Chapter Text
It's the crack of dawn - the sun's barely begun to rise over the horizon - and Cooper's already up and ready to go. He's lucky that he already had most of the necessities on hand, because it'd look really suspicious for him to return home, pack up a bunch of stuff, and leave again. He'd never here the end of it.
He messes with his backpack while he sits waiting for Travis to wake up, rearranging the items inside messily. Double checking he has everything he needs.
He feels a tap on his shoulder from behind and he jumps a little. "Scare ya?" Travis asks, peering down at the taller man with a grin.
"Not at all," Cooper huffs. He zips up his backpack and swings it over his shoulder. "You got everything you need?"
Travis nods, his tail wagging rapidly with excitement. He always seems to be looking for adventure, so Cooper's not really surprised by how excited he is.
"We should stop through Spawn to pick up a couple extra things before we set off," Cooper says.
"Right!" Travis chimes, smiling warmly. "And I gotta check on Luemas before we head out, or she'll be real mad at me," he adds a fake pout to accentuate the last statement, earning a soft shove from Cooper.
"You could have done that yesterday..."
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Spawn City is eerily quiet this morning, which is unusual for the commerce hub. It might be a bit earlier than Cooper had initially thought.
Not that it matters much, anyways. They just need to grab a couple things and get out. Quick and easy. (Hopefully.)
Of course, Spawn City is never as quiet as you would hope, and Cooper is jolted away from his thoughts by the sound of cobblestone hitting the ground with a loud thud.
...It's Altrive and Krinios. Of course. Cooper doesn't even want to know what the fuck kind of project they're up to now. He covers his ears, groaning in irritation.
"So what exactly do we need?" Travis shakes Cooper's shoulder lightly as he asks, tilting his head.
Cooper is quiet for a moment as he tries to think of an answer. He has most of the important things - food, a tent, weaponry (just in case) - he can't seem to think of anything for a bit until it pops into his head.
"I totally forgot torches," he finally responds, laughing. "I have no idea how the hell I managed that."
"Luemas probably has some back at the firm!" Travis smiles as he exclaims. "She's always got stuff that I tend to forget on hand..."
"Oh, good, then," Cooper hums. "That's one less stop we have to make, I suppose."
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The two stop when they approach the construction firm. Cooper's surprised to see that Luemas is already there, setting up for the day.
"Lueeeeeeem! I need torches!"
"In the chest up front," Luemas replies, not looking up from her work. (Used to Trav's nonsense by now, clearly.)
"Thank you!" Travis chimes as he scurries into the small building, rummaging through the chest by the front door, which Luemas has conveniently propped open.
He finds them quickly and pockets them in his messenger bag, turning back to Cooper with a grin. "We good now?"
"Uh," Cooper says as he rummages through his bag, "should be, yeah, I think."
"Then off we go!"
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The two find themselves at the outer edges of Live fairly quickly. Cooper's nerves still bother him, but he pushes them aside for the moment.
"I've never actually been out of Live before," Cooper laughs anxiously.
"It'll be fine!" Travis responds cheerfully, nudging the taller hybrid's shoulder. "What's the worst that can happen?"
"We die in the middle of nowhere and can't respawn?" Cooper suggests. Travis shoots a glare at him.
"Nothing. We'll be fine."
Cooper sighs and looks at the screen on his comm. No new messages. He stuffs it in his pocket and shakes his head.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Let's go."
He feels disoriented for a fraction of a second when he steps over the server line. It quickly fades away, and he takes a deep breath.
Travis hops over the server's border naturally, as if he's done it a million times. Cooper almost envies the way it seems to be second nature to him.
His tail swishes as they walk forwards into uncharted territory, glancing around to study the surroundings of the forest they're making their way through.
With every step Cooper takes away from the SMPLive border, he feels just the tiniest bit more relieved.
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Thala paces in the library chamber as dusk starts to creep over the skyline and his son still has yet to come home. His mind is racing - furious and paranoid thoughts, a mix of the most venomous rage and nervous worries.
He reaches for his comm. No new messages. Checks it again, and again.
