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Manhunts.
Manhunts were a tradition amongst the Dream SMP. It was something everyone would gather to see. Laughing, smiling, and placing bets on who would win. If Quackity had to describe it, he would describe it as an intense game of hide-and-seek mixed with tag and a bunch of swords, armor and threatening.
But it was something Quackity enjoyed, just like many others. He enjoyed yelling at the people fighting below him, he enjoyed when he got second hand embarrassment when one of the hunters did something dumb. He especially enjoyed watching one of his fiances yell in joy as he and his friends won, grinning when Quackity and Karl would run up to said fiance, pressing kisses on his face as a congratulations.
And thats where he sat now.
Quackity zones back in to present day, blinking a bit as he registers whats happening.
He looks around a bit, seeing Karl pressed against his side. His wing is draped around Karl, providing extra heat for him. Quackity smiles, leaning over to press a kiss on Karl's head before standing up, his wing leaving his fiance's body and instead going back into it's original position.
He hears Karl whine softly at the loss of the heat, but instead of going back, he rests his hands on the ledge of the stone that covers the arena. He feels the breeze on him, feeling it rustle through his feathers as he watches Dream gather some sort of ore Quackity can't decipher.
Quackity looks away from Dream and instead searches around, looking for a certain person. Once his eyes land on them, he can feel a smile grow on his face. He leans over a bit more, taking a breathe.
"You better beat that green bitches ass!" He yells down. He can hear Tommy loudly agree from behind him, but he ignores him for now, waiting for the person below him to look up.
And he does.
Quackity can see Sapnap pause for a moment, looking at his fellow hunters, wondering if they made that sound. Once they shake their heads, Sapnap looks up, his eyes catching the sight of Quackity.
Sapnap grins widely, throwing up an thumbs-up in response to Quackity. Though, he turns away when Bad grabs his shoulder, pointing and shouting something Quackity can only guess as him spotting Dream.
Quackity turns away, going back to sit with Karl, who happily scoots back under his wing. He gazes around the arena, never really taking into the scenery until now.
The arena is a long field, covered in resources for the manhunt, with a tall wall bordering it. The wall is thick, consisting of seats and a few shops where people can buy snacks. There are staircases scattered around it where people enter and leave when they want to, though nobody really leaves until the Manhunt is over. When entering, everyone is given a device with certain camera angles on them. The cameras are strapped onto the hunters' and hunted's chest, so anyone can view whoever they please.
Quackity thinks its pretty neat.
"Big Q," Someone next to him says, snapping him out of his trance, and he instantly knows who it is, "Do you think someone is going to die this time?"
Quackity turns his head and Tommy is next to him, chewing on some bread he probably nabbed from Tubbo or something. Quackity grins at him, "Are you trying to place bets on who will?"
Tommy swallows, opening his mouth to say something, but Tubbo interrupts him before he can, "Yeah, he is," He grabs the bread out of Tommy's hands, "Also, I'm taking my bread back! I was sharing with Ranboo." Quackity suddenly notices Ranboo, who is standing behind Tubbo. He gives Quackity a small smile when he looks over to him.
"I was eating that!" Tommy shouts.
"So was I!"
"Tubbo, don't you know the meaning of sharing?"
"I do," Tubbo replies matter-of-factly, "but I wasn't sharing with you. Plus, I don't think you know how to share."
Tommy fakes offense, his hand pointing at Tubbo, "Tubbo, I'll have you know, I am very capable of sharing and I take offense to that."
Tubbo doesn't reply, instead he sits down next to Tommy, with Ranboo following suit. He hands Tommy a piece of bread, and Tommy gladly takes it.
"So, who are you guys betting on?" Quackity says, shifting so Karl's head is on his lap instead of his shoulder. Once Karl gets comfortable, Quackity aimlessly plays with his hair.
"I was betting on Antfrost," Tubbo answers, resting his hands in his lap.
"Which he wont win," Tommy interrupts, "He's a cat hybrid, they can like do magical shit with their feet or something." He says, waving a hand in the air like it'd get the point across.
"Oh, and Sam is a better choice?" Tubbo says back, crossing his arms.
"Yeah! Sam is pretty clumsy sometimes!" Tommy says, "And aren't creepers supposed to be scared of cats? Maybe Ant will give him a heart attack or something."
Ranboo shrugs from beside them, "He has a point."
"You're supposed to be on my side!" Tubbo shouts, turning to look at him.
Tommy starts to yell something about Tubbo being a bitch but a voice on a speaker cuts him off.
"We have a winner!"
Quackity quickly moves Karl out of his lap, getting up and he looks over the edge, which everyone else seems to do too.
He hears Karl shuffle beside him and he looks down.
Dream is lying on the ground, most likely to have gotten tackled. His chest heaves and his mask has been thrown on the ground. His arm covers the top half of his face, it being the only thing that is keeping the rest of the world from seeing his face. Beside him, George is sitting down, equally as tired. Quackity guesses hes the one who tackled Dream, which is a bit surprising at first. George's glasses have been knocked off his head and he smiles triumphantly.
Quackity's eyes shift seeing Sapnap highfive Bad before doing the same thing to Ant, who is bent over, most likely trying to catch his breathe. His cat ears are slightly tilted back, his tail flicking around.
Quackity grins, grabbing Karl's hand and they maneuver through people, making their way to the room where the hunters and hunted are placed before they're set free. It just looks like a regular locker-room to Quackity.
Skeppy is there too, waiting for Bad. He waves at Karl and Quackity when they enter and then he goes back to waiting.
After a few minutes, they come back inside and Quackity can really tell how sweaty each of them are.
He sees Bad come in first, his eyes brightening when he sees Skeppy, running over to hug him, much to the shorters dismay.
The next two people are George and Dream. Dream has his arm slung over George and Quackity can see how George tries to get away Dream, not wanting to feel his sweat. George soon gives up, and Dream walks them out of the place happily.
Ant comes out afterwards, quickly walking out, most likely to go take a nap.
Then Sapnap comes out, tying his hair back into a small bun. Quackity figures it must've fell out during the Manhunt. He quickly spots them, grinning and he walks over to them, "Did you guys see me rock Dream's shit?"
Quackity goes to answer but Karl interrupts, "You're cut." He mumbles, a frown on his face.
Quackity looks over and, yep, he's definitely hurt. Across his arms theres a few wounds and bruises from where he hit the ground a bit too hard.
"Oh, yeah," Sapnap muses, "I guess Dream got some good hits on me."
"No kidding." Quackity says, seeing a gash on Sapnap's right arm.
"It's okay," Karl says, smiling at the both of them, "Puffy taught me some medical stuff once."
They nod at him and Sapnap takes both of their hands in his and they walk out.
--
Quackity sits on their bed next to Sapnap, watching as Karl bites his lip, focusing on wrapping up one of the many wounds that cover Sapnap's body. Quackity looks out the window, seeing as the sun slowly sets. He's already in his pajamas. He turns, laying on his stomach and he yawns, letting his wings stretch.
"Done," Karl says, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Alright, can we go to bed before I pass the hell out," Quackity rolls over, his wings spread out against the sheets.
He hears Karl giggle before laying next to Quackity, letting his wing cover him.
Sapnap smiles at them, laying down next to Karl, making him squished in the middle.
Quackity turns slightly, turning off the light next to him.
He stays awake even after the lights have turned off, even after they exchange "goodnight"s and "I love you"s. Quackity shifts, feeling Sapnap wrap an arm around them both, bringing all three of them closer together. Quackity smiles, wrapping his wings around him and Karl before drifting off to sleep.