Hello readers, I am the dragon, Vinarth! This chapter introduces the final character essential to the story, John. Thank you for your reviews, it's good to hear you enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it. This addition comes a more than little late, but better late than never. As always, reviews and PMs are more than appreciated.

Chapter 7 - Friends and Rivals

Earth

_The sirens were getting louder, closer. It was the fastest he'd ever run in his life, and his muscles were screaming at him to stop. But that wasn't the reason he was crying. He had just been betrayed by the gang he called family, and his girlfriend. Why does everything bad always happen at night? He thought, disgusted at the light rain.

_"Shit!" He yelled, diving into an alleyway; one of the police cars had almost hit him. He could hear the officers pursuing him on foot. Turning though a slight bend, he could see the blue lights waiting for him on the other side.

_"Well I guess this is the end," flanked and out of options, he drew his gun and jumped out into the street. The sound was deafening and the pain unbearable; the police had set up a blockade, and when he jumped out, hundreds of bullets ripped through him.

_Everything went black.

- [ ] -

_He felt his heart beat. But that shouldn't be possible, I'm dead. The pulse got louder, harder, faster. Then an explosion of colors and light, wind whipping, thunder cracking. Everything changed from white to golden and a concussive bang knocked him out once more.

- [ ] -

_He woke, air flooding into his lungs. His heart was beating, and his skin was warm. He opened his eyes and looked around, observing he was laying on a field of short grass. He was still wearing his favorite leather jacket, as well as the rest of the clothes he had on when he died, except they weren't shredded with bullet holes. He felt an odd shifting under him, and realized he was laying in someone's lap, "Aaa-?" He tried to move, but found he couldn't. Looking up at the person that was holding him, his eyes met those of the cutest girl he had ever seen.

_"You ok?" She asked.

_He tried to talk, he really did, but all he got out was "ugh..."

_"Here, sit up," she offered.

_With a little bit of help, he did. The sun beat on him, contrasting from the cold, rainy streets of Boston he had just come from. Groaning at the soreness of his muscles, he managed to shed the jacket.

_"Woah! Dude! Nicely toned muscles! Finally I've got someone who can help us around here!" This voice came from a very large man probably in his 50s with a 12 inch beard.

_"Thanks" He said but choked on his own breath. The girl was closer to him now and was stroking his muscles, not with lust, but with curiosity. Regardless, it was turning him on so he stood up before it affected him further.

_"What's yer name?"

_"Uhh..." He couldn't believe he had to think about it "John" he said, "Nineteen."

_"Well John, I'm Beard! Ya best come with me, Ryan an I will give ya the briefin' about where we are, and what you can do ta help."

_"Ok..." He looked back at the girl; she was still staring at him, wide eyed. She had a green hoodie with a creeper face on the hood; it dropped quite a bit past her waist, so it was possible she had very-mini shorts on, but it was equally possible she had no pants on at all.

_"So I don't really know where ta begin," Beard said, "but I'll make this brief; you're in Minecraft."

_"Huh..."

_"Please tell me you know what Minecraft is."

_"I do."

_"We'll you're in it."

_"Ok, what's the situation and how can I help?"

_"Yer not bothered by the fact?"

_"At this point, I wouldn't care if I was stuck in a seven-year old girl's daydream since I'm supposed to be dead..."

_"Woah, dude!"

_"That's… not the situation for everyone?"

_"Not at all, most of us were just teleported here when we went to sleep. Except Ryan, he came here during a late night of experiments at his workplace."

_"Hmm..."

_"So are you willing to help our settlement?"

_"Absolutely."

_"Why so willing? Most people hate being ordered to work as soon as they get here."

_"It's just been a while since I've had friends."

_"Well, ya can count me as one of them, here comes Ryan now."

