Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cooper's known that he's different for as long as he could remember.

He tries not to think about it, but his mind can't help but wander as he lays on his bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling, listening to the pitter-patter of rainfall on the roof.

He wasn't oblivious to the way strangers would look at him while they passed by. No, their looks of fear, pity and/or judgment were very noticeable to Cooper. He really does try to not care, but their gazes always seem to pierce through him. He usually just looks down at the ground in shame as he walks, trying to avoid eye contact. He doesn't want to cause any trouble, after all.

He always seems to feel insecure about the way his fins stick out from his cheeks, and the way his long, fishy tail drags on the ground as he walks.

He tries to avoid flinching in embarrassment when he sees frightened people stepping back to avoid getting too close. 

It makes sense that they'd want to avoid a freak like him, though. He doesn’t take it too personally.

He often thinks back to what his father, Thala, always tells him. The creatures that inhabit the ocean are bloodthirsty and violent. Cooper should be glad he doesn’t live down there.

(He tries not to think of what this implies about him. It's hard, given the big, unavoidable reminders attached to his body. He can't help but worry about it every time he looks in the mirror.)

Hybrids like himself aren't really a common sight in Live. Sure, those Schlatt and Connor guys are hybrids, but Cooper never really talks to them, so he has no idea what their lives are like. 

Actually, now that I think of it, they mostly stick to themselves outside of business matters…

And then, of course, there's Travis. Cooper's best friend - (acquired by accident, and now he can't seem to get rid of him... Not that he'd want to, of course.)

Travis seems to always have a smile on his face even when times get tough, and Cooper admires that about him. He wishes he could have that kind of optimism, to be honest.

Cooper snaps out of his thoughts when he sees a pair of golden-brown ears peeking up from below his window.

Speak of the devil.

Cooper stands up to undo the latch on his window, sliding it open. He watches with amusement as Travis struggles to climb through it, his tail wagging with excitement as usual - probably from some new oddity he's found while running all over Live.

Travis, like him, was what most people would call a "social outcast". People tend to avoid him as much as they can. 

(Though Cooper thinks that's probably a much more difficult task than it’d be worth. He knows well enough by now that if Travis wants to bother you, he's gonna, and there isn’t much you can do to stop him.)

Cooper isn't sure if Travis knows that people talk about him behind his back. If he does, he doesn't show it. He doesn't seem to let it bother him at all.

(Cooper envies him for that.)

I guess that’s why we're friends. The weird ones always gravitate towards each other, huh?

Cooper blinks to clear his thoughts again, looking down to where Travis is seated on the floor. He seems to be vibrating with excitement (which Cooper's learned not to question by now).

He looks like hems going to explode if I don’t ask him what he's so excited about already, Cooper thinks.

"Look what I found!" Travis exclaims suddenly. He shakes his head quickly to get the rain out of his hair, and he looks up at Cooper, his eyes shining.

"Dude," Cooper sighs, though his voice tinged with amusement. "Why do you always do this? I feel like I need to establish a 'Travis is not allowed in my house when it’s raining' rule."

Travis sticks his tongue out and reaches around to dig through his messenger bag to look for something. He pulls out a large, brightly-colored seashell.

"Isn't it cool?" He asks expectantly, looking over at Cooper again.

Cooper squints to try and get a closer look. "What is it?" He asks, tilting his head a little. "Just a shell?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Travis pouts in irritation, and he shoots Cooper a glare. "It's super colorful and shiny! Like, uh... Like..." He trails off. 

It's like you can see the gears turning in his brain, Cooper thinks.

"...I dunno." Travis says defeatedly. "I forgot what I was gonna say."

Cooper laughs softly. "That's okay." His tail swishes with curiosity and he leans in a bit, taking the shell from Travis to inspect it closer. His eyes scan over the shell's iridescent  surface, taking a mental note of every detail.

"Actually, something feels off about this shell," he comments, "but I can't seem to put my finger on it."

"What do you mean?" Travis asks. "I mean, it looks fine to me…"

Cooper doesn't answer. Instead he focuses on the strange shell, his gaze tracing over each ridge and detail over and over again, almost mapping the shell in his mind. 

Why does it feel like it's calling me?

He shakes his head and sets the shell down on the nightstand beside his bed.

"Where'd you find this?" He asks, turning back to Travis.

Looks like he's gotten lost in his own little world again…

"Travis." He says, trying to catch the dog hybrid's attention.

