#reflingthewords

Unmoving.

Tango chokes down a distressed sound and makes one step closer, looking the shell over. He can clearly see the red-and-black patterning on the shell, the leather accessory that imitates his vest pockets. It's gotta be the same one, from the Life server, or a very good replica.

Is this some sort of a prank? Why now? ...Why him? Tango notices the first wisps of anger settling inside him, his breathing starting to taste like smoke. You don't prank people with something that chased them to death so many times, that's evil and traumatic and -

The shell moves.

Tango screams and attempts to flee, tripping over his tail and falling face first in barely ten steps.

He pushes himself on his back, gasping every tick, and watches as the snail emerges, plopping out a first long, redstone-torch eyestalk, then another. Mind going blank from fear, Tango tries to crawl backwards, make some distance or -

He expects the directed movement, the jump, but the snail doesn't seem to pay attention to him. It stretches out its body, waves its eyes around a bit, and starts making its way towards the Factory wall. Oh - oh, maybe it's gonna eat the walls, Tango's brain supplies. That's kinda - normal? Considering that's what snails do. And what Tango did in that Life game, too.

He lets out a shaky laugh, and tries to reach for the comm. It's unlikely that anyone else is awake and free, it's kinda night o'clock outside, but - what if. His hands are shaking so much he almost drops the comm; Tango steadies them, and types in chat, watching the foul beast crawl all over his wall.

[Tango:] Question to all Lifers: does anyone hve a snail around?

The creature seems to decide vertical surfaces are overrated, and crawls back down, settling on a patch of grass and munching on it. The comm beeps, and Tango jolts with a squeak again, dropping it this time.

[GoodTimeWithScar:] what do you mean a snail

[GoodTimeWithScar:] OH MY GOD A SNAIL

Not to say that someone else's misery makes Tango feel better, but - It does. It honestly does.

Then, the snail makes an eye contact with him.

Tango tries to get moving, scramble away, as it starts moving towards him. Eerily silent, too - no weird vocalizations it had back then, no heralding its approach. Another push of his limbs fails, he freezes, as if paralyzed, terror pounding in his skull, and the murder snail closes the distance.

Nothing bad can happen to him, right, Tango tries to frantically reassure himself. It's Hermitcraft. He just respawns, and everything will be fine. Right?

The snail approaches his outstretched leg - Tango tries to pull it closer to himself, but fails - raises its head, waving it around unsure for a couple seconds, and nuzzles his boot.

Tango stills his breath, waiting for a flash and a yank of respawn.

Nothing happens.

The snail pulls its face over his boot, nipping at the shoelaces and wiggling its eyestalks. Tango forces himself to start moving - after several long unsuccessful attempts, he manages to bend enough to sit up, raise his stiff paralyzed arm, and touch the snail's face.

It contracts on itself, eyestalks retracting into the face, but nothing else happens.

No murder.

Relief washes over him so fast that Tango simply flops on the ground, an approximation of unstuffed plush toy. His heart still pounding in his head, mouth feeling like ashes - he takes a breath, and another, and lets out a long, tired groan, closing his eyes.

He still feels the snail crawling further up his leg, very interested in that part of his pants where he knows the biggest redstone stain sits, - and he can't hold a gaspy, shrieky laughter.

Cute snail. Cute little hungering beast.

"Don't give me that!" Tango plays up the indignation, setting his hands to his sides. He hopes his face reflects the emotion he's trying to show, and not the - the whatever it usually reflects. "You totally tried to put me in that burner. Didn't you think I'd notice?"

The first one they'd got out, back during their Nether trip. Zed was tasked with carrying it, held it out in his hands - and played it off like dropping it, just as Tango was listing the containment properties. Wouldn't be a biggie if he did drop one, it's not like any of them got proper reflexes or dignity about it. Except for the fact that Tango could clearly hear the catching mechanism trying to work its job.

"Nope. Still no idea what you're talking about," Zedaph insists, laughter in his eyes.