_Ryan did his best to bring John up to speed. John was the 10th person to come out of the spawner, making him the 13th inhabitant of the town. The loose "chain of command" worked something like this; Steve and Beard were in charge, Steve was a fighter, Beard the blacksmith. Drew and Mike were Steve's apprentices, while a little girl named Liz was Beard's apprentice. Ryan was the geek; he studied the organisms in the area and told us which ones were safe to eat, as well as mapping out the area and making sure everyone was safe. Cupa drove monsters away at night, as well as helped with construction. Andr was still "asleep" or whatever that meant. Brooke was the cook. Ricky and Kenko managed construction; the first cabin had just been built. A final member, named X because no one knew his real name, never said anything. He was pretty much worthless, head always down, hood always up. As soon as the cabin was built, he just hid in the corner all day and all night.

_Designated to manual labor, John was lead to Ricky and Kenko. "Hey," He said, trying to act as chill as he could, when they both looked confused, he awkwardly added, "I'm the new guy."

_"Oh yeah, that's right, the 12 hour cycle repeated about a half-hour ago," The Asian man said, wiping his right hand on his shorts so he could shake it. "I'm Kenko, and this is Ricky."

_"Sup," Ricky greeted, putting out his hand, "You might want to cut those jeans above the knees. It'll help with mobility and the heat."

_"I'll do it later."

_"Suit yourself."

_"So am I the only black guy here or something?"

_"Uhhh…" Kenko thought about it, "Yeah"

_"But that was a random question" said Ricky "here's an axe; let's get as much done as we can before sunset."

- [ ] -

Woods

_"Both of you! Get down!" Steve ordered, pulling them behind a log

_"What is it?" Drew asked

_"A Bear?" Mike said

_"No, much much bigger, something I've only seen once before. Slowly lift your heads up."

_The three of them carefully looked over the log. The Great Wolf that Steve had been searching for was finally in front of him; a massive red-eyed beast probably the size of an elephant.

_"Holy Shit!" Drew whispered, "Are you kidding? That's way too dangerous!"

_"But we'll be able to feed the village for a month if we kill it." Steve persuaded them. They adjusted their helmets uneasily.

_"Maybe if Beard was here it would be different." Mike suggested.

_"Are you kidding? Beard would kill us for trying this! If we bring this thing back dead, we can finally prove to everyone else that we're a valuable part of the team."

_They thought about it before agreeing.

_"Alright, here's the plan: Mike; climb up that oak there, and when I clap once, yell as loud as you can to get the wolf going. Drew; you're attacking from behind, aiming for the legs, while I attack from the left, aiming for the heart. While we're fighting it, Mike will climb down and go for the neck. Understood?"

_"And if we die?" Drew asked

_"It's not like it's an enderman; we aren't going to die."

_"Are you kidding? There must be 2,000 kilos of raw muscle there!"

_"It's probably more like 3 or 4 tons."

_"Goodbye, Mike"

_"Oh, cut it out! Our village can't survive on plumapples alone, so let's kill this thing!"

- [ ] -

_They followed it around for most of the afternoon, waiting for the perfect time to execute their plan. When everyone was in place, the wolf suddenly decided to lie down. Realizing that it was taking a nap, the plan changed. Both Mike and Drew would stay out of harm's way while Steve carefully crept up on it.

_The underbrush was light, so he hardly made a sound. As Steve closed in he thought about how cool it would be for him to haul the head of this monster back; everyone would finally respect his position of leadership. Even if Beard scolds me, it would certainly impress Cupa, he reasoned. Finally standing next to the beast, he could feel the ground rumble with each breath it took. He put both hands on his bronze sword, holding it like a dagger above his head. Shouting with the force of a war cry, Steve drove the sword downward, piercing the beast's thick hide. It sunk in deep, all the way to the handle.

_Before he could pull it out, the wolf jumped up, howling in pain. Because he was still gripping the sword, Steve went soaring into the air when the beast jolted up. The wolf howled again and coughed up blood. Looking around, it quickly set its rage-filled eyes on Steve.