Thala's pacing stops for a moment and he clicks on Cooper's name in the contact list to shoot a message. He types quickly and presses send without so much as a second inspection before setting the device down on one of the bookshelves and resuming his pacing.
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A loud bell chime echoes from Cooper's comm as he and Travis make their way further and further out from the border. Cooper groans and fishes the device out of his pocket. He takes one look at the screen, sees Thala's name, and flips the device on silent before stuffing it back in his pocket.
"Who is it?" Travis peers over his shoulder curiously.
"None of your business, dumbass." Cooper shoves him away gently. "I know dogs are nosy, but come on, man."
Travis scoffs in indignation, but doesn't push further.
Cooper looks up, using one hand to shield his eyes as he scans the sky. The sun is starting to set now.
"We should set up for the night," he says. "Before it gets too dark."
Travis nods, and scurries off, looking around for a good spot to set up camp. Cooper laughs to himself and takes a step forward before smacking into something - no, someone - that seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"What are you two doing?"
The voice is unmistakably Joko's, and Cooper sighs. (It could be worse. There are way worse people who could have stumbled into them at this moment, he tells himself.)
"Nothing," he lies, backing up.
Joko raises an eyebrow at him. "Doesn't look like nothing," he says with a chuckle. "Kind of far from Live, no?"
"Why are you this far from Live, huh?" Cooper retorts. "The fuck are you questioning me for?"
"JokoPods delivery."
"...People actually buy that shit?" Cooper is so taken aback by this that it comes out louder than intended, his tone dripping with disbelief. His tail lashes behind him.
Joko breaks into laughter. "You guys want some help?" He asks.
"Not really," Cooper responds before Travis suddenly reappears, cutting him off.
"We would love some help!" Travis says, smiling.
Cooper shoots Travis a dirty look that says you know we're never getting rid of him now. If Travis catches it, he doesn't say so, as he continues smiling cheerfully at Joko, tail wagging.
"Great," Joko says. He follows Travis as the dog hybrid leads him through the forest to the spot he's settled on.
Cooper begrudgingly makes his way over. He does have the tent, after all, so it's not like they're getting very far on their own. (Though some part of him would like to see them struggle to set up shelter without it.)
He squats down, shrugging his backpack off and unzipping it, taking the tent out and tossing it at Joko, who just barely manages to catch it. "A warning would have been appreciated!"
(Cooper ignores him.)
Joko opens the tent package, dumping the contents on the ground unceremoniously. He spreads the tarp over an open area. "Both of you, grab one of these stakes and stick 'em in the ground," he says.
Cooper obliges without argument, picking up one of the sticks and walking over to one corner of the tarp. He pushes the stake into the ground and steps down on it with one foot, firmly pressing it into the earth.
"Done!" Travis calls from the opposite corner. Cooper turns around to see him standing over his stake proudly, his hands resting on his hips and his eyes closed.
"Good job, Trav," Cooper chuckles.
Joko quickly stakes the other two corners and begins to slide the poles into the tent. He raises the tent with little issue, while Cooper picks the rainfly up off the ground and sets it up over top.
Travis secures the tent with the last few stakes. "Ta-daaa!"
"I thought that was gonna be way harder than it ended up being," Cooper says as he takes a step back.
"You're welcome," Joko comments with a smug expression that quickly earns him a soft smack from Cooper's tail.
"It wasn't because of you, dumbass! We would have been fine on our own!"
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The tent's... A bit too small for three people, but it'll have to do for now.
"Stop putting your arm on me or I'll kick your ass," Cooper mutters as he pushes Joko away from him with a glare.
Travis, on the other hand, seems to have somehow managed to make himself take up as little space as possible. (It's kind of like how people say cats are liquid, except Travis isn't a cat, Cooper thinks.)
"You're just a little hater," Joko laughs, adding a fake pout for effect.
"Shut the fuck up," Cooper responds. "Go to sleep, stop bothering me."
Joko scoffs, but doesn't bug him further, rolling over to face the other side of the tent.
(This is going to be a long fucking journey.)