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Hi, I'm Jax. And I'm a zombie.
Right now you might be thinking, "AH, oh no! Don't eat my brains!"
But I can assure you, I definitely won't. I've been hanging out with these other zombies for so long and I can tell you one thing…
I am SICK of eating brains! They taste gross, slimy, and mushy!
"Why are you still eating it? Doesn't it taste gross to you?" I'd occasionally ask others of my kind.
"Brrrrr…" Would always be the same damn response.
"Okayy then, thanks for the clear feedback." I'd say, backing away and sighing.
I don't fit in with any of these guys, they're too unrelatable to understand! I'd occasionally get responses from others, but mostly they make these annoying noises. Surely I don't make these noises, right?
Oh who am I kidding. I totally do! I'm a zombie, ha!
Anyway, there's me, and then there's the other zombies. The thing is, I don't really socialize with them. I mean, I do, but all they ever do is talk about the taste of flesh.
Which you can see here, is not my thing. Right now, I'm looking for similar mobs . Surely I'M not the only monster who's nice and just happens to be vegan. So I'm setting out on my own journey to find my own kind.
No, not those zombies over there. I mean people who act like ME!
I skipped along the forest with my big, heavy bag, which I held and carried on my back like a rucksack, with the straps over my shoulders and into my hands. I strode along humming ‘Danny’, one of my all time favorite songs.
I left my house about twenty minutes ago, and the dark trees loomed over me. You see, I’m not used to traveling within the oak forest. I live in the plains biome. However, there are a lot of others who prefer the forest.
My thought process was suddenly interrupted by a slithering noise. I scanned the forest floor wondering, what in the world is that?
"Hello?" I called. No answer. I hesitantly shrugged it off, and kept walking. I heard something crackling. I looked behind me, and there was a spider.
"Oh- hi there! What brings you along these roads?" I asked politely.
"Uh… mind your own business." The spider replied in a sassy tone, "And also get out of my way."
I stepped aside as they moved past me along the grass. Yeah, definitely not on my friend-list… which is at zero right now.
Moving on!
I walked a little more, but was starting to get really tired. I stared over at the spider, who was climbing a nearby tree. They seemed to be trying to find a sleeping place. After all, it was getting a little lighter over the horizon.
"I don't suppose you know of anywhere else I might find some new friends, do you?" I asked hopefully.
"Go screw yourself." They groaned.
"…thanks for the help." I said sarcastically, sighing sharply and moving along.
I could barely stand these mobs anymore. Does anybody have a heart? Or feelings for that matter? I shook my head at the thoughtlessness of others.
Peering through the rest of the forest, and saw plenty of mobs. Some danced in the distance and threw things at each other; laughing and giving each other elbow-bumps, but from my angle, the way they were doing it didn’t seem very positive. They seemed... aggressive, in a way.
Moving along, a drowned passed by a nearby lake. I hadn’t seen a drowned in a while. They actually reminded me of zombies, but they live in the water. I found it interesting. It’s like having an ocean-cousin. Weird! But in spite of that, I’m desperately looking for friends. So I’ll take anyone! No matter what they look like, or who they are.
“Oh! Hi there!” I announced. He turned over and glared at me.
“I was wondering if you want to be my friend?” I went on. He shook his head and gave me a disgusted look, heading back into the water.
Perhaps I was too straightforward…
I continued to walk my designated path, and looked over to see a small raid of pillagers go by. I waved ‘hello’ to them, but was ignored.
I sighed as they ran into the distance ahead of me.
As I made my way to a nearby cave, the sun was already rising conveniently. "Ah, perfect timing!" I told myself, walking into the cave. I was instantly greeted by an older-looking skeleton. Her face was weathered, and she was leaning against a wall.
"Hey. Where are you from?" She asked calmly, in a relaxed, friendly manner. Perhaps she can be a friend?
"Oh- hi, I'm from the plains biome! …My name is Jax."
"Cool. My grandfather used to live there."
I stood there for a second, nodding and setting my stuff down on the other wall.
I sat down by it, casually relaxing. My feet were sore from walking around all night, so this was a nice break to take.
"What's your name?" I asked curiously.
"Nunya." She replied after a bit.
"Nunya? That's a pretty cool n-"
"Nunya-business."
"…oh."
Perhaps she’s not on the friend-list. But that was only an assumption — there was still a chance! Not everyone makes a good impression at first, and that’s okay!
We sat in the cave together as the sun rose. She glared out into the daylight as I sat and fidgeted with my hands.
"Soooo, how did you end up here?" I asked, trying to get some sort of bond going. Since everyone is normally a jerk in this world, I found out It was better to approach a friendly conversation slowly. You can’t just immediately be friends with everyone. Even if you really want friends at the moment, you have to take your time with others.
"Oh, this is my brother's cave." She sighed, "He said I can come by for shelter whenever I want. I'm just gonna wait the day out until I can leave."
"Hm," I nodded, looking over at her and noticing she doesn't have a bow, "Hey uh, where's your bow? Doesn't… every skeleton have one?"
"I lost it…" She grieved, shaking her head, "A player took it from me when I was knocked unconscious. What a cruel world…"
"I know right?! But-” I paused to clear my throat, “Oh, I'm… sorry about that. Here — I'll give you mine. I carry one with me just in case, but you probably need it more than me."
I handed her the bow and arrows from my bag as I dug in. It was unenchanted and its string was loose. It was good enough for a start, but it still needed work.
"What?! Why would- no! I can't just—" But she took them anyway as I offered, "…why are you doing this? Zombies aren't supposed to have bows!"
"I'm just trying to help you out…” I said, “Sorry if I seemed too pushy or something. You don't have to take it, I'm just saying, I'm- offering it so-"
"Okay, whatever, just… shut up about it. Thanks… I guess."
"You're welcome!" I smiled, laying back against the wall as she examined the bow. She sighed, "You shouldn't have done that."
"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly nervous.
"Being nice like that is how you get killed. People are just- really, really aggressive out there sometimes, and… people like you…"
"People like me, what?"
"Ugh, nevermind about it. You should get going."
"Why can't I stay here…?"
"Because I don't want to have to answer all of your stupid questions, now get out of here, alright?!" She calmed a little and went back to crossing her arms and staring outside. She held the bow in one of her hands and continued to glare through the sunlight. I flinched from her yelling and got up with my bundle. It looked like she didn’t want to continue this conversation. She’s probably been through some things and rather be alone at the moment. Maybe there was still a chance I could still be her friend later?