"Oh- Huh?" Travis blinks a few times and shakes his head, snapping back to reality. "Sorry. I found it over in the direction of Spawn City. There's a beach off to the side on the way there." He explains.

Cooper swallows thickly. He isn't allowed to go near the ocean - Thala's been strict on this since he was a small child. 

Travis seems to remember a moment later, because he gives Cooper a sympathetic glance. "Sorry. I forgot you're not allowed..."

"It's fine." Cooper replies, trying to mask his disappointment. He struggles. He wants to investigate further now, to find out everything he can.

He has to know what's going on with this weird shell.

He hums quietly in thought and wraps his tail around his body. They sit in silence for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Travis's ears perk up and his tail begins to wag again.

Almost like a lightbulb popping up to indicate a thought, Cooper thinks with a quiet chuckle.

"Dude." Travis says. "What if we snuck out while your dad's sleeping?"

"Uh..." Cooper stops to think about the idea. 

Thala doesn't usually pop in to check on me, but what if he did? Or what if we made too much noise and woke him up? Is it really worth running that risk for a dumb seashell?

…Yeah, fuck it. Worst that can happen is what, I get grounded? Oh well.

"Okay," Cooper nods. "I don't see why not. But we need to be careful."

"Tonight?" Travis asks, his eyes shining at the prospect of adventure.

"Yeah. Sure." Cooper says. "Tonight."

Travis grins and makes a weird excited sound, fidgeting in his seat. He clumsily stands and starts climbing up onto the windowsill.

"Okay!" He calls cheerfully. "I'll be back later!"

"You're gonna hurt yourself, dude," Cooper says as he watches Travis scramble to hoist himself up out of the window.

"Nope! Done it a million ti-" Travis's sentence is interrupted by a squeak of surprise as he loses his grip and falls to the ground.

"...Times," He finishes, shakily standing up and brushing the dirt off. "Well, anyway, like I said… I'll be back, okay?" He chimes happily, seemingly unfazed by his mishap. "Bye, Cooper!"

"See you later," Cooper responds with a chuckle as he watches Travis run off. He slides his window closed and secures it with a snap of the latch.

He sighs and collapses on his bed, picking up the seashell to look at it again, examining it closely. It seems to glisten in the sunlight coming through the window. He moves it back and forth, fixated on watching the colors shimmer.

He sets it back down on the bedside table as he stands up. 

If I'm gonna sneak out, I should probably make sure I get my chores done for the day.

…And I'm already behind. Shit.

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"Okay, which way are we going again…?" Cooper asks. His tail pushes tree branches out of their way as he leads them out of his backyard.

"Basically," Travis begins to explain, eyes glued to the screen of his communicator, "the same way you'd go to get to Spawn City, but with a bit of a detour."

"Okay. I assume you know where you’re going?"

"I have no clue!" Travis exclaims cheerfully.

"Travis," Cooper warns, turning back to give the dog hybrid an unamused glare as he pushes another branch out of the way.

"Sorry! Just joking!" Travis says. "I've pulled up the maps app, so there's no way we could possibly get lost."

He sounds confident. That seems like a good indicator that something's gonna go wrong, Cooper thinks. He rolls his eyes.

They stop at the fence that surrounds Cooper's house.

"Okay. If we do," Cooper says, undoing the latch on the gate with his tail, not even turning to look, "I'm blaming you."

Travis laughs nervously, going ahead through the gate to take the lead. "...Leeettt's just go to Spawn City first and then backtrack, okay?"

Spawn City…

Cooper isn't fond of Spawn City. It's always too busy for his liking, too noisy. It seems like every time he's there he ends up getting tangled up in someone's shenanigans against his will.

He hopes nobody will be there today, but he highly doubts it. It's a silly thing to hope for, really. There's always people at Spawn City, and there's always someone doing something stupid.

"Okay," he nods. "Sounds smart to me."

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It's a bit of a long journey to Spawn City. Cooper lives on the outskirts of Live, so it's pretty far away, and there isn't a direct route to get there.

Regardless, they make it there eventually. The city isn't exactly bustling with life as it so often is, but it’s definitely not empty. 

Cooper can vaguely hear Connor in the distance, as well as someone else — probably someone buying from his ice shop. He can't pick out the other voice. Not that it matters anyways, but he can't help but be curious.

