Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How many days had it been since the world lost all hope and Shrub gained a sliver of it? She couldn’t tell. The nether had no sun, no moon, just a cavernous roof miles above. All she could hear was the creaking of the hardened magma around her and the soft chuffing and barking of the wolves at her back.

Shrub squinted at the horizon, or rather what counted as a horizon in the depths of hell. The waves of heat rippling off the lava blurred her vision as she looked across the landscape of crumbling netherrack and soul sand. She nudged Mother Wolf in a safer direction and the rest of the wolf pack followed her. Soul sand crunched under the paws of the pack and Shrub looked behind her to make sure that nothing was following their trail. The nether was a dangerous place but that wouldn’t stop her quest.

A loud bark drew her attention away from scouting. Lady Capricorn has caught a whiff of a new scent. Shrub’s heart soared. This could be the lead on the gnomes she was looking for.

Shrub gave the command and Lady Capricorn bolted off, nose to the ground as she followed the scent. Shrub gripped onto Mother Wolf’s fur as the direwolf chased after the tracker. The warm wind rushed past Shrub’s face as the pack moved, a growling barking storm of swift grey and white blurs. They jumped down cliffs of russet rock, darted through forests of crimson trees, and weaved around spires of basalt, all while Shrub sniped at the mobs that moved towards her pack.

Soon the trail grew more and more noticeable. Shrub spied a slash in the netherrack clearly from a sword, followed by discarded mob drops a second later, then an extinguished campfire in a crevice. They were getting close. Shrub leaned forward in the saddle and snagged a piece of scorched silken fabric from some jagged bark. She lifted her mask up, bringing the scrap closer to her face. It didn’t look like gnomish make but still, it was familiar to her. Something about the patterning and color was ringing a bell in Shrub’s mind. Shrub carefully tucked the piece of fabric into her satchel and pulled her mask back down, no reason to let the biting and sulphuric winds of the nether scrape against her eyes and blurr her vision with tears.

A loud bark from Lady Capricorn brought Shrub’s attention back to the tracking. There, not but a few hundred blocks away, was a figure trekking across the nether wastes. As the pack approached Shrub’s heart sank as she realized that this figure was too tall to be a gnome. She barely had any time to be upset when the figure spun around at the sound of paws against the ground.

Shrub knew this person.

There, standing among the flames and the lava, was someone that Shrub had never expected to see again.

Katherine.

The leader of the Overgrown and ally of the Undergrove.

Someone Shrub thought she had left behind.

She was crownless, her flowery dress tattered and burnt. Her face was covered in soot and ash and a cut from a blade. She had her wings tucked close to her back, trying to shield them from the heat and the dangers of the nether. There was a nick cutting through her velvety ears and the fur on her tail was puffed up and ragged. Her hand rested on a sword strapped to her side, not her normal amethyst blade but something dark and sturdy. Netherite, Shrub guessed. She had taken a step back when the pack had thundered up to her, wariness a clear sign of understanding the dangers of the dimension she was in.

Katherine looked out of place, a guardian of life and greenery in a place where no plants would ever sprout. She looked up at Shrub on the back of Mother Wolf with shock and relief. Katherine looking up at Shrub was already a weird experience but seeing the fey so shocked at her presence was another one.

“Shrub?” Katherine’s voice was filled with surprise and hope.

“Ah, yes? Thats me.” Shrub coughed into her hand, she may be a bit rusty in the talking department.

Katherine slowly walked closer. A few of Shrub’s wolves split off from the pack and rushed over to her, sniffing her with wagging tails.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. What are you doing in the nether?” Katherine’s face grew troubled even as she reached down and rubbed the head of Lord Saturn. “Did something happen to the Undergrove?”

Shrub inhaled sharply. Even after learning that the gnomes could still be alive, thinking about the Undergrove hurt. The work she had put into it only for it to be for nothing.

“The Undergrove is... fine. I’m sure the forest golems will take good care of it.” Shrub tried to project a tone of level headed wisdom instead of the roiling ball of emotions she was really feeling. Katherine looked confused still.

“But then why are you here? Why did you leave?”

Katherine couldn’t have known how much those words stung. She was just worried about Shrub’s people. She didn’t know that Shrub hadn’t had any people, that the people she might have were the reason she was in the nether in the first place. Katherine wasn’t accusing Shrub of being a bad leader but the words still hit home. Katherine didn’t know that the last time Shrub had been in the Undergrove was days ago, when she quickly checked it over for damages before leaving on her quest. Shrub was glad she still had the Wolf Spirit mask on. No worry of stray emotions leaking out.

“I’m here because my people are alive. The gnomes are out there and I need to find them. I have new information that they’re out here, past the borders of the Nether.” Shrub squared her shoulders. This time she knew they were alive, this time she had more than naive hope, she had proof. The word of a spirit and a destination.

To Shrub’s surprise Katherine didn’t look at her with the look of pity she was expecting, instead Katherine nodded in understanding. “Your people are out there and you’re a ruler, of course you’d leave everything behind to seek them out. Any good ruler would.”

What is it with Katherine and accidentally finding the worst things to say? Shrub was not a good ruler, she was just a farmer’s daughter faking being royalty. But of course, Katherine didn’t know that either.

“Right right, that’s right.” Shrub let out an awkward laugh. “A good ruler, yup, that’s me! The best ruler of the Undergrove.” Ok reign it in Shrub. Now she just sounds suspicious. An eyebrow raised, Katherine opens her mouth to ask a question but, thankfully for Shrub, only a dry cough came out. Shrub scrambled to unhook her water cask from her belt and slipped off the back of Lady Sun, jogging over to the fey queen and handing over the flask.

“Thank you.” Katherine coughed out after she had gulped down her fill and passed the flask back. “How did you get water in the nether anyways? I thought it would just all evaporate.”

“There’s water everywhere if you know how to get it.” Shrub said cryptically. Katherine put her hand on her hip and glared without any menace.

“Shrub! Come on, I want to know!” She pouts. Shrub chuckled..

“Ok ok i’ll tell you! A lot of the fungus here stores water inside them that you can get by draining them. It takes some work and you gotta know what kinds are ok to harvest from but when you do you never have to worry about dehydration in the nether anymore!”

Katherine’s eyes were shining with awe at this piece of knowledge. “How did you figure that out? I would have never guessed.”

“It’s actually the same for some mushrooms in the overworld too! The ones in dry areas need all the moisture they can get so they suck it up and store it for later use. My dad taught me all about them. He always knew everything there was to know about nature.” Shrub’s face fell briefly when she thought about her father but she schooled it back to it’s normal expression with the reminder that he’s not dead for sure, he could still be out there. “When I saw the kinds of mushrooms they had in the nether I wondered if they worked the same way. Lucky for me that they do.”

“That’s very useful stuff to know. I wish I knew all that before I entered this place.” Katherine reflected.

“How did you manage to survive out here this long?” Shrub asked before realizing the error of that question. “Not that I think you couldn’t! Obviously you have, seeing as you’re standing here in front of me. It’s actually kind of impressive that you went this long without knowing about the water trick.”

“I may have been making trips back to the overworld and collecting as many buckets of freshwater as I could.” Katherine cut in sheepishly.

Shrub continued her rant. “Even so, the nether is a harsh place and yet you braved it all alone.”

“So did you!”

“I mean, not really? I had my pack with me. We watched each other's backs.” Shrub patted Mother Wolf’s side as she spoke with clear fondness in her voice. Katherine’s expression grew wistful, a hint of pain hidden behind her eyes.

“Traveling with a group sounds wonderful. Much less dangerous I’d assume.”

Shrub caught the want in her voice, clearly she wasn’t trying to hide it. Katherine was the kind of person to be surrounded by people, friends and citizens and allies. A people person, unlike Shrub. Traveling alone for long amounts of time must not be good for her.

Shrub had an idea, a choice. If Katherine didn’t want to travel alone, why didn’t she travel with Shrub?

The look of shocked gratitude and happiness Katherine gave Shrub after she said that thought out loud was sure to stick with her till the end of time. Katherine nodded quickly, joy running through her body and out into the world via her jittering motions. Shrub unconsciously returned the smile even though she knew Katherine couldn’t see it. The fairy’s enthusiasm was contagious.

“Yes!” Katherine coughed once, ears pricking self-consciously at her outburst. “Yes I would love to travel with you. Thank you.”

“Great, glad that’s settled. You don’t have any particular location you’re planning on going to, right?” Shrub didn’t want to stop her quest for any reason so hopefully if Katherine needed to go somewhere it would be on the way. Luckily, Katherine shook her head.

“No, no. I’m not heading anywhere in particular. Just… wandering.” The way she said those words struck a chord in Shrub. Familiarity. Shrub realized that even though Katherine had asked her why she had left, Katherine had not disclosed her own reasons for leaving. Katherine wasn't wearing the crown of House Blossom anymore and her amethyst gear was left behind. It reminded Shrub of her own leaving of her kingdom in the weeks before, when she left behind the familiar clothes of her people and donned the Wolf Spirit garb for good. Shrub wouldn’t pry into Katherine’s situation now, that’d be rude, but still she wondered. Maybe they were more similar than she had thought.

Shrub hoisted herself back onto Mother Wolf’s back. She whistled a sharp note and the resting wolves stood back up, ready to run. Back on the ground Katherine shuffled in place awkwardly. Her wings opened and closed as she considered how she was going to keep up with the pack.

“Oh Katherine, you can ride with me. I’m a little gnome and Mother Wolf is very big, there’s lots of room.” Shrub patted the space behind her. Was that a hint of a blush on Katherine’s face? Nah, probably just the heat.

Katherine pulled herself up behind Shrub. She sat with grace and poise however her hands still rested awkwardly in the air.

“You might want to hold on. This isn’t the smoothest ride.” Shrub warned. Shrub turned around before she was Katherine’s reaction but a few seconds later she felt hands wrap around her waist gingerly. Shrub stiffed, the touch unexpected, and Katherine pulled her hands away.

“Sorry sorry i didn’t realize that's not what you meant-”

“No, actually it's fine.” Shrub’s face was warm but really, she hadn’t minded. “I did say to hold on.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m sure, Katherine, don't worry.” Shrub caught one of Katherine’s still flailing hands and moved it back to wrap around her waist. “This good?”

“Uh, yeah yeah that's great!” Katherine’s voice jumped an octave or two but she readjusted her arms to wrap more securely around Shrub’s waist. Shrub could feel how strong her arms were, sturdy and tough from years of swinging a greatsword. This was a lot more touch than Shrub had felt in a long time, barring the wolves of course. It was a lot, a good kind of a lot, but she knew that processing this revelation would take a lot out of her and she didn’t have time for that. Back into the box of repression it goes.

The hand signal to move again was given and the pack was once again racing over the nether wastes, now with one more member. Shrub’s mind was racing: trying to find a safe path through this fiery hell, calculating the amount of water and food rations and how long they’d last with another person joining and stomping on the mental lid of the repression box to keep herself from thinking too hard about how Katherine’s grip tightened wherever Mother Wolf jumped over a ridge. Even then, even still, the addition of Katherine was the best thing that had happened to Shrub since she received news that her people were alive again.

This hellish roadtrip would be a lot more enjoyable with another person by Shrub’s side

Chapter Text

Katherine had learned a few things after leaving her home. One, walking away from everything you know without taking anything with you is a bad idea, that one should have been obvious but oh well. Two, flying in the nether is just going to get you pelted by ghast balls unless you can dodge, which she couldn’t. Three, Shrub had changed a lot since they last talked. The evolution of a nervous gnome asking her to examine the crystal before blubbering out something about her being wrong and flying away to masked warrior commanding a pack of wolves on a trek through the nether was quite unexpected. Something had happened and Katherine didn’t know what. She had a feeling it had to do with the crystal, at least somewhat, or the rest of the gnomes. Maybe both. Probably both.

The two travelers had made camp a few minutes ago. Shrub had pulled some handfuls of dried mets out of a side pocket and passed them around to the wolves and Katherine. Just one bite and the meat fell apart in her mouth with a taste that reminded her of dull roots. It wasn’t like anything Katherine had ever had before, some kind of nether beast. Yet another thing Shrub was more knowledgeable than her.

Now don’t get her wrong, Katherine’s a very smart person. There’s a reason fWhip and Gem came for aid with the injected corruption problem, there’s a reason Lizzie was such a close ally to her, there’s a reason she was asked to teach Herbology in Gem’s school. Katherine knew her stuff but apparently, not all of it. Oh, if you wanted to know the lifespan of an Overgrown Feyfleur (25-30 years) or the uses of honey in potions (a binding agent used for combining two different effects into one concoction) she could tell you that. Katherine could rattle off facts from textbook after textbook of floral study but when it came to the stuff you learned from getting your hands dirty, well, Shrub had her beat by a lot.

Shrub was different from the people Katherine normally spoke with. Where the nobles and rulers were stiff and endlessly polite, Shrub wasn’t afraid to speak her mind even if it meant getting into trouble. She was rough and untidy, dirt under her fingernails and twigs in her hair. Even Katherine, who had lovey gardens of her own, cleaned up before meeting with dignitaries. Shrub showed up in grass-stained overalls like she had tumbled through the woods all the way there. It was genuinely charming, refreshingly so. But now…

Shrub was still Shrub, that was for sure, there was no change in the messy way she flopped down into a pile of wolves, sneaking pieces of food past her mask and feeding them jerky by hand. But she was different. Maybe it was the new outfit, the lack of her signature mushroom hat was throwing Katherine off. Katherine scrutinized Shrub, trying to figure out if that was it. She jolted in her seat when the lupine mask turned to face her, no expression readable past those glowing eyes. Right, staring is weird.

“So, I didn’t get the chance to ask earlier, at the emergency meetup during the end of the world, but what prompted the outfit change?” Katherine broke the tension with her question. “A big change from your overalls and mushroom hat. Very wolfy.” It really wasn’t a bad look, Katherine thought, just different. More shadowy and mysterious, a big change from the open and trustworthy Shrub she knew.

Shrub tilted her head to the side, contemplating her answer. “I first changed into this outfit back when Xornoth was still a threat and Joey and Sausage were still evil. I wanted to fight them but I didn’t want them to know it was me. Too much risk. The death of some of my wolves and the forest itself fueled me and I became the Wolf Spirit.” Katherine waited for a bit longer but Shrub didn’t continue. She didn’t.

Ok then. She doesn’t want to say anymore. Unusual for Shrub but Katherine wasn’t going to pry. Shrub had her reasons for only going out in vigilante apparel. She would respect that.

But gods if Katherine wasn’t curious. Her ally shows up to an emergency meeting of all empires decked out in full rogue garb complete with a full mask, how can Katherine not have questions? She drums her fingers against her wrist.

Shrub was still looking at her. It was really strange not being able to read her face. Shrub was always so expressive, smiling and frowning freely. If Shrub was feeling something you’d know it just from looking. Actually, that explains the mask. You don’t want your enemies being able to read every thought from your face. Bad for planning.

“Right, that explains that.” Katherine changed topics, “What about your hat? Fungus cap? I never figured out exactly what it was. I haven’t seen you wear it in a while.” The hat was large, there were very few places for Shrub to hide something that large.

Shrub looked down at the ground, gloved hands stilling and then folding in her lap. Oh, Katherine fucked up. She’d tripped another tnt trap of words. How many tough topics did Shrub have? How much more had been buried deep inside her?

“I…” Shrub spoke falteringly, chosing her words carefully. She’d been doing that a lot lately. “I left it behind in the Undergrove. It’s probably destroyed.” Her hands tightened in their grip. A wolf whined and curled around her comfortingly. Katherine wished she could do the same. She looked small, er, smaller than normal. A bundle of dark fabric topped with that mask. Katherine could only imagine what expression was under there. Probably something that’d make her heart clench.

“I’m sorry. I know that hat was important to you.” Katherine made her voice as soft and sympathetic as she could. Shrub was always wearing that hat, it obviously had some importance to her. Pair that with the fact that Shrub was the only gnome and well, it painted a sad picture.

“It was… it was my dad’s. He crafted it for me. Noticed me being bothered by the sun when I helped him weed the carrot patches. Spent the next few nights working on it. I knew he was doing something but he kept it so secret until it was ready. It wasn’t my birthday, it wasn’t Souls Day, he just made it for me because he could, cause he noticed I was struggling.” The words were flowing out of Shrub’s mouth, even as she curled more and more in on herself. “And I left it behind. It hurt so much to keep with me, I couldn’t look at it without seeing him. It was too painful. I left it on his tombstone, there wasn’t even a body inside. I had just given up hope then of him ever being alive. Of any of them ever being alive. When I left the Undergrove I left it behind, I left a lot behind, and even when I got hope again I didn’t pick it up again because I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.” Shrub ended her outburst out of breath, loud and shaky and close to tears. “Sorry Katherine I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Katherine sat stunned as Shrub turned away from her, burying herself into the nest of wolves. That was a signature Shrub rant all right but Katherine had never been on the end of one that strong and emotional. She didn’t know what to do. If she was braver, if she knew more about how to help, she would have walked right over and tried talking to Shrub again, this time making a better effort to smooth frayed emotions. If Katherine’s tricks and tactics for faking pleasant conversation would have worked here she would have used them.

But Katherine knew books, she knew potions, she knew manners and politics.

She didn’t know survival, she didn’t know the nether, she didn’t know emotions and she sure as hell didn’t know Shrub’s grief.

So Katherine turned away and took another bite into her bitter jerky strip.

——

They didn’t talk about it the next day. Shrub had risked the wrath of a cranky Katherine to wake her up before they were set to leave. Katherine stretched long and hard, the nether floor was not soft at all and Katherine’s night had been sleepless for more reasons than one. If only she could have had a bed but alas, the inherent respawn magic of them becoming explosive when interacting with the nether atmosphere. A shame. The durable travel blanket a wolf had wordlessly passed her last night would have to do.

Shrub sure had looked comfortable from the quick glances Katherine had given her over the course of the night, all cuddled up with her head in a wolf’s fur like a pillow. Would it be rude for Katherine to ask for a wolf pillow of her own the next night. It looked warm, maybe too warm. This was still the nether. Maybe gnomes ran cold?

Speculative gnome biology aside, Katherine focused back on getting ready to go. Shrub was packing up all the stuff she had gotten out for camping yesterday back into her shucker boxes: uneaten food, travel blanket, reusable torches, another set of the same Wolf Spirit outfit she was already wearing but in a slightly greener shade, and a book that from the cover looked to be a Mezalean book of short stories. Katherine checked over her own items, which were even less than Shrub’s. Just her netherite shortsword, the clothes on her back, food, the travel blanket that was still technically Shrub’s, and a few stacks of various blocks from the overworld she had remembered last minute to collect. Jeez, Katherine had not been prepared for a nether trip when Shrub had found her. It was pure luck that she had survived this long. That and some very good deals with the piglins.

Shrub walked over to Katherine just as the fairy finished collecting her items. She had a canteen in hand, a different one than the water flask Shrub gave her yesterday.

“Here.” Shrub passed over the canteen. “You look dead tired. It’s no Pixandrian black tea but we gnomes have our own morning brews. Still has some caffeine. Drink it, I don’t want you dozing off and falling off the back of Mother Wolf.” Shrub’s voice was light as she made the joke, but the kind of light Katherine knew came from hiding your real emotions behind a mask of cheer. At least she was still talking to Katherine what with how badly she messed up last night. A Shrub pretending that she wasn’t still upset was better than a Shrub quietly ignoring her.

“Thanks.” Katherine took a small sip of the drink. Gods, it was so sour! Earthy and thick and so, so sour. Katherine felt her body jolt awake from the pure flavor alone. And Shrub said this was tea? She coughed into her arm as discreetly as she could, she was sure that Shrub was laughing at her under the mask. She needed a distraction. “So, what’s the plan today? Got any clues to our next location.”

Shrub shrugged. “Well, not exactly, but I do know where we’re going today. We’re getting you some new clothes.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” Katherine snapped defensively. Her clothes were fine, thank you. Well, her dress was a thinner silk and not fireproof so the ends were a bit singed. And she supposed the tear in her sleeve from a skeleton’s arrow was a bit obvious (seriously why did regular skeletons spawn in the nether it made no sense no she wasn’t salty). And maybe the lack of shoes mixed with the insane amount of fire, lava, and magma in the nether was why her feet hurt so much. Katherine flushed. Ok maybe there was something wrong with her clothes. “Ok, I see your point.” Katherine took another gulp of the drink to hide her shame. Gods it didn’t get any less sour on the second try.

“Hmm, yeah, you look… a bit worse for wear.” Shrub acquiesced. “But you still look lovely! I promise!”

“No no I get it. Overgrown traditional dresses are made to stand a lot of things but hell is not one of them.” Katherine sighed. “I don’t know how we’d get me a more fitting outfit. It’s not like there’s any tailors out here.”

“Maybe not professional tailors up to your royal standards.” Oh now she was just teasing her. Katherine couldn’t help the smallest smile from twitching out. Teasing was closer to normal than fake jokes. They were on the right track. Shrub continued, “But I think we might be able to find a piglin trader at a bastion willing to trade for some. They would have the most experience crafting clothes for this enviroment.

Katherine’s face twitched minisculely, though not in happiness this time. Shrub was right but gods, Katherine was not looking forward to it. There was nothing wrong with piglin garb, from what she’d seen it was very durable and well made, but it did not fit Katherine’s style at all. Too many earth tones, not enough glittering purples and pinks. Katherine had a brand and piglin leathers were not a part of it. Also, have you seen how heavy those things are? It’s the nether the air is boiling you alive and piglins go out in 4 layers of fabric and leathers. Katherine would literally die.

But it was between intact unfashionable gear and destroyed fashionable gear and Katherine knew which one she had to pick. She sighed deeply.

“I suppose sacrifices must be made for survival. But do we even have anything to trade?” Please let them both be flat broke so that Katherine can wriggle out of this.

Lady Luck did not hear Katherine’s plea as Shrub retrieved one of her shulkers and opened it. Katherine saw a sizable amount of gold along with other precious metals and stones. A treasure box it seemed.

Katherine pressed her hands to her forehead and took one last sigh, schooling her face till her expression looked like a heroine about to be sacrificed for the good of her kingdom rather than a former queen about to receive new clothes. “I see there’s no getting out of this. Very well, I accept my defeat with grace and honor.”

“Katherine, it's just some clothes.” Shrub had repacked the shulker and was now climbing aboard Mother Wolf

Katherine joined her. “No, it's a fashion nightmare and the end of my dignity. Please Shrub let’s get this over with as soon as possible so I can mourn the loss of my amazing wardrobe”

“I really think you’re overreacting here, but ok!” Shrub whistled the command to move out and Mother Wolf sprung into a canter.

They took off in the direction of the looming black bastion in the far distance, heading towards Katherine’s doom.

No, she still wasn’t overreacting, it really was that dire.

At least Shrub was loosening up. Maybe the trade off of any Overgrown fairy’s respect for Katherine for Shrub’s good mood was worth it.

Katherine thought it was.

Chapter Text

The trip to the bastion went smoothly except for the end where both Shrub and Katherine realized that they had no gold armor and were at risk of being shot on sight. One small detour later and they both had crafted gold armor to wear: Katherine went with arm bracers in hope that it would bring back some of her aesthetic and Shrub went with a helmet crown solely for the reason that metal boots were too noisy. What? She was a sneaky gnome. The lighter the armor the better.

The wolves all had to stay outside unfortunately. Shrub didn’t have enough gold to make each of them an accessory and she didn’t want to risk the piglins counting them as people and shooting them. After Shrub gave each wolf a personal goodbye and promise to return— something which Katherine either thought was cute or annoying, Shrub couldn’t tell —the two travelers were finally at the fortress proper.

The opening door to the bastion was not so much a door than an archway. Open to all but protected by stationary guards in levels above holding loaded crossbows. They didn’t train them at Shrub or Katherine but eyed them all the same. The path inside the bastion walls was thick with ash and red dust, patterned with the imprints of hoofed feet. The inner hallways of the bastion were cramped, filled with the bodies of piglins moving about and doing tasks. Shrub was on the look-out for danger— this was still the nether of course —but thankfully she only saw the assumed amount of danger aka armed nether folk giving these two overworld travelers a strange look. No one looked poised to attack. The piglins were just living their lives as usual. Peeking through a crack in the bastion’s inner walls Shrub could see a family of piglins preparing a dinner of seared hoglin pork and fried mushrooms. It was familiar in the aching way Shrub was used too.

Shrub tore her gaze away from the family and back to Katherine. She was striding through the bastion with all the grace of the queen she was, taught muscle under the guise of a relaxed posture. Her head was high and her gaze was sharply observing the goings on around them. Occasionally she would call out to a piglin in a language of grunts and huffs, having a short conversation in sweet tones before receiving what info she asked for and dragging Shrub in a new direction. It was intimidating in all honesty. The aura of a true ruler, using kindness as strength. Shrub admired the way Katherine fell into this role so effortlessly. She also admired the grin Katherine gave her, soft but with a hint of fang.

Shrub cleared her throat. “You speak piglin?”

“A little. Honestly I’m much better at reading and writing it than I am speaking or understanding it. I picked it as a language to study because of how useful it is. You never know when you’ll need to speak to them: case in point right now.” Katherine gestured to the piglins around them.

Shrub dodged out of the way of one of said piglins, murmuring an apology. “Thats super neat! The only language I know is Wolf and I’m not so sure it counts. I mean I never spent time studying it, I just kinda knew it one day. Wolf isn’t really a language anyways its more of an understanding of intent communicated by barks and growls.”

“So there’s no set bark for ‘Hello’ or ‘Danger’ or ’Squirrel?’”

“No it’s more like I hear what they mean in my head when they bark and I can read their body language but it’s not words. Though it’s pretty easy to know when they see a squirrel. They all point and stare at it.” Shrub giggled lightly at the thought.

Katherine chuckled in return, even though Shrub didn’t think the joke was that funny, before her eyes caught on something in the alleyway ahead.

“Look!” Katherine points out a burst of color from a banner hanging over the entrance to a room ahead. “Those criss-crossing patterns mean that it’s the home of a tailor. I remember learning that from my studies. It was easy to remember cause they look like knitting needles.” Shrub squinted. They did look like knitting needles.

Katherine led Shrub inside the shop. Shrub blinked as her eyes adjusted to the low light of the building. A metal lantern provided all the light of the main storefront. The shards of colored glass molded together to make the panes gave the shop interior a very colorful look. There were clothes hanging everywhere: dark leathers hung from the ceiling, tunics and shirts folded on tables, shoes packed against a wall. A loom was tucked into a corner, the green-and-blue banner design unfinished, and on shelves sat small figurines of birds in cast metal and painted wood, both rare commodities here in the nether. Katherine had stepped ahead of Shrub and was browsing through some multi-colored scarves, an expression of reluctant approval on her face. Shrub couldn’t help but feel amused at that. It seemed that Katherine could have her dignity and aesthetic after all.

Shrub didn’t see anyone in the shop other than them, not even the tailor themself. Katherine did a final spin around the shop before stepping over to a dark metal door that Shrub hadn't noticed behind all the vividness of the shop proper. She knocked twice and in a few seconds the clip clop of hooves was heard walking to the door. It opened up, revealing a stout piglin with coarse off-white hair and dressed in a dramatic cyan-and-crimson cape. Katherine spoke a few words in piglin, they grunted back in a nasally tone and pushed past her into the storefront.

“You are here for travel wear, yes?” The piglin asked in common Shrub when they noticed her off in the corner. Shrub set down the bandana she was offhandedly looking at and nodded.

“Yes, for me specifically. As you can see my current garb is less than satisfactory for travel. Long story.” Katherine saved Shrub from an awkward conversation by butting back in at the right time.

“Don’t even start. I do not have time for long tales. What outfit are you looking for?” They looked tired and bored of Katherine’s presence already and she hadn’t even been in the shop for 10 minutes. Katherine’s brow furrowed in annoyance at their rude tone but she quickly schooled it back to her pleasant business expression. It happened so fast that if Shrub wasn’t already looking at her she would have missed it.

“I do but I don’t think I can explain it well in spoken piglin. Hold on.” Katherine turned back to face Shrub, her voice losing that honeyed edge it had before.

“Shrub, do you have any paper and something to write with? I think I can write what I want better than say it”

“I think so? Let me look” Shrub pulled out her shulker boxes and rummaged around in them. At the bottom of her box of rockets (which she didn’t use anymore after giving up her wings) she found some spare pieces of paper and charcoal. Katherine took them from her gratefully before getting to work gleefully scribbling something down. Shrub tried to peek over her shoulder but Katherine pushed her away.

“Not yet! I want this to be a surprise.” She said playfully. Shrub rolled her eyes in mock annoyance (even if Katherine couldn’t see them behind her mask. Shrub was a master at stealth so when Katherine wasn’t looking Shrub snuck another look. The words were unreadable to her. Right, piglin.

The slip of paper was passed over to the tailor, who grumbled under their breath as they read it and pulled Katherine into the back of the shop. Katherine barely had the time to wave Shrub goodbye before the door was slammed shut, leaving Shrub standing there all alone.

Well, that sure happened

So Shrub sat there in the middle of a small clothing shop, perched on a stone slab bench and kicking her legs as low voices murmured in the other room. She picked at the ends of her gloves and counted the different shades of brown leather as she waited.

Finally, the door creaked open again. First walked out the tailor, stern expression mixed with what Shrub thought was a hint of pride. Walking behind them was Katherine in all her radiant glory.

And oh, was it a lot of radiant glory.

The first thing Shrub noticed was the raspberry colored shawl over her shoulders, woven with patterns of vines. It was a pop of color that offset the brown leather chest plate, darker undershirt, and earthy pants. The second thing was the matching magenta scarf tied around her waist, the gold tasseled ends dangling by her side. The third thing, oddly enough, was the boots, if only for the fact that Shrub had never seen Katherine in a pair of shoes ever. The last and most striking thing was the small gold piercings in Katherine’s ears. They looked like flowers, the bright yellow ones that were secretly Shrub’s favorite. It melded well with the gold bracers Katherine had on from before.

