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Don't Starve Anymore

Chapter 3

"She seems like such a nice lady." said Willow as she and Wilson left camp. "A bit strict, perhaps, but overall not too bad."
"I agree." said Wilson. "And for a woman her age, she did quite well surviving on her own with no help."
"Not all old ladies are helpless."
"True."

"So," Wilson looked up into the distance, scratching his head. "Where are we headed?"

She stretched her arms above her head as she walked, managing an awkward shrug as she crossed them behind her head. "Wherever you take us. Where haven't we been?"

The man pulled on the straps of his pack, shifting its weight on his shoulders. Its contents shuffled and mixed, clearly audible. "Pretty much everywhere. We've found about four areas, at the most."

Willow huffed, nodding slowly. He was right, there wasn't much time to explore further than the environments bordering their camp grounds. They had been too busy settling down and setting rabbit traps where they saw fit.

"Let's make the most of it, then." She placed her hands protectively over her lighter. "Who knows... Maybe we'll find a huge forest we don't need."

Wilson rolled his eyes.

Then, up ahead, they heard the familiar barking of hounds.

"That's strange," said Wilson. "It's not even nighttime, they usually never attack this early..."

"Speculate later, hide now," hissed Willow, dragging him into the bushes.

They watched silently as a small pack of hounds passed by. It was the largest group they had see yet; about seven adults could be seen wandering through the grass.

"Look," whispered Willow, pointing.

One hound, a slightly lighter color than the rest, turned and gave a small bark. A few smaller barks came in response, and from behind it, several hounds, smaller than all the others, waddled up to it.

"They're puppies," said Wilson. "And that's the mother."

"They breed? How long has this pack been here?" Willow shot him a look of panic as she glanced at the hounds.

He shook his head. "A while, apparently." He turned his head back around to peer through the foliage, and blinked in surprise. "Hey, look at that," he muttered, nudging her. She flinched under his touch, but brushed it off. Looking in the same direction, her eyes squinted and her lips parted in surprise.

The hounds stopped to rest, dangerously close and in perfect earshot. The puppies clambered onto their mother, yapping and squeaking. Tail wagging, she accepted her fate and laid her head down to the ground as they climbed over her. Willow never thought of them as actual dogs, they seemed much sweeter like this.

Wilson whispered, "How can such reckless monsters find the time to raise a family like this?" to which Willow simply shrugged, looking up at him and sharing his disbelief.

"They look fine," she muttered.

Gazing into the clearing again, she watched as one of the darker-coated hounds bounced over to the female, nuzzling her and greeting the pups with loving licks.

Willow frowned. "And happier than we are, that's for sure." Wilson stared at her, snorting.

"What?" He shifted, uncomfortable from squatting.

They heard a cry of alarm, the hounds must have detected them. Both jumped up from the shrubbery, equipping their weapons. She shot Wilson a glare that screamed "really?", as she flicked her lighter on and held it out before her threateningly. He gave a sheepish grin as they slowly backed away from the approaching hounds.
Most of the hounds prowled towards them, snarling and barking, while the other two rushed their young off in the other direction to safety. Wilson waved his crude spear out in front of himself, nervously glancing at Willow expectantly.

"As much as I like seeing things burn," she croaked, "I think we should run."

She was right, they were vastly outnumbered and ill-prepared. He nodded frantically, and they both spun around and took off.

Immediately the beasts were on their heels, snapping and baying. Wilson unleashed a (not so manly) shriek as he felt hot breath on his ankles. Despite his bursts of adrenaline, his speed began to deteriorate as he blindly swiped behind him with his weapon. Willow saw this over her shoulder, and slowed to his side. With ease, she plucked him right off of the ground and slung him over her shoulder as he screamed. Willow resumed her flight, shouting at him to shut his mouth.

"Put me down! Put me down!" He dropped his spear, hanging upside down. It tumbled to the ground, taking out most of the pursuers. The hounds tripped over each other, yowling in defeat and frustration.

"I think we lost them," huffed Willow after a few more minutes' worth of running, looking over her shoulder.

Wilson simply shook in response.

"Oh for..." Willow stopped and threw him to the ground. "Calm down, Wilson." As if she just remembered something, she looked back in the direction they had just come from. "Did you see how... happy they were? I had no idea they... and we don't have that kind of happiness. We just..."

Wilson wasn't listening, and instead had decided to continuously tremble.

Willow slapped him across the face. "Calm down!"

Wilson blinked as if waking from a trance, then sighed. "Apologies. I wasn't being much of a gentleman back there... But yes, I agree."

She caressed her head, exhaling deeply. Wilson rose to his feet, eyeing her cautiously. "Are you feeling well?" he muttered, dusting his pants off.