Travis navigates through the city with ease, managing (unlike Cooper) to not get distracted by the city's sights and sounds.

He turns to Cooper and smiles. "From here, I think we turn right?"

"You think?" Cooper asks teasingly, leaning over the shorter man to use his head as an armrest. His tail swishes as he glances around again.

"I know," Travis corrects him. "My comm says so, and it can’t be wrong!" He huffs.

"I'm just pulling your leg, dude!" Cooper laughs. "Relax."

The two make their way in that direction, trying to avoid bumping into anyone.

The last thing we need is to get roped into someone's latest prank idea or a bizarre scheme to execute a hit someone has.

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They quickly make it out of Spawn City, and eventually, they make it to the beach.

The sand is soft and the water shimmers under the light of the moon and stars as the waves crash onto the shore.

Cooper can't help but stare.

"Wow..." He mumbles, his eyes wide as he looks over the view.

"It's awesome, right?" Travis asks.

Cooper nods and squats down to fiddle around in his bag, pulling out the shell from before. It's glowing now, a soft light radiating off its surface.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Cooper says. "It's glowing!"

"Huh?" Travis tilts his head, walking over to where Cooper is. His eyes widen, but he doesn't say anything else.

Cooper swears he can sense something, and he suddenly stands up, looking around. He slowly approaches the water's edge when a shiny material catches his eye - a glass bottle resting in the sand near the ocean's edge.

He picks it up, noticing that there's a message inside, and carries it away from the shore. He sits down on a rock and pops off the cork that the bottle is sealed shut with.

He pulls out the paper inside, carefully unfolding it, his eyes scanning the words on the page.

The excerpt speaks of ancient empires under the sea, and their rulers, bound by a curse to make them forget their past should they abandon the water to live on land.

As Cooper reads, he wraps his tail around himself, feeling that if he doesn't, the waves might pull him away.

"What's it say?" Travis asks, leaning over Cooper's shoulder to try to read the scrap of paper.

"It talks about like, ancient underwater royalty that were like, cursed to forget the sea or some shit," Cooper says. "It makes me uneasy. I don’t know why."

Travis hums quietly, thinking for a moment.

"You know, maybe there's a reason that shell led us here!" He exclaims. "Maybe you’re like, destined to see that message! This is just like a fantasy novel, this is so exciting!"

Cooper laughs. "Maybe? This is real life, Trav. I doubt it." He says, rolling his eyes. "Although…"

He can't get the way the seashell seemed to call to him out of his head, or the way he felt the waves would lure him away into the ocean depths.

It seems to have dug its way into his brain and made a home there.

Living in my head rent-free, he thinks. I don't like it.

"Let's go home." He says, suddenly standing up. "I want to take a closer look at this. But not here."

"Wh- Okay!" Travis stammers, slinging his bag over his shoulder and clumsily leaping to his feet, pressing a button on the side of his communicator. "Let's go, then!"

Cooper nods, tucking the bottle and the message away in his bag alongside the shell, and the two set off on their way home.

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They don't talk much on the way back. 

Cooper's mind races with thoughts, trying to piece together their findings in his head. Trying to make sense of what it all means.

He thinks the page that he had found must be a piece taken from a larger book. He'll probably scour Thala's library for anything about the topic when they get back.

(Although a tiny voice in his head doubts that he'll find anything useful, given Thala's distrust of the ocean and anything surrounding it.)

He considers asking others around Spawn City, maybe offering to help with hits or building, but he wonders if that would even work. Maybe someone collects oddities, maybe someone's fished something up?

He shakes his head, letting his thoughts clear as they reach his backyard. He undoes the latch on the fence, saying goodbye to Travis before quickly climbing back into his window, locking it behind him.

Thankfully, it doesn't look like Thala had noticed he was gone.

He decides to put the shell and bottle in his ender chest for safekeeping. That way he can be sure he won't lose them, and that no one will find them and mess with them.

He falls back onto his bed with a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as his mind drifts again. 

Cursed to forget their past... Surely that wouldn't apply to him, right?

I mean, he thinks, Thala took my egg before it hatched. There's no way I'd remember anyway.

...But surely a fish ought to have some kind of instinctual knowledge of the ocean, no? He's not supposed to live stuck on land like this.

As his mind races, Cooper yawns, feeling exhaustion tug at him. He lets sleep take over him.

He'll think about this in the morning. 