I looked outside, and then back at her. Seeing I had nowhere to go, she shook her head at me and pointed down the tunnel.
“The cave leads to another exit down that way.” She sighed, giving me permission into the deeper part of her brother’s cave. I knew I couldn't just go out in the daylight; I would burn to death. Thank goodness she was easy enough on me to let me live.
"Thanks.” I said quietly with my head down. But before leaving further down the cave, I said, “Have a good day…"
It didn't take long before the cave went down into a wider area. It led to different places and tunnels, and there were stalactites on the ceiling. I looked back up at where the light had shone through. It would've been a nice place up there to relax… if it weren't for that one skeleton's additude.
I spotted another skeleton by her as I stared long enough. That must be her brother — he probably came from another exit.
I decided to avoid them, since they didn't seem to want company at the moment. I looked around the caves, and walked to the nearest hole. Bats flew out from it and almost knocked me off balance. I jumped back, looked at the hole again, and blinked in surprise. Those bats were too creepy for me. I turned my back on that tunnel and continued walking. I went down another cave pathway, only to see another skeleton sitting on a ledge, sharpening a sword.
I didn't feel like getting jumped by bats, stabbed or knocked off of ledges, so I went around the corner, away from them. Luckily, there was a lush cave just ahead of me. I could see the mossy ground and azalea bushes all around, with small areas of water spaced out in different places. The area was lit by glow-berries.
I walked past the ceiling vines and was awed with the beauty. I could stay here forever! Though… I have to stay with my mission. I pondered about it for a while.
Eh, it wouldn't hurt to take a break. I saw a patch of the berries on some vines, so I decided to go sit under them. Glow-berries are delicious! I walked over, and as soon as I released my stuff and grabbed a glow-berry, a creeper walked by. He looked like he was following an axolotl down a stream.
"Hello!" I waved over when he stopped to look at me. He then screamed and ran off. Why was he scared? There weren't any cats nearby… How strange.
I took a bite of my glow-berry anyway. Fresh as ever!
After finishing the rest of my food, I decided to explore a bit. There wasn't much to see, but… it was something. Axolotls were playing in the pools, and the cave was filled with greenery. Moss covered the walls and flowers bloomed from all over. I picked some of them. They were much bigger than the flowers on the surface. I'd have to come back here soon. This place was too beautiful to just leave. I stared up at the glowing vines from above. I sighed, satisfied as I went back to my bag. The thought of laying against the moss was oddly comfortable.
As I stepped towards my bundle to lay on the ground, I hadn't noticed the small hole under me. I yelped as I fell through. It was a long dreadful fall. My heart raced and I plummeted into darkness. I could see the lush cave slowly shrinking as I screamed all the way down.
I landed on a spongy-like surface, which made an interesting noise from all around me. Unharmed from my soft landing, I sat up. I groaned and held my head dramatically as I looked up at the light — the only light — that had a spotlight on me. It was the lush cave from fifty blocks above; the only source of illumination down here in this deep, dark cave.
I looked around quickly, noticing my bag wasn't with me.
"Aw, COME on!" I raised my voice, causing more noises around me. I quickly turned my head to look at what seemed to be a…
oh no…
It was a sculk-sensor.
I was surrounded by them.
I remember others talking about an old legend of how ‘the warden’ would chase and kill you if you make yourself known in its biome. I backed up, looking around at the dark sculk all around me…
I have to get out of here.
I tried climbing the walls to get back to the cave, but it was no use. I tried over and over, different paths, but it was too far with no way to get back up. Everywhere I tried going, it was more than two blocks tall; I couldn't make my way up there.
"Damn it!" I said through gritted teeth, kicking a rock.
"SHHHH!!" I suddenly heard from my left. I looked over as a group of mobs were huddled together and quivering in fear. There were two zombies, a skeleton, a spider, and a witch. I looked around quickly to see if there was any danger, then I looked back at them in confusion.
"What?!" I stage-whispered at them.
"The warden!" A zombie whimpered, "Hurry and hide somewhere before you die, man!!"
“How do you know?”
“My girlfriend said her ex was eaten by one!” He continued, “And there’s the legend that everyone talks about!”
“You don’t have a girlfriend yet.” The skeleton said.
“Shut up, man!” The zombie whined.
I went closer to them, but was still hesitant. Logically, they shouldn’t be so worked up over a simple story. Especially if they were told lies. Then again, they seemed so scared, it was concerning. Last time I saw a mob this fearful, it was from a spider getting chased by an enderman.
"Dude, hurry! You don't want to summon it, trust me! It killed my whole squad!" The zombie next to the first one said, in which the other replied with, “You had a squad?”
Squad. Not friends, Squad. Does anyone even have friends? I almost lost hope, but then remembered that creeper — he was scared of me. Maybe this was the same incident… Are mean mobs scared of nice mobs? Is that what's been happening this entire time? The realization hit hard on my self-esteem.
"What are you waiting for?! The warden is scary! You’re going to die!" The spider whispered, still going along with what everyone else has been saying. They signaled me to join their huddling group in a small area in the cave.
"Well, what if you're wrong?" I blurted out, making them all look offended and questioning themselves silently.
"All anyone does is just… judge, lie, and be rude to others! I'm sick of it! If I can't find anyone like me, then… yeah. I'd rather die than live with any more people like you all!"
They looked down shamefully, but also confused. I hoped they acknowledged how rude everyone was. I felt a little ashamed, too. Was I self-projecting onto them? Does everyone see themselves in others? That can’t be good. In fact, that's a bit depressing. But still, I knew I wasn’t in the wrong here. They're too cowardly or judgmental of something they've probably never met, that's for sure. That's not good friend-material.
I apologized, and ran off into the darkness. I hope they were wrong. I hope I can just find at least one friend before I die to this “warden.”
I ran through the sculk, and the sensors lit my path as I tried to find an exit. There has to be a way out of here. I looked back at them, but they moved on already. I heard a sculk-shrieker in the distance. It somehow got darker as it pulsed through the earth. I felt around for more cave openings, but I kept running into walls. I activated another sculk-shrieker, and this one seemed to be warning me of something getting closer.
I ran as fast as I could, wanting to get out of this place. I looked around, looking for other mobs — when suddenly, there was another creeper, that I could barely see.
"HEY!" I yelled for them, activating a nearby sensor and running to them. The creeper went behind a wall.
"Wait!!" I called out, following. Though, once I looked around the corner, they were gone. I heard footsteps going down the cave — that's probably where they went. "Come back! I need a friend!" I echoed. But the only response was erie silence.