Shrub didn’t know why Katherine was so upset about how she’d look in leathers, she looked amazing.

Shrub watched awestruck as Katherine twirled and bowed in front of her. “I have to admit, this isn’t half bad. I need to get more clothing in darker purples, this looks amazing.”

“Yeah, it does.” Shrub choked out.

“And! It has pockets!” Katherine made a show of sticking her hands into the pants side pockets. Wow, did her arms look nice in that shirt. Ack, bad though. Back, back in the box.

“The most important part of any outfit.” Shrub joked in an attempt to bring her mind away from how nice Katherine looked. Katherine nodded seriously.

“Of course. Every outfit needs at least 2 pockets. Where else are you supposed to hide your snacks?” Shrub raised an eyebrow

“Don’t you wear dresses?”

“Oh I get my dresses tailored to have pockets too.”

“You can do that?” Shrub muttered to herself. The tailor came back holding Katherine’s old dress, which Katherine took gratefully and put it away. The tailor stood there, waiting for something. After a moment Shrub realized that they hadn’t paid yet and she quickly passed over some gold ingots. The tailor chuffed happily and waved them off.

Reentering back into the hustle and bustle of the rest of the bastion, Shrub’s stomach grumbled at the smell of street food. She hadn’t eaten much this morning, making sure that Katherine and the wolves are fed first, so the smell of fried food was extra enticing. Katherine glanced down at her.

“Well I don’t know about you but boy am I hungry. Clothes-shopping works up more of an appetite than you’d expect. Wanna get some food here?” Katherine suggested. Shrub nodded, grateful to Katherine for giving her an out.

The nearest food cart looked to be selling boiled roots and veggie noodles covered in bright orange mushroom curry. It didn’t look too dissimilar from something Shrub’s mother would have made back home, though the color was very different. It smelled heavenly too.

While they waited in line Katherine had pulled out another piece of paper and put down their orders on it. When they reached the front Katherine handed the list over.

“One mushroom curry and noodles and an order of meat and mushroom dumplings, eh? You got a big appetite there.” The scraggy piglin at the counter rasped in fluent common.

“Oh no, the first order is for my friend here.” Katherine gestured to Shrub, who had pulled herself up and was handing from the end of the counter to try and see better. The piglin jumped at her quick appearance.

“Gah! You’re a sneaky one aren’t ya. I should know better by now. This isn’t the first time one of you small folk have bought from my stand.”

Shrub perked up immediately. “You’ve seen gnomes? When? How long ago? Did you see where they went?” The vendor took another step back at her rapid-fire questions.

“Geez I don’t know, a week ago? It was a whole party of them. Like 8 at least. Ordered all of the mushroom curry I had made that day. Chipper folks but had the deep sadness you see in most folks who lost everything. Paid with nuggets, a whole lot of nuggets. One asked for directions to the edge of the nether. No idea why you’d go there, it's cold as hell and too bright for my taste, but I sent them that way/“ At this the piglin pointed eastwardly. “No clue what happened to them after that. Why you asking?”

Shrub was too overwhelmed with happiness to speak. This was it, they had a lead. Someone had seen the gnomes. When it became clear that Shrub couldn’t put her words together because of pure joy Katherine spoke up.

“They’re her people. She’s been searching for them for a long time.

“My family might be with them.” Shrub whispered as soon as she could find the words. The vendor looked shocked.

“Well damn, that sounds like a mighty big quest you got there. I wish you luck finding your folks. Oh and here, take your food. Don’t let it get cold.” He passed over the sealed dishes which Katherine took thankfully. She guided Shrub over to a stone bench on the other side of the alley. Shrub sat down next to her, kicking her feet with too much energy.

“We have a lead!” She said incredulously. This was it, this was really happening. She could see her family again.

“We do.” Katherine opened the first container of food. “We also didn’t get any silverware.” She mumbled the last part to herself.

It was rather awkward eating noodles and curry without a fork and with a full face mask on but Shrub made do. The taste alone was worth it. It tasted like home and satisfaction and love, all mixed into one dish.
Shrub slurped her noodles and Katherine nibbled on one of her dumplings and everything was right in the world. Katherine offered Shrub a dumpling and Shrub agreed but only if Katherine would accept some of her curry. She did and ended up with a smear of curry sauce on her face. Without thinking, Shrub wiped it off. It was the kind of earnest affectionate thing that Shrub would have done before, in the times when Katherine and Shrub spent time together between diplomatic meetings. Sure she hadn’t done it in a long time, hadn’t had someone to be affectionate with ever since she left, but she didn’t regret it. It was natural and Katherine didn’t look upset by it; she just smiled at Shrub. Shrub was probably imagining the hint of a blush on her face and the way her ears pricked forward again, lie she was giving Shrub all her attention.

It took them a while to finish, the portions were bigger than they had expected and it's harder to eat when you’re talking about what they plan for the next leg of the journey. Eventually their dishes were empty and stashed away for later use. Shrub jumped off the bench first followed by Katherine, who stretched and grumbled about hard surfaces.

“Ok, we’ve gotten me some new clothes, we’ve eaten, we’ve planned out what to do next, time to go?” Katherine prompted.

“Yeah, it probably is. The wolves must be worried about us.” Shrub started to jog down the road, Katherine and her long legs easily keeping up with her.

Katherine snorted. “I think it’s you they’d be worried about, not me.”

“Nah, they like you too. Do you think they greet everyone with such enthusiasm?” It was obvious to Shrub how much the wolves enjoyed Katherine’s presence. She was a bright, passionate person who loved nature nearly as much as Shrub herself and also gave great scratches. Katherine looked surprisingly touched by this.

“Oh, well I like them too.” Katherine admitted softly. She sounded sheepish, like admitting this was embarrassing to say. Her eyes flicked from Shrub’s face to the rocky pathway and then back again. Shrub tilted her head in confusion. Sometimes Katherine didn’t make sense. It was just about the wolves, right?

“You should tell them that. They’d love it. Make sure to mention what good doggos they are too. Even big wolves like being called a good boy.” Katherine laughed at this but nodded.

“Of course. I’ll tell them.” Shrub beamed at her, forgetting for a moment that Katherine couldn’t see it. Darn this mask, she wanted Kathrine to know how she was feeling. Oh wow, that was a terrifying thought. Back onto the repression box.

Soon, they were out of the bastion and reunited with the wolves. After a series of very happy puppy kisses and smelling of Katherine’s new clothes, everyone was ready to leave. Shrub mounted Mother Wolf and extended a hand to Katherine. Katherine looked at it blankly and Shrub nearly pulled it away. Why would Katherine need Shrub’s help getting on; Katherine’s super strong and obviously can pull herself on. Shrub opened her mouth to apologize and take it back.

Katherine took her hand instead.

It took Shrub a few seconds to process this, seconds she was instead using to think about how nice Katherine’s hand was. Why were all her thoughts like this today what was happening? The repression box was not doing its job.

Shrub pulled Katherine onboard as soon as she had control of her own mind. Forget what she said about wanting Katherine to see her emotions, she never wanted to take this mask off. Her face was bright red for sure.

Katherine settled in comfortably behind Shrub. Like before, her arms wrapped around Shrub’s waist. Unlike before, her chin was also resting on the top of Shrub’s head. The command to head out died in Shrub’s throat. This felt nice. Katherine being close to her felt nice.

Oh spirits, what was happening today?

Why was Katherine causing all these emotions and thoughts to pop up?

Was this a crush?

Oh god this is a crush.

She had a crush on Katherine.

Katherine.

In all honesty she should have expected this.

Shrub was pulled out of her spiral of realization by Katherine’s voice.

“Shrub? Are you alright?”

Oh spirits she was so close to Shrub’s ear this was the worst. This was also the best. Why were emotions so conflicting?

“Yeah sorry I thought I saw something.” Shrub lied. She was not just going to tell Katherine what she had been thinking of, no way. Better to push all those thoughts to the bottom of the repression box and then maybe tie the box to an anchor and send it down to the bottom of the ocean. Yeah, that would work.

After doing just that internally, Shrub whistled the command to go. They had a trail to follow. She was not going to think about Katherine’s finger tapping against her stomach when she got bored. She was not going to think about Katherine leaning down to give a wolf a pet on the head mid trot and the core strength needed to keep herself from falling off. She was not going to think about Katherine resting her cheek on Shrub’s head when she got tired. Shrub was going to think about what direction the pack needed to go and clues as to where the gnomes were and nothing else.

Oh who was she kidding she was thinking about it.

This trip just got a whole lot more difficult.

Chapter Text

“So what’s the plan? Are we going through or around. Or over, we could do that too.” Katherine gazed up at the obstacle in front of her as she spoke. Said obstacle being a very large nether fortress no-doubt swarming with blazes, wither skeletons, and magma cubes. She looked over at Shrub, who’s masked face was pointed at Katherine before she turned to look back at the structure.

“Going through is risky, especially for the wolves, but going around could take up valuable time. What if the gnomes went through and we went around? It could take us double the amount of time to catch them.” Shrub said from on top of her mount. Katherine had dismounted to look around leaving Shrub as the sole rider of the dire wolf. Katherine hummed as the gnome continued. “That is if we can even go around at all. I don’t see any clear paths that don’t involve riding over lava.” She emphasized her points with wild gesticulations. This area of the nether had been quite annoying to traverse and Katherine was quite tired of having to mine netherrack to make bridges. As soon as she can she’s going to put research into making lava proof boats.

“That's true.” Katherine agreed. “All right, we go through.”

Shrub dismounted and the two of them got to work moving inside the structure. It was hard hollowing out a large enough pathway and sneaking through the halls with a pack of wolves (and one very large wolf) surrounding them. Katherine was on high alert for any of the standard fortress mobs, things like wither skeletons and blazes. Shrub was also on the lookout, curled like an adder in the grass, poised and ready to strike when needed.

The group reached a crossroads. The bridge in front of them had crumbled away. Katherine could see remnants of it floating in the lava sea below. Neither of the intact bridges lead in the direction they wanted to go. Shrub stepped in front of the group, looking from side to side quickly before turning to face Katherine. “I’ll scout oh ahead, find us the right pathway. I’m small, mobs won’t see me.” She hissed just loud enough for Katherine’s sensitive cat ears to pick up.

Katherine gnawed on the inside of her cheek. This was risky, even more risky than the original plan. Splitting up would leave Shrub in danger if she was attacked but Shrub was right; her small size and roguish abilities would allow her to dodge the perceptions of the mobs. Plus sticking with the group and just picking a pathway could lead to loss of valuable time, the very thing they wanted to avoid by going into the fortress in the first place.

Still, even knowing that it was a logical plan, Katherine didn’t want Shrub to go. Some irrational, emotional part of her wanted to loudly object at the very idea of splitting up. She wanted to make Shrub stick with her, providing cover fire while Katherine charged up ahead and took the hits. She wanted to make sure Shrub was never at risk ever again.

It was an interesting train of emotion but Katherine’s logical side won out this time. She let out a soft sigh and nodded. “Ok, but be safe.”

“I’ll try!” Shrub’s voice was much lighter than Katherine’s. It should have provided her with hope but still, the curling worming urge to beg Shrub to stay persisted. It crawled around Katherine’s heart even as the gnome was gone from sight.

Katherine went back to her duty of watching her enemies, pacing carefully around the wolves, always wary not to step on any of their feet. She gripped the leather hilt of her netherite sword tightly. It felt wrong in her hands, too small and light compared to what she was used to, but that’s what she gets for leaving behind her amethyst great sword. It works for now and that’s all that matters. Hopefully it would be enough to fight with if the time came to, even if she doubted how much damage it could really do.

For a time, the only sounds came from the sounds of breathing from the wolves, the distant sizzling from lava bubbles below, and the loud beating of Katherine’s own heart right in her ears. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Her hand wound its way into the fur of Mother Wolf, gripping it tightly.

Just as Katherine’s thoughts about how long Shrub had been some reached their height and Katherine was about to start looking for her, a yelp of pain tore across the silent halls. Katherine was in motion immediately, her mind and feet racing as she booked it down the tunnel where Shrub had gone. She could hear the clicking of the wolves claws on the brick behind her but all that was muffled out by the echoing scream repeating in her mind.

She spun around a corner- digging her claws into the for to keep her balance -when she saw her. Shrub, backed into a corner by a duo of ashy-boned skeletons brandishing their venom-dipped swords. There was a crumpled skeletal corpse a few feet away, an arrow in its skull. Shrub held her unnocked bow in front of her as a shield against her attackers. She looked worn and tired, her compressed energy expended till all that was left was someone on their last legs trying to stay alive. All of this had already made Katherine puff up in anger but she saw something even worse. A large gash torn right through Shrub’s cloak and tunic, deep enough that blood was staining her tunic already. The edges of the wound were turning ashy black, a sign of wither venom infecting the bloodstream.

Katherine saw red.

“BACK THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!” Katherine drew her sword and charged. The skeleton did not back the fuck away, as it was a skeleton and had no brain to understand language. So instead it was face to face with the sword wielded by a very angry fairycat. Katherine bisected its arm from its toros with the first swipe. The second went wide, Katherine’s anger making her put too much force into her strikes. The third and the forth were slashes to the legs and the fifth was so strong that the blade got lodged into one of the mob’s ribs. All of this happened before the skeleton even had the time to bring up its blade to strike back and even when it did it was too late to stop the sixth blow from turning it into dust. Katherine panted, burning adrenaline and rage flowing through her veins.

She stood over the corpse of the double-dead body before remembering in a flash that oh no, there was another one. She raised her sword to block the incoming strike as it clanged harmlessly off of it. A wolf latched onto the skeleton's leg, tearing with all its might. Another bit down on its arm. With the help of the pack, the skeleton was quickly brought down to the ground and then decapitated by Katherine.

As soon as the fight was over Katherine rushed over to Shrub. She was leaning heavily against the wall now but was still standing, her bow laying uselessly at her side.

“Shrub, it's Katherine. I’m here now. You’re safe. How bad is your arm?” Katherine looked down and winced. Oh yeah that’s bad. She could maybe treat it but they needed to get somewhere safe. “Do you think you can get on the back of Mother Wolf with me? We need to get to safety.” Shrub groaned and struggled to stand upright.

“My arm hurts a lot but it’s going numb now. I can walk.” Numbness, the first stage of wither venom poisoning followed quickly by the feeling of needles being repetitively stabbed into your body and then lava burning up your limbs. Thankfully death came much later. Yeah, Katherine wasn’t letting Shrub walk on her own anytime soon.

“You need to get on Mother Wolf. You’ve been poisoned and we only have a limited amount of time before the symptoms get overwhelming. I can treat it if we get somewhere safe and you are in no condition to walk.” Katherine pulled on all the knowledge of persuasion she could. She wasn’t sure how much of her great internal panic was showing in her voice. Probably a lot.

Shrub took a step forward, about to retort, but she stumbled and Katherine reached out to catch her. Shrub grunted in pain, cradling her arm gingerly.

“Fine, I’ll ride with you. Just… help me?” Shrub said weakly, the effects of the poison already taking over. Katherine nodded and swept Shrub up into her arms. The emotional part of Katherine cried out again. Shrub was so small, even smaller now that she was curled up around her injury. It made Katherine want to run back and stomp on all those bones until they were as fine as dust and then bring back their spirits and smash them again.

But she couldn’t, because Shrub was in danger and that came first. Mother Wolf bounded up to her and she swung onto her back, securing Shrub in her arms before gripping a hand tightly into the wolf matriarch’s fur.

“I don’t know how Shrub does this but go!” She yelled. Thankfully the spiritual guardian of the wolves was sentient enough to understand the command and also had an understanding of the situation enough to not buck Katherine off for her rudeness. Katherine wasn’t sure if Mother Wolf would do that anyways. Katherine felt bad about yelling, she never liked doing it, but that was nothing compared to the fear and protectiveness she held for Shrub. The gnome was still curled up in a ball but now her hands were tightly gripping the end of Katherine’s waist scarf. Katherine’s heart clenched and she wrapped her free hand around Shrub’s uninjured arm, giving it what was hopefully a reassuring squeeze. Katherine was here and nothing would happen to Shrub on her watch not again.

The pack raced across the fortress bridges, dodging and weaving around enemies. The wolves kept most of their foes away and Katherine used her sword to cut down the ones that got too close, all while not removing her hand from Shrub’s arm. She could see the end of the bridge in the distance, connecting to a strip of land over the lava sea. They made the final push to get to it, Katherine growling as she faced the final hoard that was the only thing between her and relative safety.

A final puff of a disintegrating blaze and they were home free with barely any scratches on them. Shrub was still the most injured out of all of them so she came first. Katherine could ignore her singed ears if it meant saving Shrub’s life.

Mother Wolf had found them a crevice in the netherrack wall which Katherine had quickly expanded into a hidden cave for them to rest. She had rested Shrub against the wall and was now looking through their collective stuff for potions. Thankfully, Katherine found some in her own cache of items. High quality regeneration potions, made by one of the best potion makers in Empires: herself. It wasn’t a healing potion but hopefully it would do.

“How does your arm feel? Describe it in as much detail as possible.” Katherine scooted on her knees in front of Shrub, one of the potions in hand.

“Like I made the mistake of eating Granny Rhubarb’s Super Spicy Wyrmfruit jam again but this time I also stuck my arm right into the vat of boiling preserve.” Shrub wheezed. It took Katherine a bit to unravel the analogy. Fire, stage 3. The final stage of pain before the actual disintegration starts.

They had to be careful. Giving Shrub a regeneration potion could help her fight off the venom or if it had progressed too far it could give the venom more strength to eat through Shrub’s body. If the venom got worse because of a regen potion there wasn’t much Katherine could do without wasting what precious resources they still had and even then Shrub still could die. There was really only one way to reliably know how far the venom had progressed.

Katherine hesitated. “Shrub, I don’t know if this is rude of me but your life is in danger so forgive me if it is but I need you to remove your mask.” From the way Shrub viscerally reacted even while in extreme pain, Katherine could tell that she didn’t like that idea. “I need to know how bad the wither venom had spread. Your eyes, if there’s no black veins in them then we know the venom hasn’t reached them and we still have time. Please, I know you don’t want to but I don’t want you to die.” Katherine’s voice cracked on that last line. Shrub’s mask blankly stared back at her and for a brief, terrifying moment Katherine thought she was going to refuse. Then, with careful and cautious movements, Shrub lifted her mask with her free hand.

Oh, her eyes. How could Katherine have forgotten how captivating those eyes were. What words did she even have to describe them? Were they like the sweetest honey from Katherine’s hives? Were they like the bright lights of the fireflies of the fields? Were they like the rare topaz gem Katherine had seen once on The Emperor Crown? They were like all those things and more. The one thing Katherine didn’t notice was the appearance of any black veins.

“You’re all good. Here, drink this.” Katherine lifted up the uncorked bottle to Shrub’s lips. The gnome reached up and held the bottle to take a large sip before gagging and dropping the bottle.

Katherine caught it before it could break against the floor. She held it back out to Shrub. “The flavor really leaves something to be desired. I’ve tried to mask the bitter sweetness with other ingredients but it always sacrifices the quality of the potion. It’s more important to have a potion that does what it’s needed than to have one that tastes good.” Katherine explains as Shrub sputtered but finished the potion.

“I get it but gods, it’s so bad!” Life was beginning to return to Shrub’s voice. Already she was leaning against the wall with her own strength, though she didn’t move away from Katherine at all. A look at the cut showed that the black lines were disappearing and the cut was even healing a little but it was obvious that it would still need to be bandaged. Obviously the potion’s effect was used up more on the actual dispelling of the venom rather than the closing of the wound.

Shrub was leaning against Katherine’s shoulder, eyes slipping closed as she worked to regain her strength. A part of Katherine mourned the loss of those eyes but another was edited by the fact that she could see her expression for the first time in weeks. It wasn’t the most happy expression, tired and drained but also relieved. Katherine let her gaze wander around her face. She noticed the tense line of her forehead, the dotting of freckles across her cheeks and nose, and the beginnings of some stubble on the sides of her chin. Katherine only tore her gaze away when Shrub opened her eyes again, even though she wasn’t sure why she was embarrassed for staring.

Shrub hissed as she reached down to check on her cut, pulling Katherine away from her deep thoughts.

“Do we have any bandages?” She asked, already pulling away to check the boxes of stuff again.

“No, I used the last of them to wrap Lord Mercury’s leg a few days ago.”

“And we didn’t stock up at the bastion. I knew there was something I forgot.” Katherine muttered to herself. Still there had to be something they could use as a bandage. Having a wound open like that was a recipe for infection, especially in the nether.

Katherine’s hand brushed against the ends of her waist scarf as she double checked the boxes and she had an idea. Unwrapping the scarf she appraised it. It was long but not too long and made of a fabric that would be good for absorbing. Nodding to herself she spun around and knelt next to Shrub again. Shrub’s eyes widened at the sight of the scarf and she pushed herself back away from Katherine.

“Katherine, no, that's a part of your outfit! You spend gold on that.” Shrub protested.

“But you’re more important than a silly outfit. I’d rather have my companion be ok than have a stylish outfit.” Katherine pushed back. “Besides, it was only an accessory. The shawl provides enough color on its own.”

“Well, ok.” Shrub acquiesced. Now that she had the go ahead, Katherine gingerly held Shrub’s hand and arm with one hand and pulled up the sleeve of her jacket with the other. She observed the wound again, moving so close that the hairs of Shrub’s arm moved when she breathed. Small goosebumps appeared on Shrub’s arm as Katherine observed it, probably as a result of the proximity and not as a symptom of the venom. Probably. Wither venom was still a mostly unknown kind of toxin.

Katherine began the process of cleaning the wound before wrapping it. She used some of the water that Shrub had given her for drinking to clean the cut as well as another region potion, a weaker one this time. Then she began wrapping her arm, being as careful as she could. Shrub winced and Katherine froze. Shrub’s face was tense but she nodded for Katherine to continue. When the makeshift bandage was tied Katherine held onto Shrub’s hand a bit longer than necessary. Shrub looked down at their joined hands and smiled softly. In a flash the expression was gone, replaced by a look of anxiety. Katherine didn’t know what she did to cause that but she wanted to fix it.

“Thank you Katherine.” Shrub muttered as she pulled her arm away, almost reluctantly. Katherine folded her hands into her lap to stop them from reaching out again.

“Of course! It was no problem.” Katherine stood up. “How about I get dinner started? I think we still have enough mushrooms for a light stew. That sound good?” At the words “mushroom stew” Shrub lit up again.

“Oh, that sounds wonderful! Yes please!” Shrub said with a big smile. Katherine nodded to herself. Good, no more anxious Shrub.

Katherine began the work of preparing the stew, cutting the mushrooms and putting them in the collapsible pot Shrub had packed. When she turned around to ask Shrub if they had any spices Shrub had retrieved her mask and was wearing it again. Katherine felt weirdly disappointed. But why?

A thought slammed into Katherine with the force of a ravager; she wanted to see Shrub’s eyes again. It wasn’t a profound or strange thought by any means but the impact of it knocked the breath out of her.

She wanted to stare deep into those eyes for as long as possible. She wanted to see what they would look like when Shrub smiled, when Shrub laughed. She wanted to see all the smallest emotions flit across their surface, just like they used to do before all of this happened. She wanted to see Shrub, unveiled and fully herself, no masks hiding her.

Taking a deep breath, Katherine mulled over that thought again. She didn’t exactly know why she wanted that so badly but some part of her did. The same part that wanted to keep Shrub right beside her where nothing could harm her again. It was a strong want and Katherine didn’t know what to do with it.

There wasn’t time to dive into her mind and dissect the meaning of this urge, life had to go on in the present. Later, when they were safe and Shrub was reunited with her people, then Katherine could figure this out. She just had to wait a bit longer.

Chapter Text

Shrub awoke slowly to a dull pain in her arm. She grimaced and tried to move into a better position but the pain wouldn’t go away. She opened her eyes blearily and looked down at her arm. The makeshift bandage of Katherine’s scarf covered the area of pain. Gradually she remembered what happened yesterday. Her trying to be useful and scout, the skeletons ganging up on her, Katherine saving and then taking care of her. Her not being good enough on her own.

She gritted her teeth. She was supposed to show Katherine that she could be relied on, that she could do things on her own, but that backfired. She had to be rescued. It was frustrating. She knew she wasn’t good enough to lead a kingdom but now she wasn’t good enough at something she trained in? She was a survivalist but she couldn’t even stop mobs from spotting her. They didn’t even have eyes and they still had spotted her!

She pushed herself away from the pile of wolves that surrounded her and into a sitting position. With a sigh she leaned her head back against the cave wall. When she left the Undergrove, she did it partially because she wasn’t worthy of being a ruler. She couldn’t trust herself. She gave the crown to Katherine because Katherine was always trustworthy. Katherine wouldn’t fail. She left with her pack and survived on her own. It was better to be alone with only the wolves than to stay in a place made to mimic a land long gone, built by an imposter ruler. She was good on her own, she led the pack and took care of everyone. When the other Mother Wolf told her that her people were alive, she knew that she could survive long enough to make it to them.

But she nearly hadn’t. If it wasn’t for Katherine, Shrub would be dead. She would never see her family ever again. She would have left Katherine and the wolves all alone in a hostile place. All because she couldn’t defeat 3 mobs on her own.

Shrub took a shaky breath, tears prickling in her eyes. From the moment she landed in this world she’s failed. Even before that she failed. She ran away when Xornoth attack her gnomeland, she couldn’t stop them from being freed, she couldn’t find her people, she couldn’t rule a kingdom of no one, she couldn’t stop Xornoth and Joey from kidnapping her, she couldn’t even take care of a crystal without nearly losing her mind to paranoia! She couldn’t even be a vigilante right, none of her secret meddling did anything in the end. What has she done besides be the ruler that everyone forgot about? What good was she without someone to use as a crutch. Why couldn’t she be useful on her own.

Shaking with silent sobs, she curled up into as small of a ball as she could make herself. Maybe if she squeezed tight enough she could disappear into the shadows again and be useful for something, even if it was only not being seen.

Shrub was holding down the lid of the box that held her emotions but it was getting harder and harder to keep them inside. All the feelings she hadn’t had time to digest were leaking out not just internally but externally too. Her cheeks were wet with tears under the mask.

Distant sounds of rustling and confused noises murmured close to her. Through the tears and past the glass of her mask she saw Katherine uncurl from her sleeping spot. She looked around the carved niche they had camped in and locked eyes with Shrub in the corner. Shrub stayed as still as possible, hoping that if she didn’t move then Katherine wouldn’t see her. Unfortunately, she did.

“Shrub?” Katherine blearily rubbed her eyes. “Are you alright?”

Shrub opened her mouth to respond that she was just fine, that Katherine could go back to sleep, that everything was under control, but what slipped out was a choked whimper. Katherine’s eyes went wide and she hurried over to kneel by Shrub’s side. She reached out but pulled back when Shrub only curled deeper in on herself.

“It's ok, Shrub, I’m here.” Katherine tried to soothe the distressed gnome.

“And that’s the problem.” Shrub mumbled.

“…what?”

“That's the problem! You’re here when I need you because I can’t do things alone. You had to save me when I was supposed to be able to handle it! I don’t have much I’m good at. I couldn’t run a kingdom, I couldn’t stop Xornoth, I couldn’t find my people, I’m only good at surviving and taking care of myself on my own but I couldn’t even do that properly! I’ve been leaning people so much because I can’t do things on my own! I was trying to show you I could take care of myself but that only ended up nearly getting me killed. I want to contribute! I want to help people too! I don’t want to be a scared coward who runs away from things that she has to do alone! I need to be better! I need to be able to actually take care of things! I need to be worthy! But I’m not and everything’s falling apart! I failed the gnomes, I failed the Undergrove, I failed myself, and now I failed you!” Shrub exclaimed. Like Pandora’s box once the lid was cracked everything started flowing out.

Katherine leaned back, shock covering her face before it morphed into something more akin to understanding. Katherine looked at Shrub like she had just fit the last piece of a puzzle into place, like she could understand her. Her face softened and she leaned in closer.

“Well, that’s not what I see. I may have saved you but you saved me too. Do you think I would have survived in the nether on my own for long? No! You arriving when you did saved my life. I didn’t know any of the tips and tricks of living off the land like you do. You’re smart and capable. We all have our strengths in different areas and that’s ok. You’re not supposed to exist alone. And also, you didn’t fail. You took down Joey in the final battle with me, you survived Xornoth’s corruption when so many others fell to it, you solved Joey’s puzzle and got the crown and you’re still looking for your people when many others would have given up. You’re strong and you are worthy.”

Katherine’s face showed compassion but the guilt still writhed inside Shrub’s chest.

“…but if I can’t do it alone, how can people rely on me? What if I’m not strong enough on my own?”

“Is that such a bad thing? It’s ok to rely on people, balance out your strengths with theirs. I’ll help you stand on your own and steady you when you falter. We can be a team, helping each other.”

A warm feeling bloomed inside Shrub. Community, something she hadn’t had in a long time. It warred with the guilt, forming a tumultuous mass of swirling emotions.

“What could I offer you? I failed at ruling a kingdom! I’m no leader like you, I’m a fraud. Just some peasant playing pretend. I never even had any citizens and I abandoned the Undergrove when everything got too much!”

