The heavy obsidian doors of the throne room kept the chaos of the Capital City at bay, but they couldn't quiet the anxiety winding tight in Parrot’s chest.As King, Parrot was known for his legendary, near-unbreakable patience.

He had survived corrupt regimes, outsmarted tyrants, and spent months rebuilding a civilization from the ashes of the Far Lands. He spoke softly, his tone always carrying a calm, measured weight that commanded respect without ever needing to rise to a shout. But beneath the crown, Parrot carried ghosts.He had lost too many people. He remembered the collapse of their old home, the friends scattered to the wind or permanently taken by sudden, brutal accidents at spawn.

Every alliance that shattered, every teammate who vanished into the lawless wild—it had chipped away at him until the thought of losing anyone else felt like an physical weight.And then there was Theo.

Theo had saved his life from Withers when Parrot had nothing left. They had built a potion shop together, survived the Great Sea, and now, Theo stood by his side in Capital City. He was Parrot’s fiercely loyal bodyguard, a comforting anchor in a dangerous world.Until today

."I'm leaving tomorrow morning, Parrot," Theo said lightly, leaning against a gilded pillar as he adjusted his inventory. "Just heading out past the world border. There's a new terrain generation I want to check out."Parrot didn't look up from his ledger immediately. He took a slow, deep breath, letting his soft-spoken demeanor veil the immediate spike of panic in his chest. "Alright. I'll have the captain organize a vanguard. Ten elite bodyguards, fully stacked with netherite. I'll come along too, once the council meeting wraps up.""No," Theo interrupted, offering a casual wave of his hand. You don't get it. I'm going alone. No guards. No tracking compasses. Just me, a boat, and a sword. I need a break from the city walls."

Parrot’s quill froze. The silence in the throne room stretched, heavy and suffocating. Theo," Parrot said, his voice dropping to a quiet, gentle murmur. He finally looked up, his eyes wide and dark with a desperate kind of pleading. "The SMP is unstable right now. You know how spawn is. You know what happens out there. Bandits, traps, rogue players... one bad lag spike or an unseen cliff, and you're gone.""I'm the biggest bird, remember?" Theo laughed, trying to break the tension. I can handle a few mobs and a couple of cliffs. I'll be fine."

Parrot closed the ledger. The snap of the leather cover sounded like a gunshot in the quiet room. He stood up slowly, his crown catching the dim torchlight.

"No, Theo. You don't understand," Parrot said, his voice trembling slightly, though he kept it remarkably soft. He walked down the steps of the dais, stopping just a foot away from his friend. "I have sat in this chair and watched people I care about walk out those gates, promising they’d be right back. And I never saw them again. I’ve watched accidents take everything I've built, over and over. I cannot—I will not—sit on this throne and wonder if the next letter I receive from the post office is telling me my best friend died in a ravine thousands of blocks away.""

**