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"Go, go, go!"
Scott exclaimed, staying behind the rats and keeping an eye on their surroundings. He, once again, decided to make sure everyone was there.
Jimmy and Oli were right in front of him, carrying their unconscious siblings. Then there were Martyn and Tubbo, knives and crossbows out as they scurried behind Sniff, Oliver, Bek, and El. Then there was Acho, Krow, and Will. Owen and Apo were at the front, guiding the rats through the snowy forest to find a place they could call home.
It's been hours, Scott thought. He was worried that they'd freeze in a bit, seeing that Martyn's torch had gone out ages ago. They were running low on food too.
"If we don't find a place to stay, I swear, we're gonna have to sacrifice someone to eat," Tubbo grumbled, snapping the farmer out of his thoughts.
Jimmy was quick to respond. "I say we go for Oli."
"Jimmy! Tubbo! We're not eating anyone…" Owen groaned, trudging along the endless snow. "Listen, we need to get through this together. We're family, not sacrifices."
Tubbo frowned.
Bek turned around, smiling weakly as they kept a tight grip on Eloise's hand. "Hey, we'll find something sooner or later! Just trust the big and small rats that make all of the rules and we'll be fine!"
Owen and Apo mumbled something incoherent to each other, nodding just as weakly. Scott began to worry – they all seemed incredibly unsure of if they could last long enough to find a place. All except for Will.
"Maybe we should just dig into the ground… there's a river nearby too, we could stay here!" They smiled, pointing at a river that was in fact nearby. "We'll have water, we'll be able to have as much space as we need–"
"I think that's a good idea," Sniff cut in, patting them on the back. "I can help build and work on it, Krow and Will can help find other materials for tools and building, Oli could help find stuff as well, Scott could use that river to help with farming – I think it'll work."
Shuffling and mumbling could be heard from them, the rats all agreeing. All the rats then turned to Owen and Apo, waiting to see what they say.
"Well, you all better pitch in to help make this work," Owen smiled, turning to face them.
The smaller nodded, grinning as well. "Should we get started on our new home, then?"
"Mhm!"
–––––
If one were to walk through the forests and near the rivers, they'd probably find a little group of rats hiding under a carpet of snow and moss, scurrying through the halls and tunnels of their underground home built by none other than Sniff, along with help from Martyn, Owen, and Apo. They would find four rats running towards the snow, quickly lifting up the little carpet and diving into the hole.
"Scott! We're hungry!" Krow whined, dropping in from the hidden entrance, Tubbo, Jimmy, and Will following suit.
"Hey! How was it?" Shubble smiled, picking up the stuff they'd found and giving it to Oli.
"We fought the squid," Jimmy sighed, picking a bit of kelp off of his helmet. "It was terrible. Never again."
Lizzie's head popped into the room from the kitchen, the scent of cookies flowing through the den. "Did you get me the goods?"
"We got the cocoa!" Tubbo yelled, pulling some cocoa beans out of his pockets.
"Oh, great! Thank you! I'll be taking these," She grinned, grabbing the beans and returning to the kitchen.
Shelby chuckled softly. "Well, Scott's at the farm with El and Bek!"
Three of them thanked her before rushing off to the aquarium – one of the two rooms to the right, closest to the water – and Jimmy went to the farm.
"On a date or with a knife?"
Jimmy blinked, unsure of the context as to why the fighter had said that. "What?"
"Oh, Scott just said to take him out," El shrugged, leaning her head on Bek's shoulder.
The fighter nodded. "Just wanted to clarify how."
"I'd like a date with a pretty rat over being murdered right now," Scott smiled, glancing over at Jimmy. "Oh, hey! Welcome back!"
"H-Hi!" The blonde rat smiled back as pink tinted his cheeks, cursing himself for stuttering. "We were uh, we were hungry–"
"Say no more," The farmer grinned, pulling out some food from his nearby shulker box and handing it to him. "Here's some for Krow, Tubbo, and Will, too."
Jimmy thanked him, turning to head to the other three, who got tired and slowed down on the way. As he was about to leave, Martyn popped into the little room.
"Y'know, I don't know how you'd be able to date yourself, if you wanna date a pretty rat," He smirked, leaning close to the taller.
"I can kiss the mirror or you, either one works," Scott joked, chuckling to himself.
Eloise blinked. "When were you two a thing?"
"You didn't notice?" Bek questioned, glancing back at her. "They were constantly flirting ever since we decided to settle down here."
Jimmy decided it was time to leave. He went back to the other three who were in the other room, giving them their food.