I didn't want to go down, I needed to go up. I ran back over to another wall, but there seemed to be no exit there either. Not that I could see anyway. I looked around, stepping forward and activating a sculk-sensor, and it just so happened to signal to a shrieker. I was relieved when I reminded myself that I only had one more chance, since the warden supposedly doesn’t show up until the fourth shriek. But then as I heard a loud cracking noise and felt the moist floor shaking from under me — I realized that the other mobs must have already caused the shrieker to go off one other time. The noise came to an end, and I just waited there, unable to move as the ground started breaking up. I whimpered and stumbled back at the sound of a groaning creature digging up from the ground before me. I froze as it emerged. It rose up to its feet, standing three blocks tall. I could see a few souls on its stomach-area, pulsing like a heartbeat. The light blue color matched its head tendrils as it listened out for me. I could see its ribs poking out from its skin. Literally.
I slightly panicked as it sniffed the air, but it was not out of fear itself, it was from the warden being ‘unpredictable and terrifying,’ as they say. I backed up slowly into the wall as it walked and sniffed towards me. The size of it in the dark was terrifying; it towered over me.
If this is how I die… I hope at least one monster will make a grave for me. Or some sort of memorial for that matter.
I could barely make out the shape of it, since the light was so dim, but I was pretty sure this warden was wearing a flower crown. Maybe… I won't die? Surely it's peaceful, right?
It growled, looking straight down at me. I stared right back, shaking in my place, yet silent as a mouse. Probably not peaceful! But there was still a chance for me. I hope…
I looked over to the side as an escape, and quickly got up and ran. Knowing someone in full netherite armor could die in just two hits from the warden, I knew I was no match for its strength.
But I ran anyway, at least hopeful enough to find SOME sort of escape. I looked around frantically, I lumbered as the warden approached me.
The warden was said to be the most aggressive out of all the mobs, by far. It was also the most powerful, with the most health as well. It kept following me; I started hyperventilating trying to find a tunnel. I slowed down, catching my breath and falling down on my side…
I gave up. This was the end.
I tensed, quivering as I got ready for the warden to kill me. It walked over and picked me up… and then…
Carried me?
I opened my eyes, looking up at the strange creature; it was carrying me bridal-style to the light patch. It dropped me in the spotlight, where some sculk particles flew around as I grunted and hit the ground.
"W-Wha…?" I looked up at it, surprised — but then, as I saw him truly in the light, I realized he was no threat. He wore a flower crown consisting of blue and purple, in a pattern, and he had a golden hoop earring on his right ear. He groaned curiously as he peered down at me; but without eyes. Was he blind? I thought I heard something about that in the stories I was engaged with…
Ah yes, I remembered: “Although it has a weakness of being blind, it can still smell and hear to find you.” another zombie had once said.
The warden tilted his head as he looked at me, then he moved his hands up and down my arms as he inspected me.
I glanced around uncomfortably, and then at him.
"What the-?!" I tried to get out, but my words were stuck in my throat. He stopped and continued to just stare down at me. I felt a sense of calm fill me. It's not in his political interest to kill me. It doesn't seem he wants to harm me in any way; that's a first. He seemed… nice about it, too. I blinked in confusion. This is the monster everyone is so afraid of? Surely not, right? Unless I wasn’t paying attention to the legend correctly… But I was sure this is what the warden looked like. Nearly all the descriptions matched, besides the aggressiveness. They also dehumanized him, making him out to be some sort of 'creature', but I can tell he's a real person. In fact, I knew I was right this whole time! The others were wrong, and were judging this book by its cover! I'm right!
I looked up at him, wondering if he’s the friend I’ve been looking for all this time, "Um… hi! My name’s Jax. What's yours…?"
The warden looked down at his own hands, with no answer. Then he looked back at me. I wondered if he’s been going through the same things I have been.
"I am Alterthorn." His pronunciation was slightly off, as it had an accent that I couldn't quite understand. He enunciated it so slowly, too. Perhaps this was his first time having a conversation… ever.
"Alterthorn?" I repeated, making sure I heard him correctly. He nodded.
"Well, cool!” I continued, “Alterthorn is an amazing… beautiful name."
He nodded again. I looked up to the lush cave.
"Um… do you know how we can get out of here?" I asked him, "You don't really seem to have any exits…"
The big warden looked down at the sculk, where he had been summoned from.
"Oh… right." I said. "Well, maybe we could dig our way out? Cause, well, I'd love to stay here but… there's food up there and I'll die if I don't eat, so-"
Alterthorn held out a hand for me. I hesitantly grabbed onto it and he gently lifted me to my feet, leading me slowly to a direction I haven't tried yet. I tried peering into the dark, but the only thing I could see was him. He led me through what seemed to be a tunnel. Why didn't I go this way before? I almost tripped over something, but I caught myself, still walking and holding his hand. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me…
Hopefully he's not just leading me to my death; which had me questioning: Is he really my friend? I looked up at him for reassurance, and he just kept walking up the tunnel as sculk sensors went off and brightened the way around us. I looked towards the ground again, and then to the light from ahead. As we reached the exit, we moved vines out of the way. I'm back in the lush cave! I looked around, and then found my backpack, which carried all of my supplies.
"My bundle!" I gasped, running over to it and being aware of the hole a couple blocks away from it. I hugged my bag and brought it over to Alterthorn.
"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, "Ah, I knew there was a way back up here!" I chuckled and looked back at him, giving a warm smile, "Seriously… Thank you. This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me…"
I saw his tendrils lower a bit. Was that… sympathy? Possibly?
"I-It's fine, really! I'm okay now…" I reassured him.
His tendrils seemed to lift a bit, and he looked around. I noticed the secret exit we had come out of. Is it possible that he knows his way around everywhere? Does he come up here often?
"You… know this place, don't you?" I asked curiously. I watched as he walked over and sat right next to a vine, picking a berry and eating it.
"Ohh! You like glow-berries too!" I noted out loud. He nodded, and I smiled. "Hey, um… you don't mind if I take some home with me, do you?"
He shook his head and gave me a curious ambient-noise as he handed me one.
"Aw, thanks! You're so sweet!" I said.
I sat next to him and began harvesting the berries. I gave him some too, and we ate them. Somehow, I just felt that he was telling me that he wanted me to share with him. Though, that could’ve just been me as well. I shrugged it off and kept my focus on the berries in my hands. I looked around at the beautiful scenery… I felt bad that Alterthorn couldn't see any of it. I took a breath and tried to remember the last time I'd just… stopped and appreciated the world. That's when it hit me.
