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Ocie swings the pickaxe. A piece of stone falls and hits the ground with an echoing thunk in the mine. She wipes sweat off her forehead and lets out an exhausted huff.
This motion has become normal to her by now, as you have to mine quite a lot if you want to get good stuff. She knows it almost like her back-pocket, the pickaxe swinging, the sounds of stone hitting stone, the feeling of glee when you find something actually good.
She thinks she’s been strip-mining for maybe one or two hours? It’s hard to tell when there is literally no way to tell the time here. All she’s found is just some iron, redstone, coal and a diamond.
It’s not much considering how much she’s worked, but better than nothing. At least she has Chat to keep her distracted.
She’s been gathering materials, since she lost some armor and items when the, uh.. Incident happened.
Listen, alright? She doesn’t like to talk about it too much, it makes her feel uncomfortable. So let’s just change the subject, sound good?
She swings the pickaxe down again, another chunk of rock falling.
“You’re not a therapist, Chat, stop trying to make me talk-” She’s cut off by echoing footsteps down the mine and she whips her head around to see who it is.
There is Moss, walking down the long strip-mine with a grimace.
“Moss? What are you doing here?” Ocie questions, hoping something bad hasn’t happened.
Moss stares at her with a disbelieving look, like it should be obvious why he’s here. Ocie simply crosses her arms in response, tapping her foot against the stone of the mine as she awaits her response impatiently.
“Mom. You’ve been working in these mines for like- 4 hours. Don’t you think you should take a break?” Moss scoffs, gesturing at the long strip-mine to help signify what they’re saying.
“It can’t have been 4 hours, it feels like I’ve only been here for 2 or so.” Ocie disagrees and Moss simply raises one of his eyebrows in response.
“That really just doesn’t make it better.” Moss states, Ocie now being the one to give a disbelieving look. Moss continues, “Listen, I think you’ve worked hard enough, can you please come back to the surface and maybe take a walk with me?”
Ocie looks like she’s having an argument in her head and then she eventually sighs.
“Fine, I’ll go out the mines, but no promises on whether or not I’m going back, alright?” She complies, uncrossing her arms.
Moss nods, seeming to brighten up a bit and he turns around to walk down the long strip-mine. Ocie follows suit, resting her pickaxe over her shoulder.
It’s been a few minutes (great Herobrine, has she really mined that far?) and the light of the surface can be seen ahead. They walk up the cobblestone stairs towards the entrance of the mine and Ocie breathes in the air and then lets it out in a sigh of relief. The air from outside is really fresh compared to the dusty air from the mines and it makes her feel refreshed.
Moss quickly glances at her worriedly, but masks that expression with a smile.
They finally get outside and Ocie squints her eyes a bit, adjusting to the bright sun. By the placement of the sun though, Ocie is guessing it’s about evening or late afternoon. Damn the summer and it making it harder to tell the time, due to the length of days seeming longer.
“So, how about we go for a walk?” Moss suggests, looking at their mother with an expression that practically says “If you decline, I will worry about you all day and you will not be able to escape it.”
Maybe Ocie shouldn’t have taught Moss about speaking sentences in expressions that well…
“Sure,” Ocie agrees, “not like I had a choice anyway.” She mutters under her breath, jokingly.
“What was that?” Moss stares at their mom, a smirk forming on his face.
The smirk makes his eyes crinkle up in that way they always do. Ocie always adored it.
“Nothing, nothing! Your ears must be tricking you.” Ocie waves her hands in a declining way, then nudges Moss in the shoulder at the second sentence.
Moss squawks in protest, “You make it sound like I’m old! Which I am not, in fact I believe you’re the old one! Bet you’re like double my age.” Moss crosses their arms, looking up at Ocie with a glare.
Ocie tries to hold back laughter and sets her face to a frown, looking back down at Moss. “Are you implying that you don’t know the age of your own mother?” She says, adding a dramatic surprise into the tone of her voice.
She shakes her head in fake disappointment, making little ‘tsk’ noises with each shake.
Moss stares at her in disbelief, opening their mouth as if to say something, then closing it again.
Ocie can’t hold the laughter back anymore and little snickers escape her lips before she can stop them. This breaks the dam and they both burst out laughing. Moss nearly doubles over laughing and Ocie wipes tears from her eyes as she struggles to breathe normally.
