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There was nothing quite like yeeting oneself through the woods at full speed.
Ahead of him, Beef watched as Etho’s tail flicked. White fur flashed orange in the fading sunlight. Launching from one rock to the other, Beef shot a grin back at xB and Ren. “Come on, you can keep up!” He teased. Kept running. They had found a mountain that was just above the point where the grade was impossible to run down. Amazing to sprint through, especially on a crisp autumn evening where dead leaves crunched under their feet. The path was soft, dark dirt. Green foliage whipped at their calves, and sticks and rocks scattered with every step. Throwing himself over a small ledge, Beef rolled forwards and stuck his feet out. Skidded for a step. Then he was back up and running again, feeling the wind on his face.
They didn’t get to do this nearly enough these days. Everyone was just so busy with trying to survive and get everything set up. Sometimes it was nice to just find a random spot in the middle of the woods. Get lost for a couple hours in nature. And then just let loose by being idiots for a short while. No pressure of filming, no pressure to build. No pressure to be good . Just to be themselves.
At his side, there was a flash of ticked reddish brown fur. Sharp, yellowish brown eyes met his. Then, Ren galloped a little harder and got to Etho’s side. For a little bit, they were sprinting in sync.
Laughing, Beef glanced back at xB. xB was smiling, too. Then, all of a sudden, his face switched. He yelled out a warning. Turning, Beef saw an Enderman standing in the path.
Etho smashed into it chest first. Yelping, he stumbled back. Shocked, the Enderman screeched and lashed out. Ren slammed on the brakes and went tumbling to the other side. He fell into some of the bushes. Except, from the looks of it, Ren was fine.
Etho, however, was not.
The Enderman’s claws lashed across Etho’s chest. The hooked tips much have caught him in the shoulder. Instead of just lashing through his skin, the hooks caught in it and his fur. Etho let out a shrieking noise. In the next moment, there was a flash of white and pale gray pelt.
Then, Etho slammed into the closest tree. There was a nasty, shattering crack . Etho’s head snapped to the side against the tree bark. Dropping to the dirt and leaf mold, Etho didn’t move. There was a soft rush of wind.
The Enderman stumbled back, clearly still shocked. Then, in a burst of purple smoke, it disappeared. “Etho!” Beef shouted after a minute. “xB, check on Ren!”
“I’m alright.” Ren mumbled, sitting up from the bush. Still, xB went over and settled down at his side. Checked him over. Beef, meanwhile, went to Etho’s side.
Already, Etho had shifted into unconsciousness. His eyes were shut, although there was a little twist to his face that meant he was still alive. Quickly, Beef checked his spine and skull, then moved to look for anything wrong with his breathing. From the look of it, he was alright. Somewhat. Unconscious, of course.
A soft groan left Etho’s throat when Beef touched the back of his head. Then, his eyes flicked open for a moment. “Hey, Etho. Okay, I’m going to roll you over, now. You don’t have any spinal or skull injuries, so you should be alright. I just want to check you for concussion symptoms, alright?” Etho nodded, then turned pale. His whole body seized up slightly, obviously because he was gagging. Still, he didn’t throw up or anything so that was nice. “Okay, okay.” Carefully, Beef placed his hands on either side of Etho’s face. Tipping it from one side to the other, Beef watched as Etho’s pupils didn’t dilate the same way. One of them was a lot larger. “Okay. I think you probably have a concussion.”
A couple of seconds passed. Blinking, obviously dazed, Etho tipped his head to the side. Looked around in confusion. “What?”
“You have a concussion.” Beef repeated. Blinking again, Etho swallowed. His hands found Beef’s arms. Holding onto him, he looked back to Beef.
“What happened?” He asked. There was a slight slump to his words. Like he couldn’t form them properly. Definitely a concussion, Beef thought miserably. Poor guy. We need to get him back somewhere so he can rest.
“You got thrown into a tree by an Enderman. It’s gone now.” Etho looked at him. His eyes were unfocused, slightly.
“I think I have a concussion.” Etho mumbled.
“Yeah, I think so, too.” Beef replied. Reaching over, he smoothed back Etho’s hair. “Come on, we should get you back. I’ll carry you, alright?”
“Mhmm.” Etho said. Carefully, Beef slipped his arms around Etho’s shoulders and under his knees and then lifted him up. There was a slight wince from Etho. “Ribs?” Etho nodded, face twisted up slightly. “Alright. We can fix that. You’ll be alright.” He said. Looking over at Ren and xB, he watched as Ren shoved himself up. The werewolf shot him a thumbs up and a soft smile, and Beef nodded.
With that, they started making their way back to spawn.
+++
When they got to spawn, Joe and Cleo were there.
From the looks of it, they were just restocking. It was nighttime. A soft, yellowish-orange light shone down over them from the painted glass lanterns dangling from the ceiling. They were all different shapes and colors, but the bottoms were open. A myriad of tones danced on the higher levels of the building, reflected from the colored glass. Joe ran a hand through his brown hair, then glanced over at Etho and Ren as Beef and xB helped them inside.
Pushing his glasses up with one hand, he placed the other on his hip and looked at them. “So I’m going to assume you ran into someone…less friend than enemy.” The man mused. Tipping his head to the side, xB huffed softly.
“You could say that.” Ren groaned. Hurrying over, Cleo helped him and xB to the nearest bed so that he could settle down. The whole spawn point worked as both exactly that, a spawn point for when something happened with their bed or whatever else it was with the strange magic around respawn, and also as the infirmary.
“It’s a good thing we made this place multi-functional. Our friends’ propensity to find themselves in peril certainly makes it a necessity.”
“I understood exactly half of that.” Beef said. Smiling softly, Joe led him over to one of the beds and then pulled the little curtains across their attempt at separating the beds. Beef settled Etho on the bed itself, looked down at him. “Do you think he’ll be alright?”
Etho jerked once, reached out and snatched at the trash can. Instantly, Joe had it there within reach. Etho curled around it, made a very gross sound but didn’t spit anything up. Sinking down on the bed beside him, Beef reached over and touched his shoulder. Etho flinched. Glanced over at him. When he saw it was Beef, though, he settled.
“He’ll be alright. Just keep a watch on him. Let him rest. But keep him awake, at least for tonight. If anything goes wrong, call me.” Joe said. Nodding, Beef watched as he went off.
A hand settled on his arm. Looking over, he met Etho’s gaze. “Can you watch my back?” Etho whispered. Setting the trash can down, he curled his arms around himself. Shifted slightly.
“Yeah. No worries.” Beef replied. Slowly, he settled down on Etho’s other side. Pressed their backs together. Within a little while, he could hear Etho’s breathing settle a little bit. “Do you want me to talk about anything? We need to keep you awake.”
Humming, Etho shrugged. “How are the llamas?’
Laughing, Beef took a breath. “Well…”