It'll be easier to think rationally after a good night's rest, anyway.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Cooper wakes up earlier than he really wants to, in order to not raise suspicion from Thala. He yawns as he sits up in his bed and stretches, tail lashing from side to side.

He stands and gets dressed before heading downstairs to cook breakfast. It's nothing grand or notable - just some bread, a baked potato, and some sweet berries. He sits down at the kitchen table as he eats, waiting anxiously for his father to wake up.

Thala comes into the kitchen a few moments later. If he noticed Cooper's absence last night, he doesn't say anything - instead he just grabs an apple and eats it without comment.

"Good morning," Cooper says, not looking up from his plate. "Did you sleep well?"

Thala doesn't say anything, but he nods. The silence makes Cooper feel uneasy.

"Fine," he finally says after he finishes his apple. "I guess. You?"

"I slept okay," Cooper lies. "I was really tired last night and went to bed early."

"That's good," Thala replies. "Have any plans for today?"

"No." Cooper says quickly. (Too quickly.)

He stands up to put his plate in the sink, not meeting Thala's eyes. "Not really. But if you'll excuse me, I have some work I need to do in the library chamber."

Thala nods. "Good luck with whatever you're doing then, I suppose."

Cooper gives him an awkward smile before slipping out of the kitchen as fast as he can and making his way downstairs to the library.

The library is dusty. (It's always dusty. It drives Cooper nuts.)

Cooper scans the rows upon rows of books, speed-reading the spines one by one. It's tedious, but he wants to be thorough in his search. His tail traces along the rows of books as he walks besides the bookshelves.

He scans row after row, becoming increasingly annoyed by the lack of useful books. Nothing. He shouldn't be surprised, but it's still irritating.

After about an hour and a half he decides to give up. As he heads out towards his room however, something catches his eye - a holographic seashell logo on the spine of a book.

He stops and takes the book off the shelf to examine it. The cover is blue with an image of a coral reef. Gold text is embossed on the front, reading "Myths & Legends of the Ocean, Vol. 1".

Cooper traces over the lettering with his finger. He decides to take the book upstairs with him to his room, holding it close to his chest as he ascends the spiral stairway that leads back up to the main section of his home.

He scurries up to his room, trying to avoid Thala. He locks the door behind him and sits on his bed, setting the book down and examining it closer.

He cracks open the cover and flips through the pages. It's less useful than you'd expect it to be. However, one page piques Cooper's interest.

It goes into a bit more detail about the myth of the ocean royalty who were cursed to forget their underwater home.

Only two eggs were known to survive from the nest - others were stolen away or destroyed. These eggs would later hatch and grow up to become the rulers of the Ocean and Swamp Empires respectively. There is no surviving evidence of what happened to the others, though scholars believe the two siblings are not the only survivors.

Cooper focuses on this passage, reading it over and over. It's silly to fixate on — surely he isn't secretly some kind of underwater royalty. (Not every fish hybrid is ocean royalty, what the hell is he thinking?)

But it seems to lodge its way into his brain, refusing to leave. Like seaweed attaching itself to a ship's anchor, it digs its way into his mind and he can't shake it out.

With a sigh, he closes the book, opening his ender chest and placing it inside. He grabs his backpack and heads downstairs, planning on making his way over to Travis's construction firm at Spawn City.

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When Cooper arrives at the construction firm, Luemas and Travis are having a conversation near the front about something he can't make out, but assumes to be related to a project they were contracted for.

He pokes Travis with his tail. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Travis looks up from his conversation with Luemas. "Oh, yeah! Of course, Cooper! What's up?" His tail wags with curiosity shining in his eyes.

Cooper gives a small wave to Luemas before pulling Travis aside into the backroom of the construction firm.

He walks over to the nearest ender chest and opens it, pulling out the still dusty old book and wiping off the cover.

"So I found something while searching the library," he says, cracking the cover open and flipping through the pages until he lands on the page from earlier.

He taps the excerpt and hands the book to Travis, who reads it excitedly. 

When he's done reading, he looks up at Cooper with a grin. "This is so exciting, Coop!" He exclaims cheerfully. "This is such a good find, oh my god…"

Cooper can practically see the gears in his brain turning.

"Calm down for a sec," he laughs. "You're jumping way too far ahead."

"Sorry!" Travis blurts out awkwardly. "Sorry."

He clears his throat. "This is just really exciting, you know? It sounds like a potential adventure, I've been dying to get out of this city for ages now."