_"Aww SHIT! RUN!" Steve shouted to the boys as he took off. The adrenaline rushed through his veins and into his heart. That same fear that fueled him before was back, and was becoming more overwhelming as the wolf gained on him. Power turn to panic, and Steve tripped on a root. Steve turned over just in time to watch the wolf collapse in front of him. Its giant paw landed on Steve's chest, scratching him across it.

_Realizing how close he came to dying, Steve began to cry. Why am I crying? I've come just as close to death and not felt this way. What's different now? What's wrong with me? Sniveling, Steve threw the paw off and stood up. His hair stood on end when he saw the wolf's eyes were wide open, locking its gaze on him. It seemed to be staring into Steve's soul, seeing through all secrets. At that moment, something quite extraordinary happened, causing Steve to abruptly stop his crying: it spoke.

_"I am not your enemy!" Its deep voice was hoarse and it coughed up more blood before continuing, "But my creator is..."

_Its final words. And Steve had no clue what they meant.

_"Steeeeeve!" He heard someone calling to him.

_"Over here!" He shouted back, quickly wiping away what was left of his tears.

_"Holy hell! You did it! Drew shouted, running toward him.

_"You bet your ass!" Steve smiled, inspecting his wound, "And without injuring anyone!" He laughed, realizing that it was only superficial.

- [ ] -

Spawn

_"You killed a WHAT?"

_"An enormous wolf! If we have enough salt we can preserve it and we can have food or months to come!" Steve explained to Beard.

_I can't believe it. Steve did something stupid, AND no one died? "Ya know Steve, I'm impressed; I'll send the labor crew out right away to gather it up."

_This day just keeps getting better; I got a great worker, Steve didn't screw up, and no one is going to bed hungry! Wait 'till I tell Magister the good news! Beard grinned, heading over to Ryan's tent.

_"Hey Beard!" Ryan greeted, briefly turning to greet him.

_"What are ya doin' here?"
_"It's my tent isn't it?"

_"Yeah..."

_"Ok then, Magister and I were just about to modify Andr's brain to bring her up to speed instantaneously."

_"That might be helpful" Beard said, noticing Andr laying on a mat.

_"That's the reason why Magister hasn't been active for the past few days; he been saving energy for this operation."

_"Really? I haven't missed 'im."

_"I can still hear you, dumbass!" Magister shouted from inside a metal cylinder.

_"I built this apparatus to boost his "equivalent energy" exchange by 100%. I'm not quite sure how it works, since I was only instructed on how to build it. It seems in this universe matter and energy are easily interchangeable…" Ryan's voice drifted off as he gave up attempting to explain.

_"I'm ready, and starting," Magister stated, and floated over to Andr's forehead, disappearing inside. They waited awkwardly for about sixty seconds before Andr's body suddenly glowed 'Magister Blue' and she woke up. Magister popped out and fell onto the floor.

_Beard picked up Magister and put him in his holder on the table, but by the time he turned back, Ryan and Andr were already staring at each other. Deeply.

_"Hi I'm Ryan" he squatted down to her level, "Welcome to the world, I guess!" He gave a gentle smile.

_"Umm..." Andr bit her lip, "Hello Ryan, I'm Andr... at least that's the name I was assigned by teacher. Where is he?"

_"Magister needs to sleep after such an energy-draining operation. I wouldn't count on him waking up for a few days." Ryan put his arm under her to help her sit up.

_"And who are you?"

_"I'm Beard and I'm leavin' because I only came here to tell 'im somethin' pretty important. But that can wait because I have to go somewhere pretty important." He left before he made things awkward. Hmm. Both abnormally tall. Both abnormally timid. They'd make a cute couple. Now onto the next task; getting the labor crew to haul a three ton object back home.

- [ ] -

Spawn

_"Oh my gosh! That thing is gigantic!" Cupa shouted.

_"Well I'm glad someone's excited, it took us three all afternoon to drag it back here." john said as Ricky collapsed on the ground.

