An Allay for an Ally

by Serazimei

Summary:

It's a tradition to burn down a Woodland Mansion at every start of a season. Only this time it's not only inhabited by mindless mobs. There is actually an uncorrupted Player Allay there.

Scar and Cub don't really know how to feel about Grian when they help to rescue him. If they'd come just a few weeks later Grian would have become a Vex. And the reminder of what they lost confronts them with feelings they would have liked to forget.

Grian, on the other hand, really just wants to enjoy his newfound freedom and do what Allays are supposed to do - gathering things and causing mischief. Which is hard to do when you’ve been dropped into a foreign world and have no clue where your former crew has ended up. Not to mention the two very intriguing Vex, who give off very mixed signals. Not that Grian is any better at communication.

Notes:

Aka the fic that was born of my ramblings on Vex and Allay lore on tumblr.

Chapter 1

There was always an exquisite tangle of emotions tied to a world jump. The sadness of leaving a home, the worry about the journey ahead, and the excitement of a new beginning clashed and mixed into a dizzying cocktail of colours and sensations.

Scar was still riding that high when his feet hit air as he was looking around and he immediately fell into the nearby ravine their aircraft had parked next to. He respawned a moment later, now dizzy for a whole other reason. The group of Hermits surrounding him laughed at his expense.

"Seriously Scar? We aren't even here for five seconds and you already die?" Cub teased, helping him up and slinging a steadying arm around his waist.

Scar shot him an easy smile. "You know me! Have to test the respawn mechanics before anyone else! I should make people pay for my service, really. Does anyone want to give me donations? I lost so much during the fall!"

He swooned dramatically into Cub's arms, who gazed off into the distance with a deadpan look. Probably pretending to be a statue and not to be in any way attached to the situation at hand.

"We just got here, what in the Void could you have lost?!" Bdubs screamed at him over the chatter of the already scattering Hermits.

"Couldn't have been his dignity." Cleo muttered, more snickers following her light hearted statement.

"Hey! I'm wounded Cleo! Wounded!"

"Do you need me to put an end to your agony?" She grinned.

"No! Nononono I'm good. Amazing. Thank you for being such a considerate friend. Can I have your axe?"

"Yeah sure- wait."

"Thank you! Come on Cub let's goooooo!" Their departure didn't sound as cool without an elytra to take off. But jumping into the very ravine that had just taken his life was about as funny. Hey he'd been down there now, he knew where the river was at this point.

Cub splashed into the water only a few seconds after him and together they made it to shore before the Drowned could get them.

"Well that was fun." Cub drawled in that detached sort of tone Scar recognised as amusement.

"It sure was! I can feel it in my bones Cub, this season will be special."

"You say that about every new season."

"And it's true every time! Now excuse me. I'll have to chop wood with this beautiful new axe."

"Sure. Why did I have to jump down a ravine with you again?"

"For the flair, Cub! For the flair!"

Scar heard a dramatic sigh behind him. "And I don't even get a kiss for it."

"Awww Cub! All you have to do is ask!"

He spun around with a cheerful smile and grabbed Cub by the labels of his dress shirt to press a quick kiss to his cheek, laughing at the dissatisfied grumble.

"You missed." Came the more forward complaint, which made Scar laugh more.

"I would never!" Briefly nuzzling Cub's cheek, earning himself more lovely disgruntled noises, Scar eventually gave Cub his required kiss. Sparks flew as their lips connected. While both of them were being playful and casual about it all their first kiss in a new world was always something else.

Their Vex magic spiked as their hearts fluttered, their forms shivering and dropping their more Player like appearance. Scar could feel his mangled wings flexing at his back, his eyes tingling as they glowed with power.

It was a reminder of their freedom, that they could go around and kiss in a hundred different worlds. They only did what they wanted these days. And no matter how long ago their dark past lay, it was always exciting to have this reaffirmation. That they were here. And free. And with every world jump they got further away from the remnants of the ones who'd hurt them.

"See you around." Scar whispered against slack lips before drawing away and scampering off.

"See you." Came the slightly dreamy reply.

They, of course, didn't stay away from each other for long. After some weeks of resource gathering and building up his starter base - a beautiful elven tree - they gravitated back towards each other, ready for their first adventure.

It was a tradition of sorts to use the first few weeks to gear up and scout out a woodland mansion. Only to then raid it and burn it to the ground with some of their friends. This time Tango, Xisuma and Bdubs were with them. Mostly to make sure Scar didn't end up in a death loop.

More often than not they found small Allays they could free. This however... Scar stared into the big electric blue eyes of the captive he had found cowering in the corner of a steel cage. It had the size and body of a Player even if it was a bit small and yet it was also definitely an Allay. A Hybrid.

Like they had been once. Cub and him. The poor thing was trembling, gaze hung up on the mangled, leathery wings that had materialized as Scar's bloodlust had gotten the best of him. Scar folded them neatly behind his back and carded a bloody hand through his wind swept hair. Oh he wasn't giving the best first impression. He wished he could reign in the Vex magic a bit, drain his skin of the greyish blue tint. Take the mean spark out of his eyes. But the sudden find had only managed to rile him up more.

"Well hello there."

Scar tried to keep his usually booming voice low and gentle as he crouched down with a smile, suddenly very aware of all his features and how they must look.

Those wide, terrified eyes only tracked his every movement, the small bundle of torn cloth and skin and bones curling further away from him.

"Oh dear, no no no I'm not going to harm you. Some friends and I are here to raid the mansion. I'm here to free you."

"Free me?" The Allay sounded so sceptical. Scar didn't fault him. If someone had come to him out of the blue telling him he was free to go after being held captive for so long he wouldn't have believed them either.

Still Scar nodded, smile brightening. Even cracked and quiet this one had a nice voice. "Yes! Wait a second I'm going to call my buds and you'll get out of here in no time at all!"

He could have torn open the cage himself. But given that the Allay probably associated Vex with his tormentors Scar's best bet was to call Xisuma. Quickly typing a message to X, Scar was accutely aware of the shifting of the small body behind the bars.

"You have a communicator."

"Well observed. I'm a Player just like you."

"Really? What's your name then?"

"My name is Scar. GoodtimeswithScar. At your service!"

"Uh... Grian."

"Huh, grain? Are you hungry? I have something to-"

"No, no! Grian. Gri-an. My name."

"Oh." Scar pocketed his communicator, pleased to find Grian had inched closer to him.

"Nice to meet you Grian!"

"Sure." Grian sounded anything but thrilled. Scar understood. Being held captive by evil would-be villagers that wanted to turn you inside out was a real bummer. "So... are you going to free me orrr?"

"Right, right! You okay with me moving? It's hard to break down bars with a pickaxe without being able to move, but I didn't want to spook you."

Grian shrugged. "My heart's already going a mile a minute... You... you can do... you."

Scar hopped up with a grin, only nearly crashing back down onto the floor when his legs decided they didn't want to cooperate with him anymore. Grian watched him with wary eyes as he materialized his iron pick and began hacking away at the cage.

By the time he was done he heard commotion on the stairs leading down into the basement. He twirled around, wincing when Grian shrieked, the tip of the axe nearly impaling the already quite battered Allay.

"Get away from him- Oh hi Scar!"

Relief flooded him at seeing Tango jump down the rest of the stairs, fiery tail swinging, red eyes huge and almost manic. He was quickly followed by everyone else, the last one being Cub, who froze when his eyes landed on the captive.

"Oh dear." It was Xisuma who got the first word in before anyone could start babbling about the situation at hand.

Scar looked back at the Allay, who was trying and failing to drag himself out of the remnants of his cage. Scar twitched in his direction, eager to help, but Bdubs and Tango immediately came to his side to stop him when Grian let out a scared whimper.

Xisuma stepped forward instead. Carefully he swooped down to help Grian out and immediately found that he also needed to support pretty much all of the Allay's weight.

"Good thing we haven't torched anything yet." Tango mused, grip on Scar's forearm tightening when he leaned forward like a flower towards the sun.

"Here! I have a token for you!"

Grian blinked at the shiny treasure being dropped into his hands. Gaze flickering up to a grinning Bdubs. "Uhh. Thanks?"

"That's so you don't go poof should you die!"

"Thanks..."

"You shouldn't need to worry about that, though." Came a level voice from the staircase. Cub still hadn't moved and he was tense. Scar couldn't make out the expression on his partner's face. "We took care of the mobs."

"Yes you should be able to relax. Mind if I carry you? I'd rather get you out of here and make sure you are alright."

"That... that's okay. Yeah."

"Great. Hold on tight."

Scar found himself leaving the mansion at Cubs side. This time neither of them stayed back to watch the structure of wood, cobblestone and pain burn. Their eyes were locked onto Xisuma's back, where the Allay hung, limb and unresponsive.

Notes:

I've pre-written 16 chapters as of now, which amounts to over 40k words. I'll be posting every week on Friday or Saturday depending how much time I have to write and edit.
Tags will be added as the story progresses.

Also there is not enough ConvexDuo/Grian content out there. So I am the change in the world I want to see. XD

Chapter 2

This season will be special. Scar's words echoed through his head like a bad omen. Special. Yes.

The image of the little Hybrid Allay sat with tattered red clothes in a smashed cage was still burned in his brain. Those huge brilliant blue eyes. These untorn wings, still glowing and leaving startdust behind. Pale skin, closer to white than grey.

No scars. No corruption.

Something in his chest pulled and he grimaced, teeth grinding together. He barely managed not to snarl. He thought he had stopped grieving what he once was. But...
He swallowed hard as more images flooded his mind. Of how fragile the thing looked, hoisted into Xisuma's arms. How loud the Allay had been, indignant at being carried in such a fashion even though he clearly wanted to just slump into their Admin's embrace.

It had looked a bit like Xisuma had gotten himself a Player shaped elytra once the Allay - Grian - had been settled into a piggyback position. Scar had stuck close to Cub the whole way back, unsteady yet mesmerized by the glowing blue of these trembling wings.

It had been four days since the incident and Scar had yet to shut up about it. The other Vex was obviously rattled as well. Only for completely different reasons, it seemed. He was almost... excited. And yet...

"Is the humming bird snooping around your tree again, Scar?"

"Oh hi Cub! No, not at all! I was just... stopping by. Visit my favourite partner!"

"Sure. And it really has nothing to do with Grian invading your tree again in search for cookies?"

"Oh what no, definitely not. The poor thing isn't invading anywhere. My tree is open. He has a standing invitation. I mean I haven't told him that, but I've also not discouraged him, so... After all he's probably still terrified."

Cub chuffed out a low chuckle and shook his head, sure that the "terrified poor thing" was currently flitting about Scar's starter base searching for something to lag into his inventory. Probably either cookies or diamonds. Grian seemed to be infatuated with the shiny rock even though it was a currency native to the Hermits little group. Although some other economies used diamonds as well. Maybe he came from one of those? If so Grian had somehow missed the lesson of using them to buy stuff. At this point the Allay might as well have been a dragon for all the hoarding he did.

That was probably why he had started building next to Mumbo's vault. The little guy had immediately grown attached to the lanky man. Although Cub wondered how much of that was real friendship and how much Grian just wanted to hang around the self proclaimed richest Hermit.

Cub didn't really understand why Grian still hung around anywhere in this world in the first place. Sure there was recovery time, but the Allay was clearly fine by now. He was even building his own base, for Voids sake! It was probably because Pearl knew him and had vouched for him quite passionately.

He let his growing frustration out in one long breath. "You know if you need me to build any traps for pesky pest-"

"No! That won't be necessary thank you, Cub... Are... are you alright, my friend?"

Cub shrugged. They had both been hiding, in a way. Scar made heart eyes at the Allay from afar sure, but he zipped down into Cubs basement at Ren's as soon as Grian drew near. And Cub felt like being a true, literal hermit at the moment. Something ugly twisted in his stomach every time someone would bring up the rescued Allay. And given how everyone was fawning over the little hummingbird, about every interaction with someone else at least ended up mentioning Grian.

"Do you need a hug?"

Scar didn't have to ask him twice. The Vex disguised as an elf only got to raising his arms an inch before Cub had him in his grip, hoisting him up around his waist and had buried his nose in those beautifully fleshy man-breasts.

Scar chuckled at his antics, hands with immaticulately manicured nails scratching at Cub's scalp to further help him to calm down.

"Thanks." Cub mumbled after a while, gently letting Scar down.

"Always! Now what has you gotten all grumpy, dear friend?"

"Noth-" Cub took one look at Scar's displeased frown and back pedaled fast. "Him, I guess."

"Ah. Yes I understand. He's certainly something isn't he?"

"You like him".

Scar shrugged, going over to sit on the bed with a wince, rubbing at his knees. "I'm not sure, to be honest. He's cute. And a menace. And I kind of want to bundle him up in a blanket and keep him safe. He just has that air around him, like he's made to get himself into trouble, yeah?"

"That's weird."

"I know. How does he make you feel?"

Cub never liked to talk about his feelings much. He was the guy to go along with the flow and not kick off much of a fuss about anything. There wasn't much that could get a raise out of him. He'd spend most of his life with Scar, after all.

And that was the exception right there. He could talk feelings with Scar.

"Angry, I think."

Scar tilted his head, face set in a perfectly pleasant expression, but a dangerous glint in his eyes that could mean everything and nothing.

"Why?"

Trying to parse through his reasons left him empty handed. Or maybe there were just things he didn't want to admit even to Scar. "I don't know."

"Throw your best guesses at me then."

And of course Scar wouldn't let it go.

"He's... he just reminds me of..." Like sliding off a jacket he got rid of his more Player like aspect and let the Vex shine through, extending one leathery, torn wing in explanation.

"I think I know what you mean." Scar nodded and Cub immediately doubted it. Scar always found meanings in other peoples words. Meanings that tended to be wildly different from reality. Cub stayed silent about it, though. There was no use trying to argue against Scar's worldview when he was sure about something. And Scar was sure about this.

"Right."

"Do you think we should try and talk to him?" Scar asked, gnawing at his lip.

"You can do that."

"I'm worried that he'll get scared. Or..."

"He's constantly snooping around your base. He's been waxing Doc's copper. Doc, who's currently building a world eater, mind. Doesn't seem like an easily scared fellow to me."

"That's true. I might try." That was the tone of deflective voice that Scar used when he wanted to drop a subject. Which immediately clued Cub in that Scar would do no such thing.

It was all the same to Cub, really. He was fine with the way things were.

~~~

After some more weeks some shop like buildings had popped up already that would have to be relocated later on. And Grian must have gotten the memo as well, for he had created (?) a... well a rock. A rock with a beating heart inside that had stolen half of the water wheel from Grian's starter base.

They were all starting to spend more time drafting and gathering resources for their mega bases. And they were still arguing about where this seasons shopping district would go.

Cub had relocated from Ren's basement to Scar's basement, purely because he had outgrown the space and the Hermissippi had started flooding his room. Yes, wet socks were just the worst. And Scar had been selling anyway. It had been one of the better decisions of his life so far. He had much more space, a whole lot of free stuff and Scar.

He had been thinking about messaging Scar all day. But after having gotten lost gathering materials the only thing he had wanted to do at the end was take a bath and a nap. Scar hadn't been in his tree all day anyway, probably off on that same mission. The madman had been all over the place with planning his mega base and cookie empire and it wasn't unusual for him to disappear for a while only to pop up in his bed after having died to something or other.

Cub sauntered down the steps to his basement, smiling when he heard the continuous ding, ding from the Free Stuff dispenser. Another bonus point for living with Scar: It was easier to mess with him. The smile quickly got replaced by a furrow of brows as another noise came to his ears, however. The frantic clicking of a button.

On silent wings he glided down to the ground floor of his base and had to take a double take. There was the Allay, clinging to the block with the button on it, upside down and tiny wings flapping, cheerfully pressing said button over and over again. A pile of stuff was littering the floor because of this.

"And what do you think you're doing, little Allay?"

Grian tumbled down with a shriek, making Cub wince as the Allay fell on the pile of smelted ores. He was starting to get Scar's point about wanting to bundle the menace up. There truly was no ounce of self perservation in that small body of his.

"Cub! Hello, nice to see you. I just came by for some cookies and then saw this button."

Huge black eyes stared up at him. No trace of magic in them at the moment, revealing the colour of the Player's eyes beneath. And alright the way the Allay smiled so innocently at him was kind of cute. No wonder he got away with everything. Although Cub and Scar likewise got away with everything. All Hermits did, really. And apparently Grian had become an unofficial one at least. Even Doc had grown fond of Grian, even though he had to redesign his world eater to exclude buttons after that one incident. Now that he thought about it, it really was no wonder he'd found Grian attached to his button. The guy seemed to be absolutely enarmoured with the things.

"I thought you were an Allay not a Copper Golem."

"But it said free stuff!"

"For me. Not you."

Cub didn't know what made him do it, but he waltzed over and picked Grian up by his armpits, setting him down beside the pile. Grian was as light as he had anticipated.

Grian didn't seem to mind the sudden manhandling much. He wiggled a little, but didn't show any signs of distress. Scar - as always - worried about nothing. Grian looked far from terrified. He was certainly displeased, though. Crossing his arms and pouting.

"You should write that on the sign then. It just says free stuff. That could be for anyone."

"Noted." Cub said as he started to clean up the pile of ores, dumping them into a nearby chest.

Grian immediately went over to rummage through it, the gremlin.

"Do you have cookies?"

"I have pies." Why was Grian still here again?

"Ren's?"

"Yes."

"Can I have some?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You can buy them. You know where the shop is."

"I don't have any diamonds, though."

Cub gently shoved the Allay from the chest to get more stuff into it. He saw that some of the copper had mysteriously disappeared. As expected.

“That’s because you spend your time snooping around other peoples builds instead of mining.”

“I’m not snooping around! I’m just being sociable. It got lonely in that cage.”

Cub choose not to reply to that. How could he? He didn't want to be pulled into an arguement with the Allay. And he didn’t know the little fairy well enough to know if it was meant to be playful or not. Grian tried to keep the conversation alive, but had to admit defeat after a while and left.

For a few hours after Grians departure Cub threw himself at his projects with even more intensity than usual, trying to block out the bad feeling in his gut.

Notes:

I never thought I'd write the word "fleshy man-breast" in my life ever. Thanks Scar.

I still struggle to write Cub even though I've watched a ton of his videos. I guess the problem is that I need him to be grumpy for this story and Cub is never grumpy in his videos XD

Thanks to everyone who read this, left kudos and comments! <3

Chapter 3

The Hermits were a blessing. After he had gotten captured by the Pillagers he thought he'd never be free again. Even though the cage and dim light of the basement had been a salve on his frayed nerves.

The capture had been a blow to his ego at first. He was an Allay and an explorer. A being of chaos and explosions! To have been blindsided like that. It had been unfair. And they had only gotten the best of him because he had been disorientated and weak. He had known Evo's portals were wacky. That's why he had choosen that world to research with a bunch of his friends. Martyn had been interested in the lost civilization of odd winged and multi-eyed beings that had once lived there and most of the others had just wanted to have some good times.

It had all gotten a bit out of hand, what with the hauntings and clues. The time travel through what had essentially been Nether Portals should have been the first warning to not use any such form of transport in that world. But it had all been so exciting and curious at that time and no one had really been scared of the consequences.

It had been the end portal that had malfunctioned the worst. Oh it had teleported him to an End sure. But not the End of the world he had been in. And when he'd gotten back out he was flung once more into another world situated somewhere in a space and time that wasn’t his own.

The transition had been the most jarring of all. The black abyss had glowed a bright violet and burned his eyes. What had felt like claws had dug into his soul and tried to make it their home. A thousand voices and songs had assaulted his ears and an icy coldness had frozen his body stiff.

It had been at this stage, new to a new world in an unknown time and utterly defenseless, that the Pillagers had found him. They'd thought him a normal Allay and captured him before he could even think to defend himself. And then he'd been stuck in a too small cage in a blessedly dark room.

He'd gotten his wits about him after a while. And while he was weak, he still put up a fight whenever the Pillagers tried to get him out to prepare him for his transformation. He hadn't survived what he had just to be turned into a mindless Vex!

His clothes had become tattered over time and he'd gotten a myriad of cuts and bruises from his fights that would not heal because he got barely enough food to survive.

He'd thought this new world had been an empty one. Or at least empty of Players. So he was suprised when that big Vex had shown up. And he might have been a bit rude, given that the group rescued him and let him stay up until now.

"There we go Entity, that's all the wood we need for now."

Grian landed softly under his baby's belly, the whirring of his mechanical wings slowly peetering off as they closed up. His Allay wings had fortunately been left intact, but they were too small for flight. So he needed an elytra to zoom around in the sky just like everybody else. The beetle shaped contraption fit nicely over his sensitive wings and even protected them from the freezing temperature of the higher planes or the burning heat of the Nether.

He walked into the narrow opening of the Entity, stroking the rough surface of its entrance and feeling it rumble gently at his affection. It was an odd rock. The first sentient rock he'd ever seen in his life. And he's seen a lot of things. It was a bit unsettling, really. The way it seemed to become more and more alive as he interacted with it. But it seemed to like him and it gave him funny dreams and ideas, so he stuck around.

Mumbo called him insane, but Mumbo was also trying to convince him that he was the richest Hermit in the world when Grian knew for a fact he'd not even held a diamond in his hand, yet.

And that's where Hermitcraft – the little dot of a civilization they were building here - was a blessing. It was full of weird, funny and helpful Players, who seemed to be used to quite the number of weird things. They didn't question his fast recovery after he had been given food and potions. Nor his little pet rock that stole parts of his base or the way his eyes would sometimes flash pink instead of blue.

Xisuma didn't ask him any questions. He trusted his Players and when Pearl vouched for him he had extended that trust to Grian as well, even letting him stay far beyond his recovery.

Which was great because Grian didn't want to leave.

He had been so happy to see Pearl again! What a relief it had been to hear that everyone had gotten off that world safely one way or another. The amount of time he'd missed in between his jumps was a bit worrying, though.

"Grian? Mate?"

"Mumbo!"

Grian zoomed out of the Entity and crashed into his lanky friend, who stood warily just outside the big boulder. They nearly landed on the ground, Mumbo only barely able to keep his balance, despite his small friend not really weighing much.

"Now that's an enthusiastic welcome." Mumbo chuckled, adjusting his grip so he could lower Grian back down without drawing out of the hug.

"I missed you!"

"I feel like you've imprinted on me sometimes." He didn't sound like he minded at all.

Grian swatted the hand that had started to pet his head like a dogs away with an affronted gasp. "I'm a fairy not a bird!"

"Could have fooled me."

"What is it with you guys and thinking I'm something else than I really am?" Grian playfully complained. "Cub likened me to a Copper Golem the day before! A Copper Golem, Mumbo!"

"Well you do like buttons a lot. And copper."

Grian blew a raspberry at him and stomped off making his friend laugh.

"Speaking of, I've seen a grumbling Cub on the way to you. Have you visited him?"

"I'm not always the cause of trouble around here."

Mumbo raised an eyebrow at him.

"Alright I did. He has free stuff Mumbo!"

"Free stuff he's stealing from Scars smelter, yes. I wonder how long it will take Scar to notice."

Grian perked up. "Do you want to bet?"

"Now that would be a bit mean, wouldn't it?"

"But do you?"

"Well..."

Grian went up on his tiptoes until their noses were nearly touching, grinning as he whispered, "Three diamond blocks it's gonna be in the next two weeks."

"Three- Ohhhh." Grian could pretty much see the greed sparkling in his friends eyes. "I say four weeks. Five until he retaliates. He's a scatterbrain."

Grian shook Mumbos hand. "Pleasure doing business with you!"

He turned around, activated his elytra and was just about to fire off a rocket when two bony arms wrapped around his middle to keep him grounded. "Wait! I wanted to talk to you about something!"

"Huh? What is it?"

"Well it's actually about Cub and Scar..."

Grian tilted his head to the side and made a questioning noise. He knew his unwavering, black eyed gaze was unnerving as much as it was cute. And it turned Mumbo, who was nervous at the best of times, into an even more anxious bundle. His friend fidgeted under his stare, rubbed his neck and glanced around, a cute flush bringing some colour to his usually pale face.

"You see... We've noticed- I mean Pearl, Impulse and I... and maybe Xisuma, too. And Gem... Well pretty much everyone really. Except maybe Doc, you know how Doc is. Actually no, probably not. Have you been to Doc's starter base recently?-"

"Mumbo, point please." Grian gently prodded, underlaying his words with a few pokes to Mumbos ribcage, making him giggle.

"Ah yes. Okay. Well here goes. We've noticed that Cub and Scar have been a bit... well... let's say conflicted about your presence here on Hermitcraft."

"Yes... I've noticed as well..." It was something that gave Grian headaches. And nightmares.

Xisuma had explained to him how their little community usually worked. Invite only. Everyone had to vote yes. That he was allowed to stay despite of that was a miracle. And Grian didn't want to leave.

He also quite liked Cub and Scar. They were a lot like him. And Scar had been the one to find him. He felt he owed him at least a little bit. But whenever he visited Scar the Vex disguised as an elf would vanish. And when he poked around Cub's base the Vex would ignore him most of the time.

It was... Well it was vexing! He just wanted to be friends! And they were acting like he was some kind of pest.

"Awww mate I didn't know you were stressing out so much about it!"

Grian let out an embarassing squeak as he was suddenly drawn into another, crushing hug. He was quick to return it, though, glad for the comfort. He also rubbed his face against Mumbo's pristine jacket to get rid of some of the moisture leaking from his eyes.

"Why do they hate me Mumboooo?"

"Oh Grian they probably don't hate you at all! Well maybe Cub- Ouch! Did you just bite me?!"

"You suck at reassuring me." Grian grumbled, huddling closer. "How about you give me some good advise on how to make them love me instead."

"Make them love you?" Mumbo echoed back, amused. "Does someone have a crush?"

"Mumboooo."

"It does make a lot of sense." Mumbo continued to tease, even going so far as to twirl his mustache. "Two of the biggest pranksters of our group and Scar found you. Wait you don't have a hero crush on Scar of all people, do you?"

"Mumbo stoooop. I'm not! I always say I love people you spoon! You know what I mean!"

Grian thought he was being very convincing, but Mumbo had drawn back to laugh at him, so he could see Grian's red face.

"Sure mate. Sure, sure."

"You're the worst." Grian hit him for good measure. Not very hard, but Mumbo still winced and managed to look like a kicked puppy.

"You love me, though."

"I do."

And he meant it, too. It was odd. But the moment he'd met Mumbo it had felt like they'd known each other for ages already. They clicked immediately and now they astonished other Hermits with the way they interacted.

The feelings were mutual, Grian knew. He saw it in the sketches Mumbo had sat up inside his small starter vault. Sketches that told of plans to situate his base as close to Grian's as possible. And he saw it in the way Mumbo gazed down at him, like he did now, fond and happy and warm.

Never one to indulge in any heartfelt moment for long, Grian couldn't help but needle his best friend more about the two Vex.

"But how do I get them to love me?"

"Hmmm I don't know. Maybe start with Scar first? He seems to be more... uh... interested in you than Cub."

"But he's always gone when I try and visit him!"

"I could talk to him?"

"No."

Mumbo shrugged. "Then I don't know how to help you."

Grian groaned, throwing his hands up into the air. "How are you so useless."

"Say that again when you come to me because one of your redstone contraptions won't work!"

Grian opened his mouth to retort, but ended up with a mouth full of fumes as Mumbo blasted off with a merry chortle. Coughing and cursing Grian thought about going after the fiend before giving up on the matter and rather took off to scout the area.

He was still looking for something that had been shown to him in a dream by the Entity and he had yet to find the perfect place to build his mega base. He didn't know if he would be allowed to stay long enough to complete it, of course. But he wanted to use every day he got in this beautiful world.

Also no one had told him to stop yet. So naturally he wanted to see how far he could take things.

During his flight over the world Grian rolled the problem that was Cub and Scar around in his mind. Mumbo was probably right that Cub was a bad first target. The man was easy going sure and tolerated his presence. But he wasn't very responsive. Scar, on the other hand, had been very sweet and considerate when he'd first broken him out of that cage.

Now how could Grian sneek up on the man without him running away first?

A sudden pull in his stomach caused him to lose height and he shot off several rockets to avoid grazing any trees. He was pretty far away from Spawn should he need to go on foot, so he didn't necessarily want to cause a crash landing.

The feeling in his gut didn't subside as he fought to gain some semblance of control over his flight once more. And it only grew stronger when he angled himself downward to land. He found himself in a dense birch forest, teeming with light and wildlife. He didn't particularly like this biome. It had always felt bland to him. But something about this place felt intriguing.

The steps he took to scout out the area were wobbly and measured. And he didn't get very far until a new sensation caused his knees to buckle. This time it was like an electrical shock going through his brain. With it came a series of quickly disappearing images. A cave. A rift, violet, not purple like the Nether portal. An entrance. And suddenly the tugging in his gut had a direction.

Once he got his feet back under him his stride became faster and faster until he had sprinted up a steep incline to find a large, dark hole nestled into the side of another hill. Looking down Grian could see a faint glimmer of violet and the outlines of a huge cave. He winced as another image forced itself over his perceived reality. A lab with bubbling tubes and a huge black screen.

He could feel the Entity rumble in his chest. Or maybe that was just his heart thumping frantically to keep him upright after all the exercise. Either way he knew he had found his place. But he would need a whole lot of torches to light up the space below.

Grian turned around, rocket already in hand to get going before he froze. His gaze turned glassy as an image of a large set of boulders sprang up in his mind. Wrapped around and nestled into the rocks were magnificent buildings of different eras and civilizations.

So this was going to be his megabase. It wasn't what he had planned. Wasn't at all his usual style. But with a bit of adjusting he might be able to include his designs in the one the Entity wanted. He hoped it wouldn't be too mad if he took a bit of artistic freedom. He was the one who would built it, after all.

Also what the Entity wanted was pretty much impossible for him to accomplish. How was he supposed to make giant rocks float in the sky? He may have been magic but he wasn't that much magic.

Grian shook his head. This was going to be a massive project. Energized at the thought of days filled with work Grian leaped back into the sky and used the few wooden blocks he had on his person to mark out his building area. By the time he was done it was already getting dark and he had all but forgotten his troubles, having replaced them with plans for the future.

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading and the lovely comments!

I love Grian's and Mumbo's relationship. So of course I can't not include it. Gotta have some fluff from the dorks.

Chapter 4

Grian's heart was broken. He had been betrayed. Mumbo was planning to leave. He'd said he would help him with Cub and Scar and now he was just leaving! He had tried to be as supportive of Mumbo's plans as he could be. His weird, spoon of a friend had sounded so excited when sharing his plans with him. And Grian could see that Mumbo needed the break. He'd become more and more fussy and frustrated with his projects lately. Nothing had seemed to quite work for him anymore.

Grian had to remind himself that Mumbo had been building and creating for years and years before he'd met Grian. His creative juices were running dry. It just sucked that it was happening now, when Grian had just joined and had grown so used to having Mumbo around as his partner in crime.

Sure he had Pearl, but she had decided to base with Impulse and Gem and their relationship was still a bit rocky. You didn't just disappear for years to be found imprisoned in a supposedly empty world and have all your past relationships intact. Not that Pearl was in any way angry at him. She just didn't quite know what to make of the changes. And she was rather tiptoeing around him, afraid to trigger some sort of trauma he didn't have.

He... he would probably need to resolve that. Another time! For now he was sulking. Rightfully so!

"Hey Grian? I'm about to go now." Mumbos voice echoed uncertain in the shoe shaped building.

Grian groaned in response, but rose from his nest of a bed anyway to join his friend. The hug they shared was longer and tighter than usual. And it caused quite a few chuckles and teasing remarks from the Hermits that had chosen to see Mumbo off as well.

His best friend was tearfully send off into other worlds after he had promised to write to them all frequently. A few Hermits stuck around to talk to each other, but Grian had no patience for that. As soon as Mumbo's back had disappeared into the quickly closing hatch of the small exploration shuttle Grian had turned and flown back to his starter house.

He didn't leave it for four days and when he finally emerged he gawked at the present that had been left at his front door. Four diamond blocks had been piled up, towering just a little over him.

"What the heck?!"

His frown turned into a delighted grin as he tugged the note from the smooth texture of the shiny rock.

To help you not feel so blue. And so you can finally buy your own copper.

It wasn’t signed, but Grian already knew who it was from.

Giddy Grian pocketed the note and drew closer to the pretty rock. More unconsciously than not his aspect changed, letting more of his Allay heritage through. His hands had started to adapt that radiant blue hue and the likeness of the colours as Grian held his hand against the polished diamond block made his heart flutter pleasantly.

"So that's why you like diamonds so much. I thought you were just greedy like the rest of us."

Grian jumped at Jevin's voice, quickly retracting his hand and whirling around to greet the sentient slime.

"You're a lovely shade of blue as well!" He blurted out, his face growing hot as soon as his brain caught up with his mouth.

Jevin laughed. "Thanks! Hope you're not planning on shutting me into Mumbo's vault."

"I would never! I'm actually thinking about walling it in with copper. I want to see what happens first, Mumbo coming back or the copper turning teal."

Jevin nodded "That's a cool idea. Do you think you've got time in between to help me with something?"

Now that was exciting! Grian hadn't had much contact with many of the Hermits yet. They weren't exactly avoiding him. It was just that they were all quite busy and didn't see each other much when they weren't direct neighboors. Likewise Grian hadn't had many interactions with Jevin either. And he was eager to make new friends even if no one could fill the hole Mumbo had left behind.

"Sure! What do you need me for?"

Jevin gave him a cheerful grin, the skull inside his gelatine head wobbling happily. "I'm preparing for an event I've planned for the Hermits. I've wanted to do a bit of an easter egg hunt. And I know, I know it seems pretty early for preparation, but the eggs I want to use will take time to make and I could use some help collecting and painting them and stuff. Are you up for it?"

Grian jumped up and down, clapping his hands. The contraption on his back buzzed slightly as his little Allay wings underneath tried to flutter. "Yes! Yes!"

"Great! Maybe meet me tomorrow at 8am? I'll come get you if you don't know where my base is."

"That would be great. Thanks"

"Cool! See you then."

Grian waved him goodbye, mood much higher than when he had started the day. Satisfied that life was moving on without a hitch Grian decided to get started on his mega base.

During his extensive tree chopping session his mind did some sommersaults. He hadn't known that the Hermits were doing events. He wondered if everyone could just organize stuff? Did it need clearance from Xisuma first? He would need to write the Admin. Even if it wasn't the case Grian technically wasn't a Hermit so maybe other rules applied to him.

His stomach sunk a little at the thought. What if he wasn't factored into the easter egg event because he wasn't a true member? He shook his head as soon as that thought entered his brain. No, no, no Jevin had asked him to help so he was already being involved. There was no doubt that he would be allowed to participate in whatever Jevin had planned. Just how much the Hermits actually wanted him to do so was another matter entirely.

Dropping some of the wood he'd just collected off at the Entity he continued his long day down at the mines searching for more diamond ore and increase his stone supply. It was all very important, necessary work, but ultimately it was all just procrastination in order to avoid writing Xisuma.

And he could only avoid writing the Admin for so long. Eventually his insecurities and fears screamed so loud at him that he just couldn't bear not to know the answer to his question anymore.

It started out as a kind of innocent little itch, building up and up until he had to throw down his pickaxe to scratch it. In this case he heard the skeletons three blocks from him and separated through pure stone jump and rattle in surprise as his tool clattered to the ground without a warning. Grian whipped out his communicator and was halfway through writing the message before his brain had caught up with his movements.

Sighing he decided that his body was probably right, finished typing out the message and, after taking a shaky breath, hit send.

The grey characters glared up as he waited for a response.

Grian whispered to you: Hey X, quick question: Can everyone create community events? Are there any rules or stuff attached?

Grian continued to stare at his screen, his narrow tunnel silent except for the occasional rattles of skeletons and groans of zombies. The darkness surrounding him was only kept away by the feeble flickering of torches.

Grians small allay wings were trembling in anticipation and impatience. If he could he would have reached through the glowing display on his communicator and grabbed Xisuma to force him to pay attention to his messages.

It felt like a small eternity until there was a ding and a new text plopped up.

Xisuma whispered to you: Hi G! Anyone can organize one, yeah. We usually bring it up in meetings beforehand to see if the other Hermits are up to it, though. Wouldn't want a whole lot of effort to go to waste if no one shows up. Do you have something in mind?

Grian whispered to you: I have something cooking up in my noggin, yeah.

Xisuma whispered to you: Cool! Can I ask what it is? I can bring it up next meeting for you. :D

His heart sunk a bit at the implication that Grian wasn't yet Hermit enough to come to any meetings. But it was understandable. Grian had never been invited into the group. He was a guest at most. Boundaries had to be drawn somewhere.

The thought that he would eventually have to leave them still hurt, though.

Grian whispered to you: I was thinking about an April 1st event. Something like people can sign up for it and throw their names in. You draw one from the pile and that's your prank target. No base destroying allowed, of course. But otherwise anything goes.

Grian gnawed at his lip as he waited for a response. He had half a mind to just delete the message and write something like "Nevermind". The only thing preventing him from doing so was his stubborness.

He very nearly didn't bring himself to read Xisumas reply.

Xisuma whispered to you: Ohhh sounds fun! I'll talk with the others and let you know!

Grian whispered to you: Thanks!

Grian shakely put away his communicator and leaned against the wall for support. His heart was beating so fast that it was making him dizzy. Well that was an adrenalin spike he hadn't needed today.

Gathering up his fallen tool he decided that he had done enough for today. He would go annoy Mumbo-

He faltered in his steps. Right. Mumbo wasn't on this world right now. He would need to find something else to occupy his time with. He would just... just... hang out with his bees or something.

~~~

It was growing dark at Spawn, but Scar's elven tree was illuminated enough not to draw too many monsters to it. In said tree there had recently been installed a fresh new bed, which currently inhabited two cuddling Vex.

Cub had Scar firmly in his arms and was rubbing along the younger ones back with an expression of carefully controlled apathy. Had Scar bothered to look up he would have been able to identify it as Cub's "I'm hiding how utterly annoyed I am at you" face. Scar wasn't looking up, though. And wasn't planning to do so anytime soon.

He was rather busy whining into his partners chest and being difficult.

"Come on Scar just visit him." Cub tried his reasoning for the sixth time that day. He had lost count of the times he'd said the phrase since Mumbo had left. Given his meticulousness when it came to observing and recording things that was saying something.

"I can't Cub!" Scar whined, burying deeper into Cub's chest. "He'd be terrified! Or I would do something to terrify him. I get excited easily, you know I do. And then he'll see my Vex aspect and have a trauma attack or something-"

"I doubt it-" Cub muttered, but his words were barrelled over.

"And either way I don't want to come off as manipulative-"

Cub raised an eyebrow at that. Scar was pretty much the master manipulator of the two. He could sweet talk his worst enemy into giving him their pants. And he was very proud of his charm and fast tongue. But Scar also knew when to be sincere. That he even thought of being able to muddle the two sides of himself...

"Really Scar you're overthinking this-"

A sound of rockets made them pause. Cub frowned at the proximity and time. It was close to bedtime and already dark out. Who was still flying around out there? Didn't they know that was dangerous?

A timid knock on Scar's front door told them that they would soon know. With a drawn out, very unhappy sounding, groan, Scar detangled himself from Cub and padded down the stairs to let whoever it was inside.