This is what Ocie’s been missing, some good, quality time with her child.
They eventually settle down, trying hard not to break out laughing again.
“So, how about we actually go for a walk this time?” Moss grins, a sort of tension or worry gone from their shoulders.
“Yeah. That sounds nice.” Ocie accepts, giving her son a warm smile as she persuades him to lead the way.
The two walk beside each other, chatting lightly about all different topics. Sometimes there’s teasing, sometimes it’s deep thoughts. Sometimes the skies, sometimes the sea. Everything and nothing.
It’s quite nice, really. Ocie thinks maybe this is just what she needed.
She notices the way the grass gets frosty, the snowflakes sitting innocently on the earth. The way the air gets icy and frosty and the trees are beginning to lose their leaves.
Ocie visibly stiffens and her shoulders hunch a bit. She tries to avoid her gaze from the tundra and if one word were to describe her it would be queasy. This does not go unnoticed by Moss and he makes the sensible decision to not go in the tundra.
Ocie sags her shoulders in relief, the worried feeling that was pooling in her chest disappearing.
Moss smiles to themself, glad to make their mother happy. They know that Ocie used to be a tropical mermaid, Ocie has told him several stories of her adventures as one plenty of times before, and therefore has a certain dislike towards tundra biomes.
That has to be the only reason, right?
They continue on their walk, a bit more quieter this time as if the tundra biome had left a sort of cold tension between them.
Moss thinks they’ve maybe walked a mile or so away from the tundra biome, when they come to a new one. It seems like an Extreme Hills biome, from the looks of it. Moss hadn’t noticed it before when walking about the mushroom biome, so they must’ve walked pretty far from their home by now.
Moss shrugs, knowing it probably won't take that long to get back, and sets foot into the Extreme Hills biome.
Ocie, on the other hand, hesitates a bit before following, getting a look as if she’s debating her life choices while she stares at the biome with this disgusted look as if it’s offended her.
Maybe it has, how would Moss know? Honestly it wouldn't be that surprising to find out that Ocie can speak grass or something. He lets out an amused scoff at the thought, gaining a confused look from Ocie.
Still, the fact that Ocie looked like that as they walked into the biome, it can’t help but make Moss a bit suspicious. They can’t help but notice the way that Ocie’s shoulders hunch up again, but Moss doesn’t know what Ocie would be worried about. It’s just an Extreme Hills biome.
Moss carries on, heading for a nearby hill. Maybe it could give them a good view of the area. He thinks Ocie might like it, to just sit and watch the sunset, to play in the grass like the world could never bother them. They smile to themself at the thought.
Ocie follows Moss as they go up a hill and she feels herself getting more and more nervous with each step they take.
A step.
Her hands begin to shake a bit-
Another step.
-and her heart thumps a bit faster.
She swallows, shrugging it off. She’s probably just overreacting, she’ll get over it in no time. Besides, she wants to spend time with Moss again, instead of worrying over whatever in the name of Ender is happening to the server.
Finally they reach the top of the hill and Ocie takes a deep breath in and exhales. Both for calming her nerves and to just enjoy the evening breeze.
She drags her gaze across the area, examining it. It’s a pretty flat area, wide enough to be a good running space. Grass, flowers and oak trees are growing freshly on it, opposite to the barren environment of-
Ocie shakes her head, no need to think about that now. Everything is fine.
She’s brought out of her thoughts by a light hit to her shoulder.
“Tag, you’re it!” Moss laughs, running away with a playful energy and Ocie gives an amused scoff.
“You’re on.” She cracks her knuckles for dramatic effects and speeds after Moss, reaching out a hand.
-
Ocie huffs, slowing down a bit.
“Awh, come on, mom! Don’t tell me you’re too old to play Tag!” Moss jokes, giving his mom this victorious smile that could bright out the darkest of days. “I’m right here! Come get me!” They tease, clapping their hands on their thighs as if Ocie was some dog.
Ocie chuckles and gives a roll of her eyes, then dashed forward towards her child. She felt much more free now, the height of this hill forgotten, everything other than her child forgotten, really. She bets she’s gonna have one of those exhausting moments where she remembers the problems of the server once she gets home.