“I failed at leading too.” Katherine interjected. She inhaled deeply. “The Overgrown is gone. It was destroyed during the apocalypse. I couldn’t do anything to save it. And I left rather than try to rebuild, it was just too much. I threw away my crown and left with only a halfhearted attempt to restore it, a single seed that’s probably long dead. So what if you left your kingdom when things got too much, I did too! At least you went back…” Katherine trailed off before she shook her head fiercely. “The point is this: our failures don’t define us. We both have strengths to bring to the table. Maybe we failed as leaders but we’re not failures as people. We couldn’t do it alone but we’re not alone. You are not alone. You have your pack and you have me and in return, I’ll have you. We’ll work together and find your family together.

The tears were flowing down Shrub’s face again and she couldn’t tell if they were tears of pain or tears of happiness. Katherine believed in her even when she couldn’t believe in herself. She sobbed openly. Katherine lifted her hands to the base of her mask.

“Darling, can you take off the mask, please?” She tapped the side of the mask with her claw lightly. Shrub hesitated before she noticed the tears in Katherine’s own eyes. If Katherine could let her emotions flow freely then Shrub could too.

Shrub pulled the mask off of her head and flipped back her hood too. She felt vulnerable, exposed, but there was no judgment in Katherine’s eyes. Only open honesty, understanding, and maybe a bit of awe and wonder too. She gently brushed a stray hair behind Shrub’s ear before leaning in. At the thought of Katherine kissing her Shrub’s heart stopped but Katherine only reached forward to touch their foreheads together.

Katherine’s hands settled, one curled on Shrub’s cheek comfortingly while the other drifted down to rest on Shrub’s arm. Shrub’s hands twitched in her lap with the urge to fully wrap them around Katherine in a hug but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. They held each other together in harmony.

Shrub closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the twin breathing and hearts beating. Her breathing slowed and steadied to match Katherine’s, breathing out the last ragged exhales leftover from crying. This moment seemed to last for hours, day even, just an infinite time where only the two of them mattered.

Katherine’s thump was tracing invisible patterns across Shrub’s cheek. Shrub opened her eyes again and locked eyes with Katherine. Katherine’s gaze was intense but also tender, a strong look that had a lot of hidden meaning behind it. Shrub couldn’t decipher it but it made her feel like a bunch of flowers just bloomed inside her chest, warm and alive.

Was this love?

Maybe.

Probably.

Definitely.

“Katherine I…” Shrub broke the silence with a whisper, words bubbling up before she could stop them only to be interrupted by a heavy weight slamming into her. Shrub pulled away from Katherine as this heavy weight settled in her, fluffy and wiggling.

“Moon! Get off you big lug!” Shrub tried to stop the whining wolf from smothering her. The other wolves were walking up, alerted by the lack of gnome and fairy to cuddle, and have immediately figured out that something is wrong and they need to give love to sad people. Moon licked Shrub’s face sloppily and she laughed even as she tried to push him off her.

Another laugh across from her drew Shrub’s attention. Katherine was being ganged up on by Jupiter and Leo, who were both trying to wipe away her dried tears with doggy kisses. Katherine could have pushed them away easily, Shrub had seen her move far heavier things, but instead she let them work on cheering her up, all while giving them pets.

Shrub’s heart melted at the sight. She was glad that the different members of her pack were getting along. Shrub paused her attempt at warding off Moon when her brain caught up to itself. Huh, so she had accepted Katherine into her pack subconsciously. When did that happen?

Wracking her brain, Shrub found that she didn’t know. It could have been when Katherine saved her or when Katherine took charge at the bastion or even as far back as their reunion in the nether. Heck, it could have been as far back as when Shrub gave Katherine the crown. All she knew was that Katherine had been an important piece of her life for a while now. It was amazing what you could discover when you stopped repressing all your emotions. Who knew right?

Soon the whole pack descended on top of them, smothering the two under pounds of white fur and wolfy kisses. The moment from earlier was gone but Shrub found that she didn’t mind too much. Seeing Katherine here, cozy and playful, was very different from the empathetic and vulnerable Katherine of before but it wasn’t a bad different. Shrub found herself loving Katherine even more now. She smiled to herself.

“We need to get moving.” Shrub pushed Moon off her chest with much effort. She tried to state the sentence decisively, but it came out regretful. Katherine’s undignified snort let her know that her regret at having to get up was pretty obvious.

“I mean, do we have to go right now? Just 15 more minutes.” Katherine bargained as she played with Virgo’s paws. She looked relaxed and at ease and Shrub felt herself giving in.

“Fine,” Shrub fell back into the doggy pile. “15 minutes.”

The blinding smile on Katherine’s face was so worth it.

Chapter Text

“So we might have a problem.”

Katherine looked up from triple-counting the wolves. They just kept moving around. “What kind of problem?”

Shrub wordlessly overturned a shulkerbox. A few scraps of dried meat fell out that Neptune snatched up. “That was our food supplies for the rest of the trip. As you can see someone ate them all.”

“Ah. Yeah that is a problem.” Katherine couldn’t look Shrub in the eye.

“I could have sworn we had enough yesterday morning. Like, at least half a shulkerbox full.” Shrub pondered to herself. Katherine wasn’t sure if she was imagining the pointed tone of her voice.

“Well obviously it’s gone now. Wonder how that could have happened.” Katherine cursed her lying skills for deciding to fail her now.

“…” Shrub looked Katherine dead in the eyes which was doubly effective because she hadn’t put her mask on, instead putting it in one of her many satchels.

“…” Katherine stared back, sweating bullets.

“OK FINE IT WAS ME.” Katherine threw her hands in the air. “I was feeding the wolves after dinner last night cause you were resting and I didn’t want to wake you but I may have not screwed the lid tight enough because when I checked this morning it was all gone. I was kinda hoping you wouldn’t notice.” It wasn’t the most logical thing to hope but Katherine really didn’t want Shrub getting mad at her for messing up. Not that Shrub is the time to get mad easily, she could brush off and push down quite a lot (maybe more than she should), but the irrational fear wouldn’t listen to that line of reason.

Shrub huffed out a sigh, “Guess we’re taking a detour to hunt some hoglins today.”

“Wait, you're not mad at me?” Katherine raised an eyebrow.

“Well I am a bit annoyed at having to gather food while we’re in the nether but I’m not mad at you. Mistakes happen. That box’s lid has always been finicky. I probably should have told you but I was, you know, unconscious at the time.” Shrub looked at the floor.

“Whoah whoah I know that tone of voice. This is not your fault you were unconscious so don’t act like it is. I told you to get some rest and that I would handle everything. You were wounded for goodness’s sake! I said I had it handled, I didn’t. I accept this mistake as my own and I am going to make it up to you. Get ready to meet the best hunter in the Overgrown, me!” Katherine interjected.

“You really don’t have to do that, we can just accept that this was a situation where the blame doesn’t fall on one person.” Shrub raised her hands placatingly before she registered the rest of the sentence. “Wait, you’re the best hunter in the Overgrown?”

“Uh, no I’m not, I was exaggerating for comedic effect slash emphasis.” Katherine fiddled with her tail. Yeah that maybe wasn’t the best joke she could have told, her bad. “But I’m good enough to help you! It’ll be faster with two people. Besides, what else could I do? Stand around looking pretty while you do all the hard work?”

Wait, why did Shrub actually seem to be thinking over that?

“I mean I won’t stop you? But you really don’t have to help! I can handle this.”

“Sure you can! You’re Shrub! I just wanna make up for my mista-I MEAN, I think two people will complete the job faster than just one and I know you want to see your people as soon as possible! No ulterior reasons like leftover guilt.” Katherine finger-gunned awkwardly. Oh god what is wrong with her today???

Shrub’s face scrunched up like she’s trying really hard not to laugh. “Alright then, let’s get going.”

Leaving the wolves behind to guard the camp, they set out on the hunt. Katherine had asked why they weren’t coming with and Shrub mumbled something about camp being unguarded and tea still needing a rest after last night. Katherine, however, knew the real reason. The pack was Shrub’s family and she didn’t want to put them in unnecessary danger. Risks were bound to happen during the journey but for a mission that only really needed two people? Better to leave them behind. Katherine understood.

The nearest crimson forest was luckily nearby, only a short walk away and in the general direction they had already been going. Katherine gave herself a mental pat on the back for her panicked wolf-riding from the days before actually being helpful.

Shrub had started scouting ahead like she normally did, albeit more gingerly than normal. Katherine watched her like a hawk until she was out of sight, ready to step in if her arm started acting up. Hopefully Shrub wouldn’t be too upset if that happened, she valued her abilities and usefulness quite a lot.

Last night was rough for them both, cathartic but rough. Airing those insecurities took a lot of strength but still, it’s scary. Katherine hadn’t even dived into hers too much, just the baseline feelings of guilt and pressure from her kingdom, but Shrub had opened up fully. Katherine was proud of her.

Unknown to her, a small grin snuck onto Katherine’s face as she thought about the end of that night. The feeling of knowing that you were considered a member of a team, a valued partner, someone who would watch the back of their partner and be helped in return, gods it felt good. And seeing Shrub’s real face again, even if she had wished it to be under better circumstances, it made her giddy.

God she wished she could see Shrub’s face when she wasn’t in pain. Those few minutes of giddied laughter from the two of them were beautiful on her face.

Caring for Shrub was just something that pleased that deep part of Katherine that she didn’t fully understand yet. She was working on it but well, she really didn’t have the time right now. Life of death roadtrip isn’t the best for introspection.

Wait no they did an entire bit about introspection and healing last night. Hmmm.

Well, either way Katherine hadn’t exactly figured it out yet. She knew that it got upset whenever Shrub was upset and warmed when she was happy.

Oh god was she an empath???

No, that wouldn’t explain the protectiveness it felt towards Shrub or the way it liked taking care of her. Whenever Katherine can be the one to measure Shrub or cheer her up by making her laugh that feeling wiggles around like a swarm of happy bees.

It was one of the strongest sensations Katherine had ever felt with and it consumed most of her waking thoughts. Just “Shrub Shrub Shrub” over and over in her head.

“I’ve located a trail! Now the real fun begins.” Said all-consuming thought jumped down from the spongy treetops, landing with a silent swirl of contrasting blue fabrics next to Katherine. Katherine jolted out of her train of thought, her derpy grin stretching wider. Wow she was never going to get tired of seeing SHrub’s face. “What’s with the happy look? You miss me?” Shrub quirked her head.

Shoot, Katherine can’t just say that she’d been smiling just because she was thinking about Shrub and how she made her feel. “Just lost in thought.” Katherine brushed off as nonchalantly as she could. Maybe she had missed Shrub, not that she’d ever say that to her face. She’d only been gone for a few minutes. So what if Katherine had perked up at every noise only to be disappointed when it wasn’t Shrub returning even if she knew Shrub was too good at her job to even make noise, no one needed to know that.

“Must have been a really nice thought.”

“It was.” Katherine confirmed. “But hey what’s this about a trail? Is it finally time to hunt some angry pigs?”

“If by hunt you mean stalk and then lure into traps, yes.” Shrub worked on unsnapping something from her side, one of the many tools she carried on her. “There’s a whole herd ahead, looked to be about 4. That’d be enough but it’s not easy picking them off one by one. That's why we need to set up this!” Shrub proudly brandished… something. It was a mess of wood, wires, rope, and metal. It clashed with Shrub’s everything and looked more like something Katherine would find fWhip tinkering with in his lab.

“And this will help us?” Katherine squinted at the object.

“Oh yes. It's a trap, see?” Shrub moved a few of the bits around which did something. Katherine wasn’t sure if it was a useful thing but something did happen. The more she looked at it the more she could kind of see how it could be a trap but only because it looked like it would snap your hand off if you stuck it inside.

“And it won’t backfire on us?” Katherine wasn’t trying to be doubtful, she was just very interested in the continued survival of the both of them and would not appreciate dying to a trash monster.

“It has an 85% chance of working properly.” Shrub recited in a familiar tone. “Technology is super useful and can do a lot more than simple traps can.”

“fWhip made that for you, didn't he?” Katherine deadpans. Shrub blushed in embarrassment.

“He was really convincing, said it’d be super efficient and even more useful than my previous traps. I only have the one so why not use it now.” Of course it was fWhip. That man was always trying to extol the virtues of “technology” and “The age of the future.” He did good metal-work but his inventions, well, they were very hit or miss. If it was up to Katherine she’d drop that thing into the lava before it would bite anyone’s hand off.

Katherine squeezed the bridge of her nose and sighed. But of course it wasn’t only up to her. Shrub was looking at her sheepishly but her excited bounce proved that she actually wanted to try this. What would win out, all of Katherine’s common sense or one cute gnome girl?

“Fine, we can try it. Just let me help you set it up, I do not trust this thing not to crunch down on your arm, further injuring it. After it’s used you are showing me how to make normal traps, ok?” Katherine acquiesced. Shrub whooped and tossed her hands up. Katherine ducked back to avoid being bonked in the head by the contraption Shrub was still holding.

“Oh this is gonna be great! Come on, I can show you some tracking techniques as we go.” Shrub guided Katherine further into the crimson woods, keeping to the brushier areas and showing Katherine the best ways to sneak up on enemies quickly and undetected. Shrub was a shadow, darting between patches of darkness faster than a blink, while Katherine tried to keep up.

Shrub stopped abruptly and pointed at something in the distance. “Look, there’s the hoglin herd,” Katherine squinted and could barely make out the distant shapes of the large pigs. “Quick, we need to set up the trap fast before they spot us.”

The two worked quickly, Shrub peaking over her shoulder periodically while Katherine methodically moved wires and spikes into place. Soon, the deathtrap was done and Shrub and Katherine were making the final preparations to begin luring a hoglin towards the trap. They would have Shrub catch the attention of a straggler with some arrow shots wherein Katherine would take over being the distraction and leading it back to the trap. Shrub was reluctant to let Katherine be essentially bait.

“I’ve taken down hoglins one verses one before, if worse comes to worse I’ll be able to defend myself.” Katherine reassured her.

With the plan secured Shrub and Katherine split off to begin the pincer maneuver and single off one of the hoglins. Katherine’s ears twitched back and forth as she crept along, picking up the eerie nether howls as well as the grunts of the hoglins and oddly a strange clicking noise coming from behind her. The first time Katherine had heard it she whirled around, hand on her sword hilt, but the only thing there was the hidden trap.

“{Is it supposed to do that?}” Katherine signaled to Shrub, pointing back at the trap.

“{No clue.}” Shrub answered back. “{fWhip’s inventions were always a bit noisy, though I don’t have any idea why a hunting trap would be. It’s probably nothing.}”

Katherine was about to signal that she could go back and check it again when Shrub frantically told her to back up. The hoglins had decided to wander closer to their hiding places and the two had to push deeper into the undergrowth so as to not be seen.

Katherine watched as one hoglin split away from the group, snuffling for roots closer to the brushline. It rumbled closer and closer to the last place Katherine had seen Shrub. Katherine got into position.

As fast as lightning, blink and you’d miss it, an arrow shot from the canopy above and struck the hoglin in the back. It grunted and charged deeper into the forest. Katherine began her part of the plan, guiding it with pebbles thrown into bushes and snaps of twigs, all carefully planned to bring the hoglin closer and closer to the trap. Katherine smiled as she noticed more arrows shooting from the canopy as Shrub covered for her.

They were about 10 paces from the trap now and the clicking sound was back. Katherine nervously glanced down at the hidden trap. Was it just her or was it twitching slightly?

The clicking got louder and louder and the trap began to shake and smoke. Katherine scrambled away from it, abandoning stealth for speed. The hoglin had noticed the noise too, as well as Katherine running away from it. Unfortunately, it decided to charge after the fleeing Katherine and completely bypass the trap.

Good news for Katherine, running away probably saved her life as a few seconds later the trap detonated in a barrage of wires and metal.

Bad news, the hoglin was completely unharmed and still charging directly at her.

Even worse news, the explosion seemed to have alerted the other hoglins, which rushed to the scene and also began running for Katherine.

Katherine, not wanting to die, ran even faster. “Shrub!” She called out over the sound of grunting and snorting hoglins on her tail. “Help!” She could only hope that Shrub could provide some cover while she ran.

And run she did, outpacing the relentless herd of hoglins. Katherine thought that it was only for her small size that she was able to out-maneuver the stampede. Her lungs burned, her feet ached, and yet she kept running.

Then, all of the sudden, she stopped. She stared at the cliff face in front of her, blocking her way. On either side of it, more cliffs. She had backed herself into a corner and the herd was still coming for her.

Stomach sinking, Katherine pulled out her sword. This wasn’t the way she wanted to go, not now, but if she was going down she wanted to go down swinging. This far away from the Overgrown Spring her death would surely be permanent.

As she stared death in the eyes, her mind flashed to her regrets: not being the ruler the Overgrown needed, failing it when it needed her most, not saying good-bye to her allies when she left, not being able to finish the journey with Shrub, not being able to figure out what Shrub meant to her.

She took a deep breath, maybe one of her last. The stampede was on her now, just paces away. This was the end. She growled, raising her sword. Fitting that she’d die here, alone in hell.

But she didn’t.

Just as the herd trampled through the edge of the forest they were knocked over by a tidal wave of white fangs. Shrub, a brilliant flash of green in the sea of white, guided the wolves from atop Mother Wolf. Shooting through the mass of wolves, she hobbled some of the beasts for the wolves to bring down. The wolf pack, snarling and vengeful, torn asunder the hoglins like a hurricane through a seaside town. Katherine stood in shock, not a scratch on her, as her enemies were destroyed right in front of her.

Had Shrub felt this way when Katherine jumped in to save her life? Surely not, because Shrub was a herald of death like in the old tales, riding on her steed to smite down those deemed unworthy. Surely Katherine had never appeared that mythical even at her greatest moments.

Katherine’s eyes drunk in the details of Shrub. Her eyes almost seemed to glow with an inner fire as she moved, fueling her onslaught of attacks. Her hair, freed from her hood by her effort, whipping wildly around her face. Her hands, a blur as she shot arrow after arrow.

Her face, so wrathful and terrible even from the side. Katherine knew that if she were ever trapped beneath that gaze she would do nothing but surrender, faced with the pure awful passion and rage. How Xornoth and their henchmen didn’t immediately surrender when faced with Shrub’s anger, Katherine did not know. Surely this wasn’t the first time she had been this vengeful?

Looking like the ruler she always was, Shrub and Mother Wolf skidded to a stop in front of Katherine, blocking her from any attacks. Shrub snarled wordlessly at her enemies (and didn’t that send shivers down Katherine’s spine). Katherine recognized that it was not just rage and fury that fueled her, but the protective wrath only displayed when a warrior’s loved one was at risk. Katherine had read about it before, it was a common thing in ancient history for a general to only gain the upper hand in the war when their partner was injured, and she had felt it herself once, when Shrub was being attacked in the fortress.

The feeling, the unnamed one she had felt because of Shrub, purred in satisfaction and glee as Katherine looked at Shrub. There was soft fluttering in Katherine’s chest, small and inconsequential to this whole battle but important to Katherine. Katherine’s mouth went dry, jaw slacked open in awe as Shrub, her knight with a snarling army, continuously held back the tide.

Katherine thought she knew what that unnamed feeling was now. She wanted to laugh and scream and even cry just a bit because how could she have been so blind? It was so obvious in hindsight, the clues were all there. Katherine knew she wasn’t the greatest at reading people, even herself, but this was ridiculous.

Why hadn’t she realized she was in love with Shrub?

Oh she had to tell her.

Not now obviously, it wasn’t the time. Even though the only thing stopping Katherine from yanking Shrub down by her hood and just kissing her then and there was one, the fact that consent was important and you can’t just kiss someone without warning them even if they looked really good slaying your enemies, and two, she needed to have her confession be perfect and the middle of the nether after a near death experience was not perfect. Katherine needed a better location at the very least. Preferably something floral and natural, Shrub would like that.

Plus the fear that Shrub would reject her but honestly? Seeing Shrub here, protecting and defending Katherine with passion and wrath like that, it made Katherine have hope. At the very least she probably means a lot to Shrub, scratch that she knows she means a lot to Shrub, so even if her eventual confession does go wrong Katherine doesn’t think that’ll ruin everything.

Really the worse case scenario is Katherine pining for the rest of her life. Not that bad really.

Thoughts settled and love realized, Katherine turned her attention back to the battle. Oh wow those hoglins are so very dead now. Just piles of meat now. Hey at least this wasn’t a total waste. They did get the wolf food in the end.

Shrub tucked her bow away and dismounted Mother Wolf. She turned her head and Katherine prepared to be struck down by the force of her gaze. It would have been welcomed even, Katherine watching as the embers of rage in Shrub’s eyes cooled as she regained composure. Instead, Shrub looked at her and faster than a blink the protective force was gone. Instead her expression smoothed into something that made Katherine’s heart beat even faster. It was soft and relieved but tinged with worry and a hint of guilt. It was the face of someone who thought they hadn’t arrived fast enough.

“I’m sorry for not helping out more and being late. When the trap blew up and they started charging at you I tried to follow and take shots but I couldn’t do much without help. I know I shouldn’t have left but I needed the wolves. I’m sorry it took so long for us to get here.” Shrub rambled.

“Honestly I’m just happy you came at all. Really felt like I was going to die there.” Katherine chuckled dryly. She hadn’t had any doubt that Shrub would come for her, she just hadn’t known if it would have been in time. It was better that Shrub get the help she needed than risk her life trying to save Katherine alone. If anything had happened to Shrub, well, there would be problems.

“As you said, we protect each other. I wasn’t leaving you behind.” Shrub narrowed her eyes as she studied Katherine. “Did you get injured at all?

Katherine strode forward, ready to assure Shrub that no damage had been done, but in the most shocking betrayal she stumbled and nearly went down. Shrub rushed over, hovering by her side as Katherine pulled herself up. Stupid jelly knees and their inability to keep her upright after Shrub’s… well Shrub’s everything.

“Are you alright?” Shrub’s brows were furrowed and Katherine really wanted to kiss the space between them just to see if that would relax her. She did not, because Katherine had self control and the beginnings for a plan where she would actually kiss Shrub, but it was a strong idea.

“Ah, pshahahaha yeah, I-uh-I’m great! So great!” Katherine sputtered out. Her words were tiny insects zipping around and she was a tiny child with a broken bug-catcher. Oh how she was glad that the court of House Blossom couldn’t see her now, bright red and fumbling over her words like she was 7 again, back at her first official meeting as heir. Even as a child she hadn’t been this bad at words. What was happening?

Clearly Shrub could recognize how extraordinary it was for Katherine to be stumbling this badly. “Yeah, no, I don’t believe that. This looks like symptoms of shock. Here, sit down.” Shrub carefully guided Katherine to rest on the dusty and slightly squishy floor. Katherine was pretty sure it wasn’t actually shock, rather her emotions catching up to herself after the realization, but sitting down did feel nice. Running for what was probably a few miles really made the legs ache. Actually maybe her jelly knees weren’t the only thing to blame for her stumbling. Sorry jelly knees.

Shrub sat down across from Katherine while the wolves encircled them. Some of the wolves carried bits of hoglin meat or bones with them, content to regain their energy after a battle. Others limped on bruised legs to curl up next to Shrub and Katherine. Katherine’s heart clenched as she realized what Shrub had done by getting the wolves.

“You risked the wolves for me?”

“I had too. I wasn’t just going to let you get trampled to death.” Shrub looked Katherine in the eye. “We weren’t going to let you get trampled to death.” Shrub’s gaze was fierce, hands on her hips as she stared resolutely up at Katherine, daring her to even protest them rescuing her. Loud barks echoed the thought. The rest of the wolves, some injured but all still alive, looked just as resolute as she did.

It was humbling, the thought that Shrub, who loved her canine family so much that she would do whatever it took to keep them safe when she could, would deliberately go get them to defend Katherine when she was in danger. Katherine reached out to the nearest wolf and gave them gratitude pets.

“I know how much they mean to you. Thank you.” Katherine dipped her head in Shrub’s direction as a gesture of thanks. “And I’ll see if I have anymore potions in my stuff, for the more serious injuries.” Shrub ’s eyes creased at the edges in a clear expression of gratitude. Katherine stood up shakily, using a wolf for support, but in turn reached down to help Shrub it. It was unconscious at this point, just something she had done enough times before that it was ingrained in her brain. Maybe it was because she had wanted an excuse to hold Shrub’s hand? Maybe it was because she wanted to help Shrub whenever she could, make the formerly-unknown-feeling-now-known-as-love happy.

It was just as unconscious for Shrub to reach out and take her hand as it was for Katherine to offer it. Without thinking, Shrub extended her injured arm. As Katherine pulled her, Shrub winced in pain. Katherine dropped the arm as fast as she could and took a step back. Shrub was holding the hurt arm, looking at it.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t realize. Is it ok?” Katherine asked. Shrub hummed as she looked it over.

“I think I reopened it during the fight.” Shrub reluctantly admitted. Katherine’s ears went back. Oh Shrub getting hurt again because of her, that was not good. Katherine didn’t like that at all.

“Do you think we need to rewrap it?” Katherine suggested. Honestly she just wanted to have a look at it, see how bad it was and what she could do to help. Already she was planning on giving Shrub an extra healing potion if she could scrounge one up.

“No, your sash is still doing its makeshift job. It’s fine.” It was clearly not fine but Shrub wasn’t going to admit that. Katherine sighed. She knew Shrub wasn’t going to budge on this. The only thing she could do was make things as easy as possible for her before they got to camp and Shrub could rest for real.

“Ok Shrub.” Katherine backed off. “But promise me you’ll rest when we set up camp tonight. I can handle things. Don’t push yourself. I don’t want you getting more hurt, ok?” Katherine kept eye contact until Shrub looked away and grumbled an agreement. Two could play at the game of staring at someone so they agreed that they were worth being taken care of.

Now that Shrub wasn’t going to strain her injury anymore, Katherine could get to work collecting the leftover meat from the hoglins that the wolves hadn’t snacked on. There was quite a lot and it took a while to gather. Shrub was sulking on the back of Mother Wolf, watching Katherine as she worked. In an attempt to cheer her up a bit, because despite what it may seem Katherine didn’t want Shrub to feel bad that she was sitting out, Katherine started playing some games with Shrub. I Spy, 20 Questions, the usual road trip games. It was slightly ironic that they weren’t technically on the road when playing these games.

The question of what the plan was for the rest of the day popped up. Katherine argued that Shrub needed to rest her arm at a camp after reopening the wound and that there was no way she could guide Mother Wolf to a new camp while hurt while Shrub argued that she didn’t need to use her arm much to guide Mother Wolf and that if Shrub really had to rest then Katherine could guide the pack while Shrub directed her. Directing from the backseat didn’t need arm usage.

Katherine, flushed by the trust Shrub had given her to lead the pack, could only agree. It was strange, guiding the wolves. Shrub was right behind her, helpfully telling her what paths to take and what signals she needed to make to inform the pack. Katherine was thankful for the assistance but Shrub sitting close to her, whispering in her ear, was just as helpful was it was insanely distracting. Katherine’s arms might have permanent goosebumps now.

Thankfully, after a few hours Shrub spotted a nice area to camp. They had crossed into the deltas a bit ago and the spires of blackstone made a perfect, defensible shelter. Unfortunately for Katherine’s poor heart, the campsite was quite a bit smaller than their last ones and would be a lot tighter of a squeeze between the stones. Katherine, in an attempt to save her newly aching heart, had offered to sleep outside of the divot and let Shrub and the wolves have their space but Shrub made a counteroffer.

“There’s room if we all snuggle up.” Shrub, who had no problems curling up with her wolves when she slept, offered. Katherine, sheltered child who had never even had a sleepover before, hesitated. Was this too much? On one hand, hell yes she wanted to snuggle with Shrub. On the other hand, Shrub probably didn’t know about Katherine’s feelings and Katherine didn’t want to take advantage of her ignorance.

“Are you sure?” Katherine pressed. “I really don’t mind sleeping outside.” Katherine would rather risk being mauled by mobs again then make Shrub even the smallest bit uncomfortable.

“I’m sure, Katherine. It really won’t bother me. Besides, I’d like you to be safe and out there is not a safe place to sleep. '' Shrub seemed to pluck Katherine’s worries straight from her head and know the exact thing to soothe her. Katherine internally purred at the thought of Shrub looking out for her. Well, that settled it then.

Katherine nodded rather than respond. She didn’t want any more gibberish spilling out of her mouth before she could control it.

Shrub had placed some travel blankets on the ground for the wolves to lay over and was holding two leftovers. After Katherine came back from completing her sleep routine, Shrub handed her one of them. Katherine gave her a grateful smile and Shrub returned it.

The wolves were already dozing off but they had kindly made space in the middle for Shrub and Katherine to sleep. It wasn’t much space, surely they had only expected Shrub to be snuggling with them and not the much larger Katherine, but it was enough. Shrub was right though, it would be a tight squeeze.

Katherine settled down and tried very hard to ignore the feeling of Shrub settling in next to her. Even the slightest brushes of their arms together made Katherine’s face flush. She pulled the blanket over her head. Katherine was aware that she probably hadn’t been getting the recommended amount of touch before this road trip but now she was extremely aware of how skin hungry she was.

Katherine waited for her heart to stop pounding so she could sleep. It didn’t.

Shrub had found a comfortable position and stopped squirming. She was still right next to her, sleeves brushing against Katherine’s side. Katherine peeked out from under her blanket to look at her.

Shrub had curled up into a tight ball, blanket wrapped fully around her body. It reminded Katherine of those mushroom dumplings from that food cart in the bastion. The blanket was the dough wrapping and Shrub was the filling. So cute.

Shrub was always cute. Her slightly crooked nose and freckles, the way the light hit her eyes at different times, how her hands were so much smaller than Katherine’s. Shrub was undeniably cute. It was well documented that Katherine liked cute things. She’d grown up and then ruled a kingdom with a pastel aesthetic. It was no wonder that Katherine fell for Shrub.

Though, Katherine fell for Shrub for more than just her cute looks. How earnest she was when something made her excited, how much she cares for her different families, her love and care for nature that rivals Katherine’s own, how she’d do anything to protect the ones she loved, her fearlessness in the face of danger or risks, the way she never let the world keep her down for long.

