Work Text:
Crush.
Rejoice’s ribcage caved inwards, crushing his internal organs and piercing through his lungs. Blood spewed out from his mouth, dripping down his chin as he tried to heave in some air— all the contents within his lungs were punched out, the remaining of his breath taken away. A loud, piercing sound of a totem popping echoed in his own ears, something that he had grown to be familiar with— a noise that stuck in the back of his head, rewinding again and again whenever things got quiet.
He huffed, taking a breath in as his ribcage reverted into its original state, no longer crushing his lungs. An echo of a laughter, a giggle that dripped with malice before Rejoice dug his sword into the side of Tai’s arms, slipping through the small crevice that his netherite armour didn’t shield.
Tai yelped, instinctively backing away from the blade— though it only dug it further within— Rejoice wasn’t willing to let an opening slip that easily. Blood gushed from the new wound, dripping down the length of his arm as he raised his other hand to push the sharp edge away. He took a few steps back as precaution, now gripping his arm— or what he can grip to stop the blood from flowing uncontrollably.
“Aw, does poor little TaiMc require help to soothe his boo-boo?” Sarcasm dripped from the words, seeping into it like a sponge. Rejoice pointed at Tai’s arm, watching the latter’s claws slowly digging into his own flesh from agitation. Oh how easy it was to piss Tai off, it was phenomenal. Tai huffed, scoffed at the words while mumbling a few incomprehensible words under his breath.
“Why’re you like this?” Tai left no room for elaboration— not that he expected any. He launched himself up into the air with a burst of the wind, hanging the mace above his head before aiming it towards Rejoice. A millisecond before the mace lands Rejoice manages to hold his shield up, arm nearly breaking from the momentum of the wielded weapon. The gust of wind almost took away what's left of his balance, legs wobbling slightly from the sudden pressure before steadying themselves once more.
Rejoice could hear a grumble leaving Tai’s mouth, a soft noise that carried little to no bite. An impatient look plastered on his face, clearly annoyed at how long Rejoice has been dragging the fight. It filled him with satisfaction; that he had successfully baited the emotion Tai often shows when he’s pissed, the noise he makes when he doesn’t get what he wants too easily.
“This could’ve easily been avoided,” Rejoice pointed at the weapon in Tai’s possession, “if you had simply given me that mace.” His grin was as wide as ever, filled with amusement and dripping with malicious intents. All he wanted was that stupid mace— and well, to gain a reaction out of Tai— it wasn’t his fault, Tai was just fun to pester compared to the rest of the server. With a temper so short and the personality of an average teenager despite him being much older than Rejoice, Tai was a nice victim for his bullshit.
Rejoice lunged forward, aiming for Tai’s arm once more, targeting it solely so that Tai’s grip would loosen on the handle of the mace. Partially because it would save both of them time— but it wasn’t like Rejoice had anything else to do after this, might as well spend his time annoying Tai.
The pain inflicted upon Tai caused him to flinch, just narrowly grazing the already open wound, managing to barely escape from deepening the already nasty wound. The edge of the blade still caught on the torn fabric of his undershirt, dragging him closer to Rejoice. A light scowl was heard, just enough to be picked up.
“Aw, is it too much for you already?” Rejoice remarks, twirling the sword between his fingers as he backed up a safe distance. A smirk plastered on his face, he was clearly overjoyed on how easy it was to get an upper hand despite Tai having a whole mace— maybe he should be the one wielding it instead.
“Shut up,” Tai muttered under his breath, reaching for his toolbelt subconsciously before remembering that he had basically milked himself dry of potions a while ago. He was going to have to fight with an open wound and an obnoxious mouth that just wouldn’t stop talking.
The migraine that settled behind his eyes didn’t help either— it felt like someone was drilling a hole into his skull, prying it open forcefully. The pain felt dizzying; almost like he could lose his foothold just because his head wouldn’t cooperate on standing up against the pain.