(She ignores the slight tremble in her hands.)
She reaches her hand out, getting ready to tag Moss- when he suddenly dodges to the side. They let out a barked laugh, but it fades into the background as Ocie begins to stumble. She can see the edge of the hill, it’s so close and she might- no, no, no, no, no-
Her breathing gets rapid and she can’t focus on anything other than that damned edge.
The scene shifts, everything is snow and barren. Green is seen in the corner of her eye and she swears she can hear a hiss.
She turns to dodge away from it and walk backwards, but suddenly the world around her goes way too fast and she reaches out a hand with a soundless scream, but it does nothing as she hits the ground-
The air is way too hot for a tundra biome, but it doesn’t register in her mind as she feels like she’s dying all over again.
She feels agonizing pain, the cold enveloping her as her back hits the half-frozen pond and cracks the ice. Water entering her lungs, but her not truly realizing as all she feels is ice-cold and biting pain.
A muffled voice, presumably Keanan’s, screaming something unintelligible.
The power of revival flooding through her veins and every sense hitting back at her. Every light blindingly bright, every touch burning, every sound painful, smells overwhelming her and taste so strong, yet bland at the same time.
It’s all too much and others don’t notice and Herobrine help her, cause she’s so broken-
Suddenly, a voice breaks through her panic, stopping some of the thoughts that declined her access to think clearly.
“You’re safe, you’re okay, don’t worry-” Someone's voice is talking quickly, seeming to be trying to calm her down. Ocie racks her mind for who would be talking to her now, after what happened. She knows her heartbeat and breathing is way quicker than they normally should be and it’s hard to focus on something over it.
“Keanan?..” Ocie whispered, voice feeling too weak and raspy to be speaking at a louder level. Keanan was one those near her when she fell, it must be him, right?
“I-I’m not Keanan, it’s me, Moss. Your son, remember?” Keanan says gently, and Ocie wants to believe it so badly, but she knows she’s in the tundra, she knows Moss is out Ender knows where. She knows, because she swears she can hear the wind whipping, she swears she can smell the snow covering the hill and she’s gonna fall soon-
“I’m gonna fall- Keanan, we have to get off the hill-”
“Mom,” Keanan interrupts her, voice commanding, but worried at the same time. Ocie doesn’t know why Keanan is calling her mom, she doesn’t think she’s adopted another child. “Do you think you could name five things you can see for me?”
Ocie shudders as a sob escapes her throat. She opens her eyes slowly, vision blurred from tears and colors melding together. She squints her eyes and does her best to see.
“I see, uh, my hands, your hands, my knees, my hair and.. the grass?” The last words are phrased more as a question, as grass isn’t supposed to be in the tundra. Maybe they’re just sitting by a patch where the snow has melted away?
“Good job,” Keanan praises softly, and Ocie almost smiles at the words, some part of her brain happy that she’s good at complying. “Four things you can touch?”
Ocie brings out her hand to feel around. “The grass and your hands, again, my clothes and a pebble.”
“Yeah? Three things you can hear?” Keanan requests, reaching out and holding Ocie’s hands in his. His hands are… fluffy, soft and it almost feels like they’re padded. She shakes away the thought, Keanan’s hands are soft, smooth, not padded. It must’ve just been her imagination, but it still seems off that they feel like that.
Ocie strains her ears to listen for any sounds through the ringing in her ears.
“The… wind, uh, your voice and…” She trailed off, trying to listen thoroughly. “And leaves in a tree.” She finished.
She thought there were no leaves in the tundra biome, only pine trees with needles, due to leaves not being able to survive the harsh cold. Then again, she hadn’t really paid attention to her surroundings, due to the discomfort of being in a tundra biome.
“Two things you can smell?”
Ocie takes a breath. “You.” She cringes inwardly at the response, but when the other doesn’t react she continues. “And… Oak.”
Wait.
The tundra has pine trees, not oak, and the wind should be icy cold, not this fresh summer wind. And Keanan’s hands are smooth, not padded, so why can she feel soft paw pads?
“One thing you can taste?” Keanan- No.... Someone asked.
“Uh, salt. It’s in the air.” The scent of salt is familiar, a taste that Ocie welcomes. She’s always enjoyed the ocean and salt reminds her of the saltwater that it’s made of.