Gods, Katherine was so smitten.

Katherine stared at the dozing Shrub with a rueful smile on her face. She was happy that she had figured out these feelings but gods it was hard not acting on them. Katherine wanted to reach over and gently move that one strand out of Shrub’s face so badly. She wouldn’t, not now. She had to have self control, at least until she actually found the right time to confess.

Still, no one would fault her for snuggling a bit closer to Shrub. She was surprisingly cool and in the heat of the nether it was nice.

Wait no Shrub just latched onto her. That wasn’t the plan. Help!

Katherine had only wiggled a bit closer to the sleeping Shrub before she had uncurled and latched onto the nearest arm thing, which happened to be Katherine’s arm. She tucked herself into Katherine’s side, humming contentedly as she found a new position to sleep in.. Katherine now found herself curled around Shrub, chin resting above her head.

This was not the plan.

Doesn’t mean Katherine was complaining.

Even if she wanted to untangle herself, which she didn’t really, she was trapped. Shrub had an iron grip on her upper arm and Katherine could not move it. Even if she could, where would she go? There wasn’t any space to move and Shrub would surely end up moving closer again if she got cold. Katherine wasn’t sure why Shrub wanted to be close to a warm Katherine in a warm nether. Must be a gnome thing.

So Katherine was forced to cuddle with Shrub for the night. Oh no, what a horrible turn of events.

That was sarcasm, Katherine was having the time of her life.

Katherine curled around Shrub semi-unconsciously. She was nice to hold, small enough to fit in Katherine’s arms perfectly. Katherine could count her freckles at the distance, there must be hundreds. Burying her face deeper into Shrub’s hair, Katherine exhaled and let sleep consume her. Her last thought before her brain was wrapped up by the comforting darkness was that Shrub’s hair was the nicest thing she’d ever felt.

Chapter Text

People say traveling in the nether is harrowing, a constant fount of danger and stress. Shrub has found that while there have been moments of extreme danger and stress, the traveling part has gotten rather boring. There’s only so much netherrack you can see before your eyes start glazing over. Being a scout is not the most active job, it’s a lot of just looking. And now with Katherine taking temporary leadership of the pack, Shrub has had even less to do than before.

In Katherine’s defense, she’s doing a rather good job. She was always listening to Shrub’s mumbling about the path ahead and reacting accordingly. The pack was even carrying out her orders like they were Shrub’s own. It was comforting knowing that if for some reason Shrub couldn’t do her job, Katherine could take over.

But gods, did Shrub wish she could do her job right now. The landscape was blurring together into a mess of ruddy reds and Shrub needed a distraction. Literally anything would be better than staring out into the distance with her eyes unfocused.

“Hey Katherine?”

“Yeah?” Katherine’s eyes were still locked on the road ahead but her feline ears flicked back towards Shrub.

“Wanna play a game?” Katherine looked confused but interested. “There’s not much going on right now and I need some way to stay awake.” Shrub explained

Katherine hmm’d in acknowledgment. “What kind of game?”

Shrub thought of the different games she knew. Maybe that one? No wait, that needed a board and a table and too many pieces they did not have with them. Perhaps this one…? No that one doesn’t work if you can’t see each other? Oh what about this one? No, that one can only be explained in gnomish and if Shrub attempts to teach Katherine gnomish while on wolfback she will fall asleep.

Wait, perfect idea. “How about Questionnaire?”

“I’m not familiar with that one.” Katherine admits. “How do you play it?’

“It’s a question asking game.” Shrub explained. “The goal is to answer every single one of your opponent’s questions. Your opponent asks a question from each category: who, where, what, why, and when. The asker switches after each question. If you can’t answer all of the questions your opponent gets a point and if you can’t think of a question for a category they get a point.”

“If the goal is to make your opponent unable to answer the question, why don’t you just ask targeted questions that you know your opponent cannot answer?” Katherine asked, nerves coloring her voice.

“What?!” Shrub exclaimed in offense. “Why would someone do that? That's cheating!” The idea that someone would deliberately ask questions that their opponent couldn’t answer was mind boggling for Shrub. It was a fun game, not an interrogation! Who would do something like that?

“But what if they did? Are there any rules against it?” Katherine pressed.

“I mean, not official rules, at least not that I can recall.” Shrub pondered. “But unofficially you can’t. The rules of honor wouldn’t let you, it’s just not done. At least I never would do such a thing.”

Katherine relaxed at this statement, body visibly relaxing. “Ok then, I’ll play with you. Shall you ask first?”

“Ok!” Shrub perked up. “I’ll start easy, what’s your favorite animal?”

“If I say cats is that cheating? Or narcissism?” Katherine asked with a laugh.

Shrub thought hard. “I don’t think that’s cheating if that really is your favorite. Not sure if it’s narcissism or not. Either way it’s allowed.”

“Still feels a bit like cheating. I actually think my favorite is a 3 way tie between cats, sheep, and bees. Can I have more than one answer?” Katherine tapped her claws together as she counted on her fingers. It was a small detail that Shrub couldn’t help but notice, even seated behind her. She didn’t deny that thought anymore, just pondered it as it flowed over her. It felt like progress.

“Yeah that works!”

“Sweet! Ok my turn.” Katherine hummed to herself for a second before she snapped. “Got it. What is your favorite gemstone?”

“Honestly I thought you were going to ask me about my favorite flower.” Shrub teased.

“Well I can’t always be predictable.” Katherine flicked her hair in retort.

“My favorite gemstone would probably be beryl. That’s the stuff that emeralds are made from. It’s such a nice color.”

“Unexpected answer but honestly not surprising.”

“Hey!” Shrub retorted. “I am not predictable!”

“Of course, of course.” Katherine said with a laugh. Shrub huffed and crossed her arms. She’s not! Her likes are just a bit obvious. It’s not her fault that beryl sounds like berry, really that’s a coincidence.

“Well this question would be anything but predictable. Where would you say is the best place to watch a sunset?” Shrub asked.

“Anywhere! Well, not the nether.” They both chuckled. “Or the End. But anywhere in the Overworld, I suppose. It looks beautiful no matter where you view it from.”

“But if you had to pick a place?”

“…Probably Pixandria.” Katherine’s answer seemed to surprise even herself. “The desert has always made a pretty backdrop for the sun. I’ve only seen it there once, on a diplomatic trip, but I remember stopping in the streets to admire it. Pix found me there instead of at the designated meeting place, which was a bit embarrassing, but he didn’t seem to fault me for it. He seemed more…amused I would say. Didn’t say anything about it, just started the normal trade talks even though we were not in the right place. I’m thankful he didn’t make a big deal out of it.” Katherine shook her head after she finished the story. “Sorry, didn't mean to get caught up in the memories.”

“No, no, that's totally fine!” Shrub reassured. “It’s nice hearing about your life before this. We never really talked about it before…”

“Too caught up in the aspects of our leadership to just let us hang out as friends back then.” Katherine mused. “Even though I did enjoy your company.”

“I did too. Even then I considered you one of my closest friends.”

“And now?”

Shrub was thankful that Katherine wasn’t looking at her. “Of course I still consider you one of my closest friends! You’ve done so much for me and value your presence here.”

“I value your presence too.” The fondness in Katherine’s voice made Shrub want to curl up in a ball, too vulnerable in the way those words cut straight to her heart and warmed her face. “And I consider you my best friend, both now and then. I had many allies back then but only a few I could really trust. Being friends with everyone isn’t the easiest thing.”

“I’m sure it isn’t.” Shrub empathized. Even if she couldn’t relate, her only having a few allies and not so many close ones, she imagined the struggle of having to keep everyone happy while also not being able to pick sides for fear of angering someone must have weighed heavily on Katherine. The fact that she could be so open about it, though, was heartening. Shrub knew that the Katherine of a few months ago would not have placed this much trust in her to admit something so personal.

The silence stretched out for lengths. Katherine twitched in uncomfort and diverted the conversation. “So, I ask the next question?”

“Right, yeah.” Shrub mumbled apologetically.

“Where do you think is the best place to take a nap?”

“I’m a semi-insomniac as well as partially nocturnal. Are you sure you want me answering this question?” Shrub raised an eyebrow.

“Sure, surprise me!”

“Well you’d be surprised at how soft a wolf’s pet is.”

Katherine giggled. “And I thought you said you weren’t being predictable.”

“It’s not my fault that you keep asking easy questions! My answers have been nothing but the truth!” Shrub protested. “They just are also predictable, at least according to you. No one else would think that about me! I am a mystery, wrapped in secrets wrapped in another mystery!”

“Sure Shrub.” Katherine said flatly, trying poorly to hide her amusement.

“I won’t stand for this slander! It’s my turn now! Who’s your favorite pet?” Shrub grinned wickedly.

“Shrub!” Katherine yelped in offense. “You of all people should know that you can’t just ask a pet owner who their favorite pet is! That’s like, the first rule of owning pets!”

“But you didn’t deny that you had a favorite.” Shrub smirked mischievously. “Do you not want to answer? I’ll gladly take the win.”

“And you said you wouldn’t use targeting questions.” Katherine muttered under her breath not unkindly. “I can’t let you win with such bastardly tactics so fine, I will answer the question. Just know that we are surrounded by your wolves who would be very interested in knowing that you have a favorite.”

“Oh they already know it’s Mother Wolf. She’s all of our favorites.” A chorus of barks sounded in agreement. There really can’t be a favorite wolf other than Mother Wolf, she’s everyone’s mom! You can’t not love her.

Katherine laughed. “So I guess I’ve been outplayed. Very well, my favorite pet would have to be the guard wolves I tamed because of your rule. They’ve been such a good help around the kingdom.

Shrub blushed. This wasn’t even a direct compliment to her. Why was she blushing?? Darn irrational feelings and their irrationality.

“You do know they’re spies for the Undergrove, right?” Shrub asked hesitantly.

“I suspected as much. Your rule was a bit too kind to not have any catches. Still, I had nothing to hide from you and the wolves helped me out a great deal. I’m not upset.”

“Huh.” Shrub didn’t know what to say.

“Besides,” Katherine continued, “I knew that if anything ever happened to me that your wolves would inform you. That's why you sent them out? Making a spy network across the kingdoms would give you any and all info about threats or dangers. Just like your wolves sought out me, well me and Scott and Gem, when you were kidnapped, I knew they’d do the same if I was in danger too.”

“You trusted them that much?” Shrub asked.

“Of course! They were as much your citizens as they were mine. I knew they’d want you to be safe from any dangers that would have struck me.” Katherine explained

Shrub thought things over for a few seconds, tapping her fingers against her arm. Was this too much to say?

“You know, if you were in danger and the wolves told me so, I would have done anything to help you.” Shrub admitted. She couldn’t see Katherine’s full face but she looked surprised? Fond? What emotion was written there?

“Really?” Katherine’s voice cracked.

“You were my ally and my friend. We’re closer now but we were still close then. You helped me when I was in peril. Of course I’d do the same for you.” Shrub knew that wasn’t all the reasons but it was as much as she was willing to say.

“Awww, that’s so sweet.” Katherine seemed delighted, a bright blush on her face. “Thank you Shrub, really.”

“Well, er, you’re welcome.” Shrub coughed into her hand. “So, back to the game?”

“Right right, the game. Whose turn was it to ask again?”

Shrub relived the past few minutes. “Yours I believe.”

“Oh nice! Ok, my question is: who makes the best food?”

“Oh trying to trap me aren’t you?” Shrub huffed smugly. Katherine made a big show of only focusing on directing the wolves and not asking an obvious bait question. “Well it won’t work because one again the answer is obviously my dad. He makes the best stuffed peppers. My mom’s not a bad cook but there’s still a fire risk whenever she’s in the kitchen. You can’t bait me with trick questions!”

“I should have clarified, that’s on me. I meant who do you think makes the best food out of the rulers?”

Shrub thought for a second. “I don't think that I’ve had food made by most of them. Anything fWhip makes is charred because he forgets to take it out of the oven on time, Joey has people to cook for him, Scott also has people to cook for him but I have tried some bread he made and it was cold and to this day I still have no idea how he baked bread cold. Gem is probably the best cook. Her food has a 50/50 chance of having strange magical effects attached to it but at least it’s edible.”

“Duly noted.” Katherine said. “I’ll be honest, I also don’t think I’ve eaten something by most of the other rulers, but I’m certain that I’m a better cook than almost all of them.” Katherine claimed proudly.

“Well, you better let me try something you make so I can confirm that.”

“I’ll make you a special mixed berry crepe with a caramelized sugar glaze.” Shrub’s mouth started watering at the thought. They’ve been eating dried meats and trail rations for the past few days, the last actual food she had was at the bastion and the last real sweet she had was much longer ago.

“Yes please!” Shrub bounced in place excitedly. “My turn to ask the question! Why are you Katherine of the Overgrown but also Katherine of House Blossom?”

“Oh gods how do I explain fey politics in one answer.” Katherine mused. “Well the Overgrown is the kingdom I rule. It’s the land and the people of the land. It’s named after The Overgrown Spring, of which I am the guardian of.” Katherine fidgeted with Mother Wolf’s fur as she spoke. “The spring provides for the kingdom and so we are named after it. The Houses are the nobility of the Overgrown. I was born in House Blossom because my parents were members of that house. There’s other houses like House Ripple, House Sapling, and House Wasp. The Guardian of the Spring can come from any house, it’s not a matter of legacy. I had to earn my position as Guardian, I had to prove myself worthy…” Katherine trailed off, hesitant to continue.

Shrub didn’t want to press too much, that wasn’t the point of the game, but she sensed that Katherine did want to talk about this.

“There wasn’t an official trial to be the Guardian of Undergrove. The spirits either accept you as one of them or they don’t. I was accepted and I have no idea why. I don’t know if I passed a test when I first arrived or if they only let me stay because they felt pity for me. I don’t suppose I’ll ever know, only Mother Wolf could tell me and I don’t think she will.” It was an olive branch, a vulnerability revealed as a peace offering. Katherine didn’t have to accept but if she wanted Shrub would listen.

Katherine smiled ruefully. “When the previous Guardian retires, all the Houses choose heirs to present themselves before the Spring and compete for who will be in charge of protecting it as well as the entire kingdom. It’s a large duty but we all wanted to be the ones to do it. Officially, there were trials of naturalism, combat, diplomacy, and other traits valued by the Spring. In reality, the real trials were finding ways to take down your competitors behind the scenes.”

Katherine inhaled deeply, setting her shoulders back. “My parents taught me to be ruthless, to not underestimate anyone. I excelled in the combat and nature trials but I struggled with diplomacy and the subtle manipulation and persuasion games that the other heirs were playing. There were times that they nearly got me, a weakness of mine exploited at just the right time that I would fail. I trusted people I shouldn’t have and over time I learned. I played their games and I came out on top and I felt awful for it.”

Shrub caught the quick glance Katherine sent back to her and the worry in her expression. There was fear too, fear that this new information would cause Shrub to reject her. Shrub digested the information but she didn’t think it changed anything, only revealed more about Katherine to her. Katherine was still Katherine and Shrub wasn’t going to hold her past actions against her. But still, she had some questions.

“Did you ever use these skills again when you were Guardian?” Shrub phrased her question as far away from an accusation as she could. Katherine closed her eyes, overcome by the emotions, before she very quickly remembered that she needed them open to guide her mount.
“At times, yes. Not in the ways that the other heirs used them on me but similar. I tried to befriend people for gain, keep peace by using my alliances as a shield. I didn’t extort or manipulate but the skills I learned did some in handy in being a ruler. Truly, I did value everyone as friends but they were also rulers of rival kingdoms as well. It was hard to not fall back into my training whenever I faced them.”

“And me?” Shrub wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to this but she felt that she’d regret not asking more. The possibilities would haunt her. Katherine looked troubled but spoke truthfully.

"At the start I approached you as I did everyone else. I was wary of you and your new kingdom that just popped up overnight, there was no telling what powers politically or otherwise you had. But when I met you, I found you a breath of fresh air. You had no idea what you were doing!” Katherine winced at her callous wording.

“It’s true, I didn’t.” Shrub said lightly. It was true and while Shrub wasn’t exactly proud of how she handled her first few days as a ruler, she knew Katherine wasn’t trying to be mean.

“It was just so nice to talk to someone who wasn’t raised to always watch their wording, tread carefully around threats and displays of power. You were just exactly who you said you were. I could let my walls down around you, it was so easy. Not fully, never fully back then when I still had the responsibility of a kingdom on my back, but a bit. Enough to enjoy your company and just be Katherine for a few hours, not Guardian Katherine of House Blossom and the Overgrown.” Katherine folded her hands in her lap, hiding any nervous fidget. Shrub had no doubts that she was telling the truth and it was simultaneously extremely flattering and extremely overwhelming in the way that made Shrub’s face color. Once again she wished for her mask to hide the blush on her face from her companion. Katherine didn’t need to know how much these simple things affected her.

Shrub attempted to break the tension. “So you could say I was a breath of fresh air?” She joked.

“More like the one place I could be myself. You weren’t just a breath of fresh air, you were a hurricane, in a good way!” Katherine said playfully. Oh yeah that’s an arrow straight to the heart.

Shrub attempted to retort back, continue the joke flirting (or is this real flirting??) but her voice fails her. Instead of a coherent string of words what instead came out is a verbal keysmash followed by a squeak of embarrassment. Katherine finally looked behind her, concerned at Shrub’s reaction, only to see a very red Shrub trying very hard to turn invisible via thought alone. Through the gaps between her fingers Shrub could see a shift in Katherine’s posture, like she just tapped into a well of newfound confidence.

“I meant what I said. You’re one of the only people I feel truly comfortable around. You’re incredible

Too much too much too much! Katherine, sweet strong brave thoughtful cute Katherine, the same Katherine who’s smirks show off flinty fangs, the same Katherine who can go from achingly tenderly soft to fierce and wild between seconds, that Katherine, was maybe possible probably flirting with Shrub?? Nope does not compute, brain shutting down. Shrub needed to change the conversation before she acted out and said something she’d regret.

“Hey look over there!” Shrub pointed off at something in the distance. Thankfully for Shrub’s weak heart, Katherine remembered Shrub’s job and scout and focused on the diversion instead of the malfunctioning Shrub herself.

“What..is that?” She pondered, squinting where Shrub was pointing. Oh wait, was there actually something there? Well that’s a funny coincidence, guess Shrub functions better under a gay panic than normally.

The thing in the distance was a blob of color, wide and bright against the red landscape. It was a pleasing cyan, the kind that reminded Shrub of Rivendell and its bright banners and roofs. As the pack approached it, some of the wolves sprinted ahead to investigate and some even brought some of it back form Shrub to look at.

It was tufts of cyan grass, and clumps of mushrooms and nylium. It was life, a whole time of life. As Mother Wolf crossed over the border into it, Shrub felt a shiver go up her spine. Not a warning of danger but a whisper of recognition. The fungi of the area recognized her but she had never been here before.

Suddenly it hit her. The gnomes! They must have traveled through here recently to make such an impression.

Sliding off Mother Wolf’s back, Shrub reached out and touched the bark of a warped tree, Shrub attempted to ask the biome when and where they had seen the gnomes and if it knew where they went. Communing with nature like this was something Shrub hadn’t done in a while, not since she coaxed the mushrooms of the Undergrove into growing like they did back in the gnomeland.

The fungi answered with pictures of a great migration, many small people crossing the land. They saw this place, this biome of life, and their faces lit up with joy. The fungi couldn’t understand their words and therefore couldn’t share them but it was obvious in their motions and expressions that they had found what they were looking for. They made camp and set to work constructing something. The fungi didn’t know what it was but Shrub recognized it immediately.

A portal!

The gnomes finished the portal, lighting it and soundlessly cheering when the purple dpoorwarl swirled into existence. Almost all of them went in, with only a few staying behind in small houses and watchtowers that they had constructed.

Where was this portal, Shrub questioned. Many roots away, the fungi answered and showed her the path. Three days travel, Shrub calculated, maybe only two if they sprinted.

Pulling away from the tree, Shrub grinned and tapped excitedly on the arms of an intrigued but also confused Katherine. “We’re almost there! I can feel it! The gnomes are so close.”

Katherine shared her infectious grin and helped Shrub climb back on. She urged the wolves into a gallop, paws whipping up a trail of spores behind them.

This was the final stretch.

Somewhere, over the horizon, the gnomes were waiting for her.

Shrub couldn’t wait to show them how she had grown and changed and all the new family she had.

Shrub couldn’t wait to show them Katherine.

Chapter Text

It was supposed to be a straight shot to the portal. Shrub had the directions the fungi gave her, which, side-note, was awesome and something Katherine did not know she could do. Shrub guided Katherine and by extension the wolves from over Katherine’s shoulder like a pathfinding shoulder angel. Progress was good and they already had a days travel under their belts.

But the simple and benign trip through the forest was interrupted by one problem, the endermen. They weren’t hostile on their own, not before making eye-contact, but with a group as large as the wolf pack there was bound to be a slip up. One wolf mistakenly looked in the wrong direction at the wrong time and now they were all running for their lives from a raging mob of them. So much for this biome being safe.

“On your left!” Katherine cried out. Shrub reigned the Mother Wolf away from another charging enderman, slipping under their outstretched clawed arm. She had switched places with Katherine and taken control of the wolves as soon as the attack started. Katherine would have protested, the reason she had control in the first place was because of Shrub’s injury, but their lives are currently in danger and Shrub has a much better chance of getting them to the portal in one piece than she does.

Shrub let go of Mother Wolf’s fur and whipped out her bow, firing 3 arrows at the hoard and then hissed under her breath when the endermen casually teleported out of the trajectory of her shots.

“Curses. I forgot they’d be immune to projectiles. I’m useless here. Katherine, keep watching my back. We need to sprint for the portal.” Shrub commanded as she stowed her bow, holding onto Mother Wolf and correcting their course.

Katherine made an affirmative noise and steadied herself with a hand on Shrub’s shoulder, gripping her short sword in the other hand and turning to face their attackers. Katherine was already uncomfortable with one-handed weaponry, preferring two-handed swords, and the jostling and constant movement of mounted combat wasn’t doing much for her abilities either. Still, Shrub not being able to shoot placed them at a great disadvantage. Katherine would gladly push her limits for this, they were just so close.

The wolves picked up the pace and suddenly they were flying through the warped forest. Katherine warded off attacks from all sides, backing away the attacking endermen before they could get her and Shrub with their serrated claws and gnashing jaws.

It wasn’t just Katherine watching Shrub’s back, Shrub watched hers too. There were many close calls where Katherine would down an endemic only for another to teleport right behind her, newly stabbing her in the back before Shrub swerved their mount and smashed the assailant into a tree. At first Katherine brushed this off as incredible luck but the third time it happened she caught the eye of Shrub looking back at her, deliberately checking up on her and watching out for her even as she should have been focused on keeping the pack on track.

Still, even with Katherine’s logical brain yelling at her to tell Shrub to keep her eyes on the road and not look back at Katherine, she couldn’t help the feeling of rippling care that coursed through her.

“Thanks” She mouthed genuinely. Shrub opened her mouth, probably to respond, only for Mother Wolf to make a tight turn and Shrub to focus back on the fact that she is guiding a moving wolf pack. Katherine also tore her eyes away, thanking the Overgrown that she hadn’t been clawed in her distracted state.

What seemed like hours passed and slowly the endermen backed off, still upset at the pack’s slight but unwilling to chase them any further. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief and leaned heavily against Shrub’s back.

“And I thought fighting Joey and Xornoth was hard. At least they didn’t teleport behind me while I was stuck in a forward slash.” Katherine breathed. Shrub chuckled breathily.

“I’m pretty sure Xornoth could teleport, they just never did it during a fight.” Shrub leaned back against Katherine, both of them supporting each other.

“And thank the spirits for that, we would have never survived if they did.” Katherine could feel Shrub’s heartbeat through the few layers of fabric and leather between them. It wasn’t distracting the way she thought it’d be, but rather comforting. After many perilous battles where they never knew if they’d make it out alive, that rhythmic beating was proof that they did.

The two sat there for a bit, regaining their energy. They probably would have sat there for longer if not for the wolves whining and pulling on Shrub’s sleeves.

“Ok, ok, we’re getting up.” Shrub rolled her eyes gently at their antics. “I didn’t know you wanted to get going this badly.”

Katherine used one of the wolves to support herself as she stood up, still unsure of her own strength currently. “Well, we’re so close to the gnomes. I’m sure they want to meet them just as much as you want to see them.”

Shrub inhaled sharply at that, causing Katherine to look over in concern. Shrub scanned the forest around them, an expression of beaming joy and hidden nervousness appearing on her face.

“I’d hate to thank the endermen for anything but with their very aggressive help, we are standing on the doorstep of the gnomish portal.” Shrub stated. Her eyes finally locked onto something in the distance and she enthusiastically pointed it out to Katherine. Katherine squinted, Shrub’s eyesight was much better than hers in the lower lights of the nether, but she spotted it. A glow of purple settled inside a frame of black glass. The Netherportal.

Shrub pulled Katherine with her, forgoing riding on Mother Wolf and instead booking it on her own two short feet. Katherine stumbled behind her, thrown off not just by the rapid pull but also by the fact that Shrub is holding her hand! How many times has she done that? If you count Katherine helping Shrub up those two times and also holding her hand when her arm was injured, then three times before. This was the fourth..

Shrub probably wasn’t having the same mushy internal meltdown that Katherine was having, she seemed resolute as she led them both through the forest and to the doorway between the realms.

Katherine and Shrub stepped out of the woods with their hands still interlocked. In front of them stood the portal. Built from the crystalline obsidian but decorated with warped wood corners and pillars, carved with symbols and pictures Katherine knew meant so much more to Shrub than they did to her. It whispered at them the way most portals did, all the more enticing when you knew what was on the other side. A home, a community thought lost, maybe even family.

Katherine waited for Shrub to drag her through the portal with the same determination she had before. A minute passed of her not doing that before Katherine looked down on her. Conflict was ripe on her face, worry and stress warring with hope and joy. She caught Katherine’s eye on her and looked away quickly, staring back at the portal.

“What if I walk through there and I don't find anything? What if I got here too late? What if they’re all there but my parents aren’t? What if they don’t remember me? What if they shun me for not finding them sooner or for leaving them in the first place.“ Shrub fretted.

“I can’t say for a fact that those things won’t happen but my heart says that they won’t. They’re your people, they’ll be so relieved and excited to see you alive and returned to them. As for those other worries you won’t know anything for sure until you walk through that gateway.” Katherine flicked her tail around one of Shrub’s legs in a comforting manner.

“Maybe that’s better?“ Shrub muttered. “I can’t get hurt by the worst happening if the worst never happens.”

“But you won’t be able to feel the joy if the best happens either.” Katherine pointed out. “You and I went all this way, braving dangers every second of the way, just for the chance to see your people again. Will you truly stop at the very end?” Katherine’s words are harsh but her tone is as gentle as she could make it.

“…what will I do if the worst happens? How can I move on from this?” Shrub hunched in on herself. Katherine squeezed her hand tightly with her own.

“Even if the worst happens, you’ll still have me. And the wolves!” Katherine pulled her words away from what could have been a confession. Not now, it wasn’t time. “We’ll be with you if everything falls apart. We’ll pick you up and help you until you can send on your own again. But you won’t know if you need us like that until you walk through the portal.”

Tears prickled in Shrub’s eyes, collecting in the corners before she wiped them away. She nodded, inhaled deeply, and stepped through the portal, pulling Katherine along with her.

The first thing Katherine noticed was how much brighter it was out here. Glowstone and lava had nothing on the sun’s light. She covered her eyes with a hand, squinting ahead of her.

The second thing she noticed was the smell. Katherine hadn’t realized how much she missed the smell of growing trees and general life until now. It was leagues better than the sulphuric always-burning smell of the Nether. There were other smells too: earthy smoke from people’s hearths, food roasting and baking, the musk of animals, and an overlaying general smell of mushrooms that was quite similar to how the Undergrove always smelled.

The third thing she noticed was the sounds. Leaves rustling, children laughing, bells chiming, hammers ringing, people murmuring, all of it was present. It was almost overwhelming, hearing so many sounds all at once.

The final thing Katherine noticed, once her eyes adjusted, was the gnomes themselves. Short, soft people hardened by their experiences, many wearing bows or hunting knives on their persons. Many hair colors, shades of brown being one of the most prominent. Bright eyes that look glowing under a certain light, triangular ears not as long as an elf’s but not as round as a human’s. Freckles dotting nearly everyone’s faces. Yes, these were certainly Shrub’s people. An interesting thing she noticed about the gnomes was their clothing. It was very colorful but there was a noticeable lack of dark blue stuff. Katherine wondered if it was because they didn’t have access to lapis.

Everyone in the nearby vicinity had turned to face the portal when Katherine and Shrub walked out of it. They stared at Katherine first, a giant in their eyes, before their eyes drifted to Shrub. Gasps of disbelief and cries of joy filled the air as many of the gnomes recognized their lost member.

“Shrub’s come back!” One younger gnome yelled, causing an avalanche of chatter. Shrub stepped towards them, pulling Katherine with her. She hadn’t spoken yet and her eyes were still misty. The other gnomes crowded around her, squeezing her shoulder or patting her arms almost to convince themself she was real.

“Where were you? How did you escape the demon?”

“Who’s your giant friend? I see their wings, did you fall in with the fey?”

“Is that a wolf pack???”

“What strange colors Shrub’s companion choses to wear. Magenta and gold. Mixed signals i’d say.”

“Goodness you look so skinny! We need to get some meat on those bones. You too, tall stranger.”

“Why is Shrub in teal? Did something happen to her? I feel a spiritual presence around her.”

“Who cares if she’s a spirit? She’s one of us and she’s back!”