That’s fine. He’ll just deal with this faster, it’s that simple!
Tai lets his arrogance take the better of him, letting his ego drive his body rather than actually listening to his guts and forfeiting from the fight like a coward— not like he would have. He lets the wind take him high up, at least a few dozen feet, carrying the mace high over his shoulder.
Surely this strike will hit Rejoice, surely.
Rejoice wasted no time— he placed a sunflower down— what? It sounded like an utterly stupid idea, really. He could’ve easily run away like a normal person, the distance between Tai and himself were vast— hell, he could’ve prepared to parry the attack, but he chose to place a sunflower down out of all items.
But what was stupider? It worked. Tai ended up landing the mace right atop the face of the sunflower and narrowly missing Rejoice, the head of the mace barely grazing Rejoice’s shoulder as it smashed the sunflower— too bad, it was a pretty flower and it would’ve served as a pretty decoration.
Rejoice took a step away from where Tai had landed the attack, the mace had driven into the soil, slightly lodged from the momentum it had. He snorted, failing to stifle a laugh— a half assed attempt to not make Tai feel worse about himself.
“No way that worked—” Rejoice’s monologue got cut off by Tai swinging an axe toward his head, blade just barely grazing his cheek. Scarlet beaded before it started to drip down his face, a contrast to the yellow he insisted on using as his skin. His smirk stayed, if not growing bigger at the sight of a feisty Tai. It was nice seeing him fight back, it gives him valid reasons as to why he was ragebaiting him. What can he do? Tai was just naturally born reactive and easy to pester, he was a prime target for all Rejoice’s shenanigans.
“Also, you’re paying for that,” Rejoice pointed to the sunflower that looked beyond saying. “Grow me a new one— a fresh, beautiful sunflower, like me!” He was almost gleaming with amusement, clearly enjoying everything— a huge contrast to Tai who just wanted the fight to end and to leave with his mace still in hand.
“You are,” Tai mutters out, voice breathy as though he had just run a marathon, “so annoying.” Tai’s chest hurts for whatever reason— maybe the constant change of pressure from the air due to how often he had to windburst for a higher ground, or his body was finally exhausted from its remaining energy.
They were both close enough to attack, yet none of them did. A moment to breathe, an opening of vulnerability for the both of them. Rejoice knew he could easily get that mace in his possession, all it takes is one strike, but he didn’t.
Honourability is gained from winning a fight fairly, not from taking advantages.
Sure, that mace was a really nice weapon to add in the collection, but it’s not entirely that fun if he gets what he wants easily. He wanted to drag it on, to elongate their time together or whatever— anything that felt like a challenge rather than just something someone is obligated to do for him; that just ruins the game for him entirely, it was mostly about the adrenaline rush that runs in his blood, an addiction that flows in his veins.
“Take five?” The question sounded unreal coming from Rejoice, it sounded more considerate than the Rejoice Tai knew— hell, this could be the kindest Rejoice has ever been. Obviously nothing about it seemed right, but what else can he do? He didn’t have much of an option, his body was slowly about to give up; he had run out of potions long before, and now he was down to his last totem which he doesn’t really feel like wasting on a friendly sparring session.
“‘Cause you seem to have fallen for my charisma,” Rejoice flashed a grin, as annoying as ever. “What, am I just too attractive for you, and now you need to take a breather?” Tai almost swung his sword at him in retort— he thought some kind of god had knocked some sense into Rejoice and forced him to be more than an asshole today, guess he was still the same guy that dragged him into this mess in the first place. The groan that left Tai was laced with exhaustion, just wanting the fight to end already.
Rejoice sat on the upscale slope of a small hill nearby, leaning back into the soft greenery. His hands were placed behind his head to prop himself up. He was staring up, gazing at the clouds as if they had meaning to them, as if Tai wouldn’t just stab Rejoice right now. .