"Obviously not," she spat, crossing her arms.

Wilson froze, looking around. He seemed lost. "Did... Do you want me to do something about it?" He was met with silence.

After an awkward moment, she whirled around, fuming. "Why can't WE be happy like THEY are?!" she yelled out, causing Wilson to shrink into his shoulders. "How do a bunch of DUMB ANIMALS manage to end up like that?! They looked so... so happy!" She pulled on her pigtails, towering over Wilson.

"I... Y-You're not usually this emotional, M-Miss Willow," he stammered, holding his hands up protectively.

She grasped them, squeezing. She pulled him forwards, knocking their foreheads together. "I'm going to be stuck here forever!" she exclaimed. "Fire's my passion, but that doesn't change the fact that I'll be all alone after I burn everything down!" Wilson held his breath. She pushed him away, turning around and throwing her arms up in the air.

"That's not-"

"There won't be anything left to burn!" she wailed.

Wilson looked down at his hands, wincing. "Well," he shook his white knuckles, gazing up at the pyromaniac. "You have me, right?" He smiled weakly, and she slumped to her knees.

Willow sighed. "...You're not fire."

"You can't start a family with fire," he corrected, then bit his lip.

She slowly peered over her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

Wilson stiffened, flushing as his hair comically split in places like a broken guitar's strings. "I-Miss-I didn't mean-,"

She rose, her disgust fading into longing. Wilson shrunk further into his shoulders, his mouth almost hidden by the collar of his shirt. "What are you saying?" she muttered.

He continued to choke on his words as she approached him.

Wilson swallowed, blinking. "Just saying."

She stood before him now, pouting. Willow lunged. He braced himself, but was only met with a tight embrace. He wheezed as she crushed him in a hug.

"You're right," she murmered in his ear. "What was I thinking? How could I throw a fit like that when I have someone so..." She moved her head back so that their noses were touching. "...good at renewing flammable resources?"

Wilson stared into her eyes with fear.

She moved back slightly further. "Wilson? Are you oka-"

She was interrupted by the sudden clash of their lips as Wilson pulled her into a sloppy and inexperienced kiss. She shoved him and he stumbled back.

"That's what you wanted, right? It felt right! I'm sorry!" he whimpered.

"Wilson, why?!" She was shocked, to say the least.

"You said that you were lonely and- and you got in my face! Twice!" He buried his face into his hands, moaning in defeat.

Willow licked her lips and wiped her mouth on her wrist, blushing furiously.

He spoke again, his voice muffled. "I felt like I owed you."

"Owed me for what?" she asked.

"For taking me in... letting me share rescources... just..." he sighed. "I'm sorry, Willow..."

Willow blinked for a moment in surprise, before pulling him into a second kiss. His eyes widened in surprise, and were still wide when she broke the embrace.

"You owe me nothing." she said. "We're even now."

He cleared his throat, unblinking and taken aback. Willow tapped her lighter nervously, which had been hanging off of her bag. She had never thought of him like that, and certainly didn't expect him to take any interest in her at all.

"So," she uttered coldly. "You only did that because it felt right...? Like you owed me?"

Wilson flailed his arms. "No, no! I really like you Willow!" She stared at him expectantly. He gulped. "Otherwise it wouldn't have been a... a k-kiss."

She snorted as he seemed to struggle with the word, it was drawn out and hesitant. Classic Wilson. "It wasn't very polite," she huffed out of spite, watching his face burn with shame. She smirked.

Wilson cleared his throat. "We, ah, should get back before we are missed..."

She nodded, going slightly red herself. "Y-yes, let's get home..."

They began their trek back to camp side-by-side, Willow jokingly slipping her hand onto his and laughing when he flinched or recoiled, apologizing profusely.

"No explosions, eh?" Woodie elbowed Wilson playfully as he walked past him to grab more firewood.

Willow groaned, leaning over the fire for comfort. "It's kind of embarrassing, now that I think about it," she mumbled under her breath. I wonder where those hounds are, now.

Wilson huffed. "Embarrassing?"

Wigfrid was biting her lip in an attempt to hold in laughter. "That's it?" she squeaked, unleashing a cackle. "I was almost positive it was going to be tallbirds again!" She bit a concerning size out of a drum stick.

"Science man is of awkward with women!" Wolfgang bellowed, face-palming. "Not big surprise."

Wilson brushed off the strongman's jeering, rolling his eyes. "Hey, it worked."

"But enough about us." said Willow. "Anybody else have a story to tell?"

A bit of silence rippled among them, then Wigfrid cleared her throat. "Well," she began, "I remember back when when we first encountered the pigs..."

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