Tango puffs up a little, getting himself more alight on purpose. "Hey, don't try to talk your way out of this! I saw it. You - you were trying to blazificate me! With the burner thing! Like a blaze!"

(Very eloquent, Tango. Good job.)

Zed does turn his body around, leaning on the stash of burners - for extra leisure effect, probably. The blazes inside grumble something that Tango can't decipher, but don't make their opinion more known. "Okay, so maybe I did," he says.

"Maybe? You totally just did that!"

"Okay, so maybe I totally did that," Zedaph laughs. It's a soft and blunt sound, one that makes Tango's temp ramp up even on the worst days.

But he's not getting off this easily.

"Well, you're a jerkface!" Tango crosses his arms on his chest instead and puts on his best offended face. "Do you think it's funny or what?"

Zed shrugs, completely not bothered by his facade. "Well you were talking about how to swing this thing at the blazes. And you're a blaze, and you were right there!" He gestures like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

He's only half of a blaze by the best estimation, but Tango decides to skip this detail. "So what, you think that's a good reason to put me in that cage?"

"It's a good cage!" Zed's voice jumps up with laughter. "You said yourself it's comfy!"

"Still a cage! I bet you were going to try and heatificate with me, too?"

Zed's eyes crinkle and - yeah, he totally would. "And what if I did? Maybe I think you're hot enough for the burner!"

Ah - gotcha!

Tango uncrosses his arms, leaning forward a little bit. "Hey, what was the last thing there? Can you repeat it?"

He can see Zed stagger a little, roll back his words in his head. "I said, I think you can make enough heat for -"

"That is not what you said, Zed," Tango leans forward a bit more, letting himself smirk.

It's a known fact Zedaph is rarely flustered. Makes it even more adorable when he tries to pretend he's not.

"So you think I'm hot enough," Tango continues, filling the pause, not giving Zed time to come up with the retort. "And that's the reason to put me in the burner. Is that a sex thing?" He loves the way Zed's mouth twitches almost like he's holding back a smile but not quite, the way his eyes start wandering around, intentionally missing Tango. He could even point out something like the blush spreading, but that one's probably just the heat residual. "Do you have a dream of stuffing me in a cage and making out with me? Or something else I should know about?"

He moves closer as he speaks, each sentence following another step. Zed pulls his hands away, trying to sneakily fidget with the hem of his vest. Tango holds out a pointed pause, almost not minding how his own fire sputters and then roars hot from the closeness.

At least this time he's not the only one getting the spotlight about it.

He makes another step forward, and Zedaph finally stops fidgeting, looks him in the eye. His pupils are blown wide. Tango can see every drop of sweat glistening on his cheeks and forehead. "The thing you should know about," Zed says, his voice gone breathy, "is how unfairly pretty you are when you're confident like this."

Tango isn't sure who starts the kiss.

The only thing he knows is that the next moment his lips is on Zed's, and Zed's hands are on him, one in his hair and the other clutching his good shoulder, and Tango's own hand is cradling Zed's face in the way that makes kissing him easier, and his lips are salty and his mouth is warm and wet and Tango could totally heat the entire steam engine with the fire in his body. They both breathe into the kiss, stealing each other's overheated air; hair sticks to their faces like after a shower, but Tango doesn't have the ability to mind. For a brief moment, there's an indignant grumble behind them, and Tango gives the burner blazes a finger with his free hand, lighting up some flickers on it for an extra effect.

It takes ages before they break the kiss, and even then neither of them pulls away, foreheads bumped together, still breathing into the same space. Tango watches Zed's eyes, feels Zed's pulse under his hand, and feels both sated and hungry at the same time.

It's a feeling he'd forgotten for a while, pushed away behind the excitement of new ideas and big projects, but void help him if that's not something he wants everyday, all the time, without a break.

Then Zed mutters, still barely half a breath in his voice. "But I like your plan about stuffing you into the cage and making out. We gotta test if that's anything."