Chapter Text
"I got the tickets for the festival thingy!" Red yelled, crashing in through the outernet portal. He waved them around excitedly.
Chosen followed him, unsurprisingly much less enthusiastic and much more sleep-deprived. "Please calm down. You're going to kill my eardrums."
Yellow looked up from her redstone project and propped up her safety goggles. "Well… I mean, with, how much endurance you have, your eardrums could probably take more than ours."
Blue tried to swat her, but was also attempting to eat netherwart at the same time, and so failed. "Don't bring science into everything, Yells. Red is a force of nature and we all know that."
"So are we going to the harvest festival or not?" Chosen said tiredly.
Blinking blearily, Second opened the door to their room. They were accompanied by Green, who was subjecting them to his playlist and also inadvertently waking them up. "I'm awake…" they muttered.
"Come on, let's go already!" Red said impatiently. "I want to see the animals!"
"Yeah, and I want apple cider." Green said. "Come on!"
"Do they have netherwa-" Blue started, before being cut off by Yellow. "No, they do not—I mean, I hope. But they do have amazing apple desserts, so let's go!"
Chosen said hesitantly, "Should I stay back or— I don't want to get recognized…"
Second went back into their room and returned with a comically large, neon pink hat. "Here."
"Uhh…" Chosen trailed off. "Actually, I think it's fine. My hair looks different now anyway."
"Why do you even have that hat, Second?" Green said, making a face. "It looks ridiculous."
"Most sticks prefer function over form unlike you, Green,. Also it was on sale."
"You'd better not have bought it from the corn dog guy's summer clothes thing."
"Uhhh…"
Blue raised an eyebrow. "That guy sells clothes?"
"That guy sells whatever makes him money." Chosen sighed. "Which is why I steal instead."
"Pfft-"
"Can we please go now?" Yellow asked. "I'm running on spite and two hours of sleep, and I need that cinnamon-spiked coffee they have."
"They have coffee?" Chosen's eyes lit up. "Alright kids, come along, we are going to the harvest festival now. The sleep-deprived sticks want coffee."
"Look at them!!" Red squealed, pointing at the fenced-in area of bunnies. "They're so cute!!"
"Oh my gosh!" Green leaned over to touch one, his usual cool facade disappearing in the divine presence of adorable baby bunnies.
Second watched them, smiling. "Look at that one!" They pointed at a brown ball of fluff, who seemed to be trying to dismantle a decoration in their enclosure. "Heh, reminds me of Yellow." Blue said.
"Hey!"
Yellow pointed at another bunny, who had buried itself in the food bowl. "Then that one's you."
"That one's Second when they want to snuggle," Green said, gesturing at a ginger one sitting on top of another very disgruntled black one.
"I can relate to that black one…" Chosen groaned.
"I want one…" Red reached down before Second stopped him. "No kidnapping bunnies."
"Aww."
"Come on," Second said, forcibly dragging Red away, "We need to go before Red commits a crime for these guys."
"But-"
"No bunny-related crimes, Red. We've gone over this."
"Damn."
"This. Is. Heaven." Blue said over a mouthful of apple pie. "I think I'm going to ascend."
"Do you feel nauseous? What about a headache? Sense of impending doom?" Chosen said.
"…What?"
"That's the stuff I felt during the many times I thought I was going to ascend."
Green burst out laughing, and then covered his mouth. "Sorry. I forgot how hopelessly traumatized you are."
"Mhm." Chosen mumbled, chewing. "I think apple pie and cinnamon coffee might be my cure, though."
"See?" Yellow said. "Coffee is life!"
"Some people don't need coffee to be hyper all the time." Second glanced over at Red. "Ahem ahem."
"Hey!" Red yelped. "I'm not hyper- I'm just filled with energy. Unlike all you boring tired sticks."
"Well," Chosen admitted, "I will say, "boring tired stick" is a rather good descriptor for me."
"You left out the arguably rather important cyber-terrorist Angel of Death part." Blue added.
"Well, and that."
"This is so good." Second said. It was the first time they'd spoken since their first slice of pie, as they had dedicated their mouth to eating and not talking.
"I know," Green said. "Almost worth that exceedingly exorbitant price."
"Hey," Yellow said accusatorily, "I knew you were reading my special edition Oxford Sticktionary!"
"You sound like such a nerd right now." Blue said, facepalming.
Yellow grinned. "I know."
"Well." Chosen said, stepping back into the PC after carrying the rest of the sticks in, one by one. "That was tiring."
"And super fun!" Blue said. "Even without netherwart."
"Oh, newsflash, stuff can be fun without netherwart!" Yellow said sarcastically.
"No one asked you." Blue retorted.
"You mean that No One?" Yellow asked, glancing at Chosen.
"HAHAHAH— Chosen's going to skin you alive for that."
"Affirmative." said the black hollowhead, glaring at Yellow.
"Uh oh."
Red ran off into the kitchen, with Green in tow. "I'm getting the popcorn!"
"But I never got my cider!"
"I'll draw you some, okay?"
"It's not the saaamee!"
"Then I'll whack you with it, and see how you like that!"
Chosen held their head in their hands. "I live in a circus."
"No, you live in a PC." Yellow said.
Chosen paused for a moment, prompting a raised eyebrow from Yellow. "Don't mind me," Chosen said, "I'm just mentally running through all my torture methods right now."
Yellow reenacted the shocked Pikachu face for a moment, then scratched her neck nervously. "Uhm… Am I fried?"
"Yes." Chosen nodded, a flame igniting in their hand. "Both literally and figuratively."