Questions and comments tumbled over each other, getting louder and louder before Shrub took a step back, putting her hands in front of her.

“I’ll answer all your questions late but I need to know, are my parents here? In this village? Their names are Fern Berry and Rose Berry.”

This was the first time that Katherine had heard Shrub’s parents’ names. It seemed that plant themed names run in the family.

The gnomes nod. “Your parents are here. Oh! You probably want to see them! I’ll go get them.” One gnome blurted sand then ran off. Shrub squeezed Katherine’s hand again. This was the moment she had been waiting for and Katherine would provide as much support as she could.

Some gnomes noticed their linked hands and some began to murmur. Katherine almost gave them one of her stern looks, the one that said “If you have a problem please say it to my face, I dare you.” But these were Shrub’s people not the fey, they probably didn’t mean any harm. Plus, it’d be a bad look if one of the first things Katherine did was glare at people. She can bide her time, see if any of them were actually disapproving of… whatever she and Shrub had.

The crowd of gnomes parted to let two gnomes through. They both were wearing dark clothes with lilac accents and on their faces were twin expressions of teary-eyed hope that turned to overwhelming joy when they saw Shrub. They rushed over to Shrub and she met them halfway in a big hug, letting go of Katherine’s hand in the process.

“Shrubling, you made it back to us!” One of them, a portly gnome with a large mustache and no head-hair, breathed, voice shaking from unshed tears. Shrub laughed tearfully.

“It only took me months of searching but I found you.” She ducked her head into his shoulder. “Spirits, I missed you so much Dad.”

“Well what about your dear mother, did you miss her too?” The other gnome, a sweet-faced redhead, joked as she wrapped her arms around them both. She too was teary eyed, but her smile was wide with love.

“Of course, mom! I missed both of you.” Shrub held them as tight as she could. They were a family, complete again after so long apart. Katherine felt like she was peeking in on a very personal thing and looked away briefly. From the looks of it, the other gnomes felt the same way, ducking their heads or stepping away.

“Are you ok? Dear, what happened to you? You look like you’ve been through hell.” The redhead, who Katherine assumed was Shrub’s mom, asked, gently pushing some of Shrub’s hair out of her face to better look at her

“You’re not entirely wrong about that. There were a lot of obstacles in the way before I could find you.” Shrub’s voice grew quieter, too quiet for anyone else but her parents and Katherine to hear. “It was so hard, keeping up hope. Sometimes I feared that you all really had died and that I was the last one. I nearly gave up a couple times but thankfully, I had a few very special friends to support me”

“Your giant friend, I assume?” The mustached man asked, enunciating the word friend quite heavily. The redhead tried to elbow him discreetly. The secrecy is ruined by the fact that he yelped quite loudly.

Shrub only snorted at their antics fondly, wiping her tears away. “Katherine, yes, and also the wolves. They became a second family to me and I cannot wait to introduce them to you.”

‘Well then, you better get on that.” The mustached gnome rumbled. “Get over here and introduce yourself, friends of my child.” They waved over Katherine and the wolves.

“Katherine, this is my dad, Fern Berry, and my mom, Rose Berry.” Shrub gestured to the mustached gnome and the redhead respectively, while also not fully extracting herself from her parents hug. “Dad, Mon, these are Katherine Elizabeth and the wolves. Lady Sun, or Mother Wolf she goes by both, is the biggest one.” She goes on to introduce all the other wolves by name, each of them barking on cue when they’re introduced.

“Well, aren’t they all sweet.” Rose said, reaching out from the hug to pet Moon’s head.

“They are.” Shrub agreed.

Fern stuck a hand out towards Katherine, which she presumed was for a handshake and held out her own, only for him to pull her into the hug. It’s a bit awkward, Katherine being about 3 feet taller than most of the gnomes here, but what they lacked in size they made up for in enthusiasm.

“Thank you for helping bring our child home.” Rose murmured to Katherine. She tightened her hug to an almost painful degree. Geez these gnomes are strong for their size.

“Oh, I really didn’t do much-“ Katherine started before Shrub elbowed her. “Hey! I was trying to be modest! It was a team effort really.”

“We had each other’s backs.” Shrub pointed out as the hug was dissolved. “But also Katherine didn’t need me to take care of her, she could handle herself out there. She did save my life.”

“Oh no, I know that’s not true! You saved my life too! It was a duel life-saving event.” Katherine swished her tail in mostly fake agitation. “You should have seen Shrub, rushing in with the wolves, as dashing as they come.” Katherine stage whispered to Shrub’s parents. It was a bit more forward than she’d normally be but it was Shrub’s parents! They needed to know how awesome their daughter is!

Shrub flushed at the praise, tagging on her shirt sleeve, while Fern and Rose gave each other a long look. “Really? A dashing savior on wolfback? Is that right?” Rose raised an eyebrow playfully.

“Ok, that did happen, even if Katherine is exaggerating just a little bit-“

“I am not!” Katherine interjected.

Shrub continued. “But! You should have seen when Katherine saved my life! She ran in, teeth bared, sword already in motion, decapitating those skeletons faster than a blink! Most things about that time are a bit hazy but I remember that much.”

Now it was Katherine’s turn to blush. She hasn’t been that heroic, had she? She just wanted to protect Shrub really, really badly. Purely selfish reasons, not at all heroic.

Rose and Fern shared another knowing look. They were doing that a lot lately. Maybe it was a gnome thing? Telepathy upon marriage via locking eyes?

“Well I’m glad that you both are all right. You look worn out, how long have you been traveling?” Asked Rose.

Wait, how long had it been since they’d been traveling? Katherine had a general idea but time in the nether was really weird. “Uhhhhhh….” She looked to Shrub for help.

Shrub thought for a second. “Well I left around the start of spring so about 4 weeks total traveling and 3 with Katherine. Spirits, it feels like much longer!”

“Constant peril will do that to you. And time distortion.” Katherine joked.

“That is much longer than we traveled during the Great Migration.” Fern stated. “You all must be exhausted. Rose and I have a house near the edges of town, it’s quieter there and easier to keep the livestock without disturbing any others. We’d love it if you both stayed the night.” He looked hopefully at Shrub. Katherine could understand wanting to spend time with your child who you thought missing or even dead.

“Dinner isn’t ready yet but I can get some snacks in the meantime! And later we can have some hotpot once it’s done cooking.” Rose added.

Katherine took in her and Shrub’s appearances. She supposed they did look a bit more weary than the gnomes here. The singed edges and ash along their clothes and hair certainly didn’t do them any favors. Shrub looked ecstatic at the idea of home cooked food and an actual bed.

“That sounds amazing, Mom.” Shrub gushed. “Spirits, was the last actual food we ate all the way at the bastion?”

Katherine thought back. “Yep, sure was.”

“That curry was good but I know that nothing can beat my mom’s hotpot, you’ll see.” Shrub pulled on Katherine’s arm “Lead the way, parental figures!”

Fern laughed loudly at the joke while Rose shook her head fondly. Apparently this was something Shrub said often, an inside joke of theirs.

The walk through the gnome settlement was lovely. It was very similar to The Undergrove, houses built into the sides of hills and giant mushrooms. There were also treehouses, houses both hanging from trees and built inside them. It was less like a town plopped into a forest but more like a forest grown with a town inside. All of the houses were much smaller than Katherine’s height, but Katherine was used to that too. The Undergrove was not always tall person friendly either.

The gnomes around the portal had scattered, going back to their jobs and business when they understood that Shrub wasn’t going to explain anything today. A lot of them scurried off into the wooded town and disappeared even from Katherine’s sight or hearing. It seems incredible stealth was a species-wide thing.

Shrub had let go of Katherine’s arm a bit of the way to the Berry’s house. Rose and Fern each had a hold on one of Shrub's hands instead, with Katherine lagging just a step behind all of them. Katherine would have felt a bit left out if not for the way that all of them kept turning back to address her, sometimes nearly tripping over one of the wolves when they did so.

“It’ll be a bit of a tight squeeze for Katherine. We hadn’t planned on hosting anyone quite your size before.” Fern said apologetically.

“Oh don’t worry. I’m used to gnomish houses by now.” Katherine remembered meetings with Shrub in The Undergrove, some political but most just two hangouts between friends. After bonking head head on the doorways way too many times in the beginning, Katherine eventually learned how to manage being 6 foot in a house for 4 foot and under people.

Fern and Rose once again gave each other a look. Shrub noticed the look and balked, nearly pulling her hands out of her parents' grasp as she tried to explain.

“Me and Katherine spent a lot of time together back before we traveled together. She’s been over to my house, well my old house now, quite a few times.” Shrub glared lightly at each of her parents, daring them to pry.

“It’s nice that you too are such good friends, Shrubling” Fern said lightly, stressing the word friend heavily again. Both Shrub and Rose glared at him. “So Shrubling! How did you and Katherine meet?”

It was an obvious attempt to change the topic but Shrub latched onto it, going on about the empires and the other rulers. Her parents looked impressed and also awed.

“I didn’t know we were in the presence of royalty!” Rose gasped

“Oh, I wouldn’t consider myself royalty anymore.” Katherine spoke awkwardly. “And technically Shrub’s royalty too now.”

“I’m really not. Playing at running a kingdom with no one in it doesn’t make you royalty.” Shrub mumbled.

“Me and the other empires would beg to disagree. You and the Undergove were legitimate as soon as your first alliance was formed. In the eyes of the law, you’re royalty.” Katherine pointed out.

“Hmm.” Shrub still sounded doubtful.

“Sorry, Shrubling, I’m inclined to believe Katherine on this one. She sounds very knowledgeable about these kinds of things.” Fern patted Shrub’s back apologetically as she pouted slightly.

“Heh, thanks Mr Fern.” Seems all those hours studying the worldly laws was actually useful for something. Good to know she didn’t waste that part of her life.

“Well, if Katherine doesn’t consider herself royalty then neither do I. Plus, I think being this far away from the empires delegitimizes me from any claims of royalty. The gnomes don’t have that kind of leadership anyways.” Shrub stated.

“Oh is that why you went by Guardian instead of King or Queen?” Katherine asked, genuinely curious. “I wasn’t sure if it was because you were also guarding an ancient site of natural power or because the spirits bestowed that title to you or something else.”

“Technically it’s because of the spirits but yes, I wouldn’t have used King or Queen anyways.” Shrub explained.

“There’s actually a large history about the gnomes and their relationship with rulers and governments.” Rose interjected.

Katherine’s eyes lit up. “Oh please, tell me more.”

And so, for the rest of the walk to the Berry’s estate, Rose rambled about the former gnomish monarchy and how it was overthrown by the people with the help of the spirits. Katherine listened intently, always happy to get new knowledge, while Shrub interjected with other facts when needed and Fern nodded along, looking very lost. Katherine felt herself relaxing around these new people, asking more questions and feeling like a part of the group.

Eventually they reached Fern and Rose’s home, a lovely cottage but inside a mushroom with small friends of crops growing in the patches of sunlight drifting through the canopy and pens of livestock, namely some kind of goat that Katherine didn’t recognize. Rose led them inside, promising to get everyone a snack, even the wolves. Every hurried inside, boldened by the promise of food. Behind them, the door shut with a solid thunk. Katherine breathed in the smell of burning scented candles and slow cooking food over a stove.

Fern and Rose had rushed upstairs, mentioning needing to put on new clothes. Katherine didn’t understand the importance but Shrub’s eyes went wide and she nodded.

“Make yourselves at home! There’s dried roots in the left barrel for both of you and extra clothes in the guest bedroom, for Shrub not for Katherine.” Rose called down before she ducked into her bedroom upstairs.

Katherine nabbed the snacks as soon as they were gone, popping a dried root into her mouth. It was starchy and very chewy and tasted both tart and earthy. It was like the lovechild between ginger and a potato. Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad. Though, Katherine supposed, anything would taste good after eating only dried pork ever since the bastion. Gods, she missed fresh food.

As Katherine munched, Shrub looked down at her dark teal outfit, the one she’d been wearing ever since she made the Wolf Spirit as her identity. Her expression was thoughtful and she gnawed at the bottom of her lip with her teeth. Katherine totally didn’t notice that action in particular. “I.. think I need new clothes as well. Can you wait here while I go change.”

“Oh, sure! I’ll just sit…” Katherine looked around at the too-small furniture. “On this couch!” It was the only thing big enough for her and only by a little bit. It was more like a padded chair than a couch. “I’ll be here when you return.”

Shrub nodded and darted away. Katherine leaned back in the chair, snacks in her hand, content to wait and just rest. Soon, Katherine felt her eyes drooping. The couch was very squishy, Katherine’s stomach was full of snacks, and the atmosphere was so much nicer and more homely than anywhere she had been in the past couple days.

Sure the Berry’s wouldn’t mind if she rested her eyes for just… a few…. minutes…..

Chapter Text

Shrub closed the door to her parents' guest bedroom softly behind her. She then squared her shoulders and walked over to the dresser. Shrub had been needing new clothes for a while now and that meant picking the right colors. Her old colors hadn’t been fit for her for a while now.

It had been a while since Shrub had thought about gnomish color coding but even after being away for so long it still managed to find its way into her outfit choices. Teal and silver were The Wolf Spirit’s colors and the colors Shrub had fully embraced when she left her old identity behind with the Undergrove. The colors themselves were chosen unconsciously but looking back she still made them with the right coding. Teal for spiritual connection, a darker shade for being a vessel for the spirits themselves, and silver for justice. It was the colors of a vigilante acting on the forest’s will and it had been perfect for its use but now…

Shrub hadn’t expected to be anyone else but The Wolf Spirit after she left but here she was, reunited with her parents and ready to be Shrub Berry again. That meant picking new colors for herself, to show the world who she was now.

But who was Shrub Berry this time?

The old Shrub, the Shrub that was happy with her family, had her own identity. Red for passion and a zest for life, lighter green for wildness and community, and brown for family, the most common colors gnomes wear. When she was forced away from her family, she couldn’t change her colors. Partly because it was hard getting clothes in her size, partly because they were one of her only connections to her gnomeland, and partly because it just hurt too much to consider changing her colors.

So she hadn’t, at least until she became The Wolf Spirit. She hadn’t expected to lean so much into that identity for so long and she hadn’t put conscious thought into its colors and what wearing them would mean.

But now she had to think about this. She needed to show her parents who Shrub Berry was, besides a vigilante.

Gods they must have been so confused when she came back in all dark teal and silver. Thankfully they didn’t comment on it but still.

Well the first step to figuring out her new identity would be seeing what spare clothes were here in the first place. No point in deciding on a presentation only for her to not be able to find the right colored piece.

Thankfully, there were a lot of different options here, different styles and colors all folded nicely in the drawers. Back in the gnomeland, Shrub’s parents had always been willing to house other gnomes in the midst of changing homes and as such always had a nice arrangement of colored clothes for if they were needed. It was heartening to see that the tradition still lived on, even in the new settlement. Some of these clothes were obviously hand-me-down from some of Shrub’s cousins but others looked newer or more personalized, a well-loved piece left here when the time came for another person to take and make it their own.

Shrub’s eye was drawn to a dark green pattern hidden under a yellow sweater. When she took it out and unfolded it she saw that it was a caplet. It looked similar to the one Shrub had on with her Wolf Spirit garb, just without the hood and in an obvious different color and pattern. This one was patterned with clovers, all with four leaves. Well, Shrub could use a bit of luck right now, and green was always a good color. With the gnomes’ connection to nature, it was obvious that green would be a favorite, the second most common color worn only behind reliable brown.

Shrub folded it on the bed and went digging for a matching undershirt. There were some that she thought could work but either didn’t have the right style or color needed. Finally she found something workable, a black undershirt with a mended tear in the longer sleeves. It was obviously based on the night sky of the gnomeworld, the shade of black matching perfectly with Shrub’s memories of her old home. Its meanings worked well too. Black was the color of comfort and home and well, Shrub was home. What better way to create her new identity than by declaring that she’s home. She folded it on the bed next to the caplet.

Some blue-grey jean overalls, a middling color between the freedom of sky and the stubbornness of grey, was added to the pile. It was obviously a hand-me-down, with red and yellow patches sown over rips and tears. Shrub could use some red in her outfit, her zest for life had never really died and she had a better respect of the cycle of life and decay now than she did before, and yellow was always a good color. Shrub wasn’t an artist so wearing a large amount of yellow wouldn’t work for her but she considered herself creative enough, she did build a replica of the gnomeworld as her empire, so it fit. Also it matched her eyes and matching was always good.

The fingerless leather gloves Shrub had added to her Wolf Spirit outfit on a whim were really growing on her. She decided to keep them. Shrub’s old boots were also still usable, though Shrub did look for a new pair of mushroom patterned socks to go with them but couldn’t find any. She could probably buy some; mushroom patterned items were always in demand, or make her own. Shrub’s crocheting and knitting were eh but socks weren’t too hard. The patterns though… yeah buying from a master crafter would be better.

She also couldn’t find a fitting hat. There were some in the collection, leather caps and beanies and sunhat, but none of them fit her. Shrub wanted a mushroom hat, like her old one but those weren’t something people just gave away. Mushroom hats were specially grown custom for each order by a master phytomancer. Shrub’s dad had gotten his own hat custom made by one and made Shrub her own cap to help her with the sun out in the fields. Shrub felt a pang in her chest when she remembered where she had left that hat, resting atop a makeshift grave for her parents back in the Undergrove. She made it the day before she left the Undergrove, the day she gave up hope of her family being alive. She regretted not going back for it now that she knew they were fine but she couldn’t linger on her regrets now, she had way too many and dealing with them now wasn’t efficient or timely.

Arranging the clothes so that she could see how it would look as a unit, Shrub looked over her new outfit and felt satisfied. The colors didn’t clash, it was in the style she’d normally wear, and while it wasn’t finished it was at least presentable. Now all she had to do was put it on.

Luckily, the guest bedroom had a guest bathroom as well and in a few minutes Shrub was admiring her clothes in the mirror. After adjusting the folds of the caplet and rolling up the shirt sleeves, Shrub was ready.

She picked up her old and discarded clothes to clean them and add them to the drawers before she remembered Katherine’s waist wrap, the one she had used to bandage Shrub’s arm wound. The injury itself was gone, just a grayish scar left behind, so Shrub didn’t need to wear it anymore. For a second she considered keeping it but eventually shook her head. Magenta and gold, while an understandable color choice for piglinmake, did not work for gnomes. Magenta and gold were uncomplimentary colors, gold meant master of one’s craft and magenta meant vivacity and was worn by apprentices. You couldn't be a master and an apprentice at the same time, at least not without studying two trades and even still, you wouldn’t display that on one piece of clothing. It just wasn’t done.

Katherine’s outfit must have confused the gnomes so badly. Shrub remembered at least one comment on the conflicting colors. At least the brown was familiar enough for them.

Shrub remembered Katherine’s old outfit, the one with all the white and purple and shuddered at the thought of the gnomes trying to read that. Yeah… wouldn’t have gone well. White was for death and dark purple was for sorrow. Together that makes, well, a ghost probably.

It was almost funny, imagining how confused Katherine would have been if the gnomes saw her and ran away, calling her a giant ghost. Her face would have scrunched up in that super cute way and her tail would have flicked as it always did when she tried to understand something.

Shrub shook her head rapidly, bidding those thoughts away. There would be time to think about Katherine later, right now Shrub needed to give this wrap back to Katherine and ask her parents where she could drop off her laundry. Actually, maybe washing the wrap before she gave it to Katherine was a better idea. It was a bit… crusty with dried blood, not to mention overall dirty from so much time spent in the nether.

Yeah, wash it first and then give it back.

With that issue settled, Shrub picked up her laundry and went to go find her parents. Or a laundry basket. Or washroom. Whatever she stumbled onto first.

As she walked into the main room, the first thing Shrub noticed was her parents clustered around the sofa, blocking Shrub’s view from whatever they were looking at. Creeping closer, Shrub tried to get a look at whatever they were looking at. However, they noticed her before she could notice what was on the sofa and bustled her over so she could get a better look.

It was Katherine, fast asleep. She had tipped over when she fell asleep, the bag of dried roots in hand, so the bag had spilled onto herself, the sofa, and the floor. Her mouth was open and she was drooling slightly on a pillow. She was flopped in what would probably be a very uncomfortable position to wake up in, one arm pinned under her body and one flopped over the edge of the couch. The couch was much too small for her and she was very nearly falling off of it.

She looked adorable.

Shrub had seen Katherine sleep, not in a creepy way! It was just that they had slept in the same area. Katherine normally curled up when she slept, hugging her arms close to her chest. It was obvious that Katherine had been so tired that she just dozed off in whatever potion she was already in.

Shrub didn’t want to wake her up.

Rose and Fern were watching Shrub’s reaction with elated faces, Rose looking openly coy and Fern trying to hide it.

“We found her here after we came back from getting new clothes.” Rose stated. Both of them had changed out of their dark purple and lavender accented mourning clothes and into new outfits, a cotton dress with an orange, pink, and sky blue gradient for Rose and a sophisticated light green and black plaid shirt for Fern.

“Should we wake her?” Fern asked, twirling his mustache. “You both had been traveling a long time, tiredness is to be expected.”

“She needs to eat dinner first.” Shrub pointed out. “

“That’s true. I don’t want Katherine to miss out on my hotpot.” Rose crossed her arms. “I say we wake her.”

“Well, if the majority agrees.” Fern acquiesced. “Shrub, you do the honors.”

“Wait, why me?” Shrub did a double take.

“You know her the best, obviously.” Rose said with an open smirk. Fern nodded in agreement.

So it seemed they weren’t going to let this go. The sly looks on the way here were bad enough, now they were outright conspiring. Shrub was being betrayed by her own flesh and blood, her own parents, who had decided that the first thing they needed to do after reuniting with their daughter was tease her about her crush.

“Ok, parental figures.” Shrub gave him a tiny glare that caused Rose to snicker. She walked up to Katherine, who was now snoring, and gently shook her.

“Katherine, you gotta get up.” Shrub whispered. “It's time to eat.”

“Urghh.” Katherine grumbled half-asleep, grabbing onto Shrub’s arm. Shrub swore she heard Rose and Fern squeak in glee.

“Katherine!” Shrub hissed louder, a furious green blush on her face. Katherine jolted upright, fully awake.

“Huh, what?” Katherine rubbed at her eyes. “You needed me? I was having an awesome nap….” She whined. Ah, the return of dramatic Katherine. It’d been a while since Shrub last saw her.

Shrub gently pulled her arm out of Katherine’s grasp, which she let her do, but not before Katherine saw what she had grabbed onto in her sleep before.

“Oh, sorry about that.” Katherine’s ears flicked back in embarrassment. “I’m awake now.” She looked around at the fallen snacks. “Shoot, my snacks. I’ll clean this up.”

“It’s fine, leave it.” Fern stopped Katherine from getting up with a gentle hand to the shoulder. “I can get it after dinner.”

“Right, dinner! Is it time already?” Katherine looked around for a clock.
“The hotpot is done simmering and all that’s left is to sit down and dish out our food.” Rose took Katherine’s hand and started leading her towards the kitchen. “Some of the neighbors dropped off some side dishes while you were asleep. It’ll be a full fledged feast! I cannot wait for you to try the stuffed mushrooms.”

Katherine let herself be guided to the kitchen by the much shorter lady with only a spare look back at Shrub. Shrub jogged after them, Fern a few paces behind her. Soon, everyone was gathered in the kitchen.

In this house, there wasn’t a visible dining table. At least, not until Rose pulled on a wood handle in the wall and unfolded a collapsable table. Fern brought in some chairs and everyone sat down, Fern and Rose on one side and Katherine and Shrub on the other.. Katherine had to crouch down a lot, the table was very short for her.

Soon after, Rose began piling all sorts of pots, dishes, and bowls filled with food onto the table. The main bowl of soup stock was in the center, with smaller bowls of sliced roots, leafy greens, mushrooms, and beans for cooking in the broth. Shrub also noticed the side dishes: tilebread, stuffed mushrooms, at least different kinds of savory cakes, and others. A jug of goat milk was placed at the corner to wash everything down.

For a while the only sounds were the slightly sizzling of the food in the broth and chewing noises as everyone was too hungry to talk. Rose broke the silence by clearing her throat.

“Soooooo, Katherine!” Rose sang with a smirk. Shrub sunk deeper into her seat. “How long have you and Shrub known each other?

“Oh well we met around midsummer so I suppose 7 or 8 months now?” Katherine tapped her claws on her bowl of food.

Rose’s expression turned sly. “You’ve become awfully close with each other over that time, it’s obvious to me.”

“Oh I supposed we have,” Katherine mused. “We were allies back home but our relationship really blossomed on the road trip.”

Shrub wanted the ground to swallow her up.

“Did it now?” Fern and Rose were looking at Katherine with an expression akin to a dangerous predator sizing up their prey.

“Hey Katherine! Try this!” Shrub diverted the conversation and handed Katherine the closest piece of food she hadn’t seen her try yet, a slice of tilebread.

Katherine nibbled at the corner of a piece of tilebread. She made a face, unimpressed by the taste alone.

“It’s not very good on its own. You’re supposed to put jam on it.” Shrub passed the nearest jam container.

“Ah, makes sense.” Katherine agreed, spreading the red-orange jam on the tilebread. She took another bite and made another face. “Is.. is the jam supposed to be spicy?” She asked while her face turned rapidly red.

Shrub looked at the container of jam. Ah, that makes more sense. Granny Rhubarb’s Super Spicy Wyrmfruit Jam. “Not normally, but this kind is, because someone here likes their tilebread with a side of pain.”

Fern looked to the side and coughed. “There’s a different kind in the cupboard. I haven’t put my spread on, we can switch pieces.” He suggested.

“Yes, please.” Katherine panted, fanning at her face. Fern took her barely eaten tilebread and gave her his plain one. Rose watched all this go down with a very amused expression.

The other type of jelly, plumberry, was not spicy at all and the relief on Katherine’s face was clearly visible.

Conversation continued with few hiccups, those hiccups always being Shrub’s parents attempting to pry for more info about Katherine and Shrub’s relationship. Katherine, diplomatic as she was, answered these questions with the same level of grace and poise she always did, and also with the obliviousness of a confused crayfish. Shrub, meanwhile, was regretting ever looking for her parents and trying to disappear back into the shadows in the corners of the room.

Still, besides the embarrassing parts, Shrub was having a good time. The food was comforting, the company was great, and the atmosphere was so much like the gnomeland that it made her nostalgic. All that time dreaming of when she’d find her people again and now that she’d found them, she felt full.

“Is that…. an insect?” Katherine interrupted, pointing at a dish near the opposite end of the table from her and Shrub.

Shrub squinted at the food. “Oh, yeah, that’s the charred bark-beetles. They’re Russet’s signature dish. They must have brought some over, unless they finally decided to share the recipe with anyone.”

“They’re not exactly bark-beetles.” Rose explained, taking one off the platter. “This forest doesn’t have those. But these beetles, we’re calling them stone-beetles, are close enough.”

“And Russet still won’t share their recipe. They just brought some over as a homecoming gift.” Fern added on.

Katherine eyed the beetles with suspicion before she shrugged and snagged one. “Hey, it’s meat and I’m not complaining.”

Shrub narrowed her eyes. “Wait, you’re a carnivore, yeah?”

Katherine made a so-so gesture with one hand. “I can eat most foods like any player but meats agree with my body better. Other foods won’t hurt me, the worst they’ll do is make me a bit more sleepy.”

Shrub’s eyes lit up. “The root chips! That’s why you fell asleep!”

Katherine blinked before she nodded. “Yeah, that would do it.”

“Well, we’ll try and prepare more meat items for you, Katherine.” Rose promised. “We don’t want you passing out in the middle of meals.”

Katherine sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ll try not to.”

“Maybe after dinner I can show you some pictures of little Shrub?” Fern suggested.

“How do you still have those?” Shrub yelped.

“Yes!” Katherine pushed herself out of her seat with the force of her enthusiasm. Shrub gave her A Look and she sat back down. “I mean, maybe later? I’d love to see what baby Shrub was like but I’m probably going to head to bed after this. I’m feeling the effect of those carbs hitting.”

“Some time later then.” Fern agreed, winking playfully at Katherine. Katherine grinned back at him and Shrub pouted.

The rest of the dinner was spent with Rose and Fern trying to get Katherine to try as many gnomish dishes as possible before she stood up and stretched.

“Yeah, I think here is where we part ways for the night. My eyes are drooping and the promise of a soft bed is calling to me.” Katherine yawned.

“The upstairs guest bedroom is open; second door on the right side.” Fern informed. Katherine gave him a thumbs up.

“Noted. Good night, Mr and Mrs Berry. Good night, Shrub.” Katherine stumbled out of the room blearily with a chorus of Good Night’s behind her.

After she was gone, Shrub turned on her parents. “Did you really have to tease us that much?” She griped.

“You’re our kid, of course we did!” Rose said with a laugh.

“And I’m guessing you’re going to keep doing it?” Shrub sighed.

“Hm-hm.” Rose and Fern nodded in sync. “You make it pretty easy, dear. I mean, that caplet is very close to evergreen, wouldn’t you say?” Rose asked Fern as she winked conspiratorially to Shrub.

“Oh yes, very close indeed.” Fern nodded, obviously attempting to hide his mischievous grin.

“Mom! Dad!” Shrub protested. Evergreen was a couple’s color, the one worn for weddings or engagements or just to show that someone’s taken. Shrub’s cape was not evergreen, it was a very respectable fern green. Shrub’s parents were just menaces.

“But it would make sense,” Rose continued, “you did say that Katherine was one of your “Very Special Friends.””

Ok so maybe Shrub misworded that sentence, sue her, how was she supposed to know that her parents would latch onto that?

Oh who’s she kidding, it's her parents. They haven’t had a chance to playfully tease Shrub in months, of course the first thing they’d do is make up for lost time.

