'W-What are you gu-uys talking about?'

The two boys turned to see their shorter friend sitting up, letting out joint sighs of relief as they made their way over to him 'Hey mate, y'alright?' Mitch asked softly, crouching next to him as he winced and put a hand to the back of his head 'It feels like I've been hit by the ender dragon... What happened?'
'First of all, what do you remember?'
'It's kinda fuzzy, but I think we were running from something? Yeah, we were running when one of you told me to duck. I'm guessing I didn't move in time,' The dark-haired boy smiled apologetically, shifting so that he was sitting against the cobblestone wall and looking at the two, 'Where are we?'
'After you got knocked out, they caught us and locked us in this weird tower thing. Just saying, if we get out of this, I'm gonna slap Mat with a lucky block or something' Kenny said, crossing his arms while glaring at the thick wooden door that kept them from their freedom. He stared at it for a few seconds before he jolted, a plan forming in his mind as he grinned suspiciously 'Kenny, what're you looking at?'

'I've got a plan that could possibly get us brutally murdered. Mitch, do you still have your flint and steel?' Gesturing towards the door, his Canadian friend snorted before searching his jacket pockets 'I never leave home without it, mate. That and my - They took my bow! Oh Nether no, my Mom's going to kill me!'
'Dude, I will personally buy you a new bow as soon as we get out of here. Vik, you good to stand?' Vik nodded, pushing himself up, before groaning and putting his hand to the back of his head again as his red and blue eyes flickered 'Jeez, what did they hit me with; TNT or something?'
'You'd be surprised, it was actually a brick. How're we looking on the door?' Mitch shrugged, stretching his arm through the burnt hole and feeling around until he felt smooth metal 'I can reach the handle... Oh, those sly pieces of crap. The door's locked, the only way out is to burn the entire door down'
Kenny and Vik both let out loud sighs before the blond strode forwards, taking the firestarter from his Canadian friend's hand and striking it against the door. It took a few minutes as the spruce wood was so moist, but it eventually began to burn as he stood back 'We'll have to be quick, once the guards see the smoke they'll be straight after us'
'Why were they after us in the first place?'
'Probably because we were trespassing. Okay, the door's going to be gone in about seven seconds - Y'all ready?'
'The exit back home's gonna be blocked, where do we go?'

Narrowing his eyes, the youngest of the three looked to the window and towards the mountains. If they could get past the barrier, the guards wouldn't follow them - But the monsters would spot them easily. Then again, if they stayed low to the ground they could make their way out and circle-
'We've got to go, the guards know we've burnt the door!' Grabbing both Vik and Kenny's wrists, Mitch began to drag them down the steep stairs as the blond snapped out of his trance 'Guys, we have to go to the mountains. They won't find us there, and once we lose them we can just get back out'
'Are you insane?!' Vik whisper-yelled, glancing at one of the torches lining the uneven walls as they made their way down, 'Going in there would be suicide!'
'But they would be able to follow us!'
'Both of you, be quiet - You're going to get us caught!' The oldest hissed, putting his arms out to stop the two as they approached another door. It looked more unsteady than the last, and would probably give in if someone shoved it 'I'm going to barge the door, and you two... Go to the mountains'
'What do you mean? You're coming with us, right?'

The Canadian sighed, running a hand through his brown hair before shaking his head 'Someone needs to cause a distraction incase they see you. Once you get back home, tell our parents what happened, they'll be able to think of a plan'
'Mitch, you're fourteen - There is no way we're leaving you here!' Kenny protested, with the shorter boy nodding and crossing his arms 'We're staying with you, no matter what. If one gets caught, the others go back- No man gets left behind'
'You two are crazy, you know that'
'Noted. On the count of three?' The other two nodded, so Kenny faced the door and cracked his fingers a few times 'Four, nine, three, go!'
He barged the door, yelping as his shoulder popped out of place before sprinting through the village. Angered yells followed the three as they hopped the fence, running for the translucent barrier that separated the Glitched Lands from the rest of the Overworld 'What do we do once we're in?' Vik called from his left, kicking up dust as he struggled to keep up with the taller boys 'Get to high ground. We'll be able to see more around us, and get a good bearing of our surroundings!'