“Alright, okay. Are you with me now?” They ask, their thumb tracing circles in her palm. “Alright, who am I?”
Ocie takes in a shuddering breath, staring at the hands holding her own. They’re actually more paws than hands, soft fur covering the skin, and paw pads on the underside of them. Looking a bit higher up, there’s a familiar, black and yellow striped, thick sleeve. It is a light colour of yellow and black, sewn together delicately in a way that Ocie knows.
She remembers finding the perfect material, something soft and comfortable, then delicately sewing it into a sweater of black and yellow stripes. She remembers Moss would complain in the background about how long it’s taking, and she remembers shushing him and telling him that patience is key.
She remembers finishing the sweater and doubting whether or not it’s good enough, seeking comfort from her brothers, which both reassured her that it was great, better than they could make. She remembers then giving a suspicious glance to Mawk’s sweater, which she swears she’s never seen him take off.
She remembers giving it to the gift receiver, a beaming smile appearing on his face. She remembers seeing them wear it every day and snuggling into it, content with the soft fabric. She remembers comforting them every time they came crying into her house, because it got dirty or scratched, then washing it or sewing it back together.
Ocie knows who that sweater belongs to.
“...Moss?”
“Yeah, that’s me! You got it, do you know where you are?” Moss sounds relieved and it makes Ocie’s heart lift a bit, but not enough as she shakes her head and her shoulders shake a bit with silent sobs.
“That’s okay, you’re somewhere where only me and you know, right now. On a beautiful hill with oak trees and flowers growing. You’re.. You’re not wherever you think you are, alright?” Moss rubs his paws up and down Ocie’s shoulders in a way to comfort her.
She gives a shaky nod, looking up at Moss. Moss is blocking her ability to see the edge of the hill, which she is thankful for. Moss himself looks a bit panicked, which she guesses is reasonable when your mom literally has a panic attack in front of you. Ender, she hopes Moss doesn’t blame themself over it, they didn’t know that Ocie has some trauma from heights.
She opens her arms as an invite and Moss dives right in for a hug, reaching his arms around her torso. She rubs a soothing pattern on his back as he lets himself reassure that she’s okay now. Funny how she’s the one who had a panic attack, yet she’s comforting somebody else. She doesn’t truly mind, though, her child is her precious and she’ll make sure they’ll be okay.
Moss lets go after a bit, looking at Ocie for a second. She tries not to let the shaking of her hands show.
“Let’s go home, mom.” Moss gives a timid smile, his voice low as if to not scare Ocie. He gets up and reaches down an offering hand.
She takes it, standing up, albeit shakely. Moss gives her a worried glance, but still takes a step towards the direction they came up from.
-
They’re finally home and Ocie is feeling better, but suddenly very exhausted. Moss notices this, but says nothing, just hurries a bit more to get inside.
They climb up the ladder and Moss opens the trap door, stepping into Ocie’s room. Said person follows suit, feeling as if her legs could give out right then and there.
Moss makes Ocie sit on her bed, telling her that he’ll be right back. When he does come back, it’s with Jerry. If Ocie wasn’t so tired, she would’ve laughed right then and there at the fact that Jerry is almost being treated like a comfort toy.
Nonetheless, she’s grateful that Moss wants to make her happy, and Jerry at least seems willing to help with it. She gives a shaky smile, leaning back on the bed as she tries to gather some thoughts.
The bed dips down a bit as the weight of another person comes to. As they lay down beside Ocie, curling up under her chin, she recognizes that it’s Moss. No words need to be said, and Ocie swings an arm around Moss as he snuggles closer to her chest.
Another person joins them, Jerry, she guesses and he lays behind Ocie. He rests his forehead in her hair and lets his arm swing over her and a bit of Moss, a silent protection for both of them.
Fatigue sets in her mind and she slowly closes her eyes, her smile growing more comfortable. Sleep comes to her like a welcome friend and she embraces it happily.
After Ocie falls asleep, her breathing turning into a slower pace, Moss follows after, happy that their mom is okay now. After knowing they’re both safe and happy, Jerry falls asleep, too.
And if Ocie wakes up hours later and holds her child and friend a bit tighter, then that’s for nobody but them to know.