Tommy was 12. The war had hit a low point. Morale was at an all time low while the mortality rate was higher than anyone felt comfortable with. Tommy was at the river with a basket of muddy and bloody uniforms, all his own, washing away the stains with his hands and a basin board. His hands were a raw pink from the labor and freezing cold water, but Tommy didn't allow himself to stop. Sitting in the tall reeds by the river, he was wearing a tank top and undershorts. Tommy shivered in the fall wind, debating whether or not the clothes he hung up on a tree earlier were dry or still damp. How damp did they have to be for Tommy to get a fever later?

There was a ruffling behind Tommy. He instinctively reached for his sword, not drawing it until he saw the man. He looked normal enough. He had brown hair and eyes with light skin, and wore a multi-colored hoodie with a green swirl, black pants, and purple shoes. It was a colorful out, but the colors were more suppressed and slightly faded. Tommy didn't know the man- he wasn't an important figure on either side. Tommy wondered if he was a spy for Dream.

"Oh my, you must be freezing," The man said, pulling off his hoodie to reveal a plain white shirt. The man offered Tommy the hoodie, but Tommy could do nothing but stare. He tried to think of ways this could be bad. Maybe the hoodie was wired or coated in poison?

"I'm Karl Jacobs. I come from a village pretty far away from here called El Rapids. I came to find a good friend of mine, but I don't know where he is," The man explained with a kind smile, settling beside Tommy. He kept the hoodie in between them, telling Tommy that whenever he wanted the hoodie, it was his.

"I'm Tommyinnit, lieutenant of the L'Manberg army underneath General Wilbur Soot," Tommy responded, pulling his shirt from the water when his hand began to sting. He released the grip on his sword to tuck the shirt on a branch, the wind blowing the fabric around. Tommy sat back down. He pulled out another shirt that had a nasty tear in the front. Mostly likely a stab or arrow wound, Tommy thought, hand lightly touching his chest to feel the bandages underneath his shirt.

"Tommy?" Karl seemed surprised before looking at the shirt and everything around him. "Lieutenant? Aren't you 13? How are you the lieutenant?"

"I've been lieutenant since I was 9. That's when the war begun. Before that, it was just me and my older brother making drugs in a van. Now, I'm 12, sir," Tommy explained with a grim smile. He moved on to cleaning a muddy pair of pants. Tommy remembered crawling through the underground with Eret and Fundy to mine for supplies. Tommy had gotten stuck in a low hanging shaft, and had to army crawl his way out to get back to the base on time. Tommy hated that. It was dark, wet, and the space was small. It was almost all of Tommy's fears in one place.

"12... 9..." Karl muttered the numbers, sinking further into the ground as the thought came over his mind. Tommy nodded, hand catching on a rock under the water. The jagged edge cut into his skin, creating a thin line from the tip of his finger to his palm. Tommy brought the finger out of the water as blood began dripping out. Thankfully, his hand was pretty much numb from all his washing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tommy replied quietly. He stared at his hand, waiting patiently for his body to close up the wound so he could finish washing. Karl took Tommy's hand, holding it in both of his own. Karl brought his hand over the would, a purple swirl spiraling from his palm to the cut. In a second, the wound was gone. Tommy checked his hand thoroughly, but no trace of the cut remained. "What was that?"

Karl didn't answer. Tommy stared at him. The blonde reasoned that Karl had a potion on his hand and that's what cured him.

"Why don't we do something?" Karl said softly, looking around the forest with sharp eyes. "Something fun. Maybe something inside near a fireplace."

Tommy shivered, realizing how cold he was when he heard about a fireplace. Tommy glanced at the hoodie. Karl had healed him when he didn't have to, meaning he probably wasn't an enemy. Tommy pulled the hoodie over his head, wrapping his arms tightly around his trembling form. Tommy took a deep breath before turning to Karl. "I have to finish my laundry. I have other chores after this."

"I'll help! What do you have to do?" Karl offered with a smile. Tommy raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the stranger that was suddenly offering his help.

"I have to cut firewood for tonight. After that, I promised Niki I would look for berries. Wilbur told me to reinforce my dirt home," Tommy checked through all his chores for that day. "I was planning on mining for stone, maybe find some iron or something. I hope I can get far enough down to find diamond so I can impress Wilbur."