'Sounds good, then we - Kenny, on your right!' Falling back, the American barely managed to dodge a sharpened spear as it crossed Mitch's peripheral vision 'Cheers for the warning, Bajan, but you might want to duck!'
Quickly crouching down, an arrow sailed swiftly over his head and almost ended up hitting the mocha-skinned teen known as Vikram Barn 'Oi, can you not?!' He screeched, before his eyes widened and he jumped to the side as something large burst out of the ground 'It-It's a Caterkiller!'

~~~

'Happy Birthday, Lachlan!' The group yelled once their Australian friend was dragged into the clearing. He blinked a few times in surprise, before a wide grin made it's way onto his face 'Aw, thanks guys! You've seriously outdone yourselves this year'
Strings of blue and red lanterns were hung amongst the trees, giving off a soft glow as the Sun began to fall in the sky. A large firepit stood in the middle, surrounded by rocks so that the fire couldn't spread to the wooden tables. There were three in total; One covered in food and a box, one for the presents and the third was covered in... Were those plates full of cream?

'Now Lachlan,' Pete began, taking a large strip of fabric and tying it around the boy's blue eyes, 'A Birthday tradition for all new thirteen-year-olds is the majestic Piñata, but of course this has a twist. Choco, you in position?'
'Yep, I'm good to go!'
'Excellent. Lachlan Dachlan Jachlan, your task if you choose to accept it - and you have no choice because it's the tradition - Is basically to whack the Piñata until it breaks, and your surprise falls out. You ready?'
'Of course, who do you take me for,' The blond snorted, readying the bat and rolling his shoulders, 'Is it there?'
Preston made sure to stand a good distance away as the large balloon was slowly lowered down to Lachlan's shoulder height. The group's tradition was that it would be full of a different substance every time, and once the "Piñata" was broken he didn't want to be anywhere near it's contents 'Oi Preston, you alright?'

'Yeah, just taking precautions - I mean, we can't let Jerome eat the cake again!' He called, gaining a reply of "That happened one time!" Before Lachlan began to whack the balloon repeatedly. It was raised so that it was above his head, and the final hit created a large split down the middle that caused it's contents to spill out - Drenching the Aussie in a downfall of ice-cold water 'Ack - What the fudge was that?!'
'A Birthday present from us to you, Lachlan' Rob smirked, but he froze when he saw the almost murderous look on the teenager's face 'Oh, Robbie,' He began, ripping the blindfold off and turning to the Canadian, 'Do you want a hug?'
'Oh no... Lachlan, don't you dare - Preston, save me!' The two began to run around the fire, ducking under various decorations as the younger boy stretched his arms out 'C'mon Rob, you know you want it!,

'I don't want to get wet, thanks very much!' Dodging a water balloon thrown by the one and only Jerome Aceti, the brunet cursed quietly and pulled himself up into a tree 'Try getting my booty now, Lachlan!'
'You tried to get away from me... Be climbing into a tree? I'm a dragon hybrid, I can literally fly up and tip a bucket over your head' The blond pointed out, pulling his hoodie over his head and dumping it by the fire before attempting to comb his hair back into it's normal quiff 'Yeah, well... Then I would just jump back out, and Preston would catch me!'
Also the fact that his wings weren't actually there, but eh.
'Made of a hundred-degree-plus substance, remember? Besides, even if I could touch you without you getting burned, I would just let you fall' The Texan smirked, causing his older friend to groan and bang his head against the tree trunk 'I'm doomed to stay in this tree for the rest of my days? Most of my stuff goes to Jerome once I die, 'cause somebody's being an absolute jag, but my flowers and stuff like that all go to Preston'
'So Jerome gets your bow, and I get flowers?!'
'Nah, I'm gonna give my bow to Lachy Dachy because we all know he can't shoot for the life of him, he gets it for the bants' Rob narrowed his eyes as his ears picked up the rustling of leaves behind him, and he turned to see a pair of bright blue eyes ''Should have been watching your back, mate'

The Canadian screeched loudly, almost falling out of the tree in surprise before clinging to the trunk and glaring at his younger friend who was practically crying with laughter 'Oh, I'm going to get you back for that' He pouted, wrapping his legs around a thick branch as he let go of the main tree while Lachlan continued howling in laughter 'Y-Your face! Oh geez, I can't breath - That reaction!'
'You're going to suffocate on your own breath at this rate, calm the fudge down - My emotional trauma is in no way funny'
'It is when it's caused by friends!'
'Seems legit. Come on, let's get the party started!'

~

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