Cub followed close behind. It hadn't happened often, but once or twice, a zombie had managed to bump against the door. So maybe the knocking hadn't actually been the Hermit flying outside, but a monster lured close to the tree by the Hermit. He was just looking out for his partner. No, he wasn't curious at all.

"Well hell- Oh...oh, hel-hello Grian!"

Cub's reflexes worked faster than his brain. His hand shot out to curl around the bend of Scar's elbow to keep him from bolting and he put on a semi hospitable smile. It was all he could manage at this hour of the day. And Grian was looking up at them with big, sparkling black eyes, his whole body language begging the Vex to comfort him.

“Good evening Grian.”

“Ello. Sorry for coming by unannounced so late.”

Cub huffed, tugging Scar to the side with him so Grian had a way in. “You always come unannounced. Get in and close the door before a zombie gets in and kills Scar again.”

“It was one time!”

Grian shot him a grateful grin and closed the door after he had shuffled further into the room. Cub had thought that at least Scar would have started babbling by now, but suddenly the two biggest ramblers on Hermitcraft were silent, making them all stand in an awkward semi circle.

Cub mentally sighed. It seemed like he would need to be the hospitable one. Something territorial in him rebelled against the idea of letting Grian in further. This was Scar's and his home and they were having a moment together before. Not an entirely pleasant one, but still.

And yet… Scar was practically vibrating in his grip, Vex magic making the air around them crackle. It was still just a very mild outlet and Cub doubted that Grian had noticed it, but it made Cub antsy. Something had to be done. And Scar would complain for ages if Cub kicked Grian out right now. Damn his soft heart.

“So what has brought you to us at this late of an hour?”

“I’m lonely.”

Scar made a curious vocal imitation of a dying whale beside him. And Cub had to give it to the small Allay. The confidence with which he bared his weakness to them made the Vex part within him scream. For what he wasn’t quite sure yet. But it did something to him that was for sure.

“Well we can fix that!” Scar's sudden enthusiastic shout made both Grian and Cub jump and blink at him. The wide smile his partner had donned send a shiver up Cub's spine. Oh no he was in full coddle mode now. Well at least Scar was sure on how he felt about the whole damn thing. Cub wouldn’t be surprised if all three of them ended up in Scar's enormous bed at some point during the night.

Cub's prediction turned out to be correct. They’d baked some more cookies, played exactly one game of Uno before Scar had to stop a war from happening, cleaned up the mess of bones from a skeleton, which had spawned on the badly lit lower portions of the tree (not the basement), spammed Scar's home with torches and other various lights and then collapsed on the bed with the warm cookies making a mess.

Grian was nestled comfortably between them, already half asleep nibbling at his cookie. Cub and Scar both kept up a light, teasing conversation, but were aware that they were merely providing background noise for the Allay to fall asleep to.

Once he actually was Scar let more of his Vex side shine through, leathery wings stretching and one inching towards Grian's slumbering form until the tip was nearly touching him. In the reverent quiet Cub suddenly felt as if there was a mountain between himself and his partner in crime.

The odd look on Scar's face was unbearable, too. So with a quiet growl Cub stood, walked over to the other side of the bed, slid in behind Scar and wrapped himself around the other Vex letting their magics mingle.

“Ohhh did you want cuddles?” Scar, ever the oblivious one, teased. As an answer Cub buried his nose into Scars hair, making his partner laugh and press more closely into his chest.

His attention was soon captured once more by the Allay that was now curling up in their bed and taking most of the space with it. “Why did he come to us, Cub?”

“I don’t know.”

Why indeed? Pearl was closer, both in proximity and relationship wise. Had he come to them even? Or had he just come to Scar? Cub held more tightly on to Scar and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to think about it.

Notes:

Whelp we had enough Mumbo and Grian interaction for now, time for him to have that long break XD
Grian is naturally clingy. No one knows what emotions to feel and the correct timeline is a mythological beast no one has ever seen.

Honestly, though, I'm so glad Mumbo is back to creating regular videos again. I love this silly man and his on point humour.

Chapter 5

Notes:

The Creo TCG Collector cards are dropping today! Who else is excited?! If you buy some what cards are you going for? (I'm gonna be so broke after today)

Mumbo may have been onto something, Grian mused as he gazed upon the two sleeping Vex. The morning light did not make the sight more pleasing to look at. They were both mostly presenting in their Vex aspects, skin grey, claws long and leathery wings all tangled up in what looked to be a painful mess. The change in taint made Scar's scars even more prominent. They shone red like fresh wounds. And he was drooling while Cub was snoring loudly into Scar's hair, probably having inhaled a few of the strands in his sleep.

They looked both ridiculous and dangerous and Grian's heart was doing flips at the sight of them. At the knowledge that he had shared their night and their bed. His mouth was still sticky from the cookie, which had been almost unbearingly sweet. Just like Scar's personality. And Cub may have been a bit distant, but he was a steady presence and there were occasional sparks of that mischieviousness everyone had warned him about.

He might actually have a bit of a crush on them. Maybe. If he wanted to inspect his feelings closely. Which he didn’t. He just wanted more friends! Really! And to be liked so he could maybe stay with the Hermits for the rest of his life.

Yes he only had ulterior motives and he didn’t seek them out yesterday because he was missing Mumbo and the only people he truly wanted to be around with for comfort had been these two.

Grian wanted to curl back into the sheets at the reminder of how lonely he had felt. He couldn’t, though. He was already fighting the urge to join their cuddle pile, knowing well that he very much shouldn’t. It just looked so cozy and lovely. And one of Scar's claws had stretched out over to Grian's spot already, as if seeking him out.

A flimsy invitation that wasn’t really one to begin with. Grian grumbled at the conflicting thoughts of stay and go his brain was giving him. Leaving without saying goodbye was not something he wanted to do anymore. He’d been forced to do it by that wacky End Portal back on Evo and he never wanted to miss a farewell again.

But staying here when he was awake and watching those two sleep like the pair of lovers that they were was agony. And boring. Honestly mostly it was agony because it was boring. And he wanted cuddles, too.

Grian was about ready to take on the wrath of two sleep deprived Vex by waking them up before their time when his communicator binged.

Jevin whispered to you: Hey bud! You awake?

Grian whispered to you: Good morning! Yes! What’s up?

Jevin whispered to you: I wanted to collect some eggs for the easter egg hunt, remember? You still want to come with?

Grians wings fluttered with excitement as he typed an enthusiastic yes and asked for coords. Quickly deciding whom of the two to wake up before leaving, Grian bend over Scar's body to shake Cub until the Vex blinked up at him. His eyes were a pulsating white, iris and pupils melting into one bright orb, which turned into a slit as it got into contact with the bright morning light.

“Hey Cub.” Grian whispered, earning an odd, hostile sounding rumble. “Jevin needs me for something. I’m gonna go now. Thank you for letting me stay the night.”

With another uncomprehensible mutter Cub tightened his grip on Scar and closed his eyes again. Alright, Cub was not a morning person then. Not wanting to test his luck with Scar, Grian went into the kitchen to write a quick note in case Cub had not been awake enough to remember their encounter. And then he was off to go spend quality time with Jevin.

~~~

The people on Hermitcraft were insane. Impulse had taken up life as a dwarf after finding an axe that made him grow a beard. Pearl was apparently haunted by aliens, whatever that meant given that they were flying from world to world and were pretty much aliens themselves. Tango had turned all frosty and was making plans to become a Dungeon Master. And Doc had build a World Eater of all things because he wanted to create a big hole.

Grian should have expected everyone to be some kind of unhinged. But for some reason Jevin had seemed so down to earth that he hadn’t expected to find himself in a huge unlit cave beside the sentient slime, holding an empty basket which was layered with moss.

“Jevin… When you said come gather eggs with me I thought you meant chicken eggs not Creeper eggs.”

“Why would I need help gathering chicken eggs? I could make a farm for that.”

“Why Creeper eggs, Jevin?”

“Because they are big and sturdy. Scar would crush his eggs before he could even hide them if I take any other kind.”

“Right.” That sounded logical. Risk your life so the Hermits can be their usual destructive selves. “So how do we do this?”

“Well we’ll have to find a Creeper nest first. And then one of us will have to lure out and kill the Creepers while the other goes to the nest and gathers the eggs. Rins and repeat until we have enough for all the Hermits. Easy!”

“Easy…” Grian repeated, much less confident than Jevin. “And who’s doing what?”

Jevin looked at him with his unblinking eyes. He was decked out in full netherite armor, a shield was clasped to his back and he’d already gotten out his bow and arrow. And Grian was the one with the shulker boxes and the baskets.

Grian closed his eyes and counted to three, hoping to calm his poor little heart. “Right. Let’s do this.”

“I knew I could rely on you. This will be so worth it!”

Maybe, Grian thought bitterly as he sneaked around the hoard of creepers Jevin had aggravated about half an hour later. But it certainly was no fun. Grian had to make sure to stay low and in the shadows to make sure none of the Creepers noticed him. Which was by no means safe.

Creepers hatched from eggs but they were one of the rare hostile mobs who did. A lot of the monsters they had to deal with at night were born from the shadows. skeletons and zombies mostly. And they were about as deadly as Creepers could be.

He got to the first nest just fine, thank the Void. The sight was a rare one Grian had but little time to take in. Players usually stayed well away from nests such as these. But they did look pretty. They were artfully woven things made of flowers, moss, grass and leaves as well as tuffs of Creeper fur, which was very soft but very hard to come by.

Grian quickly placed a torch down to keep the eggs from hatching and anything malicious from spawning and started to scoop them up. Creepers tended to walk around in herds and had community nests, so this one held a few. He could fill two whole baskets with this!

“Grian watch out!”

Between the shout and the explosion Grian had but a second to jump out of the way. Thankfully the ground fell away into a shallow hole perfect for taking cover. The blast swept hot air above him and made his ears ring, so it took a while until he was able to hear Jevin's shouting.

“Grian!”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. The eggs are fine, too.” Grian added after checking on their prize. He was trying to get the ash out of his hair when Jevin ran over to hoist him up and check him over.

“Sorry I didn’t get to that one in time. Here.”

“Jev no I’m really not that injured.” Grian gently shoved away the hands holding the healing potion. “I’m just a bit scratched up. It’ll heal all on its own.”

“I don’t care. Take it anyway. If not for now than for later. You might end up needing it. That is if you are still up for continuing?”

“Of course, we just got started! As if I’d ever let a few explosions keep me from doing stuff.”

Jevin gave him a bright smile. “Great!”

They continued on their little adventure for a few hours, getting lost in huge dripstone caves and having several close calls with various mobs. It all went a little too well. They had gotten well over the amount of eggs Jevin needed for the easter egg hunt and were high on their victory, laughing and joking around at the mouth of a cave several hundred blocks away from their starting point.

Grian had just handed off the shulker box with the baskets in it, too. Good timing on his part, he guessed right before an explosion from above ripped all senses from him.

He woke up gasping and shaking in his own bed, skin tingling from having been stitched together in a hurry. He was naked, having lost all of his items in death. It was the only sign that he had truly died and didn’t just have a nightmare.

Even though he knew he was alright his hands still wandered, checking for wounds or abnormalities. Not all worlds were kind. He’d been on other worlds that had taken from the Players tributes for the lifes given.

And not all worlds had enough power or sentience to bring Players back from the dead like this. Some could only provide one life. Others several before running out. Grian didn’t know how much this one would be able to bless them all with. He had never wanted to try it out. It had been the only reason he hadn’t killed himself in that Pillager prison.

He could have guessed that the world he had accidently landed on was powerful. It had a sentient rock, alien races, cursed artefacts and tombs of long forgotten kingdoms on it. And apparently a dormant rift that was probably connected to the sentient rock, which told him what to do via dreams, visions and vibes.

He was glad to find out that this world was benevolent on top of that.

Grian still didn’t like dying.

It had been a while and the sensation of just waking up somewhere you hadn’t been before never ceased to be terrifying. It brought him back to the dismaying moment of stepping into that blasted, wrong end portal.

Grian jumped when rockets sounded outside, quickly followed by a knock. Whoever had come to visit did not, however, wait until Grian told them to come in. Not even a second after the sound had echoed through his home, Scar burst in and immediately turned bright red, stopping whatever question he had meant to shout.

“Oh, oh nooooo you’re not decent yet I am so sorry!”

Grian burst out laughing at Scar's feeble attempt to hide his face behind his hands while still curiously peeking at him. As though Grian didn’t have all his important bits covered by a bedsheet.

“Hello Scar. Nice of you to come by. See anything you like?” Grian purred, waggling his eyebrows and giggling in delight when Scar buried his face deeper into his hands.

“No! I mean yes! I mean you’re very cute of course- But oh gosh I’m sorry I just saw the death message and thought-”

“Thought to come by to catch a good view of me?” Grian couldn’t help but tease. The noise Scar made was just too good. “Don’t worry Scar I’m happy to see you. I could actually use some company right now. Can you give me your communicator real quick? Mine is probably laying on the floor somewhere with my clothes.”

“Of course uh…” For a brief moment Scar just stood there eyeing the distance between the two.

Grian huffed at his reluctance, sheet falling to pool around his waist as he moved to stretch an arm out and make a come hither motion. “Scar just come over here. I may not lose my sweater as much as you lose your shirt, but I’m still not a prude.”

“Right. Sorry I just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” Scar finally pulled out his communicator and shuffled over to sit at the edge of the bed.

Grian gladly took it from him. “I’m never uncomfortable around you.”

“Oh.”

Grian wondered why there was so much wonder in Scar's tone. Like it was some kind of holy revelation. But his focus quickly shifted towards sending Jevin a message asking him to leave his stuff in front of Grian's starter base. The world chat was already full of teasing messages and RIPs.

“No one seems to be worried at all.”

Scar leaned over to see what he was looking at. “Of course not. Death is very common among Hermits. It’s never a big deal.”

“I didn’t know…”

Scar shot him a worried look. “Didn’t know what?”

“That you could die without consequence here. Ah! Scar the blanket, the blanket!” Grian shrieked, scrambling to get a hold of the fabric covering his bits as the Vex dragged him into a tight hug.

“Oh Grian!”

Had it not been Grian's turn to be flustered beyond words he would have found it hilarious how truly heartbroken Scar sounded at that moment. But soon the shock and embarassment faded and he took full advantage of Scar's pity, pressing in closer and making himself comfortable. He might as well take the cuddles when they were given to him. And he was still a bit shaky, even if Scar's grandious entrance had briefly distracted him.

Grian basked in the affection, mentally crooning when large Vex wings curled around him to bring him that extra layer of comfort and protection. Hidden away like this he could let the tears flow and his body tremble, Scar's tight grip grounding him enough not to lose himself in the quickly growing panic now that the distracting moment was over.

Another knock made Scar make that curious hostile sound Grian had already heard from Cub. But Grian wriggled about until he could gently grab one of the torn wings and move them enough to glance at the door.

“Hi Grian! I’ve brought you your stuff! Are you alright?”

Grian swallowed a few times to get his voice to work right. He forced it out as cheerfully as he could. “Thanks Jev! Yeah I’m okay.”

“That was quite the explosive exit, man! That Creeper kamikaze dropped down on you!”

“Guess that’s what I get for stealing their eggs!”

“Yeah. Well thanks for helping me out, bud! See you around!”

“Bye!”

Grian waited until he could hear rockets before turning around to look up at Scar. “Well good thing Jevin has manners or this would have been awkward.”

Grian wished he’d had something to record the noise Scar made at his comment. But it was fine. He could also just enjoy the way Scar dropped his face on top of his head.

Notes:

You know sometimes I wonder if I write them to be too oblivious. But then I remember Double Life and their Hermitcraft shenanigans. These two do not know what the other wants from them whenever they don't directly communicate with each other. And even then it's a hit and miss.

It's really curious how Mumbo, Scar and Grian know each other so well and can play off each other so perfectly and still somehow be able to misunderstand each others actions so spectacularly sometimes. (To the point where sometimes even they don't know if it's a bit or not)

I'm up to nearly 50k words of pre-written stuff now. And I'm not even halfway done. I didn't think this one would get so long. I only had one scene in mind when I started to write this. But there is so much Hermitcraft story to play with and so many Hermits I want Grian to interact with. I just keep adding stuff.

Chapter 6

Cub wanted to strangle someone. Or blow something up. If he’d just get Total Chaos up and running soon than maybe he could watch at least a few Players burn.

“I don’t make him feel uncomfortable!”

“I told you so.” Cub muttered, mentally upping the number of times they’d both said the same thing in the last twenty minutes.

Scar had crash landed near the huge pile of shulker boxes and the skeleton of pumpkins and redstone Cub had been working on for weeks now. And he’d been happy to see Scar at first, especially in such a good mood after he had been moping about for so long. But that happiness had soon turned into annoyance once Scar had opened his mouth and started babbling about Grian.

Or rather started jumping around Cub and repeating that phrase in a sing song voice over and over again.

He wasn’t necessarily curious what had happened between the two. But it seemed he had to take drastic measures and actually ask Scar in order to get him to say anything else. He could have probably also kissed him to shut him up. But he didn’t much like wielding affection like a weapon against his partners antics.

“How did you find that one out?”

Scar stopped prancing about and came closer to Cub. He had to be honest Scars bright smile always made his day no matter how annoying the other Vex could be.

“Oh I visited him after seeing the death message in chat yesterday!”

Cub gave him a perplexed look. “Why?”

“I don’t know… I just. I didn’t really think about it. It was a good thing I came by though! Apparently he didn’t know you didn’t perma-die in this world and was a bit spooked.”

Cubs vex wings spread of their own volution, activating his elytra and spreading those wings as well. Scar smiled fondly at him for it and drew him into a kiss, the closeness calming Cub enough to fold the two sets back in.

“It’s alright. He’s well again.”

“Good.” Maybe he would visit the little Allay himself afterwards. Although he didn’t want to send false signals and have the gremlin latch onto him as well. He needed his resources for himself. Well he’ll think of something.

Scar gave him a smirk that meant he knew exactly that Cub was scheming. Cub decided to draw him into a side hug and kiss him again just to make sure there wouldn’t be any inappropriate comments leaving Scars mouth.

~~~

Xisuma whispered to you: Hi Grian, I asked the other Hermits what they thought about your April Fools idea. You have the go ahead :D

Grian had never felt so happy in his life. First he was making friends with Jevin, then he actually got to cuddle with Scar and now he was getting a free pass on blowing other people up! This was amazing!

The only thing that really soured his mood was that Mumbo wasn’t responding to him at all. But Pearl had told him that this kind of behavior was normal and he didn’t need to go on a long, probably deadly mission to search for his missing friend.

He walled in Mumbos vault with the copper blocks he’d acquired instead, just to make his feelings about the whole thing known.

Grian had paid a little more attention to the world chat to keep his mind busy during his long, long mining sessions. And whenever a death message came up he felt himself tensing up less and less. This world seemed perfectly capable to take Grians antics if it could provide Scar with so many lifes.

It made him much more confident in building his little jester head where people could sign up for the event. After all he wouldn’t be the only one to prank someone. Well, hopefully.

He was still quite anxious about how the other Hermits would receive his event. Sure they had said it would be fun. But would they actually go through with it? Whelp, no risk no reward, Grian thought as he put the paper with his name into the hat.

A tugging stopped his train of thought. It had become quite insistent over the last few days where he’d done nothing more than mine and mine and hacking down the trees around the area where his mega build was supposed to go.

Grian had started to doubt that it came from the Entity itself. It felt similar, but it came from a different direction. It came from somewhere deeper. The Entity only wanted to grow. It rumbled within his chest whenever it was empty and send pleasant shocks of affection through him whenever he came to visit just to chat. It had become more and more alive during the time he’d spend with it.

Its insides had become fleshy and red, the stickiness drenching his chests, so that he had to relocate them outside for the time being. Which the Entity had not been happy about. Apparently it did not like to part with something that had been its own. Grian could relate and thankfully a lot of soothing and sweet talking had helped to calm it down.

Grian grimaced as his stomach did a sommersault and his heart stuttered for several beats, a particularly harsh tug rattling his body.

“Okay, okay I’m coming. What do you want from me now?”

Grumbling Grian waited until the dizziness and black spots disappeared until he took off. At least he knew where the thing that was screaming for him to come wanted him to go. He landed at the mouth of the cave entrance. It was currently a steep fall into the blackness bellow. Grian could hear the rattling of skeletons and moans of zombies. And if he listened very carefully, there was also the light padding of Creepers creeping about.

There was something else there, too, though. A light hum akin to that of an amethyst geode. It delighted the Allay part in him. And of course there was that faint, pinkish glow, which terrified him enough to leave the place be.

Apparently whatever was down there did not like him ignoring it any longer.

Rummaging through his inventory he found an assortment of useless things before he finally got to his torches. He bend down to peer over the gaping maw, elytra spread and muscles tense. His one hand held the torches, magic warping the space there in a way that allowed him and other Players to hold more of the same thing in it than should probably be possible.

The other hand held his rockets. He would need to be fast if he wanted to light up the whole cave before any monsters could get to him. Grian took a moment to calm his nerves. And then launched himself off the edge and spammed his rockets. Every torch he placed lit up as soon as he had rammed it into the ground, revealing more and more of the curious space below.

Arrows flew past him, but never quite managed to hit. The few explosions in the places he lingered for too long did not catch him. They still made fear shot through his body, feeding the dread this place gave off.

Killing off all the monsters and making sure everything was lit up well enough not to spawn any new ones took even more hours of his day. But the end result was worth it. The cave was really something else. It didn’t quite seem magical even though the air was brimming with it. It was, however, a curious place to behold.

There were arches and plattforms that looked eroded and flooded, yet not entirely natural. The floor he stood on felt too smooth. And the layout too perfect. Like it was supposed to look like a natural cave, but better. Like Scars terraforming, taking nature and adding to the beauty until it felt almost otherworldly.

Grian spend some time exploring the huge pillars holding the place up. He flew up to the lakes that must have formed over time. And he touched about every wall that he could, marvelling at the strange, faded patterns he could glimpse on some of them.

They reminded him a little bit of the lost civilization on Evo. And yet they didn’t quite match.

In the end he ran out of things to distract himself with. At some point he had to face the Wither in the room. The faint pink glow had dulled due to the torch light being brighter. But the presence that dominated the cave, the whole area really, would not let him get distracted easily.

Tugged behind a thin layer of stone was something that made the air thick with magic. That hummed and coaxed him to come closer. Grian only turned to face it very slowly. His eyes didn’t want to gaze at the spot at first. They kept sliding along the edges, opposing forces trying to both pull his gaze towards and away from the source of all that power.

Eventually he got comfortable enough to really look at what had called him. It was a rift. Only that it was closed. There was a layer of thin stone over where it had all been once, only a few small cracks showcasing where it was and that it was still somewhat active.

Carefully Grian padded over to it, earning himself an amethyst hum, which made his small allay wings flutter with delight. Touching the rough surface revealed that this had not been griefing. It was no lava cast and no one had deliberately placed any blocks to hide it. It truly was a crust. Formed over who new how long. The odd formation was warm.

The Rift hated it.

Grian frowned, the inside of his skull tingling not entirely unpleasantly. This had to go. He was suddenly curious. What would be underneath? Some kind of portal? Something like what he had gone through?

The thought was terrifying and exciting at the same time. Yes, he wouldn’t be able to control where he ended up in. Yet. But on the other hand…

Traveling between worlds took so much time. And resources. Not all Players could just hop from world to world without a care. You needed diamonds and a lot of them. And licenses. And someone who could actually fly a space ship.

The time factor really was the biggest issue for Grian, which is why he usually stuck to simulations when he wanted to try out something new. The Void could get really boring very soon. And waking up from cryo sleep felt about as disorientating as putting yourself into a simulation during your waiting time.

He’d heard of Players getting trapped in simulations before because of a notorious viruses or hackers. But at least you were less likely to permanently go poof because you accidently froze to death after your cryo chamber malfunctioned. The Void was pretty much empty of magic. It did not have the power to bring Players back from the dead.

Having another means of travel. One nearly instantaneous and without any side effects? It sounded like a dream. And why not? There were already portals leading them safely to the planes attached to the world they belonged to. Why not have bigger, badder portals to fling you around worlds?

Grian weighed his pickaxe while he thought about his next steps. It truly was far too inriguing to let this all go. If there was a way to instantly visit all his lost friends. And Mumbo. And new worlds-
There was nothing to stop him from trying. No consequence could be bad enough. He started to carefully chip away the barrier between world and Rift. Bit by small, agonizing bit, more of the glowing pink was revealed.

Standing so close in front of it made Grian feel hot. Like he was standing in front of a cooking stove. He could touch the glowing stuff just fine, though. It was hot, but not causing any burns. Actually it was a little bit confusing. If he held his hand to it for longer it felt more like too cold. Something between freezing and the moments before actually freezing to death.

Grian shuddered to think what it would feel like to go through this thing. Faint memories of his involuntary world jump came to mind. The unmistakable touch of the Void. Claws. Eyes. Chaos and emptiness. Being ripped apart and put back together. Yet never quite right again. Something had settled within him during that journey. Something that made his eyes glow purple every now and again. Something that was amplifying his magic. That made him dream of wings and strange symbols when his mind wasn’t busy enough processing real life events.

It did not matter yet, though. The Rift was very firmly closed at the moment. It’s surface was the texture of glass, but sturdier than obsidian. He would not be able to mine it away even with the best netherite pickaxe.

Grian wouldn’t need to, something told him. The Rift would take care of it all on its own. Once it had enough power.

Grian didn’t quite know what to think of that. How could such a powerful thing need even more power to function? Or had it been charged up once and this was just residue? Like a campfire slowly burning itself out?

Thoughts for later, he supposed. He could already hear the phantoms screeching. It was time to go home and sleep. And then he had to use everything his single braincell had to come up with a cool prank!

Notes:

I absolutely loved the Rift and Entity arc. And I kinda wish more stories would play around with it. There are some cool ones out there, though!

Chapter 7

It took a few days to set up Impulses prank and he nearly missed his deadline. It had been a while since he’d had the opportunity to create traps. His redstone was a mess and he kept getting new ideas for pranks he could pull only to then chicken out because he didn’t know how far he could go with Impulse, yet.

Nervousness and giddy excitement made sleep nearly impossible and more than once Grian found himself pestering Cub and Scar, bouncing around their bases like a particularly excited Slime.

The two were patient with him more often than not, apart from that last time he interrupted something a bit more intimate than usual. He’d been dropped on Pearls doorstep that night by a very disgruntled Cub in full Vex aspect. Which had also worked out great. A deep, meaningful conversation had not been something he had been looking for that night, but it had helped their relationship a lot.

Grian happily filled her starter base with cod heads as thanks the next morning. And had an army of cod headed grindstones surrounding his base in the afternoon. Which meant that all was well between them again.

“I didn’t think you could have two pranksters for this event.”

Grian would deny that he screeched until the day he permanently died. But Scar had been the witness so Grian would probably be teased about the incident later by other Hermits.

“Scar! My poor little heart!” Grian gasped after he had whirled around, clutching at his chest for good measure.

Scar chuckled at his antics, razor sharp smile showing that he was still in a bit of a vengeful mood after having been so rudely interrupted not long ago.

Grian huffed at his mirth. “This prank here is unrelated. What do you mean by two pranks anyway?”

Scars eyes lit up in a very worrying way. “Ohhh didn’t you see it?”

“I just woke up. What did I not see yet?”

“Oh no I won’t tell. You’ll see it.” Scar cackled, tipping an invisible hat to him. “Now I’ll be over at my tree if you need me! Very nice outfit by the way. Love the sunglasses! Okay, goodbye~”

His farewell was drowned out by the firing of rockets, which was soon overtaken by a yelp and a pop. Grian didn’t know whether he should laugh or sigh at the sight of items raining down onto the ground.

He had started to gather the first few things up when Scar stumbled out of his tree to join him.

Grian didn’t even need to look to know that Scars chest was out. “Put a shirt on.”

Scar whined at having his garments shoved at him. “But my beautiful pecks!”

“Will not help you against the ground coming up to attack you again.”

“They should.” Scar said with all the conviction of a priest.

“Sure Scar.” Grian felt about as tired about the whole topic as Cub at this point, but still couldn’t help sneaking glances and feeling his face heat up. It was a very well toned chest after all.

“Life is unfair.”

“It sure is.”

“Do you want a kiss?”

“What?!”

“An elven kiss. It’s a new cookie I made!”

Grian blinked up at him for a moment, black void like eyes for once reflecting the emptiness in his brain. Sometimes trying to keep track of the things Scar said felt like an impossible task. The man sure knew how to talk fast and switch topics like lightning. And sneak in innuendos without noticing, it seemed.

“I… yes?”

“Great! Here have a few. That’ll be two diamonds.”

“The- Oh you sneaky! Fine! But just because I’m feeling gracious today.”

Scar waggled his eyebrows at him as he gave him the small, purple tipped cones. “Don’t act so grumpy. I know you can’t resist my cookies.”

There was a whole lot more Grian couldn’t resist about him. But he kept his mouth shut about that and instead bit into the still warm sweet. There was a lurching sensation and a brief dislocation of space. Grians heart did a double take before remembering what it was supposed to be doing. The rest of Grians body following suit. It was a miracle he hadn’t collapsed onto the ground or instantly poofed from shock.

Thankfully there was a target block there to stabilize him. A target block?

Grian shakely took a step back. He was stood in front of the great copper wall he had erected around Mumbos vault. And before that stood a target block with a button on it.

A button.

With a sign that said “Don’t press”.

So this was what Scar had meant by other prank.

Grian already wanted to press it.

“No.” Taking all of his willpower he turned away from temptation. “No no no. I have stuff to do. I’m not falling for that.”

He took one step away, becoming aware of eyes following his move. He bit his cheek. Took another step. Turned and walked over to the button again, circling it like prey.

What would it do? Was it hooked up to something? Grian wanted to know. He wanted to know so badly.

His hand was laying on the block now, fingers tapping and wings fluttering in obvious excitement.

He didn’t get the chance to press it before he was teleported away.

Grian was about as surprised as Impulse to suddenly stand in front of him.

“Do you want the blue or the red dye?” He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

“What?”

Seeing Impulse so obviously confused made confidence settle back into his bones. His natural grin appeared showing that while Allays may be passive mobs they sure had pointy teeth.

“As you’ve probably noticed I’m your prankster buddy this wonderful April Fools’. Welcome to my little quiz show! Now for my first question: Do you want the red dye or the blue dye.”

It was delightful to see understanding slowly dawning on Impulses face and the laughter that followed made Grians grin widen. Grian loved playing pranks, but he loved it even more when others enjoyed being caught up in them.

“Errr red?”

“Wrong. But don’t worry that one wasn’t a real question anyway. Shall I explain how this will work?”

Impulse was already starting to sweat. “Yes please.”

The whole prank went amazingly smooth. Grian had carefully chosen trivia question he knew everyone should know, but which seemed hard enough not to arise suspicion. Impulse was guided through the narrow hallways and infinity rooms up to his prize. Grian heard they joy in his voice and cackled when a bunch of explosions cut off the “Oh shit!” Impulse let out when he heard the clicking of a mechanism.

That the poor guy would re-appear in the Nether and end up in a bit of a death loop had not been part of the plan, but was about as hilarious. Thankfully Grian didn’t have to get him out and the two reunited just outside of Impulses starter base.

Grian threw him the red dye with a laugh. “Here’s your prize, thanks for playing!”

Impulse snorted. “I didn’t win anything.”

“But you thought you would.” Grian sang, flitting around him. He didn’t have his elytra on for the prank and so his natural wings could do their thing and let him hover and glide around a few inches off the ground.

“Yeah I did!”

Grian stopped in his movements letting Impulse spin around to face him. “It wasn’t too much, was it?”

“Nah. You got me good! But I really want to know how your rooms worked now.”

Grian made an excited noise and all but dragged Impulse back undeground to show him his redstone. He was very glad that he’d ended up going for the kill after all. Sometimes you just had to go big or not go at all.

The success didn’t help him with the prank waiting at his base, though. Impulse had been but a brief distraction, Grian fleeing as soon as the Hermit proposed that he could teach him some redstone.

Once back home the button send out its siren call once more, tempting him to get closer. The sign daring him to press it.

Grian made a valiant effort to ignore its call. He scurried around his starter base, doing half thought through tasks. But he always stayed around the button and kept circling closer and closer until he found himself standing in front of it again.

“Oh this so isn’t fair!” He whined for good measure, before ripping the sign off and throwing himself at the button. He pressed it with both of his hands, wings making him hover slightly over the target block so he could use more of his weight. And then he pressed it a couple more times for good measure.

There was a click and a rattling as more pistons fired. Grian settled back onto his feet and hopped back a few paces to look around him. He made a curious noise, trying to find out what the button had done. As of yet he couldn’t see anything.

“Did you press it?”

This time Grian only jumped, but gave Scar a glare anyway. “Yes! Of course I did! But it doesn’t seem to have done anyth-”

High pitched sighs and rattling almost purrs trembled in the air instantly proving him wrong.
Slowly they both turned towards the source of the sounds. Dread began to bubble in his stomach as the noises got louder and more familiar. No way. How could have anyone-

It could have been a music disk. And even that would have been a good prank. Not top tier level, but still funny. But not on Hermitcraft. No, here you actually somehow got a couple dozen Ghasts out of the Nether and into the overworld just for a good laugh.

The bulging white bodies gracefully floated up and out of the copper cube Mumbos base had become. Their ascent was a slow motion explosion. Its impact just as powerful.

Both Grian and Scar let out shrieks of terror, Scar immediately taking off. Not that the idiot was fleeing. He was just getting a bit of distance and a better vantage point. Grian fumbled to put down his enderchest and equip his elytra.

“Say Scar are you free this afternoon?” Grian shouted over the noise and shot off into the sky just in time to avoid a fire ball.

He got a crazed laugh in return. An arrow shot past him to kill the Ghast that had tried to barrel him over with a fire ball. And in a matter of seconds Scar was beside him again, flying clumsy loops and firing off a barrage of arrows.

“It’s a date!”

Grian almost forgot how to fly at this moment. Scar had twisted in the air to awkwardly grin at him as he had shouted that. And the sun had hit him just right to show off those mesmerizing glowing eyes, leathery wings spreading to guide the artificial wings in their movement. He was so beautiful. Until he flew straight into the copper wall and landed with a surprised “Oof”.

“Scar!” The shout was more a laugh than anything. Really this ridiculous man! At least he hadn’t poofed this time. The Ghasts could have destroyed all his items.

Grian propelled himself upwards and took out his own bow and arrow. He wasn’t as good of a shot as Scar, but he could hit a target as long as it was big enough. And these Ghasts were huge.

Twirling around and dealing with these foes quickly turned from a panicked screaming match to quips and laughter. The Ghasts attacks only hit a few things, the fire not spreading because everything was damp from rain. And soon enough they were so high up that they didn’t hit anything important anymore.

When only two or three were left Grian landed again, Scar following soon after. He had only meant to catch his breath, but Scar looked up with a contemplative look in his eyes.

“You know, they look kind of peaceful floating around like this.”

Grian glanced up at the creatures. He’d never seen them as anything but annoying pests before. But here in the overworld they looked almost like clouds.

“Yeah, you’re right. Scar? You okay?”

Scar had started to lean on Grian quite a bit. “Sorry, just a little woozy from all the excitement.”

“Oh.” Well Grian would take any excuse to get some physical affection. This counted. No one could fault him for steadying his friend with an arm around his waist either. He was only helping after all.

“We should leave them up there.”

“What? Scar no-”

“Come on, they totally forgot about us! Look! Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Well they aren’t going to damage our bases anymore, at least.”

“Exactly!”

“Hey why is everything on fire here?”

“Doc!”

Doc had sauntered over to them, red eye gleaming with mirth as he looked around and gave a whistle. “You didn’t press the button did you?”

“Didn’t I- OF COURSE I PRESSED THE BLOODY BUTTON!!!”

Grian was only a little guilty when he heard Scar fall over. But Grian had to lunge himself at Doc to climb up on his chest to shove his angry face at him.

Which didn’t do much more than raise Docs amusement, causing him to chuckle. Grian felt a huge hand gently grab the back of his sweater to lift him off.

“I thought I saw a sign that read ‘don’t press’.”

Grian squirmed and poked at Doc, letting out a littany of grumpy noises as he was put down. “That only made it worse! It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Of course.” Docs hands reached for him again. They carefully patted him down to make sure he wasn’t injured, that biomechanical eye probably scanning him for good measure.

Footsteps came up behind Grian and Docs carefuly gaze also washed over Scar.

“I knew it! You were hanging around this area all day! You were super suspicious!”

“I wasn’t!” Doc huffed, playfully affronted. He was just about done with his check up when Scar pulled Grian back to his side.

He may have looked like he was using Grian as a convenient crutch, draping half his body over him. But Doc knew better. It was only an excuse. Scars body language and the subtle push of his magic clearly screamed ‘Back off or I’ll bite’. Doc had never seen Scar this protective of anyone but Cub before.

“Hi Doc.”

Yeah those teeth were much sharper than they usually were around him. “Hi Scar. You gonna deal with the rest of them?”

“Nah.” Grian piped up again, wholly unaware of Scars murderous aura. “We decided they look cool up there. How did you manage to get these here?”

“I’ll show you.”

Docs explanations went straight over Grians head. But the deep hole and Scar peering over the edge was quite intriguing. And really, who could resist in circumstances like these? Scars screams were always so funny.

He pouted when Scar managed to catch himself on his bat wings just in time, the torn up things much faster than the whirring, dead ones of the elytra.

“Awww it’s not fun when he gets good.”

Doc snorted next to him and Grian easily evaded the big green hand that would have send him down to Scar. “Pesky bird.”

“I’m not a bird!” Grian screeched at him, even though the phrase somehow made his heart flutter pleasantly. Really? Of all nicknames that’s the one he somehow liked?

“But you’re pesky?” Doc continued to tease with a grin, crossing his arms and standing confidently on the edge.

If Grian didn’t know that Doc weighed about double as much as he did and would definitely not move even if Grian shoved at him with all his might, he would have given it a try. Doc saw the dangerous glint in his eyes, the purplish flash in it always shining through when Grian was especially excited about something. And Doc greeted that sign of something other in Grian with a cocky smirk.

Grian fluttered his wings at him, letting out an eerie hum. “No denying it, I am!”

Rockets announced Scars renewed appearance and the Vex landed neatly between the two. “Phew! That was a long way down! Someone should probably cover up that hole or someone might fall in there in the future.”

All three of them looked down the shaft Doc had created.

“We should at least take the scaffolding out.” Grian mused.

“And remove the chimney so Mumbo won’t have an eyesore in front of his vault when he comes back.” Scar agreed.

“Well have fun with that.”

“Wait, Doc you made this!”

“See it as free resources, man!”

They were both left standing as Doc flew off into the distance, one of the Ghasts shooting a lazy fireball his way.

Grian shook his head, letting Scar lean into his side again and preening at the wing that came to wrap around him. “What a madman. Hey Scar, are you free for the rest of the evening as well?”

The warm laugh that answered him made his cheeks heat up. “For you? Always.”

Notes:

They are bonding! And flirting. Kinda.