Cooper shakes his head with a smile. "Well, there's not that much information to go off here, unfortunately. Adventure will have to wait, man."

Travis looks disappointed, but Cooper can see the gears turning in his head again before he lights up with an idea.

"We should see if Kara has anything we can use!" He exclaims confidently.

"Huh?" Cooper tilts his head.

"Kara sells enchanted books over in the Nether hub. She might also have something that could be useful to us!" Travis clarifies.

"Oh, that's actually a good idea!" Cooper responds.

Then he grimaces at the thought of having to travel to the Nether where it's hot and dry. "Uuuugh, my scales will be painfully dry for weeks." He complains.

"Come on," Travis pouts. "It'll be worth it if she has information we can use."

Cooper sighs and nods, knowing that the dog hybrid is right and it would be silly to argue.

He follows Travis out of the back area of the construction firm and watches as Travis talks to Luemas.

"You'll be in charge for a bit," he says, smiling warmly.

Luemas shoots him an annoyed glare. "There's so much shit to get done, Trav."

"I'm sorry!" He exclaims with a laugh. "I'll help you when I get back, I promise!"

"You better." She rolls her eyes, turning her attention back to the paperwork she was dealing with.

Travis turns to Cooper and smiles, putting his things into his messenger bag and clumsily swinging it over his shoulder.

"Let's go, then!" He announces cheerfully.

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If there's one thing Cooper hates, it's the fucking Nether.

Maybe it's to be expected, being a sea creature, but it's just miserable. Too hot. Too dry. He can't fucking stand it.

(But he'll put up with it in his quest for knowledge.)

Travis happily leads the way, tail wagging at the prospect of adventure as he makes his way towards Kara's makeshift bookshop.

Luckily for them, she's there, rather than at home. She's putting books away from what it looks like.

"Karaaaaa!" Travis calls loudly, his voice almost having a sing-song type of tone.

She looks up and rolls her eyes, but greets him at the front desk.

"Trav. What's up? What do you need?" She asks. "I'm a bit busy here, bud."

Travis is about to start speaking before Cooper interrupts him, tail swishing as he steps in front of him.

"We were wondering if you had any books pertaining to the Ocean Empire, or knew somewhere we could get information about it." He says calmly.

Kara blinks at him, thinking, before turning away. "Let me dig around in here, alright?" She finally says.

"Take your time." Cooper says.

Travis fidgets impatiently beside him. He reaches over to give him a soft shove to tell him to knock it off.

Kara returns after a few moments with a heavy book in hand, its leathery cover coated with a layer of dust. She blows off the dust, causing Travis to cough.

"It's a world encyclopedia," she says. "It might not be helpful, but it's worth a shot. Maybe it has some old maps?" She smiles at the two.

"Sweet," Cooper replies, tail swishing. "How much?"

"I'll give it to you for ten diamonds," Kara says.

Cooper nods and sets his backpack on the ground to dig through it, pulling out the necessary gems and handing them over to Kara.

"Thank you for your business!" She says cheerfully, handing the book to Cooper.

"No, thank you, Kara!"

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Cooper and Travis head off to Travis's house, finding that it would be a safer option than keeping it at Cooper's place.

(It's a small, makeshift base, but that's fine.)

Cooper sets the book down and cracks open the cover, flipping through the pages until he settles on a page with a map detailing the region to the west of Live.

The Westward Empires

The colorful, detailed map depicts huge mountain ranges, sprawling plains, jungles and forests, swamps - and yes, a large, open ocean.

And in the center of that ocean lies a marker. 

Ocean Empire, Queen Lizzie

Cooper's eyes light up and his tail begins to swish triumphantly. "Trav!" He calls to his friend, who's currently doing something weird off to the side. "I found it!"

Travis scurries over and squats down besides him, eyes scanning the page.

"This is perfect!" He exclaims, tail wagging excitedly. "We should try to make the journey there!"

Cooper freezes.

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea?" He asks quietly, looking away as his mind drifts to thoughts of what his father would think.

"Of course!" Travis says with a laugh. "C'mon, Coop, since when have you followed the rules?"

"Okay, I guess you have a point." Cooper chuckles. "Fine, it's worth a shot."

"Woo!" Travis cheers, standing up and spinning in a small circle. "Adventure!"