“Why do you trust me so much— I mean, I could simply kill you right now!—”
Rejoice’s laughter cut Tai off, giggling to himself more than anything. “I know you well enough, Tai. You don’t got the balls to kill me— plus, I could easily drop you, dude.” He pointed at his nearly broken armour and the now empty bottles of potion strapped on his hips. The arrogance in his voice was as clear as day, if not already evident from the constant snickering that slipped between his words.
“It’s not like I have anything to lose— if anything, one strength isn’t the end of the world, I can easily get it back!” Rejoice grins, if anything, his smile had only grown bigger in the past minute.
“Oh and also ‘cause you’re like, wrecked— you’re almost like a wet kitten right now!” Tai scoffed at that, not even bothering to reply. Which was fine to the both of them— quiet isn’t always a problem. The tense atmosphere wasn’t uncomfortable, less than he’d imagined. It was way better than the needless banter that Rejoice would engage in.
Tai lifted the mace up with effort and stored it back in an enderchest he set up— he didn’t exactly trust it to be left like that, especially not with Rejoice, but he didn’t have much of a choice. He sat at an arm length distance, close but not close enough for Rejoice to get into his personal space without making a big move. He winced in pain— now that all the adrenaline had subdued and the absorption effect from the golden apples had dissipated, every inch of his body felt like it was on fire. Pain coursed through his veins like never before— everything hurts like a bitch.
“If I take my chestplate off to check my wounds will you slime me out the second I do?” Tai sounded hesitant, but still reached for the clasp of his armor. Skepticness and distrust overrode every other sense within his body. Maybe bleeding out wasn’t the worse of the outcomes that could happen.
“Depends.” Rejoice turned his head to look at Tai, smirk still there though less evident— but nonetheless, it's there. An ear-to-ear grin, filled with nothing less than malevolence.
Tai groaned— he had three options technically.
One; he could suck up the pain and just take the five minutes then continue the fight with an injury that would just render him useless in combat. What’s worse is that the arm that's injured is his dominant, so technically he can’t do much against Rejoice other than a few weak slashes that would do no more than stun him for a millisecond.
Two; he could use this moment to run away, back to his base and treat his wounds and restock on supplies. The only problem is, his base is hella far and there seem to be none in his vicinity. Rejoice had chosen to jump him in a random meadow located god knows where— for all he knew, Jude could’ve set up a trap somewhere around here and he’ll get slimed out the second he steps on the wrong block.
Three; let Rejoice watch as he tries to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding or at least slow it to the minimum— he didn’t notice it had already soaked up his whole sleeve, yuck. That’s gonna be a problem when he gets back to base for sure. Maybe Rejoice would be a bit kind and lend him a potion to let it close up faster— but he’s probably gonna mock him if he even tries to ask for some.
God, why does the world hate him so much today?
Tai opted for the third option; he unequipped the netherite chestplate, unclapsing it and letting it fall to the ground with a thud. The wound wasn’t all that bad, Tai had suffered worse— but it was deep and nasty. He could see droplets of pale-yellow peaking out the layer of skin and coating of crimson. It extended from his forearm to his shoulder, the depth of the injury slightening as it went up.
The voidling made a small noise of disgust upon seeing it, now conscious of the throbbing pain in his forearm. He searched through his inventory for any source of fabric— anything to make a homemade tourniquet out of, but he had nothing. All he had left was a few empty bottles of potion that had barely any liquid left and his few tools that he keeps around.
A small noise of fabric ripping caught his attention. His head snapped towards the sound, cautious of even the slightest movement around him. The fast movement ached his shoulder and reopened the wound slightly, blood slicking his hand in a new coating of red. His wince didn’t go unseen— Rejoice chuckled a little at his stupidity for making such an impulsive move.
Rejoice took slow strides towards Tai, holding a long piece of his red and blue coat.
“I’m debating if I should use this as a tourniquet or as a makeshift headband for you— I think you’d look cute with one!” Rejoice grinned from ear-to-ear, crouching down to Tai’s level. He was the closest Tai could ever let him be, just an inch of distance between them.