“I didn’t mean it like that! Well, Katherine is my very special friend… but I didn't say it in that tone! We’re not together.” Shrub crossed her arms.

Rose and Fern blinked in surprise at Shrub’s outburst, both eyebrows hovering so high they’re hiding in their hair. “Really?” Rose

“We’re not together or anything like that.” Shrub is not pouting right now she is not! She has other reasons for looking upset, like her parents thinking Katherine was her romantic partner when she isn’t.

“But I thought…” Rose started pacing, brow furrowed as she tried to organize her thoughts. “All the clues were there! It made so much sense!”

“Yeah, well, we aren’t.” Shrub looked away.

Fern reached over and rested a hand on Rose’s shoulder, halting her pacing. “But do you want to be?” He asked Shrub gently.

Shrub knew what her answer was, she’d known for a bit now, but saying it outside the confines of her mind was surprisingly nerve-racking. But these were her parents, they loved her and they obviously supported the idea of her and Katherine being a couple. There wasn’t any reason to be afraid.

“Yeah.. I do…” Shrub said in an almost-whisper. There, she said it.

Fern walked over and pulled Shrub into a big bearhug, the kind Shrub remembered from her youth. Rose joined them a second later. Shrub elated deeply and rested her head atop her dad’s.

“Do you feel better saying it out loud?” Fern asked.

“Strangely yeah?” Shrub admitted. “Like saying it was terrifying even though it shouldn’t have been. But now that I’ve said it, I feel lighter? Does that make sense?”

“It does.” Fern said. “Letting our feelings out is always a good thing, they don’t like being stuck inside us. They want to come out.”

“Well, that’s something I’m still learning.” Shrub chucked.

Shrub let herself hold and be held, enjoying the moment. Hugging her parents was never going to get old.

Unfortunately, the moment couldn’t last forever. “I could have sworn that you are together! You were holding hands when we first saw you.” Rose ranted, pushing herself away from the hug to go back to pacing. Fern sighed and extracted himself from the hug too.

Shrub blushed. Oh gods how obvious had she been? Oh no the whole settlement must think they’re together

“And! And! You were traveling together for how long again?” Rose continued.

“3 weeks?” Shrub answers hesitantly, worried about where this was going.

“That would fulfill the normal period of one-on-one time spent for a courtship!” Rose pointed out.

“But we’re not in a courtship! Besides that, I haven’t done any of the acts...” Shrub trailed off, her eyes going wide.

A traditional gnomish courtship needed a few acts to be completed before the actual relationship could begin: a gift of gemstones or an item containing gemstone, the reveal of a personal secret, extended time spent with them, and a confession of care and protection. After all the acts are done, the next step involves inviting the other person to move in with them. This kicks off the actual relationship part.

Shrub had accidentally done most if not all of the acts with Katherine.

She gave Katherine a gift with gemstones. The Crown of All Empires wasn’t intended as a courting gift bit it did contain gemstones and it was a gift.

She revealed a personal secret. The whole breakdown Shrub had where she vented about why she left the Undergrove was littered with secrets that she wouldn’t have told anyone else.

She spent extended time with Katherine. The road trip, enough said about that.

She confessed to Katherine. Now, Shrub hadn’t confessed her feelings but she sure as hell had said that she’d do anything to help Katherine if she was in danger as well as swearing to be her partner and help each other. That is clearly a confession of care and protection.

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

The next step was asking Katherine to move in with her! She’d done all the other steps! Katherine couldn’t know about gnomeish courtships right? Did she know that Shrub was courting her? Was she expecting Shrub to do the final step? Shrub didn’t even have a house right now; how could she ask Katherine to move in with her???

“Woah, Shrubling, take some deep breaths.” Fern soothed, reaching out to Shrub. She grabbed his hand like a lifeline as she tried not to spiral and hyperventilate. “You’re panicking. Deep breaths. Can you say what’s wrong?”

“I just… I’ve done most of the parts entirely by accident and now there’s only the final step but I didn’t even know I did the other ones. Katherine’s not a gnome but she knows a lot about a lot of things. What if she knows about the courting steps? What if she’s waiting for me to make the final step? What if she knows and doesn’t want to date me and is too polite to say anything? I didn’t want it to go this way! Ok so I hadn’t planned how I was going to ask Katherine to be my girlfriend, if I ever asked her to be my girlfriend, but I had plans to do it more in a human or fairy style because how would she know how gnomes do it but what if she does know and-!” Shrub ran out of air and had to focus on gasping in air part way through her sentence.

“Yeah, keep breathing.” Fern spoke softly. “Now, all that sounds very stressful to you. You know what I think?”

“What, dad?” Shrub wheezed.

“I think that what you’re worried about is a very extreme end of a spectrum. The worst possible case. Now, if this is the worst possible case, what if the best possible case?”

“Umm…” Shrub thought for a second. “Katherine doesn’t know about gnomish courtship and I can just ask her out normally. Or Katherine does know about gnomish courting and decides to court me back? One of those two”

“And the middle case between those options?”

“Or she does know and I clear up the mistake and she understands that I did everything accidentally but is still willing to keep courting?” Shrub suggested.

“So now that you know the best, worst and middle ground options, which ones are most likely to happen?” Fern asked.

“The middle ones..” Shrub mumbled.

“Correct!” Fern patted Shrub’s hand. “Feel better?”

“Yeah, I do. How did you know how to do that?” Shrub asked.

“Oh, he learned it to help me. I can get quite worked up about certain things. Fern’s always been good at grounding me.” Rose spoke up before Fern could comment. She’d been quietly observing the conversation before with a guilty look on her face. If Shrub could guess, her mom must have been upset at causing Shrub to spiral with the topic before.

“Well, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one in this family who catastrophes.” Shrub smiled up at her mom, trying to project a feeling of understanding and forgiveness.

“Nope, you got it from me.” Rose pointed to herself, expression rueful.

Shrub laughed and let go of her dad’s hand. Fern pulled out of her personal space and gave her a reassuring look. “Remember, focus on the middle ground. You said it yourself, it’s unlikely that Katherine will know gnomish courting and she wouldn’t presume you to do the final act if you’re not ready. Don’t stress about it.”

Unfortunately for Shrub, it’s too late now. Now that she’s calm, the idea of living together with Katherine, being domestic, was flooding Shrub’s brain. There was no way she wasn’t going to think about it. Hopefully she doesn't blurt it out to Katherine randomly, that would be embarrassing

Still, Shrub thanked her dad for the advice and excused herself. “I think I’m going to go to bed now. This day has been exhausting.”

“Of course!” Rose assented, “You’ve already seen the downstairs guest bedroom, it’s the only other one we have. Would you like us to walk us to the door? Or tuck you in?” Rose’s words turned teasing again. Shrub rolled her eyes fondly while Fern elbowed Rose.

“No, I’m good, mom.” She stepped towards the quest room door. “I’ll see you both in the morning.”

“Night, dear!” Rose called.

“Good night, Shrubling.” Fern waved.

Shrub entered the guest room and, without even taking off her shoes or anything, flopped down on the bed. She grabbed one of the quilted pillows and screamed her feelings into it.

Then she passed out, exhausted, with her shoes still on.

Chapter Text

Most were surprised to learn that Katherine wasn’t a morning person. Oh sure, she got up early, one had to when you were the leader of a kingdom as well as a caretaker of many plants and animals who all required your attention. Still, that didn’t mean she enjoyed it. If Katherine could have her way, she’d sleep till at least noon everyday.

Which is why she was particularly annoyed when a loud thump shook her from her sleep before she was ready. Grumbling, Katherine flopped over in bed, pulling her pillow over her ears. Another thump made her hiss in frustration and finally open her eyes. It didn’t look too bright outside, what time even was it? The intricately carved wooden grandfather clock in the corner of her room, well the room she had been lent by the Berrys, said it was around 7. Katherine hissed again and rubbed at her eyes. Yep, too early.

But she was already awake so she might as well see what the heck was making all the racket. Katherine flopped out of bed bonelessly, only catching herself at the last possible second before she stumbled her way over to get her clothes. Fern had asked if she was ok with him washing them the night before and it looked like he had, as well as repairing some of the torn edges and holes. That man really was a jack of all trades.

After shrugging off her nightclothes and pulling on her daytime outfit, Katherine used the silver mirror in her room and brushed out her hair. Ah, it seemed her roots were beginning to show, the top of her head and the area around her ears more white than black. Black dye shouldn’t be that hard to find, yeah? She added “Ask around for black dye” to her mental checklist.

Satisfied that she didn’t look horrible, Katherine left her room and walked downstairs, making sure to avoid the roof beam that she had smacked her head into a few times before. She’d probably make a visit to the kitchen first to grab her morning tea before she investigated the loud noises. Ever since Shrub had shared some of her gnomish brew on the trip, Katherine had claimed it as her preferred drink to wake her up. Nothing worked as well as being punched in the face by thick, sour leaf juice, though she normally added some sweetening. It was like lemonade, if lemonade was caffeinated and also tasted like beets with the texture of a badly mixed smoothie.

As Katherine crept closer to the kitchen doorway, she heard noises from inside. Not loud noises like the ones that had woken her up, but the melodic and a bit raspy noises of someone singing for the first time in a while. It wasn’t in a language she knew but as she listened she realized it was one she recognized, the crisp consonants and plucky vowels exactly the same as the language Shrub would slip into when talking to outdoor vendors or her parents. The language of the gnomes.

Peeking around the doorway, Katherine was surprised and delighted to see that the mystery singer was Shrub herself. The gnome was mixing ingredients for some kind of baked dish together, facing away from Katherine as she worked. She was humming some kind of tune and occasionally singing the words when she remembered them. She seemed relaxed, even as she nearly dropped an entire bag of flour into a mixing bowl.

Katherine leaned against the doorway, watching with an openly fond expression. She huffed a chuckle when Shrub started mumbling under her breath about tablespoons versus teaspoons even though Katherine knew that it would give her away. Shrub was very observant; she had to be to survive as long as she had. Not a single sound went unnoticed by her.

Surprisingly, Shrub didn’t notice. She stayed oblivious to Katherine’s presence, purely focused on her baking attempt. Somehow, this made Katherine feel even softer. It reminded her of when the two would have meetings in the Undergrove and Katherine could sneak up on Shrub and surprise her. She only did that a couple times, after Xornoth started making themself known Shrub was a lot more alert and aware of someone sneaking up on her. Still, she let Katherine continue to try and scare her, even though it never worked.

Katherine thought of surprising Shrub now, a callback to old times, before dismissing the thought. Pranks would run this soft morning moment. Well, as soft as someone nearly dropping bags of ingredients as they attempt to pour the whole bag in instead of using measuring cups.

Belatedly, Katherine realized that the loud noise that woke her up was probably Shrub actually dropping one of these bags. It was a much more amusing thought to current Katherine than it would have been to 5 minutes ago Katherine.

As time stretched on, Katherine decided to reveal her presence calmly so as to not scare Shrub. A simple but harsh clearing of the thought should do.

Unluckily for Katherine, Shrub was much more in the zone than Katherine expected and that simple sound caused her to jump and spin around. This had the added effect of causing the jar in her hand to go flying with the force of her spin. Katherine reached out and caught the flying projectile before it could hit her in the chest. Luckily for both of them, it was a jar of nut butter that held together enough that it didn’t spill.

“Katherine!” Shrub squeaked. “I am so sorry! I didn’t know anyone but my parents would be awake at this time and they’re out at work so the house was empty besides for me. What’re you doing up so early? I thought you’d be sleeping in?”

“Oh, I’m trying something new. They do say that those who awake early live long and heartily.” Katherine said, decidedly not bringing up the loud noises that awoke her.

Shrub’s shoulders sagged. “I woke you up, didn’t I?”

Ah. Well, so much for sparring her feelings. At least Katherine tried. “Yeah… I actually heard some loud noises a few minutes ago and came down to see what caused it. I guess that was you?” Katherine questioned.

“Well, me and my teeny little mishap with the sugar barrel.” Shrub winced.

“There’s a barrel just for sugar?” Katherine said, obviously focusing on the most important part of that statement.

“Oh yeah, I’ve noticed that it’s a gnomish thing. Also it’s not that big of a barrel; just about yeigh big.” Shrub brought her hands apart to a length of about a foot and a half long. “So I was trying to get it cause this recipe calls for brown sugar but it was on a shelf above me and when I tried to get it down I.. dropped it.”

That made sense only… “But I heard two thumps?”

Shrub blushed. “It was really heavy.” She said sheepishly.

Katherine snorted. “Sorry, sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just…” Katherine gestured vaguely, trying to encompass all that was funny about the mental image.

Shrub sighed defeatedly. “Yeah, it is kinda funny.”

“It really is.” Katherine smiled, amused. “Anyways, I am awake now and I am pretty strong,” She flexed here for effect, “So if there’s any more carrying of big objects I can help out.”

Shrub blushed deeply, looking away in apparent embarrassment at Katherine suggesting that she needed help. At least, that’s what Katherine thought that expression meant. “I don’t know if I’ll need any more help with carrying things but help in general would be… appreciated.”

“Ah, yes, I wasn’t sure if I should bring that up.” Katherine looked over the area Shrub has commandeered for cooking, noting the spills and used utensils lying around. And that was just the countertops, Katherine didn’t

“It’s all a bit of a mess right now. It’s probably obvious that I didn’t bake, like, ever.” Shrub admitted.

“Truthfully, let me say this, it could be worse.” Katherine thought of quite a few people who would have made a much bigger mess while baking.

“At least nothing broke.” Shrub muttered.

“Let’s not jinx this yet.” Katherine joked not unkindly. “Now, can I see the recipe? I assume this nut butter is a part of it.” She handed the container back to Shrub.

“Oh yeah, it’s on the cleaner side of the counter, that-a way.” Shrub pointed with her free hand. Katherine peered over the top of her head and saw a hardbound book covered in sticky notes and dog-ears. It’s obviously well loved.

“We have a bit of a problem,” Katherine said after she tried to skim the recipe. “I can’t read this.”

“Oh! Right, you don’t speak gnomish.” Shrub facepalmed. “Hold on, let me copy it into common really quick.”

“It seems I have even more of a reason to learn,” Katherine leaned against the mostly clean counter while Shrub scribbled on a different sheet of paper. “I don’t think I could handle not being able to read any books while I’m here.”

“I’d be happy to teach you someday.” Shrub said.

“I think I’ll take you up on that.” Katherine grinned.

“Great!” Shrub finished copying down the recipe and handed it off to Katherine.

“Ah, much better.” Shrub’s handwriting was small and very squished but it was readable. Katherine had seen worse handwriting from some of her old allies. “Ok, so we’re mixing the dry ingredients right now?”

“Yeah, I was just about to start chopping the pecans.” Shrub picked up a burlap sack that was presumably full of pecans.

“Wonderful. Ok, you get started on that while I work on measuring out the cinnamon.”

The two of them went to work on their respective tasks. Katherine took much care not to make an ever bigger mess as she scooped out the spices. When she looked over at Shrub again, she saw her about to chop her finger off with a knife.

“Wait!” Katherine cried. “That is not a proper knife-holding technique! You could get seriously hurt.”

Shrub paused. “There’s a proper knife-holding technique?”

“Yes. Here, let me show you.” Katherine walked over to stand behind Shrub and put her hands over Shrub’s. “The trick is to keep your fingers curled in when you chop, there’s less risk of cutting off a finger.” Katherine advised as she moved Shrub’s fingers into the right hold.

“Right, right.” Shrub agreed, sounding slightly panicked. Katherine noticed how close they were, she was basically talking right into Shrub’s ear.

“Ah, sorry.” Katherine moved out of Shrub’s personal space.

“No, no, you’re fine.” Shrub waved her hands. “It was helpful.”

Katherine noticed that the blush over Shrub’s face and ears matched her own blush. She coughed into her hand. “Well then I’m glad. We wouldn’t want you to cut yourself by accident.”

“It would be harder to shoot with only four fingers.” Shrub agreed.

“Exactly.” Katherine nodded.

The conversation died from there as the two went onto finishing their tasks. Shrub poured the diced pecans into the mix while Katherine got to work mixing the nut butter with the other wet ingredients.

“You know, I had plans to share this recipe with Pearl back before everything went down.” Shrub broke the silence. “We wanted to see how similar our culture’s recipes are, with both of us having a focus on farming and nature.”

“Did you ever get that chance?” Katherine asked, pausing her stirring and resting her hands on the counter.

“No, everything happened too fast. There wasn’t a calm moment.” Shrub sighed regretfully. “Still, we talked about it. We also talked about potentially comparing dishes from other kingdoms as well. See how similar they are.”

“I’ve done that before. Well, on a lesser scale.” Katherine mused. “It was really just comparing Overgrown honey with Pixandrian honey. There is actually a difference, I found out.”

“Really?” Shrub tilted her head. “I never knew.”

“It’s subtle but it’s there. Pix was interested in the results as well. He bought a whole pack of Overgrown honey to try himself, which was good business for me.”

The silence stretched out again as the two of them delved deep into the memories and nostalgia of life back in the empires. A whisper broke the silence, barely audible over the sounds of mixing and pouring.

“Do you ever miss it?” Shrub asked softly. “I wasn’t expecting to.”

“Constantly.” Katherine lowered her head. “I miss my kingdom, I miss my people, and I miss our fellow rulers. We may not have all gotten long but we were all in the same boat, people just trying to do right by their kingdom.”

“Do you ever think about going back? Even just for a bit?”

Katherine bit her lip. “I don’t know. I don’t think I could show my face in the Overgrown, not after leaving them so suddenly. Possibly I could think about going back to see the other rulers but do we even know if any survived? Things looked bad when we–I mean I–left. Is it better not to know their fates?”

“Some would say that. Some would say it’s better to know for sure so you can start to mourn.” Shrub pointed out. Katherine realized she was probably speaking from experience, she did think the gnomes were all dead for a time. “And what if they’re still alive? What if they think you died? Maybe they were waiting to mourn you?” Shrub shook her head. “I’m being a bit of a hypocrite here. I mean, I left the same as you. And I don’t know if I could go back either. I think the memories alone would be too much.”

“I think it’s too recent for the both of us. But maybe… one day..” Katherine trailed off, not wanting to voice the thought fully.

Still, Shrub seemed to understand. She rested her hand gently over Katherine’s. “One day.”

Katherine smiled down at her. “At least I have you. I don’t think I could handle being alone with no one to understand what it was like.”

Shrub went red again. “I… yeah. It is hard when you’re the only one feeling the pain of loss.” Once again, she spoke from experience. “Anyways!” Shrub’s voice cracked and she removed her hand from Katherine’s. “I think we’re about done with the batter. We just need to put it in the pan and put that in the oven.”

“Right.” Katherine forced herself to go back to focusing on the task at hand.

Getting the batter into the designated cake pan was messier than expected. Katherine held the pan in place while Shrub poured the batter in. It was going well before Shrub had to sneeze. Thankfully, she sneezed into the crook of her elbow and not into the batter. Unfortunately, the force of her sneeze jolted the mixing bowl and splashed batter onto Katherine’s face.

Shrub froze, mortified, before she broke down into giggles.

“What? Is this funny?” Katherine crossed her arms, twitching as she felt the batter drip down her face. She quickly wiped it off with a towel. Well, that was unpleasant.

“A little.” Shrub admired. Katherine narrowed her eyes.

“Well, then why don’t you try some!” Katherine brandished the batter-covered mixing spoon like a weapon. Shrub squeaked and ducked to avoid the batter splatter.

“You gotta catch me first!” She exclaimed. Oh it was on. Katherine and Shrub began a chase around the kitchen–with Katherine trying to splat batter on Shrub’s face and Shrub ducking and weaving in an attempt to dodge. The chase would probably have been over much sooner if not for the fact that the two were giggling and being dramatic the whole time. Finally, Katherine managed to catch Shrub with a splatter right under her eye.

“Oh woe is me!” Shrub dramatically leaned against the counter, hand over her forehead. “I have been hit. Katherine, honorable enemy, I trust you to tell my parents I loved them. My time is not long for this earth. I can see the darkness closing in. My soul feels lighter. This is the end for one Shrub Berry.” She flopped over on the floor in dramatic pretend death.

Katherine poked her gently with the spoon. “Ok, drama queen.” Katherine teased. “It’s time for you to get revived and help me put this cake pan in the oven.”

“Nope, dead.” Shrub stayed laying on the floor, eyes closed.

“Dead people don’t talk, silly. Now get up or I’ll pick you up myself.”

Shrub did not get up. In fact, she smiled smugly and refused to get up wordlessly. Katherine grumbled but kept her promise and picked her up off the floor. Shrub “awoke” suddenly, wrapping her arms around Katherine.

“It’s a miracle, the dead live again.” Katherine smirked. Shrub was very light and fit perfectly in her arms.

“I had a few more years left in me. Besides, I can’t die without seeing you try gnomish nut butter bread!” Shrub joked. “So, can I stay up here while we finish baking?”

“Nope, we need four free hands for this.” Katherine put Shrub back down on the floor, albeit reluctantly. She wasn’t lying about needing free hands.

“Aww, bummer.” Shrub rubbed her hands together. “But we’re so close to being able to taste our hard work!”

The rest of the cake batter was dispersed into the pan with no issue and the pan was placed into the oven by Katherine, Shrub sheepishly admitted that she’d had some close calls with the oven before. Now all that was left was to wait.

At first they waited in the kitchen, just watching the fire, before they both agreed that staring at it while it baked just made it seem like it was taking longer. They needed something else to do.

“I’ve had an idea.” Shrub exclaimed. “Katherine, have you ever made a pillow fort before?”

“No?” Katherine tilted her head in confusion. “What’s that?”

“Ok so that’s a crime, we’re making one now.” Shrub pulled Katherine from the kitchen and into the living room. “A pillow fort is, well, a fort made from pillows! And chairs and blankets and whatever else you think would work. The goal is to be able to go inside it, like a secret hideaway!”

Katherine was intrigued. “So we can make one now?”

“Yep! Mom and Dad told me where the spare blankets and pillows are kept, so we won’t even have to steal from our beds!”

“And you’re sure your parents are ok with this?” Katherine asked hesitantly.

“Honestly they’d probably join in if they saw us making one.” Shrub admitted. “We made them as a family all the time. Sometimes we’d even eat dinner and go o sleep inside of our forts.”

“…could we eat the bread inside the fort?” Katherine suggested. Shrub gasped.

“Absolutely! That’s a great idea. We gotta hurry and get this fort built before it’s done baking.”

Shrub was very enthusiastic about building the fort. She was rushing around, moving chairs and grabbing blankets and pillows to use. Katherine helped out where she could and Shrub always seemed happy to incorporate her ideas into the build.

“You’re taller so we need to make the fort taller so you can get inside.” Shrub mused as she paced around the fort, eyeing it up. “But if it’s too tall it’ll be unstable. Hmmm.”

“What about if you use the coat rack as a center, like a tent?” Katherine suggested.

Shrub spun around, stars in her eyes. “Yes! That’ll work! You are so smart!” She exclaimed. Katherine blushed.

“I mean, it’s not too different from building actual structures just, well, smaller and made of bedding and furniture.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re not smart.” Shrub stated as she attempted to move the coat rack. Katherine was about to retort again but the coatrack nearly falling onto Shrub stopped her.

Thankfully, Shrub was a fast dodger and the coat rack wasn’t hurt. In a few more minutes, the pillow fort was done. Shrub scurried inside.

“It’s really roomy in here. Come on, Katherine.” She stuck her head out the door flap before ducking inside again. Katherine bent down next to the door and crawled inside.

“Woah..” The fort was pretty roomy inside. A nice lining of pillows and blankets as a floor made it soft enough to crawl around in and even sleep in. The blankets used for the ceiling let only a bit of light in, making the place comfortably dark. Shrub was curled up in a corner, eyes reflecting the light from the still-open door. Katherine crawled fully in and sat at the center. “Ok, this is awesome. Why didn’t I know about this before, it’s so cute!” Katherine hugged a pillow to her chest

“It’s an unspoken tradition that everyone must make at least one pillow fort in their life. It changes people.” Shrub said from her corner. Katherine flopped over onto the cushioned floor, head pillowing next to Shrub.

“I believe that.” Katherine looked up at Shrub. She was hard to see in this lighting, but her eyes reflected gold back at Katherine. She was smiling down at Katherine, hair falling over her shoulders almost like a curtain around her. Katherine barely resisted reaching up and pushing a few strands back behind her ear because if she did she knew she’d end up pulling Shrub down for a kiss as well.

Thankfully, or unfortunately depending on the angle, the timer for the bread went off. Shrub shifted in the direction of the door but stopped, looking back at Katherine. Katherine pushed herself up reluctantly, it really was comfortable in here.

“Come on, it’s nearly nine and I still haven’t had breakfast yet. Your gnome bread better impress.” Katherine teased as she moved past Shrub to the fabric flap that functioned as a door. Shrub jerkily followed behind her.

The bread was pulled out of the oven and Katherine had to admit, it smelled amazing. Nutty and warm and seasoned with spices, Katherine could’t wait to try it. Shrub cut both of them some slices and then they scurried back into the tent to have their breakfast.

“So, what do you think?” Shrub mumbled at Katherine, her mouth filled with bread.

“It’s nutty, the texture isn’t too dry, it’s got some heft to it, and the seasonings are good. I’d give it a nine outta ten.” Katherine said after she’d taken her first bite.

“Aww, no perfect score?”

“Put some frosting on and it’d be perfect.” Katherine states. Shrub stuck her tongue out.

“Frosting? On bread? Why?” Shrub made a face.

“It’s a lot more like a sweetbread so I think frosting would work well with it.” Katherine took another bite, humming happily.

“Ok but have you considered, I don’t like frosting.” Shrub said between chews.

“Why?” Frosting was amazing, in Katherine’s opinion.

“Too sweet and gets everywhere.” Shrub shrugged. “Not my thing.”

“I respect your choices however I cannot relate.” Katherine trailed off with a yawn. Shrub looked over at her.

“Tired? At 9 in the morning?”

“You woke me up at seven, shush. I can be as tired as I want.” Katherine set her plate down and flopped over. Her head rested on something soft and she closed her eyes.

“So you’re gonna take a catnap.” Shrub chuckled at her own joke. Katherine groaned.

“Horrible pun, get out of the tent.” Katherine jokingly commanded.

“I can’t, I’m a bit stuck.” Shrub admitted.

It was then that Katherine realized the soft thing she was resting on was Shrub’s lap. Now, normally Katherine would apologize profusely and remove herself from Shrub’s lap but she was a bit too tired and too comfortable at the moment. Also Shrub had just started combing her hands through her hair and that was really nice.

“Fine, you can stay. But no more bad cat puns.”

“Ok, if you in-hiss-t.” Shrub winced. “Ok that one was really bad.”

“I will start saying short jokes in retaliation, do not test me.” Katherine teased. Shrub snorted and continued to brush Katherine’s hair. It felt really relaxing, especially when she rubbed around her ears. She was probably purring right now but who cares, this was nice.

And at that thought, Katherine dozed off.

Now Katherine was a dreamer. Her imagination would run wild both awake and asleep so she wasn’t too surprised to end up back in the Overgrown. It was restored to its former glory, with people and plants thriving together. Katherine smiled and started walking along the main road, content.

She stopped when she felt it, a low rumbling under her feet. She looked around, others had felt it too. It got louder and louder, a rumbling cacophony getting closer. Katherine’s heart sank before it started to race. Oh please, not this.

The earth tore itself apart, swallowing everything in its vicinity. The land shifted and moved on its own, like a gigantic scaled beast waking from a slumber. Katherine ran as fast as she could away from it. The ravines were pouring lava now and everything was burning. This was so much worse than before. What was the before? There was only now and now Katherine needed to run.

She passed people also running for their lives. She watched homes be swallowed into the cracks. People too. There were screams but Katherine could barely hear them over her own beating heart, the one thing driving her forward relentlessly. It seemed like everything but her was being consumed.

She reached the start of the floating palace and climbed up it. There, she could see everything. Her home, her life’s work, was being destroyed before her eyes.

And she couldn’t look away. She tried to turn, to run like she had before, but here and now she couldn’t. She watched as her castle slid into the flaming void, watched everything else she had built over her lifetime be demolished. But the worst, the worst to watch was the Spring. Its magical presence, tied to her own as its guardian, held out for a long time but even it wasn’t immune.

Katherine screamed as the weather between her and it snapped. The last thing of the Overgrown, the very thing her kingdom was named after, was gone.

Katherine sobbed, holding herself, as even the flying palace she had made was pulled into the fire. The ground opened its maw and she could do nothing to escape falling into its fiery jaws.

But she wasn’t awoken by the sudden pain that came with death, but rather by a gentle shake and incessant calling of her name.

“Katherine!” That was Shrub’s voice. “Katherine, you’re dreaming! It’s a dream, you’re ok. You’re in my parents house and you are ok. Please, breathe.” She sounded stressed, like she was unsure of what to do.

Katherine breathed rapidly, feeling like she couldn’t get enough air. She felt one of Shrub’s covering her own, the other still pushing through her hair. Focus on that, she thought, stay grounded. Breathe, like Shrub said.

She was safe, she was with Shrub, she was not eaten by the fiery void, the Overgrown had been destroyed but not as absolute as that, the Spring was still there, it wasn’t consumed, the Overgrown could regrow with time.

Slowly, over the course of minutes, Katherine calmed. She wiped hot tears from her face with her free hand and curled in on herself. She was still resting on Shrub’s lap and was now fully encircling the gnome with her body. She could see that her tail was still puffed out with fear. She took another deep breath.

Shrub hadn’t stopped talking, even if the words weren’t clear enough to Katherine. They were soft though and them paired with the hand rubbing soft circles into her palm and the hand nestled in her hair was helping. Shrub was helping.