"We should head out tomorrow, then." Cooper says, folding over the corner of the page to mark the page and then closing the book. "Let me send a message to my dad telling him I'm staying the night."

"And I need to message Luemas!" Travis nods. "...She probably won't be happy that I'm dumping everything on her for an indefinite amount of time."

"She deserves to be paid extra for putting up with your bullshit." Cooper laughs.

Travis shoves him lightly, pulling out his comm to type the message.

Cooper takes his own comm out of his pocket and shoots a message to Thala, hoping he won't get suspicious.

Ten minutes go by without a reply. Cooper sighs and puts his comm back in his pocket.

(It's not worth worrying about right now, he thinks.)

Chapter Text

It's the crack of dawn - the sun's barely begun to rise over the horizon - and Cooper's already up and ready to go. He's lucky that he already had most of the necessities on hand, because it'd look really suspicious for him to return home, pack up a bunch of stuff, and leave again. He'd never here the end of it.

He messes with his backpack while he sits waiting for Travis to wake up, rearranging the items inside messily. Double checking he has everything he needs.

He feels a tap on his shoulder from behind and he jumps a little. "Scare ya?" Travis asks, peering down at the taller man with a grin.

"Not at all," Cooper huffs. He zips up his backpack and swings it over his shoulder. "You got everything you need?"

Travis nods, his tail wagging rapidly with excitement. He always seems to be looking for adventure, so Cooper's not really surprised by how excited he is.

"We should stop through Spawn to pick up a couple extra things before we set off," Cooper says.

"Right!" Travis chimes, smiling warmly. "And I gotta check on Luemas before we head out, or she'll be real mad at me," he adds a fake pout to accentuate the last statement, earning a soft shove from Cooper.

"You could have done that yesterday..."

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Spawn City is eerily quiet this morning, which is unusual for the commerce hub. It might be a bit earlier than Cooper had initially thought.

Not that it matters much, anyways. They just need to grab a couple things and get out. Quick and easy. (Hopefully.)

Of course, Spawn City is never as quiet as you would hope, and Cooper is jolted away from his thoughts by the sound of cobblestone hitting the ground with a loud thud.

...It's Altrive and Krinios. Of course. Cooper doesn't even want to know what the fuck kind of project they're up to now. He covers his ears, groaning in irritation.

"So what exactly do we need?" Travis shakes Cooper's shoulder lightly as he asks, tilting his head.

Cooper is quiet for a moment as he tries to think of an answer. He has most of the important things - food, a tent, weaponry (just in case) - he can't seem to think of anything for a bit until it pops into his head.

"I totally forgot torches," he finally responds, laughing. "I have no idea how the hell I managed that."

"Luemas probably has some back at the firm!" Travis smiles as he exclaims. "She's always got stuff that I tend to forget on hand..."

"Oh, good, then," Cooper hums. "That's one less stop we have to make, I suppose."

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The two stop when they approach the construction firm. Cooper's surprised to see that Luemas is already there, setting up for the day. 

"Lueeeeeeem! I need torches!"

"In the chest up front," Luemas replies, not looking up from her work. (Used to Trav's nonsense by now, clearly.)

"Thank you!" Travis chimes as he scurries into the small building, rummaging through the chest by the front door, which Luemas has conveniently propped open.

He finds them quickly and pockets them in his messenger bag, turning back to Cooper with a grin. "We good now?"

"Uh," Cooper says as he rummages through his bag, "should be, yeah, I think."

"Then off we go!"

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The two find themselves at the outer edges of Live fairly quickly. Cooper's nerves still bother him, but he pushes them aside for the moment. 

"I've never actually been out of Live before," Cooper laughs anxiously.

"It'll be fine!" Travis responds cheerfully, nudging the taller hybrid's shoulder. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"We die in the middle of nowhere and can't respawn?" Cooper suggests. Travis shoots a glare at him.

"Nothing. We'll be fine."

Cooper sighs and looks at the screen on his comm. No new messages. He stuffs it in his pocket and shakes his head.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Let's go."

He feels disoriented for a fraction of a second when he steps over the server line. It quickly fades away, and he takes a deep breath.

Travis hops over the server's border naturally, as if he's done it a million times. Cooper almost envies the way it seems to be second nature to him.

His tail swishes as they walk forwards into uncharted territory, glancing around to study the surroundings of the forest they're making their way through.

With every step Cooper takes away from the SMPLive border, he feels just the tiniest bit more relieved.

