"Forgive me if I don't think Dream is very successful at it."

Shrug. “Like I said. He fucks with my head, man, it doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense.”

"I do not think that counts as doing the right thing."

“Why’s he visit me, then, if he’s not doing the right thing. Cause it looks from here like he’s the only one trying.”

"I do not know his exact motivations, but-- I doubt he is visiting for reasons that are in your best interest."

"Yeah well at least he fuckin' visits. I don't care about your, your fancy words, I am simply not buying it. Maybe if you keep visiting all the time then I will say you are right but you gotta at least put in the hours, man, you gotta earn it. It's about the grind, my man."

"I will let Tubbo know he needs to grind for your favour."

"Yeah! Yeah, tell him that."

"I'm glad you are willing to see him. He has been missing you."

"Course I fucking want to see him, he's my best friend! I just want to, I just want to see him."

"He should be able to come around soon."

They keep having a conversation, until the sun starts setting and Jingyan has to leave.

Tommy is visibly more cheerful by the end of it! He has a DIAMOND AXE and some COOKED CHICKEN which according to him makes it entirely okay that he is staying in a poorly-lit open tent. He is a Big Man and big men don't need sleep, big men are ready to fight at any moment.

Also, Tubbo's coming soon. So that's exciting. ....Maybe he will spawnproof a bit more. For Tubbo.

Tubbo's waiting impatiently back in L'Manberg for Jingyan. He's fixing up the chessboard and occasionally nibbling on pufferfish, but he abandons his project immediately and sprints over as soon as he sees Jingyan.

"How was it? Is he alright, does he want to see me--sorry, too many questions, um, how's he doing?"

He's still holding his compass.

"He'd like to see you, and soon. Most of his company so far has been Dream." He leaves his feelings on how good a company Dream is unstated,

"Oh, that's-- wow, that's a lot. Okay. I can see him tomorrow, for sure."

"He's-- holding up, so far, but he does not seem to be at his best." Which is true of Tubbo, too, considering the pufferfish.

"Well. Holding up is--what matters, right? I think it'd just be unrealistic to expect him to be at his best right now."

"I had to tell him about our plans, however."

"--You what?"

"He was feeling abandoned." He does not love that phrasing, because Tommy is very much exiled in fact, so 'feeling' is a rather mealy mouthed description. "He needed evidence that he was not. It will be worth it for having-- a whole Tommy, by the end of this."

"Was there--a tactical necessity beyond Tommy feeling abandoned."

"Tommy being capable of things seems tactically important."

"Tommy not telling Dream our plans also seems tactically important, especially if Dream is most of his company, or did you forget that I make decisions for reasons."

"I made decisions based on new information."

"Without asking first. If the new information is that Tommy's upset, sorry bossman, that's not news. We were both there for the exile, it's not news that he thinks I--" Tubbo's voice cracks. "That he-- feels abandoned."