_"You could still get us some water though," Kenko fell down next to him.

_"It is sooo big!"

_"Well, that's what she said." John said, managing to get a chuckle out of Ricky.

_"Ricky says that too, as a joke, but I still don't get it." Cupa said, clearly frustrated.

_"Are you serious?"

_"I'm afraid she is John, Cupa doesn't really know too much about... you know" Kenko replied for her.

_"She's at least fifteen!"

_"I am fifteen! And I want to learn what sex is, but Teacher won't tell me!"

_"I can show you if you'd like." John offered, winking.

_"Hands off John, we have strict orders from Steve that no one is to lay a hand on Cupa." Kenko snapped. "Also, that was downright creepy, not flirtatious."

_"Yeah, and who's enforcing it?"

_"Beard."

_"Oh..." John thought for a second, sizing Beard up before asking, "Cupa, you said just a moment ago that 'Teacher' would tell you, who's Teacher?"

_"I haven't the slightest idea, she mentions him every once in awhile," Kenko again replied for her.

_"Stop cutting her off! Cupa, who is Teacher?"

_"You have to talk with Beard, he can introduce you." Cupa said quietly.

_"I'm starting to notice the hierarchy around here, and I've only been here half of a day. All of the power is with Steve and Beard!" John pointed out.

_"Have a problem with that?" Ricky came to their defense.

_"Maybe."

_"They work their asses off too, and plus, had it not been for them founding this settlement, we'd all be dead now. End of Topic. I'm going home." Ricky fired off.

_"Even among a few, leaders are necessary," Kenko agreed, leaving with him.

_John watched as the two left, "What's their problem?" He huffed when it was just Cupa and he.

_"It's dinner time, they're headed toward the table."

_"Ah."

_"Well, I'm hungry, and I can't wait to eat the wolf you caught!" Cupa said excitedly.

_"We only carried it here..."

_"Same difference, let's go."

- [ ] -

_"All right! Is everyone here?" Beard announced.

_"Doesn't matter, just start," Steve said.

_"Thanks to the efforts of the huntin' and labor teams, we have food for months! New members today include John and Jessica."

_"Just call me Jess..."

_"I have no clue which group Jessica should go with, so if you want her, take her!"

_"I'm hungry..."

_"So rather than hearing me talk for an hour, we'll dig in after two recognitions. One, the laborious task of draggin' this animal over a mile back here was completed by the labor team, especially John! Two, Ryan has found a salt deposit; keepin' food fresh longer, and makin' meals overall tastier!"

_"What about the fact that my team killed it?" Steve mentioned. He was cut off.

_"Dig in!"

_They sat down along a slab of wood that served as a table. There were no plates or silverware; the meat was flopped on the table and pieces were ripped off with your hands. Yet, the feeling of barbarism was refreshing, and the fact that they were all messy together gave them team spirit. Although he had only known them for a few hours, John felt more at home here than with his gang. The atmosphere was so different than the life he had known. Even the rivalry between him and Steve was nothing compared to the conflicts back at home.

_John sat across from Steve, and Cupa next to John. Steve swallowed his pride with his meal, but couldn't help but let out a sarcastic remark. "So, John, I know you helped with a 'laborious task' but Cupa, what'd you do today?" Steve bluntly said, spitting in his hand to wash out his cuts.

_"Hung out with Andr."

_"She's awake?"

_"Only been maybe three hours," She pointed to the end of the table where Ryan was laughing with a girl that might even be his height.

_"So, Steve, the first words out of your mouth include a sarcastic comment to me before shifting the attention to Cupa?" Little does Steve know I'm skilled in the art of comebacks.

_Cupa giggled at my retort.

_Oooo he took the bait. So you do want to fight? You little bastard... "I just don't like the fact that you took away my recognition."

_"You're the leader, don't you have enough recognition?"

_"You're a newbie, do you deserve any?"