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Thala paces in the library chamber as dusk starts to creep over the skyline and his son still has yet to come home. His mind is racing - furious and paranoid thoughts, a mix of the most venomous rage and nervous worries. 

He reaches for his comm. No new messages. Checks it again, and again. 

Thala's pacing stops for a moment and he clicks on Cooper's name in the contact list to shoot a message. He types quickly and presses send without so much as a second inspection before setting the device down on one of the bookshelves and resuming his pacing.

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A loud bell chime echoes from Cooper's comm as he and Travis make their way further and further out from the border. Cooper groans and fishes the device out of his pocket. He takes one look at the screen, sees Thala's name, and flips the device on silent before stuffing it back in his pocket.

"Who is it?" Travis peers over his shoulder curiously.

"None of your business, dumbass." Cooper shoves him away gently. "I know dogs are nosy, but come on, man."

Travis scoffs in indignation, but doesn't push further. 

Cooper looks up, using one hand to shield his eyes as he scans the sky. The sun is starting to set now.

"We should set up for the night," he says. "Before it gets too dark."

Travis nods, and scurries off, looking around for a good spot to set up camp. Cooper laughs to himself and takes a step forward before smacking into something - no, someone - that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"What are you two doing?"

The voice is unmistakably Joko's, and Cooper sighs. (It could be worse. There are way worse people who could have stumbled into them at this moment, he tells himself.)

"Nothing," he lies, backing up.

Joko raises an eyebrow at him. "Doesn't look like nothing," he says with a chuckle. "Kind of far from Live, no?"

"Why are you this far from Live, huh?" Cooper retorts. "The fuck are you questioning me for?"

"JokoPods delivery."

"...People actually buy that shit?" Cooper is so taken aback by this that it comes out louder than intended, his tone dripping with disbelief. His tail lashes behind him.

Joko breaks into laughter. "You guys want some help?" He asks.

"Not really," Cooper responds before Travis suddenly reappears, cutting him off.

"We would love some help!" Travis says, smiling.

Cooper shoots Travis a dirty look that says you know we're never getting rid of him now. If Travis catches it, he doesn't say so, as he continues smiling cheerfully at Joko, tail wagging.

"Great," Joko says. He follows Travis as the dog hybrid leads him through the forest to the spot he's settled on.

Cooper begrudgingly makes his way over. He does have the tent, after all, so it's not like they're getting very far on their own. (Though some part of him would like to see them struggle to set up shelter without it.)

He squats down, shrugging his backpack off and unzipping it, taking the tent out and tossing it at Joko, who just barely manages to catch it. "A warning would have been appreciated!"

(Cooper ignores him.)

Joko opens the tent package, dumping the contents on the ground unceremoniously. He spreads the tarp over an open area. "Both of you, grab one of these stakes and stick 'em in the ground," he says. 

Cooper obliges without argument, picking up one of the sticks and walking over to one corner of the tarp. He pushes the stake into the ground and steps down on it with one foot, firmly pressing it into the earth.

"Done!" Travis calls from the opposite corner. Cooper turns around to see him standing over his stake proudly, his hands resting on his hips and his eyes closed.

"Good job, Trav," Cooper chuckles.

Joko quickly stakes the other two corners and begins to slide the poles into the tent. He raises the tent with little issue, while Cooper picks the rainfly up off the ground and sets it up over top.

Travis secures the tent with the last few stakes. "Ta-daaa!"

"I thought that was gonna be way harder than it ended up being," Cooper says as he takes a step back.

"You're welcome," Joko comments with a smug expression that quickly earns him a soft smack from Cooper's tail.

"It wasn't because of you, dumbass! We would have been fine on our own!"

⎯⎯ ୨ 🐚 ୧ ⎯⎯

The tent's... A bit too small for three people, but it'll have to do for now.

"Stop putting your arm on me or I'll kick your ass," Cooper mutters as he pushes Joko away from him with a glare.

Travis, on the other hand, seems to have somehow managed to make himself take up as little space as possible. (It's kind of like how people say cats are liquid, except Travis isn't a cat, Cooper thinks.)

"You're just a little hater," Joko laughs, adding a fake pout for effect.

"Shut the fuck up," Cooper responds. "Go to sleep, stop bothering me."

Joko scoffs, but doesn't bug him further, rolling over to face the other side of the tent.

(This is going to be a long fucking journey.)