"Oh, hey Oliver, Sniff," Jimmy waved, eating a bit of the porridge Scott had made him. "Should we g–"
"No, no, it's fine!" Oliver smiled. "We just came here to look at the fish, we don't mind company!"
Sniff nodded, sitting down on the bench.
The room they were in was closest to the water – making the room nearly drowned all of them several times, but they soon turned it into some sort of aquarium. Partially as a reminder to not go any further than the glass when building, otherwise they'd end up in the water. But it really was a nice sight.
Will pointed at the glass, their other hand holding a slice of sweet berry pie. "There's a lot of salmon today!"
"They're red like Krow!" Tubbo exclaimed. Krow squeaked angrily in response, feeling like Tubbo had just called it a fish.
Sniff chuckled softly. "Y'know, I heard somewhere that salmon only get red when it's trying to attract a mate."
"So did I," Oliver perked up, fiddling with the leaf on their head. "Definitely not from Sniff or anything…"
She giggled, and so did the lawyer. The five continued talking until Tubbo abruptly bolted out of the room.
"O-Okay, bye?" Krow waved, confused as it munched on its grilled salmon. "What a weird rat."
"Big rat that makes all of the rules!"
Tubbo leaped onto the tinkerer, making both of them topple over and fall down onto the copper-coloured carpet.
"Hello, small rat that breaks all of the rules," Owen smiled weakly, trying to get up. "Please get off of me."
The smaller grinned, hopping away and standing up straight. He yanked Owen back upright by his shirt, getting a yelp out of him.
"T-Thanks, Tubrat," He rubbed his neck, fixing himself up. "What is it?"
"Just wanted to say hi!"
"Well– Hi," Owen waved at Tubbo. "Now shoo, I need to do something."
Tubbo groaned. "But I wanna see!"
The taller rolled his eyes fondly. "Fine, just don't tell anyone about what I'm doing."
"It's still so weird to see you like a dead, grey rat," Oli pointed out, sitting in the trash can in the corner of the room.
Acho frowned. "Thanks, trash rat."
"Hey, don't say that about him," Apo huffed, crossing their arms. "You look great, Acho."
"Thanks, bud," He smiled, patting them on the back.
Acho looked like he was about to say something else before the sound of a bell rang through the den. It was loud and low in pitch – Owen's bell.
At some point, Owen managed to make some bells that didn't jumble up Tubbo's head, all having different pitches and volumes. He decided to give some to those who are most likely to have any announcements – Apo (with the highest pitch), Scott (the second lowest), Bek (the second highest), Martyn (right in the middle, almost like a regular bell), and himself.
The three scurried over to the middle room, seeing all the other rats standing around Owen.
"What is it, big rat man?" Oli finally said, breaking the silence.
"I just wanted to say that– well, I'm proud of us," The tinkerer smiled, putting his hands behind his back. "We've come so far, and– I just–"
He'd cut himself off, rubbing at his cheek and wiping away some tears that had begun falling.
Scott sniffled, smiling brightly. "Aww, Owen…"
"I just wanted to say that I'm so glad I met you. You guys kinda changed my life."
The room went silent. Scott was the first to do anything, quickly running over and almost hugging him tight enough to practically strangle him.
Owen patted his back gently, chuckling softly. "Scott…"
"I honestly thought we'd fall apart after a while," Owen continued. "Turns out I was wrong…"
Martyn was quick to wrap an arm around him, putting his fake goggles on. "You're never getting rid of us!"
"You were the one who said it – We're a family, we're better when we're together," Apo nudged him, pulling Acho with him as he leaned against the taller.
"Aww, you guys!" Shelby exclaimed, joining in on the odd hug-huddle that was going on, hugging Owen and Scott.
Tubbo scoffed. "God, you all are so cheesy!"
Owen ignored Martyn's cheer, pulling Tubbo into the group hug and watching him melt into it.
"Shut up," He couldn't help but smile, crossing his arms and leaning against the taller.
Krow and Will found themselves snug in between the taller rats, fitting into the hug like a puzzle.
Jimmy stood there between the couples awkwardly, watching as Lizzie and Oli joined the hug as well.
"All of you, get in here!" Scott exclaimed, grabbing the blonde rat by the shirt and pulling him in.
Soon enough, all of the rats were dragged into the group hug.
–––––
If you were to wander into the forest that day, and find the little patch of snow that leads to a big den, you'd find a group of rats huddled together for warmth.
You'd find them even closer together than they were before, yet still the same as always.
You'd find that they'd be laughing and yelling and pushing each other, but they'd still hold each other close.
If you were to wander into the forest that day, and find the little patch of snow that leads to a big den, you'd find a family.