((Hey, quick author's note here! There is a singing segment later in the chapter that I wanted to use to basically test the waters and see if I wanted to make this story part musical (this fic was partially inspired by Centaurworld so I thought it would be fun). The song's rhythm is based on the tune Grian sings at around 0:51 in the video above, with some improvising I did along the way. I expect to be using a lot of other tunes from the Hermits as well, cause its always fun to put little references here and there. Enjoy the chapter!

-Author K))

Pearl was so unbearably out of breath by the time she reached the peak of the sandy mountain. It was an insanely long climb for her, and she had to stop to take a breather for a good few minutes before she went inside the equally sandy building.  The bare birch that once blended into every nook and cranny of the desert now only blended into the nearby sand that wasn't covered in char, even still having some splotches of black around it.  The few windows around the walls were barred off with metal, a strong contrast to the wood that was the base.  All the lanterns hanging off of the ledges had fallen a long time ago, the glass shattering and the iron bending in the fall.  It forced Pearl to watch her step as to not impale her bottom paws in the hazardous ground, her companion also avoiding the sharp, rusty bits. 

There was a hole blown into the back of the tower, which allowed them to walk inside without needing to go around and use the front door. However, that in it of itself created a whole other plethora of problems, like how it would keep anyone inside it safe if anything were able to just walk through. Not only that, but all of the light sources on the inside were put out, leaving the place as a haven for any creatures who wanted to tear a person apart.  Thankfully, Pearl was quick to spot out the staircase that led to the second floor, so just before the mobs came in the night, she began rummaging through the chests around the living space.

She found a half-used iron axe in one of the boxes among many other items, but she figured the weapon would be the most useful to her now. In another chest, she found a leather bag that she was immediately able to stuff with some extra iron, torches, dark oak logs for wood, and a single diamond from the same unit to take with her.  Once she was done looking, she slung the pack over her shoulder and ran upstairs, holding one of the torches she found in her hand to light up her pathway.  A huge cobweb blocked the entrance to the second floor, so Pearl, thinking nothing of it other than the building being old, slashed through it with her new axe and planned on just walking ahead with her time.  Unfortunately, that was not the same plan the spider hiding on the upper floor had as it lunged at her.

The tackle from the currently hostile mob sent Pearl tumbling down the stairs, immediately dropping her axe down too.  She struggled to keep the arachnid at bay, pushing it back and punching it with all her worth without her actions amounting to much change in her position.  Its legs got a good scratch at her shoulder at one point, tearing open a small but bleeding wound.  Finally, after quite a few seconds of thrashing, the wolf was able to lunge out at the mob, grabbing it by one of it's four hind legs and yanking it off its new owner.  The spider was slammed onto the ground with a thud, followed by a quick shriek as the canine tore into its body, effectively killing it and watching as its body turned to a white dust as all dead things tended to do.

Pearl sat up just in time to watch the white powder fade to black and blow away with the wind, some of it hitting the front wall on its way out and adding new black splotches to the castle's interior.

"...Thanks," she said, leaning over to pet the furry beast. "Remind me not to mess with this Joel guy when we find him,"

In contrast to the threatening aura of it having spider guts all over it's muzzle, the wolf wagged its tail and sat happily as it enjoyed its hard earned reward. She sat petting it for a while until the pain of her wound set in, making her stop to clutch it. The wolf walked closer, sniffed at the injury for a bit, then turned around to the site of the spider's demise, picking up the two pieces of string it dropped and bringing them back to Pearl.

"You're a smart one too aint cha?" asked Pearl, holding out her hand for her friend to drop the string in. It complied, watching as Pearl did her best to wrap up her arm. It took her so many tries to figure it out that she ended up wasting the first string, as it got covered in so much blood that it wouldn't have been effective even if she did get it right eventually. Thankfully she perfected it on the second one and left it as it was to heal. 

This time she went up the stairs with extra caution, her axe at the ready for any extra arachnids or any other dangerous thing really.  She held up a torch to search around the much smaller room better, as the only light inside was the dim moonlight shining through a broken window, but she only found a few rows of bookshelves, the books of which were either toppled over on the shelves and covered in dust, or strewn across the floor also covered in dust.  One of the books, however, caught Pearl's eye, with its bright red cover and noticeably clean surface compared to the rest of the literature.  She bent down to pick it up.

"'To My Hsuband,'" Pearl read the title aloud, letting some air out of her nose as she humored the misspelling.  She turned to the wolf and asked "Does this belong to anyone you know?"

The wolf sniffed at the leather cover before letting out a wine and laying down on the floor.