I realized that I'm alive. I'm with a guy who's not trying to kill me or be rude in any way. He's a big monster that terrifies everyone else, and I'm not running away from him like they would. They’re all so scared for nothing; and he's the nicest mob I've ever met. I'm almost certain I like him better than my favorite animal: sheep, who are also nice (and soft.)
For sure, he is on the friend list. I took my list out of my bundle and happily wrote down his name on the paper. My first friend! …He is my friend, right?
"Hey, you're not going to kill me, are you?" I asked.
He shook his head, "I do not like to kill."
"Oh! Good! Then maybe we can be friends! I… never had one before, so… you can be the first one?"
He nodded as his tendrils perked up. He must be lonely. Why else would he have been nice to me? He probably had nobody to talk to until I came around. Maybe he’s looking for friends, too? I thought to myself, I mean, we have so much in common already, he’s probably a lot like me! I really did find a good friend in that case!
"So, now what?" I looked up at him; he had grabbed another berry and was eating it slowly. He shrugged in response. I kicked my feet a little, thinking.
"Well, you can come visit my house if you want. It's not too far from here, but we have to wait for the daylight to be gone."
He looked at me with tendrils perked and he had stopped chewing.
"Are there… traps?" He asked. I was shocked for a moment.
"What?! No! I mean — there's secret redstone things throughout it, but they're not traps . It’s pretty cool though, because when you just walk in, all you see is my stuff. You can't rob me however, because the chests are locked. …I’m a pro-redstone guy."
He took a second to comprehend my words, and then kept chewing while staring at one of the pools nearby.
"So you'll come along?" I questioned.
He nodded, swallowing the berry.
"Great! Let's go! I think I know the way back," I noted, "so- oh sorry, I should probably let you keep eating first, heh."
The warden shook his head and gladly stood up, following me out.
"Oh! Okay then!" I marched off through the tunnels as he trailed behind. I found the way he walked to be really interesting. It's as if he's trying to balance all of his weight every time he moves. Not that he's plump or anything, he's actually fairly muscular; stronger than the golems at the villages I’ve raided with other zombies.
I wonder how he got that way. I've never seen anyone that strong before. Perhaps he was just born like that? Oo, or maybe he does sit-ups every day! I wonder if he can teach me how to become stronger. My mind was racing with all of the possible things we could do together as friends, when we suddenly ran into a dead-end.
"Whoops! Sorry, I think I took a wrong turn…" I made my way around him and went towards another cave entrance as Alterthorn navigated his way around to find me. He must be having a hard time finding things without the sculk sensors, I thought, Poor guy.
We made our way up the cave as I told him about some of my adventures. Eventually, we saw sunlight ahead. I gasped and pointed it out to him, even though he couldn't see.
"Here's the end of the cave! We're halfway between houses!" I ran up the cave and went ahead to the exit. Alterthorn followed from behind as I stared out into the bright light of noon. I sighed, remembering I'd burn if I went out in the daylight. But conveniently, there was a golden helmet sitting on a nearby ledge behind Alterthorn. I like to think it was the one skeleton from earlier that left it there for me, but it was unlikely. I thanked her anyway, going over and grabbing the helmet. I examined the area, but there was no sign of the skeletons anywhere. …Or Alterthorn?!
"Alterthorn?" I panicked, looking around in the cave, and then stopping my gaze outside where he was. He looked up at the sky and his back was mostly turned to me. I noticed how amazing he looked now that I could see every detail on him more clearly. I observed in awe as he peacefully stared into the light of the day. The flowers on his head were slightly wilted, likely from him being inside so long, but they were still beautiful. Clearly he's been to the surface before... how else would he have gotten the flowers? Unless someone brought them to him. Oh! Maybe he has another friend? So then we can all be friends together!
I exhaled, he probably didn't even know what a flower was, now that I thought of it. I followed him out as he didn't seem to notice me yet.
"You like it out here?" I queried, "It's really warm, isn't it?"
He nodded after a while, "I like this."
I think he would be smiling right now if he was able to. I smiled myself at that image and slightly hummed in response. Looking around.
"It's not really for me, I'd say… sunlight makes me too hot easily, and it burns me if I don't have any head-armor on at least…" I looked at my arms, "Though, I'm already getting slightly sunburned, so we should probably get moving."
Alterthorn turned and nodded, following me as I walked off from the way I had originally come from. He hesitated to follow me for a second, wanting to feel more of the sun perhaps. Though he quickly realized he could do the same thing while walking. He sniffed the air, sneezing right afterwards.
"Oh- gesundheit!" I laughed. He snorted and kept behind me, looking around curiously everywhere. He must like the outdoors. I, however, don't. Unless it was a snowy area where my blood can run cold and I can feel truly like myself again. Though, I was a little more open to liking it now since Alterthorn enjoys it.
We walked a long time in silence, each of us with our own thoughts.
"So, since we're friends now,” I started, “I should probably get to know you better. Tell me about yourself!"
He did not answer. He just kept staring towards trees and a group of pigs nearby.
"Alterthorn?" I said.
His tendrils perked as he looked at me again.
"You weren't listening were you?" I noted, "That's okay, I do that too. I have ADHD!"
He tilted his head a bit, nodding questionably. He has probably never heard of that abbreviation before.
"Anyway," I continued, "So tell me about yourself! What's your favorite food? What's your favorite type of flower? How old are you?"
"I like glow-berries." He replied, only responding to the first question.
"Me too!"
"I also like to feel this grass…"
"I can see that."
"I can't…"
I paused, overthinking when realizing how offensive that must have been to him, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it like that-"
We continued walking down the forest edge, until we arrived into the plains biome. I was sweating from the heat and my arms felt like they were frying. I was walking slower than normal and trying to catch my breath. Good thing my helmet hasn't broken yet.
"Almost there…!" I said hastily, trying my best to maintain strength. Alterthorn probably sensed my weakness, but he was likely tired himself; although, he didn’t seem to be affected. We kept moving forward for a while longer.
"We are four-hundred and twelve blocks away from the cave." Alterthorn stated out of nowhere.
"Oh- well that's okay." I panted. I felt a splash of tiny water drops fall on me. I looked around and stopped, wondering what it was. It suddenly started to rain, and the clouds had formed into a blanket of gray over the sky.