_"I'm older than you."

_"I'm taller than you."

_"I'm stronger than you."

_"I'm faster than you."

_"I can burp my ABC's,"

_"What?" Cupa burst out laughing at Steve's dumbfound response.

_John explained, "I think we got off to a bad start, so I figured I would be best to stop the argument abruptly and start over."

_"Oh... ok?"

_"My name's John."

_"I'm Steve..." He said trying not to growl.

_"So Steve how long have you been working on this settlement?"

_"Beard, Cupa, and I have been-"

_"And Teacher!" Cupa cut off.

_"What?"

_"Let's tell him!"

_"Tell him what?"

_"About teacher!"

_"No"

_"Yes!"

_"N. PERIOD. O. PERIOD."

_"Why not?"

_"I don't trust him! No offense."

_"None taken," John said, listening to their argument.

_"Steve, listen! I didn't trust Beard for the longest time, and you kept telling me to. I believed in your decision to add him to the group, so I eventually became friends with Beard. Can you believe in my decision to add John?"

_John saw Steve hesitate as their eyes locked, "Fine, I could never turn down a valid argument from you. Let's get Beard over here."

- [ ] -

_Beard, Steve, and Cupa led John a good ways away from the village, making it clear to him that they wanted this meeting to remain a secret. Finally, Beard turned to John, taking a glowing stone out of his pocket. "John, what yer about to see is confidential"

_"Ok."

_"The only people that know about it are the people in front of ya, as well as Ryan and Andr."

_"What could possibly be so important that it has to remain a secret?"

_"Me." A voice said, coming in the direction of the rock in Beard's hand. A flurry of different shades and tints of blue particles flew around them, overwhelming their consciousness.

- [ ] -

_John, still dazed, was able to make out a voice, "Cool transition Teacher! I've never seen that one before!"

_"Thank you, you're too kind."

_"What just happened?" He asked, making it to his feet.

_"You have been transported to the Subconscious Plain!"

_"Who said that?" John asked, not recognizing the voice. He turned to its direction and was soon face to face with a giant blue owl.

_"I did. My name is Magister, and you are?"

_"J-John."

_"Nice to meet you, adding another member to our secret circle!"

_"I was going to ask you all that, why is this secret?"

_"John, I'll walk you through it." Magister said, "I am omniscient!"

_"No you're not!" Cupa cut in.

_"Hey! Zip it!"

_"But you're not!"

_"Bottom line is that I know a lot of crap."

_"Why is this a bad thing?" John asked.

_"It's not, it just has to be kept secret."

_"I'm not following."

_"Who are the leaders of this village?"

_"Steve and Beard."

_"Correct; they oversee everything and see to it that no one gets hurt. So, far they have been doing a good job with little to no guidance from me. However, because of my extensive knowledge and reasoning, I am better suited for their job."

_"So if people found out about you..."

_"No one would follow Steve."

_"You don't want to be the leader?"

_"Nope. I want to observe."

_"Why?"

_"Do I have to have a reason?"

_"I know you have one"

_"Well I'm sure not telling you! Anyways, there are other things you should know about me."

_"Like what?"

_Magister spent the next few minutes summarizing his abilities, as well as explaining the origins of Cupa and Andr. John listened, but did not seem as interested as anyone else who learned about the stone. After he was finished, Magister released them one by one into the world until only Steve remained.

_"Yes, Steve?"

_"Today with the wolf, I have a question I need for you to answer honestly."

_"Absolutely, fire away!"

_"As it was bleeding out, the wolf spoke to me. It told me that its creator was my enemy. What does this mean?"

_"I… I'm not sure. The wolf showed signs of sentience, you say?"

_"Yes."

_"I… I may need time to analyze this new information. Is there anything else about your encounter I should know about?"

_"Not that I can think of…"

_"Thank you Steve, I really will think about this. It is most peculiar."