I'm aware that I end a lot of conversations with Hermits flying off into the distance. And at first that bugged me a little. But then I remembered that that's literally what they do almost all the time. So I guess I'll just have to get creative with my wording.

Also I love the idea that Doc just picks up people by the scruff of their neck like kittens. He's used to handling Ren like that most and foremost. Sometimes he does it to Scar or Mumbo. Although Mumbo has grown a bit too lanky for him to actively pick him up. Grian is the perfect height, weight and shape to pick up, though. So Doc enjoys manhandling him like that. Especially because Grian gives him a lot of opportunities to do so.

Chapter 8

They had misspelled his name. Grian stood in the big egg building Jevin had made, hoping that a basket was waiting for him, too. And there was. Probably. Only it was for “Grain”. A simple mistake. Only all the other Hermits had their names spelled correctly. Was there someone he hadn’t met yet who was named Grain?

It was such a stupid thought. Of course not. Otherwise he wouldn’t have a basket. And Jevin had asked him to help with the eggs. He wouldn’t have excluded him from the game. Jevin was nice.

Grian took the basket, that was covered up by cloth and flew to his base to think there. Somehow he didn’t want to run into anyone when he was feeling this vulnerable. Small talk was hard when a lump in your throat prevented you from getting words out.

He settled on his bed and stroked over the red sheet, feeling out the shapes of the eggs underneath. It was his. He knew it was his. And yet he flinched at every quiet ping his communicator made, waiting for a message in the chat inquiring after a missing basket.

He hated these little reminders that his standing with the Hermits wasn’t fully confirmed yet. He was still just an outsider. A friendly one. But not quite part of the group. It was easy to forget when he was fooling around with Cub and Scar, or went to annoy Doc whenever he was getting bored. He’d started to hang out more with Pearl as well. And because Doc and Ren were such close friends, he had ended up spending a lot of time with the Dog Hybrid, too.

Grian wished he could just ask if he could stay with them. Logically he could do that. He could write Xisuma. Make an official request. But then it would be exactly that. Official. People would vote for him to be in or out. And what if someone didn’t like him enough?

Cub came to mind first. Grian absolutely adored the crafty Vex and Cub was nothing but kind to him. But he was also very obviously keeping his distance, eyeing him warily whenever Grian entered his space.

Grian couldn’t fault him for that. He was getting pretty close to Scar and even Grian felt a bit like a homewrecker sometimes, even if he tried very hard not to be.

Yes, Cub would probably vote him out. And if not than he would only refrain from doing so to make Scar happy. And Grian didn’t want to cause arguments.

His head was starting to spin with his rising axiety and Grian took a breath and told his thoughts to stop. The Entity rumbled in his head, nudging his mind as though to ask if Grian was alright. It didn’t help at all with the dizziness. Actually maybe it was even the source of it. But it was still sweet and Grian send a mental, reassuring smile its way.

He was fine. He just needed to stop thinking for a second.

Grian lifted the cloth up and immediately that task didn’t seem so hard anymore. If it was ambiguous who the basket belonged to before it was very clear now. Small versions of himself looked up at him with beady black eyes and Grian squealed with delight.

“Oh they are so cute! I wanna keep them!”

With the basket had come a book listing the Hermits who had signed up for the game as well as the coordinates of their bases. Grian let out another excited hum, the otherwordly sound vibrating in the space around him. He hadn’t had the opportunity to explore much of this world yet. This would be a great excuse to do so!

Former anxiety all but forgotten he flipped through the book, trying to remember which bases he had seen already and where he could best place his eggs. He knew Scars and Cubs bases by heart, having spend most of his nights after Mumbos departure there. They both had a whole lot of nooks and crannies to hide stuff in. The branches of Scars tree were artfully twisted and its roots reached deep into the water of their local river. It gave a lot of wildlife a perfect environment to build their own homes. Monsters included, unfortunately, given how bad Scar was at lighting up his builds.

Cubs basement was small in comparison, but his redstone left many holes to be exploited and the ceiling was full of cracks, where an egg or two could find its place. His storage, neatly organized as it was, also overflowed with stuff. The chests were stocked on sturdy shelves on top of each other, leaving spaces behind them to hide things.

Pearls house was, as always, a work of art. Her organic building style crept into even her more normal, rustic looking houses. And she had terraformed quite a bit around her estate. Which meant the outside was fair game, too.

Grians thoughts turned to his own starter house, wondering where he would hide the eggs if he were another Hermit. The game could only be won if you also found the most eggs, after all. A quick tour through his home told him that there were preciously few hiding places. An unfair advantage in his mind. He would need to spruce up his interior if he wanted the Hermits to be able to get creative with hiding their own eggs.

Nodding to himself he mentally made a bullet point list of tasks he had to do and started to rummage through his chest monster for his wood resources. Only to stop and go to his desk to sketch up some ideas first. No use scavenging for resources when you didn’t even know how much you would need.

It took some time to get into the right mindset, but eventually he had a few ideas he liked and had flown out to gather the materials he needed. Most of the day was spend crafting up the pieces he needed to decorate his home. He even made a few additions on the outside, careful not to pay too close attention to the probable hiding places popping up as he did so.

Around midday an insistent tug in his stomach reminded him that he hadn’t done anything for the Rift yet. Grian rolled his eyes at the poking and prodding, feeling as though he had adopted two children. The Entity at least was more patient with him. It tended to seek out the edges of Grians consciousness when it felt empty, but otherwise left him alone.

The Rift was different. It was demanding and hungry. There was an urgency in its messages that Grian was hesitant to indulge. Not only because the Rift still scared him. But also because the project it wanted him to take on was so big. He would need so many resources. And he’d never built in so many different styles before.

And really, how was he supposed to make rocks float? He wasn’t a wizard!

The Rift didn’t care about what he could or could not do, though. It only wanted.

Grian had always had a problem with authority figures. After eating his lunch he defiantly continued with the tasks he had set himself. None of which included working on his mega base.
He regretted his decision when his heart was starting to beat weird, dark spots forming in his field of vision making him fall off his roof.

Instead of the painful impact he was caught by two meaty arms and sat down so fast that Grian could barely keep up with the movement. Hair was swept away from his forehead, a cool, blue tinged hand coming up to test his temperature.

“Grian? Buddy you with me?”

Cubs voice came to him in a distorted way, muted and deeper than it usually was. It was hard to see him as well with how blurry Grians vision had become. Grian knew for sure that Cub was the one currently kneeling in front of him, though. The man smelt like Redstone and freshly cut pumpkins. The sweet, rich aroma of the Gigapies the man consumed on a daily basis also clung to him.

Cubs hand slid from his forehead to his cheek and tilted his head up. The other joined soon after, framing Grians face, thumbs gently stroking under Grians eyes.

“Grian?”

Grian tried to remember how his throat worked again. His efforts rewarded him with a strangled warble that almost sounded affirmative. It wasn’t good enough for Cub, though, whose Vex magic had begun to leak out. It reached out towards Grian, but found no foothold. They had once been the same. And although both of them had become somewhat tainted they were as far away from each other - species wise - as a dog and a cat.

“’m fine.” Grian managed to mumble around the cotton in his mouth. “Rift’s being mean.”

“That doesn’t make much sense to me, Grian.”

Grian let out a half formed, gurgled reply and made grabby hands towards Cub. He felt like shit. He demanded to be comforted. And it was such a rare opportunity to be cuddled by Cub. The man was only ever the initiator of touches and affection when it came to Scar.

Cub made a noise that sounded like a protest before letting Grian have what he wanted with a sigh. “I’m not Scar.”

Wings came around to shield him from the cold evening air, arms looped gently around him. Grian sunk deeper into his cuddle partner and clung tight. Hopefully Cub would get the message that Grian didn’t care. He really didn’t want to talk anymore.

“It’s getting dark.”
There wasn’t much energy left in Grian, so he only hummed and closed his eyes. Really he would have to have a word with the Rift once he felt better again. If it wanted him to do stuff, wrecking him like this was not the way to go.

The arms holding him so gently shifted once more so Cub could lift him up. “Alright I’ll put you to bed. You stay and rest up tomorrow.”

Grian shook his head. “’Need to gather resources.” He’d like to have a bit of a peace offering with him when he confronted the Rift.

“Can’t that wait?”

“No.”

The breath of air Cub let out in a long sigh ruffled Grians hair. “You’re worse than Scar. He won’t like it if he sees a death message from you in chat tomorrow.”

“You could come supervise me then.” Grian forced out in a hopeful whisper, then whined when he was sat on his bed.

“We’ll see.”

“It’s a promise then.”

“We’ll see, you little gremlin.”

“See you tomorrow, Cub.”

~~~

He couldn’t believe that he had just given in like that. He should have gotten Scar. Scar would have loved to have another opportunity to spend time with Grian. He had pretty much taken over Mumbos role at this point. But something ugly and possessive reared its head when Cub thought about telling his partner about Grians situation.

So here he was, standing in front of Grians quirky starter house that looked like a shoe. Nervous. There had been something very off yesterday. There had been a strong undercurrent of power when Cub had let his magic loose. A shock of wildness and chaos that should have been absent from an Allays pure energy.

Had the pillagers been further along in their preparations than Cub had thought? Had Grian been contaminated after all?

His shaky knock was answered by rustles and thumps, which were quickly followed by footsteps. Soon enough Grians dark eyes were sparkling up at him. A quick check up showed the little Allay to be perfectly fine. There was a bit of a flush on his cheeks, but that was probably because he had run to the door. His wings were glowing a bright blue, scattering fairy dust into the air with their rapid movements. They were the best indicator of health, so Cub was glad Grian hadn’t put his elytra on yet. The contraption was quite useful but it hid Grians small wings far too easily.

“’Ello Cub!”

“Good morning. Are you still planning to get resources?”

“Yes! Just let me-” Grian spun around again and stumbled back into his base so that Cub came close to having to catch him again.

It was astonishing how quickly the Allay had changed over night. Yesterday evening he’d been deathly pale and had barely gotten a word out. Now this morning he was vibrating with energy again, flitting around his place akin to the bees he kept up in his tower.

Cub sneezed as he got a mouthful of fairy dust in his nose. Grians home was full of the stuff. It made the inside of the house glow and sparkle. If Cub hadn’t known any better than he would have thought Grian had shredded the diamond blocks he’d gifted him and smeared the results all over his furniture.

While Grian was puttering about in the kitchenette, Cub opened up all the windows to let some fresh air in.

“Cub! The bees!” Grian shouted from somewhere in the house.

“Shut your trapdoor!”

“Rude!”

“No not- the one to the attic! Where your bees live.”

“Ohhh. Good call.”

Cub rolled his eyes, smile tugging at his lips at the ridiculous man he had chosen to babysit for the day. The scratches and clonks worried him a bit. Grian was scuttling around his own home like a new born fawn. Maybe that was just how he was. Or maybe he was so clumsy because it was still early in the morning. But his experience with Scar made him suspect something else.

For a brief moment he wondered if he could just wrestle the Allay into bed and keep him there with his bulk. He probably could. And Grian…

Would Grian mind if he did that? He seemed to like physical affection. He’d crawled into Scars and Cubs bed without invitation more often than not after Mumbo had left. And he’d been holding onto Cub pretty tight yesterday-

“I’m ready!” There was another loud thump as Grian jumped down the last few inches of the ladder.

All thoughts of containing Grian left his brain at the first surprisingly strong tug at his arm. Grian easily pushed him along in his excitement. And Cub had to draw back fast when the little Allay fired off a rocket before letting go of him.

Quietly cursing Cub fumbled to get his own rockets out and flew after him. “What do you need to gather?”

“A lot!” Grian shouted back, doing a little twirl in the air, closing his wings to let himself fall a few feet before catching himself again and firing a bunch of rockets to be level with Cub once more.

“A lot of what?” Cub knew this kind of game. Scar loved to goad him on. And Cub liked the challenge of having to remain calm even when it got truly ridiculous.

“Loads of things!”

“Does that mean you don’t know yet?” Cub chose to tease back, although only Scar would have been able to tell. Cubs tone remained even and serious and Grian didn’t catch the slight shift in his demeanor. Which only made the affronted squawk more funny.

“I do know! I don’t just go out and collect stuff, Cub!”

“Really? Huh.”

They nearly crashed into each other when Grian tried to poke their noses together. “Don’t sound so surprised! I always have a plan.”

Now they both knew Grian was lying for this one. Instead of replying Cub rather dealt with their near crash situation. Both had stopped their flight abruptly so as not to end up with broken noses. And now they were kind of falling feet first towards the treetops. Cub took hold of Grians shoulders and tipped him back so they could both start gliding again.

Yes, what a poor, terrified creature Grian was, Cub thought. Truly traumatized, cackling like a menace under him. You could very much see the fear in those sparkling eyes full of mischief. Not.

“So where to first?” Cub let go of Grians shoulders. His partner in flight easily matched his pace and kept staying under him so they could continue to look at each other. It was amazing how easily Grian managed to fly on his back, his elytra groaning and stuttering with the strain of this unfamiliar and rather unnatural position.

Grian could very well have been an avian Player. What had Doc started to call him? Pesky bird? Yes, that sounded fitting.

“I’ll show you!” Grian chirped at him, a renewed barrage of rocket firings underlining his sentence. “Have some patience!”

As if Cub had been the one to speed away. Cub had an endless well of patience. Which was proven by the fact that he was still following along even after the second firework to the face. It took some tricky maneauvering to even out his flight again. And this time he even needed to wipe some of the soot from the explosion off.

With the ridiculous way Grians flight ate up the blocks they travelled, they managed to get to a distant mountain biome before it was even lunch time. Grian wobbled a bit as he landed, immediately making something protective raise up in Cubs chest.

“Okay.” Grian huffed, face red and already starting to shiver from the biting cold air. “I think we can level this one.”

Cubs gaze swept over the area. He was glad he’d gone along and packed a beacon with the task ahead of them. “Alright. Sure. We should be far enough out. Why here, though and not just go underground when you need stone?”

Grian placed a row of shulker boxes on the ground. “Just felt like a hazzle to be honest. There’s so many caves and lava pools in this world. I didn’t want to constantly worry about monsters and falling into holes. And I mean, look! You don’t get this kind of view when you’re in a dark tunnel deep underground.”

His eyes followed Grians hand as it swept over the landscape. It was a very nice spot. They were surrounded by huge jungle trees on one side and a big sahara on the other. The mountain they stood on was the tallest of the ones dividing the two biomes. Its peak was narrow enough to see everything around it.

Only a few clouds obscured the view. And those were milky and thin, almost dissolved into mere fog.

It was icy up here, but the beauty made up for it. “I don’t know what you mean. Lush caves are very pretty. As are dripstone caves. Plus, you get diamonds and ores when you mine. And amethyst. Don’t you like those?”

Cub turned to prepare the beacon and hide his smirk at the borderline furious noise Grian made. It was so much fun to be contrary just to be contrary with him. The variety of sounds Grian could make when angry were too fascinating. It reminded him of Pearl and her huge vocabulary of sounds. Had they been close before Grian had vanished? And if so, had they been close enough to pick up each others habits?

“Just because I’m half Allay doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with amethysts! I’m about as interested in them as you are able to phase through walls.”

“So a lot?” Cub placed the last layer of iron blocks down and extracted the beacon from his inventory.

“What?!”

He was glad he had his back to Grian still. It wouldn’t do for him to see Cub enjoying himself so much in his presence. Especially with the topic at hand. But turning intangible was one of the very few things that Cub counted as a Vex perk.

Light footsteps drew close and soon he had a bright red jumper and a mop of dirty blonde hair in his line of sight. “What do you mean you can phase through walls?!”

Cub made the mistake and turned towards Grian to answer him. Void these eyes would be the death of him. They already sucked you in when they were their normal black colour. But when they had this eerie pinkish purple glow in them-

It took a lot out of Cub to keep his composure and actually reply. He grinned down at Grian as a sort of defense against his radiance. Which wasn’t a good kind of radiance. Grians glow was like that of the light at the end of the tunnel. It promised a drastic change. A fall into the unknown. And yes, with Grians chaotic personality, probably death as well.

“It means what I said.”

If possible, Grians eyes got even bigger. “Will you show me?”

That answer was easy. “No.”

“Will Scar?”

“You can ask him.”

Grian nodded and took a step back. “I’ll try him then.” He took out his pickaxe, but paused when Cub made a sound of disapproval. “Hm?”

“That’s still diamond.” Cub couldn’t help but be slightly scandalized.

Looking down at his tool Grian didn’t seem to understand the issue Cub took with that. “Yes?”

“It doesn’t even look very enchanted to me. Give me that.”

Before Grian could react Cub had already snatched the pickaxe and looked over the intricate markings running down the edges and handle. The optimizer in him screamed in agony at the pitiful enchantments he found.

“You’re not using that. It will take ages with this.”

Grian huffed. “Well sorry for not having all the gear yet. I joined the game late! Do you have a spare then?”

Cub looked him up and down in thought. Even puffed up as he was Grian didn’t look especially intimidating. Most of his energy had already been drained. He was trembling and pale. Whatever had overcome him yesterday had not fully left him yet. Even if he was able to walk around again.

Even if he was pretending that everything was fine.

Cub didn’t like the idea of him using a sharp pick and accidently impaling himself on it should he suddenly fall unconscious. It may have been a ridiculous fear had Cub not witnessed Scar during that exact same scenario a couple of times.

Cub pocketed the pickaxe for the time being. He would give it back as soon as Grian was feeling better again. Just to be safe. Grian didn’t seem to know how to deal with these spells of weakness yet. Cub and Scar hadn’t either, back then. And had made many mistakes during their recovery because of it.

He knew better now. So it felt like his responsibility to look out for Grian. At least for now.

“I don’t. But mine is pretty fast. It might be best if I mine and you gather up. This way I can focus on clearing the area without constantly having to stop.”

Grian looked like he wanted to protest, gaze jumping between Cubs now empty hand and his eyes. “...Alright.”

Some of the tension Cub had stored in his shoulders left him. “Great. Let me turn on the beacon. Then we can start.”

Cub hadn’t made the suggestion because of Grian being an Allay hybrid. In fact Cub had all but forgotten about it. Well, not about Grian being an Allay, of course. It was glaringly obvious that he was. He had the vibes even if they were sometimes a little off. No, he had forgotten about this particular trait Allays had and which most hybrid Players shared: They loved to gather stuff.

And they sung when they were happy.

The oddly familiar humming dug into his skull like knives and made him grit his teeth. Grian had a nice voice and he was much more efficient than a normal Allay because he didn’t miss any chests when he went to deposit stuff in them. This was a good session. They were making great headway.

Soft chimes wove themselves through Grians notes and Cub had to concentrate not to become violent. It wasn’t Grians fault that he was like this. It just hurt to be reminded…

Scar had sung like this once. Cub hadn’t been too into it even though he occasionally did hum a tune or two. But Scar had pretty much been all song when they had still been pure. He’d flutter around like Grian did now, all carefree and happy. And the air would be filled with the chiming of little bells and his smooth dark voice.

His partner still loved to sing, but his voice had lost that extra quality. It was just as smooth and beautiful, but the lack of something that had always been there had been crushing the both of them after they had managed to claw themselves out of that hellhole of a woodland mansion.

He thought they’d gotten over it. Apparently not.

The air surrounding him shifted and Cub tried to keep his Vex aspect in check only to startle when he noticed that it hadn’t been him to disturb the airflow like this. He stopped and turned. Grian was still gathering, lost to the world and singing. But here it was again. Something off. A distortion of the usually so cheerful chime. It sounded almost sinister.

“Grian… Grian?… Grian!”

Grian jumped when Cubs voice finally got through to him. He looked up, blocks disappearing into his inventory as he slowly looked around. He was blinking like he’d not been there for a while and had to remember where he was again.

“Hmhmmm?”

Void this man was giving Cub too many feelings. “Are you alright?”

He still looked out of it and Cub couldn’t help but get closer to him, just to make sure he could catch the little guy if he passed out or something. Cub quickly glanced at the Allays wings. The hue was off by a smidge, but at least they hadn’t paled. This was very odd.

“I… think so. Sorry Rift is being very… misbehaved. How much stone and stuff do we have?”

Cub quickly looked through their shulkers, feeling dread rise like bile up his throat whenever he had to take his sight off Grian. What was he talking about?

“Four shulkers full. Grian what-”

“That should do.” Grian nodded and made grabby hands at Cub.

Cub looked at him for a moment, but didn’t hesitate as long as last time to hug him.

The giggles Grian emitted at the gesture were muffled by Cubs chest. “I just wanted to have my pickaxe back so I could pick the shulkers up, but this is nice too. Noooo-”

Thin, but suprisingly well toned arms wrapped around Cubs middle as he tried to let go of Grian. “Sending mixed messages there, bud.”

“I like hugs. ‘M not saying no to hugs.”

“Of course not.” It was mostly instinct that guided him at this point. At least that’s what he told himself after Cub realized that he had picked Grian up fully. The man was just so light. And he went so easily with Cubs movements as though he somehow knew what Cub would do next. Even if Cub didn’t.

Well at least Grian was happy. His arms had been relocated to rest around Cubs neck. And his legs were wrapped around Cubs middle instead. He had pretty much melted into Cubs embrace. But started to fidget soon after, wiggling out of Cubs arms with a groan.

“Bloody- sorry Cub, I really should get going before the Rift is knocking me out again. Soooo demanding.”

“Grian what Rift?”

“Huh? Oh you haven’t seen it yet? You can come with and I’ll show you! It’s really something!”

This time, when Grian made grabby hands, Cub hesitated before giving the Allay his pickaxe back. “If it makes you sick shouldn’t you be staying away from it?”

Grian seemed to consider it as he hacked away at the shulker boxes. “I mean probably, but also no. It’s… complicated. But the Rift should be fine? It’s not intentionally malicious, I think. It feels a bit wrong, but it doesn’t feel like it means active harm.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

They equipped their elytras and got out their rockets and Cub had already decided to follow Grian despite it probably not being a good idea.

“Eh it’s probably fiiiine.”

The Rift was not fine. First off it lay hidden in a gaping maw of a hole in an area that made Cubs teeth itch with the amount of magic gathered in the atmosphere. And second it was giving off a hum that felt intentional. Like it was trying to lure Grian close, make him happy and obedient.

The second Cub had landed in the cave he wanted to grab Grian and pull him back to Scars and his base.

“Grian-”

“Hello Rift! You really need to tone it down a notch with your weird tugging. I get it I’ve been avoiding you a bit. But I had stuff to do! And you messing with my body won’t make me work any faster. It’ll actually make me do the opposite. Cause I’ll be wasting my time lying in bed being sick.”

“Grian you really shouldn’t-” Cub inched closer to him, wings unfurling behind him so he could wrap one around the reckless Allay. Grian didn’t react to the clawed hand on his shoulder nor Cubs call. He was staring intently at the Rift, one hand on his hip and he was even tapping his foot.

“You should learn a bit from the Entity, you know. It never rushes me at all. And I’m taking good care of it! I’m gonna do stuff here soon, but you gotta let me have my time.”

Grian was a mad man, Cub decided. He was just like Scar in that way. Scar, who took horrible, dangerous abominations as pets and wasn’t afraid to jump off a cliff for fun even when he didn’t know whether he’d die for real or not.

And somehow, somehow, Grian also had that trait of Scars that it always turned out to be okay. The Rifts… presence... shrank back and it let out a tune that sounded almost apologetic.

Grian smiled at the thing. “Thank you. I’m glad you understand. Oh also I brought a friend!”

Cub did not like suddenly being dragged into the spotlight like this. But being rude to a seemingly otherworldy sentient thing was never a wise idea either. So he waved.

“What’s up?”

The Rift stayed silent for him. Which Cub was thankful for. He didn’t want to make a connection with it. It was bad enough that he was starting to build a bond with Grian. Grian, who had finally acknowledged his presence at his side and was smiling up at him. He already looked much healthier.

“See? Everything’s fine. Thanks for helping me today.”

“No worries.” Cub drew back, hooking his wings back under the ones from his elytra so he could fly better. With all the magic in the air he didn’t want to fade into his full Player aspect. Despite everything seeming to be harmless Cub didn’t want to take any chances. “I’ll see you around then.”

“Wait Cub-”

And he was off. Bodyguard duty was over. He could go bother Scar now. Maybe they could spend some well deserved time together once more now that the little gremlin was satisfied.

Notes:

Cub is getting soft~

Also who else is enjoying the current Hermitcraft arc? It's been a while since I laughed so much about a Hermitcraft episode. But Docs last one was pure gold. Nearly one and a half hour of pure comedy. Grians and Mumbos episodes, too, of course. I can't wait until Scar uploads again. I'm so itching to write something for this arc eventually. I have so many ideas. Why do I keep writing long form stuff that takes me months or years to finish? XD

Chapter 9

There were so many cool bases in this world. That’s the thing Grian learned while hiding his eggs. He had nearly missed the deadline (again), what with having to navigate the Rifts and the Entities needs. They had both toned down their nagging significantly after Grian had chided the Rift. But Grian didn’t want to fall out of favour. So he had stocked up the Entity. A time consuming task with the growing range of stuff he had decided to offer. And while he hadn’t quite started on building his mega base, he had finally gotten rid of the last few trees in the vicinity and had marked down the area for construction.

The huge stack of full shulker boxes on the building site had given Pearl a near heart attack. She’d become obsessed with cleaning for some reason, muttering about infections and illnesses and how important it was that everything needed to be kept in order. Just in case.

“We are never thinking about the dangers of foreign viruses when we fly to other worlds, you know.” Pearl would ramble at him when she visited or he visited her. Or even just when they met each other randomly in the street. “Why did we never even think about that Grian?” She would continue, pacing or rubbing down a surface with desinfectant.

“Because we’re all vaccinated?” Grian would try to argue, not seeing the point. Space travel wasn’t the safest thing to do for a myriad of reasons. But sickness in the natural sense had long since become an obsolete concern. They had potions and respawn mechanics in most of the worlds they got to. The only real threat were magical viruses, curses or corruptions which usually couldn’t be removed without making some serious sacrifices. If you were lucky. Sometimes they just stuck with you. Cub and Scar were the best examples for that.

“But what about if there’s some kind of new one we don’t know about, yet? Without a cure?”

“Then we’ll figure something out.” Was always his answer. That’s just how he lived his life. You made a decision and then you figured out the rest. Easy. No need to worry about anything that hadn’t happened yet.

It was not an argument Pearl could accept, though. She would huff and puff and make uncertain noises until Grian changed the subject. Grian hoped she would calm down about the topic soon. It worried him that she had become so obsessed with health. And aliens. But at least he got the alien part now. That huge statue of one of the things that had appeared out of nowhere was proof enough that Pearl wasn’t hallucinating it all.

And there were ruins not far from where the Hermits had settled. Ruins which Pearl wanted to build up again. There was some curious plant life there, too.

… Maybe Pearl was actually onto something here.

The point was that Grian had lost track of time again and had to rush through hiding the eggs. Which left him with less time to admire everyones building abilities, but didn’t stop him from stopping by Docs base to get some tuff and wax the mans copper.

“Grian, you can’t be bored again.” Came Docs tired voice from behind, Grians only warning before he was lifted off and away from the tuff by his collar.

“Oh hi Doc! Fancy seeing you here!” That got him an unimpressed look, Doc having spun him around so Grian could become victim of its full effect. That red eye was truly menacing and the grip the mechanical arm had on him was strong.

He was literally shaken out of the unofficial staring contest. “What?”

“Stop taking stuff from the Perimeter.”

“But you want to make it flat anyway.” Grian whined, idly swinging back and forth in Docs grasp. He was a little bit worried about the sword Doc produced from his inventory, but not enough to really try and escape. “And don’t tell me you’re thinking about building anything with tuff!”

“Maybe I will. And what about waxxing my copper, hm Pesky Bird?” Docs murderous grin was highlighted by the red glow of his mechanical eye. His sword came down, rocking Grian in his hold. It sliced cleanly through one of the Slimes that had gotten too close to them.

Grian squirmed even though he didn’t really need to keep any balance with the way he was suspended. Doc may not have aimed for him, but he’d rather not accidently sway into Docs sword. His heart fluttered, caught between feeling flattered by the stupid nickname and scared for his life. Doc would probably be mean enough to confiscate his hard earned tuff.

“It looked like it needed some waxxing. I swear I’m only trying to help out my second favourite neighboor.”

Doc seemed to have enough of the growing horde of Slimes attacking them. He muttered something about his Perimeter being a better Slime farm than Mumbos before making his sword vanish and taking off with a few rockets.

He had taken Grian with him, of course. Generous as he was. Even though Grian would have very much liked to use his own elytra for the steep ascend. Docs flying was mechanical. The technique was precise, but it showed that the Creeper hybrid did not have any natural wings of his own. There was no fluidity in the movements, only sharp, calculated bursts of rockets and the abrupt change of angles until they were on the ground again and Grian was let go.

Slightly shaking fingers felt around the edges of the red sweater. Among the rocket firing Grian had almost been sure that he’d heard a slight ripping sound. But aside from the collar feeling maybe a bit more worn out his favourite article of clothing was fine.

“You’re hole’s a death trap.”

“And yet you still fly in there.”

Grian shrugged. “It’s got useful stuff in there. And I did hide my egg there today. So I actually had a reason to visit.”

“For once.”

Grian looked up, making sure his eyes were big, his lips pouting and quivering and his wings glowing and on full display. He was cute. He would get what he wanted. And that was to get away scot-free with a warm invitation back. “Do you not like my presence, Doc?”

Unfortunately Doc had cybernetics to figure him out and hung around Ren too much. Ren, who was the master of puppy eyes, him being just a bigger, scrugglier version of one.

“Not on my lawn. And definitely not when you’re waxxing my copper. Now shoo before I send a Creeper after you.”

“Ohhh can you do that?” Cub could apparently phase through solid objects, so did Doc have a mental connection to Creepers? That would have been handy knowledge to have for when Jevin and Grian had collected those eggs.

There was an awkward pause as Doc shifted his weight and rubbed his neck. “Well I mean… I can always lure one-”

“That’s so lame. Nevermind I’m going home.”

The clasps of his chestplate were annoying to open and Grian muttered his distaste for them over Docs rambling. “Hey wait- I’m cool, I’ll… Pesky bird I’ll show you… lame…. Can’t believe…”

His voice faded into the distance as Grian stomped off, not caring to really listen to Doc planning revenge. Grian wasn’t too concerned about the man anyway. Doc may have been crazy but he probably knew his limits.

When he finally got back to Spawn he had to stop and stare. The pillars had multiplied. He took off once more to review who had joined the game. Because that was what it had become. A game. A contest.

Grian landed on his pillar frowning. A contest he was losing. Pearl had just started but was already half way there. And there was a pile of pure diamond blocks-

He did a double take. Excitement and dread bubbled up within him. Cub had joined in! Oh this- that show off! Grian had to fly to it and circle around the pillar while gliding down. It was magnificent. So shiny and blue. And a lot.

His feet made a gentle thud as they hit the ground and Grian looked up. Diamond blocks were an ugly building block. They were too bright and had too little texture to make any build good if they were used too much. But piled up in any way they made a statement.

Power was attractive. And wealth was power.

“Don’t think about stealing any of that mister.”

Grian jumped at Scars voice so close by and whirled around to see the Vex leaning on his tree.

Scar smirked at his reaction. “Well hello there. It’s getting dark, you know.”

Was that an invitation? Or a hint to get off Scars property?

“I was just admiring.” He lingered, pushing his luck. Or for Scar to give more of his intentions away.

“Hmhm I saw those hands! And they were very close to Cubs diamonds.”

Now he just had to touch the diamond block pillar to get a rise out of Scar. “I was just having a feel! See? I can touch without taking!” He said, rubbing both of his hands all over the smooth surface of the shiny rocks.

Appalled by his behavior Scar hopped over to him and grabbed his hands. At least Grian thought he was appalled before actually getting a look at Scars expression up close. The man had a cheshire grin gracing his handsome features that made Grian want to squirm.

“Only feeling it, eh? Now I’m going to make a suggestion that will blow your mind! Grian, what you are doing is just a sad attempt at getting the full experience of this magnificant pillar! Your sense of touch will never be able to provide you with all the necessary signals your brain needs to truly appreciate these diamond blocks. But fear not! I will tell you the secret of pleasure. The technique only a few are brave enough to-”

Now Grian did start to squirm in Scars grasp. Really what was it with the Hermits and trying to hold him still? Was this because he was cute? How unfortunate. What a tragedy. That he was cute enough to be picked up and held lovingly captive within strong arms, but not enough to be allowed to wax other peoples copper in peace- Oh Scar was still talking.

“Scar get to the point.”

“And that’s why- Oh? Oh apologies my mouth ran away from me there. I just wanted to suggest: Have you tried licking it?”

What.

“What?”

“Licking it! Like so-”

“Scar don’t you dare lick my diamonds. Grian don’t listen to him. Both of you get inside before a Creeper blows up next to you and ruins my pillar.”

His heart did a little flip at Cubs sight. Grian was certainly much more happy to see him than Scar seemed to be. The Vex in elven clothes whined at his partner in his usual overdramatic fashion.

“But Cub! It’s not Vex magic. It’s fine!”

Grian was let go and used his newfound freedom to duck below Scars gesturing hands and run the short distance over to Cub. Where he used the proximity to silently mouth at him “He’s licking magic?!”

“Don’t question it.” Cub mouthed back at him before addressing Scar. “It’s still disgusting. And you’ll get stomach pains from it again.”

“I’m pretty sure if Pearl was close by today that she cleaned that pillar with desinfectant.” Grian decided to put himself into the conversation again.

“See it’s perfectly safe to lick!”

“Actually what I meant with that is that it’s probably toxic now.”

Cub stepped forward a bit, holding out his hand. “See? Come on we aren’t done with the cake batter yet.”

Scar longingly looked back at the pile of diamonds. “Can I lick the spoon?”

“You can.” Cub wiggled his fingers and finally Scar moved to take his hand.

“Yes! Victory!”

Grian wasn’t sure if he was actually invited along. Cub had said they should both go inside. And Grian had assumed that meant that Scar and him should both get into the tree. But now, with the two physically linked and Cub giving him a weird side glare...

He had already started to fall into step with them, though. And just veering off into the other direction felt extremely awkward. So he followed them like a lost duckling and hoped their generousity would keep them from commenting on his odd behavior. Void he really was a homewrecker, wasn’t he? An intruder in more ways than just being in a world and group he wasn’t supposed to be in.

The night ended up to be lovely. But Grian could not shake the sudden sense of taking up space he wasn’t supposed to occupy.

Notes:

More Doc and Grian interaction! I love writing these two. I'm so happy they are interacting so much these season.
I only watch Pearl sporadically, so most of what I know from her lore is from the Recap and the odd stream here and there. I'm also bending the canon lore a bit (lot) so I'm sorry if she is a out of character.

Also Jimmy hinted in his last stream that there was a meeting for the next traffic life series! And Scar joined the Pirate SMP! This year just keeps giving.

Chapter 10

He tried to get his mind off the inhabitants of this world, the incident with Cub and Scar hitting a raw nerve that threw him off kilter all over again. The feeling of not belonging suddenly returned tenfold. What was he even doing? He had never wanted to part from the group on Evo. He’d longed for them and had broken his mind thinking about what could have happened to them during his time with the Pillagers.

And then? He’d stopped thinking about them as soon as a new group of people came around. Even with Pearl appearing with them. What kind of friend was he?

A horrible one. Abandoning friends. Ignoring them. Forcing himself on potential new ones…

Did Mumbo leave because of him?

Grian gently hit his head against the semi circular wall of stone and moss he had errected, groaning out loud. This whole exercise of starting his mega build was supposed to clear his head not make the pondering worse! He knew quite well Mumbos absence had nothing to do with him. And he wasn’t really avoiding old friends when there was no real way for him to spend time with them on a regular basis.

Pearl had some of their contacts, but whether it was the oddities of this world or the ones his friends were on, no messages got through. Pearl didn’t seem too worried about it. Getting occasional glimpses of their friends continued existence was already calming enough for her. She’d changed in that regard. Maybe they had all become a bit colder and hardened through their forced separation after Evo.

And there was a lot to focus on here. Lost civilizations. Strange symbols. Cursed artefacts and conscious objects. Finding all the easter eggs in his base. And his mega build.

Grian took a few steps back to get a better view on how he was doing with the shape. He had never been particularly fond of big terraforming projects. His forte were clean, futuristic builds, with huge archways. Preferably with white or green in them somewhere. Mansions he could do too. And rustic houses. Organic stuff? That was Pearls strength.

And yet here he was trying to build a mountain. Or… something akin to it. A rock formation. A huge rock formation. The familiar buildings would come later. And the symbols. And the… Something dark and glistening…?

Grian furrowed his brow at the odd sensation of something completely unfamiliar crossing his mind for a split second. It felt wet and invasive. But the feeling was gone in a split second, taking with it the image and leaving an uncanny hole in his memory.

The things that lurked in this world scared him sometimes. But at least they told him if his shapes were off. The Rifts appreciative hum told him he was on the right track, so he jumped right back into it.

The huge middle one had to be held up by a few smaller ones, Grian alternating between the structures so nothing could fall over. Again his mind wandered to the big question of how he should make the little rock islands in the sky the Rift wanted him to build.

Maybe he could hold them up by a lot of string? But then he would need to build an ugly plattform even higher in the sky. And how was that to be kept up there? Oh well he would get to it when he got to it.

As it was it took weeks for him to even finish with the main rocks on the ground. Weeks in which he didn’t see much of the other Hermits aside from Doc and Pearl, whom he went to whenever he found himself too bored or overwhelmed.

Scar sometimes came to see him. It was always a good day when Scar came to see him.

It annoyed Cub, though, who more often than not, came to collect the wayward Vex before the monsters of the night could get to him.

He didn’t like the Rift. Grian understood his wariness and marveled at Scars carelessness. The Rift was unperturbed by the opinions of the two. It was humming at Grian and no one else. It had gotten a bit more livelier, although the membrane was still in place.

With every bit of structure Grian gave to the place the Rift seemed to gain power. Somehow Grian knew that if he had bothered to dig down he would have seen the circles where he had build his main structure. A carbon copy once existing on the same level where the Rift still was. Lost to time and the elements.

They were all building up ruins here, weren’t they?

The ping of his communicator made him perk up. He’d muted world chat, because people were constantly writing in there and it distracted him when he was working. But private messages were a different thing. Usually, if someone wrote in private chat it was about something important.

There was also that little bit of hope that one of his messages had finally gotten through to his old friends. Despite what his self loathing thoughts sometimes tried to tell him he really did miss them. Pearls word that they were all fine just wasn’t enough.

Some words on a screen probably wouldn’t be either.

He wouldn’t find out if they would be, though. For the text that had gotten through belonged to none of them. Instead Mumbos name stared back at him from the screen, making him shriek with joy.

Grian glided back down to the Rift where he hopped around, chimes and giggles filling the space. “He wrote me! Rift, Rift! He wrote me! A month and a half and he’s finally wrote me back!”

The Rift did not react to his joy. But it felt good to chatter at it anyway. It took a while for him to calm down. And by the time he plopped down on top of the beacon to use its light to read, the cave was full of fairy dust.

Mumbo whispered to you: Hey mate :D Hope you’re doing well. I’m having a blast! Gonna come back in a bit. Did you start your mega base, yet?

Mumbo had tried to send a few images as well, which turned out to be either too corrupted to view or were too large to have fully gotten through.

“Oh Mumbo.”

Smiling to himself Grian typed out a long message back, telling his friend in detail what he had been up to. Hopefully Mumbo was close enough to home that he would receive it in due time.

He swung his head back and forth when he was done, fatigue from the days work slowly taking over. It was easy to ignore the various aches of overused muscles and mildy sunburnt skin during his long building session. It all came back in the quiet moments, though.

“I’m so happy he’s coming back.” Grian told the Rift, still staring at the screen. “I wish I could see the others, too. You know, Timmy and Martyn and Joel and Lizzy… You’re probably sick of me talking to you about them by now. Them and Scar. And Mumbo. I just miss them whenever they’re not around. And I have no one but Pearl to talk to about the old crew. And Pearl… I think she’s been more hurt by the whole Evo ordeal than I have been. She doesn’t much like talking about it. She goes… weird, when I ask her about them. Confused. And that’s 5pm Pearl not 5am Pearl I’m speaking about!”

The Rift stayed unresponsive, although if Grian stayed very still he could almost feel the air shift around him like a caress. Void his anxious mind really only could ever focus on one thing, huh?

Maybe he should take a step back from it all. Take a breath. He was still shaky, too. He hated to admit it, but the displacement and the time spend in the Pillagers prison, not knowing where he was, where his friends were and if he would make it out alive or… or having to succumb to a fate worse than permanent death…

It still haunted him. Whenever he wasn’t surrounded by warm bodies and loud snores at night he would have nightmares. And he was glad the Hermits were careful not to kill him. He’d poofed a few times by accident and had always woken up in bed shaky and breathing all wrong.

He just really wanted to let it all go. To roll with the punches and relish in the life he now had.

Void he hated this. He just wanted to be fine!

This time the tug was obvious. The Rift calling him back to the present. It hummed to him and instinctively Grian hummed back. His wings stopped beating against the elytra still strapped on his back.

He gave the Rift a small smile. “Thanks. I better go now. See you tomorrow!”