"Ha, rain!" I stepped back and looked up as droplets of water poured onto my face. I opened my mouth and closed my eyes to drink the sky droplets. I exhaled in refreshment. What perfect timing! I cooled down almost instantly and shivered while enjoying the change of temperature.
"This is your first experience with rain, isn’t it?" I glanced over at Alterthorn, his blue & purple petals were now completely soaked, and so was I. As the rain started pouring down heavier, he was twitching and looking around frantically. Somehow I could tell that it wasn’t the rain itself that was affecting him, but the sound.
He whined and winced as his tendrils moved in all directions. Confused and frightened, he covered them and sat down on the ground; curling up and lightly rocking back and forth. He probably felt confused, and couldn't tell where I was, since the sound of rain overcame my footsteps.
I wasn’t expecting that, and was almost taken by surprise, but I quickly kneeled down to comfort him; he made an agitated whine, growling constantly at the loud rain.
“Hey, it’s okay…! I’m here.” I sympathized with him, “Don’t worry, I’ll- um… hang on!”
I took off my helmet, letting the stormy weather from above drip onto my previously dry hair. I handed the golden cap to him, “Here, put this on your head! It will help quiet the noise.”
Alterthorn stared at me before snatching up the helmet and placing it onto his head without hesitation. It looked uncomfortable, the way he positioned it. He groaned in frustration.
“Oh- wait, you put it on backwards, hold on-” I adjusted it forwards for him, gently facttucking in his tendrils. I could somehow feel him staring at me the entire time I was helping, even though he had no eyes. I let go and tried to ignore it, “There you go! Does it feel better now?”
It took him a second to look around and feel the helmet with his hands, before nodding and cooing. I beamed, taking his hand as we stood up, and I led him to the direction of my house. When it came into sight, I picked up my walking pace again, leading the way and reassuring him we were nearly there.
Upon arrival, I opened my door and water had already pooled from under us; we were drenched. Alterthorn bonked his head on the top of my doorframe, but then I helped him through. I shut the door behind us and the sound of rain was muffled.
“Well, here we are!” I sighed, putting my bag down, “Welcome to my house! Don’t mind the wet floors, I’ll get right to that.” I walked to my linen closet proudly, grabbing a few towels. I placed one on the floor to wipe up the water we had brought in, and I gave one to Alterthorn to dry off with. As I was drying myself, I looked over and noticed he hadn’t done anything. He was just sitting there looking confused at the towel and feeling it.
“You know how to dry off with a towel, right?” I asked him. He shook his head. This is kind of awkward, I thought. But nonetheless, after I showed him how, he started trying his best. I felt bad for him that he’s never had to do that before.
“You just try wiping off every part of you that still has water on it, and then you keep repeating the process until there’s none left.” I had explained, “It’s okay if you’re still a little damp, but just do it until no more water drips off of you.”
Luckily for me, Alterthorn is a good listener. He followed my directions, and was soon dry. We left our towels by the door; I told him I would pick them up later. I showed him around my house; excitedly introducing him to every room. I even offered to hang our helmet on a hanger in the coat closet. Which we did, since the sound of rain was at a bearable volume, and I even turned on some relaxing music in my jukebox.
He seemed to appreciate the minimalism, since he had more space to walk, but in reality: I’m not a minimalist. I just keep all of my favorite things hidden so that nothing important gets stolen. My house has been broken into multiple times, so I had to learn how to make living work. On a more positive note, learning how to work with redstone was amazing! I gained knowledge on how to make so many devices and do machinery. There’s secret rooms that I built, and even a cookie factory downstairs! My bedroom is a secret room itself, and I have to stomp on the floor twice before entering, so the door will open.
There’s a switch to activate lights in every room, which I flipped once we entered mine. The shroomlight, that I bartered from a piglin, lit up the entire room from the middle of the ceiling. I looked around, smiling proudly at my decorative creations. There’s a dandelion in a pot on the table next to my ocean-blue bed, a secret window under my white banner-curtains, and a few paintings on my walls. My rainbow LGBTQ+ flag was proudly displayed above my bed. A chest was nested in the corner; it contained a lot of redstone materials.
“And lastly, this is my room!” I told Alterthorn eagerly, “I know you can’t really see anything, but regardless, what do you think?”
He looked around carefully, sniffing and listening for things in case they were in the way of his walking path. He walked around, looking up at the shroomlight, and then at the chest next to my bed. He felt the walls, and seemed to be quite interested in his surroundings. However, he still didn’t say anything. It was if he was awestruck by the entire space he was in.
“You… like it, right?” I asked nervously, “It’s okay to say no, I was just wondering your thoughts on it. Unless you don’t have any, that’s okay too.”
I’ve never really been complimented before, unless it was from myself, so I didn’t expect him to. Nobody’s ever liked my things... That’s why I nearly cried when Alterthorn nodded and patted me. I felt as if I would burst with joy, so I hugged him. And he hugged me back. His embrace was one of the best things I’ve ever felt in my entire life! He felt slightly warm — as if there was a feeling telling me that he cares, and appreciates all of the hard work I put into everything. Maybe that was just me imagining how I felt about myself, but again, it was a happy thought at least. I struggled to hold back tears until he let go, and he went over to the window. I was intrigued, but he was just looking through it; despite having no sight, of course.
“Like the view?” I asked. He nodded, which made me giggle. He was sort of strange, but in a good way: such as myself! I have a feeling that we’re going to be amazing friends. And I hope forever! After all, he was first on the list, so maybe he can help me find more!
At first, it was easy. But as a few months passed, with Alterthorn and I going back and forth to each others’ houses, things started developing between us. We found more things in common with each other, and eventually I realized how much of a perfect friend he was.
We had a stronger connection, and there were others who started noticing. They tried breaking our bond, but we stuck together no matter what.
Most of the monsters that lived around us fearfully ran away when either of us were spotted, and some were confused and asked “how I tamed one.” Everyone seemed to treat the warden as if he was an item; some animal.
They’re so misinformed, I thought. If only they knew what I did.
Someone once offered to trade “my pet” for all the diamonds and/or redstone I could imagine. But I declined right away when they called him that.
“No thanks. And also he’s not a pet. He’s a person just like you or me!” I educated.
“Suit yourself.” The witch said, walking away with their potions, and not listening to what I had to say.
Someone could do that…? I thought, Just- buy someone? To be a pet or slave without their consent to it? That’s disgusting and wrong! That witch is definitely NOT on the friend-list!
