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Furious pawsteps were quickly catching up to Scott and Owen and Bek were talking in the distance. He'd been running for what felt like hours, but the hallway kept stretching and the wallpaper had warped beyond recognition. His friends' voices never got any closer. The floor didn't even look like a floor, just a shifting mass that felt like wood beneath his paws.
The murderous pawsteps got even closer, and Scott's attempts to run faster only worked to slow him down.
He was going to die.
He screamed for his friends, but they didn't hear him; a fruitless endeavor that only hindered him more.
A sharp, bleeding pain infected his arm. He couldn't get enough air to scream.
Tubbo had caught him.
Scott gasped for air when he woke up. He was in his little house in the quiet attic. His heart pounded like he was still running down that hallway, even though he was safe. Besides, Tubbo apologized for it.
That same rat who tried to kill him had a tunnel that opened in front of Scott's house. He could easily change his mind and decide to…
Now, there was definitely no way Scott was going back to sleep. Not here anyways. He couldn't farm; he'd just replanted before his nap. The others were all rat napping, and it'd be dumb to wake them up because of a bad dream.
The rafters , he remembered. Nobody was really up there, not since Owen decided to live in the old clock; it'd be the last place anyone would expect him to be. Odds are, he'd be up and back in his house before anyone noticed he was gone.
He left his hat and pillow in his house. The straw hat wasn't comfortable to sleep in and the pillow would be hard to climb with. However, he did grab his soft, cyan blanket. It was always good to be wrapped in one.
The scaffolding was still set up. Perfect.
Scott wasn't in his house, or anywhere in the attic. Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal. Normally, that would mean he's downstairs getting resources. Unfortunately, this wasn't normal. His hat was still by his bed, but his blanket was gone. It didn't make sense.
He could be anywhere and he could get caught. He could be hurt with no quick way to find him. That's why Owen was worried.
Jimmy, Bek, and Martyn promised to look for him while they were downstairs on a food run. Owen was considering going down too until he realized there was one place in the attic they forgot to check.
"You guys go ahead. I just remembered something I need to do," he told them.
"Alright, we'll see you later!" Bek said before dashing down the stairs.
He made a beeline for the scaffolding that reached the rafters. It made at least some sense; Scott had run around all of the wooden beams before to collect string.
It would make a pretty good hiding spot, actually.
Why would Scott be trying to hide?
Owen knew he'd made the right choice when he saw a lump of cyan fabric, curled up against the wall, and a cute, sleepy face poking out.
"Scott. Scooott," he said gently.
"Mmmm." The lump stirred and two blue eyes fluttered open. "Owen?"
"Good morning. What are you doing up here?" He continued to be gentle.
"Um… what are you doing up here?" Scott asked.
He's avoiding the question , Owen thought as he said, "I was looking for you."
"Oh," Scott's voice carried a hint of surprise to it. "Well, I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep."
Owen sat down. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The farmer rat attempted to brush it off. "Maybe? Um… it was kind of silly."
"Nightmares aren't exactly known for being silly."
Scott didn't say anything.
"What was it about?" Owen asked.
His best friend sighed. "When Tubbo tried to kill me."
Oh.
"The hallway was all wrong and I couldn't get to you and Bek," he continued. "Then Tubbo caught me and I think he bit into my arm."
Owen placed his paw on Scott's and gently squeezed it.
"When I woke up, I remembered he has a tunnel right outside my house. I didn't want to bother anyone so I came up here," he finished, voice a bit choked up. "I thought I'd get back before anyone noticed."
"You wouldn't be bothering us," Owen promised.
"But he already apologized." The blanket had long since fallen from Scott's shoulders and he was now fiddling with his tail with his free paw. Did he feel guilty about being scared?
Now this was a tiny bit outside of Owen's area of expertise. Scott absolutely needed comfort, but the tinkerer wasn't completely certain on what to say. He still needed to say something .
"If you have another nightmare, you can come to my clock. Even if I'm asleep," Owen offered. "I promise I'll keep you safe."
…
Oh no he's crying.
He realized they were happy years when Scott pulled him into a hug. "Thank you."
Owen returned it with a small smile. "Of course, you're my best friend."
You're not bothering him. You're not bothering him! You. Are. Not. Bothering. Him. Scott looped the reminder in his head. It had only been a few days since Owen made his promise. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind it happening so soon.
This one wasn't about Tubbo. Martyn and Bek had been talking about there being cats in the house and it got in his head. They were probably just messing with him; Martyn had been making cat noises to spook the others.
Still, a promise was a promise and it was time to make sure Owen meant it.
Scott carefully knocked on the small door that the tinkerer had somehow put together to see if his friend was awake. A few moments later the door swung open. "Oh! Hi, Scott! Did you need something?"
"Hi, Owen!" He was definitely tired. Scott couldn't quite figure out what exactly tipped him off, but it was extremely obvious. "I was actually wondering if I could take you up on your offer."
"Yeah, yeah of course," the tinkerer stepped back from the doorway to let Scott step in. "Was it about Tubbo again?"
"No, it was about cats," he explained.
"Ah, we've all been there." Owen led the way through the old gears and new steps, making sure Scott wouldn't fall.
Owen's room wasn't fancy; the blanket was orange and most of the decorations were mechanical scraps and shavings he found around the attic and house. What stood out most to Scott was the copper flower he made placed next to the head of the bed. In the corner by the clock face was a desk with some copper shavings on it, half made into something Scott couldn't identify.
"You can nap on the bed, I need to finish something," Owen yawned.
"Thank you," Scott said. "By the way, when's the last time you slept?"
"Uhhh… I think yesterday?"
"You're napping, too," Scott decided.
"Yes, after I finish the thing I'm working on." Owen gestured toward his desk.
"As your best friend, I'm telling you that you need a break," he asserted. "I don't want you to cut your paw on metal or something because you're too tired."
"Alright, you've convinced me," the other rat sighed. "I'll sleep on the floor."
That didn't seem right. At all. Nobody should be sleeping on the floor unless it's a proper slumber party. "I don't mind sharing the bed."
Owen looked like he was doing math in his head before answering. "I don't mind either, as long as you're fine with it."
"It was my idea!"
He very clearly realized what he'd said. "...I really should get some sleep."
"Come on, I'm tired too." Scott gently tugged him to the bed and climbed in, followed by Owen.
"Are you a blanket thief?" His best friend asked.
"We'll find out!" He genuinely didn't know.
Scott laid down facing Owen, who pulled up the old, faded blanket.
"I feel like we should talk about something," he said when his head hit the pillow, facing Scott.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"I dunno," he yawned again.
"What are you making?"
"It's a surprise," Owen drowsily answered. "You'll see."
Scott grinned. "Good night, Owen."
"Good night, Scott."
Scott didn't have any nightmares for a while after that.