~~~

Mumbo was returning. Scar had seen Xisumas message in world chat this morning. His communicator hadn’t stopped vibrating since, everyone elated about the news that their youngest- former youngest Hermit was coming home. Pearl and Gem were the youngest now, albeit not by much. But Mumbo had been within their group since he was a teenager, so he would always hold that title in their hearts. Just like a kid would never quite stop being a kid in their parents eyes. He would always be their hatchling and so of course everyone was overjoyed to see his return.

He had typed in the chat, too. Of course he was as happy as everyone else! Worse! No wait, better! No that wasn’t the right word either. Happier! There. Yes, he was the happiest of Hermits. Well, alright except for Grian. No one could match Grians pure joy in the Mumbo coming back department.

The big mustache that had mysteriously appeared on his diamond ore pillar was only one such sign that Grians enthusiasm could not be matched. It was a big one that seemingly defied gravity. Scar was already planning on moving it back to Grians pillar, which had unfortunately sunken into the ground. No messing with it on Scars part. Nooooo. None at all!

The grin wouldn’t stay on his face for long, melting back into the frown he had worn ever since he had looked at his communicator. Scar didn’t know why his lips wouldn’t cooperate with him today. He was happy. And happy people smiled! Instead his frown got deeper and his stomach started to churn.

Well okay, maybe he wasn’t as happy as he would have liked. But that had nothing to do with Mumbo! Or the fact that Grian had been flitting about the server, too busy preparing for Mumbo to come back, to visit his dear old friend Scar.

No it must be all the magenta blocks Cub had used to mutilate his beautiful dead tree. Yes, he was just still so mad about that. The clean up would be horrible. He couldn’t even go near his cookie factory without wanting to throw up at the sight.

Scar nodded to himself, accepting the explanation he had given himself. His feelings thus validated he decided to go about his day being grumpy. He should go grab Cub and drag him onto the couch for a cuddle session.

“You have that murderous look in your eyes. Who’s put salt in your cookies?”

“Ah speak of the- ! Oh my gosh Cub! My heart! Think of my poor, weak little heart!”

Cubs grin told him all about how much he cared for Scars poor weak heart. And he cared much less about the silence that crackled between them. He knew Scar couldn’t hold it for long, would inevitably break it with rambling and making a right fool of himself in the process. Or say something he didn’t mean to say. Like talk about why he was feeling awful.

Scar was about as stubborn as Cub when it came to their mindgames, though. He dusted himself off. An unnecessary movement to buy him time and keep him from running his mouth. Then he turned around fully, hands on his hips. “What?”

Cub just lifted an eyebrow, smug grin staying in place, waiting. Scar wanted to strangle him. He also really, really wanted to kiss that expression from his face. Actually that was a wonderful idea. He wouldn’t be able to talk and Cub wouldn’t be able to coax anything out of him. Anything else than moans, at least.

As though he sensed the sudden shift in Scars mood, Cub changed his relaxed stance to something more prepared.

“You silly man.” Scar chided him, going over to pull his partner down so their lips could meet.

The kiss was sweet and naturally their magic intertwined, buzzing around them. It was easy to slip into their Vex forms like this. Safe. Scar could hear the manic giggles of the tiny corrupted creatures in his head. They were delighted at their bond. Possessive of it even though they didn’t own it.

They weren’t real anyway. Not the ones in Scars head and not the ones in Cubs. They were remnants of a spell gone wrong. A spell that was meant for creatures and not Players and thus hadn’t been strong enough to pull them into the hivemind a true Vex swarm possessed.

The echoes were all that stayed. It was better than having the voice of the Evoker carved into their minds, Scar guessed. Not always pleasant, but bearable.

Cub gave him a calculating look when they parted. He knew Scar too well. So he was probably onto Scars tactic already. Before he could say anything, though, a blur of electric blue passed by them.

“Mumbo’s back!”

Scar wanted to sink his teeth into Cubs shoulder and scream. What he did was put on the brightest smile he could and take out his rockets to race Cub to Spawn.

Notes:

Mumbo is back baby!

Also who else is enjoying the new Pirates SMP? I'm going absolutely feral about Scars morsels of lore he's throwing out here and there. And I'm itching to write an immortal con man pirate Scar, desert duo story. My head is full of ideas. I have 26 Hermitcraft fic ideas written down at the moment. And with the beautiful amount of content we are getting these days that number is only going up. Damn me and my rule to only start new stories after finishing my current ones XD

Chapter 11

Their spoony friend was already surrounded by Hermits when Cub and Scar arrived. The air was filled with chatter. As always, plop enough Hermits together and no one could get a word in anymore.

Not all Hermits had managed to get to Spawn yet. Or maybe they wouldn’t turn up at all, too caught up in their own projects. Or figuring that too many Hermits would get a bit too much.
There was a good number here as it was. Doc and Xisuma, naturally. They’d become some sort of father or big brother figures to Mumbo ever since he had joined their little ragtag group as a teenager.

Gem, Pearl and Impulse had started their mega bases very close to Spawn so they had already been in the area. Grian, of course, was here because where else would he be. And Tango was a surprise. Especially because he wasn’t looking blue for once. The excitement must have taken over the frost that usually clung to him now.

It was quite enough. Mumbo already looked very overwhelmed and Scar wouldn’t have begrudged him if he had just stepped back into the little space vessel he had come home with and left again.

The only issue Scar would have taken with that would have been if he had taken the little Allay hybrid with him. Grian was predictably glued to his best friends side, getting his sparkling fairy dust all over Mumbos suit. It had gotten so much that it looked like Mumbo wore a galaxy on his body.

Scar had to fight very hard to keep his smile in place. He felt a little bit guilty about that. Especially when Mumbos eyes lit up at the sight of him.

“Scar! Cub! Mates!”

It was a bit awkward to hug Mumbo with Grian still attached to him, but they managed. At least the other Hermits let them through. And Mumbo didn’t seem to mind at all, laughing when they almost fell over and Grian whined at being slightly dislodged.

Mumbo easily pulled Grian back into a side hug after that, the Allay melting into him with a pleased hum.

That was unfair. Scar and Cub had spend so much time with Grian. And he’d never been this relaxed around them! Was it the Vex part, after all? Did something about Cub and Scar set off Grians instincts in a bad way?

Their magic didn’t mix very well. It was like different melodies clashing with each other. Only instead of a cool medley you got a cacophonous mess. Was that why Grian put distance between them when they all slept together? He liked cuddles, this much Scar knew. And he was fine with touches and hugs.

He just never stayed this close to them for so long. Scar mentally counted the seconds Grian clung to Mumbos side, letting his mouth run wild while his mind was busy seething over every second the Allay stayed where he was.

Scar probably didn’t make much sense. But with everyone else chatting in an attempt at updating Mumbo on the happenings of the world no one would probably notice. A sharp elbow that dug right into his ribcage made him wince. Okay maybe Cub would notice.

“That was unnecessary.” Scar muttered.

“You were spewing nonsense too loudly.” Cub told him simply. They’d not moved much but the group of people had shifted quite a bit. So the two of them had somehow ended up at the edge of it.

Mumbo, who was never good at staying still for long, had began to wander around. Pearl, Impulse and Doc were the closest to him aside from Grian, the three eager to show off the different buildings that had popped up during his absence. Gem hopped along a few paces away, light feet jumping from ledge to wall to fence and back onto the pavement. She had a bright smile on her face, basking in the companionship. It was easy to forget that she was one of the newest members of the Hermits. She must have still found something very special in their little gatherings.

Tango had fallen back a bit as well. His tail was still excitedly swinging from side to side and his flames burned a little brighter from all the excitement. But it was easy to tell that his mind was already drifting back to his project, blue creeping back into his appearance.

Xisuma, likewise, had resumed to type into his communicator, content to let everyone else fill the air with their voices.

Scar had half the mind to leave. And with the way Cub had taken his hand and was walking slower and slower his partner must have thought along the same lines. One look back from Mumbo, though and both picked up their pace again.

The whole thing turned into what amounted to a small world tour, leading them through the core of the Spawn town around the Hermissippi and to the multitude of bigger builds that were popping up all over.

It took them the better part of the day to show Mumbo everything and they picked up more and more Hermits along the way. Scar had relaxed somewhat by the point they came back around Spawn. Genuine happiness had crawled back into his body. Mumbos bumbling personality was just that charming. And it was hard to keep sulking when everyone around you was being silly.

Grian had finally let go of Mumbo, drifting further and further away from the group. He had been just as loud as everyone else, but now that all the excitement was over he had mellowed out a bit. Cub and Scar shared a look and both made their way over to him.

Scar knew something must have happened between Grian and Cub. His partner had not been the biggest fan of the little Allay at first. And he still held somewhat of a grudge even if Scar had yet to figure out why. But he checked up on Grian about as much as he did on Scar at this point. It was quite endearing.

Grian gave them a smile and a wave as they joined him on the fence. “Hi.”

The hand came back down to continue undoing the straps of his elytra. It was clear that there would be no more flying around today. And as handy as the contraption was it always felt good to remove it at the end of the day.

Scar hopped onto the fence as well, almost falling over if not for Cubs hold on him. “Hello there. Everything alright?”

“Just exhausted.” It was thrilling, the way Grian leaned into him as soon as Scar was steady enough.

The wood creaked and groaned as Cub joined them, warming Scars other side. “It was quite the day.” Cub agreed, one hand coming up to rest on the small of Scars back, further keeping him balanced.

A few paces away Tango and Etho had started a fire. Gem, Pearl and Impulse had set up an impromptu outdoor kitchen and were already working on making soup. Someone had brought pillows and blankets from somewhere and Xisuma, Mumbo and Bdubs were distributing them to Hermits and putting some on the ground randomly around the campfire.

Doc had gone and gotten more torches, making sure the area was lit up well enough so they wouldn’t get harassed by monsters. And Ren had gotten his guitar out, strumming a few lazy tunes before settling into a song.

Fairy dust made Scar sneeze and he looked over to Grian. Suddenly the Allay wasn’t as exhausted anymore. His gaze was fixed on Rens fingers and his wings fluttered every so often. He was starting to become a light source all its own, shimmering a bright, clear blue. Scar winced a bit at the crisp, sharp feel of it, but kept himself still. To no avail, unfortunately. Grian sat up straighter and bend forward, mesmerized by the sound.

Mumbo caught their eye and regarded them with a fond smile before coming over. He stuck his hand out to Grian, the motion too abrupt and nearly slapping Grian in the face. “Want to dance?”

Grian flailed a bit, grabbing Mumbos hand so he wouldn’t fall back and off the fence. After the surprised squeak came a laugh, though. And Grian used the hand he was holding to pull himself up and into Mumbos arms.

Mumbo fumbled a bit, but managed to get his arms into a position that supported Grians short descend. They ended up standing very close to each other, holding both of their hands between them, grinning like fools.

“Yes! I’ll destroy you with my moves!”

“It’s not a competition Grian!” Mumbo laughed. He turned to smile at Cub and Scar. “Apologies, I’ll steal him for just a moment.”

“Sure thing. Have fun.” Cub answered for them.

A good thing, because Scar would have not been able to bite back the fact that Mumbo had been stealing Grian from them for the whole day already.

~~~

There was enough space between the campfire and the torches to move around. The uneven ground was a bit tricky to navigate along and Grians body wasn’t very happy that it had to work overtime. But they were mostly just swaying anyway, with a few steps back and forth thrown in here and there to make it look like they knew what they were doing.

Grians heart thudded in his chest. Not the overwhelming and lovesick thrum that follows every touch and glance he shares with Cub and Scar. Mumbos proximity had always been grounding ever since they’d first met.

“So are you three dating already?”

Grian stumbles over their feet when he hears the question and they almost end up in a black and red heap on the floor. “Mumbo! You can’t- You don’t just ask stuff like that out of the blue!” He shout whispers to his amused best friend.

An anxious look around tells him that they weren’t the only ones with the idea to share a moment. Pairs had formed that twirled past them or swayed further away lost to everything but themselves and the music. No one was paying them any mind.

Except for Cub and Scar, who were watching them from the fence Mumbo and Grian had left them on. They were a safe distance away and couldn’t have overheard.

When Grian was done with his inspection he turned back to see Mumbos sad eyes twinkling down at him.

“Oh, you’re not.”

Grian pulled him into a twirl and bend him down in an arc, relishing in the half aborted scream his friend made. Mumbo might not know how to dance but Grian certainly did. Thankfully, Mumbo was just enough of a bundle of sticks to be swept around without much issue. Or he would have ended up with a cracked skull.

“Grian!”

He laughed at Mumbos sputtering, turning them around again. Mumbo twisted and did a few steps too many to keep up with him. “Of course we’re not, Mumbo. Cub doesn’t even like me.”

It wasn’t his fault that Mumbo was such a spoon. And he was still too happy to have him back again to be really mad at him. So he drew him back in again and resumed their easier to follow swaying. It did make it easier to avoid Mumbo stepping on his toes, too.

Mumbo looked over Grians shoulder, arching a brow at the sight of two pairs of eyes staring intently back at him. His mustache twitched. “I don’t know, mate. They seem pretty invested in you.”

Sharp pain made Grian grimace as he failed to avoid one of Mumbos wrong steps. His toes would not thank him for tonight. He hushed Mumbos apology either way, before answering. “That’s kind of my fault. I think I pushed a little too hard while you were away.”

“Oh? How so?”

Grian only hummed in response. Where should he even start explaining? There was no rhyme or reason behind Grians past actions. He’d forgotten how to skip the line between friend and crush and lover. And now he had no clue where he stood with Cub or Scar. They were neighboors and they spend time together.

His face grew warm whenever one was near him and he started glowing a little when the two were there together. He was nervous and relaxed around them. And they let him come close, but they also kept their distance and he didn’t know what was going on at all anymore.

He was just happy that none of them had become mad at him for intruding on their relationship like that, yet. Although the glares Cub sometimes gave him whenever he trodded along when he wasn’t invited told Grian that an outburst would not be far off, if he wasn’t careful.

It was a good thing Mumbo was back, then. It was much easier to clear his head and keep himself occupied with Mumbo around.

And he made it clear that it was safe to talk to him about his feelings and issues. Mumbo didn’t press for words Grian couldn’t give. He just drew him into a hug and let him be quiet.

Grian nuzzled into his friends collarbone and let his hands rest on thin and pointy shoulders. “Enough about me. How was your trip?”

“Splendid! Well there was a lot of Void, of course. And I’ve had a lot of time in between to just exist for a bit. Which was nice because… well my head tends to get really full, yeah? But not in any way that helps me with my builds or projects. No, if I want to think up new stuff, my head is always empty. And if I want to relax my head- Oh you get the picture.”

Grian hummed to show that he was listening. “I know what you mean. Did the silence help?”

He heard the smile in Mumbos voice when his friend answered. “Yes. It… it took a few days. But it got better. And then I was hopping from planet to planet and oh Grian! I love being an explorer and building up these broken worlds, I really do. But visiting inhabited parts of space again felt amazing!”

They had stopped dancing as Mumbo got more passionate about telling Grian all about his travels and Grian tugged him to one of the pillow mounds to sit down instead. It made it easier for Mumbo to gesticulate and easier for Grian to watch him be his usual fidgety self.

The way Mumbo described his travels made Grian himself itch for it. He’d grown up on big worlds with huge populations and dense cities. Evo had been his first real mission and most of his crewmates had been as inexperienced as himself. But they’d had the money and the spirit.

And now they were scattered all over the Void and Grian felt himself yearning for civilization again.

No wonder Mumbo had needed that break. Grian had only been away for a few years at most. Mumbo was doing this whole exploration thing since he was… what had Doc told him? Seventeen?

“I have so many photos and camera footage to show you!” Mumbo trailed off with a deep breath, rubbing his throat. “Goodness me I’m not used to talking so much anymore.”

Grian gently poked his friends side. “You’ve barely talked at all today.”

“Yes well…” Poor Mumbos voice cracked, proving his point better than any words he could have said.

Grian winced in sympathy. “Let me get you something to sooth your throat. Be right back.”

He went over to where Impulse and Pearl were chatting, swaying slightly to the music. Ren was good at strumming his guitar. And his voice was nice. The songs were starting to get a bit… too calm for his liking, though. Everyone was starting to fall asleep. That just wouldn’t do. Mumbo deserved a real party!

Impulse and Pearl both only noticed him when he was already reaching for a bowl. “Oh hi Grian. Didn’t see you there. Here to get some soup for yourself?” Impulse asked already grabbing the ladle. “We’ve got mushroom soup, beef stew, Pearls special-”

“It’s for Mumbo actually. Mushroom is fine. I can’t believe you are subjecting your friends to Pearls cooking.”

The affronted gasp told him an attack was soon to come, so he easily evaded Pearls bodycheck. “You need help there?”

Pearl glared up from her spot on the floor. “Yes please.”

Hoisting Pearl back up took exactly as long as it did for Impulse to prepare his bowl of soup. So Grians hand fell away from Pearls only for his awaited soup to be put into it.

“Careful, it’s still… uh lukewarm, actually.”

“We ran out of coal.” Pearl declared after having checked the oven.

“Ah yeah. That would do it.”

Grian shook his head at the two. “Thanks, guys. I’ll give this to Mumbo before it grows cold.”

Mumbo had laid down on the pillow mound in the meantime. “Grian you can see the stars from here.”

Grian nudged his friend with his foot to get him to sit up again. “You must have been staring at stars for days during your travels. Aren’t you sick of them by now?”

The bowl was taken off him, but Grian made no move to sit down. “Ahhh cheers mate! No. Not really. It’s different when you’re on a planet. And I bet you know the view in cities is never the best. Too much light.”

“Can’t happen here.” Grian mused. Their area may have been lit up well, but behind the circle of torches there was darkness.

“Not with Scar around.” Mumbo agreed. “Didn’t you get something to eat, too?”

Grian shook his head. “Nah. I’m thinking about getting the party back into swing.” He tilted his head towards Ren, who had stopped for a bit to drink and eat something.

Mumbo splashed a bit of soup onto the pillows when he wiggled around. “Oh! I get a treat, tonight?”

“A professional performance from the one and only.”

Something in Mumbos grin felt dangerous. “Perfect. Does anyone but Pearl know?”

“Not yet.”

Mumbos grin widened. “Oh perfect!”

Grian let out a fond sigh. “Eat your soup you spoon.”

He turned away as soon as the slurping sounds started. The evening really was mellowing out quite a bit. Grian wished he was wearing something more fitting for the occasion.

Rens ears perked up as Grian came closer. The Wolf hybrid had just pulled his guitar close again. It was odd that he still had his sunglasses on.

Grian drew in a shaky breath and put on a smile. “Hi Ren, how’s it going?”

It was kind of cute how Rens tail started wagging as soon as Grian had spoken. “Pretty good! Pretty good, my dude! How are you? Did you want to make a song request?”

Grians smile turned more genuine and less anxious at the display of friendliness. “Actually I was wondering if I could become part of the show?”

“You sing?” Ren guessed, sounding excited.

Grian couldn’t help but start to smirk. “Oh do I. Say have you heard about a former star called Ariana Griande before?”

Notes:

Have some jealous Scar. As a treat :D
Wasn't able to proof read this one as much as I usually do, cause today's my birthday and I'm kinda busy with work and going out to meet family and friends to celebrate. So sorry if there are more mistakes in here than usual.

Thanks for all the lovely comments and kudos as well! I'll try and reply to the comments next week! :)

Chapter 12

Notes:

Thank you so much for all the sweet comments and birthday wishes! You guys are awesome! <3
I was super busy this week and will be away the next one so I won't be able to reply yet. But I'm very happy whenever I receive a comment or kudos!

Cub was relieved that Mumbo was finally back with them. It felt a bit like a puzzle piece clicking back into place. Other Hermits were still away, of course. Sometimes the long days of travel between their assigned planets just wasn’t enough to be called a break. Wels was still on vacation. Stress and Iskall had taken up another mission as Vault Hunters for the time being to mix things up.

Some older Hermits, like TFC, would never come back.

But Mumbo had been with them since he was a teenager and he’d never been away for so long before. Most of them had been worried how he would fair alone in the big, scary universe. The answer was, fine, of course. Mumbo was an adventurer through and through even if his attire didn’t fit the description. And Cub felt a bit foolish for worrying.

He let Scar play with his hand as he watched Grian and Mumbo dance. There was a rumbling stuck somewhere in his chest and Cub liked to believe that it was a satisfied one. Grian was trouble and it was good that he was occupied with Mumbo again. Hopefully now Cub and Scar could get some of their alone time back.

He wanted to divert his attention back to Scar, but Scar was staring at Mumbo and Grian and Cub had to follow his sight out of curiousity. And then he was back at watching Mumbo and Grian.

“Mumbo is a horrible dancer.” Scar broke the silence between them.

Cub whistled at Grians sudden moves. He somehow managed to make everything look fluid despite Mumbos flailing. “Grian isn’t.”

“We should dance with him sometime. Give him something to really work his muscles.”

“Scar. Phrasing.”

“Hm?”

Chuckles left Cub as he leaned over to kiss his silly lover. As though anything could really silence Scar if he wanted to talk.

“Ohh I’m getting – what’s it called – positive reinvent-, rinforc-, rhinoforcement!”

Laying his head on Scars shoulder to hide his soft laughter, Cubs heart fluttered when hands immediately came up to card through his hair.

It didn’t take long for them to look over to Mumbo and Grian again, though. And Cub startled a bit when he only found Mumbo at first. He sat up again, Scars hands falling back into his lap, and relaxed when he found Grian near Pearl and Impulse.

That was… a bit disappointing. Good, but… Cub had been sure Grian would beeline for them again once Mumbo was exhausted enough not to be entertaining anymore. Ah, he was only getting soup. For Mumbo. That made sense.

Cub furrowed his brow in confusion when Grian went over to Ren after a short chat with Mumbo. He should really stop trying to predict Grians actions. The little Allay was still an enigma to him.

Rens strumming got a bit quieter when Grian sat down beside him. Instead of a new song Ren played a musical scale, which Grian copied with his voice. A funny feeling flooded Cub. Grian was quiet with his warm up. And other people were loud. But he could hear enough of Grians voice to vaguely recognise it. But where from?

He narrowed his eyes and strained to listen close. He only ever caught a few notes. Void, why was he having a deja vu now? He’d heard Grian humming before and it had sounded familiar then as well. How so? He’d been too distracted at the mountain by his memory of Scars voice. But now the different context made something scratch at a different, blurry scene from the past.

“Hello gentleman? How is your evening going?”

Cub had to blink to get his blurry eyesight back into focus. How had Mumbo suddenly come to stand before them?

“Mumbo Jambolio! Our evening has been lovely. I hope this little welcome back gathering made you happy?”

The way Mumbo smiled down at them set alarm bells off in Cubs mind. Mumbo held himself in a rather non-threatening, almost submissive posture most of the time. He hunched over to not seem as tall as he was. And when he wasn’t waving his arms around widely he held them in front of his chest and fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves.

Anyone would say that Mumbo looked like a nervous businessman. Anyone who didn’t know him well, that is. Mumbo was a prankster by nature and thrived in chaos as much as any other Hermit. His telltale signs were just much more subtle.

Like the slight change of tone in his voice, his sentences not going up in the end like he was always asking questions. But rather wavered in a bit of a sing song. His twinkling eyes were always a dead giveaway, too. And there was always a sharper, more manic edge to his smile when he was planning something insidious.

The problem with Mumbo was that these tells were useless as they came up when he was planning mischief and when he was currently in the midst of causing mischief. Cub hoped he would not crash his own welcome back party, but really wouldn’t put it past him especially now that he had Grian by his side.

“It’s been amazing. Thank you for being here. I’ve honestly been not expecting this much…”

“Clinginess?” Cub teased making Scar beside him scowl a bit.

Mumbo laughed, rubbing his neck and Cub could see a pleased flush spreading on his cheeks in the low light of the torches. “Not from so many people, no. I mean others stayed away longer before.”

Scar hummed, gaze having softened again. “Well what did you expect. You’re our chicken!”

“What?”

Trying to describe his reasoning behind picking that word with waving circles in the air did not make it less confusing. “You know! Like an egg. And a chicken. Like it’s young and adorable and fluffy-”

“I think you’re thinking of the word fledgling, mate.” Mumbo teased.

Scar huffed and crossed his arms. “I think my word choice got it across just fine. You’re just being a nitpick.” He let himself fall to the side and into Cubs warm shoulder.

Cub snaked his arm around his partner and drew it higher to rub at Scars pulse point with his thumb. Hopefully that would keep him from sulking too much.

Mumbo and Scar continued to tease each other so there was probably a prank war on the rise. Not that Cub minded. He’d been busy testing out the ore distribution in this world for the last few weeks and would take any excuse for a distraction.

His gaze settled back to watch Grian and Ren, whose strumming had gotten louder once more. Others had perked up at the tunes, the start of a peppy song unlike what Ren usually played. And then Grians clear voice rang through the crowd like a sledgehammer and stole Cubs breath away.

No way.

Everyone else was as shell shocked as him. Conversations died down and heads turned to Grian, who had stood up and was swaying to the music.

Grians performance voice was different from his leisure humming voice. It had more power behind it. The chimes were missing so Grian must have repressed quite a bit of his Allay aspect. And his voice was also a bit higher, more feminine and sweeter than ever.

“No way.” Cub whispered as the first Hermit cheered, others joining in with more cheers or disbelieving laughs.

Scar looked at Grian as though he was a hallucination. “Am I being silly or does Grian sound like that popstar you like so much, Cub?”

“Ariana Griande.” Cub corrected him out of habit.

“You’re always being silly.” Mumbo added, leaning against the fence next to Cub.

“You don’t sound shocked at all!” Scar accused. Cub had to lean back a bit to let Scar point his finger at Mumbo.

Ah that was what that smile had been for. It was not the kind of party crashing Cub had assumed. Usually there were more explosions involved. But this did the job quite well, too.

“Because I’m not?”

“How do you know?!”

“Because I talk to him Scar.” Mumbo laughed, as though he had not just said the most offensive thing. Even Cub felt a bit miffed. They had been talking to Grian, too. Well, at least Scar had. But Cub had been present for most of these conversations.

“We’ve been talking to him, too!” Scar echoed half of his thoughts.

“Ah Scar, you sound a little jealous there, bud.”

“I’m not!”

Cubs head was spinning. This was too confusing. And mortifying. Trying to merge his picture of Grian with the one of his idol made his head hurt. His stomach was in distress and the Vex in his head were screaming.

The mental image of Grian in that Pillager cage popped into his head all of a sudden. But instead of the torn red sweater there was a tattered white and pink outfit. And the short mouse brown hair was replaced by long strands with artfully woven red ribbons in them.

The growl trapped in his chest was a vicious one this time. Cub wanted to jump up and rip apart those Pillagers all over again. He couldn’t just up and leave, though. And he was still conflicted about what that actually meant for him. So he drew Scar close instead and nuzzled into his hair to calm himself down.

Really what Grian did to him was a crime. Cub prided himself for always being the level headed one. He never rose above fond amusement. He’d put up with Scars shenanigans for decades without batting an eye. This was stupid.

“Cub, love, you okay there?”

Sure. Okay. He was totally okay. He’d just discovered that the voice that kept him sane during long journeys through the Void belonged to the guy who reminded him very painfully about what Scar and him had lost. And whom he was yet to decide on whether Cub liked or loathed him.

“I think I need to hide my record collection.”

~~~

Mumbo was happy to be back. The time away had been well spent, but stepping out into the crowd of waiting Hermits had truly felt like coming home. He was utterly relieved to see Grian still there as well. He had known he would be there, of course. Yet some part of him had still worried…

Grian was not a part of the Hermits in any binding way. He’d not been voted in. He wasn’t allowed to have a say in any of their meetings. And when they would eventually leave this world behind-

It hurt to think that they might leave him, too.

Mumbo had hoped that Grian would have settled in more firmly by now. And he’d certainly established a presence, if any of the chatter and playful complains was anything to go by. Mumbo feared that it still wasn’t enough, though.

The problem, as he saw it, was Cub and Scar and whatever they had going on with Grian. It was confusing to observe. Not quite a love triangle. And not quite a polycule. Mumbo had been sure that at least Scar and Grian had some real chemistry going on between them. If not as lovers than at least as prankster buddies.

And the three were interested in each other. That was the infuriating part. Mumbo had seen them watching and assessing Grian even before he had left Hermitcraft. And the attention they were giving Grian had only grown more intense, bordering on obsessive.

Mumbo wasn’t worried about that, per say. He worried about many things, but obsession was a Hermit thing and usually mellowed out over time. The problem was that Mumbo wasn’t sure whether this obsession was hostile or not.

Both Cub and Scar seemed to fluctuate between clinginess and avoidance. They’d established a kind of “can’t get too close, but can’t stay away” sort of state. They were mirroring what Grian was doing in that regard.

And it really shouldn’t have been Mumbos business at all. He loved having Grian among the Hermits, but he was fine with him anywhere as long as they were staying in contact. He had other friends all over, after all and was happy to see them whenever. If the three couldn’t get along and Grian ended up not joining them then that would be sad.

It would break his heart a little, actually. He’d probably cry himself to sleep for a month after. That was how their group worked, however. Everyone needed to get along with everyone. And as tragic as that was sometimes it was the best way to handle things.

So the three of them having trouble communicating and sorting out their feelings for each other should not be Mumbos problem.

But their weird behavior was extending towards him as well.

Not Grian, of course. Grian kept seeking him out a what Mumbo deemed normal amount. He let Mumbo have his space to get his bearings after the welcome back party. And he came to him when he felt like it.

Likewise Mumbo came and went and talked about possible plans of becoming neighbours.

Cub and Scar, however… Well Cub was forgiven. He was probably in the midst of an existential breakdown after finding out his beloved idol was Grian. If he’d stayed normal after that Mumbo would have been concerned.

So him acting weird was fine. Uncomfortable and frustrating, but managable.

Scars behavior was not. He was making Mumbos anxiety spike, really. First he was showering him with gifts. Than he was giving him cookies that made him blind for a while. And then he seemed to always be there when Grian and Mumbo hung out together, swooping in on them and otherwise avoiding Mumbo like the plague.

It was jealousy. Mumbo could see it clear as day. He couldn’t help feeling hurt about it. Scar had been one of his closest friends. And now he was being shunned for what? Being Grians best friend? Scar should be grovelling at his feet! They could have been allies!

And Mumbo was a nice man. He’d been all about peace, love and plants for a while. Although he’d discarded the plants part after having turned into a bit of a potato for a while last year.

But Mumbo was also no doormat. He was very well capable of getting back at people if they annoyed him. And Scar annoyed him a lot at the moment. He wanted to be jealous? Mumbo would give him a reason to be jealous.

He just hoped he was not stirring the fire too much with this stunt. Or that he was messing up Grians building plans with claiming the lump of land that he had.

“Uh, Mumbo? When I said we could be neighbours I didn’t think you would… well.” Grian gestured at the gaint red mess of wool Mumbo had used to create a layout for his base.

Mumbo grinned at him suddenly anxious that he might be the one that had crossed a line now. “Ah mate, it’s perfect isn’t it? You’ve even already built a bridge that connects our bases!”

“You… you realize that you’re sitting right on top of the Rift, right?”

Oh shoot had he offended an otherworldly being? “Ah… uhm do you think that’s gonna be a problem?”

Grian tilted his head to the side and remained silent. Mumbo counted the seconds his friend listened to… something Mumbo couldn’t hear. And with every bit of time that was spend standing there his heartrate went up a notch.

At least Grian didn’t look scared yet. His wings fluttered every once in a while as though in response to something. And eventually he straightened his head, void like eyes coming back to meet Mumbos.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t have to be a carbon copy. The main circles are in place anyway and that’s all that matters.”

“Grian, I don’t think you realize how ominous that sounds.”

“I do! But there’s really no other way of phrasing it!”

“You could have just said it’s fine.”

Grian crossed his arms and pouted. “Well fine. I’m not gonna explain the weird stuff that’s going on around you then.”

“Yes. Please let me be oblivious. I’ll be happier for it. Now do you want to see what I’ve planned? Or… you don’t mind me being that close, do you? Like… Your whole reaction was a bit… It’s okay if you don’t want-”

Before he could really start rambling Grian took his arm and guided him towards his wool outline. “Mumbo, Mumbo, Mumbo I’m happy to have you here. I was just a bit surprised is all. I didn’t think you wanted to be that close.”

Now Mumbo had to stop him right there. He carefully freed his arm and turned towards Grian, who gazed up at him, mouth opening to form a question. A surprised little noise came out instead when Mumbo drew him into a hug.

“Of course I want to be close to you, G.”

Grian always melted into their hugs and made little happy noises when they cuddled. Mumbo wondered how long he had been in that basement before Scar had found him. How long he had been alone in a strange world, cut off from his friends with no way out and a terrible fate hanging over his head.

It made him hold Grian a little tighter. His friend still felt untethered somehow. Maybe it was just an Allay thing. They were naturally light and tended to hover. So it might just be that.

“Mumbo you spoon. That’s not what I meant. Love you, though.”

“Awww, love you too, G. Don’t let Scar hear that.”

Grian looked up at him with confusion, red creeping into his cheeks. “Huh?”

Notes:

You got to have jealous Cub and jealous Scar in this chapter. :D
I love Mumbos brand of chaos so much. He's a whole other kind of friendly unhinged.

Btw. who else is excited for the first set of Creo cards to ship? I've been seeing a lot of signed cards already and I'm so hyped for them to be send off. I'm really hoping for a Docm77 or Ren signature. Getting Pearl and Impulse to have a boatem set would be super cool as well. I never thought I'd be so excited about cards. I really hope that if this goes well they'll do an Alter Ego set one day.

Sorry for the long note, but there's been so much going on that I want to ramble about. Hermit Archives is doing another auditioning as well! I don't have the time to follow the project as much as I want to. But it's so cool to see it still going strong. They are really doing something amazing there.

Chapter 13

Scar had heard that. Scar had heard that and was seething. He didn’t know why. It just wasn’t fair. What did Mumbo have that made him so easily lovable? Aside from his glorious mustache and charming, yet slightly menacing personality and overall welcoming attitude-

He didn’t even really love Grian! Mumbo had left just a few weeks after they had discovered the little Allay! Cub and Scar had been with him for longer. Grian was more their friend than his!

It just didn’t make sense. It was mean, was what it was. Mumbo had been back for just a few days and already Scar could feel the amount of time they lost Grian to him. Cubs and his bed was empty now. Which was fine the first few nights. Scar had missed sexy times with Cub.

But, but…

Scar was in full Vex aspect, pacing through his tree. He knew his eyes were glowing a dangerous blue, magic lashing out and filling up the air, making it almost impossible to breath. Some of it had crystalized on the rough wooden surface of the walls and furniture. It had no real direction or purpose yet. It was just there. Raw energy left to fester.

He would need to do something about that. Usually it was fine to just store it in blocks for later use. Or infuse glass blocks with it so they could be used as good luck charms. When he was especially patient Scar would make crystals to gift to other Hermits. Although he had learned his lesson and did not ever give any of those to Cub. Turns out highly concentrated Vex magic made his partner high.

But Scar didn’t want to clutter his home with more materials than necessary. He had gathered up quite a bit for his big building project and was quickly running out of space. And in the mood he was in he doubted crystals would turn out to be helpful. Quite the contrary.

No matter how chaotic his cravings as a Vex got, he never wanted to harm his friends with one of his creations.

Maybe he could redirect it. Grian didn’t seem to mind having his head invaded. And the Vex in his head screeched with joy at the thought of being the only thing on Grians mind.

Scar already felt guilty as he crept up his tree and secluded himself in a seperate room. The urge to hide what he was doing from everyone else – especially Cub – already told him that what he was planning was bad.

But the thought of Grian dreaming his voice when he slept was such a delicious temptation. And Scar had never been good at resisting those. He wouldn’t overdo it. No, this was a… a prank! Just a little bit of fun. A small reminder to Grian that Cub and Scar were still around. Still wanted to have him around.

Yes, that made it easier to set everything up. Really he was worrying too much anyway! The Rift and the Entity were constantly bugging Grian with their invasive forces. This wasn’t anything different.

It was just a prank. Just some harmless prank.