"I'll cut down the trees for firewood, and keep my eyes peeled for berries. Once we're both done, we can go mining together," Karl planned, getting back onto his feet. Karl summoned his axe, turning to the nearby trees. Tommy watched for a second before turning back to the task at hand. Tommy flexed his fingers, as he pulled the pants under the water.

Once the washing was done, Tommy scrapped mud off his boots with his hands. He looked up at the nearby tree where his clothes fluttered in the wind on branches. Shirts, pants, and socks were lined up on the different branches in groups. At the base of tree, Tommy's armor was glistening in the sunlight, and his boots were lined up in two neat rows. Tommy put the washboard back into his inventory, turning around to see Karl placing berries in a basket.

"I'm done," Tommy called, walking over. Karl looked behind him at Tommy, passing along the basket and stacks of wood. Tommy put both in his inventory before drawing out his pickaxe. Tommy looked up to see Karl with a netherite one, refracting purple light next to Tommy's simple iron.

"Down we go," Karl said before hitting against the ground to fall under. Tommy jumped down next to him. The two broke apart the dirt around them, before Tommy fell into a cavern. Tommy landed face first onto the ground, rolling into the room. Tommy sighed, wiping dirt off his bare legs, regretting mining after doing laundry instead of before.

Karl jumped down next to Tommy, helping the smaller boy to his feet. Karl looked around the cavern, pointing at different things without saying a word. Tommy watched with mild interest, eyes trailing after each point. There wasn't anything in particular that Tommy could see, but at each point Karl identified, iron was hidden a few blocks back. Tommy grinned as he collected the iron.

"How did you know?" Tommy asked with interest bursting in his bright blue eyes. Karl stared at them for a few seconds. In his head, he realized that the Tommy he knew didn't have eyes this clear or bright. The present had eyes that were practically gray. Karl wanted Tommy to continue having the color he had now. They were like rare gems glittering at the bottom of a clear pond.

"I have sense for these kind of things. Here, I'll teach you how as we look for stone," Karl said, helping Tommy collect plenty of stone. Karl told Tommy to concentrate on the cavern around them, looking with more than his eyes. Tommy tried several times, but he didn't get it. Karl sighed, watching Tommy get frustrated. How could he describe how he did it? Sensing different types of materials was an ability Karl had because he was a supernatural entity. Karl didn't think Tommy would be able to do it, but seeing Tommy so invested made Karl want him to succeed.

"Tommy," Karl said, getting the blondes attention. "Use your heart, okay? Try understanding something with your soul. Everything around you is bustling with life. Find the heartbeat you want in the noise. It may be hard, but you shouldn't give up."

Tommy nodded. He closed his eyes, hand hovering above his heart. His face shriveled together with concentration, and Karl fought the urge to laugh at how ridiculous it looked. Tommy's eyes fluttered open, and he pointed to his left. Karl stood up, using his pickaxe to mine where Tommy was pointing. After 3 blocks, he saw the iron glinting in the touch light. Tommy jumped up with happiness, and Karl gave the iron to Tommy with a huge smile.

"Keep this iron, Tommy. This is the first time you've listened with your heart. Not many humans can do that. It takes a special person to," Karl told Tommy. The blonde nodded, clutching the iron close to his heart. Karl pulled the 12 year old into a hug, wishing that whatever happened in the next 4 years wouldn't make Tommy forget who he was in this moment.

Tommy knew he was hugging someone, but now he was alone in the cavern, holding the iron piece. Tommy looked around for Karl, but the man was gone, leaving behind his hoodie. Tommy pulled it closer to himself, wondering if he had imagined Karl or if he was haunted by a ghost. Tommy looked around, the fire flickering out. The dark swallowed the closed off space, Tommy's eyes widening in fear.

"Karl!" Tommy yelled as he dropped to his knees. Tommy didn't know why he called out for the stranger who disappeared like smoke, but in that moment, he thought that Karl would come back to hug him again. No one came.

Hours later, Fundy dropped into the hole with a torch. The fox frowned at Tommy's rocking form. He carried Tommy back to the surface, the weight not bothering him at all. Once they broke the surface, Niki took Tommy into her arms, telling him how worried she was. Tommy gave Niki the berries, getting a laugh from Fundy and more worried responses from Niki.

Tommy didn't tell them about Karl. They didn't ask about the hoodie or the iron. Tommy thought he would remember it forever, but whenever he looked at the iron nugget titled 'Listen to Your Heart', he had no clue where it came from.

Would you guys be okay with Tommy getting powers?