I started noticing the more I did get to know other monsters, the worse I felt about them. That’s why I’m glad it was just Alterthorn and me sometimes. We understand each other and treat each other as equals. We never pushed each other too far — unless it was into a puddle or something for fun.
I felt like I was almost being harassed by everyone. I thought about the times before I met Alterthorn, and I wondered what I would do during those times if this started happening at that moment. I imagined myself feeling proud, like some sort of popular hero. I felt like I would have all the friends in the world… but that simply wouldn’t be true. I knew they would just be using me. That’s why I had to be careful who I approached. I knew what fake friends acted like, according to the books I research off of.
Besides that tiny issue, I’ve decided to move in by Alterthorn! I felt bad making him walk all the way to my house every time, and since we plan to be best friends forever, we should live together, right? It’s only common sense. Don’t worry, we had a conversation about it, we’re adults. He was actually wondering if he could move in with me at first, but after hearing my reasoning, he was willing to reconsider and let me move in with him. Though, he was still wondering where I would set up all of my stuff? That was a good question, but I told him I would find out once I got there. (With his help of course.)
Speaking of help, my bundle wasn’t able to carry everything in one trip, so as I carried some in my bag, inventory, and even hands, Alterthorn helped carry the rest. We joked about how I’m basically bringing my entire house, since I broke up the redstone throughout it. There was so much to carry! As I organized everything and gathered them in my room, Alterthorn arrived at the door. I was giddy and opened it up, hugging him and letting him into my now-empty house. He sniffed around, noticing the missing objects.
“Yeah, this might be the last time we visit this place. It was old anyway.” I told him, “But that’s okay since I’m moving closer to you now! I have all my stuff ready, so we should be prepared to go!” I stood there, looking around at my small, empty house with a smile, arms crossed. It was a little sad to leave it, but it was totally worth it. I turned around and my smile faltered when I saw Alterthorn looking down and kicking his foot lightly.
“Hey, it’s alright!” I said calmly, “We could visit some time if you really want…”
He shook his head. I felt confused, but I figured that must not be the reason he felt upset.
“Then — what’s the matter?” I asked, stepping closer to him in concern. I examined his body, but he didn’t look to be injured. That can’t be it. Though, he did have his arms behind his back, as if he was hiding something.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” I said. Which was correct, your best friend should be able to tell you some of their problems! Especially when you want to help fix it. He nodded, but I still felt butterflies in my stomach; nervous for him to tell me some sort of bad news.
I worried, He… He’s not going to stop being my friend… is he? Did I do something wrong? Is he going to start being mean like everyone else is now? Did I pack all of my things for nothing?
“Jax…” Alterthorn suddenly spoke, making me anxious. But then once he joined his hands together again, he had pulled out the bouquet of flowers that he hid behind himself.
“Will you go out with me?” He asked, blushing.
I imagined if he had eyes, he would have stars in them right now. Unless… I was imagining myself again? Did I even feel the same way? I’m sure I did, I just didn’t really notice. I thought back on the times where we got a little too close.
Was it possible that this is a stronger bond than friendship?
Well… If it is, then… count me in! Of course we can be boyfriends!
I noticed that my jaw was dropped, and I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and covered my mouth, taking the flowers. Alterthorn stood there, nervous for my response: in which I still hadn’t answered, I realized.
“OH- YES! Sorry! I was lost in thought, but- YES! Yes!” I hugged onto him again, and he hugged me back, lifting me up. He made some sort of cooing noise as he lightly squeezed me. This was the closest embrace we’ve made so far. And although I’ve barely thought about Alterthorn being the romantic type — or romance at all for that matter, I was willing to give it a try.
As we carried my stuff on the way to the cave, I kept replaying that same scene in my head over and over. It made me so happy now, to have such a close relationship. I’ve never had a friend before, let alone a boyfriend.
And apparently he didn’t either.
He walked beside me, looking over at my grin. His tendrils were perked, and I couldn’t stop smiling. I delved further into these cogitations: What do partners romantically do with each other exactly? Kiss, love, cuddle, bond, date…
I can do that! It sounds easy. I told myself, but then remembered an important thing to relationships: Communication.
Even though Alterthorn doesn’t talk much, I was sure we could work this out.
He made a friendly, confused hum; he was probably wondering what I was thinking of… Or why I was smiling so much, if he could somehow sense I was. I blushed a little and let out a small giggle.
“I was just thinking about you, that’s why I’m smiling.” I said.
He looked shocked, stopping and covering up his face, slightly moving back and forth as he tippy-toed in place. He made a squealing sound. That seemed like a happy response, and it made me happy too.
“Haha! Come on!” I laughed, “We’re almost to the forest already!”
He snorted and followed beside me once again. He looked around at the dark sky, as if he were trying to listen to the stars. Alterthorn always did funny little things like that. I liked that about him. It’s what made him unique.
“I love you.” I reminded him. He made that one kind of cooing-purr noise again. I imagine that was his way of saying ‘I love you too.’
He went to hug me, but I stopped him before he knocked over all of what I was carrying. Instead, we touched our foreheads together. I giggled; it was good enough as an equivalent. I somewhat wish he had eyes though, just so I could stare into them. But, nonetheless, he’s still himself. And that’s perfectly fine with me.
I should really stop thinking about him with eyes…
We heard a noise from the nearby trees all of a sudden, and we turned and looked warily, like a chicken in a panic. It sounded like a branch snapped. I glared into the trees, trying to see what it was. Alterthorn’s head-tendrils moved around to try and listen. He then made an agitated groan. I started getting nervous, getting a bad feeling in my gut. I had no idea what was out there, but it couldn’t be good. Who knows, what if someone summoned the wither? No, wait, you’re just overthinking, Jax. That’s not likely. I recalled, It’s probably just a sheep or something. No matter what’s out there, they’ll probably flee as soon as they see Alterthorn. If not, he’ll protect you, heh! Yeah… so calm down…
Out of the darkness of the forest, an arrow zipped right through the air and landed on my thigh. I yelped as I fell backwards, knocking over all of my things and breathing heavily. I stared wide-eyed at the sudden arrow that was lodged into me. Alterthorn could sense my adrenaline rising and could probably smell my rotten flesh. To that, he roared at whatever was in the woods, running towards it. I’ve never seen him like that… I imagined others would say “See? I told you, he’s just an aggressive beast!” but I knew it was only to protect me.
Before he got too far, pillagers came out from behind the trees and tied him down with several leads. Alterthorn snarled and tried pulling off the long, tight ropes, but as more looped around his arms and neck, he struggled less. He whimpered as he fell onto his stomach and they wrapped him up tightly. Thankfully, they didn’t use more arrows.