Scar hoped Cub wouldn’t find out about this.

~~~

Mumbo was not a builder. Grian realized this fast when he inspected Mumbos wool construction after their little meet up. Something had been bugging him the first time around, when Mumbo had shown and explained it all to him. But he’d still been flustered at the mention of Scar and too caught up with Mumbo to put his finger on what was wrong.

Now he had seen it he could not unsee it. The whole thing was off by 8 blocks! It was horrible! He quickly swiped up his communicator and let Mumbo know of the atrocity he had committed. Yes, they’d be amazing neighboors.

The small gadget vibrated with an incoming message just as he had finished typing. Quickly hitting send Grian tapped at the new message. It was always scary when Xisuma texted him. He loved the Admin to bits, but he was still the Admin. Which meant he would be responsible for telling Grian to get off this world, should there be too many complains. He had the authority for it.

Grian wasn’t about to be kicked out, though. Xisuma was just telling him to meet up at some coordinates in an hour. Mysterious.

Grian wrote him a quick text back and thought about what he could do in the meantime. One hour wasn’t a lot. Not enough to get immersed in any of his projects, at least. He ended up placing a few pointer blocks and signs to help Mumbo rearrange his base.

He also made a half hearted attempt to sort his chests, which probably made more of a mess than it helped to clear up. At one point he just stopped and decided to head off towards the coordinates early. His curiousity just wouldn’t let him concentrate on anything.

His stomach dropped when he drew close to their meeting place. He saw the roof of it first, peeking out over the tall trees. He landed on top of a tree a few paces away and tried to get his breathing under control.

It wasn’t the woodland mansion that he had been kept in. That one had been burned to the ground. But they all looked so similar and his brain didn’t care for logic anyway.

“Grian! You’re already here!” Jevins voice rung out from underneath him.

Grian didn’t want to come down. Bile was rising in his throat even just at the thought of it. So he only lowered himself down a few branches, enough so that they could comfortably see each other.

“Hi, Jev…”

“Oh man G, you alright? You look really pale.”

“Y- yeah… no. Just… didn’t expect.” He gestured towards the massive structure of stone and wood. His throat didn’t want to work right at the moment.

It took a bit until Jevin put the pieces together. His form wavered in confusion as he looked back and forth from the mansion to Grian. When realization finally dawned on him a look of horror overtook his features. His form even seemed to shrink a little bit, appalled.

“Oh Void Grian! I’m so sorry I didn’t think- Shit. Look this was supposed to be a fun thing. You, X and Hypno got the most eggs in the easter egg hunt. And I wanted to do a little competion on even ground to figure out who the winner is.”

Jevin rattled on with his apology and reassurance that he would blow this whole thing off and relocate it to somewhere else. But Grian only half listened to him. His gaze was drawn back to the mansion. It was so quiet in there.

Jevin had gotten out his communicator to inform X and Hypno about the change of plans when Grian spoke up again. “It’s empty?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. The only thing in there are the eggs.”

Grian hummed, torn on what to say next. Jevin seemed to notice and stopped to wait for him.

“I might…” Grian started, then stopped to gnaw at his lip. Did he really mean what he was going to say? “I might be fine. Could I, theoretically, win even without going into the basement?”

Jevin took a step closer to the tree. “Dude you don’t have to.”

“I know.” Grian took a deep breath and jumped the rest of the way down. The sentient Slime had his hands out, ready to catch him and Grian smiled at the sweet gesture. “I’m fine. I think.”

Jevin looked doubtful. “You sure?”

“No.” Grian said truthfully.

“Right. We’ll wait until the others get here. If you change your mind at any point we’ll stop and reschedule, okay? It’s really no big deal for me to set it up somewhere else.”

Grian gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Jev. I’ll scream if I want out or something.” If he didn’t freeze up. But Jevin didn’t need to hear that.

It was Grians pride that made him do it. And he would deal with the consequences. He wouldn’t destroy another Hermits work like that. It was high time he faced his fears anyway.

Xisuma felt very differently about that when he arrived and saw where the game would take place.

“Absolutely not! Jevin what were you thinking?”

“That I needed a big structure to hide eggs in that everyone would be familiar with?” Jevin replied, but it all sounded like a question. “I really didn’t think about-”

“Yes, I can see that-”

“I’m fine. I was just surprised when I first saw it is all. I’m good to play.” Grian interrupted the two and said the lines with a bit more force just so that he might convince himself with them, too.

Xisuma turned to him. The helmet obscured any facial expression he might have had. But Grian saw the tension in his shoulders. “Are you sure?”

“I’ll say if I want to nope out at any point.” Grian promised, already knowing he would do no such thing.

Hypno, not having been around when Grian had been found, was much easier to convince to play. And so Grian found himself at the entrance, lined up with the other two, heart beating out of his chest.

“Alright. You’ve got 15 minutes to find as many eggs as possible. Ready. Set. Go!”

As soon as Grian stumbled over the threshold he wanted to get back out. And he used that urge to propell himself forward. He dashed from room to room, zeroing in on every glimpse of gold he could find.

He didn’t care for being thorough. He just wanted to keep going, race through every part of the mansion except the basement as fast as possible and get out the second Jevin said the game was over.

Fear of freezing up kept him in motion and the eggs helped him to focus and not freak out to the point where he would end up becoming useless. It was a bit concerning that he zoned out nearly completely about halfway through. But he was present enough to hear Jevins call of “Ten seconds left!”

He pivoted to the nearest exit as soon as he heard it and was the first one out.

The others followed soon after and they all presented their finds to Jevin. “And the winner iiiiis: Grian! Congratulations!”

“GG man.” Hypno cheered still panting a little.

“You did well!”

Grian grinned at the three, but hesitated when Jevin held out the prize to him. He’d suggested that they split the prize for the easter egg hunt evenly among the three of them when Jevin had first announced them to be the people with the most eggs.

And now he felt that that was the right thing to do even more so than before. Given how worried the others had been about him he felt like he had cheated. Even though it should have been harder for him. The other two had probably been uncomfortable leaving him to run around the mansion like that. Xisuma and Hypno probably had even let him win.

Grian couldn’t take that kind of victory. He wasn’t even a Hermit!

“Guys I really wanna split this. Come on, we all had fun here.”

There was considerably less push back for his suggestion than last time. He guessed the Hermits really liked to prolong play sessions as much as possible, but were happy to hoard the precious materials once everything was over.

It didn’t matter. They were happy and that made Grian happy. They exchanged a few more words of praise and gratitude until Grian thought of something that had been bugging him for a while now.

Hypno had taken off already and Xisuma was standing off to the side packing away his diamond blocks. So that gave Grian the perfect opportunity to talk to Jevin.

“Hey Jev?”

“What’s up?”

“Uhm…” Grian fiddled with his sleeves, wings buzzing three short times with anxiety before he could keep them calm again. “I wanted to ask you something. Uh when the game started. The names on the basket. You wrote Grain. Was that a spelling error?”

Grian internally cringed at the question. Hearing it out loud it sounded a lot like he was nitpicking. And what if Jevin was dyslexic like Scar? Then he would have been super rude!

“You noticed? Yeah I kinda did it on purpose. Everyone just kept calling you different things like pesky bird and copper golem and such. So I guess I kinda wanted in on the joke.”

Oh. That. Jevin had meant to tease him. It took a moment until his emotions had sorted themselves out. But once they did Grian gave Jevin a fake pout.

“Grain, though?! Really? I don’t resemble bread at all!”

The tension that had gathered in Jevins shoulders during Grians long silence immediately fell away and was replaced by a smirk. “You can’t see it? I always thought your hair looked at least like a waffle.”

“A waffle?! That- that’s not even related to bread!”

“Hm… maybe his face shape is a bit bread like. You know, now that you mention it Jev. Yes, I think it does.”

Grian made an affronted noise and turned to grace Xisuma with a truly scandalized look. “X! I’m not bread!”

“You sure?” Jevin asked, smirking. “Scar would probably ask if he could have a taste by now. Just to make sure.”

Grians hands shot up to cover his rapidly reddening face at the mental image that sprung up at that. “Jevin! Xisumae don’t you laugh at that!”

The snickers continued. “I would never laugh at such a thing. Also how did you just say my name?”

“X-Eye-Sisuma.” Grian spelled out an even more butchered version.

“Aaaalright I’m gonna get going now before my name gets mutilated, too. Thanks for playing guys. It was awesome! Bye!”

They were left in the wake of rocket smoke and Grian suddenly realized that he was alone with the Admin. That was a first. A very scary first. A first that he didn’t want to indulge in for much longer, no matter how pleasant hanging out with Xisuma was.

But before Grian could make some form of lame excuse to leave Xisuma spoke up again. “Actually, Grian I wanted to ask you something, too. And give you something. Wait actually let me give you something first!”

More gifts? Curious, Grian stretched his hands out and let Xisuma drop the item in them. His expression turned incredulous at what he saw. That was not at all what he’d been expecting.

“Suma don’t you want to buy me dinner first?”

“No! No that’s not. Oh goodness gracious me that was not my intention at all!” Xisuma spluttered, waving his hands around.

Grian laughed at how flustered the Admin had become. “I’m just messing with you! I’m not a pureblooded Allay. I don’t mate like that. And anyway even if I would, there’s no music to set the mood.”

“Right.” And that little word held all the relief in the world. “Good, I didn’t want to overstep your boundaries again after-” He waved at the building behind them. Apparently the word ‘woodland mansion’ was now banned from his vocabulary.

It was kind of sweet, but also wholly unnecessary as Grian had already been inside the thing. Uttering the name would not send him into a panic.

So Grian graciously interrupted Xisumas rambling. “What’s it for?” He doubted X would just give him a random amethyst shard.

The question snapped Xisuma out of his long winded speech. “Good question! It’s one of Scars magic infused crystals. Look a bit closer. Here, see that?”

Xisuma tapped at the big shard, outlining the pulsing blue swirls within with his fingertip. Grian stared at it in wonder and rubbed his thumb over it as soon as Xisuma withdrew his hand again. The magic within hummed at him, dormant and calm. Grian hummed back and the shard vibrated for a second in his hand.

At his questioning look Xisuma continued to explain. “Scar made them two worlds ago. He doesn’t often have the patience and extra energy to do so, but when he does he makes these and gifts them to us. They are special. Unfortunately they break with one use. But they can be real lifesavers.”

Grian resisted the urge to press the crystal to his chest. “What do they do?”

“A lot of things. It depends on what you need the most at the moment. Some are just lucky charms. Others help you move fast in a moment that matters. Let you evade traps or make you aware of danger. Basically they are there to look out for you. I’ve collected a few of them by now. And I know from a reliable source that Scar is pretty upset that he couldn’t give you one yet. So I thought I’d lend you one of mine in the meantime.”

“That’s… thank you.”

He couldn’t see Xisumas face, but he could hear the smile in his voice. “No problem. I just wanted to give you something all of us Hermits shared. You’ve been an amazing guest so far.”

Was this a farewell gift then? Grian was too scared to ask. He only pressed the shard to his chest, losing against the urge to hold such a precious thing close. And croaked out another “Thank you.”

Xisuma put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Well I’ll let you get back to your base building. It looks amazing, by the way.”

Grian felt like a broken record thanking Xisuma again. But the Admin didn’t seem to mind. He only squeezed his shoulder once more before taking off. It was a few hours later when Grian realized the Admin never asked him that question.

Notes:

Sorry for the late-ish update. I was away on a convention for the week and just got back. I'm super exhausted XD

Chapter 14

Notes:

I just noticed that Scars Minecraft name is GoodtimewithScar (missing an s). And I know Grian has made fun of it before but for some reason I never fully realized until now? And now I can't unsee it.

Each of these blades represent a past life, memories, desires, dreams, and past loves.
By plucking one, you shall reveal -
His dreams were a jumbled up mess. Maybe relocating his bed to the building site had not been a good idea.

Grian stared at the ceiling of his rock. He’d build his first building that was supposed be the entrance to Dwayne. It only contained a wooden plattform for now. But it made for an acceptable place to put his stuff.

Or so he’d thought. He was having second thoughts now. The air around him was thick and charged. And Scars voice kept bouncing around in his head.

It was slightly disconcerting that Scar had infiltrated his dreams so much. He was talking absolute nonsense, too. Why would Grian want to walk around with mittens for shoes? And how would that make him feel more connected to the world? Grian was already very well connected, thank you very much. Some would even argue that he was too connected.

The craving to go see Cub and Scar had grown exponentially as well. Everytime he woke up he was thrumming with pent up energy. It almost felt like the tugging from the Rift and Entity. Only it really wasn’t.

Grian rubbed his hands over his face and groaned, long and loud. This was so stupid. He didn’t have the brain power to figure out what magical mayhem was going on now. And if his mind had just decided to be silly than he didn’t want to know that either.

Getting ready to face the day Grian stumbled over a shulker box that hadn’t been there before. Cursing as he hopped around and rubbed his throbbing toe, he snatched up the note that had been pinned to the box.

Scars flowery handwriting waved back at him from the page and Grian sighed. Of course this was Scars. The Vex had started to bring things over every once in a while. Sometimes Grian caught him and they would chat for a bit. But more often than not Scar left him gifts when Grian wasn’t looking.

Usually the shulker boxes contained the latest batch of cookies or sweet treats Scar was testing out. As was the case this time, too. It never failed to make Grians heart flutter. Scar really was such a sweet person.

Pocketing the cookies for later consumption, Grian went about gathering all the things he would need for his next project. He’d found out lately that portals did not work when he build them too close to the Rift.

And he kept getting glimpses of a floating, moon like, shape in the sky. He didn’t know why or how it would work. But somehow he had a hunch that if he could only build the portal up in the sky and get the rock formation surrounding it just right, he wouldn’t need to build his portal far away.

He still had no clue how to build floating structures. And Scars nonsense words overlapped with the flashes of visions he got throughout the day and night. It had become hard to sort the intrusive thoughts from the images the Rift and Entity send him.

But he could work with what he got! He’d just… build the portal on the ground for now, with the rocks surrounding it like they should. A big circle on the ground. And then he would light the portal and see what happened.

The worst thing that could happen was that it didn’t work and Grian had to destroy it again. He hoped.

He ignored Scars nagging voice echoing in the back of his head, telling him to eat sand. Instead he took his notebook and building materials with him and set to work. Up on the lump behind him he faintly heard Mumbo scuttling about. He had started the construction of huge, mean looking walls. Walls which Grian already itched to disregard and break into.

Not now, though. He had to concentrate to get the shapes just right. He’d made a few sketches in his notebook and had added a bunch of notes that came from the flashes he got every now and then.

Scared to mess it up he first outlined everything with wool. It had become second nature for him to stop and listen and feel during this process. This was his build, yes. But it felt more like a commission this time around. The Rift told him what had to be there and Grian could decorate the rest as he wanted.

It took him all day to assemble all the parts and when he was done he propelled himself into the air to see if he had done everything right. It looked mystical even laying on the ground, if a little flat.

Landing on top of the stone ring that hid the obsidian Grian clutched the flint and steel in his hand, hesitating. This was it. The moment of truth. Would something cool happen or would the portal explode in his face like the last three did?

He took a deep breath. No other way to find out but to light it.

With one quick motion he bend down and clicked the flint and steel together. Deep, purple swirls bled into the black space like usual. But instead of silence there was rumbling as the stone underneath Grians feet shifted.

With a yelp Grian jumped off and spread his elytra to take him up to his bridge. Awestruck he watched as the huge structure heaved itself upright and began to spin, the half moon rock formation circling the main portal frame.

Strong gusts of wind whipped his hair around. The air all around him was crackling and humming. And from deep, deep down he could feel the Rift, its rumbling echoing in his chest.

The moment of take off stretched out, reaching its peak when the spinning got faster and faster, the slow levitation gliding into a huge, sudden jump up. And then it was as though it had hit a barrier, its ascend halted in its tracks after a certain point.

It got stuck just a little above Dwayne the rock’s highes point. The rocks rotating around the main portal slowed down once more until they hovered in the position just like Grian had designed, forming a moon shape around the circle in the middle.

Grian couldn’t breath. The impossible scene in front of him had taken that ability from him. Right here, right now, he had stopped being Grian and become part of the scenery. A backdrop for this glorious thing that wasn’t supposed to exist. Just like the Entity. Just like the Rift.

He stepped back to get a view of his whole base. Just to see what it looked like put together and to hopefully get a clearer picture on what it would look like once the other floating rocks were added.

His foot suddenly met air and before he knew it he tumbled down his beacon hole with a scream. The impact hurt. But what should have crushed his spine and cracked open his skull only bruised his back. A hot wave of energy surrounded him, flowed through his pores into his skin. The tiny veins in his fairy wings pulsed with a pinkish light and for a brief moment he breathed out pure magic.

With a hammering heart Grian sat up. “I didn’t die?”

He got up on shaky legs and patted over his body in disbelief. “I didn’t die.”

Grian turned to the Rift, which hummed at him once more. Its energy was almost cradling him. But nothing about what had just happened was reassuring in the slightest. Standing in the cave, in the glare of the almost fully awake Rift, felt like standing directly in front of a hungry predator.

The sound of rattling skeletons and the groans of the undead made him shudder and spring into action. He may have not died yet, but he sure would if he didn’t eat something fast and then got out of this monster infested cave. Maybe the lights he’d put down hadn’t been enough after all.

Choosing Scars experimental cookies as food was a mistake. One bite and the world suddenly turned dark, making him cry out in confusion again.

“Grian?”

“Mumbo!”

“Where are you?”

“Down here! Rift!”

Rockets told him his friend was coming to get him and he stumbled into the direction of the sound, holding his hands out in front of him. He flinched when an arrow from a skeleton struck the ground somewhere close by.

“Mumbo I can’t see!” He whimpered. He’d heard another thud. Hopefully that was his friend landing and not a Creeper dropping down to explode him from behind again.

Hands grabbed his own and pulled him towards his friends chest. “It’s fine. I’ve got you. Hop up.”
Grian did without a second thought, clawing at his friends smooth suit to find purchase and shut his eyes tightly. They were useless at the moment anyway.

Mumbos take off made his breath hitch. He was getting dizzy with the amount of breath he forced into his overworked lungs. Everything was buzzing and the darkness was getting really close-

“-ian? Grian?”

An aborted whistle of a breath was the only thing Grian managed for his first try. The next sound was a whimper as he tried to open his eyes again only to find that they were working once more and everything was suddenly too bright.

Mumbo, brilliant, clever Mumbo, noticed immediately and relocated them with swift strides, plopping them both down on Grians bed. They ended up in a bit of a messy tangle, given that Mumbo had zero sense of balance and apparently no coordination of his limbs either.

But with a bit of effort from the both of them Grian managed to crawl into Mumbos lap and used his friends chest as a headrest. He was getting fairy dust everywhere again. He wondered how many of Mumbos suits were permanently glittery by now.

He wished his friend was less awkward about touching. But he guessed the hesitance made sense. Grian didn’t know if he could stomach much more sensory input, so how could Mumbo? He would need to give him a clue soon. Some kind of sign that Grian was okay.

The air was still so full of magic, though. And the Rift had… it had reached into him somehow. Like the Void had when Grian had fallen through it. He had yet to decide if that had been a good thing. It hadn’t felt malicious. Just a bit careless. Like a child trying to patch up a wound with tape instead of bandages.

He shifted and angled his head to the side to glance at the world beyond the entrance to his makeshift flat. It wasn’t even that bright outside, he noticed. Dusk was fast approaching.

His movements prompted Mumbo to touch him again, careful at first and then more firmly, afraid Grian would somehow stumble out of his lap and hurt himself again. “What happened there?”

Grian tilted his head up to look at Mumbo. “I fell and then I ate one of Scars cookies and freaked out.”

“Oh so it was Scars experimental baking that made you like this and not the creepy Rift in your basement. Or- Uff.”

Mumbo probably hadn’t deserved the elbow to his ribs. It felt good to cut him off like that anyway. “It might have been a combination of those things. Suddenly turning blind after almost dying did not help, though.”

“I’ll have to have a word with Scar then.”

“And I with Pearl.”

“Pearl? What did she do?”

“Inspired Scar.”

“Oh dear.”

There was a hum in the air that Grian only later realized came from him. He was thrumming along with the atmosphere, one with the energy that was slowly settling over them like a thick layer of dust.

His aches from the fall had already vanished. Odd because he knew that cookie hadn’t been even close to having healing properties in it as most food had nowadays.

“How did you end up down there anyway?” Mumbo asked into the silence. His hands had finally come up to hold Grian, one hand gently running up and down his back. It occasionally bunched up the fabric near his fragile wings, kneeding it before letting go and continuing in its soothing motions.

Grian pressed impossibly closer to his friend, greedily soaking up every bit of affection he could get. Void he’d missed him so much. “I wanted to get a better look at my floating portal.”

“Your what?!”

Really Mumbo? Grian thought as he begrudgingly shifted away from his friends chest to bestow a judgemental stare upon him. “You didn’t see the gaint floating portal when you came over to rescue me?”

The blush that crept up his friends neck and spread over his too pale cheeks told Grian about as much as the renewed nervous fidgeting. “Ah… well… I mean you can’t judge me! I… uh… I was just really focused on getting to you. You’re scream scared the life outta me, mate.”

Chimes rang through the air as Grian slung his arms around Mumbos neck to draw him close again. “My hero” He giggled, before letting go once more and hopping off. He was still a bit shaky, blinking against the black dots that formed from moving too fast. His wings fluttered to try and keep him balanced. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

“Without falling into a hole this time?”

Grian stuck a tongue out at him, grinning at the chuckle it drew out from his friend.

Notes:

I love Grians base so much. I hope he'll refocus on it a bit, now that the Buttercups Doc war is over. Lil guy still needs to do the interior. His second nemesis besides the back of bases.

Anyway we've been living good with all the cool stream team ups these days eh? Loved Jimmys, Tangos and Skizzes stream yesterday. I still can't get the thought out of my head that if you call Jimmy, Timmy and then add Impulse to the team we could have the team name TITS. And I'm way too old for it to be so funny to me. The GoodtimeswithScar fandom broke me.

Chapter 15

Scar stared at what he had scrawled into the book on the lectern in front of him. The candles around him flickered, casting blue light on the warped wooden walls surrounding the tiny room he’d build in his tree home just for this.

It was stuffy here with no window to let in air. The door behind him was sealed tight, a bookcase hiding it from view on the other side. The heat of the candles made him sweat and almost regret having grown his hair out.

It was probably karma, that everything here was making him uncomfortable. It did nothing to help him form coherent messages that he could give to Grian. Not to mention that writing in the half dark turned his dyslexia up to eleven.

This had probably not been the best idea. Scar thought, not for the first time. He added another nonsensical sentence with the swirl of his quill anyway. At least he had an excuse like this. If his words had no meaning they couldn’t be malicious. A prank and not coercion.

The knowledge that Grians dreams were full of him made him smile. And the longing of having the little Allay back with Cub and him on a daily basis was stronger than his already pretty wacky moral compass. So with barely any guilt he glanced over the script for tonight again and began to read.

“What are you doing?” Cubs voice cut him off somewhere between line three and four.

Scar jumped, shoulders tensing and smile turning nervous as he spun around to greet his partner. “H- hiiii Cub! Fancy seeing you here!”

Cub was standing right behind him with his arms crossed, looking over Scars shoulder at the book. Scar quickly reached behind himself to close it and inched slightly to the right to block Cubs view. Which was not suspicious at all. No sir.

“What is that?” Cub asked again, the teasing lilt in his voice absent for once.

“Nothing! I’m being a perfect angel!”

“Hmhm. Then you won’t mind me taking a peek?-”

Scar snatched the book off the lectern before Cub could get to it, backing up as much as he could in the small room. He bumped into a candle, heart stopping when it wobbled and breathing a sigh of relief when it didn’t fall over.

Really the whole room was one big design mistake. What with Cub being able to just phase through walls. He’d forgotten how perceptive his partner was. Most of the Hermits were to an extent, of course. But most of them willfully turned their backs on ongoing shenanigans because it was funnier this way.

Cub sometimes did so, too. Although he was more likely to cash in on the chaos. And sometimes a good confrontation could be just as entertaining. This wasn’t entertaining. This was making Scars heart race and the guilt crawl up his throat as he pressed the damning book against his chest.

“Scar?”

He hated this. He hated this with a passion. Hated the way Cub looked at him, eyebrow raised and lips pursed. Scar wanted to kiss that unhappy expression away, but knew that affections such as these in a moment of rare seriousness between them was unwelcome and disrespectful.

“Okay, okay, okay I maaay have done something… to… uh… to our Grian. Nothing bad! Just…” He flapped one of his hands up and down, not sure how to describe what he had done.

Cubs expression darkened further and he stretched out his hand again, making a grabby motion. Reluctantly Scar gave him the book.

“Any chance you might just forget about ever seeing me do this?” Scar asked with a nervous smile.

Cub ignored him. He opened the book and skimmed over the pages, frown deepening. “Scar what is this?”

“Uhm… a prank?”

“A prank.” Cubs deathly dry tone send shivers down Scars spine. Oh, he was in deep trouble now.

“I really didn’t do much-”

Cub held up a finger and Scar snapped his mouth shut. The tense silence stretched over them as Cub slowly turned page after page. It was heavier than the Vex magic swirling around them. And Scar couldn’t bear it more than a few seconds.

“I needed an outlet-”

“Shut up Scar.”

Another click of his teeth. Scar blew out a low whine between them. He must have looked absolutely pathetic, hunched over and leathery wings wrapped around himself in a pseudo hug. Underneath, his clawed hands fidgeted with the green fabric of his elven attire.

After an imagined eternity Cub finally closed the book and disappeared it into his inventory, turning to look at Scar again. “What were you trying to do?”

“I… Honestly I’m not sure? I just… I’ve had some pent up magic, but I’ve felt so cranky so I thought it wouldn’t be the best idea to materialize it into something useful… And Grian hasn’t been around since Mumbo came back-” Here Scar couldn’t help but drop his voice, rumbling the words in clear dissatisfaction, “So I thought I’d remind him of our existence again. In a fun way!”

“By messing with his head? With Vex magic. Don’t you think he has enough voices telling him what to do in there already?!” Cub almost snarled, calm demeanour fading fast.

Scar shrank back a bit and tried to smile the anger away. His mind was racing to find a way to clean up this mess. It had been a long time since Cub had been so angry at him. Or in general. It was terrifying.

“That’s why I thought it’d be fine! He doesn’t seem to mind-”

“He got sick because of them! And what’s with you and your obsession with him anyway? So what if he’s hanging out with Mumbo a lot right now? It’s normal. He missed him! And you’ve been over there gifting him sweets nearly every day. That should be enough to-” Cub growled and Scars heart leapt in his throat when he saw the wet shine in Cubs eyes.

“Am I not enough anymore?” Cub asked in a quivering voice.

And Scar didn’t care about the no affection rule during serious conversations anymore, his partner was hurting. Hurting because of something stupid Scar did. He leapt forward and wrapped Cub up in the warmest, tightest hug he could muster.

“Of course you are! Of course! I’m so sorry. I didn’t think- I just got so… obsessed, because- I don’t know! You’re right. What I did was stupid. I’m stopping right now. I promise. I promise, please don’t cry. You know I’ll start crying too and I’m such an ugly crier not like you who looks beautiful and handsome in everything that you do. Have I already told you how handsome you are? And clever?”

His hug wasn’t returned, but Scar could feel Cub relax in his hold. Scars babbling even earned him an amused huff of a half laugh.

Cub didn’t return the hug, but he leaned into him and didn’t pull away. And Scar didn’t feel any wetness on the shoulder Cubs head rested on. So he counted that as a win.

The silence that settled over them now was much less oppressing. Instead Scar could feel how they both grew tired, leaning into each other more and more until the only thing that kept them upright was the hold they had on their respective partner.

Eventually Scar couldn’t suppress a yawn, smacking his lips with a grimace when he got some of Cubs hair in his mouth. Cub painstakingly lifted his head to snort at Scars funny expression.

“I’m still mad at you.” He said, but most of his anger had already left his voice.

“As you have every right to be.” Scar assured, knowing he would find traps and pranks in his home in the coming days… more so than usual. “Will you still share my bed with me?”

Cub regarded him with a calculating gaze, making Scar fidget nervously at the prolonged scrutiny. It didn’t help that Cub had an extremely good pokerface even when he didn’t try.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Scar breathed a sigh of pure relief when Cub took his hand to lead him out of the room and up to their bed. Crisis averted.

~~~

Life had become much less terrifying. There hadn’t been another incident with the Rift. And as much as it pained him to do so, Grian also stayed away from Scars new cookie inventions just so his poor little heart could have a break.

It was debateable whether his current projects were any better for his rattled nerves, of course. After the portal he went on to create the other floating boulders.

Mumbo had been there for the first one, eager to see the process as he somehow had missed the portal. Grian still didn’t know how that had been possible with the amount of spectacle the thing had risen up with. Especially because Mumbo had been close enough to hear him scream. But that was Mumbo for you.

He had the footage of it rising, at least. And it thankfully hadn’t been corrupted either. Technology had come such a long way in the time he’d missed hurtling through the Void. Not that he had noticed much of that either. It had felt like seconds. Agonizing seconds, but still-

“Are we just going to stand here?” Cubs gruff voice pulled him out of that particular thought spiral.

Grian frowned up at the Vex. “Just give me a minute I’m almost done. And you should fly up to the bridge. Mind the beacon hole. I’ll join you soon.”

With a slight tilt of the head Cub pulled out a rocket and shot off, displeased expression never once wavering. Grian coughed at the fumes and grumbled. He had no idea what Cubs deal was all of a sudden.

He had been visiting Grian much more often than usual these last few days and kept asking weird questions about his sleep schedule and stuff. To the point where it was starting to get a little bit creepy even for Grians standards. And the worst thing was that he wasn’t even being polite about it!

At least Scar was cheerful creepy! But Cub kept giving him mean looks. Grian had even gone to Mumbo about it because he was starting to worry about a potential murder plot. Mumbo had been just as puzzled by Cubs behaviour as him. According to his mustachioed friend Cub usually didn’t act like that.

“Did you maybe wax his copper?” Mumbo had asked.

Grian huffed again. He’d wax this mans copper alright. If he kept getting on Grians nerves. With a satisfying chunk the last cut stone fell into place. The finished rock hummed and grew warm under him as the wind picked up. Grian licked his lips, tasting the magic that lingered there. His wings fluttered underneath his already spread elytra and with two rocket bursts of his own and some clever maneuvering he was gliding up onto the bridge.

Cub could only give him a brief glance before his eyes became glued to the scene in front of him again. Grian understood the sentiment. This was his third time and he was still mesmerized by the process. It felt a bit like watching a helicopter take off. Only that here seemingly all known laws of gravity were crudely ignored, made fun of and trampled on for good measure. Maybe it was actually more like watching a gaint bee take off then.

His skin buzzed pleasantly, his eyes growing half-lidded. The surge of power in the air was growing to become quite addicting. Just like the rush of energy a good strong cup of coffee with too much sugar brought him in the morning. Only this was more all encompassing and didn’t send him into an anxiety spiral.

The rock’s ascend was eerily silent. Except for the wind there was not a single creak or groan from the huge stone and moss structure. There was something not quite right about that. Objects moved with noise. Grian knew the sounds the earth made when it cracked and slid under pressure. He had worked enough on this little project to hear them all.

But during the ascend not a single piece of his artwork fell out of place. There was no shifting of structures. Not even the smallest of debris falling back down. As if it was all held together by some invisible glue.

The whole thing was over before they knew it and Grian realized that he had held his breath again, black dots already creeping into his vision. By the shaky breathing next to him Grian assumed Cub had done the same thing.

“It’s cool isn’t it?” Grian said, nudging Cub out of his stunned silence.

“This should not be possible.”

“But it’s cool.”

Cub looked down at him like he was insane. “You’re not worried about this?”

Grian shrugged. “No? It opens up a lot of building possibilities.”

“They are messing with your head, Grian.”

Grian waved Cubs worries away. “At least they are being nice about it. Pearl seems to be having a worse time with the aliens, to be honest.”

They both shuddered at what Pearl had found searching the underground tunnels stretching beneath her base. No one had taken her that seriously about the illness that had supposedly befallen the population that had come before them. She’d only ever found sketchy records and nothing substancial. And they all knew how well a civilization could lie when they wanted to cover something up.

To find out that something was festering underneath them…

Cub crossed his arms again. He was tense. Had been for a while. “Xisuma found another part of it while digging for diamonds today.”

“How big do you think it is?”

“It’s spanning a few hundred blocks for sure. And I don’t know if it’s the only site.”

“Hm. Weird world we landed in, huh?”

Clothes rustled as Cub shifted next to him. “Exciting-”

Grian grinned at Cubs slip up, cackling at the disapproving frown sent his way. “Oh Cub don’t be like that! I know you love a bit of chaos! You can say it’s exciting! I mean it could be another big discovery like the Nether or the… the End! New materials to play with! Isn’t exploring and figuring stuff out what we are here for?”

It’s what the Hermits were here for mostly, Grians vicious thoughts sternly reminded him. Grian argued back that he had been an explorer, too. Maybe he hadn’t been assigned this world. But he got the spirit and the license.

Cub still looked doubtful so Grian shoved himself fully into the Vexes field of view. “It can’t be more dangerous than whatever Doc is cooking up in that hole of his-”

“It’s a perimeter-”

“Big hole, that’s what I said.”

A hand gently grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and placed him a more respectable distance away from Cub. “Pesky bird.”

Instead of protesting Grian felt his cheeks heat up. He hastily stuck out his tongue and grimaced, unsure what reaction would distract from the obvious signs that he liked the nickname. None did, given how Cub smirked down at him. Well at least he was in a better mood than before.

“I’m right, though.” Grian had to point out. He knew it. Cub knew it. Everyone knew it.

Xisuma had already proclaimed his dread about the inevitability of the Hermits curiousity winning over. You could only be afraid of the ominous new shiny thing for so long until you wanted to poke it.

Grian may have not been allowed to go to the official meetings, but the Hermits were very talkative. He knew people were already pressing on going there. Grian hoped he would be allowed to be part of the exploration team. But if not he already had plans to go on his own.

Something heavy landed on his head and pressed it down playfully for a second before ruffling his hair. It took a moment for Grians brain to register that it was Cubs hand. When it finally did Grians own flew up to catch it in the act.

“Hey!” He added his second one to be able to cage in Cubs hand more effectively.

“You’re scheming.” Cub lightly tugged at Grians grip, making Grians wings buzz and flash in a clear warning.

“I’m always scheming.”

“You’re such a handful.”

“No one told you to babysit me.”

As if a switch had been pulled somehow his teasing words had broken the fragile good mood and Cub drew back, the cloud that had hovered over his head sliding right back into place.

Grian took a step forward unsure what had just happened. “Cub? There’s not- No one actually told you to-?”

Cub shook his head. “Should be a list.” He muttered, more to himself than to Grian. He spared him another glance. “I’m leaving. Don’t get yourself into trouble.”

Sometimes Grian hated that they could all fly off so easily. It always made for such abrupt ends to a conversation.

Grian grasped at his chest, bunching up the fabric of his sweater and feeling the frantic beat of his heart. The vague knowledge of having done something wrong crept up his throat and made him want to scream. So much for giving his poor little heart a break. How did he get himself into these kinds of situations?

Notes:

Sorry for the late update! I got pretty sick and wasn't able to do much until now. I'm still recovering, but I hope I can at least write a little bit this week. Just laying around in bed is driving me crazy. I'm so glad all the Decked Out 2 content as well as the 3rd Life movies are out this week! It makes fo excellent entertainment! Tango did such a good job at the game! It's sooooo good! I really wanna play it too XD

Anyway hope you liked the angst this chapter. Cub continues to send out mixed signals.

Chapter 16

His latest conversation with Grian rattled him. It seemed like Cub had the same problem as Scar in regards to not being able to keep away from the little Allay. But someone had to make sure that he didn’t break the world with his digging into the supernatural, right? And who knew what Scars Vex magic had done to the poor fellow.

Allay and Vex magic didn’t mix well. They were like two opposite poles of a magnet. Very similar to each other, but in a way that made them unable to mingle. Cub had feared…

He remembered his own turning. How painful it had been. It didn’t have as lasting an effect on him as it had on Scar. But he still had to live with the echoes of the Vexes laughter, the urges that weren’t his and the phantom pains of wings stretched to a size they weren’t supposed to be.

Grian had seemed to be just fine, though. And still Cub had come back again and again to check on him. Every time he saw him made his blood boil. And every time without fail he ended up enjoying a tiny part of their time together.

He was torturing himself at this point. It wasn’t even Grians fault. Nor was it Scars.

Cub placed another pure diamond block on his pillar. This, too, was one of the ways he was failing. Grians involvement in the pillar competition should have been enough to deter him from joining. But here he was, surrounded by crossed out and Grian approved pillars.

Scar had given him one of those judgemental looks he usually only reserved for the usage of magenta blocks when he found out that Cub was still working on his pillar. He’d taken it as a sort of green light to stay in the game himself. Something Cub couldn’t begrudge him for.

Didn’t mean that 90% of Scars latest death messages hadn’t been Cubs fault. Scar was tiptoeing around his own base like it was a minefield and Cub was very proud of that. He would let up with his trap building soon. Cub could never stay angry at Scar for long, especially when he himself had a bit of a problem with giving Grian space. He was just doing it in a more healthy way. For Grian, at least. Sometimes he hated how self aware he was. It made fueling the hurt and keeping his grudge alive very hard.

It did still hurt, of course. The idea of Scar losing focus on him. But Cub also knew how easily distracted Scar was. He would be all over a new thing if it interested him. And he would obsess over his builds until he forgot everything about the world around him.

It wasn’t even new for Scar to hyperfixate on a new arrival. He’d pretty much adopted Pearl when she had first joined their team.

What was it this time that made Cub want to throw up at the thought of seeing Scar and Grian together? He hadn’t quite figured out what was bothering him so much about the Allay. He brought back bad memories, sure. Seeing a pure little thing like him flit around in front of him, with that scheming grin filled him with an emotion he couldn’t place, but didn’t like at all.

Cub placed another diamond block down before jumping off and gliding down to the ground. Grian was taking up far too much of his mental space ever since his arrival. He should get everything off his chest once and for all. And what better way to do it than with a list.

Given that Total Chaos was his priority one project this time he didn’t have any mega base to retreat to per say. So he slid back into the basement of Scars elven tree and carved out a secret room, the irony of the deed not lost to him.

Just knowing that he was partially imitating Scars behaviour again turned his mood even darker. It had been so long since he had been this worked up. The rollercoaster of emotions alone was enough to drive him crazy.

The small Vex in his head cackled. They’d been so loud, too, ever since he had laid eyes on Grian. And he didn’t know if they wanted to tear him apart, consume him, corrupt him or…

He nailed the signs to the wall with much more force than was necessary just to get some of the rage out. He didn’t have all that much space to work with, which was why he created two rows. Even though his mind immediately went to “pro and con list”, he stopped himself from headlining the two top signs as such.

It wasn’t like Grians singing voice was the only thing that kept him sane when the world moved too slow. That he hadn’t stopped listening to Ariana Griande for even a day, her songs wafting through the air in his basement whenever Cub was sure he was alone. He was still reeling from the discovery that Grian was his angel Ariana. The two just didn’t match up in his head despite how similar they were. Really this one just added to the negativity. Now he couldn’t even enjoy his favourite idol without getting a headache.

It also wasn’t like he found Grians bubbly personality quite charming. He didn’t like Grians clever plans or how he enabled all kinds of shenanigans among the Hermits.

Cub didn’t find the copper stealing mongrel endearing. Nor his mischievious antics or funny banter.

There were no pros about Grian. He only made him mad.

Thinking for a moment he grabbed his quill and began to try and write down his messy thoughts. On the first sign he wrote What bothers me about Grian, giving him some kind of direction.
The next one took a bit longer. Having to write it all down suddenly added a gravity to it all that emptied his mind of all thoughts.

Gripping his quill harder and gnashing his teeth he wrote down the most obvious: Reminds me of what we lost

Drives the Vex in our heads crazy. Cub briefly frowned at the wording. The list was supposed to be about what bothered him, but there was no him without Scar. Not in this context, at least. He knew that if he suffered from the effects of the corruption than Scar was, too. He was just dealing with it in another way.

Too pure. He was conflicted about that one. It felt too short and only partially true. Cub was equally fascinated and disgusted by Grians clear electric blue light and the chimes resonating in his humming. After some thought he added Reinforces reason one.