“God, this kid was so annoying.” Tai thought as he tried to snatch the piece of fabric, though he was quickly denied as fast as he tried to steal it away.
“Nuh-uh, say the magic word!” Tai stared at him dumbfoundedly. He let the silence simmer for a bit longer before giving a reply, staring into his eyes as though he was trying to find any hints of sarcasm within them.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tai scowled, leaning his head back to stare at the sky. He wanted nothing more than to just leave already— but he didn’t want to risk Rejoice following his steps and set up a spawn trap at his base, and travelling with a nasty wound wasn’t always the brightest idea.
Tai swallowed up what’s left of his dignity, closing his eyes and letting his mouth slack to let the words flow out before he regretted it.
“Please?” It sounded small, like he didn’t even mean to let it out. Second-hand embarrassment quickly flooded his system, the immediate regret felt awful.
“Dude, I was kidding by the way.” Before Tai could make another remark, Rejoice bursted out laughing in his face, almost toppling over from it. “I was going to give you it even if you didn’t say please.”
Rejoice moved closer and gripped Tai’s arm as he flayed, trying to get away from him and regain distance. “Dude, are you trying to deepen the wound?” Rejoice forced Tai to stay put, holding him down by the shoulders before going back to his position.
“Even your mom had better manners!” The joke was almost unlaughable. Rejoice’s sense of humour had always made Tai question his own existence— his jokes were never funny, and half of the time they’re as old-fashioned as he was— but he couldn’t stop himself from stifling a laugh, even if the joke wasn’t even funny at the first place.
Rejoice placed the back of his hand on Tai’s forehead. Before Tai could mutter out a question, he simply replied with “Oh, you’ve never laughed at my awesome jokes before, had to make sure you didn’t get a concussion too.” A look of confusion plastered Tai’s face— what does my temperature have to do with a concussion?”
The piece of fabric was placed merely inches above the still-bleeding wound, the blood spilling out and dripped from Tai’s forearm. Rejoice motioned Tai to apply pressure near the wound and make sure the tourniquet wasn’t tied loose. It wasn’t all that bad, the bandage was neatly placed and could hold up for a good while.
He grabbed a regeneration potion from his belt and uncorked it, swishing the glass bottle a bit. The mixture within the vile combined together, white mixing in with a soft pink. The smell was awful though; it had the same scent as liquid paracetamol they’d force Tai to drink when he had a fever. He almost winced at the scent alone, trying not to appear so disgusted by the smell.
“This might hurt a bit, try not to be a baby and stay still.” Rejoice happily said with a smile before pouring the substance onto the open flesh. Tai winced as the concoction made contact with his open wound, trying his best to not shudder at the coursing pain through his arm. The smell of netherwarts was overpowering his senses too— it induced a feeling of nausea that pitted in the lower of his abdomen.
Tai gasped as he tried to regain his composure, his nails dinging into Rejoice’s wrist— when had his hand flown to grab him, anyway? His breath whistled slightly as he heaved, the pain still overpowering what control he had left over his body. The center of Tai’s chest hurts even more now— it felt as though someone was pressing into his sternum and was beckoning him to vomit.
“Jeez, what a drama queen.” Rejoice patted Tai’s shoulder, making him flinch and perk up. He had already finished tying the tourniquet, the fabric cinching and biting into his arm. The bleeding had slowed down a lot when he inspected it, it was like the work of a medical student, almost.
Rejoice’s dumb smile was still there and for a second, Tai almost smiled back but he refrained. He stood up abruptly, the muscles in his shoulder tensing at the quick movement, though he ignored his body’s pained cries for rest.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Rejoice pouted as he watched Tai equip his elytra, purposely making it sound like he was a pitiful kid asking for a reward.
“Fuck off.” Tai flew off into the distance, towards the direction of his base.
Rejoice sighed, laying back down on the grass and resumed his cloudgazing.
I can always get the mace another day.