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“So. You want fights?” Derapchu asked Zam. He was staring (as usual), but it didn't disconcert her or anything. There was no malice with how he looked at her, she knew that at least.
“Well— yeah. I just—” she sighed with annoyance, though it wasn't directed at Derap, “—it's so boring. No one wants to fight us ‘cause we're the strongest team or whatever.”
Her eyes met Derapchu's, but she looked away soon after. He's had that blue eye for a while but it never gets any more familiar. The mark on his face is new — it looks like some sort of scarring, just dyed a pale blue. She hadn't seen it during the previous season… though for her inattentiveness towards the end of the season may’ve contributed to that. That's not something she'd like to think about right now.
After a few moments of silence, Zam heard Derap speak again.
“Then… Why don't you lie? Like— make a video to show everyone that Team Bing is a threat? You can kill me for it—if it helps you then I'm happy to let you do that,” said the man in front of her. Only now did he stop staring at her, instead focusing on the chain he was wearing. He did that during the previous season, Zam remembered, back when they were still teammates. The memories of Zaun and their team should've been sweet, though Derapchu’s betrayal soured those memories. It didn't matter now, thinking about it now would ruin the fragile peace between them.
That pendant was new though. It was what looked like an elaborate sun made of gold on a thin leather cord. She wondered when and where he got it; she didn't recall him having it on Day 1 when she encountered him at the village. Maybe he had it at Jumper’s and Squiddo’s wedding? Zam couldn't remember in the slightest.
She should probably reply before Derapchu said anything.
“I’ll pass that on to the rest of the team actually, I like that.” She took a moment to think before adding, “but why would we even kill you?”
She felt the prickling of eyes on her again and met Derap’s gaze.
“You, uh, you guys mined a lot of netherite, right? You could say you’re monopolising all the netherite on the server, maybe.”
She paused at that. Bing had mined enough that it was plausible…
“...You’d need a netherite mining inventory so it’s believable—I can give you gear so you don’t lose anything,” Zam replied. Funny that this wasn’t the first time she’d offered to give gear to Derapchu for the opportunity to kill him. “We’d have to go to the Nether as well. Still the thing about hearts is a problem..”
She looked away from her ex-teammate, instead looking at her own claws. Sometimes they changed without her wanting them to, though now was not one of those times. She thought of when they were still teammates, back before she gave Bacon hearts and before she shut herself away for those three months, back when the trust between them hadn't yet been tainted.
“You can burn my heart if you want, like to show that they're not what you killed me for,” he said. She looked back at him. He looked… genuine. It reminded Zam of before they'd been teammates in Season 6, when Derap was still just trying to get her to trust him. She stared intently at his face, trying to see if there was even the smallest sign of dishonesty in his words, but there were none.
“Really? Wait, you're on ten hearts, right?” She waited for a confirmation, and upon receiving a nod from Derapchu, continued. “Just— give me a second—”
She placed an e-chest and rummaged through its contents, looking for what heart materials she had. She returned, hands full of nautilus shells and netherite ingots.
“Materials—so you can craft back up,” she hastily finished her sentence. She somewhat shoved the items into Derap’s hands, warmth lingering at her fingertips from where her hands met the other’s. She quickly withdrew her hands and took a step away from him. “Thank you for helping me out with that, for the record. I— I’ll be leaving now.”
Zam donned her elytra and prepared to take off, her false-wings already in position to pick her up off the ground. Just before she lifted her feet off the earth, she looked back at Derapchu.
“Well, bye Zam,” he replied. He was smiling, not at her leaving, but just at her. She couldn't help but smile back; even with all the bitterness from the end of season betrayal, she was still happy around him, at least when they weren't arguing.
She quickly rose into the sky with a couple beats of her elytra and began heading back home. She didn't dwell on the fact that so much as amicable conversation with Derapchu made her brighter than she should've been—must’ve just been the excitement at having an opportunity to fight people.
Yeah, that was it.