It still wasn’t perfect. There was a small, chiding voice hidden away under all the Vex giggles that reminded him of the worry he felt when he’d seen Grians wings flash pink. And the terror that had crept into his bones when Grians humming had become distorted.

Grian wasn’t necessarily purely an Allay anymore. He just wasn’t a Vex.

Reinforces Scars bad behaviour. The two were menaces when together. He’d heard from Scar what had happened in the End when they’d gone scavenging for elytra. And he had heard Cleo complain loudly about their creeper prank. It took a lot to make Cleo curse, but somehow these two had done it.

Not to mention how Scar felt it was alright to use mind-altering Vex magic on the Allay because Grian happily talked to some sentient rock and a Rift that would probably kill them all in the long run. Cub underlined this one just because of that alone.

He halted in his movements, tears coming up again at the memory of their confrontation. With a shaky hand he wrote Might take Scar away from me..

Cub took a step back and stared at the sign for a while, wondering why it didn’t feel quite right either. The hurt and fear was very real, the tears running down his cheeks were a testament to that. But somehow there was something soothing his overanalytical mind. He went through the past conversations he had with Scar whenever he had brought up Grian and was a bit surprised when he found that Cub had more often than not been included in Scars thoughts.

Whenever Scar had wanted Grian to pay attention, he had wanted him to pay attention to them. It had always been Cub and Scar. Together. Never just Scar alone.

“Huh.” Was that bit of new information enough to take the sign down? No. Cub still felt like Grian was testing the bounds of his and Scars relationship. And who knew in what ways he would continue to do so. Scars and Cubs bond was strong, but Cub was a realist. He knew even the strongest of relationships could break.

Shaking his head and breathing deep to compose himself Cub decided to keep on writing before he started to spiral.

He’s a magnet for trouble. Granted all of the Hermits were. But somehow Grian managed to surpass even Scars horrible track record.

He’s not even a Hermit. They should have sent him on his way ages ago. He was clearly worried about his former teammates. Cub had overheard him talking to the Rift about them. Keeping him here, not really part of their group, but not really an outsider either, felt cruel. And yet Cub couldn’t imagine making Grian leave now, when he’d made so many connections here. Taking him away from Mumbo felt expecially cruel.

Cub ignored the snarls from the Vex in his head and didn’t notice his own displeased growl at the thought of Grian possibly leaving them.

The last one was scrawled into the wood with such force that it might as well have been engraved into it. Makes me feel too many things.

~~~

Grian shot up in Mumbos bed, trembling and gasping. Ever since Mumbo had started work on his base next to the Rock, Grians bed had somehow wandered over to the unfinished vault. Neither had any knowledge about who had moved it and why. And neither of them thought about adding a second one. Or – Void forbid – move Grians bed back to his own base.

It came handy in times such as these, when Grian became reckless and got himself killed. He was usually very good at flying. But his tendency to see every sharp corner and narrow opening as a challenge for his skill also meant that crashes were bound to happen.

And with the newer rockets you could go so, so fast.

Grian clawed at his chest, still feeling the impact echo in his ribcage. When he’d realized that he couldn’t make the turn he had tried reeling up, flaring out his elytra to slow himself down. The motion hadn’t been able to prevent the inevitable and his movement sent him crashing face first into the jagged rock formation he had tried to squeeze through.

His hands rubbed over his nose next and marveled at the unbrokeness of it. It didn’t help him with breathing. His mouth did all the work and it did it all wrong, short puffs of air getting dragged in and out of his body in quick succession.

Grian tried to get his scrambled mind back together. But no thoughts came forth to calm him down. There was only a high ringing that hurt his ears and turned his brain into a cloud of static.

He could barely hear Mumbo calling his name. His anchor, holding him steady in the midst of this storm. With what little control of his body that he still got, Grian turned towards his friend and reached out. Mumbo wouldn’t touch him without a cue. And Grian needed to hear Mumbos heartbeat. So that was the best he could do. He just hoped-

The next breath he squeezed out of his lungs was more of a sigh, destroying the fast rhythm he had going for who knew how long up until now. It picked up again right after, but the small respite cleared Grians head enough to nuzzle into Mumbos hesitant embrace.

Words were being said above him, Mumbos voice rumbling in his ear. Grian was still too far gone to make out what the content of his friends noises was. Though Mumbo was probably rambling about redstone. He always did when he was nervous. And nothing stressed this man out quite as much as seeing his friend struggling to breath like that.

Anxious hands flitted over his body, pressing him closer before letting go and patting up and down Grians shaking form. Grian himself was unable to hold still, wings beating frantically against his back.

With every beat of Mumbos heart Grian could count, he calmed down a bit. Until eventually he remembered how his mouth and tongue worked together to create sounds.

“Ssss-stupid.” He slurred, words thin amidst his heavy breathing.

Mumbo heard him nonetheless and quietened down, giving Grian room to speak up again.

“It’s… phhhhh….. stupid. S’ reaction.”

“You shouldn’t be mad at your body, mate. You’ve been through a lot.” Mumbos touch got more confident now that Grian had a means of telling him off. One of his hands immediately went to Grians hair, scratching at his scalp and playing with the messy strands.

“But-!” Grian growled as his breath hitched again, not quite back to normal. He took a deep breath to steady it further. Then another just because he finally could. Then sniffed, indignant. “I’ve had bad experience with teleporting not dying. And I’m fine with going through portals! Heck I’ve befriended one!”

“Yeah I still don’t want to know what’s going on there. But listen G, you thought for the longest time that you would perma-die here. A fear like that is hard to get rid of. And you do get pale when you get teleported without being able to steel yourself first.”

“Thanks for showing me my flaws.” Grian muttered into Mumbos collarbone.

Mumbo chuckled awkwardly. “I’m not?”

The blanket that had been wrapped around his body slid further down, making Grian draw back to fix it up again. “I should probably get my clothes back on. Can you-?”

“I’ll get you your spares!”

Grian watched bemused as Mumbo rummaged around the chests that littered the inside of his soon to be vault. He loved to watch his friend struggle.

“I thought I knew-” Mumbo muttered to himself, opening chests and shulkers, but never touched the one Grian knew his clothes to be in.

“Mumbo if I don’t hurry my stuff will get dragged away by mobs.” Zombies especially loved to steal every item that wasn’t nailed down. And Grian didn’t fancy having to fight an undead monster over his favourite red sweater.

“I nearly have it!”

Despite the very real danger of losing all his valuables, Grian made himself comfortable in the bed and kept watching. “Hmhm. I guess you just don’t know me all that well after all.”

Mumbo made a curious noise somewhere between the enraged squeak of a squirrel and the gutteral gurgle of a Drowned, slamming closed another chest. “This has nothing to do with me knowing you, you’re just messy and have no system!”

“I know where my clothes are.” Grian pointed out with a smirk.

“Then why didn’t you- aha! Got them!”

Grian squealed as he was hit by his second pair of jeans. “Hey!”

“There you go.”

“Mumbo.” Grian cooed, giggling. “Turn around, will ya?”

“Oh ah, of course. Sorry.”

Grian shook his head at Mumbos back before quickly throwing on his clothes. “Thanks. Do you have a spare elytra?”

“Uhm…”

“I take that as a no. Gimme yours.” Grian grinned as he was gifted his friends wings without even a second of hesitance. And he didn’t even need to ask for rockets!

“Thanks, be right back!”

“You better-” He heard Mumbos shout fade out, the rest of his sentence swallowed up by the wind.

Grian thankfully hadn’t died far off. He’d been looping around his rocks for ages in an attempt to jog his two braincells into doing something productive. So thankfully everything was still where he had died.

Mumbo had waited for him on the bridge, wringing his hands and looking everywhere but Grian. Suspicious.

Grian flew a few lazy loops around him before landing in front of him. “What’s up?” He asked, voice barely trembling.

The elytra was taken off of him as soon as he had gotten it loose and Grian happily shook out his natural wings. Borrowing other peoples elytras was always awkward. The wings the End gifted them moulded to the person who first put them on and then stayed that shape. So Mumbos elytra fit him best and was a bit too big and heavy to be comfortable for Grian.

“Do you- No, that’s a stupid idea. Forget I said anything-”

“Wha- Mumbo you haven’t actually said anything. Well except for nonsense words. Come on, own up! What has your sharp mind come up with?”

“Oh well, you know.” Mumbo fidgeted some more, sweating and turning red in a way that told Grian he was excited about the idea he had. Which in turn made Grian excited.

His heart was still racing a mile a minute, but thankfully his mind was easily distracted. He leaned forward and put on his best whiny voice. “Muuuumbooo. You can’t rile a man up like that and then not deliver!”

They heard a “That’s what she saaaaid~” as Scar flew by. Sadly, he didn’t land and barreled straight on towards his theme park base. Grian and Mumbo would have shoved him into the Rift cave otherwise.

Instead Grian and Mumbo both shouted “Scar!” and watched the Vex disappear into the distance with scandalized expressions.

“This horrible man.” Mumbo shook his head. “I guess I could tell you. But please don’t take it as more than an idea. We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to-”

“Mumbo that actually sounds like you are about to propose sex and I’m not sure if I should feel flattered or scared.”

“I-uh-nooo! Grian!”

Grian almost doubled over cackling at the choked noises that came out of Mumbos mouth after the cry of his name. At one point he got concerned that his friend might truly choke it sounded so bad. It was a bit odd that he had been able to make this joke two times by now. But neither Xisumas nor Mumbos reactions had been anything but hilarious.

He patted his friend on the back, just in case. “Nah I’m just messing with ya. Go on. What’s your… proposal.” He waggled his eyebrows for good measure.

“You’re the worst.” Mumble chuckled, still red in the face.

“I could be for you.” Grian purred, earning another laugh.

“Stop, stop fake flirting with me for a second. Do the real thing with Scar and Cub- No don’t give me that look! Okay actually I get it Scar is too oblivious and wouldn’t get it. And on second thought, maybe don’t flirt with Cub either- Agh, you got me distracted again. What did I want to say?”

“You had an idea?” Grian prompted, only half sure himself at this point.

He jumped slightly when Mumbo snapped his fingers and shouted “Yes! Yes I had!”

Grian blinked up at his big spoon of a friend, making a noise when nothing else followed. Mumbo blinked down at him and for a short moment, you could hear the wind blowing through both of their skulls.

“Oh right! The idea. Well uhm… I don’t know if it’s something you might wanna try. But sometimes exposing yourself to something you’re afraid of might help you get over that fear. I mean maybe if you die enough in this world you’ll calm down about it?”

“That doesn’t sound like fun.” Not that hyperventilating in his bed everytime he respawned was better.

“We could make it fun!”

Grian squinted up at his friend with suspicion, mind already back in the gutter. “How?” He decided not to voice all the other lines that were running through his head.

Mumbo glanced around as if the random junk lying around his base could somehow help them. Grian doubted it would, but he ended up mimicking his friend anyway. Although there wasn’t much that caught his eye at first he was becoming accutely aware of whose base he was standing in front of and what that entailed.

Sure they pretty much were sharing the storage, but there were some neatly placed shulkers squirreled away for later Grian knew to be full of redstone. Then he really looked at the structure, the massive walls that were slowly taking shape, dark and imposing, promising to be secure. He could imagine a big, redstone riddled piston door barring his way in. And he remembered all the times Mumbo gushed over building a highly secure vault for all his “riches”.

Well, how was Mumbo supposed to know if his vault was secure if no one had tried breaking in before?

“Say Mumbo? Isn’t it odd that this is the second time you’ve build a vault in front of my base? Are you trying to tell me something? You do know I can’t say no to a good challenge.”

“What? Oh, I mean I just love vaults! It’s got nothing to do with- oh. Oh! Do you think you could break into it when it’s done?” The laugh Mumbo made was nothing Grian had ever heard from him. There was a confidence in it that was usually lacking. And an edge of dark promise hidden underneath the deeper notes of his chuckle. “Oh mate! I’ve been building traps and vaults since I was 5! You’ll never beat me at this game!”

Grian bristled at the audacity. “I bet you I can!”

And thus they hashed out a challenge both would profit from. After they said their goodbyes to get back to their builds both spun away from each other with huge, excited grins on their faces. Grian was already hyped, humming a tune that got picked up by the magic that coated the air in thick layers.

The hum got answered by the Rift and the Entity, both beings not quite understanding why their little caretaker suddenly had such a positive shift of moods, yet always eager to respond.

Grian wasn’t looking forward to the dying part. But at least they had found a way to make the path to it enjoyable.

Notes:

I'm fully back baby! Who else is excited about the upcoming Merch drops and new Life series?

I also wanted to share a tumblr account I've been in love with lately. Sourcubes is doing some lovely comics of Vex Scar and Conjurer Grian as well as a Secret Princes AU where Grian and Scar are married. And their artstyle and subject matter is so cute! I love their designs and if you wanna have some more fluff in your life go check them out.

Thank you guys so much for all the sweet comments and kudos! It's been so interesting to read your opinions on Cub!

Chapter 17

“Cub! Cub, truce, please.” Scar stumbled into Cubs basement, tripping over the stairs and falling flat on his face with a groan. His usually immaticulate green, elven outfit was singed and ruffled, his pretty long hair a right mess.

The loud music cut off at Scars entrance. “What did you say?”

Making it seem like much more effort than it was, Scar picked himself up from the wooden planks and slumped into a sitting position. “I came here to negotiate a truce. If I have to check my closet for fireworks one more time I might just go insane.”

“Why would you store fireworks in your closet then?” Cub teased with a smirk and went over to help his partner up.

“I did not and you know that very well, mister!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He kissed Scars pout off his face. And Scar let him, not really angry at the other Vex in the first place. The continuous traps and pranks had helped to distract him from their little Allay problem. And had successfully gotten rid of any excess magic he had possessed. But he was starting to get exhausted. Especially now that he was truly making progress on his theme park.

Scar showed how tired he was by leaning into Cub, making him support almost all of his weight. He let out a delighted growl when big, leathery wings came to wrap around him and he felt sharp teeth nip at his pointed ear.

As much as most of the Vex aspects were hurting them, Scar had come to love some of their changed features. Their former Allay wings had been much too small to use for proper hugging. They’d just made a mess everywhere with all the fairy dust. Their Vex wings were much bigger. And even though they still couldn’t use them to fly they made for excellent blankets.

Cub nuzzled into the bend between Scars neck and shoulder, answering Scars growl with one of his own. “What do you propose for a truce?”

“Hmmm, haven’t thought about it, yet. Maybe we could prank someone together again? Start a war? Found a mega cooperation? It’s been a while since we did any of that.”

They parted from their embrace and Cub folded his wings back in while he thought. “I don’t feel the latter two right now. Too much of a hassle to set up. I have my hands full with Total Chaos and the Nether Hub tunnels. And I’ve seen your plans for Scarland. I’m always up for pranks though.” He smirked, showing sharpened teeth.

“Ohhh I’m always up for pranks, too! Who do you want to murd- I mean prank. Pranked. I definitely meant pranked- prank.”

Cub interrupted before he could tie up his tongue even more. “Cleo.”

“Perfect!”

Setting everything up took the better part of the day and did nothing to help with Scars exhaustion. They had made a huge banner with their usual Vex logo and hung it into the entrance of Cleos build. It would be a nice distraction. Cleo would look up at it and wouldn’t see the pressure plate that would send her falling down into a pit full of slime blocks.

They had set up some cameras as well, hoping to catch Cleo swear.

It was perfect. Big enough to get a rise out of Cleo, but hopefully small enough of a prank to not cause another war.

And Scar, despite his muscles screaming at him to go lay down somewhere for a few days, enjoyed every second of the set up. The constant fear of accidently getting discovered or tattled on was deliciously electrifying. The fact that he was doing one of his favourite things with his absolute favourite person warmed his heart.

Things almost felt fine again.

The way back was nice as well. Walking around the starter village they had build Scar and Cub marveled at everything that had already taken shape and chuckled at all the odd pillars the Hermits had decided to erect. You’d think they were a bunch of children with how easily they joined in on competitions and let little things escalate.

“How does Doc manage to farm so much diamond ore so fast? It’s ridiculous how much his pillar is growing!”

“Yours seems to have been shot by… Is that supposed to be a canon?”

They both squinted at the oddly shaped structure of diamond ore held together by duct tape and wishful thinking. That was definitely one of Grians designs. Only his builds could defy gravity like that.

Scar blinked at it to get his sight back in order. “Huh. Well I guess I had that one coming, sinking his pillar like that.”

“You provoked him.” Cub sighed, but the anger failed to follow. This was a game. A competition. Naturally Scar would start to meddle. “We should probably do something about our own pillars, though.”

“Do you suggest hitting the mines? Now? Cub-”

“You don’t have to come if you’re feeling tired.” The slight hint of a challenge was easy to pick up on. And Scar couldn’t help but rise to it.

“Oh nooo! No me? Tired? Pffft. I’m the most energized person you’ve ever met! Lead the way!”

They only went home briefly to drop of some of their stuff before they ventured out again and opened up a new mine a bit further away from their starter area. At first they had wanted to see who would mine the most diamond ore. But creating two mineshafts just didn’t feel right. One of them always found himself seeking out the other and so they ended up mining side by side. Cub grumbled about it being inefficient. Scar thought this was how teamwork worked. Both ended up distracting each other from actually mining much of anything.

It was when Scar pulled out his communicator to show Cub a funny image Ren had send him not long ago that they both saw the first death message. They froze, minds going blank. Twin growls echoed in the small tunnel they had carved out. But neither of them was aware enough to hear it.

Scar pressed his lips together firmly and grasped his pick tight. The urge to dart out of the tunnel and make sure Grian was alright was overwhelming. But one quick glance at Cub made him pause. He’d promised not to obsess so much about the little Allay anymore. He was just starting to get back on even ground with Cub again.

“Mumbo is probably with him.” Cub murmured, turning away from the device to start hacking away at the deepslate again.

Scar breathed out slowly. “Yeah probably.” He had been the last few times Scar had frantically flown over to check on Grian. So this time probably wasn’t any different. Hopefully.

“Mind if I unmute?” Scar asked, after the craving of checking the world chat had gotten a bit too distracting.

“It’s your comm.”

Scar hastily pulled out his device again and immediately scowled at what he found. “He died again.”

Cub stopped and tensed beside him. His next words pretended to sound nonchalant but came out much more strained than before. “Wonder what he’s up to.”

“Nothing good I’d wager.” Scar muttered, sending a quick You okay? to Grian before concentrating on spending quality time with Cub again.

Instead of the ping of an incoming private message there came the sound of another death soon after. And the enraged snarl that left Cub nearly made Scar drop his communicator.

“Him again?”

“Yes.” Scar answered, gnawing at his lip.

They were silent for a moment and flinched when the sound of another death cut through it. Cub muttered something Scar couldn’t quite catch before breathing out long and hard through his nose. “Five times and we’ll take a look.”

“Deal.”

~~~

Mumbo didn’t know whether his plan was working or not. Watching Grian pretty much smash himself into the door of his decoy vault had not been a sight he had been ready for. He’d always thought Grian was a pretty smart guy. But apparently it just took a good vault for the little Allay to go feral.

The tunnel vision was truly quite spectacular. Mumbo had bounded over to the bed as soon as Grian had died, ready to comfort his friend and apologize for the stupid idea. Only to find Grian wrestling with his clothes, nearly falling over and out of the bed in his haste to get ready for another try.

Technically they had agreed to only one try per vault. But Mumbo didn’t have the heart to stop him. Not when it looked like Grian had found something more important than being scared of his death.

The second death only made him wince slightly. Endermite were quite nasty. So was randomly teleporting in front of a Creeper and not getting away fast enough. It seemed like they were tackling two of Grians issues today. Dying and teleporting.

Well and Scars cookies. Grian hadn’t touched any of them since the blindness thing. But now he was biting into Scars new Elven Kisses with great enthusiasm, probably making himself sick from all the sugar he was consuming alongside the whole random teleporting thing. Seriously, what had Scar been thinking, making cookies out of chorus fruit?

Mumbo was very glad that he had never tried any of Scars goods. There would have been a real chance of him turning into some sort of Ender monstrosity otherwise. And while that was a look Mumbo hadn’t had before he’d much rather stay in his very bland, very normal and unproblematic human form.

The shout of success made Mumbo blink at the spot Grian had been in just a few seconds ago. It was soon followed by screaming and Mumbo – being a good friend when it mattered – trudged over to their shared bed once again.

The sight that greeted him was reliefing and hilarious. Grian was sat in the middle of the bed, which had become a right mess and looked more like a nest a mad fledgling had made than anything else. Grians hair was wild, not getting any better as he once more fought to get his clothing back on.

Mumbo had made sure that he would have his pants and sweater nearby after the first death. Although he felt like he should have hidden away the diamond armour knowing what awaited Grian in the decoy vault.

Once Grian was done getting decent he continued to sit in the mess of pillows and blankets, hunched over, with his arms crossed and one of the biggest pouts on his face Mumbo had ever seen on anyone.

His small wings were trembling slightly and at this point Mumbo didn’t know if there was more fairy or redstone dust in the sheets.

“You alright there?” Mumbo asked tentatively, moving over to sit beside his friend.

Grian huffed. “That wasn’t fair. There was nothing but lava in the vault!”

Mumbo slung an arm around the sulking Allay and pulled him into a side hug. “Of course not! I told you it was a decoy vault.”

Grian slumped against him with a loud groan. “That’s so mean! You know I only ever half listen to the things you say!”

“I was counting on that actually.” Mumbo chuckled, ruffling his friends hair and causing Grian to emit more funny, grumbly noises. “Seriously what were you thinking flying against the door like that?”

“I thought I could just crash in at first. You said it was a decoy. So I thought maybe it’s made of cardboard or something.”

“Grian… I think I have to take away your builder privileges. Or… do you maybe need glasses? I think you might need glasses.”

Grian actually blew a raspberry at him for that. “I’m revoking your vault building privileges then! Stupid decoy and stupid lava. I lost all my stuff Mumbo! All my hard earned stuff!”

“Yes you did.” Mumbo easily agreed, then added in a smug tone, “And you owe me five diamond blocks.”

The frustrated noises Grian made added at least three years to Mumbos life span. And seeing as his friend was doing alright and wasn’t in any way panicking Mumbo didn’t feel bad for ushering him off to retrieve said diamond blocks either.

Mumbo leaned back a bit to watch Grian run off, wary of the emotional crash that might still happen. Grian was good at bottling things up in order to focus on goals that seemed more important to him, Mumbo had learned. And he’d rather not have made it worse with their little game.

Several rockets firing off in quick succession drew his gaze up to the sky. Dread bubbled up at what he saw. The two Vex circling down to greet him looked less then friendly and Mumbo knew exactly why. Oh dear.

Mumbo gave them his best cheery wave, but nothing could mask his obvious anxiety. The two Vex smelled his fear sweat like sharks smelling blood and immediately drew close, their wings spreading out in a threatening display under their still buzzing elytras.

“What happened with Grian?” Cub cut to the chase before Scar or Mumbo could start to ramble.

Mumbo rubbed his neck with one hand, praying Grian would find his diamond blocks fast before his two friends would tear him apart. He probably would have deserved it, too. Sure he was trying to help. But it was also a very dumb idea that could have misfired, could still misfire, any moment now. The worry and dread had never left the pit of his stomach, even though Grians antics had amused him greatly.

“Uh- hi Cub! Hi Scar! Nice to see you. Uhm… Ah about Grian. Yeah… heh heh… funny story. You see-”

“He died a lot Mumbo.” Scar interrupted him, leaning forward and grabbing Mumbo by his lapels, shaking him for good measure. “You know how he gets when he dies. Is he alright?!”

“Yes, yes he is fine! He is fine. No need to turn all murderous.” Mumbo slid his hands over Scars, but after hearing a slight tearing noise stopped trying to get them off.

Cubs nose flaired in a very upset way that didn’t help with Mumbos nerves. “Do you know why he died so much?”

Mumbo felt the need to lie to get out of this unharmed. It was quite unfortunate that his two braincells decided at that moment to clock off for the day and left his head empty. So all that came out of him were awkward stutters and half formed words. And he had a feeling his very suspicious behavior didn’t do anything to calm down the two very agitated Vex in front of him.

Cub took a step closer to him and put a hand on Scars shoulder. Scar, thankfully, finally let him go and backed up just a smidge. It wasn’t a lot of breathing room, but Mumbo would take it.

“Mumbo-”

“Imadeabetwithhimthathecantrytobreakintomyvault.”

Both Cub and Scar blinked once at him, as slow as a cat trying to make a friend. “What?” They asked.

Mumbo took a deep breath, having used all of it on that one sentence. “I… may have suggested that he can try and break into my vault. As a fun game. And also to maybe help him with his fear of respawns?”

His two friends were silent as they processed what he had said. And the longer they didn’t say anything the more Mumbos shoulders rose up until they nearly touched his ears.

Cub was about to open his mouth, sharp teeth shining through, when Grian came sprinting up the bridge towards them.

“I’ve got the blocks!”

Happily Mumbo stepped further away from Cub and Scar to meet Grian halfway. “Oh great!”

“I still don’t think it’s fair.” Grian sniffed, handing the diamond blocks over. “I lost all my stuff because of you.”

Mumbo winced at the displeased rumble he heard from behind him. Damn it Grian, he was supposed to save him not get him into more trouble. “I did let you try more times than one, though.”

Grian sighed. “Yeah you did. And I did say I’ll go in with no valuables and armour. I kinda disregarded my own advise there, didn’t I.”

Mumbo smiled and ruffled his hair, delighting in the affronted noises his friend made. “It’s fine, you just got excited. You okay?”

Grian playfully slapped Mumbos hand away and ducked away from the next attack, unintentionally moving so he blocked Mumbo from the two Vex, who were probably planning his murder by now.

“I’m fine- oh hey Scar! Hi Cub!”

Mumbo only saw the profile of Grians face, but the way his eyes lit up at the sight of the two caused even Mumbo to get heart flutters just by proxy. A quick glance towards Cub and Scar showed him that the two weren’t immune to Grians charm either. They were still a bit tense, sure. But they both smiled in a sickenly fond way.

How were these three not an item yet? They clearly adored each other a massive amount. So much so that even Mumbo noticed! Mostly because he somehow constantly earned Cubs and Scars ire in regards to Grian. Which wasn’t fair. Grian was his best friend! He was legally allowed to spend as much time with him as he wanted to. Especially after being gone for so long.

“Hello Grian!” Scars overly cheerful voice rang through the magic filled air. He was trotting over, Cub close behind, although he seemed a bit more reluctant to approach. “We saw your death messages.”

Grian threw Mumbo a confused look when he started to cower behind him. But thankfully Grian let him be, even rose his small, see-through wings to give him more cover before turning back to the Vex. “Sorry about that. I tried breaking into Mumbos vault. But it was only a decoy vault. I bought all your kisses, though Scar!”

“My wha-” Scar choked, growing red.

Ah, so that was why they weren’t together yet, Mumbo mused, staring at Cubs jealous grimace. Void this was going to get complicated and messy. Thankfully it wasn’t Mumbos mess. Friend duties didn’t extend to matchmaking. Not in Mumbos book at least.

Grian was oblivious to the brooding going on. He bounced on his feet, still full of leftover adrenalin and sugar. “Your elven kisses! You’ll need to restock them. I ate a lot of them to get into Mumbos vault, but most burned in the lava. Sorry about that.”

Mumbo snorted into his hand, hopefully quiet enough to not cause any attention. Oh yes these three had their work cut out for them.

Notes:

Early update this time because I'll be gone over the weekend and won't be able to post tomorrow. XD

Chapter 18

The adrenalin from the spectacularly failed vault break in stayed in his system for much longer than was probably healthy. The sugar from Scars cookies did, too, the combined energy and magic of the baked in chorus fruit causing his stomach to twist itself into knots in rather uncomfortable ways. His skin might have prickled more than usual, as well. But with Grians base being a hotspot for magic he couldn’t be sure.

What he was sure about was that he couldn’t sleep well, not even when he clung to Mumbo through the night as though his best friend were a body pillow filled with too many bones. He was fidgeting around so much that it disturbed Mumbos sleep multiple times. And it got him kicked out of bed after the second night, Mumbo being too sleep deprived to gather enough empathy to let him stay.

So by night three Grian had his own bed set up right next to Mumbos. Which at least made Mumbo sleep through the night again.

Grian slept, too. Occasionally. One to three hours per night, his heart thudding loud and fast throughout the whole experience. He didn’t feel tired for it, though. His body was stuck in fight or flight mode for some reason. Even though there wasn’t a lick of danger anywhere close. If you didn’t count Mumbos and his own stupidity.

Maybe the vault thing hadn’t been a good idea. It was fun. Dying hadn’t been, of course. But the set up had scratched a part of Grians brain that had made him absolutely giddy. It was more engaging than pressing a simple button. And the triumph he felt once he’d gotten in had made everything else worth it, despite the feeling being rather short lived.

He hadn’t panicked once either. Focusing on winning, on proving to Mumbo that he could, in fact, break into his vault and steal all his questionable valuables, kept him from doing so. Or well, he had channeled that panic into something else, at least.

It helped that he hadn’t died at random. He’d had a purpose. And he had been willing to throw himself back into the claws of death for it over and over again.

The realization that he could do that quickly made his confidence grow. But maybe he had overdone it a little bit. At the end of the day you couldn’t brute force overcoming trauma. As much as he denied having it in the first place.

Grian was still shaking as he flew over Docs perimeter at the wee hours of the morning. Sleep had evaded him once again and he hadn’t wanted to kick Mumbo awake yet or interrupt his sleep with building. So he used the quiet of the morning to quickly rob Doc of the tuff he had bombed out with his worldeater.

Had his brain functioned at full capacity maybe he would have thought to grab a few rockets on his way. Or maybe he would have checked before he caught a glimpse of shining blue far down below and dove for it. As it was his brain only screeched “Diamonds!”.

Once he’d mined the diamond ore and wanted to take off again to look for more the error of his shoddy preparation caught up with him. Reaching into his inventory his hand closed around empty air where his rockets should have been. And with a sinking stomach he realized that he didn’t have anymore left.

The huge hole he was trapped in suddenly felt much too small. He squinted up at the walls in the distance, whining at the sheer massive size of them. They didn’t look like they were very climbable either. It was a straight drop from top to bottom. And Grian might have been able to scale them. But the risk of falling off was big. Especially with monsters roaming the dark spots Grian recognized to be cave entrances.

Speaking of monsters Grian quickly became aware that he wasn’t alone. It wasn’t good company, though. Wet, ugly splashes echoed through the empty space. A telltale sign that Slimes were near.
Those usually weren’t so bad. Aside from completely ruining clothing when they got too close and doing a little bit of acidic damage when they got feisty they weren’t much of a threat. Alone.

Grian tensed as he gazed around and counted the threats. There were a lot of Slimes. And there would be even more if Grian started to hack away at them. So the best course of action would be to just… ignore them.

With a sigh that came from the very bottom of his tired soul he whipped out his communicator. He patted himself on the back that he at least remembered to take that one with him. Quickly scrolling through world chat he wondered if he should just write there and hope someone was already awake enough to save him.

Grian bit the inside of his cheek. It was embarassing. And he was currently proving Cubs point that he did indeed need a babysitter. His whole face turned red at the thought of the two Vex. The way they had been oddly on edge after his death messages had made him feel things.

Stupid Scar and stupid Cub. They never made any sense. They went from avoiding him like the plague to hovering like motherhens and switching from cold and angry to sweet and caring. Grian seriously couldn’t gage whether they liked or hated him at this point.

Whelp better bite the bullet and ask for help in world chat.

Grian: Hey I’m stuck in Docs hole pls help :(

He waited a few heartbeats, eyes straining as though looking harder at the screen would make a reply appear faster. But after a while he had to move. There weren’t only Slimes here. Zombies and a few Skeletons had spawned from the shadows and were making their way over to him.

Pocketing the communicator after turning the sound on Grian ran to get his pursuers off his back. Thankfully the Skeletons didn’t have great eyesight despite their favourite weapon being a bow and arrow. They lost him just after a few paces and started dueling each other once more. The Slimes, likewise, were easily avoided.

Only the Zombies kept coming towards him. How those could see him from nearly anywhere with their rotten eyes was beyond him. There was probably some weird magic thing involved. Grian could have hacked at them with his sword. But he didn’t want to waste his energy like that.

The Zombies were slow. So slow that Grian could outwalk them if he wanted to. As it was he rather dashed around the perimeter in search for tuff and diamonds, making a sort of game out of it. Otherwise he would have gotten bored. And being bored was the worst. That was when the mean thoughts always hit him.

Grian didn’t know how long he scoured the perimeter for materials when the first pings of the communicator told him people were finally up and awake. He was rather busy mining down a patch of tuff before the Slimes could get to him, though. So he didn’t pull it out, just smiled at the possibility of a rescue in the near future.

Honestly the time spend in Docs hole hadn’t been so bad. Once the sun had been high enough up in the sky most of the Zombies and Skeletons burned and all Grian had to do was to avoid the shadowy parts of the big dig site in order to be left mostly alone.

He was growing pretty tired though. This wasn’t like a normal mining session where he could take a break whenever he wanted. He hadn’t taken much food with him and had entirely forgotten his water bottle along with his rockets. And he was starting to really feel the effects of the dehydration. Just how did he always get stuck in these sorts of situations?

This was why he cheered when he heard the distant sound of rockets firing off in rapid succession. He turned towards the shadow slowly circling him, moving with it and squinting up at the Hermit with a smile.

Doc landed heavily in front of him, hooves clacking. “Stuck in my hole, eh? You know how many teasing messages I got because of that alread-”

“Doc!” Grian interrupted him, with a scream of his name and a tackle. He giggled happily as Doc caught him with a huffed out curse.

Almost immediately a hand found its way to the scruff of his neck and pulled him off, leaving him to dangle in front of a very annoyed face. The steam coming out of Docs flaring nostrils only made Grians wings flutter and flash with glee. Grian loved poking Doc. His anger was always so funny and his reactions so over the top that Doc might as well have been practicing to become a cartoon villain.

Docs buttons were easy to push, too. And he had so many of them that Grian couldn’t help but try them all out. One day Doc would probably blow up in his face. Literally or figuratively. But that day wasn’t today.

Grian let out a few happy chimes, their innocence clashing with the shit eating grin he was sporting. “I don’t know what you mean? I am stuck in your hole.”

Doc snorted and set him down, resting his now free hands on his hips and stomping one of his hooves. “You’ve been around Scar too much. Serves you right, though. Might just leave you stuck here for some other Hermit to pick up.”

“Nooooo.” Grian immediately jumped to pull on Docs tattered lab coat. “You couldn’t be that cruel! I’ll die before anyone would get to me!”

Doc tried to pull his clothes free, surprised at how hard it was to get Grians little hands off of him. That Allay was tiny and he still had the strength to play tug of war with the mighty Goat.

“Good. That would solve the problem just as well.” He retorted, taking a step back and pulling again to no avail.

Grians wings were working overtime now, scraping against his elytra, slim enough to slide under the contraption. It hurt a bit to beat them like that. It was awkward, too, because the bulk of the elytra was in the way and wouldn’t allow for full wing beats. But the small up and down motions were enough to let him hover in the air and keep tugging at Doc.

“I’d lose all my stuff!”

Instead of continuing to try to pry him off, Doc did the opposite and grabbed at him after that childish whine. Grian happily relaxed into the grip. He was starting to feel pretty exhausted and dizzy. And his wings hurt now.

He felt himself being shaken once more as Doc kept glaring down at him. “Stuff that you stole from me. Again. How many times have I told you not to touch my tuff. Or copper. Or diamonds.”

Grian paused wondering if Doc really was that upset about his transgression. The no stealing rule had seemed very lax among the Hermits. Mumbo “borrowed” his things all the time. As did Pearl occasionally. Scar had encouraged him to take what he needed as long as it wasn’t from the shops. And Cub had never been too bothered by his snooping around.

As far as Grian had found, everything was fair game as long as it wasn’t a shop. Then you would pay the diamonds for it. But maybe that wasn’t always the case? Dread bubbled up in his stomach. Had he accidently overstepped Docs boundaries? He did seem to be a bit more territorial than the others.

Grian looked up to see if he could somehow read Docs expression. But he got nothing. He looked mad. But Doc had a scary face with permanently furrowed eyebrows so that wasn’t saying much.

“I’m sorry Doc. I didn’t know it was really bothering you. I’ll stop and give it back. Well the stuff I haven’t used for building yet. I can pay you for the rest, though!”

Doc blinked at him and as more time passed without a response Grian started to wiggle again. Okay he’d rather get himself slaughtered by a Slime than stared at like that. But Docs grip only tightened a fraction, never enough to hurt or even bruise, just to secure him in Docs hold.

“Are you for real, right now?” Doc finally found his voice, suspicion lacing every word.

Grian turned his head away. “Of course I am! I play hard, but I clean up harder!”

The scratching of hooves drew Grians gaze to them. Doc was dragging one of his hooves across the ground, almost stomping. He could also hear Doc huffing, his breathing amplified by the biomechanical parts he or someone else had added to his body.

“… I guess it makes sense.”

“What does?”

“Hold on. Let’s have that conversation somewhere with less Slimes around.”

That was the only warning Grian got before he was unceremonously flung over Docs shoulder. Grian screamed at the sudden departure and had only closed his mouth when they’d already landed again.

This time Grian was finally let go of and jumped away from Doc before he could snatch him up again. “You should not be allowed to have wings!”

“And this is the second time I’ve had to carry you out of my perimeter.”

Grian crossed his arms, mimicking Docs stance. Although Doc was much more relaxed than him. “Technically, you abducted me the first time.”

Docs mechanical eye flashed red. “Abducted?! If anything I rightfully removed you from my lawn!”

Grian flinched back from Docs yell, fear creeping up his throat again. What was he doing bantering with Doc and poking the Goat? He had wanted to apologize and smooth things over not score another point on the reasons-to-kick-Grian-off-the-world-board!

“Sorry…”

“Right…” Doc huffed and uncrossed his arms, lightly padding over to ruffle Grians hair. “I’m not really mad. It’s fine.”

“Oh… Really?”

The hand stayed, fingers combing through his hair in a light attempt to mess it up even more. Grian leaned up into the touch, always happy to receive some affection. It made him feel like he actually belonged here.

“Really. You said it, we play hard. All Hermits do. But we’ll say it outright if things go too far. We talk in the meetings mostly- You don’t go to those, though. So you wouldn’t know.”

“I’m not allowed. ‘m not a Hermit.”

“Yeah, I forget about that sometimes, with how often you come to bother me.”

“You are fun to bother.” Grian said as though it was a secret, earning a light laugh from the Creeper Hybrid and a flick to the forehead.

“Pesky bird.”

“So Doc? I think now that you’ve admitted to like having me around I can go take my stuff back to my base, right?”

Doc nodded. “Yeah sure- Wait a minute!”

“Nope no take backs!” Grian yelled, already on his way back to his base, running as fast as his short legs could carry him.

“I’ll fill your base with Creepers you menace!”

“Good luck with that!”

Notes:

I hold the Doc and Grian friendship/rivalry very dear. They have such good vibes together and they clash so well when they do. Doc has true big brother or father energy. Mixed with an (un)healthy dose of mad scientist juice.