“ALTERTHORN, NO!” I cried, grunting as I got up and limped towards them quickly. But one of the pillagers aimed his crossbow at me, shooting me right under my left rib cage. I fell over, wincing and yelling out in pain, and staring fearfully over at the small raid. I could have sworn I’ve seen them before.
They were loading Alterthorn into a large, wooden cage, as if he was a damn animal. One of the Pillagers was carrying an ominous banner, and the others carried crossbows. There was also a witch among them. I noticed this was the same witch from that one time, who asked to trade Alterthorn.
I shouted to them, “HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! YOU CAN’T JUST TAKE HIM WITHOUT CONSENT!”
The witch, only being about thirteen blocks away from me, replied with, “Sorry. These guys paid me to do this.”
“You'd rather have currency than save someone’s life?!” I tried to reason with them.
“Shut up.” A pillager said from behind me, stepping on my head and aiming the crossbow at my neck. I let out a startled cry, quivering slightly and staring back and forth between him and Alterthorn.
“W-Why are you doing this?!” I worried, “What did we ever do to you guys?!”
“I said shut UP!” The pillager above me sneered, nudging the arrow from the bow harshly against me. I flinched, closing my mouth immediately. Not just in fear of getting hurt myself, but also the possible threats they could make to Alterthorn.
A pillager — or, evoker, I realized — from the middle of the small group walked towards me slowly.
“It seems you didn’t notice how popular you’ve become these past few months.” She said, “Literally everyone knows who you are now. Us, however, we’ve been spying on you both lately, and we’ve learned quite a lot.”
Alterthorn growled, and I thought I could see steam brew out from his nostrils; if he had any that is. I glared at the evoker, “Why?” I asked, gritting my teeth.
“You see, our kind, many centuries ago, tried to experiment on a warden.” She stated, “And since you seemed to have tamed it somehow, we would like to continue doing more of that. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get in the way of this, so we’re leaving you here.”
Definitely. NOT. On. The friend list.
Which was at zero right now…
(Alterthorn advanced to the “boyfriend” list, which I personally rather keep at one, but I'm still fine if others don't!) …anyway-
Alterthorn thrashed around in the rope, but it was useless somehow, even with his powerful strength.
“But- he’s wild, ferocious, and unpredictable,” I tried to trick her, “How will you learn to ‘tame him’ if I’m not there to help?”
Alterthorn looked over at me, as if he was offended by my words. If only I could tell him that I didn’t truly mean it.
“Because you’ll only slow us down and try to escape with it.” She explained sternly, “We don’t need you, because we know what you’re capable of. This creature however, we know a lot about. These leads are strong enough to hold it. Especially around its stomach, which can make a sonic-boom blast.”
“He’s not. A creature.” I argued, “Like I said to the witch, he’s a person, just like you or me!”
“And I'm not an ‘it.’” Alterthorn agreed. The others stared in shock, not expecting him to talk all of a sudden. I was glad Alterthorn helped me prove my point.
“Well — whatever.” The evoker sassed, “We’re still taking the warden with us, regardless of sentience.”
How cruel can people get?!
“I won’t let you do that! I’ll find you and use my redstone-magic skills on you!” I tried to scare her, “I'll bring down your entire base and you’ll regret it! Then I’ll make you nice so you’ll feel bad and treat others the way you want to be treated!”
“Which is why we’re taking these as well,” She said, “So you don’t use your ‘redstone magic’ on us.”
With one swipe of her hand, she used some sort of telekinesis power to remove my bundle and items that were on the ground. She raised both of her arms, and the items were floating into two chests that some pillagers were holding behind her. Not only did they steal my boyfriend, but they were also stealing everything else I had left.
“NO!” I shouted, reaching for my things. The pillager above me jabbed my arm with the side of his crossbow, making me wince. Alterthorn was making menacing bear-like growls while he was in the cage. His tendrils flattened to the back of his head, much like a cat.
“Hn, roll out.” The evoker said, twirling one of her fingers in the air briefly. The pillagers pushed Alterthorn’s cage, and some others closed the chests and walked with them in a single-file line. The banner-pillager and witch kept to their trail.
“Don’t try to follow us.” The pillager above me grimaced, shoving me aside with his foot. He joined the others, and they all started walking into the dark woods. I stared out at them in hopelessness, a single tear rolling down my face.
But before I could start grieving, I could see Alterthorn curling up. I felt bad for him, knowing I was helpless and would die out here alone... but then a huge, blue blast arranged itself from his stomach, and it blared through some of the pillagers — and even the ‘strong ropes.’ They all died, which caused them to poof into a few small, white particles. The leads dropped from him, and he stood tall in the cage. Roaring once again at the other shocked pillagers, they ran around screaming.
“THE LEADS WEREN’T STRONG ENOUGH!” The banner-pillager screamed at the evoker, who stared in shock and ignored him. Emeralds and crossbows were scattered all over the ground.
Alterthorn curled up again, then emitted another large sonic-boom towards the other ones. They all screamed as they disappeared and left their loot. It even got the witch! The only two that were left were a single pillager, and the evoker. I watched in surprise the entire time, never seeing violence from my boyfriend before. But I was okay with it, since these were bad people.
“TAKE THE CHESTS!” The evoker shrieked to the other pillager. They nodded and stumbled over to the chests, but Alterthorn was making too much noise while thrashing against the cage right next to them. The pillager ran away cowardly, and the evoker made a frustrated groan, turning back to Alterthorn with her arms up again. She swayed them around and Alterthorn was suddenly being bitten by these beartrap looking things that kept appearing out of nowhere in there with him. He snarled and whined as they snapped at him, and he confusingly tried to hit them off of himself. He made painful cries as she kept torturing him with her powers.
“No! Don’t hurt him!!” I spoke, trying to stand, although I felt weak. I used all of my strength just to stand, and my legs quivered below me. I limped and tried to walk over to them. They were twenty blocks away. I picked up the pace and used all of my might just to jog closer. Once I drew near, I slapped my arms on the Evoker with my dwindling strength. The magical teeth disappeared from the cage. She turned to look at me, scowling and throwing me off and away from her.
“YOU.” She muttered angrily, through clenched teeth. She almost raised her arms to do something with me, but then she was blasted right in front of me by Alterthorn as I backed away from her. She hollered as she poofed; deceasing and only leaving a small, golden statue: The Totem of Undying. How ironic.
