Work Text:
Jamato climbed the mountain, Spoke in tow.
“Are we there yet?” Spoke whined, taking a glance down from where they were.
The wonders were all fully constructed, and with that, Jamato insisted on taking Spoke with him to a “special place” he found far from spawn. As a break, he said. Although Spoke was reluctant and ready to start working on the exploits again, he indulged in his friend.
Jamato shook his head, “Not yet. You’ll see when we get close.”
The sky was dark and starry, even if they left early in the morning. It made the trek a bit harder over time, now that fog was starting to develop with how far up they were, but it seemed Jamato had memorized the path.
The road up was full of rock and slush. It had also rained in the area recently, making it even harder to traverse, as if the terrain before wasn’t difficult enough. At least the flowers that grew near it were a pretty sight. Spoke recognized cornflowers and rose bushes.
Spoke had originally been hesitant to go, especially with the recent run-ins with the Zam Empire. A part of him was still worried that the exploits inside the Wonders would be discovered, but Jamato insisted that the guards would keep them safe. And who was he to not trust his best friend?
The rest of the hike was mostly quiet, aside from the hums and fidgeting coming from Spoke. He didn’t have much to entertain himself with, and Jamato didn’t seem interested in making small talk. They exchanged a few words the whole journey. He had to admit, though—this was a nice way to get his mind off his stress.
Near the mountain top, Spoke glanced up and saw a hazy field of red in the distance. Poppies, maybe? He started picking up his pace.
Jamato noticed and gave a small laugh. “Calm down, we should go together.” Spoke responded with a sigh.
As they reached the top, Spoke realized that, no, the red wasn’t poppies. They were roses. Not the bush either. Individual roses rested in the ground, tall and healthy.
Jamato walked ahead of Spoke and knelt down to look at a few of the closer ones. Spoke stood curiously behind him.
“How—“ Spoke began, “How did you find this?”
Jamato turned and smiled, “During the early days of the server, while I was beginning to investigate the exploits, I found this.” He looked at the flowers again. The fog had mostly cleared up, Spoke noticed, allowing a full view of the scenery. “I come back here every now and again. And now that we’re working together, I thought that… maybe you’d like it too.”
”Are you kidding?” Spoke let out a breathless chuckle, “This is amazing!”
He rushed ahead of Jamato, and pranced in the field of roses, their thorns prickling his skin. Even with that, he laughed brighter than he had in a long while.
The flowers seemed to go on for acres on every side. Spoke could see large trees in the distance, but they were too far away to be able to identify them. There seemed to be no other flowers close by, either, besides the ones at the bottom of the mountain.
Jamato followed closely behind, plucking one of them from the stem.
“Here,” he offered, “a reminder of me, to you.”
Spoke gingerly took the flower and planted it in his hair, right next to his ear, ensuring it would stay on. He pulled Jamato into a hug, giggling quietly, and wagged his tail. Jamato gently pushed him off, a light smile on his face. He always seemed a bit uncomfortable if Spoke got too close, so he decided to tear off his own rose as an alternative. It was just a bit darker and less pretty than the one Jamato gave him. He thrusted it forward, hoping for him to catch his idea.
Jamato gingerly took it, putting it into his bag.
The next couple of minutes were spent frolicking in the flowers under the dark sky. They likely had a plethora of cuts on their legs now, but that was fine. The pain was worth it for such a euphoric feeling.
It must’ve been more than a couple of minutes, because he could’ve sworn it was just as dark as the void. Spoke turned behind him and saw the sun rising on the horizon, a deep blue and orange trailing with it. The stars were fainter now, but you could still see them dot the sky. Atop the mountain, the view was perfect.
After everything that’s happened in the past few weeks, with Jamato by his side, Spoke finally felt hopeful.
Spoke looked at the place Jamato once was.
He ran. Again. Just as he always does.
The only things left in his place rustled with the wind—sparks from a totem and a lone rose petal, just as unnatural and scarlet as the one on Spoke’s uniform. The sight of it filled him with more rage.
His netherite sword laid limp in his hand, feeling as numb as he did in that moment.
He turned to his left, and watched the sun rise on the horizon. It was awfully similar to a time not long ago—of a rose field on top of a mountain. But things have changed since then. It was clear Jamato didn’t care, so why should Spoke?
As he placed his shulker, he finalized his plan. He would make sure Jamato didn’t come back.