Chapter 19

Notes:

I've taken up so many projects this October, help.

Hermitcraft meetings. The very bane of his existence. Grian glared at his communicator, its bluish light clashing with the pink coming from the Rift. He was sitting in his cave in front of the humming crack in the wall. Some would say he was sulking. He would rather call it tactical pondering.

Now that the main building and exploration phase was coming up the Hermits had their little meetings every week so no ones plans would conflict with another Hermits. There were always somewhere else, though and Grian never got the coords to the location. It not only made him feel truly left out, but it also made it hard for him to go anywhere on those days.

He didn’t want to accidently stumble across a meeting site. He knew he would eavesdrop. And with his current luck he also knew that he would probably be spotted and get into trouble. Which meant he either had to stay at his base (if they decided to hold a meeting here than that was really their fault) or go mining.

Grian was starting to get a little sick of mining. He’d been doing so much of it lately. To get a variety of stones for his rocks and also diamond ore for his pillar. Even switching up the places where he got the materials and ores from didn’t help anymore. No matter the view (or company) you could only swing your pickaxe so many times before you went crazy.

The Rift had been craving his presence anyway. It had been much nicer about it, keeping the tugging at a minimum so Grian wouldn’t just faint out of nowhere again. It was still powerful, though. The Rift couldn’t help it. It was like a giant trying to high five an ant at this point. The Rift was trying very, very hard not to damage Grian. But there was only so much it could do to hold back.

So Grian still got really nauseous whenever the Rift demanded his presence. It was worse when the Entity did so at the same time. The two seemed linked in some way. They knew of each others existence. But they didn’t seem to communicate that much with each other without Grian being the middle man. Or the telephone line.

Thankfully today the Entity had already been visited and stocked up, happy as a clam. And Grian only had to tend to the Rift.

“I hate it here sometimes.” Grian confided in it, his words echoing in the cave.

Grian put his communicator away and laid down on the floor, looking over to the Rift. It was so much easier to watch its mesmerizing starlike lights swirling beneath the glassy crust now. Before it had made his eyes hurt. Harsh vibrations coming from the crack making them feel itchy, making him see things that weren’t there. Not like the visions that were all in his head, more like hallucinations coming from senses being meddled with.

His body had become attuned to the portal, though. It was vibrating to the same tune as him. They were humming in harmony. The light within the Rift was reflected back from his own eyes, glowing just as bright. Grian didn’t feel any more powerful for it. On the contrary. He’d been switching between bone deep exhaustion and flight or fight mode for quite some time now. And it was starting to really mess with his head.

Soft, amethyst chimes filled the empty cavern and Grian hummed back, heart fluttering pleasantly. The cave in and of itself was spooky. Even more so now that Grian had removed all the water and had evened out the ground. The sharp edges and semi-natural forms spoke of unseen threats hiding in the nooks and crannies.

And yet Grian felt safe next to the Rift. It had protected him from death. And Grian had no doubt that it would do so again.

Grian stretched out his arm as far as it could go, touching the Rift with the tips of his fingers. It hurt a little bit. It was a good hurt, though. “Don’t get me wrong I like it here. But… I miss the times where I could just be… carefree. I’m bouncing between so many things here. You and the Entity and Mumbo and… I just can’t seem to settle, you know? I feel so… so…”

He let out a noise almost like a whine, averting his gaze and looking up at the ceiling instead. “Lost.”

Another deep breath. Closing his eyes he pulled his hand back, rubbing the frozen finger pads against each other. His whole arm was tingling, almost numb. Grian wondered if he would stop feeling anything at all once he went through the Rift.

“Mumbo is a great anchor.” Grian continued talking into the empty air. “He’s a great friend… I’m scared he’ll leave again. I know I can go to Pearl or Doc or Scar or Cub- Oh Scar. You know he’s driving me crazy, right? He’s sooo… Ugh. I can’t get a good read on him at all! With Cub at least I kind of know he’s mad at me for… well I don’t know. But I know he doesn’t like me very much. He’s probably keeping tabs on me, making sure I’m okay because of Scar. But Scar? He’s… I don’t know!”

He lifted his head a bit just so it could hit the ground again. “I love him… I wish I could spend time with him without-”

A ping from his communicator made him pause in his rant and check the thing. Grian groaned at the sheepish text message from Mumbo saying that the meeting was over now. And that he wouldn’t like its outcome.

Nausea bubbled up in his throat making it hard to breath for a second. Another chime came from the Rift, unseen tendrils wrapping around him and holding him tight, as though it was trying to tell him to keep it together.

It only managed to effectively cut his air off and make his ribcage hurt with the force. Grian let out a feeble “Stop” to get the Rift to back off. Sitting up and clutching his chest he had to suck in as much air as he could, desperately trying to get something into his body. To fill it up so it would stop feeling like the Void.

The Rift was rumbling, shaking the cave and making small stones fall down from the ceiling. Grian blindly reached to the side to pat it. “I… hah… I know. You meant well. Thanks.”

“Grian?” Mumbos voice came from further up. “You down there, mate?”

“Coming!”

Hitting his head on the way up had not been the plan. Groaning he slumped back into the bed he’d just respawned in and pulled the blanket over his body. At least the panic from the respawn was minimal at best this time around. He guessed Mumbos plan had worked after all. It was still very unpleasant, though. And the touch from the Rift had left imprints within him, altering the sensation, diverting his attention to the emptiness that was sitting heavily in his chest.

Maybe he should just stay here and spend the rest of the day sleeping. But then he wouldn’t be able to see Mumbo. And whatever bad news he was bringing to him it was always worth it to see his mustachioed friend.

He’d just about managed to get decent when Mumbo appeared with his stuff. “Hi mate, I collected your things. Your cave has gotten along great! If spooky is the vibe you’re going for. And I think your crack in the wall hummed at me? I’m not sure if it liked me down there if I’m quite honest with you.”

“Thanks Mumbo. And don’t worry, the Rift loves you.”

Mumbo flushed and rubbed his neck, casting his gaze to the side with a nervous chuckle. “I- ah… I don’t know if that’s a good thing?”

He said that but he looked chuffed to bits, as he was wont to say. Grian guessed it was always nice to hear a love you, even if it came from an interdimensional, semi-sentient rift.

“How did the meeting go?”

Now Mumbo was picking at the cuffs of his suit jacket again. Either Mumbo had a whole lot of them hidden somewhere or he possessed some kind of ancient, very powerful mending and cleaning magic. Because for all that Mumbo got his clothes dirty and full of holes from his own nails, they were always pristine at the start of the day.

“You know as far as our meetings usually go it was… productive?”

The stare Grian bestowed upon his friend was so intense it should have burned a hole through his chest. “Uhu.”

“Yeah! We decided on a lot of things!”

Grian couldn’t take the suspense anymore. “Are they going to kick me out?”

Mumbo gasped and put a hand on his chest, looking scandalized. “What? No! No no such thing how did you even come to that conclusion?”

“Oh I don’t know!” Grian threw his hands in the air. His wings buzzed behind him and flashed pink. “Maybe the ‘I have bad news for you’ part? And the fact that you are super nervous and rambly?”

“Rambly?” Mumbo choked on the word before taking a breath and combing a hand through his hair. “I’m always rambly and nervous. I can’t help it! I’m an anxious guy! But… I do see where you’re coming from. Sorry to have worked you up like that, mate. But in good news! If you thought those were the bad news than the bad news aren’t even going to be that bad!”

Grian groaned, the palms of his hands swallowing the sound. “Mumbooo. I love you, but could you please already tell me what the bad news are?”

“Oh yeah… uhm we decided on where the shopping district is going to be.”

Grian looked back up and squinted at his best friend. “And where would that be?”

Mumbo gave him a sheepish smile. “I’ll… I think I’ll better show you.”

After a bit of a flight they had touched down on the area that would become the shopping district. They stood side by side on a lump of earth and rock very much not close to where the Entity was currently parked. It slowly dawned on Grian why Mumbo had been so nervous about the news.

Who had voted for this? Grian was going to egg their houses!

“Oh come on. You’ve got to be kidding me. Mumbo please tell me this is one of your pranks. Please.”

Mumbo let out a chuckle. “Sorry mate. You’re not the only one having to move his shop, though. So uh… shared pain and all?”

Grian huffed and crossed his arms. “If it would just be that. The Entity has been next to my starter base forever. And its super protective about its stuff. Do you know how long I had to haggle with it until I could get the chests out from it again? I’m not even sure how it would be able to move to here. It’s not like I can just mine it down and build it back up, Mumbo. It’s a living thing!”

Mumbo patted him on his shoulder with an utterly blank expression. It… didn’t seem like he had understood anything Grian had said. That or he had zoned out halfway through. “That’s pretty pants, yeah.”

Swatting his best friends hand away, Grian turned with a huff and a pout. “You’re no help at all!”

Like a shadow Mumbo followed behind Grian, unbothered by his friend’s crankiness. “I mean, I’m not the one who decided to build his shop in a sentient rock. You could always leave it be and build a new one here?”

Even the thought of leaving the Entity alone and abandoned next to his starter base made his stomach churn. No, the Entity would hate that. “Absolutely not. I’d never hear the end of it.” And he didn’t want to know what would happen if the Entity truly got angry at him.

It was much more well behaved than the Rift, even if it did like to steal and assimilate things from its surroundings. But the Entities cries were no joke either. They could become head splitting if it got too upset with being ignored for too long.

Its anger could turn lethal. And Grian wasn’t sure if the world would be so kind and revive him afterwards. It was one thing to be killed by a Zombie or Skeleton. It was another to be head exploded by an old magical artifact with a grudge and a connection to a dimension hole.

“I’ll have to go talk to it.” Grian said after a bit, startling Mumbo out of his thoughts, who had dared to step up to walk beside him.

“Well good luck with that?”

~~~

Of course Mumbo had made himself scarce as soon as they got close to the Entity. Really for someone who had decided to build his megabase exactly on top of an interdimensional Rift, he sure got queasy about the whole supernatural thing pretty easily.

But maybe it was better this way. As much as Grian would have welcomed the support, Mumbo was probably not the best person to take with him. His nervous fidgeting and his habit to walk all over the place during conversations would have just made Grian more anxious than he already was.

The Entity loomed over him innocently, content like a cat who just got a plate full of cream. Grian walked up to it and stroked over its stony surface, leaning in to give it a hug. The rock underneath him was warm and a cheerful rumble broke out in his chest. It messed up the beat of his heart a little bit, but Grian had grown used to the occasionally arhythmical beats.

Grian giggled at the Entities enthusiasm. “Hello to you too.” He leaned back again to be able to tilt his head up. The Entity didn’t have a face, but it felt more natural to talk to the entirety of it instead of the patch of rock right in front of his nose. “I have a bit of a question for you.”

He stopped and waited. The other Hermits didn’t seem to be able to communicate with the Entity and the Rift as much as he could. Or so they said. But Grian was sure it was just because they didn’t take the time to feel and listen.

The air around him shifted slightly and there was a foreign, but by now all too familiar presence in his head, nudging him to go on.

“So you know I’ve kind of employed you to be my shop, yeah?” Another rumble, affirmative and proud. Grian couldn’t help but smile. “The Hermits, the people I’m living with, have decided to build a shopping district. That’s where all the main shops will be and lots of people will come by all day. But… but it’s kind of far away from here.”

His head was empty. Grian stayed still, lips pressed together and shoulders coming up almost to his ears. He waited. Then waited some more. Until there was something lightly prodding at his brain once more. It felt confused. And yeah, Grian should have realized that a rock would have no idea about urban landscaping.

“It means I somehow need you to move to the new location, buddy. I just don’t know how. Do you have an idea?”

His chest started to feel weird. It hadn’t quite recovered from the Rifts little stunt, still feeling a bit void like. But now something was reaching through his mind into it. He could almost feel it slither through his throat. An invisible arm, slim like a snake, reaching for his heart.

The earth below started to shake as a connection was made and Grian quickly activated his elytra with a yelp. From above he had a much better view of what was going on. Loud cracks reached his ears as the rough surface of the Entity split open. Copper green, spidery legs slowly drew out of the newly formed slits. It slid into place like the landing platform of a space ship, the tips of the long legs digging into the ground with a series of heart stopping thumps.

Grian marvelled at their design. They had something mechanical to them, but were much more intricate and solid than the flying machine designs Grian was used to seeing. If he hadn’t just witnessed them moving he would have thought them to be just decoration.

There was no end to the noises it made as the Entity rose with its new legs. Grian barely heard the flabbergasted “What the heck?!” from somewhere behind him. Other Hermits in the area had come to investigate the ruckus. A quick look around made him see Pearl, perched on the roof of her starter base, staring at the rock with stars in her eyes.

And behind him were Cub and Scar, both in Vex aspect, looking ready to fight. Grian gave them a cheerful wave from above. “Sorry for the property damage! I’ll clean it up later, promise!”

Their wings drooped, both Vex casting bewildered glances at Grian. He couldn’t make out what they were yelling at him next, though. Because the Entity lifted one of its six legs with a shriek of metal on metal plating.

Grian twisted in the air when he noticed that it was stretching out towards him and hovered over to meet it. Carefully, ever so slowly he dared to touch what had just sprung to life.

He’d never felt so humbled and in awe than at that moment, hand gently laid on the hot copper making up the tip of the spider like leg. He was touching something so huge, so unique and so different from anything he’d ever known. It took his breath away.

They pressed against each other gently, images flooding Grians mind, giving him an idea on how to proceed. Grian grinned from ear to ear and did a little loop in the air. “This is amazing! Come I’ll show you where to go. I already have the perfect spot for you!”

Another hearty rumble warmed his chest. Grian shot up and above the Entities moving body, circling it once before dashing in front of it to lead it through the buildings towards the future shopping district.

It was tricky to maneuver it through the pillars and structures. Grian had to stop and inspect their surroundings several times in order to guide the Entity through tight gaps and tricky terrain. But once they were out of the starter zone they could speed up.

There was nothing that could have compared to the rush Grian got while flying with the Entity. It felt like flying through a storm and knowing no lightning could strike you. No- it felt like Grian was the storm. Powerful and free.

Every stomp of the Entities feet made Grians heart jump and a laugh bubble out of his throat. And there were a lot of thumps. With six legs and the speed with which they ate up the distance from the starter district to the shopping area, Grian was pretty much a stream of laughter and manic cackles.

They must have made quite a sight. An Allay and his pet rock.

Grian landed on the lump Mumbo and him had stood not so long ago. His Entity wasn’t far behind, crawling over him before settling into a resting position, it’s rocky belly hanging down low enough for Grian to reach.

And Grian did reach up. He stood on his tip toes to brush his hands over the rocky surface to give the Entity a belly rub. “This was amazing! You did so good! I can’t believe you could do that!”

He was warm all over, flushed from excitement and the strain of the flight. He’d never flown like this before. It had almost felt like the space around them had warped. He was near feverish, but in a good way.

The Entity was all around him and within him, celebrating and cheering, their combined joy echoing in Grians core. Grian had to draw back and lean against one of the spider legs to catch his breath and try to calm himself. Unconsciously he rubbed himself against it, leaving specks of fairy dust on the surface.

Following a strange impulse he turned his head slightly to give the leg a quick kiss. The Entity shuddered in response, causing small bits of stone to rain down. It was pleased. Very pleased.

“I’m very proud of you.” Grian murmured against the metal, eyes half closed. Slowly but surely the euphoria of the trip was leaving him. And not only that. Grian felt the alien presence withdraw until the Entity was just a faded awareness at the edges of Grians mind once more. And like a puppet with its strings cut, Grian sagged against the Entity.

The leg he’d been resting against nudged him and he startled. Grian hadn’t realized that he’d closed his eyes. He rubbed them, trying to figure out whether he was still standing upright or not.

“Oh, thanks Entity!” Grian stretched as far as he could, humming a drawn out tune, which was accompanied by several pops. Once he felt like his bones were in the right alignment once more he looked up and patted the Entities leg. “I should probably get going. I’m pretty sleepy. I’ll get the chests to you soon, yeah?”

The Entity didn’t complain and Grian left it with a final wave goodbye. Flying back towards his base he saw the deep imprints the Entity had left on its way to the shopping district. They didn’t look pretty.

Grian winced a bit at the sight. He’d be busy with the clean up of that tomorrow for sure.

Mumbo waited for him at the bridge between their bases, pretty much snatching Grian out of the air before the little Allay could crash. He was rambling a mile a minute. The words lost on Grian who did not have the mental capacity left to listen to them. They did make for a nice lullaby, though.

The last thought he had before sleep found him was that his communicator was probably blowing up with confused messages. It brought a smile to his face.

Good. The Hermits could panic for a little bit. Payback for all those horrible meetings he wasn’t allowed to go to and the stupid decisions made in them he couldn’t vote against.

Notes:

I've enjoyed writing that Entity scene so much. It was one of the very first ones I had in mind when starting this story. And finally being able to share it is so cool.
Also quick update: I'm at over 80k words for the prewritten stuff right now. And still hav a ways to go.

Btw. I'm kinda participating in Hermittober over on tumblr (@seralyra)! I'm drawing stuff like this here:

I'm very proud of how far my drawing skills have come. So if anyone wants to check out my art or scream at me about Hermitcraft, Traffic SMP, GIGS Phasmophobia (AU coming soon I guess) or TMA I'm right there.

Chapter 20

His communicator had acquired a vast amount of confused, terrified and funny messages. Grian was currently scrolling through them, head propped up against Mumbos slim chest. They were both in bed, enjoying each others presence.

Grian was still too tired and fatiqued to move around. And it hadn’t taken much coaxing from Mumbo to keep him from rushing off again.

“I can’t believe some of them were this close to go after the Entity with pitchforks. It’s a shop!”

“Can you really blame them, though? It does look very menacing now.”

Grian sniffed, offended on the Entity’s behalf. “It’s the prettiest rock around! And most well behaved!”

“It nearly sucked you dry of energy, mate.”

Grian leaned into the hand that had started to pet his hair. He kinda wished it would be Scars or Cubs hand, but he could never complain about Mumbo cuddles either. Especially because his core still felt oddly cold. “It didn’t. It used me to get to the Rifts energy and used that.”

“Which… uh... also made you extremely tired I’d presume?” The slow petting of Grians hair stopped as Mumbo checked his own communicator again and typed away at it in a frantic fashion. “You should answer some of those instead of just reading them, you know. Or else those very Hermits will come here.”

“With pitchforks?” Grian leaned his head back, trying to get a glimpse of Mumbos screen. He was unsuccessful, though, given that he had no intention to move as much as was needed to get a good look at it.

“With questions.”

Grian scrunched up his face. “Worse than pitchforks then.”

“Hmhm! Much worse!”

“Grian are you in here?!”

The body under him jumped and Grian squeaked as Mumbos arms suddenly wrapped around him and squeezed the air out of his lungs. “Scar! Please knock first next time, buddy.”

Scar picked himself up from the floor and glanced to the gaping hole he’d just flown through. “But there’s no door? Oh! Do you have one of those fancy doorbells installed?”

Nervous fingers started to play with Grians sweater, the death grip not loosening even the slightest bit. If it weren’t Mumbo holding him down like this Grian would have started to wriggle out of the embrace already. But Mumbo needed a teddy bear to clutch onto and Grian would gladly take on that role if it meant he could help sooth Mumbos frayed nerves. He’d mostly been the cause of them, after all.

“I… gosh that’s actually a very good idea! But… ah… no. No I don’t. I might now that you’ve brought that to my attention, though! Although… hm would it be weird for a vault to have a doorbell? I mean I live here, but it’s supposed to be impenetrable. And I can’t just have Grian ring a bell and then walk in!-”

Scar stared at Grian with a confused frown. “But he’s already in your vault? You share a bed!”

Mumbo stopped his rambling and looked down at Grian in his arms. “Huh.”

Grian tipped his head back to meet his best friends gaze. “Does that mean I win?” He teased.

“No? I… I didn’t say the vault was ready yet! You only get to break in once I’m done building it! And there’s nothing really in here at the moment anyway.”

Grian kept staring, loving the way Mumbo got increasingly more flustered the longer he dragged out the silence. “You are in it.”

“Wha- Grian! Not in front of-”

“Anyway!” Scar interrupted them, his voice far too loud and cheerful to be natural. His grin was a little off, too. Slightly too sharp with a few too many teeth showing. “I gotta ask, Grian do you feel up to some-” and here he waggled his eyebrows, voice dipping lower into that pitch that made Grians heart flutter and cheeks heat up. “shenanigans?”

Mumbo groaned underneath him, arms going slack to let Grian out of the bed. “Scar! He’s supposed to rest!” He said, his words overlapping with Grians screamed “Yes!”

Scar looked far too proud for what he had just done. “Oh come on Mumbo Jumbolio! Look at him! He’s ready for an adventure!”

Grian nodded, ignoring the black spots at the edge of his vision. “I am! I am! What are we doing?”

“I’m glad you asked! I’m glad you asked. So, you know how Doc is pretty close to winning the pillar war, right?”

“Uhu.” Grian hummed, getting on his elytra and reaching for his diamond boots.

“Well me and Pearl thought that if we three joined forces now we could get there before him!”

“And win the bragging rights!” Grian grinned.

“And get our diamond ore back so we can actually use it!” Scar shouted his own enthusiasm.

“Genius!”

Mumbo had slid out of bed to meticulously comb through his hair and clothes. The effort was wasted, nothing but a good ironing could get out all the wrinkles. And before that they needed a damn good wash. It was Mumbos own fault for cuddling in bed with an Allay with his best clothes on.

And Mumbo didn’t seem to mind at all. He was smiling fondly at Grian and Scar. “Well seems like you have a plan! Take care of Grian, Scar. He’s good at pretending to be alright.”

Scar saluted him. “Ay ay captain!”

Grian snickered. “Yes mum I’ll be back at 8.”

“You better be!” Mumbo yelled back, laughing. He watched them fly off through his gaint hole of an entrance. Hm, he really should fix that.

~~~

What should have been a quick sneaky mission had turned into an all out battle. Grian didn’t quite know how it had escalated so fast. One minute they were building up to join pillars with Pearls and the next they were shooting arrows at Doc, Cub and Impulse.

Despite the all out laughter Grian had a hard time figuring out if they were having fun or if this was serious. He’d never been involved in a fight like this before. Pranks and traps were different, less personal than shooting another Player out of the sky.

Doc even built a TNT duper out of nowhere at some point! How was that even possible?!

But of course, the most mesmerizing people to watch had been Cub and Scar. It felt wrong to see them on opposite sides and Grian had felt guilty about that at first. But over the course of the fight he realized that they enjoyed being at odds with each other.

Their Vex aspects were out on full display and they kept clashing in the air, seeking each other out with bows and swords. Bloodlust and dark magic spiralled off of them, setting Grians teeth on edge. It made the Allay part of him scream in terror. Vex were the doom of Allays, after all. Having two of them be so aggressive in his vicinity-

But they were also so utterly breathtaking. Their fighting almost looked like a dance. They were drawn to each other like magnets, before drifting apart again to continue their frantic towering upwards. They circled each other, swooping and weaving to create complicated patterns in the air.

Grian still confiscated Scars bow after he had shot Doc off a few too many times. He’d almost gotten his hand bitten off for his trouble.

And just as fast as it had all escalated, the fight was over.

“WE WON!!!”

“Woooo!”

The three of them almost died jumping down from their victory tower. Build height was were the air was starting to get too thin to breathe and the lack of oxygen and the icy cold winds up there made it hard to coordinate limbs.

Impulse had to catch Grian mid-fall so he wouldn’t poof. And Grian hung in his arms like a well cooked through noodle. He flopped to the ground like one, too, once Impulse had added him to the pair of giggling adults laying in the grass.

It took a bit of maneuvering, but Grian managed to strip himself of his elytra with minimal effort and only the slightest shifting of positions. As soon as the contraption was gone and had stopped digging into his back and wings, Grian melted back into the two warm bodies below.

Doc and Cub soon landed close by, Doc excitedly chatting about the battle. It seemed like he didn’t care for a few deaths during good times. Grian grinned up at them from his spot on the floor. His head was propped up against Pearls stomach. And he was half laying on Scar, tingling where their bodies met.

“This was amazing!” Doc finished his gushing.

Pearl let out another whoop, the rest of the group chuckling. As the laughter peetered out they all finally got some time to catch their breath. Grian was almost ready to doze off, mind swept away by the slight up and down of Pearls breathing body beneath him.

The change in pace when she spoke again made him blink his eyes open. “We can finally get our diamonds.” She breathed.

Grian furrowed his brow in confusion. Was she just realizing that now? That had been part of why they had done all this, right? But then the weight of her words hit him. Oh. They’d be able to buy things now. So many things!

“We’re going to crash the economy.” Cub spoke somewhere close to him. Grian turned his head to see that Cub had sat down and had pulled Scars head into his lap. He was smiling, words cheerful and carefree as ever. Though there was still a manic glint to his stare.

Impulse sounded less enthralled by the idea. “Oh yeah. Oh dear the others will not like that.”

Doc turned his head to look at their pillars. He’d sat down together with Impulse, the two leaning against each other. One of Docs hooves was almost touching Grians boot. “I think I’m going to use mine as building blocks.”

Grian let out an involuntary chime earning a glare from Doc. “And you, Pesky Bird, will not mine any of it or I will mine down your pretty rocks.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Another chime left him when a slender hand found his hair and smoothed it back. Pearls hands were cold and her nails sharp even bitten down as they were. And they were perfect for scratching at his scalp. Grian wiggled higher upwards so she could better reach him, drawing a grunt out of Scar.

“You shouldn’t be baiting him, Doc.” Pearl chided him cheerfully. “He’ll egg your base.”

The “and I’ll help him” was left unsaid, but Grian knew it was there. Pearl was a bit like his sister. She’d always have his back. Now that there were back on even ground more than ever. He’d almost forgotten how calm he’d always felt around her. When had he stopped spending time with her like this?

Doc remained silent at that. The way his face twisted and mechanical eye flashed he probably knew that Grian would actually do that. He decided to change the topic instead. “Say while we’re all gathered here. Cub and me were thinking about exploring those ‘infected’ ruins Xisuma discovered. Does anyone want to come with?”

“Oh right those exist!” Scar exclaimed from his spot. “Wasn’t Xisuma, Jevin and Keralis supposed to go have a look first? I have to admit I think I fell asleep at some point during the meeting.”

Lucky him being able to go to a meeting he could snooze off in. Grian tried not to scowl. The elbow to Scars stomach was very much not accidental, though.

He wasn’t spared from a bit of injury either. Pearls nails suddenly dug painfully into his scalp making him yelp and sit up. Looking over his shoulder to chide her he saw that she had gone deathly pale.

“I’m not going.” She said, clasping her hands together. “And you shouldn’t either. That- I’ve seen- it’s dangerous. Not...”

“Not Scar safe?” Cub finished the sentence for her. He’d let go of Scars head, too. Just so Scar could sit up and move Grian off of his bruised stomach with a grimace.

Scar and Grian both let out a littany of unhappy noises, if for different reasons.

“Technically nothing is Scar safe.” Impulse pointed out.

“Hey! I take objection to that! I mean adjection. No. Offection? Definitely not affection.”

“You mean offence?” Grian decided to help him out.

Scar snapped his fingers at him. “That’s the word!”

“Just leave the ruins be.”

“But where is the fun in that!” Grian found himself saying. He hated how uncomfortable and almost scared Pearl looked. But he found the others easily agreeing with him.

“You don’t have to go, Pearl.” Doc tried to sooth her. “But it might just be more dangerous to leave it be. It’s best we know what we are dealing with. We went through that in the meeting.”

Grian wished they would stop referencing the meeting, as though everyone had been there. A startled little chime escaped him when Scar suddenly pulled him over and onto his lap. They were now next to Cub, who was also leaning over slightly to look at him in concern. “You alright?”

Before Grian could ask why he thought he wasn’t, Impulses chuckle made them all look at him. “Sorry, it’s just… the slightest bit of discomfort and you’re all over him. It’s cute.”

“It’s not cute. It’s necessary.” Cub grumbled, scootching a bit away from Scar and Grian again. But he couldn’t help letting his gaze flit over Grian once more.

Grian stared back at him, head tilted to the side in confusion. He felt Scar shrug behind him.

“I don’t mind if it’s cute.” He declared, almost proud. His chest puffed out so much that Grian felt it press against his back. “I’m with Cub, though. Mumbo threatened me today. Said he shouldn’t be out of bed. Dunno why.”

“Scar!” Pearl and Cub both yelled at him.

Scar threw his hands up in the air, almost catching on Grians nose, who had to flinch back in order to avoid being slapped in the face. “Why are you mad? He’s fine!”

Grian nodded. “’m fine. So what about this field trip, Doc? When do you wanna go?”

Grian fidgeted under Docs analysing gaze. He was pretty sure he was being scanned and it wasn’t a nice feeling. He squirmed in place, wings flashing pink once more without his knowledge. Scars hands found his shoulders and squeezed in an attempt to calm him down.

“We want to go in a few days. X, Keralis and Jevin are checking out the tunnels under Pearls base. We will go where X found the other site. Pearl, if you don’t want to come, that’s fine. But could you maybe stay around the med bay in your base? Just in case something happens.”

“I can.” Came her strangled replay. “Grian, do you want to stay with me?”

Pearl was pleading to him. Grian heard it loud and clear. It broke his heart a little bit that he had to deny her. “No I really want to come with. If I’m allowed?”

“Sure you are!” Impulse was quick to reassure, Doc nodding in agreement.

“I don’t know.” Cub spoke up, making dread bubble up in Grians stomach. “Grian you’ve been… you’re magics gone weird a lot lately. And we don’t know if whatever is down there could be connected to the Rift. Maybe you should sit this one out.”

Grian scrunched up his nose and glared at Cub. “No way! If it’s connected to the Rift, I should come! Neither of you seem to get along with it. I might be helpful.”

“Or you might be a liability.”

Grian still had the Hotguy bow, as Scar had dubbed his weapon, he could still shoot Cub in the face. “I’m not going to be. I can hold my own just fine, thank you very much!”

Cub scowl had turned mean. “You’ve been fainting like a damsel in distress all over the place.”

“He’s been fainting?” Impulses quiet question was almost drowned out by Grians eerie, malicious hum.

This time the flash of pink ran along the thin veins of Grians fairy wings and visibly through his blood vessels until it reached his eyes, where the glow stayed for an uncomfortable amount of time, turning a deep, violent violet. Grian bared his teeth at Cub and while Allay teeth were usually a bit sharper than expected, this time they were as pointy as needles and far too many. Predator teeth.

The air around them grew thick with an oppressing power that threatened to squash them like bugs. The moment was over within seconds, but left everyone panting.

“Okayyy.” Doc finally dared to speak up. “I think the pesky bird made it clear that he’s coming with.”

Grian huffed, squashing the panic that rose within him at his unexpected display of… Well he didn’t know. Maybe Cub had a point. But Grian would rather perma-die first than admit that. He just couldn’t bear to be left out again.

Cub took a shaky breath beside him. He somehow managed to look spooked and mad. “Right.”

“So are you two coming with, orrr?” Impulse asked, hesitant to fill the silence, but also eager to disperse the tense atmosphere around them.

“Yes!” Scar shouted, the least perturbed by Grians display. Cub nodded, too.

“I foresee trouble.” Doc muttered.

“Honestly out of all of us I’m not sure Scar should come.” Impulse joked, earning a vicious growl from Cub and a loud “No take backs!” from Scar.

Grian ignored the injustice of Cubs actions, thinking that Impulse had a point. Scar was prone to accidents and didn’t care for his life one bit. He was sure to cause more trouble than Grian!

“Can Mumbo come, too?” He asked instead, tilting his head towards Doc and trying his puppy eyes again.

Doc shrugged, mechanical hand picking at the trampled grass beneath him. “If he wants to.”

Grian jumped up and almost fell over again. He squeaked when he felt hands on his butt and hip. “Scar!”

“What? I was just steadying you!”

The pink on his cheeks now wholly natural, Grian shuffled out of grabbing range and bend down to snatch up his elytra. “Thanks. I’ll be off now. It was fun! Let’s figure out whose diamond ore belongs to whom later!”

He left the group groaning and muttering. The flight started out a bit shaky. He nearly crashed into a tree or two during his ascend. But once he was up high and had a moment to breath he was fine once more. Exhausted, but fine.

The grin he’d had on his face slowly turned into a frown, however. There was only so much ignoring he could do before his thoughts caught back up with him. Grian didn’t know what had happened back there. He had known that he wasn’t quite the same after Evo. But this level of… otherness. He’d never experienced this before. And it scared him.

He needed to talk to the Rift. Maybe it could give him some answers.

Notes:

Life is currently kicking my butt a bit, but I'm writing more than ever before as a way to destress XD

I'm currently working on a GIGS Phasmophobia AU alongside An Allay for an Ally and have finished 2 chapters already. It's shaping up to be a slice of life/sitcom Ghost of the Week kinda story featuring GIGS slowly working themselves up to becoming professional Ghost Hunters. (Because I see horror and immediately go "That would make for great found family material". Granted that's what I think about pretty much everything.)
I'm very hyped about this story cause I've been binging all the Phasmo streams lately. I hope to have written enough by the end of October to be able to post the first chapter on Halloween.

Don't worry, though. An Allay for an Ally is still my baby and I'm writing about as much for this story than for the Phasmo AU :)

Chapter 21

If there was one thing Grian was extraordinarily good at it was procrastinating. The world usually came with many opportunities to distract oneself. And Grian took any alternative task he could do, instead of the thing he needed to.

When he had finally made it back to his base, Mumbo had been there to pester. Then the fatigue caught up with him and it was oh so easy to find peace in their shared bed, safe and cuddled up to his best friends chest.

Trying to calm Pearls and Mumbos nerves in the days leading up to the expedition, as well as heckling with Scar and Pearl over who had had how many diamond ore took up a good chunk of time, too.

And then there was… uh… Doc! And… and the Entity! And he really ought to fly through the world more to see what everyone else was up to! He even visited a very befuddled Xisuma at his huge bone structure. Just to make sure that he really was allowed to go with the rest.

He was all for being a rebell, but he was still deathly afraid of somehow crossing a line in the admins rulebook.

Their planned trip was a-okay, though. So there was one thing less to worry about and one problem less to run from. Not that he was running from anything in the first place. He was just… prioritizing in reverse order.

He’d have that conversation with the Rift. Just like he would have that one conversation about if Cub had a problem with him one day. And that conversation with the Hermits about whether he could permanently join their group or not. And he probably at one point would have a heart to heart with Pearl regarding what had happened during his absence on Evo.

Just not in the near future. Grian had enough on his plate to fill the day. Especially today, where they were scheduled to go exploring.

Grian had barely been able to sleep, favoring babbling at the Rift until his eyes closed on their own instead of joining Mumbo in bed. He’d finally managed to get all the dark spots in his cave, at least. So he hadn’t been too worried about accidently dying.

The thought of suddenly spawning naked on Mumbo was a funny one, anyway. Grian wouldn’t have minded being slaughtered in his sleep just for the screaming and flailing of the man.

“Mumbooooo come on you got to have everything by now. We’re going to be late and then we won’t be able to go!” Grian whined. He’d been up first for once, flitting around the big vault room Mumbo was slowly building up and occasionally pulling Mumbos sleeves.

This did not help in making his spoon of a friend go any faster. At this point Grian felt like he was actively being sabotaged.

Mumbo was kneeling between a shulker and his enderchest, a thoughtful look on his face. “I don’t know, bud. Maybe that would be best… Do you think I should bring fire resistance? I heard the worlds core is supposed to be really hot.”

“That’s the nether. And no. No I will go without you if you are not done in twenty seconds.”

Mumbo looked up in confusion. “Why twenty?”

“I’m counting.”

The threat worked, albeit barely. Grian had to slam Mumbos enderchest closed and steal the shulker in order for Mumbo to get a move on. It only earned him a nervous chuckle. Grian sometimes worried about his friend. This amount of anxiety could not be good for him.

Doc and Ren were already waiting at the mouth of the mine entrance, lost in some kind of debate before they noticed Mumbo and Grian approaching. It always brought a smile to Grians face to see Rens tail start to wag whenever he saw a friend. The man had so much excited puppy dog energy hidden under his thick fur that Grian could never resist pulling him into a hug and cooing at him.

Ren took it in stride, happily reciprocating the affection and ruffling Grians hair. Grian let himself be sniffed at and bounded over to Doc as soon as he was let go to wave at him.

“Hi Doc.”

“Hey why don’t I get such an enthusiastic greeting?”

Grian grinned at Doc, who had crossed his arms and was pouting. “You’re not cute enough.”

“I’m not- You’re not cute enough!”

“I think he is plenty cute.” Came a voice from above. Scar, for once, managed to not crash land and instead glided gracefully to the ground. His feet had barely made it to the ground before he swooped Grian up and gave him a little spin.

Grian giggled at the sweet greeting, cheeks dusted pink and wings fluttering with a chime. His soft smile turned from Scar to Cub, who was frowning at the two. He couldn’t say no to Grian making grabby hands at him, though and begrudgingly bend down to give the little Allay a hug.

“Wow I’m really feeling left out now.”

“I could hug you?” Mumbo more asked than said, holding out his arms in an awkward, unsure manner.

Doc bonked their heads together instead. “Don’t sweat it.” Seconds later he was tackled to the ground by Impulse, who had heard the conversation and had swooped down to give the Creeper Hybrid the greeting he deserved.

“Are we ready to go?” Cub asked after both Impulse and Doc had untangled and pulled themselves off the ground.

“No?” Mumbo mumbled, but was drowned out by Grians “Let’s go!” and Scars enthusiastic “Yes!”
Impulse added his own “Heck yeah!” and Doc nodded with a grin, gesturing for the group to follow his lead. Ren wasn’t far behind, tail wagging a mile a minute.

Grian was about to skip after him when a big, warm hand took his wrist and pulled him to Cubs side. The Vex had already taken Scar by the hand and was now glaring down at Grian. “You are not leaving my side.”

And even though Grians heart was skipping beats and his cheeks were feeling a little warm, he still found it in himself to feel a bit offended. “But Cub! I can’t go around snooping like that!”

He tugged, testing Cubs hold and was delighted when Cubs grip got tighter and a growl told him to stop it. Scar giggled beside them, idly swinging his, and by extension, Cubs arm.

“Ohhh are we doing a buddy system? Mumbo, do you wanna hold hands, too?”

Mumbo looked back at them with an odd gleam in his eyes, smile overly cheerful as he replied to Impulse. “Sure thing, mate!”

Doc walked on ahead with Ren, who had happily grabbed Doc. Cub, Scar and Grian followed in the middle, Cub and Scar holding hands and Cub tugging Grian back on his wrist whenever he started to walk a bit too fast for the Vexes liking.

Mumbo and Impulse made up the rear, both holding each others hand, idly chatting away about some redstone project or another. Scar was humming a merry tune, Cub was tense and vigilant and Grian-

Grian was getting bored. He had been promised adventure and all he’d gotten thus far was a bland stone tunnel. Nothing seemed odd about it. It was hand carved, which meant that it was pretty monotone. And it gently winded downwards with only the odd, uneven step to occasionally trip them up.

“How far do we need to go down?” He whined, tugging at Cubs hold again just for the annoyed noise that got him.

