Work Text:
A plaintive noise of frustration broke the heavy silence of late evening, as the chicken escaped.
Again.
A young girl, wearing a simple green shirt, and tattered brown shorts, chased after the large bird, who clucked angrily. The girl's bare feet rustled through dry grass, the wide fronds reaching to her knees.
As the bird gained distance, the girl ground to a halt, pausing under a stunted oak tree, hands on her knees, breathing heavily. She reached up, pushing a clump of tangled orange hair out of her face.
She watched her dinner disappear into a stand of dark trees.
She furrowed her brow, frowning as her stomach growled.
That was the second chicken she had let escape today. She didn't dare follow this one into the distant forest, having learned her lesson about what lurks there several nights prior.
She absently reached up to her shoulder, fingers brushing against a clumsily sewn tear. She pressed against the stitches, feeling nothing but slight pressure, where there had once been blooming pain.
The girl slowly turned away from the forest, vibrant green eyes tracing over the field around her, hoping to catch a glimpse of feathers.
Glancing to the horizon, she watched the sun brush the treetops, painting the sky a deep red. Straightening, she turned, heading a distance away, towards a small nearby cave, jutting into a low hill, covered in a carpet of grass, and colorful flowers.
Ducking inside, the girl pulled a makeshift baracade of branches away from the rough wall, moving it to sit firmly blocking the entrance.
She gave it a tug, checking it was settled in place. Glancing through the intertwined mess of wood, she watched the outside slowly grow dim.
If she kept quiet, the mobs that came out at night left her alone, and even if she was noticed, the barrier of branches served well enough to keep most at bay.
Tired, and still hungry, the girl moved to the back of her small cave, flopping down onto a mat of dried grass, layered here and there with chunks of matted and stained wool.
She laid on her back, hands folded over her chest, staring up at her familiar stone ceiling. She listened to the sounds of distant movement from outside, feeling her eyes begin to grow heavy.
Before she slipped away into the hazy land of dreams, she was hit with a nagging thought. One she was becoming familiar with, as it crossed her mind more often now.
There had to be more to this strange new life. She felt she was meant for more. Some strange urge told her she could do great things.
What, she had no idea, not even the vaguest point of where to start, but sleeping in a cave blocked by sticks, failing to catch chickens, struggling to survive the day to day trials, didn't seem to be right.
She felt it deep within her, with the same certainty as her own heartbeat.
Her journey was just beginning.
---
Alex stood at the edge of a cliff, piercing green eyes staring down into the sparkling void that yawned below her. A glowing sword hung loosely in one hand, shining edge still dripping with dark blood.
Her armor gleamed in the sallow light of the end, one shoulder piece half melted and burnt by impossible heat.
She shifted back on her heels, boots crunching over the pitted, pale yellow surface of endstone, as she shifted her weight.
The cry of an angered enderman rang out behind her, and she half turned, long, tied back hair swaying slowly.
She cradled a dark egg in her other arm, speckled with vibrant fushia. A trophy for slaying the beast that guarded this land, one the other end natives wanted back.
She ducked to the side, hearing the distortion of teleportation tear the space near her head.
Shifting her weight, and pivoting towards the attack, she swung at the lanky creature suddenly right next to her, feeling her sword cut through flesh, and scrape bone. A cry cut through the air like knife, and the enderman teleported away, leaving behind a cloud of purple sparks, and a few drops of it's dark blood.
Alex strode away from the edge, soon reaching a circle of thick obsidian pillars, which surrounded a finely crafted bedrock fountain.
It had been dry when Alex first reached this dimension, but now it's basin swam with stars, suspended weightlessly in a black liquid.
It reminded her greatly of the film that had formed inside the portal she had activated, back in the depths of the overworld.
Only hesitating a moment, briefly readjusting the large ebony egg, she waded into the pool of liquid night.
It reached her knees, and she felt impossible cold travel up her body, and she fought the urge to shiver.
The ground disappeared beneath her feet, and her vision went dark. The rush of falling flooded her other senses, then she landed on her back, on top of a soft surface.
Blinking to clear her vision, Alex sat up quickly, finding herself on her own sleeping mat, tucked into a corner, surrounded by grey brick, cradling the large egg to her chest.
Her journey was over.
At least for now.