his grip as he walked down the stairs. Wood creaked under him as he went, protesting his weight with each step. As he approached the front door, his heartbeat quickened. He shouldn’t be nervous about this, and yet.
Derek grabbed the door handle and turned it, his blade pointed threateningly outwards as he stepped around the door. The cold night greeted him with silence, an occasional lull of wind, and nothing there.
He approached the window, investigating the frame and the glass and anything around it that could have caused that noise and nothing came up. No scratches, indents, residue.
He decided to leave it be. It was probably a one time thing, nothing to concern him. Besides mobs, there was no way for anything else to be in his world.