I looked back at Alterthorn, who was heaving angrily and gripping the bars of his enclosure. I crawled over to him, holding myself up with the cage bars, and shakily unlocking it for him. The last thing I remembered before everything went black, was the door opening, and my first ever (boy)friend walking out.
What seemed like a minute later, I felt rain gently pouring on my face, and Alterthorn was staring over me while I lay on the wet ground. His tendrils were all the way down, and he was slightly shaking while looking at me. The petals on his flower-crown were damp and jagged from being torn. It was completely ruined. Some of the flowers were even gone, and one was hanging on a small, stem-formed thread beside his mossy-like hair. I blinked slowly, not moving from the aching pain I was in. I tried to comprehend what all had happened.
“Alterthorn…?” I managed to say. He reached under my neck and knees to carry me bridal-style, just like the way he had when we first met. I stared up at him for a long moment as he hurried off with me through the forest somewhere. I looked down at my limp body, barely moving my head. I saw the arrows were gone; Alterthorn must have taken them out. My eyelids got heavier, letting out the few tears I had left once I closed them. I was so glad someone cared for me this much.
When I opened my eyes again, I looked around to see the lush cave in Alterthorn’s home. The glow-berries lit up the large room like it had before, and the pools flowed calmly. Though I was still dazed, I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly. I blinked more as my vision cleared. Alterthorn sat beside me, peacefully eating a glow-berry. How sweet… I thought, noticing all of the pain in my body was gone. Alterthorn must have healed me somehow… though, I still felt a bit tired. I tried to think more of what just happened. As all of the memories flooded to my head, I now realized that I’m safe. In fact, those pillagers probably won’t mess with us ever again once they respawn. Well, that is if the theory of respawning is even true.
I leaned my head against Alterthorn’s arm, and his tendrils wriggled as he looked at me.
“Thank you…” I whispered under my breath. He made a cooing noise and hugged me. I looked up at him and saw his flower crown was completely gone.
“Alterthorn, your…” I trailed off. He nodded with sorrow.
Before I could continue, I remembered that all of my things were in those chests. I gasped, standing up immediately and looking around.
“My stuff! Oh no, oh no!” But as I looked over, the chests were only five blocks spread out from us.
Did Alterthorn bring these here? All by himself? How long was I even asleep…?
I ran over and looked in the chests: my decor and redstone mechanics were all neatly tucked into there, perfectly. Even my bundle was inside! I sighed in relief. Alterthorn was staring over in confusion. I looked back over to him after closing the chests. I smiled.
“Thank you…” I said again, “Thank you so much, I… why did you go back and get them though?”
“They would have been taken if I didn’t.” He replied quietly.
“But… don’t I just cause you more trouble for these things? I could’ve just gone back and got them myself…”
He walked over to me, putting his hands on my shoulders and shaking his head. He hugged me again, and he spoke softly.
“Be safe…” He pleaded. I wrapped my arms around him, understanding his concern for my health, just as I did with him.
“I am, thanks to you.” I said.
He smiled and we broke our embrace. The thoughts of my previous goal came back to me, and I wondered what to do with all of my things. Examining my surroundings, I tried to imagine where I would put the chests and set up where I would stay.
“Now, where were we?” I asked Alterthorn, opening a chest and grabbing a few of my items.
A week later, after all of the digging and placing, my house was finally set up in the lush cave! It was located by Alterthorn’s secret tunnel, and built right into the wall. It was almost identical to my other house, except instead of wooden oak planks, the walls were made of stone. Alterthorn was a big help in the redstone-making process — especially in the cookie-factory! At first, we spilled powder all over ourselves. We laughed together and got a little carried away with the mess, but in the end… It turned out perfect. In fact, it was better, since Alterthorn painted one of the pictures on the wall for me. I didn’t know he could be so artistic! We even patched up the hole that's next to the tunnel!
I stepped back after placing the front door, and sighed. I crossed my arms proudly as I stared at my newly made, finished home. I put on my golden helmet, and led myself up the long tunnel. Since my partner was at the sunny surface, I went to go join him.
Earlier, I had gone up there and collected some flowers for him. He kind of appeared to be sad without a flower-crown, so I decided to help make a new one. After arranging them into a circle, I put the crown in my inventory as a surprise for next time I had a good chance to give it to him: which is now, hopefully!
I arrived at the end of the cave, looking out at him staring at the sky again. I smiled, walking over to him. He seemed to sense me, for he looked over at me as well.
“Hey Alterthorn,” I started, “I got you something. But It’s an accessory, so could you kneel down for me really quick, please?”
He tilted his head slowly and curiously. I reached into my inventory as he kneeled, and I pulled out the flower-crown. It looked nearly identical to the one he had worn before. It was made in a switching pattern of blue-orchids and cornflowers.
“Here! I made this for you.” I soothed, placing it on his head lightly. I was afraid it would be too small, but it fit him perfectly. He felt it, taking it off and smelling it before placing it right back on top of himself.
He covered his face, and I snickered a little. I knew he would like it. He then wrapped his arms around me and we touched foreheads again.
“WhoA-!” I exclaimed, “Be careful of the helmet, haha!”
I smiled warmly at the fuzzy-feeling of his embrace. I imagined if he could cry, tears of joy would be streaming down his face right now. He cooed as he snuggly held me, and our faces close to each other. I wondered if we could… no, would he be uncomfortable with it? Well, at the same time, it's what boyfriends do.
“Hey, Alterthorn?” I asked, getting his attention. “Should we… kiss?”
It took him a moment, but he nodded. As we touched lips, I realized that I wasn’t lonely anymore. I had someone to be with for a very long time. Sure, I could use more friends, but Alterthorn is all I needed for now until then.
After sharing our first kiss, I simpered and laughed. Alterthorn’s tendrils were raised, and he let out a satisfied sigh.
“So, now what?” I pondered. He thought for a moment, before answering.
“Glow-berries?” He asked.
“Good idea!” I cheered.
As we held hands and walked to the cave, I took a deep breath to appreciate what I had in the moment. Life is great, and together we’re unstoppable. I can’t wait to do more things with Alterthorn.
By the end of this story, you’re probably thinking about your own friend list. Whether it’s at zero or not, I personally think that you would be a good friend! It might take a while, but I’m sure you’ll find someone special for you. Whether it’s by accident or not. Just make sure that when you do find that good partner of yours, you treat each other right. Also stay away from pillagers unless your partner has special powers!
—From your local zombie, Jax.
END