Katherine tried to speak but it came out as a croaking sob. She shuddered and curled even tighter around Shrub.

“It’s ok, Katherine, don’t talk until you’re ready.” Shrub’s voice was clearer now. “Just focus on breathing.”

So Katherine breathed. Gods, that was an awful nightmare. It was worse than any she’d had before. Just when she had thought she could be happy her brain decided to hit her with that.

“It’s not normally that bad.” Katherine mumbled. “That was the worst one yet.”

“I have heard,” Shrub started, her voice still soothing just because it was hers. “That when we are in times of stress, we focus on keeping ourselves alive and because of that, when we are at peace, we can deal with what the stress caused us. You’re safe now and your brain is trying to process everything.”

“Wish it didn’t do it like this.” Katherine sniffed.

Shrub smiled sadly. “Me too.”

“It was the Overgrown.” Katherine blurted out. She had to share what she saw, or else it’d weigh her down forever. “It was being destroyed like before but worse. I wasn’t there for the actual destruction but I was here for this. The ground opened up and just swallowed all of it.” Her voice shook. “Even the Spring, the heart of the Overgrown, was eaten by it. And I was about to be too, before I woke up.”

“I’ve had dreams like that,” Shrub sympathized. “Where it’s worse than what actually happened. It’s never fun.”

“No, it is not.” Katherine laughed tearfully. Shrub’s hands stopped their comforting circling and instead she pulled Katherine up into a bear hug. She was so small but somehow Katherine fit in her arms. Katherine tried not to cry into Shrub’s shirt but she couldn’t help it.

“I’m right here.” Shrub whispered. “Remember what you said before, about being there for me when I falter? Well, we’re a team. I’m here for you too. Whatever you need, I’ll do my best to provide.” She spoke with so much honesty, head buried right next to Katherine’s ears.

Katherine gripped onto Shrub’s shirt, overcome by all these emotions. “Just… keep holding me.” She begged tearfully.

And she did. Shrub held onto Katherine and didn’t not let go, not even for a second. Her hands moved soothing circles across Katherines back. Katherine’s sobs turned to hiccups until finally, they stopped. And still, Shrub didn’t let go.

And Katherine loved her for it, so, so much.

Chapter Text

It should have felt strange how easily Katherine fit in with the gnomes. Shrub had expected some friction at the start, like cultural differences causing arguments. But aside from a few minor misunderstandings, it seemed like everything was fine.

Sure, Katherine’s height was a bit of an issue but the gnomes were good at adapting and many were planning on adding a few more feet of height to their houses. It wasn’t hard to do, the gnomes had perfected the art of building with nature and it was easy to ask a tree to move a bit higher or a giant mushroom to reshape.

And Katherine’s height wasn’t always a hindrance, sometimes it was especially useful.

Sheep shearing season was just starting and Rose had been offhandedly bringing up how nice it would be for Fern and her to have help with the shearing for a few days now. Shrub knew what her mom was getting at and had agreed for her and the wolves to help out with herding. Katherine, to Shrub’s surprise, had jumped at the opportunity to help shear. To the gnomes, holding the sheep during shearing was the most difficult and dangerous part of the job. Normally you needed at least two people to hold one sheep and it was a job for only the strongest and most steady of people. Fern was going to get some other gnomes to help out, it was a community effort, but Katherine had been so enthusiastic that Fern had agreed to let her try, with his help and supervision of course.

Fast-forward to today and while Shrub was taking the wolves out to bring in the sheep, keeping an eye out to make sure they didn’t try and bite any or get rammed, Fern and Katherine were in the shed getting the equipment ready. Shrub and the wolves made quick work of moving the sheep and was now free to check in on her dad and Katherine.

When Shrub stepped into the barn, Katherine looked up at her and smiled. She and Fern were setting up the special pen made to hold the sheep while they waited to be shorn. Shrub walked over and leaned against the fence.

“Are you finished rounding the herd up?” Katherine asked. Shrub nodded.

“We also sorted them. Ewes, rams, yearlings and lambs are all separated and ready to be shorn.”

“Good.” Fern spoke up. “It’ll be best if we get started now, if we work fast enough we might be able to finish in one day.” He looked between Shrub and Katherine. “If you want to stay and watch you can, Shrubling. Katherine’s going to try and shear some sheep alone, though of course I’ll be watching.”

“I want to stay.” Shrub gave him A Look. She knew that her dad was once again trying to be helpful and his definition of helpful was to have Katherine do awesome things until Shrub had no choice but to confess. How he thought that strategy would work, Shrub had no idea, but she appreciated that he cared. His methods were still a bit too forward. At this rate Katherine was probably going to pick something up soon and Shrub did not want that.

Still, she did want to stay and see what Katherine was capable of.

Fern nodded. “Well, before Katherine can start we need to get these sheep in here. Shrub, if you would.”

“On it.” Shrub pushed off the fence and followed her dad outside. It wasn’t too hard to herd the sheep into the designated pen. Sheep could be fussy and stubborn but they were still simple animals and between Shrub, Fern and the wolves, they made it work.

When the sheep were in place, Fern shooed Shrub back into the shed. “Go see your very special friend at work.” He teased. Shrub averted her eyes and walked back inside, trying to hide her bush at the comment.

Inside, Katherine was shearing a ram, alone, which was a feat not many gnomes could do. Katherine was handling the ram with the ease of a veteran, keeping him comfortable while not sacrificing any efficiency. The ram was pinned between Katherine’s legs as she sheared swathes of wool from his side with the hand shears. Shrub had been to a few sheep-shearing contests back in the Gnomeland and the speed of the shearers had always impressed her. Even her dad wasn’t as fast as them. Katherine was shearing this sheep just as fast as those professionals. With barely an effort she finished one side and flipped the ram, getting to work on the other. Soon, the ram was completely shorn and Katherine led him through another gate and back into the paddock.

“You make that look easy.” Shrub was the sentence Shrub managed to say when “You look unfairly attractive doing that” was what nearly came out.

Katherine perked up, glancing around the room until she found Shrub. “Well, I have been doing it for a while.” She answered as she led a wool-ladden sheep into the shearing area. “Sheep herding wasn’t the most royal job but whenever I could I would sneak away and help the shepherds with their jobs. There was something about being outside with the animals that was so relaxing. It was a good break from my training and also I could always claim that I was ‘fostering better relations with my future subjects’” Katherine made air quotes with a free hand. “Even after I got the position as Guardian I still made sure to help out during shearing and lambing seasons. Mother of Sheep actually became one of my titles because of it.”

Shrub was mesmerized by the grace Katherine still held as she worked, even while subduing a rowdy sheep. Shrub also admired the strength needed to do so. Katherine was very strong but the ease at which she flipped over the sheep took Shrub’s breath away. “However,” Katherine continued, grunting with exertion as she tried to keep this ram from flailing his horns around and poking her eye out. “Your sheep have much larger horns than the ones back home. I thought they were goats at first.”

“To be honest, I don’t know the difference between a horned sheep and a goat.” Shrub admitted. Her dad had probably told her before but for the life of her she couldn’t remember. Probably because Katherine was very distracting right now.

“Well, the main difference between the sheep you have here and goats is that these sheep have wool.” Katherine patted the side of a now-subdued ram. “Goats don’t. But there are kinds of sheep that don’t have wool either, instead they have hair. I think the main difference between those kinds and goats is the tail shape.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, goats have tails that point up. Sheep tails stay down.”

“Huh, never knew that.” Shrub leaned against the fence again, trying to get a good view of Katherine. The conversation stopped there, Katherine needed all of her focus to shear a particularly big sheep, and Shrub was content just to watch. She rested her chin on her hands and zoned out, perfectly content.

“-rub. Shrub!” Katherine’s raised voice pulled Shrub from her thoughts. “Your mom’s waving at you.” Katherine pointed at the other end of the shed, where Fern was in fact waving at her.

“Oh, right right.” Shrub blushed in embarrassment and contemplated flipping up her hood to block her flushed face. Gods, her mom was going to tease her about this so much. Shrub probably had a really dopey expression on her face when she was just watching Katherine. And saying it out loud, in her head, made it sound weird so she’s going to extract herself from this situation right now. “I’ll go see what he wants.” Shrub blurted out and power-walked over to her mom.

“So, you looked like you were having a good time.” Rose slung an arm around Shrub’s shoulder. Or at least, she tried to, Shrub was a bit too tall. She settled for giving Shrub a gentle punch in the shoulder instead.

“Please, I already know how that looked. You don’t need to bring it up.” Shrub kept walking.

“Okay~” Rose sing-songed, “But I really don’t think Katherine minded your staring. Look.” Rose subtly jerked his head towards Katherine. Shrub discretely took a peek at Katherine but looked away just as fast when they made eye contact. Wait, eye contact meant that Katherine was looking at her as well. Shrub felt the tips of her ears heat up.

“She was looking at me, so what?” Shrub denied. Rose gave her A Look.

“I’ve been here for at least 10 minutes, Fern asked me to check in on you both, so I can say for sure that there is no way Katherine didn’t enjoy you watching her. She was totally showing off for you. Trust me, I have eyes. Though so do you, with the way you were-“

“I get it!” Shrub interrupted her mom. “She probably likes me and you have a lot of proof of that yes I know! And you want me to do something but I don’t know if I should do it the game way or the fairy way. I don’t even know the fairy way! And the gnome way is asking her to move in, that’s the final step, and I don’t know if she wants that!”

“You already live together.” Rose pointed out.

“With you! We live together with you! Moving into our own place would be a whole different deal.”

“And how would it be?” Rose put her hands on her hips. “Me and Fern are busy a lot of the day so it’s just you and Katherine. Don’t think we didn’t notice the pillow fort you both built earlier this week. You’re both very familiar with each other, you spent weeks with just you and her, so moving in together wouldn’t be too different. Besides, isn’t a two person road trip just moving in together but portable?”

“They are not the same at all.” Shrub deadpanned.

“Details!” Rose waved her off. “The point I’m making is, you’re overthinking it! If you want to ask her then do it! If you don’t then that’s fine! If you want to ask her a different way than that’s fine too! Just stop worrying so much!.” Rose pulled Shrub into a hug. “Everything will be ok.”

Shrub breathed out and hugged her mom back. “Sorry-“ She started.

“Don’t apologize for things outside of your control.” Rose cut her off. “Worry gets us all. Trust me.”

“Ok..” Shrub focused on her breathing. “…I think I want to tell her. Eventually. I’m not sure when though. And I don’t know how I’ll tell her but I know I want to. Gods,” Shrub hugged her mom tighter, “Its terrifying to think about.”

“It is. But I am so proud of you for telling me that and I promise you I will do everything I can to help you.” Rose reassured.

“Including stopping the teasing?” Shrub pulled out of the hug so Rose could see her raised eyebrow. Rose laughed.

“Everything except that.”

Shrub sighed lightheartedly. “It was worth asking.” Rose playfully gave Shrub a noogie. Throughout the entire walk back to the house, where Rose explained that she called Shrub over to help made lunch for everyone, Shrub’s mind still wandered to the terrifying but also enticing thought of finally telling Katherine how she felt. For so long Shrub had kept a lot of her emotions holed up where no one could see them and now that she had the support and safety she needed to let them out, she wanted to.

And she almost did, multiple times. When Shrub and Rose brought a picnic lunch over to Fern and Katherine, Shrub almost spilled the beans. The next day, when Katherine fell over laughing at a horrible joke Rose made, Shrub nearly blurted it out. It started to become a problem. Katherine would do something and Shrub would barely keep her heart from escaping her body. Katherine didn’t even have to do anything grand or important, even the smallest moments could be the catalyst for Shrub becoming very foolish. A laugh, a smile, a kind gesture, and Shrub was a goner. She’d always been weak for Katherine but now that she’d accepted that she had the option of acting on her emotions, it was very hard not to do so.

Even if it came at very untimely situations.

The gnome settlement was peaceful most of the time but dangers still existed in the world around them. A few stormy days with very little sunlight meant extra mobs encroaching on the town. Tensions were beginning to rise but the outer guards still had everything under control. It was only when a giant hoard of mods were spotted lumbering right towards the settlement that the outer guard called for help. Shrub and Katherine gladly picked up their weapons to protect this new home.

The rain was still dripping down, droplets falling onto hair and falling into eyes. The decreased visibility made being a bowman hard for Shrub but she didn’t protest, only taking a second between firing to wipe at her eyes before drawing her next arrow. She couldn’t falter, too much was at risk.

Katherine was on the front lines, hacking through the animated corpses with her netherite short sword. Shrub watched from ramparts above the village gate. While she was supposed to be covering all the foot-soldiers, she found herself constantly shooting at the mobs around Katherine. It made sense, Katherine was always in the thick of the fray and would need the most support to not be overrun. Shrub didn’t know why she needed to rationalize it, she knew that wasn’t the only reason.

Shrub only lost sight of Katherine for a short time, when the head of the outer guards asked her if she could command her wolves as a faction of front liners. It only took a sharp whistle and a few seconds for Mother Wolf to arrive, racing towards Shrub and the gate. Leaping off the ramparts, Shrub landed on the back of her trusted steed and companion and they bolted out the gate, the rest of the wolves hot at their heels.

The wolves were a force of nature, they had faced many worse dangers in the nether, overworld mobs folded like paper under their claws. For a while, all Shrub could see was the seemingly never-ending hoard and her own pack tearing into each other. It was only the sounds of clashing weapons that told her that the other members of the frontlines were still alive and well.

It must have been fate, or some heck of a coincidence, but the living first person Shrub came across was of course, Katherine. The wolves had cut a path straight to her and encircled her, protecting her and giving her time to breathe.

And it was obvious that she needed it. While Katherine had seemed effortlessly smooth from atop the ramparts, down here the wear and tear from constant attacks was more clearly visible. She gulped down breaths of air, large swathes of her hair falling into her face.

“Makes me wish I had pulled it up.” Katherine commented when she noticed Shrub staring at it. That… wasn’t what Shrub was going to bring up but she was glad for the easy diversion from her own thoughts.

“Here, take one of mine.” Shrub passed an extra hair tie to Katherine. It was always useful to carry a few of those around.

“Thanks.” Katherine pulled her hair up with one hand, keeping the other firmly on her sword hilt. “That is so much better.” She sighed in relief.

“Great, because I think the zombies are on us again.” Shrub pointed out as an arrow from her bow thudded into an encroaching zombie’s skull. The wolves held them off but it was time for the two of them to get back into the fray.

Katherine hoisted her sword and jumped at the hoard, Shrub on Mother Wolf following close behind. The amount of mobs they had to fight seemed insurmountable but together it felt strangely easy. Shrub watched over Katherine’s shoulder to keep zombies from slicing at her neck while Katherine twirled her sword and decapitated one lunging at Shrub. It was a swirling, spinning dance of danger, a whirlwind of two fighters with very different styles having each other’s back. It made Shrub feel almost giddy, the way she knew Katherine was right by her side throughout the whole fight. And from the fastest glance at Katherine’s face, Shrub thought she understood.

It was fast, it was dizzying, and it was over far sooner than expected. The two stood, a trail of decomposing bones and bottom flesh in their wake, as the victorious cheers of the gnomes sounded from behind them. They had pushed far into the snarling hoard during their strike and they were off to the side now, a few dozen feet away from any of the other defenders.

They breathed and they looked at each other. Slowly, twin grins sprouted on their faces.

“That… was exhilarating.” Katherine huffed out, still breathless. “I have never felt so untouchable in battle.”

“Me too. It was the safest I’ve ever felt in the center of an attack.” Shrub agreed, leaning against Mother Wolf’s head. There’s a thrumming beneath her skin that’s not entirely from adrenalin. She and Katherine worked really good together, it was as smooth of a partnership as Shrub has ever seen. With the beating of her heart in her ears, the last bursts of battle energy curling through her veins, Shrub opened her mouth to finally say what she had been holding in.

“Oh neat, I got some mob heads!”

Shrub shut her mouth with an audible clack. That wasn’t her speaking, no, instead it was Katherine, checking her inventory with a pleased expression. The moment was gone, completely ruined by the thought of decapitated zombie heads.

“Wow, there’s a surprising amount of variety. I could probably make a good start to a new collection with just these.” Katherine mused.

Shrub paled. She hadn’t even considered Katherine starting a new head collection. She’d had a very impressive one back in the Empires, filled with the heads of mobs, decorative blocks, and even her allies. It had always disturbed Shrub a little bit, seeing all those heads just staring at her when she walked through the hall. Katherine starting a new one would be interesting.

Was it a deal breaker? Of course not! It may be a bit weird to Shrub, as someone who made graves for any mob heads she got, but collecting heads was one of Katherine’s biggest hobbies. She had always lit up whenever she got a new head during a trade, cooing over them before mounting them on her walls like precious artifacts. If Katherine started a new one, then Shrub would encourage her.

“Ah, but we don’t really have space in your parents' house, do we.” Katherine’s face fell. No, no Katherine is not supposed to be sad now. Shrub needed to fix this.

“What if-“ Shrub started to ask. Wait, no she can’t ask Katherine to build a house with her, that is much too forward. She needs to ask her to date first. Not right now! But soon. Wait she had been talking hadn’t she? Oh no Katherine’s looking at her quick finish the thought. “I mean, what if you held onto them, at least for now?

Katherine lit up at the idea of a new head collection. “Yes! You’re right, there’s no point in letting them go to waste after all.” Katherine adamantly declared.

“Right, don’t let them go to waste…” Shrub nodded along. Well, at least Katherine was smiling again. She deserved good things and if a head collection was good things then Shrub was going to get her that.

Shrub mentally changed the blueprints of the house she was planning to accommodate a whole other room just for heads. Somewhere not too close to the main room or bedroom but not too far away that Katherine couldn’t show them off to guests, if they wanted to see. A currently hypothetical blueprint, of course. Shrub needed to complete the first few steps before she actually got to the final, most important step. But she was going to do it! Eventually…

And as Katherine took her hand and pulled her towards the still-celebrating gnomes, Shrub let herself think of the future again. Hopefully, Katherine would feel the same.

Everything was still uncertain, but things were adding up, and Shrub had a small suspicion that maybe she did.

Chapter Text

Living with the Berrys was a welcome respite from nether travel. Every day Katherine woke up absolutely delighted to see the sun outside, even when it was pointed right at her eyes. The air in the valley the gnomes lived in wasn’t stuffy or ashy at all and Katherine’s lungs didn’t twinge whenever she breathed. The sun provided a balmy, healthy warmth completely unlike the sweltering, skin-scorching heat of the nether. Katherine hadn’t realized how much she missed the overworld until she was back in it.

It wasn’t just the drastic differences from the nether that made this place so wonderful. The people were lovely, curious as they were about Katherine herself. Katherine was greeted with the same cheer that was given to everyone else. The gnomes have obviously been through a lot of hard times but they found strength in their community. It was infections and Katherine felt herself smiling whenever someone would give her a warm wave and welcome.

She’d only been here for a few weeks and already she was loving it here. It was so unlike the Overgrown in many ways but also familiar in others. The respect the gnomes had for nature and the ways they lived alongside it reminded Katherine of her kingdom and the reverence her people had for the Spring and all it created.

Currently, Katherine and Shrub were a ways out from the village itself, exploring the wilds beyond. Well, "wilds" is very subjective. It was honestly very peaceful here. Still, they had to be on alert. The mob hoard attack was still fresh on people’s minds. Both of them had brought their weapons just in case, but Katherine didn’t think they’d have to use them.

The two had set off with the intent of spending the day collecting forgeables, the stuff that Fern and Rose couldn’t grow on the farm. Shrub had been excited to spend time in nature and Katherine was excited to see the differences between the plants here and back in the Overgrown. Shrub had started the trip by explaining what key items they’d be on the lookout for — stuff like berries and nuts that could be stored overwinter. Not even 10 minutes in and Shrub had cut off her own ramble to bound up a tree and yell excitedly about sournuts.

Katherine watched as Shrub nimbly bounced between branches, grabbing handfuls of the nuts and sticking them in her inventory. Katherine’s heart stopped when she leaped down from the tree but she landed in a roll right in front of Katherine, safe and sound. Honestly, Katherine shouldn’t be worried about Shrub’s acrobatics by now, she was very good at them, but her brain was irrational and always worried that she’d get hurt.

In a welcome distraction from Katherine’s own brain, Shrub pulled out a handful of the newly-collected sournuts and popped one in her mouth.

“It’s not the same as the kind we had back home, more tart than sour,” Shrub mused, “But it’s the same general species of nut and I bet you could make some great candied nuts out of these. Here, try some.”

Shrub dropped a handful of the nuts int Katherine’s open palm. She held one up to the light, looking it over before deciding to eat it. The nut was a rusty orange color and mostly circular besides from the divots at the top and bottom. Katherine tried one, it did taste both tart and sour and wasn’t as tough as she was expecting. Like the kid between a lime and a cashew. Katherine was glad she didn’t have any nut allergies, because it was really good. As Katherine ate another one, she noticed the delighted expression on Shrub’s face.

“It’s nice.” Katherine confirmed, just to see Shrub’s grin get even wider.

“I knew you’d like them!” Shrub exclaimed, nearly dropping her own handful of nuts from the subsequent happy dance she did. “If you like those then you’ll really like these!”

Shrub guided Katherine deeper into the forest, chattering on about different edible and inedible plants. She always lit up when she saw a cluster of mushrooms or a patch of moss, diverting into a tangent about the mushroom’s cannibalistic tendencies or the moss’s growth patterns. Not all of it was new info to Katherine, she had read a lot of books about nature in her free time, but she enjoyed it much more when Shrub was the one talking about it. The monotone text from a book, while enjoyable, had nothing on the excited ranting of a person who loves what they’re talking about.

Sometimes, when Shrub took a break to breathe or watch Katherine’s reaction, Katherine would add onto Shrub’s rants with nature facts of her own. She would never admit it, but back in the Empires Katherine had red extra books about mushrooms in an attempt to impress her hopefully future ally. Even then Shrub was just so enrapturing to Katherine.

Now, Shrub would light up whenever Katherine engaged in the conversation, nodding her head rapidly if she knew the fact in question or prodding Katherine to explain more if she didn’t. Then, the tables were switched, and Katherine would be the invigorated speaker and Shrub the attentive listener.

“And that’s why I think Thunderdot Mushrooms are the most underrated but interesting member of the genus- hold on,” Katherine paused her impassioned speech when she noticed something. “You have a few burrs caught in your hair, here, let me…” Katherine trailed off as she gently combed the seed-pods out of Shrub’s hair. Shrub stood still, letting Katherine help. Some of the burrs were very stuck and Katherine tsked as she carefully worried at them enough to slide them out. After they were all removed, Katherine tucked a few stray pieces of hair behind Shrub’s ears and smiled, satisfied.

“There, much better.” Katherine nodded at her own handiwork.

Shrub lifted a hand to her hair, hesitantly touching the part that Katherine had tucked away. “Thank you…” Shrub started, eyes flitting around nervously. “Katherine… I…” She swallowed visibly.

Katherine watched her patiently. This was happening a lot, Shrub starting to say something and then hesitating before changing the topic. “Hm?” She prompted. Shrub quickly made eye contact with Katherine before staring at the leaf mulch at her feet.

“I… didn’t even notice they were there, so… thank you.” Shrub finally said. From her regretful and even pained expression Katherine knew that it went what she was originally going to say. While Katherine was a ver curious person, she knew that there was no point in pushing Shrub to say something if she didn’t want to. If she does want to say whatever it was, which Katherine was fairly sure she did actually, she would get the courage eventually. For now, all Katherine could do was try and be as inviting and non stressful as possible.

That doesn’t mean Katherine wasn’t dying to know what Shrub wanted to say. Every time Shrub stopped herself Katherine found herself wanting to know even more. She had a couple ideas, some more fanciful than others, and she desperately wanted an end to this mystery.

There was a chance, however small, that the thing Shrub wanted to say was a confession of interest. It would be nice to have a verbal expression of interest from Shrub, it would save Katherine the stress of trying to spit it out herself. She was going to have to eventually; a relationship can’t be started without the verbal agreement.

And some of Shrub’s actions could very well be interpreted as flirting. Katherine wasn’t going to let her hopes get too high, after all, maybe the thing that Shrub is trying to say is that she’s uncomfortable with Katherine’s actions and wants to tell her to back off but doesn’t know how to say it. That's a possibility.

It would hurt but Katherine would respect her wishes. If Shrub needs space then Katherine would give it to her. It would be better for Shrub to say that she wanted Katherine to step back rather than Katherine confessing and then Shrub has to say it to her because Katherine pressured her.

But, that’s the worst possible outcome and Katherine doesn’t dwell on those.

While Katherine had been lost in thought and moving on autopilot, Shrub had jumped into a new conversation about the ideal kind of moss for a carpet. Katherine jumped to the defense of flowering moss, who’s aesthetic value overruled the other plainer but more comfortable mosses. It was a heated debate but Shrub eventually came out on top and Katherine accepted defeat.

The rest of the day went swimmingly. By the late afternoon when they returned back, their inventories were filled to the brim with natural treasures. So much that it was probably more than Rose and Fern needed. Shrub suggested they stop by the marketplace and do some looking around. Gnomes didn’t have a currency, everything was done with exchanges of goods and services. Some of the softer mosses and rarer nuts could be traded for quite a lot of things.

Katherine had only been to the marketplace once, on an early morning trip sent by Rose to grab some surprise pastries for breakfast. It was cozy then, in the early hours before everyone was fully awake.

Now, Katherine could see what the market was truly like. A bustle of voices negotiating trades, bells ringing to grab people’s attention, and general chaos. The green banners over every stand, colored with magenta or gold accents to show how advanced the seller was at their trade, fluttered majestically. Katherine stuck close to Shrub, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. Thankfully, Shrub wouldn’t have the same problem. Katherine stuck out like a sore thumb here, being over 6 feet.

Katherine scanned the stands, looking for something interesting. The markets sold everything from live animals to toys for little gnomes to well crafted kitchen knives. While the signs were unreadable to Katherine — Shrub was teaching her gnomish but it was still taking a bit to pick up — their wares were obvious just by looking at them.

Katherine’s eye caught on a stand selling jewelry. The stand seemed to primarily sell metallic jewelry inlaid with gemstones in different patterns. All of them were cute and well made but Katherine’s eyes caught on one particular item.

A small bracelet, much smaller and less decked out than its counterparts. The bracelet was a beaded one but instead of the beads being glass or wood, they were gem and metal. The metal bits were thicker and designed like flowering vines while the gemstones were cut in a smaller, more disc-like pattern. It wasn’t just its simplicity that caught Katherine’s eyes, the gems were almost the same colors and shades as the gems on the crown.

“I see you’ve cornered an interest in one of our wares.” Said the person manning the booth. “That is one of my apprentice’s most recent creations. She’s much more into beadwork than I. Are you interested in it?”

“I’m thinking about it, yes.” Katherine answered before looking around. Shrub was a few stalls over, chatting it up with who looked like a food vendor. She wasn’t looking all in Katherine’s direction. Perfect. “Alright, I’ve decided. Would you be willing to trade a much of sournuts and some blazemoss for that bracelet.”

The vendor hmm’ed over the offer. “That is a good deal but this is one of my apprentice’s finest works. Do you have any wyrmfruit? That’d sweeten the deal.” They smirked at their own pun.

Katherine checked. She did actually have some wyrmfruit. “A pouch of sournuts, four pieces of blazemoss, and a wyrmfruit?”

“Deal.” They shook hands. Katherine picked up the bracelet and was in the middle of deciding if she wanted to pocket it to give to Shrub later or right now when who should show up but Shrub herself.

“I got us some early dinner.” Shrub started, gesturing with her head at the covered plate in her arms. “There’s some tables nearby if you want to eat now.”

“That sounds great.” Katherine nodded, still holding the bracelet. Shrub finally noticed it and the shop she was in front of.

“That’s a lovely bracelet. Are you buying it?” Shrub asked, a hint of red on the tips of her ears.

“I’ve already bought it but it’s not for me,” Katherine nervously held the bracelet out in Shrub’s direction. “It’s for you actually.”

Now Shrub’s face was really red. She looked at it and shuffled the food in her arms to take it. “Really?”

“Of course. Now, let me help you with that so you can put it on.” Shrub gratefully passed over the plate of food to Katherine and slid the bracelet up her arm. It rested comfortably around her wrist, right above her gloves. If needed, Shrub could pull her longer sleeves over it but she didn’t, instead rolling up both her sleeves to her elbows to show it off. It looked really good on her and Katherine was very pleased.

“I love it, thank you Katherine.” Shrub could barely meet Katherine’s eyes and her ears were very red. It was like when Katherine had pulled the burrs out of her hair or when Katherine had helped her chop the pecans a few days ago. A small but quickly growing bigger hope alighted in Katherine’s heart. She thought she might know why Shrub was acting like this.

Ok, stay cool Katherine. So what if there’s a good chance Shrub is just as flustered by you as you are of her, you still need to find the perfect moment and actually ask her out. Relationships need that verbal agreement to actually go somewhere. Or wait, maybe they don’t in gnome culture. Oh boy, Katherine needed to do some research. She really wished she could read gnomish right about now.

The shopkeep was looking at them with stars in their eyes. Shrub cleared her throat. “So, uh, dinner?” She fidgeted with the bracelet.

“Oh yes, let’s.” Katherine followed Shrub to the designated eating area she had pointed out before. When they had sat down and Shrub finally uncovered the plate, it was revealed that Shrub had gotten them both food skewers, mushroom for Shrub and what looked like pork for Katherine. It was a bit greasy and messy but that’s how most street-food was. Thankfully, Shrub had also gotten some napkins.

