A/N- I love procrastinating :)
Since Thorn kept insisting I went looking for Fone Bone. She told me that they had had an argument so I went into the forest since he might be sulking somewhere in there. As I searched I also stayed near the cows since I could keep an eye on them in case any predators got any funny ideas.
I did eventually find Fone Bone and as usual, he was being chased by that pair of stupid rat creatures. Though I should be saving him, I decided to just watch as he ran circles through the trees, confusing the poor rats as they ran into trees and each other. "Of fucking course-" I curse seeing Fone Bone jump down a ravine, I race over just as the two idiot rats jump down with him.
Fone Bone yells at them as the tree they were clinging to snaps and they fall. By the time I get down the ravine I see the rats chasing him again as a group of baby possums run ahead of them. The possums leap into a tree as Fone and the rats race past them with me slowly catching up.
As I get within a few feet of the first rat I feel the ground start to tremble a little. I wonder why for a second before I realize 'the damn cow race!' Feeling much more incentivized than before I blow past the rats tripping them as I grab Fone Bone and take off. Turning the corner I swear again because right there asleep in the afternoon heat are hundreds of rat creatures.
"MOVE BICTCHES!!" I yell and catch a glimpse of the mystery cow before I pick up the pace not wanting to get caught up in the mess that's about to happen. As I take the bend to run up into the woods I get slammed into a cow BAM!! As it groans and I feel like burning the whole damn forest down, the race has caught up to us.
I try to shove my way through but the damn mystery cow slams into my back along with those stupid STUPI RAT CREATURES!! To make matters worse we get tangled up as cows and rats smash into each other. It's udder' chaos as cows and rats panic, I feel several hooves and claws hit me but I'm more focused on keeping Fone Bone alive as the cows prevail and start pushing the rats back.
I groan as the dust clears, stronger body or not I DID NOT enjoy getting run over by hundreds of cows and rats. I extract myself from the pile containing me, Fone bone, Smiley Bone, Phoney bone, and the two stupid rats. As they groan and try to get up I feel a shiver pass up my spine as I turn around. As the dust settles sitting there with a very unhappy look on her face, is Gran'ma Ben.
"GOOD LUCKS GUYS!!" I break into a dead sprint wanting to put as much space between me and the cow woman as fast as possible befor- "AAAH" I run even faster as Rose shouts a war cry before chasing after the others who have now slowly caught up to me, desperation pushing them beyond their limits.
Not paying any mind to them, Rose sprints past them all, shocking Carter as she overtakes them as they catch up with the cows and rats who are almost within eyesight of the finish line. Taking a swing at Carter for good measure Rose pushes through the mess of cow and rat before crossing the finish line. "HAH! I WON!" She declares before she looks around and sees that everyone ran away as the tide of cows and rats flows past her. "Hot diggity DOG! That was the best cow race ever!" She laughs before getting a murderous look about her "Now to get my hands on the BONE BOYS!"
LATER---------
As we walk through the darkening forest I can't help but feel that life is very unfair. Not only did I find Fone Bone after he went missing, I also saved him from the rats, saved the cows and people from the rats, and killed the ones that wouldn't run, but I also didn't try to take advantage of Phoney's scam. But noo I can't have my sword because I'm 'irresponsible' and I 'don't need it' What a bunch of bs, ya punch a tree down with your bare hand ONCE and suddenly you can fight without a weapon.
It's not all bad though, Rose could have told me to move back into the Barrel Haven but Thorn managed to talk her off that hill. Phoney got it worse though as I glanced back to see him still on the pole, covered in eggs. As they finally feel sorry for him I wince as the first thing he does is yell, not the best thing to do at night in a forest with monsters lurking about but hey, we got the crazy cow lady so we should be fine.
Phoney complains after hearing he'll be washing dishes for the foreseeable future but Lucius calms him down telling him that he and Smiley are lucky to be alive after the stunt they pulled with the race and the 'mystery cow' Rose finally gets them to shut up telling them the woods are dangerous at night "I wonder where all the rat creatures went after the race?" she wonders "They disappeared into the forest." Fone tells her "For all we know they might be watching us right now." Thorn says raising the dumbest fucking flag "Words have power, keep you mouth shut." I snap as I listen for sounds of movement in the woods around us, but it remains silent save for the faint hum of insects.
"They know better than to stay around with so many people looking for them." I tell Thorn after a moment "There may be stragglers though so don't let your guard down." I say as the tension passes and they start talking again. Smiley says he wishes Fone Bones dragon was here and Lucius and him start arguing about it before I notice something move "Stop." I tell them as I grab my sword and go over to where I saw the moment.
"I saw something move there." Smiley says, shaking a little as Lucius peers into a bush on the opposite side of the trail. I glare into the darkness wanting to light a fire with my quirk but that will just give away to whoever is out there. "We need to move." I say joining the group again as Rose rallies them and we pick up the pace, none the wiser as the Great Red dragon watches from the forest growth, with a hooded figure peering down at them from above.
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Reaching the farm, we rest for a bit as the sun rises and Lucius starts looking at the house to see what can be saved. I make breakfast as everyone slowly eats feeling exhausted from the excitement and terror from yesterday. Once Lucius and Rose finish their once-over on the house, they put me and Fone bone on watch duty as everyone else goes to sleep, since none slept well during the ride back.
Seeing the look Fone Bone gives Thorn as she sleeps makes me grumble, 'I know that I never acted like that.' I think rolling my eyes 'suree~' the voice taunts me as I think about my friends. I wonder how much time has passed since I left. I've been here for 18 ye- no 19 now since the Bones arrived almost a year ago. I hope that much time has passed back in the other world since that will make what I have to do much easier, but I also catch myself thinking about Cathleen, and Ryukyu, Nejire and Izuku, and even Katsumi. I wonder if the people I left behind are still the same, and how they'll react to me coming back.
Shaking my head to clear those weak thoughts aside, I get out my sword and start training a bit away but still in the farm clearing, but not before throwing a rock at Fone Bone for that awful love note he just wrote Thorn. Good times.