"I'm going to assume that means no..." said Pearl. She carefully opened up the cover, and something instantly fell out, the bright red object fluttering to the floor as if it were the same material as the pages inside.  She bent down to pick it up, taking a closer look to recognize it as a flower, a poppy to be more specific. She held onto the vibrant plant as she read the message in the notebook.

"'I'm sorry that this might be the last you'll ever hear from me. I'm currently staying in the bunker to hold down the fort and distract the Red King and his allies from killing the rest of us. That's the plan anyway. I need time to write so Scar can bring this to you as he evactuates.

"Nobody has ever taken me seriously before. Even if I'm going to die here, I'd choose to do this all again 100 times over, because you were the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I'm sorry about all the things I've caused, all the death and my controbutions to this bloody war. Keep an eye on the Pufferish of Peace, our alliance with the desert people is the only thing we have left here.

"Please take care of the flowers for me. I love you Scott.

"-Jimmy'"

"Oh... oh that's a lot," Pearl said, slowly putting the poppy back into the book as she closed it. "I don't think I should've read that,"

Her companion softly barked at her, as if it were trying to talk to her once again. 

"What's up lil' buddy?" asked Pearl, almost putting the book back on the floor before stopping herself.  She put it in her bag instead, thinking that if she happened to stumble upon the receiver, she could return it to him.  Her companion nudged her occupied hand, still holding the torch to see. 

"Oh, you're right, I was thinkin' about lightin' this place up," she remembered as she took out the bundle of torches she nabbed earlier from her bag.  "Better late than never I suppose,"

She went down the stairs to start at the bottom floor, since there was so much more space to get done with.  As she fashioned the light sources to the walls, she started humming a familiar tune to herself, unsure of where she got it from.  She figured this must've been something she did and heard before, but it was just like the earlier memories; she could remember the feeling of it, but what it was was unknown.  Until a set of lyrics popped into her head to match the music.

Walkin' along
And singin' a song
Putting up torches all night long

Yeah, this was definitely something she used to do before.  It felt natural to sing to herself during a small task like this.  She paused, letting the melody in her head continue before her singing.

Torches
Torches on the wall
Torches
Torches in the hall
Torches
Torches all around
They push all the mobs away and keep us safe and sound

Pearl heard the wolf howl from behind her, trying to match her voice, or at least the instrumental. She chuckled at the attempt.

"You wanna join in huh?" Pearl asked, not even waiting for a response. She picked up the canine and let it cling onto her back as she continued her work.

C'mon little buddy lemme show you how it's done
You count your way down from 11 to 1
You space them out nice and neat for efficiency
And to make sure the creepers don't blow up your knees

The wolf snatched one of the sticks from Pearl's hand as she grabbed it, running into a far corner of the room to place it down.

"You really are a smart one!" exclaimed Pearl. 

You could use other sources if you'll be here for a while
Sea pickles, lanterns, whatever fits your style
They keep us all safe and they keep us all intact
Cause people that live in the dark will always get attacked

"Coulda sworn there was another word in place of 'people' there..." Pearl thought out loud, eventually deciding to just shrug it off.  "But what do I know?"

Torches
Torches are the game
Torches
Torches in my name
Torches
Torches I'll allow
They push all the mobs away and keep us safe and sound

Finally, Pearl finished lighting up the lower and middle floors, moving on to the very top of the tower.  She took a breath to sing another verse, but suddenly stopped. 

"...dangit!" Pearl cursed herself.  "I know there's another part to this song but now I can't remember it!"

She huffed and rested her head on one of the taller portions of the castle's top, a little exhausted from the work she'd done earlier.  She looked down to observe the front of the fort, which she had not been able to see beforehand.  

"...There was a staircase in the front the whole time," Pearl observed, now knowing that their painful trek up the side of the desert mountain wasn't even worth it.  "And somehow that little patch of farmland soil is still intact too,"

Just as she mentioned the farm, she heard a soft patting coming from behind her.  Turning around, she saw her silver coated friend seemingly scratching at the ground, moving back and forth in perfect rows and throwing some of the surface sand into the air. 

"Wh- are you trying to till the roof?"  Pearl asked, walking over and kneeling down beside the wolf.  "Sorry to tell ya, but that's- that's all dust you're kickin' up.  This is nothing but sandstone Lil' Miss Tilly,"

She had mostly meant the nickname as a joke, but saying it aloud gave her an idea.

"That's... not half bad a name actually," she said.  "I find out how to get home, and we find your home in this place.  Tilly and Pearl, Pearl and Tilly!  How 'bout it, huh?" 

Before she could wait for a response, she heard an arrow whizz right above her head.  She took a quick peek over the edge of the tower to see a skeleton below, still taking shots at her.  She ducked below the short wall and turned back to her companion.

"Right, we should probably get inside," Pearl said, "...and block up the stairway too,"