After lunch, the two did some last minute browsing - Shrub picked up some canary-feathered arrows and some mushroom-patterned socks - before heading back to the Berry’s house. As they reached the front door, a loud “Ho!” Pulled their attentions away. Fern was jogging over - messy overalls meaning that he was coming from the fields - and waving both of them down. They stopped and waited for him to catch up to them.

“Katherine, I need to talk to you for a bit.” He said, a bit winded from the run.

“Sure!” Katherine didn’t see why not. “Just me or..?”

“Just you.” Fern clarified. “Rose wants to talk to Shrub.”

“Ok then, I guess I’ll see you later?” Katherine said, turning back to Shrub to dress her. Shrub nodded, half still halfway to the door handle.

“Yeah, I’ll see you after.” Shrub agreed and then it was just Fern and Katherine. Katherine, for the first time, noticed Fern’s expression. She gulped. That was not the quietly pleasant expression she was used to. He seemed contemplative and a bit stern.

“So, walk with me.” He guided Katherine away from the house. They walked in very tense silence for a few minutes. Katherine was visibly sweating from nerves even though she kept her normal face on. Why was talking to Fern more scary than talking to any politician? Probably because he’s Shrub’s dad and she actually cared what he thinks of her.

“You’re very close with Shrub, she cares about you.” Fern broke the silence. Katherine looked over at him, confused.

“Yes, I care about her very much.” She stated. Fern hummed. They had stopped walking and now he leaned against the fence surrounding his carrot patch. He steepled his fingers.

“What are your plans for the future? Are you going to stay here?” He asked.

“I mean, I’d hope I’d be able to stay here, at least as long as you let me. I probably wouldn’t stay at your house all the time. It’s lovely, trust me, but the ceilings leave a bit to be desired.” Katherine gestured at her own height. A smile peaked out from Fern’s face.

“That is true.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t think I’m doing this right.” Now Katherine was confused.

“Doing what right?” She asked. Fern didn’t answer.

“I’ll just outright say it.” He inhaled deeply before starring Katherine dead in the eyes. “What are your intentions with Shrubling? Because I don’t let you hurt her.”

“I’d never hurt her!” Katherine exclaimed before the rest of the question even registered with her. “Wait, intentions? Are you asking me… if I have feelings for your daughter?” Katherine gripped the fence tightly, wow this was not where she expected this talk to go.

Fern chuckled. “Rose is already certain that you have feelings for our Shrubling. What I’m asking is do you plan on acting on them?”

Katherine continued to fidget with the fence, scraping off wood shaving with her claws. “I do, I’m just waiting for the perfect moment. I need to plant out because Shrub deserves the best.”

Fern seemed pleased but also.. amused? “Trust me when I say that the perfect moment doesn’t come from planning but from a genuine, unplanned expression of the heart. Of course,” fern held his hands up. “Don’t let that stop you from planning. But don’t stress about it being the most magical, extraordinary thing ever. Something will go wrong and you’ll have to adapt. Don’t freak out if something goes wrong. As long as you say what you mean in the end, it will work out.”

“I can’t tell if this is supposed to be helpful or worrying.” Katherine joked.

“I was going for helpful.” Fern sighed. He straightened up. “My original point was, me and Rose give you our blessing to date our daughter. Don’t break her heart.” He said sternly.

“Of course.” Katherine nodded rapidly. She never wanted to hurt Shrub, ever.

A thought popped into Katherine’s head. She tilted it in contemplation. “Hypothetically, and this is literally hypothetical I’d never do this, but if Shrub’s heart was broken by me, what would happen? Would you hunt me down?”

The look Fern gave Katherine made shivers go down her spine. “Oh no, It wouldn’t be me who’d hunt you down. It’d be Rose.”

Katherine shuddered. “Noted.” Rose was great but Katherine did not want to see her angry. She had a feeling she would not survive.

Fern laughed and clapped Katherine on the arm — he couldn’t reach her shoulder. “I’m glad you know the consequences.” He pushed off the fence and stretched. “Well, that was my threatening dad act of the week. Come on, let’s head back. Rose should be done giving Shrubling her gift.”

“Gift?” Katherine asked.

“You’ll see.” Fern replied unhelpfully. He gave her a wink. Katherine was confused.

Katherine was less confused when she and Fern walked into the house and Shrub’s outfit had changed again. Well, not fully changed, but upgraded. She was wearing the mushroom socks she had bought earlier as well as something else.

It was a new hat, just like her old one! It looked like the flat cap of an amanita mushroom, red and spotted. There wasn’t much difference between it and her old one but Katherine supposed that was the point. It was Shrub reclaiming her old identity as a gnome with a gift from her parents.

“The Master Phytomaster owed us a few favors.” Rose explained. Fern reached over and pulled Shrub into a big hug.

“Now we match again.” He said joyfully, giving Shrub a big squeeze. It was true, Shrub’s mushroom hat was almost a perfect match for the hat her dad wore when working. How had Katherine not noticed that?

“Put. Me. Down.” Shrub wheezed out. Fern dropped her and she gulped down some breaths. It was only then that she noticed Katherine and straightened up.

“You look really nice.” Katherine complimented genuinely. Shrub flushed and pulled the hat down over her face.

“Thanks.” She coughed out. Fern and Rose exchanged a look. Have they always been doing that?

The conversation was quickly hijacked by Rose, who said that she had found some old gnomish card game and wanted to play it for Family Game Night. Katherine tried not to look apprehensive. She didn’t think she’d be very good if she couldn’t read the cards. Shrub noticed the minute change in her expression, she was getting a lot better at reading her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.” She promised in a whisper.

“Wouldn’t that mean that you would know all my cards? That’s cheating.” Katherine pointed out.

“We’ll team up. Fern and Rose normally team up anyways, even when they’re not supposed to.” Shrub glared playfully at her parents. Fern looked sheepish but Rose just laughed.

“Caught in the act, I see. Well then, the game is on!” She said, pulling out the deck of cards with a flourish.

It was very different playing a card game with technically only 2 players. Shrub and Katherine shared a hand while Rose and Fern had their own. Katherine tried to focus but it was hard when Shrub was so close to her, whispering translations of the cards into her ears. She almost didn’t notice Rose and Fern doing a whisper of their own, probably not just about the game if the very obvious look between Katherine and the bracelet on Shrub’s wrist was telling.

Still, it was fun and a bit competitive at times. Most of the was Rose’s fault… and maybe a bit of Katherine’s. Somewhere along the way, Shrub had leaned against Katherine’s shoulder. She had been tense, eyes flitting constantly from her cards to Katherine’s face. Katherine hoped the smile she gave her was permission enough, an unspoken “It’s ok, I like this.” If the way Shrub nestled in closer was to believe, Katherine thought she understood.

It was no verbal agreement as per fairy tradition but it was something. Both of them wanted this, whatever this was.

As Katherine got distracted once more by the serene expression on Shrub’s face, she thought to herself: maybe, maybe she could just tell her, no grand gesture needed.

Maybe she already knows, or suspects.

Katherine suspects.

But she does need to tell her, this can’t be unspoken forever.

After all, you need permission to kiss someone and Katherine would very much like to kiss Shrub.

Maybe, Katherine hoped, Shrub would want to kiss her too.

Chapter Text

Shrub wasn’t awoken by the bright midday sunlight beaming in from the skylights, nor from the taste of wolf hair once again in her mouth, but rather by the total lack of any noise in the house. Normally her mom and dad woke up at sunrise and Shrub not long after. The sounds of her parent’s making conversation and sizzling from sliced mushrooms on the griddle was as part of Shrub’s routine as helping her dad with the farm or making a very sleepy Katherine some bittang tea.

But there wasn’t any of that this morning. Shrub pulled herself out of bed, confused. Even if she had slept in, which it looked like she had, there was no reason for the house to sound this empty. The last time Shrub had slept in Katherine had been waiting for her in the kitchen, having been the one to make both of their daily cups of tea in her absence. That day, before Shrub had even left her bedroom, she could still hear the general ambiance of another person in the house.

Shrub took a deep breath. Maybe her parents were out in town and Katherine with them? Or maybe they were showing Katherine something on the farm? The total lack of noise didn’t automatically mean the worst had happened.

But still, something felt very wrong.

Shrub’s hand rested on the door handle. Something in the back of her mind told her that when she opened this door, she’d know what really was wrong.

But standing here waiting was driving her crazy, so she opened it.

And there was nothing.

The house was empty, all furniture gone, any decor removed. The windows were open, letting dust and leaves into the house itself. Shrub warily crept through the living room and into the kitchen. Still, there was nothing. It was as if there had never been people living here at all.

It looked abandoned.

Shrub was abandoned.

Panic rising, Shrub looked for her parents or Katherine. There were no signs of them inside the house, even Katherine's bedroom was barren. Shrub flung one the front door and tried to call out for them. Her voice wasn’t working. No one could hear her. Everything felt blurry. Shrub ran into the settlement proper. None of the buildings looked inhabited. It was as if everyone and their stuff vanished while she was asleep. It reminded her of that dream she had of the Gnomeworld. Empty. But in the dream of the Gnomeworld there had been…

Shrub stopped in her tracks, heart pounding with panic.

In the dream of the Gnomeworld there had been dead corruption vines.

And here in this now there were living corruption vines, pulling themselves out of the nether portal in the center of town.

Shrub took a step back before the vines could wrap themselves around her leg. She stared at the portal, terrified. She needed to run away, she had to, or she wouldn’t survive this time.

But there, stepping into the portal, was Katherine.

Red-eyed and covered in vines.

No, this was too much. Shrub screwed her eyes shut. She needed an out, she needed to run. But she was frozen in place, feeling the vines slowly wrap around her legs. She needed to get out.

So she woke up.

Terror-stricken, it took Shrub a bit to understand what had happened. Nightmare. A very vivid nightmare.

Shrub dragged her hand down across her face and sat up. Her hands were shaking. She looked around. Her room was just like she remembered but then again, it had been exactly the same in the dream too.

She needed to see with her own eyes that it was just a nightmare and not a horrible omen of doom.

Near-sprinting out of her room, Shrub fanatically looked around for anyone. She found her parents in the kitchen, working on breakfast. They greeted her normally when she entered the room but quickly noticed the alarmed look on her face.

“Where’s Katherine?” Shrub asked fanatically. She didn’t know why she asked, it was still early so Katherine was probably asleep, but on the off chance she wasn’t…

“She went out earlier this morning.” Rose said casually, as if she hadn’t just confirmed Shrub’s worst fears. “Why? Do you need something from her?”

It was getting harder to talk. “Where did she go?” Shrub managed to force out.

“She said she was going to get blaze rods for a potion so I’d assume the nether.” Rose leaned forward, studying Shrub’s face. “Are you ok? You look very pale.”

Without another word, Shrub rushed out of the room, ignoring her parents' protest. She grabbed her bow and quiver and then she was gone, running along the center road towards the portal at the edge of town. Her mind was racing, looping the same frantic thought over and over.

Not the portal please not the portal. Not the nether Katherine can’t be leaving she can’t! Shrub was right, the dream was an omen she needed to find her.

Shrub didn’t slow down when she reached the portal, blinking away the latent particles as she tried to remember where the nearest fortress was. There was a chance that Katherine wasn’t there, that she had left or Xornoth had come back and controlled her all the way back to the Empires, but for now it was her only lead.

But Shrub didn’t even know where it was! Katherine could be thousands of blocks away and Shrub would never see her again. She would never be able to tell her she loved her.

It was at this moment that Shrub’s addled brain recalled that Shrub was in fact a great tracker. She just had to find Katherine’s path.

It took a bit longer than usual, Shrub’s anxiety making it hard to focus, but she did eventually find a lead. She started running again, trying to pace herself so that she would have enough energy while her mind wanted her to sprint until she found Katherine and her body wanted her to curl up and sob. It wasn’t easy but she had to do it.

There, up ahead! The fortress loomed above the brown and blue desert. And there, surrounded by glowing lights that Shrub knew were blazes, was Katherine.

Shrub broke into a sprint, expending all her energy because Katherine was right there and she needed to see her, needed to confirm with her own eyes that Katherine was whole and uncorrupted.

She scrambled up the side of the fortress, using the fenced windows as climbing points. She was bone-tired, the exhaustion from a bad night of sleep mixed with the soreness of running probably a mile or more just to get here and then scaling a building, because apparently Shrub couldn’t wait long enough to find some stairs.

She vaulted over the side of the rampart, stumbling on the jelly that was her feet, or at least that’s how it felt. Katherine hadn’t noticed her yet but she was so close, facing away from her as she lunged at the final blaze in the pack. With a groan, it dropped, leaving only its rods, with Katherine picked up.

Shrub picked herself up off the floor, leaning against the rampart wall for extra support.

She needed to get Katherine’s attention, she needed her to turn around and face her.

So she cleared her throat. Katherine spun around, her eyes bright and wonderful and not red. She held a hand to her heart, eyes wide from shock.

“Shrub! What are you doing here? Did Rose send you?” Katherine asked, stepping around some crumpled blaze cores to reach Shrub.

“No, I just needed to see you. Rose did tell me where you went though. That’s how I found you.” Shrub tried to keep her voice level. There was just one more thing she needed to ask. “It’s so early, at least for you. Why are you out here alone?”

“Oh, ok so last night I checked my supplies and I found that I had used the last of my blaze power. You can’t make potions without it, it’s the most important ingredient, besides water. So I planned to get up the next morning, aka today, and go get some. I was going to ask you to come along but you weren’t awake when I got up. Sorry for not asking you to come with.” Katherine sheepishly rubbed her neck.

Shrub could finally catch her breath. Katherine was here, Katherine wasn’t corrupted, Katherine wasn’t leaving. She was just getting ingredients. She wanted Shrub to come with, Shrub had just slept in and freaked herself out over nothing. She could be calm now. But some of the remnants of anxiety must have still shown on her face, because Katherine noticed them.

“Shrub? Is something wrong?” Katherine asked, brows furrowed. “You look distressed.”

Shrub could lie, she could, but… well…

What’s the point? It's Katherine. If Shrub can’t trust Katherine with the deep worries of her soul, then who can she trust? They’ve been through so much together, Shrub can be honest with her.

“I had a nightmare last night. It was of everyone leaving. You were… being controlled. Like Sausage and Joey were.” Shrub explained hesitantly. Katherine stiffened beside her. “And when you left me for the corruption to eat me, you went through the portal. So when I couldn’t find you and Rose said you left for it, I panicked.” Shrub started picking at her fingernails. “I just…. Had to be sure… you didn’t… didn’t actually leave.”

Shrub couldn’t look Katherine in the eye. How could she, when Katherine knows how pitiful she is now?

“Shrub…” Katherine started. Shrub screwed her eyes shut at the trembling, heartbroken tone in her voice. Shrub knows this is the moment when Katherine pulls away, decides Shrub is too much work. Shrub readied herself for the very kind rejection, because it’s still Katherine.

But then Shrub feels something soft on her face. A hand, Katherine hand, tilting upon her face. When Shrub warily opened an eye, she saw that she was face to face with Katherine,

“Hey, it’s ok. I’m sorry I left before telling you. I know nightmares are the worst, clinging to you and sticking till you can disprove them. I get it. I know.” Katherine’s thumb glided up and down Shrub’s face, calming her down as she spoke.

It was like a balm to her soul, the exact words she needed to hear. And Katherine wasn’t done.

“And another thing, I’m not going to leave you, ever, unless you ask me to. As long as you want, I’ll be right here. You won’t ever be alone ever again. Xornoth is so far away, sealed up, and he’s never touching either of us ever again. Nothing could take me away from you.”

She was going honest, Shrub realized, she wasn’t lying. This was pure, emotional honesty and more than that it was a confession in its own right.

This is it, Shrub needed to do it now. Tell Katherine how she feels, what she feels, while she still has the hope that Katherine could return it. While she’s still seeing the deep wells of fondness in Katherine’s eyes. With resolute decisiveness, Shrub opened her mouth to confess.

“Do you want to move in with me?”

Of course, Shrub’s mouth didn’t listen. Why would it? Of course, when Shrub finally decided to say the thing she’d been holding in for weeks, her mouth decided to say the other thing she’d been holding in for weeks.

Katherine looked perplexed by the sudden question so Shrub rushed to explain herself, even if she didn’t intend to say that in the first place. “Well eventually I want to move out of my parent’s house, get my own place, and I’d assume you’d want that too, unless you want to live with my mom and dad for longer that’s fine they love you and would let you stay as long as you needed but I just thought I would ask if you’d want to stay with me when I get my own place because we’ve been together well not together together but together as in close for a while and it would be nice to still be near you and I could still make you your morning tea and we could have a garden and you could have your own head room because you mentioned wanting to start a new collection and here you would have the space and!” Shrub stopped that run-on sentence because breathing was a thing she had to do.

Shrub inhaled a breath and with it came all the reasons why she shouldn’t have asked that question. “But of course there’s no pressure it’s an open offer you don’t have to accept maybe you want your own place that’s fine I’d help you make your own place we could be neighbors or you could live on the other side of the city that’s fine too really you don’t have to move in with me it’s a big step and I understand not wanting to spend all that time with me well we spend a lot of time together now so maybe you do want be around me but I shouldn’t assume that I’m sor-eep!“

There’s a hand over Shrub’s mouth now. Katherine’s giving Shrub an intense look, not quite a glare but still disarming enough to make Shrub feel like she’s pinned in place. “Shrub, I would love to share a house with you. Don’t take it back yet, cause my answer is yes.” The hand moved to join Katherine’s other hand in cradling Shrub’s face. They were so close, just a few inches apart, and Shrub could stare right into Katherine’s eyes, the way her gaze shifts from intense to soft in only a blink. “I also wanted to live with you, to share a place with you, but I couldn’t figure out how to ask. I want all those things too. I want to wake up in the morning and the first thing I see is you, handing me my tea. I want to grow a garden with you and figure out how to plant both mushrooms and flowers. I want to start a collection of heads, yes, but more than that I want you right next to me as I build it. I want it all.”

Shrub couldn’t breathe, she was so overwhelmed with emotion. That was the most heartfelt thing Shrub had ever heard. Katherine can’t keep saying stuff like that, it makes Shrub want to kiss her so bad.

Katherine’s eyes went wide.

Oh, Shrub said that last thought out-loud. Well, time to jump in the lava then.

But Katherine didn’t give her a chance to flee. Shrub’s face was still being held in her hands. If Shrub wanted to, she could jerk her head away and run, Katherine wasn’t holding her that tightly, but just the feeling of Katherine’s hands on her face was enough to lock her in place.

Katherine had taken a step back after Shrub’s accidental confession from shock but she pushed close again. “Well, I’ve wanted to kiss you so bad for like weeks, so if you want to do it now that’s very fine by me.” Katherine admitted.

Now it was Shrub’s turn to be shellshocked. This… was the best possible outcome and best possible outcomes didn’t happen, it was always the middle or worst ones.

But Xornoth was defeated with Shrub’s help, she’d found her family and her people, and Katherine returned her feelings. Maybe… maybe the best possible outcome did happen sometimes.

“Are you sure?” Shrub asked, unable to suppress the nervousness and excitement she was feeling.

“Yes!” Katherine near-shouted. “I mean, yes, I am.”

Shrub laughed at the flustered look on Katherine’s face and leaned up to kiss it off her.

Katherine was overwhelming in her entirety. All Shrub could think about and see was her. The gentle way she dragged her claws down Shrub’s face and back up again. The curl of her tail around Shrub’s leg. The way when Shrub tangled her hands in Katherine’s hair, brushing against her white ears, a sigh-like purr rippled through them both. It was just Katherine, Katherine, Katherine, repeating forever but no longer panicked and restless. Shrub was content.

How do people describe kisses? Fireworks? A crash of lightning? Well, kissing Katherine wasn’t like that. It was like nature itself, strong and reliable but also beautiful and always changing. Shrub had always felt the call of nature, the call to explore and learn and revel in its wonder. Katherine was nature personified, a guardian of life and greenery in a place where no plants would ever sprout. Katherine still smelled like dewy grass and sugar and light even here in the depths of hell. Even though Shrub could feel the heat of the nether against her back, where Katherine touched her, Shrub could only feel the warm sunlight and fluttering winds of the woods around her home.

Katherine was everything Shrub called home.

And from the way Katherine curled herself around Shrub, leaning into her touch like she couldn’t get enough, Shrub thought that Katherine thought the same about her.

Even when they pulled apart, gasping for air and coughing on ash and sulfur, they couldn’t bring themselves to separate. Katherine gazed down at Shrub, pupils so wide you couldn’t see the iris. Shrub looked up at her, still standing on her tiptoes to lessen the height difference. They both breathed together, trying to formulate thoughts about what just happened

“You’ve wanted to kiss me “so bad” for weeks?” Shrub asked incredulously as soon as she had caught her breath and regained higher functionality because wow, Katherine!

“Oh, yeah, I didn’t realize it until later in the trip but I definitely wanted to kiss you for a lot longer.” Katherine flushed and Shrub could feel the way she emoted with a tail twitch around Shrub’s leg and an ear flick under her hands.

“Why?” Shrub asked before realizing how that sounded. No Shrub don’t doubt the reasons why Katherine wanted to kiss you then maybe she’ll realize she has no reasons and then you get no more kisses.

But Katherine didn’t look doubtful of her reasons. Instead she just held Shrub’s face, still sliding her claws carefully against Shrub’s stubbled cheeks. She looked… sad, like Shrub was missing something but also determined, like she wasn’t leaving until Shrub knew what she knew.

“Cause you’re Shrub. You’ve saved my life so many times, not just when you protect me from monsters but also when your survival skills kept us alive. You’re really attractive when you fight, like pure energy, and know so much stuff about nature that I don’t and you’re super cute when you talk about it and really kind even though you’ve faced so much hardship and deserve a lot more than you got honestly there’s a lot of reasons do you want the whole list? It’s a long list.” Katherine started strong only to fall into anxious rambling at the end. Shrub would have made an internal comment about relating if she wasn’t using all her brain power to process that! Katherine thought about her that way? All her good traits that Shrub sometimes forgot she had? It was eye-opening. And Katherine looked truthful, eyes daring Shrub to try and fight her on this.

“No, I think I got it.” Shrub said once her mouth and brain were in sync again. Katherine fixed Shrub with a discerning look.

“Ok, if you’re sure, cause if not I can just kiss you to prove it.” Somehow, Katherine didn’t break eye contact when saying this, even if her face flushed.

Shrub pretended to think it over even though her heart was already screaming her answer. “You really don’t have to… but I wouldn’t be opposed to another kiss.”

Katherine grinned, fangs on full display, before she leaned down and quickly pecked Shrub on the lips. Shrub leaned in a bit more than she was intending, hoping Katherine understood how well Shrub thought of her as well. If not, well, then Shrub could always list off Katherine’s good traits as well. Payback but in the best way.

“I can’t believe I get to do that now!” Katherine crowed, hands skirting down over Shrub’s stubble and across her cheekbones. Shrub knew that her stubble was very scratchy and probably not nice to the touch, but Katherine wasn’t pulling away. “I love your face so much. I like your freckles, I like your eyes, I like how rough your stubble is. Is this going to be a permanent thing or have you just not shaved in a while? Because it’s really nice.”

“I love you.” Shrub blurted out instead of answering the question. How could she not, when Katherine was right there in front of her, looking at Shrub with awe, talking about how she liked how Shrub looked! Katherine jerked, body tensing, and Shrub worried that she’d said it too soon. But then Katherine relaxed, softened even more than before, and leaned forward to rest her head against Shrub’s.

“I love you too.” She whispered, breath tickling against Shrub’s face. “Sorry for not saying it sooner. I wanted it to be perfect when I did.”

Shrub knew she had the most fond smile on her face and it would be stuck there permanently if Katherine kept being so cute. “Well, I think this is perfect.”

“We are literally about to get attacked by blazes.” Katherine deadpanned.

“Yea, perfect.” Shrub agreed. Katherine laughed, a hearty laugh that Shrub couldn’t help but join in on.

And then the blazes did attack, because they were still in the nether, confessing on a fortress rampart out in the open.

When the problem was dealt with, they stole a few more kisses, even though they were a bit more singed now, and made their way back towards home. Katherine had gotten all the blaze rods she needed from that last attack. Shrub was twitchy, not just because the nether made her on edge, but because she was going to have to tell other people that Katherine was her girlfriend? Partner? Soulmate? What word should she use?

“Girlfriend works for me, unless there’s a gnomish term you think fits better?” Katherine responded after Shrub voiced the question.

“I use partner for myself, well only in hypotheticals until now, and there’s a couple gnomish words that could fit. I’ll teach you them when we get back.” Shrub gestured with a free hand when she talked, her other hand occupied by holding Kathrine’s own.

“Partner for you and girlfriend for me, got it.” Katherine nodded. She had the giddiest look on her face. “So, partner,” She stressed the word playfully. “Should we go back and tell your parents about this new development? I know they’ve been waiting a while for this.”

Shrub blinked and then the realization sunk in. She hurried her head in her hands. “I thought you didn’t pick up on their teasing!” She exclaimed, muffled.

“Oh I didn’t.” Katherine fully admitted. “But after your dad came over and told me that Rose would hunt me down if I ever hurt you and that I had his blessing. After that it was pretty easy to pick up on The Looks.”

“Of course he did.” Shrub mumbled, head in hands still. “Why am I surprised, I really shouldn’t be.”

“Well I thought it’s funny. Not in the moment, in the moment I was mortified, but in hindsight it’s very amusing.” Katherine chuckled

Shrub lifted her head up and thought about it. “Ok, I can see how it would be.”

“They were just trying to help and boy, did we need help.” Katherine snorted in amusement.

“Oh god.” Shrub thought back to all the very obvious moments that she and Katherine had been very, very gay for each other. “We were idiots.”

“Well no more idioticness starting now.” Katherine declaimed, head high. “From now on we will be smart and tell each other what we feel. No more obliviousness.”

“That I can get behind.” Shrub paused. “…I love you. Thought I would say it again, if we’re doing a new pack of saying what we mean.”

“Shrub!” Katherine coo’d, drawing out Shrub’s name. “That is the cutest thing ever and it will make me cry. I love you too.”

“Thankfully for you, all water evaporates in the nether.” Shrub joked.

“Ugh, then my eyes are going to dry out so fast, I can already feel it. Come on, let’s get back to the good dimension.” After a moment’s hesitation, Katherine held out her hand for Shrub to take.

Shrub took it, no hesitation.

It didn’t feel that much different, Shrub mused. Her relationship with Katherine. It didn’t feel like she’d done something big, like everything had changed. It felt like she had dropped a weight she didn’t know she’d been holding onto, unlocked and opened the final door to her heart and soul. It was freeing, being this emotionally honest. No worrying about pushing Katherine away, no stopping herself from speaking the truth. Shrub liked it.

She could have had this so much earlier if she hadn't tried to push down the feelings so much.

But that’s a “what could have been” and Shrub’s not going to dwell on that. The “this is happening now” is so much better.

The journey back to the gnome settlement wasn’t difficult. They had both spent enough time in the nether to know its quirks and avoid danger. In no time, they were breaking past the dimensional gate and looking face to face with a very decked-out Rose and Fern.

“You’re alright!” Rose exclaimed, dropping the dagger she had been wielding poorly. Katherine winced as it clattered harshly against the ground. “Shrub, you left in such a hurry, we thought something terrible had happened.”

“We were about to go in and look for you ourselves.” Fern said, picking up the dropped dagger. “But thank the spirits it didn’t come to that.”

“I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly, I had a bad feeling and needed to confirm something with Katherine.” Shrub explained.

“Well, did you confirm it?” Rose asked, a gleeful expression barely hidden. Shrub knew what she was insinuating.

“Yes, we did. Both things. I, uh, Katherine’s well,” Shrub trailed off. Why was this so hard? It’s just her parents. They were so supportive and encouraging. It shouldn’t be difficult, telling them the truth.

Shrub felt a firm squeeze from Katherine through their still connected hands. That gesture, that knowledge that Shrub was not doing this alone, fueled her enough to take the final step. “Katherine’s my girlfriend now. We’re together.”

“Finally!” Rose exclaimed, pumping her fist. Fern lightly elbowed her. “What? You were waiting for them too, don’t lie to me.”

Fern cleared his throat awkwardly. “What Rose means to say is, we are so very happy for you both. Katherine, you’ve been a part of this family from the day you first walked through the portal with our missing child, but now we can make it official. Welcome to the family.”

Katherine sniffled, tears gathering in her eyes. “Stupid overworld and it’s stupid water.” She grumbled under her breath, wiping them away. Shrub giggled. “Thank you Fern, it’s an honor.”

“The honor is ours dearie.” Rose said honestly. Then, her eyes flashed with mischief. “But me and Fern really do need to be going, all this gear won’t return itself to the many gnomes we borrowed it from on its own! Enjoy your alone time!”

“Mom!” Shrub yelled as Rose dragged Fern away, cackling as she did. “I swear, she’s using my indignation as fuel. She’s going to outlive us all on pure stolen embarrassment.” Shrub straightened, looking back to Katherine. “So, wanna head home? Or maybe, somewhere else?”

“Is this you asking me out on a proper date? Because if so, the answer is very much yes.” Katherine squeezed Shrub’s hand again, Shrub squeezed back.

“It is.” Shrub scratched the back of her head. “I, uh, just can’t decide where to go. There’s a lot of places I want to take you.”

“And I want to visit them all with you,” Katherine bent down and gently pressed a kiss to Shrub’s cheek, “After all, we have a whole lifetime ahead of us. I’m sure we can visit all of them.”

Shrub blushed and leaned more against Katherine’s side. “To Main Street then? It has the most options.”

“To Main Street.” Katherine nodded.

And the two of them walked away from the portal, hand in hand, debating over getting bread bowls or roast bird.

And their story continues on, weeks and months and years of life well lived, of sleeping mornings and hard days and long talks and gifts given and seasons passing.

And they were happy.

And they were loved.

And they were together through it all.