_"It's just not sitting right with me, thanks for listening Magister." Steve smiled, "You can let me go now,"

_"Sure, see you in a few seconds," Magister said as he collapsed the Subconscious Plain. Dammit. He definitely knows I lied to him. I have to stop bragging about my knowledge or else it will become all the more suspicious each time I "don't know" an answer.

- [ ] -

_"Sunsets are beautiful; the sun, sky, and clouds come together in a colorful display. The sky on fire, the clouds glowing, and the sun bigger than it's been all day." Cupa said, taking it all in.

_"But it's not just a free show, in this world it comes at a price; survive the night." Steve interjected so that John would hear.

_John's mind was elsewhere though, Cupa doesn't seem Creeper-like at all. She seems so cheerful, high spirited, not suicidal. Well I guess it's a good thing we're on night watch duty together tonight, I can ask her about it then.

_After returning to the settlement and getting the proper gear, there was hardly any brightness left in the sky.

_"Ok, so Beard told me that I had to teach you the basics. Not that I mind or anything, just don't get us killed."

_"I'll try not to," John chuckled, "There was a rustle coming from over there."

_"First night in a while that has spiders," she said as she approached the shadow and slashed through it.

_"I wouldn't know, but all the work you have to do to maintain a settlement really builds up a sweat."

_"And a smell..."

_"Smell? What smell?" John asked.

_"You mean you didn't die the moment you stepped into our camp?"

_"No..."

_"See, here's the problem; our camp is centered around the spawnpoint; not a freshwater source. Because of this, drinking water has to be carried by hand from the lake, and no one takes a bath."

_"It doesn't smell that bad..."

_"With no toilet paper or fresh clothes, everyone is smelling like sweaty garbage!"

_"The compost pile is far enough away from the town that it shouldn't matter."

_"It's not the compost pile that smells, it's the town that smells; which is why I took matters into my own hands."

_"How so?"

_"I found these really sweet hot springs earlier today; and tomorrow, I'm going to sneak away from work and take a long needed bath."

_"Nobody knows about them?"

_"Not a one."

- [ ] -

Woods

_John followed Cupa to the hot springs. When she claimed she found them yesterday, he didn't believe her. That's why I followed her here; not because I wanted to see her naked. I'm not about that anymore, he told himself.

_About halfway up the mountain, Cupa stopped at a rock face. She pulled aside some vines and stepped inside a hidden cave. Peeking his head in, John discovered very unnatural hot springs with some rocks missing on the roof, forming a natural skylight.

_John watched as Cupa unzipped her hoodie and laid it out on a rock. He was amazed that she had only underwear underneath. She was facing away from him, which made him jump all the more when she said, "John, is that you?"

_John froze up, not knowing how to respond. BUSTED. Or maybe not, Cupa's information on sexuality is limited, maybe if I… "Hey Cupa! What's up?"

_"Why did you follow me?" She said, whirling around.

_"First, how did you know it was me?"

_"I saw you following me before we entered the forest."

_"Dammit!"

_"Why did you follow me?"

_"I doubted such a place as this existed, and if it did, I wanted to join you."

_"Come on in!"

_Primary Security Perimeters breached; Steve and Beard have no clue. Secondary Security Perimeters breached; Cupa invited me in. If only…

_They both stripped down to nothing and slipped in. It must've been at least 35 celsius outside; mush to hot a day to hot tub/spring. But the cave acted like a natural air conditioner and dehumidifier, so the water felt great. It was also a bit below shoulder level, allowing John to have a view of Cupa's beautiful breasts.

_"Ah!" Cupa sighed, sinking into the water "I haven't had a bath in almost two weeks! Everyone else should bathe too; the camp stinks unbearably."

_"You've told me this..."

_"Sorry; I want to get my point across. I should just relax while I can, you should too, since we both have the morning off."

_"Well, I will say that it is relaxing to take a bath; however, I'm here less because of the hot water and more because you're an attractive girl."

