Tommy let his eyes open slowly that way he doesn't hurt himself. He could hear birds chirping around him, and the terrain under his back proved that he was outside. Tommy sat up with a level of hesitance. He wasn't in the Dream SMP anymore. This was a whole new world with a different set of rules. All Tommy knew at the moment was that he was in a forest. Looking around, Tommy found that it was mostly undisturbed. Tommy considered that lucky. If no one was here, he didn't need to worry about infringing on people's property. Not like Tommy cared about that, he just didn't want to start a fight when he hadn't gotten decent gear yet. Tommy normally would have stolen armor and weapons, but since nobody was immediately around him, Tommy resigned himself to the fact that he would need to get the equipment himself.

Ugh. Tommy hated being self-sustaining. He held back a groan as he turned to the closest tree. He raised his fist to break off some of the wood, but someone held back his hand. Tommy jumped in surprise, looking around for who had caught him off-guard. Tommy's eyes widened when he saw that it wasn't a human who had stopped him. It was a Mob that he wasn't familiar with. It had the figure of a woman, but the skin was the color and texture of tree bark. The eyes were the consistency of tree sap, and the hair that the Mob had was literal vines with leaves. It was wearing leaves sown together around its body. The Mob was the one that stopped Tommy's fist. The Mob smiled politely at him while shaking its head. When Tommy lowered his fist, the Mob gave a grateful smile. Then... the tree Tommy was going to hit absorbed the Mob.

Tommy lifted his hands up, taking a step back. At first, Tommy was completely sure that the trees in this new world were carnivores that ate Mobs- possibly humans. After a second for rationality to sink in, Tommy remembered one of his older brother's stories about mystical creatures that had once wandered the Overworld before sentient creatures destroyed everything. They were dryads. They took a female appearance, and they were the physical manifestations of a specific plant. Tommy thought it made sense that the Mob he had met was a druid. It looked like a tree, and it protected the tree Tommy was going to use to make gear with. Tommy groaned at the thought. Was every tree going to be like that?

Tommy turned around to venture into a different part of the forest. Maybe it was this section of the woods that housed dryads. Tommy was sure that if he went eastward, he would find non-sentient plants that he could harvest for his survival. As he walked, a question formed in Tommy's mind. If dryads disappeared because of human and hybrid influence, did that mean people didn't exist in this world? Tommy swallowed down his discomfort at the thought. It wasn't that Tommy needed people. He was Big Man TommyInnit. He didn't get lonely. Tommy just wondered who he would steal from if no one was there. Who would he prank or scam with illegal schemes? That's why Tommy was worried, and he would tell anyone as such.

It was because he was distracted that Tommy didn't notice until it was too late. Pain blossomed in his shoulder. Tommy hissed as he grabbed into his sleeve. An arrow was sticking out of his shirt and muscles, blood slowly spreading across the white surface of his signature t-shirt. Tommy looked around to see the skeleton that had shot him staring with empty eye sockets. Tommy dove behind a tree as he searched his inventory for anything that could he used as a weapon. Tommy realized that he hadn't brought anything for his last Server. Not like he expected to, but having a weapon would have been nice in situations where his life was in danger. Tommy didn't know how many lives he was guaranteed yet, and he didn't want to risk it to find out if he had more than one.

Tommy peeked around the tree to see that the skeleton was shambling forwards, drawing back the string with an arrow nocked. Tommy pulled back. The arrow grazed the side of his face creating a shallow cut that let loose a few drops of blood. Tommy wiped it away as he scrambled into the underbrush around the tree for cover. Tommy looked back expectedly at the tree. It would be amazing if a dryad came out to deal with the skeleton. Tommy knew he was asking for too much. The dryad didn't appear, and the skeleton was getting closer. Tommy would need to deal with this himself. He tucked himself deep within the shadowy underbrush, knees bended while he prepared his fist. When the skeleton was close enough, Tommy launched up to slam his fist into the skull. The skull shot off the spine, landing on the ground with a roll. With the skull gone, the bones dissolved into a fine dust. Unlucky for Tommy, the worn-out bow and arrows also dispersed into a powder.

Tommy bit his lip as his hand held his bleeding shoulder. He had received enough wounds in his life to know that the wound itself wasn't going to kill him. What probably would kill him was the blood loss. Tommy was lucky that his bandanna had been teleported with him. He tied it as tight as he could to apply the necessary pressure. With that out of the way, Tommy would need to find the cleanest area he could to remove the arrow and stitch himself up. As he walked, Tommy was reminded of his brother. Actually, he was able to find memories from both his brothers. Techno had taught Tommy how to deal with wounds when they were both younger, and Wilbur taught him again during the war. Nobody had cared about him enough since then to make sure Tommy knew the proper way to handle a wound.

Night was upon him fast. He could hear Mobs lurking between the trees around him, but he had yet to have another confrontation. Tommy supposed the universe was letting him have a bit of luck since he was wounded and defenseless. Maybe their were gods in this world who weren't absolute shit like the gods from Tommy's word! Well, Prime and Foolish were alright, but they did the bare minimum of helping the people like Tommy, so he felt safer calling them shit.