_"Sthap!" Cupa giggled, giving him a little splash.

_"Especially when you're naked," John grinned.

_Cupa blushed, covering her breasts, "You're weird," she said, splashing him harder.

_John leaned against the edge of the basin, looking up at the skylight, "So, I have some information you might want."

_"Yeah, such as?"

_"I can teach you what sex is." It was a bold move and he had no clue how she would respond.

_"Of course, if you don't want to know, that's fine with-"

_"That's not it, it's just that I've never done anything Teacher has told me not to do. But I think it's time I made my decisions on my own. Yes, John. Please tell me about sex."

_"It's easier if I showed you."

_"Ok."

_"Lesson 1; the difference between guys and girls."

_"Besides facial hair?"

_"Yup. Now you haven't been able to see it because we were facing away when we stripped and you can't see a whole lot through this steamy water, but my body is different than yours between the legs."

_"How so?"

_"Can I see your hand?" She gave John her hand and he brought it down his stomach to between his legs. Cupa screamed and jumped back when she felt what he was telling her about.

_"What the fuck is that?"

_"That's my penis thank you very much."

_"All guys have that?"

_"Yes! That is the difference between guys and girls, not just facial hair, not just attitude, not just boobs; but the presence of a dick."

_"Woah..."

_"Do you want to get a better feel?" She didn't say anything, but she slowly slid closer to him in the water and slowly returned her hand to where it was before.

_"That's sooo weird! Oh my God! What are these?" She was curiously feeling around.

_"Testicles, they're very sensitive." I'm getting hard...

_"So that's why you guys fall over when you get hit down there?"

_"Yes it's very painful when they get hit." Oh my God her small hand feels so good!

_"Is it moving? A-and getting bigger?"

_"Yes, it's called an erection, w-which brings us to Lesson 2! Sexual pleasure!"

_"So it feels good when I touch it?"

_"Yeah..." John couldn't help sighing.

_"Can I feel good too? Even though I don't have that?"

_"You want to find out?" John brought his hand to her pleasure center, and played with it the way his girlfriend used to like it. She was soon moaning, encouraging him further. "Are you okay with this?"

_"Y-yes," She breathed, "I don't know why teacher kept this a secret from me! This feels amazing!"

_That's because I haven't told you it's how you make kids, and you only do it with your significant other. "Want me to try something else?"

_"Sure!"

_"It might not be as pleasurable as me fingering you, but I'd like to grope your boobs."

_"Go right ahead! This is fun!"

_John had to have been in the guiltiest position at that moment, both hands on both breasts, when his nightmare came to life before his eyes. Beard stepped through the vine doorway, silently huffing. FUCK! I've only been here a day and a half and I already blew it! I'm dead! AGAIN! "Hey Beard! Nice day for a bath!"

_"JOHN! OUT OF THE WATER!"

_"Yes, sir..." He climbed out and rushed to put on his clothes.

_"Beard! Don't be so harsh on him! We were having fun!" Cupa protested, covering herself with her hoodie.

_"Shut up! You don't even know what you were doing!"

_"Yes I do! We were doing sex!"

_"Point proven. John, you better hope Magister's in a good mood today!"

_"No! Wait! Don't tell Magister! Umm how about Steve? I mean, Magister is basically her father; Steve's just another guy."

_"Correction, Steve would kill you. Magister might be her father, but at least he's reasonable and understands hormones."

_"I'm done for..."

_"You should know better, you're nineteen!"

_"I'm sorry..."

_"Are you? Or are you just sorry you got caught?"

_"Beard! That's enough!" Cupa interjected, throwing her hoodie at him in protest.

_"Cupa! That's enough out of you! And put some clothes on! We're hiking back to the village!"

_The hike back to the village was a long and silent one. It was the longest John had seen Cupa go without talking; the only sentence Cupa said to him was, "I'm sorry I got you in trouble. Am I still attractive to you?"

_John said nothing.