The world started to spin. Tommy blinked a few times in his delirium. This was probably blood loss. He hoped it would pass, but Tommy felt the nausea swimming in his body like fish in a river. Tommy hit his knees. He leaned against a tree, fighting to remain conscious even when he felt it slipping away. When his vision was starting to be obscured by black spots, Tommy heard a barking noise. He looked around to see a petite lady and a wolf running towards him.

——

Shrub laid on her bed in her new home, a book firmly latched into her hands. On the floor beside her bed, her wolf companion, Lord of the Stars, was half-asleep. Her bird was dozing off in its nest in the tree that grew in Shrub's base. She had planted the seeds for the tree, and used her magic to make it grow inside a cave she had carved out. Once the tree was done, Shrub built a three story tower-like home that she was temporarily staying in until she could make a more permanent residence.

The book in her hands was something that Shrub had read before. It was one of her keepsakes that she carried with her from her homeland. Shrub didn't get to take much with her, but this book had been something she read with her little brother when they were younger. Now, all the book held was a classic fairytale with a happy ending and bittersweet memories of a bygone age. Shrub felt tears slip down her face as she closed the book. She ran her hand against the cover, imagining that she was back home, where her brother and people were waiting. Shrub knew it was pointless. They were gone. They were all gone. Shrub had been the only survivor.

Shrub would have devolved into crying herself to sleep when Lord of the Stars began barking, standing next to one of Shrub's balconies. Shrub looked over at him curiously. Not only was he visible upset, Shrub could sense his nerves at something he saw in the darkness. Shrub stood up from where she was resting. She took her cloak and a lantern as she descended to the first floor. Lord of the Stars followed, growing more and more stressed. Shrub frowned in growing concern as she opened the door. As soon as it was wide enough, Lord of the Stars bolted out the door, nearly knocking Shrub over. The gnome would have laughed if the situation didn't seem so urgent.

Shrub was fairly short with a slow running speed. She was able to keep Lord of the Stars in sight. That wasn't her doing, though. Lord of the Stars had been going slower for her, and he didn't look all that happy about doing it. Shrub would have been offended, but she saw what Lord of the Stars had been so worked up about. As a wolf spirit, he was connected to nature, especially the forests around Shrub's new home. The dryads of the forest had been frantically calling for his help because their was someone bleeding out on their roots.

It was a blonde haired male teenager of the human species. Shrub could see brilliant, near glowing, eyes on the boy's face before he went unconscious. Shrub knew why when she smelled the blood. It was a potent scent that meant it was fresh. Shrub scanned the boy for injuries, her eyes landing on the arrow secured in his shoulder with a bandanna acting as a bandage. Shrub rushed forwards to assist the boy. Shrub had arrived in the new land a few days prior, and she had yet to meet someone other than nature spirits. It went without saying that Shrub had not seen anyone die in that time, either. She wanted to keep it that way.

Lord of the Stars provided some of his strength as Shrub tried lifting the boy up. She wouldn't have been able to do it had the wolf spirit not given aide. Shrub threw the animal some rotting flesh from a zombie she had previously encountered, and the dog happily ate his food while Shrub brought the boy into her home. She plopped him onto the island, preparing for surgery.

Shrub wasn't an official surgeon. She didn't know any healers that were alive. All Shrub had was her knowledge, her magic, and the wisdom of her Enchanting books. Shrub looked through them to find one about healing. It described natural, spiritual, and medical ways to heal including meditation techniques, helpful plants, and recipes for healing potions. Shrub set her sights on the last two. She used what little power she had left to grow the required plants in her little pots. Even though the tree had taken a lot of her energy, Shrub was able to make two beneficial plants. The potion was a lot easier to make since brewing stands used blaze powder as the magic source. Shrub took one of the plants she grew and a nether wart to make a potion of healing. At least, she hoped the recipe wasn't lying. The other plant Shrub crushed into a thick paste. When she was done, Shrub collected everything and some bandages with wipes, and walked back to the boy.

Shrub dropped a rag into her cauldron, and put the cold item on the boy's forward when she saw the sweat pouring down his face. Shrub poured one of the potions down the boys throat. Once that was gone, she pulled the arrow out as gently as she could. Her heart stung when she heard the boy whimper, but she couldn't do anything about that. Shrub used the wipes to clean up the wound. She threw the wipes away, and covered the wound with the paste she had made. Once it hardened, it became a makeshift bandage that kept the blood in along with provided nutrients. Shrub still placed the bandages around the wound. She gave the boy the last healing potion. She would have brought him to her bed or the second floor couch, but Shrub didn't have that kind of strength. Instead, Shrub brought down blankets and pillows to make the island as comfy as possible. Shrub covered her body with a blanket while settling onto a pallet she made on the floor. Lord of the Stars had crawled beside her, providing warmth as Shrub fell asleep.