“It’s some ways down.” Docs gruff voice answered.

“Can’t we go any faster?” This was a perfectly safe tunnel as far as Grian was aware. It even had torches on the walls, which meant no monster could spawn.

“No running in the tunnels.” Doc told him, making both Grian and Scar mumble “Spoilsport.”

“You could sing us something.” Mumbo suggested from behind, something odd in his tone.

“Ohhh yesss!” Impulse immediately cheered. “Cub would love that, right Cub? He’s been a fan of yours for ages, Grian! Drove us mad sometimes with the amount of times he’s been blasting your songs on loop whenever we went out to get to another world.”

The hand holding his wrist had gotten sweaty, grip so tight now that it almost hurt. Grian made a curious noise and looked up. Cub was looking straight ahead, face a completely relaxed mask of indifference. But the ever growing blush blooming on his cheeks betrayed him. And it only got more prominent when Scar decided to chime in.

“You should so sign his record collection! He wanted to get your signature for ages! But we could never make it to one of your concerts.” Scar bounced on his heels with a big smile on his face, unaware of the embarassed noise his suggestion had wrung out of his partner.

Grian let out a giddy chuckle. “Ohhhh?” He cooed, tugging at Cubs arm and leaning in, only getting a little glance back. It was enough to almost lose his train of thought. Cubs eyes were glowing. “Why didn’t you say something? I could dress up for you. Give you a private performance. You just need to say the word.”

There was an impressed whistle coming from Impulse. “Wow, cheeky!”

“Grian, buddy, maybe don’t come on that strong.” Mumbo laughed, clearly enjoying the show.

Cub just coughed, eyes now firmly locked to the ground. He was cute, being so bashful. Grian batted his eyes at him and gave him one of those sweet Ariane Griande stage smiles when Cub dared to peek at him.

He giggled when Cub made a very quiet squeaky sound and immediately looked away again, face practically glowing red at this point.

Scar made a confused noise.”What? Did I miss something? Why is everyone suddenly laughing? Cub is everything alright?”

That turned Grians small chuckle into a full blown laugh, Mumbo, Impulse and Ren following suit and even Doc let out a snort.

Cub just shook his head. “’m fine.”

He let go of Grians wrist and Grian was already feeling bad about going too far, when it came back to tentatively lace their fingers together. Grian briefly forgot to breath. Which was a good thing because had he made even the slightest of sounds he would have missed Cubs whispered “I’d like a song or two.”

Grian dared to squeeze the by now extremely sweaty hand. “Gladly. I’m not warmed up though, so don’t expect anything too polished.”

The tunnel might have been boring but it had some great accoustics. Eventually Cub had warmed up again and requested a few songs, Scar or Impulse chiming in with their own requests. Eventually Mumbo asked for Wonderwall making everyone groan. But even that song was enjoyed by everyone.

Stone turned to deepslate, patches of tuff and andesite breaking up the monotony a bit. Grian felt the shift in biomes before he saw the first tendrils of it. The icky, wet feeling was coming back, reminding him of the flash of a vision he’d had once upon a time.

His voice trailed off, instinct telling him to keep quiet. Everyone else hushed up as well. The stuff that lined the walls, ceiling and floor was nothing either of them had ever seen before.

It was a black mass, pulsing with little dots of light. It reminded Grian of the Void, making him hesitate to move closer towards it. Cub noticed immediately and stopped to check up on him, causing Scar to be pulled back harshly and almost fall on his butt.

“Grian? Everything alright?”

Cubs question was asked loud enough to make everybody pause. But it was also loud enough to trigger whatever laid ahead, causing a littany of weird, gurgeling clicking sounds. They all tensed up and turned towards the yawning abyss stretched out before them.

And although Grian had never come into contact with the blocks in front of them before, he knew that right now, they were safe.

“It’s okay.” He breathed, holding his hand up when Doc opened his mouth to speak. The Rift was pulling at him again, the Entity chiming in, its presence hanging over him like a warm blanket. He strained to catch what they wanted to tell him. He knew that whatever it was was important.

Grian tasted the words that wanted to come out of his throat before speaking them, aware of how his voice sounded not quite like his own. “The sensors aren’t dangerous. But beware of the blocks with the spikes and souls swirling in them. Move silently and with care. This place is protected.”

The group looked at each other, unsure on how to proceed.

“Maybe you should stay back Grian.” Cub tried again.

“No, he’s the only one who seems to kinda know what’s going on.” Doc said with a grim face.

Grian nodded at him. “The Entity and Rift are familiar with the stuff. They are showing me to be cautious. But they aren’t really good at giving details. They can’t explain things with words. There’s just… something lurking in the darkness?”

“Okay.” Ren breathed, tail having gone still, ears swivelling this way and that. He was on high alert now, sniffing the air every so often. “It’s far too silent down here. We should get some of the new blocks to analyse back home. Does someone have an enderchest and a shulker?”

It took them a bit to realize that they had to mine the new blocks with a Silk Touch pickaxe. Despite their spongy, easily yielding surface, they broke and dissolved very easily without magic to coax them loose.

Grian had to let go of Cub in order to mine his own share and was the first to touch one of the blocks. His hands came away with dark smudges on them. He wiped them off on his jeans.

“Scar don’t you dare lick that.” Cub chided his partner quietly, making Grian look over and grimace.

“Scar!”

“What? It’s for science!”

“Shush you three.” Doc growled at them. He had gone a bit deeper into the cave, Ren close by his side. Both had mined quite a few of the new blocks, eventually hitting stone once more.

Mumbo had stayed back so far, standing awkwardly at the border between deepslate and the new material. Impulse had gone even further down, inspecting one of the weird, plant like sensors that emitted a blast of alien, almost insect like sounds whenever they moved around too loudly.

Impulse shone a light down the cave. “How far down do you guys think this goes?”

Mumbo shrugged, clearly growing more uncomfortable by the minute. And yet he seemed as entranced by the new biome as the rest of them. He was just tentative to enter it. So Grian slowly made his way over to him and gently pulled on his sleeve so he could take that first, crucial step towards discovery.

“Let’s find out!” He whispered to the rest of the group, giving them an encouraging grin.

“First one to find something cool owes the rest a batch of cookies!” Scar yelled, running off, leaving a bout of disapproving and mildy terrified yells of “Scar!” in his wake.

Doc was cursing and stomping after the silly Vex, Ren and Impulse easily following along. The rest looked after them, mildly exasperated. The various sensors around them had picked up their yells, the eerie sound of gurgled clicking echoing in the silence.

“This man needs a leash.” Grian huffed, wings fluttering anxiously. He was just as eager to catch up and explore, but the Entity and Rift sat heavily in his mind and were making it hard for him to move. It wasn’t like they were trying to keep him from his adventure. No they just seemed… invested. More present.

Grian would have liked to wave them off. To put some distance between himself and their invading forces. They were making him sick. His fingertips tingled, turning a bit numb just like when he was touching the Rift.

“That’s an idea.”

Grians sluggish brain needed a moment to understand that Cub had answered him. “You don’t sound worried about him.”

Cub shrugged. “He’s Scar. He’ll get himself killed one way or another. Nothing I can do about it.”

“He’ll be fine.” Mumbo said, far too confident for the universe, it seemed. For not even a second later there was an otherworldly scream that belonged to none of their group.

Throwing caution to the wind they ran towards the sound only to get to the source and be blasted by that same scream. The sound drilled into Grians ears and wiped out his sight. It wasn’t like eating one of Scars cookies. He wasn’t totally blind. But seeing almost nothing was somehow even scarier than being completely in the dark.

Someone else bumped into him and Grian was quick to grab Impulses arm to keep him from straying too far away. “Guys stay still and keep quiet!” He hissed, speaking through the panic and nausea.

The shuffling stopped, breathing calming down. Grian himself stood stock still, trying not to turn into a whimpering mess. This situation felt too similar to the Rift incident where he should have died but did not. The only thing that kept him from freaking out more to the point of crying for help was the knowledge of friends and allies nearby.

What his instinct… or the sentient beings that had invaded his head… had told him worked. A few seconds later the darkness faded, revealing an odd, bone like block and a hole that dropped down into a huge cave filled with structures.

Thankfully no one had wandered too far while the effects of darkness had been on them. Or else someone would have died of fall damage. Most likely Scar.

“Well that was an experience I don’t want to repeat.” Scar muttered, rubbing over his eyes. He was immediately shushed by the rest of the group, who anxiously glanced back at the block that had been the cause for their distress in the first place.

Cub leaned over it, muttering things to himself as he observed. Grian inched closer as well, eyes unsure which sight was more intriguing. On the one hand it would probably be wise to find out what the thing was that had taken most of his sight with just a scream. But on the other there was a whole new playground below him. One he itched to explore.

“We should mine this for further testing back home.” Ren suggested quietly.

“Good idea.” Cub responded.

It wasn’t. In fact, it was a very bad idea. As soon as the pickaxe hit the alien material a third shriek swallowed them up. And this time it wasn’t left unanswered. Grian heard it before he saw it. A gross, wet noise came from somewhere to his right. The ground beneath him shifted oddly and as he moved to get away from whatever was coming he turned to see it.

The radius of his remaining sight was big enough to see the thing in its whole, terrifying glory. It crawled up from the ground like a demon summoned, huge and bug like, pulsing with the stuff that surrounded them on all sides.

It had no eyes, but made up for it with a huge mouth. Its chest was ripped open, the sharp tips of its ribs poking through to form a gateway to a small abyss with… were those souls circling within its chest? He’d only ever seen those in the Nether!

Grian didn’t have much time to marvel at this new creature. Unfortunately being able to see it also meant that he was standing far too close. And as quiet as he had tried to be, a tiny squeak had escaped him once his eyes had caught sight of the monster.

Before Grians brain could even register what was happening the creature had turned towards him, chest cavity moving like a mouth that couldn’t quite close. The sonic blast that shattered his ear drums and annihilated his mortal form had such a high pitch that Grian couldn’t even hear it. But it was strong enough that Grian swore he could make out tiny wave forms that sped in his direction.

Grian hoped someone else would take the time to catalogue what had happened there. Because he was out of the picture now, waking up naked back in his and Mumbos shared bed, clutching his still ringing ears.

Notes:

It's getting a bit more sculky in this story~

Anyway how is everyone enjoying the new traffic life series so far? Without spoiling for the ones who haven't watched the episodes yet: I think we manifested the best things this season. I wonder if some of the Life members did some pestering on their end, too (looking at Jimmy and Martyn especially).

We've been really blessed with so much amazing content coming out this year, but especially now. With Decked Out 2, Phasmophobia, MCC Live and the new Traffic Life Series there's soooo much to create for that I'm absolutely giddy with all the ideas I have!

Chapter 22

More people died that day. Mumbo ended up on top of Grian only mere minutes later and the world chat filled with the death messages of Scar, Impulse and Doc soon after. Thankfully the world patched them all up again as always. And Pearls frantic examination of them all showed that no one had been left with any permanent markings.

Xisumas search party hadn’t faired any better. The admin himself had been blasted by another creature of the same species Grians group had encountered. But the remaining members had come back with a lot of video material and a copious amounts of blocks to research and catalogue.

A few days later, when everyone had recovered from the shock of the encounter, they had all come together in the Hermits big space ship that they had arrived in. It was the first time Grian was allowed in there and he marvelled at the sheer size of it.

It didn’t look that much different from the ship Grian and his crew had flown. It was roughly the same, zeppelin like shape. It had roughly the same light and colour scheme...

It felt absolutely alien to him. It was much bigger for one and it was a little flatter and less clunky, showing that the Hermits had much more resources to upgrade their baby. But most of all it had “Hermit” scrawled all over its insides.

There were so many rooms that were designed to the Hermits tastes. And every corner was filled with some kind of trinket or sign that spoke of years spent on the ship with far too much freetime at hand.

If Grian hadn’t been in the middle of the group he would have wandered off immediately and lost his way. As it was he was pushed along by Bdubs and Tango behind him, Mumbo and Pearl at his side and Scars back in front.

Grian wasn’t quite sure if he was even supposed to come along. It felt a bit like an official Hermit Meeting. But Mumbo had taken his hand that morning and had looked at him with puppy dog eyes and Xisuma had nodded at him when he had seen him in the crowd. So it was probably okay that he was here. Awkward, but okay.

They ended up in what looked like the lounge area. It was a big room roughly in the middle of the ship. Couches and carpets were strewn about. There was a pinball machine in the corner and a big table in the middle where they could all comfortably sit around.

It wasn’t only a table, though. It had several screens integrated within it, all flickering to life with a command from Xisuma. The Hermits dispersed evenly around the area, putting down shulker boxes and enderchests and taking out equipment.

Xisuma had banned the new blocks from the ship until they had figured out whether they were dangerous or not. Some of the Hermits had grumbled about it but Grian thought it a wise precaution. As the former admin of his own crew he knew that the mother ship was their safety net. Should anything happen to it, it would get so much harder to leave in case of emergency.

And as much as explorers were heralded as heroes back in the big cities, governments seldom were willing to pay for the resources it needed to rescue stranded ones.

Grian sat down at the edge of one of the couches, pressing his wings to his back and trying very hard to keep them still. He didn’t want to get fairy dust anywhere. This wasn’t his space after all.

His heart ached with the familiarity of it all. He remembered his own ship, which was probably lost in the Void somewhere. He remembered the endless hours fighting boredom on it. The shifts they took to keep everything running. The learning on the job because no one really knew what they were doing at first. They had just been a bunch of friends going on a very drastic road trip.

They had found their love for exploration along the way. Grian had naturally grown into the role of the admin. He had been good with his ship even if he didn’t understand a lick of redstone. And his friends had been amazing. Jimmy, while accident prone, had kept everything tidy and organized. He had the focus others lacked.

Martyn was a great right hand man, who listened and made sure to take action where needed. Pearl was a delight to have around. Netty was an ever comforting presence and brought a touch of home with them.

And Taurtis… Grian regretted having let Taurtis with him on the ship. He had been his best friend at the time. They’d been joined at the hip. Taurtis had been there to see Ariana Griande been created. He’d helped to get the whole operation running in the first place.

And he’d went missing the moment they had arrived in the new world. He’d appear sporadically as though nothing had happened, having no memory of the time lost. Until one day he didn’t appear anymore.

Grian still held out hope that he would eventually see him again. He hoped that Taurtis had ended up in a situation similar to Grians. Stranded somewhere in a far off world, but in good company. He couldn’t stomach the thought of where Taurtis could have ended up otherwise.

The Void was a cruel place.

A robotic, female voice announcing the download of data to be complete startled Grian out of his thoughts and made him look around.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jevin laughed. “That’s just Rosie.”

“She’s Rens assistant.” Keralis added with a smile.

That only made Grian scan the room even more. There was no one new here. “But where is she?”

“More often than not in Rens communicator. But Ren also connected her to the ships speakers.” Xisuma explained, sitting down beside him. “He picked her up from some space diner we stopped at during our journey here. I think she’s a gift from GigaCorp.”

Ugh GigaCorp. Was there anywhere that mega corporation wasn’t? It was pretty odd that Ren would be handed an artificial assistant as a freebie, though. Those things were super expensive. Had Grian missed some sort of ad campaign or something? If so than Grian didn’t mind. He had always found these half sentient beings creepy.

Another weight settled down on his other side, making him tense up. Keralis was a nice enough fellow with a very soothing voice. But he was also big and very close to Xisuma. Which meant that Grian felt double intimidated by him.

It didn’t help that Grian had not spent any time with the man yet. So he was hard to read. Grian would have much rather sat with Cub and Scar and Mumbo. They were opposite him, a bit to his left, already hunched over the screens on the table, pulling up several images and graphs. Naturally the first tests had already been performed. Hermits and downtime just weren't compatible.

Grian had a hard time keeping track of everything that was going on around him. There were so many people he hadn’t met yet. Some of which he hadn’t even seen before. Grian had never been formally introduced to everyone. And some of the Hermits had not crossed his path even to this day.

Some had eyed him curiously upon first seeing him on the way to the ship. Most new faces had even came up to introduce themselves. Joehills, XB, Beef and Keralis. Some had been introduced to him like Etho, False and Cleo. A few more had been name dropped but weren’t actually here. They were off world doing their own thing.

Grian was glad that there weren’t even more people around. The room was already packed as it was and he was occasionally repeating the names of the new Hermits he had met, trying to memorize them.

“Why is he here?” The Sheep Hybrid called Zedaph asked.

Grian felt a bit offended by the question coming from him. Zedaph was one of his neighbours and they hadn’t had any problems living close to each other. Was it really so bad that Grian was here?

“Good question.” Xisuma nodded, opening a pit in Grians stomach.

Maybe he hadn’t been invited in, after all. But someone would have said something sooner, right? Especially the admin.

Grian opened his mouth to say that he could leave, when Doc spoke before he could. “He’s been dealing with the Rift and Entity as you know. Two beings that are very connected to this world. Grian has more knowledge through them than we do. He knew how to deal with the screaming blocks in the cave before any of us could figure it out. That’s why he’s here.”

There was some muttering among the Hermits and Grian couldn’t gage whether it was approving or riddled with quiet complains. He tensed up more, fingers gripping the edge of the couch in a white knuckled grip. It took all his willpower to keep his wings still.

He flinched when a hand touched the small of his back and gently slid under his wings to rub up and down. Bewildered Grian glanced at the arm and followed it up to Keralis’ smiling face.

“Easy there sweetface. You’re fine.”

Not knowing what to answer and face growing red from the petname, Grian just nodded and looked back down towards the screens. Keralis stopped his movements but never drew his hand away. It rested at the small of Grians back, spanning the whole space. A warm, comforting weight that let Grian lean back a bit without smearing his wings against the backrest.

The meeting was a bit of a chaotic mess. Once Xisuma had officially started it the Hermits were tripping over each other to speak and show each other the stuff that they had found out. Xisuma barely made an effort to reign everyone in. Mostly because he, too, was among the group of people who loved to babble.

It was Impulse who quickly took over and made everyone hush up. And by that point Grian was seriously contemplating sneaking off and hiding out somewhere in the Rift cave. If they had any questions for him they could just send him a message.

It wasn’t like he wasn’t happy to be included for once. He’d been so curious about how the Hermits meetings usually went. And he found it quite endearing how everyone was being so passionate. He just felt like an intruder after Doc had to defend his presence. And some Hermits kept glancing at him. His heartrate was going through the roof and while Keralis’ touch was grounding it didn’t make the situation any less uncomfortable.

Grian never wanted to go home to his own crew so much than he did at this very moment. But he couldn’t even go over to Pearl without drawing attention towards him. Much less get up and leave.

With his head clogged up with anxiety it was hard to follow the meeting, making his presence absolutely useless.

Falses voice emerged from the mutterings Impulse barely kept contained, making Grian perk up. “We can’t keep calling them spongey block, screaming block and odd vase. Come on guys we discovered these! Let’s have some fun naming them!”

Xisuma shifted beside him and hummed with agreement. “That’s right. Pearl, you’ve been looking through the records of the people who were here before us, right? Did they say anything about this?”

Pearl thought for a moment, then shook her head. “There’s been no names that stuck. The only files I have are from the underground hospital. And they are… vague. I don’t think they knew much about what they were dealing with. Just that it was something that had already been here before them. Something alien.”

“Alright. Thank you Pearl. Tango? Impulse? Do you have anything to go by?”

Both Hermits shook their heads. “I just found mines and an axe.” Impulse said, while Tango whispered “I only found a crypt.” his voice hoarse from disuse.

“Okay.” Then Xisuma tilted his head towards Grian and Grians heart forgot how to function for a couple seconds. “Did you find out anything?”

“Uhm…” Grian shrunk a bit under the attention, words evading him. “Not really? The Entity and Rift seemed to know what was going on, though. I can try… well I can try asking them? Kinda? Dunno if they can give me names. They mostly communicate with pictures and feelings.”

“Yes ask them!” Bdubs yelled, getting hushed by Etho, who patted the smaller mans head to make him sit down again.

There were a few other nods and squeals of “yes!” until Grian understood that they wanted him to do it now. Really, what an excitable bunch.

“You all think this is gonna be much cooler than it actually is.” Grian warned before going still and trying to reach out to his two supernatural… uh… attachments?

It was clumsy. Grian had never been the one to reach out first. So he was winging the process. He felt where the Entity and Rift sat dormant in his mind. They were always there these days, lurking around and prodding at him when they wanted something.

It was oddly satisfying to be the one to demand something from them for once. He tried to show them what he wanted to know from them. The inquiry made the two otherworldly beings stir. His mind and body buzzed with their combined presence seeping into his flesh and soul. And he closed his eyes to not get overwhelmed.

He even felt the Entity move from miles away. The pretty rock adjusted its position, huge spiderlegs fidgeting and skittering over the ground, leaving more indents for Grian to clean up.

The visions hit him like lightning. A glittering cosmos, dark veins of infestation contaminating a city. Creatures with no eyes guarding the site and its treasures, trapping the lost souls of their victims. There was far off music, scuttling and clicking. It was dark and then it wasn’t.

Grian came to in Keralis’ lap, Xisuma kneeling in front of him and holding his hands. The other Hermits had surrounded them in an anxious semi-circle. They all seemed to hold their breath, except for Xisuma and Keralis, who were both trying to talk to him.

Coming back from the place the Entity and Rift had dragged him to felt disorientating enough, so Grian had no clue what was going on. “Not that I’m complaining, but why am I being cuddled?”

He was lifted off by Xisuma with a cheer. “Oh thank goodness you’re alright!”

Grian yelped at being manhandled so suddenly and by the admin no less. He scrambled to get a hold on the arms holding him up, head spinning as he was sat down next to Keralis again. “Why shouldn’t I be?” He asked, shaking his head, trying to get it adjusted to reality again.

His confusion was met with a barrage of words, all spoken by different people. The Hermits didn’t seem to be able to choose between being excited or worried about him. And Grian had absolutely no clue why and was starting to feel a little bit stressed by getting so crowded.

Quickly he got up and fluttered over to Mumbo, clinging to his side and hiding under his arm. Cub and Scar were fast to move and shield him from the rest. And Cleos shout of “Everyone shut up and let him breath!” finally got the rest of the Hermits to calm down.

After a few beats of silence Grian dared to peek out from his hiding place. “What was that all about?” There was no use trying to keep his wings in check anymore. They were buzzing with anxiety, coating the ground beneath him with a thick layer of fairy dust.

The small question alone caused a cacophony of noise again, making him duck right back under Mumbos arm. This time it was Doc who yelled at them to shut up, then looking sharply at Xisuma. “You explain.”

The twin growls Cub and Scar let out told Grian that Xisuma had tried to move closer. A move he had hopefully aborted. “Uhm… So Grian? About whatever you just did not being spectacular? I don’t think you’ve ever seen yourself when you… well. Do what you do.”

“What do you mean?”

Grian angled his head just so that he could watch Xisuma, who was currently tapping his fingers against his leg. “Well I don’t think you’ve ever seen yourself, bud. You were freaking us out a little bit.”

“You were all mumbly and glowy!” Bdubs shouted, vibrating with excitement, eyes even bigger than usual.

“If Keralis hadn’t caught you, you would have probably floated off!” Gem explained.

“Huh.” So that’s how he ended up in Keralis’ lap. “Uhm… thanks for worrying? But also sorry for making you worry?”

Several mutters of “It’s okay.” and “I wasn’t that worried.” and “It was pretty cool actually.” came as a reply. And Grian dared to slip out from under Mumbos arm once more. It was a bit harder to get Cub and Scar to let him through a bit, so he could see the whole room again. He ended up with them flanking him, both trying to be casual about it and failing miserably.

Gem bounced on her heels and clapped her hands. “Soooo. Did they tell you anything?”

“Uh… yeah. Kinda? So I didn’t get any names. But the… the Shriekers? Those are like a sound based alarm system. And the blocks with the wavy bits on top? Those are sensors. Up to two shrieks are a warning. Three and that creature is summoned. You keep being loud? More creatures come. They are like… I think they are like some kind of guardians of the place we saw in that big cave. Oh also the squishy void like blocks and the bony vase thingies store the magic of dead souls. Oh and maybe the most important thing!” Grian looked around trying to make eye contact with all of them and lowered his voice.

“It spreads.”

Notes:

Here have some more lore :D
I'm gonna be away travelling for work for the next two weeks, so I'm not going to be able to write much or respond to comments sadly :( But I'll try and keep the regular posting schedule at least!

Also because there was some interest in the Phasmo AU. I'm posting the first chapter of it today! :D

Chapter 23

Cub was very worried about the way Grian had inserted himself in this expedition. He had no idea how the other Hermits couldn’t see it, but the little Allay was way in over his head. And he kept digging a deeper hole for himself.

He still shuddered when he thought about that moment after the diamond pillar fight. Grian had looked so much like a Vex about to strike, back then. Worse because the features had all been off and the magic radiating off of him had been icy, deep and primal in a way that far surpassed Vex magic.

Cub hadn’t been meaning to come off as rude towards the Allay. He was genuinely just trying to look out for him. Yes, maybe his wording had been a bit harsh, but given how Grian didn’t seem to care about his own wellbeing Cub had thought he might try a different, more direct route.

The aggression wasn’t the worst thing that had come out of his miscalculation. Cub didn’t much care if he evoked the ire of one person or another if it meant getting the job done. It was the panic in Grians eyes right after. The one that told Cub that Grian hadn’t done it on purpose, probably hadn’t even thought that he could.

Their small Allay didn’t even seem to notice how much he was changing and fluctuating between magic types. He had no idea what was going on with himself. (Neither had Cub or Scar when they were still changing.)

And they still had let him come with them to the dig site. And Mumbo had still dragged the small fellow to their mother ship without asking for permission from anyone beforehand. And the Hermits had let him stay. They’d urged him to contact the beings in his head!

Cub was trying to be angry at the Hermits for potentially endangering their mission. Instead he found himself hovering protectively next to Grian for the rest of the meeting, barely able to enjoy the process of claiming a discovery and being angry at the Hermits for endangering Grian.

“What do you think Cub?” Scars question came at a bad time, given that Cub had been zoned out for the last fifteen minutes or so.

“Hm?”

Grian squirmed beside him. Somehow they had all found their way back onto the couch, Mumbo in the middle between Scar and Cub, Grian in his lap. “Scar said that the voidy block looks like a starry sky. So it should be called Starblock or Skyblock.”

Scar nodded enthusiastically. “Or cube!”

“That’s a dumb name.” Gem said and some others agreed with her.

Scar glared at her. “You already said that! I wanna hear Cubs opinion, though!” He turned back to his partner and batted his eyes, causing Grian to giggle and Cub to start smirking. “What do you say, daaarling?”

Cub hummed, pretending to think about the question when really he was trying to figure out what he had missed from the point of conversation he had stopped listening to. The whole room was quiet, waiting with baited breath for his answer. Some Hermits were almost vibrating out of their skin with the want to crack another joke or oneliner. But they were all pretty well behaved at this point. At least when it came to the semi professional stuff.

“It’s bad.”

His answer must have been expected and still it caused a roar of laughter and a hefty amount of protest from Scar. “Hey! It’s not! It was a valid suggestion! Much better than Inksponge!”

Hypno threw his hands up in defense. “I was just spitballing!”

“Well so am I!” Scar leaned back with a pout.

Impulse, who was occupying Scars other side, patted him on the shoulder. “We appreciate you Scar.”

Scar crossed his arms with a hrmmpf sound and muttered a “You better” before extending a hand over Grian to grab at Cubs hand.

“Maybe we should go for a new word altogether.” False thought out loud. “I mean we already have a pretty good name for the screaming block from Grian. And the sensors could also just be that. Sensors.”

“Yeah I really like the name Shracker.” Scar nodded.

“It’s Shrieker.” Cub amended. He jumped a bit when he felt two small hands come to lay on the one holding Scars. Looking down he found that Grian had tentatively folded his hands on top of them and was looking anywhere but at the two Vex flanking his side.

It made sense, they had pretty much linked hands in his lap. Having his appendages anywhere else would have been uncomfortable for him. It still warmed something in his chest. He paused at the feeling, wondering what that meant.

“How about fungalium?” Rens voice lifted the silence of everybodies thinking and started a whole other debate.

~~~

“Are all of your meetings this boring?” The words burst out of his mouth as soon as he was back at his base.

Mumbo chuckled behind him. He was patting himself down after the relatively rough landing and busied himself with stroking the fabric of his suit flat. As though it was somehow saveable after Grian had lounged on it for four hours and more. “I told you you aren’t missing much.”

Grian slumped over the nearest rock and painstakingly removed his elytra, letting it thud to the ground with a groan. “The only thing that made this bearable was the cuddles!”

The sound of a shulker box opening beside him made him look up and snort. Mumbo, ever the clean freak, was putting away not only his but also Grians elytra. When Mumbo looked up to see what his friend was cackling about Grian gave him a soft smile, which was soon destroyed by flustered spluttering when Mumbo replied to him.

“You didn’t enjoy the hand holding, then?”

Mumbo laughed at his embarassed squeaks and waddled up to his base, legs not quite working right after supporting Grians weight for so long. Grian heard the retreating footsteps and extracted himself from the rock he was using as a bed. It just felt wrong being alone after so many people had surrounded him not long ago. It reminded him far too much of the deadly silence after jumping through the end portal. Screams and laughter all around him and then suddenly… nothing.

By the time he had managed to heave himself upright and climb up to where the bridge was, Mumbo had already put down another shulker and had gotten out some of the new blocks.

Grian watched Mumbo line them up, fluttering closer. “Watcha doing?”

“Oh well…” Mumbo rubbed his neck, smearing the redstone dust he had just taken out of the shulker all over his skin. “I was thinking! If the Sculk Sensors can pick up sounds maybe they are compatible with redstone. The Shrieker, too. And… hm. Don’t you think the Sculk makes for a rather pretty block?”

The name Sculk was still one Grian wasn’t very happy with. He hadn’t voted against it, though, as everyone had finally agreed on something and Grian just wanted to get the meeting over with. The Hermits could be horribly boring when they were just talking strats and Grian hoped he would be invited to more of these get togethers. Just so he could get some snoozes in of course!

In truth, Grian did think that the Sculk made for a decent decorative block. He had wanted to line the entrance to his basement with them, but hadn’t been sure if it was already allowed. Given how hesitant Mumbo had been about the new stuff it was a bit surprising that he was so eager to try the Sculk things out now. He guessed a named thing was a tamed thing.

Watching his friend do redstone – however – was not something Grian wanted to do after sitting around for so long. No, he wanted to do something himself! Just not alone. Hmmmm.

Throwing one glance at his already thoroughly distracted best friend, Grian started his journey back over the bridge and towards his own base. Once there he rummaged through his vast collection of things. The shulker box full of Sculk intrigued him, but he hesitated to build with it for now. And he wasn’t really feeling up to working on his base at the moment anyway.

But what else could he do?

Chests and shulkers opened and closed as he rubbed his two braincells together really hard in order to come up with something to entertain himself with. He was already regretting leaving Mumbo. He might have been boring to watch, but he could at least pester him about it. Maybe with enough nagging Mumbo would even take pity on him and do something about Grians boredom.

He stopped what he was doing when his eyes caught something pink and white. Gingerly he pulled out the outfit and let out a curious chime. Ren and Cleo had come together to gift him these clothes after his performance during Mumbos welcome back party.

Grian had been overjoyed at the present, if a bit creeped out when he found that it fit him perfectly. Apparently Cleo had a very good eye. And Doc had all his measurements, because of course he did.

He thought back at the interaction he’d had with Cub during the trip down to the ruins. How cute he had looked all bashful and shy. How he had lit up at some of his songs. Would it be too much to make good of his promise and visit him as Ariana? Did he even have all the necessary things to pull this outfit off?

Grian pursed his lips and shook his head. He needed to write Cleo.

Around an hour later Grian was a little bit overwhelmed (again) and fully kitted out to go. He waved goodbye to Joe and Cleo, who were a bit starstruck by his transformation into the superstar. And because Grian was in full attire he instinctually did his signature wink-and-kiss farewell, making both swoon a bit.

Now to the hard part: Finding Cub.

Turned out that he didn’t need to look for long. The first location he looked in – Scars tree – was a golden hit. Grian could already hear the music on his way down the stairs, grin spreading across his face when he heard his own voice floating up at him.

He hopped down the stairs and then leaned on the wall to take a moment to appreciate Cub. The Vex was sitting on his jukebox, eyes closed with a tiny smile and bobbing his head along to the music. His lips were moving with the lyrics and Grian was a little sad that Cub wasn’t outright singing.

Cub looked so good like this, happy, content and fully relaxed. Grian wanted to take a picture and hold it close to his chest for the rest of his life. It felt almost a bit blashemic that he was about to destroy this mans peace. Grian hoped it would be worth it for Cub.

His high heeled shoes clacked against the wooden floor, the purposeful noise catching Cubs attention. Grian had to keep his laughter in when Cubs half lidded eyes landed on him and suddenly grew as wide as saucers.

The poor Vex nearly fell off his jukebox in an attempt to shut off the music, blush forming at Arianas giggle.

“Oh Cub~ I told you all you had to do is ask for a private performance.” Grian – no Ariana – purred and closed the rest of the distance to help turn the music off.

The sudden silence was deafining and only added to the heavy atmosphere in the room. Cub apparently couldn’t decide between wanting to look and wanting to hide. He kept taking quick glances at Ariana, who was patient enough to let him get his bearings.

Cubs eyes ended up resting on Arianas hands and the perfectly manicured fingernails, which were dyed a hot, sparkling pink. “Ariana- I mean Grian...uhm”

Grian for once supressed the urge to touch Cub just because the Vex would probably explode if he did so at this point. But oh did he want to card his fingers through Cubs lush black hair and tip his head up so they could really look at each other.

“You can call me Ariana, dove.” It was so easy to slip into his Ariana personality like this. The speech pattern and overall sweetness came to him immediately, as though he had never stopped being the pop idol.

It made Cub swallow and turn even redder. “Ariana.” He breathed like a prayer, making something in Grian purr in satisfaction. “Where are your wings?”

The genuine confusion made Ariana coo at him. “Safely tucked away under my clothes, don’t you worry about it.”

Cub looked up at him then, the tiniest of frowns marring his handsome features. “Isn’t that bad for you?”

Oh Cub, always trying to make sure Grian didn’t hurt himself. That gaint dumbass. “I’m fine. It’s much more comfortable than having them squished by my elytra. And it’s not like I’m walking around like this all the time.”

Back then, when he was still constantly on tour, he’d worn similar outfits whenever he went out in public as Ariana. No one would have minded if they had known Ariana was an Allay Hybrid. But Grian found it easier to differentiate between the two personalities like that. And it was also easier to hide his true identity. He had wanted to keep his private life, after all.

“Hm.”

Ariana settled down next to Cub on the jukebox, itching to take Cubs hand but not wanting to overwhelm him much more. He really wanted to push further. Grian would have. But Ariana was a much gentler soul. She’d dealt with enough flustered fans to know how to go about situations like this one.

“So dove, you have me here. Is there something in particular you’d like me to do?”

Confusion bubbled up inside of her as Cub buried his head in his hands. Until her wording caught up to her and she mimicked the gesture. She’d meant like sign his record collection! Void!

“I mean-” She croaked only to be interrupted by Cubs muttering. “What was that?”

Cub lifted his head from his hands to look at her again. “Could I… could I maybe ask some questions?”

Ariana relaxed and gave him an encouraging smile. “Of course! Ask away.”

The way Cubs eyes lit up at the promise of knowledge made Arianas heart flutter. She wanted to keep Cub just like that.

“What was your favourite concert to give?”

Oh he was already asking specific questions! Well that made sense, if Cub really was such a huge fan of Ariana, he would have seen most of her interviews and known a lot of the facts already.

“That’s a hard one.” She tapped her bottom lip with a finger in thought. “I think it was the one I gave on MCC, when it was still struggling to establish itself. Nox where such lovely people to work with and it was amazing, everyone was so pumped up already from the championship. And they were all just hollering along to my songs and partying. And the light show and fireworks! I was a bit sad that I never got to give another one there.”

“That was somewhere right at the beginning of your career wasn’t it? That’s the first time I heard you!”

“Oh you were there?!”

Cub grinned and nodded. “I was a participant! A lot of us Hermits are regulars in the championships. Me included.”

He sounded so proud of it and now Ariana had stars in her eyes. “That’s amazing! I always wanted to play. The games look like so much fun!”

“Maybe I’ll be able to get in a good word for you next time I’m there.” Cub winked at her and laughed when she clapped excitedly. “So next question-”

And so it went back and forth, Cub relentless in his pursuit for knowledge. Eventually Cub had slid off of the jukebox and started making a little seating area for them in front of it. And Cub went all out, with fluffy pillows and a cute picnic blanket as well as wine and some snacks.

Only when everything was done did Cub offer his hand for Ariana to take and gently lifted her off the jukebox to guide her to the pillows on the ground. They clanked their glasses together when the door at the top of the stairs opened to reveal Scar.

Both Cub and Ariana froze up and stared at an equally surprised Scar.

“Oh hello there! Don’t mind me, don’t mind me! I’ll just come back another time.”

“Scar-” Both Cub and Ariana started, equally exasperated and fond, but Scar interrupted them with a beaming smile and a wink.

“Nonono, don’t worry about little old me. You go have some quality time together. Don’t do what I wouldn’t do! Goodbyyyeeee!”

And with that Scar turned on the spot on marched right back out. Or tried to. He tripped on the one step he had taken down and faceplanted on the closed door. “You didn’t see that!” Before fumbling with the doorknob and stumbling the rest of the way out.

Ariana and Cub listened to his retreat wincing at the loud crash that followed soon after Scars departure.

“Do you think he’s alright?” Ariana asked, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

Cub shrugged, but found it just as hard not to chuckle at his partners antics. “Probably. I’ll check up on him later.”

Satisfied with the answer Ariana turned back around to Cub and took a sip of the wine. “So what do we do now?”

“I don’t know. You must be getting tired of me asking you so much. Would you… do you mind singing again? To me?”

“To you? Always. I mean I don’t mind at all! Do you per chance have the karaoke version of my songs?”

Cub flushed again, an expression Ariana was starting to get addicted to. “I do.”

He stood up to carefully sort through his collection and Ariana let out an impressed whistle. “You’ve gotten nearly every album I ever sold!”

“I only missed your first album when it came out, I think. At least I don’t have the first edition cover.”

“Would you want me to sign any of these?”

Cub shook his head and pulled out the karaoke version he’d been looking for. “No. I… I don’t know. It would seem weird now. With you being here and so much closer. I’d rather…”

Ariana leaned on the jukeboxe and tilted her head. “You’d rather what?”

Going over the songs Cub pursed his lips before slipping the disk into the player. “I don’t know. Sing for me?”

And so Ariana sang. She might have given her everything into the performance, even though she wasn’t on stage and couldn’t dance around like she usually would. She followed the flow of the music with her arms and hands, though, he body swaying to the beat as she serenated the Vex in front of her.

She sang one song, then two and three, going down the list of songs she knew by heart until she couldn’t keep still anymore and tugged Cub up for him to dance with her. Her Vex stuttered and tripped over his own two feet at first, but quickly caught himself and twirled her around.

Ariana felt herself be lifted up right after and when her feet touched the floor again, Cub had firmly planted himself in the lead and her head was swimming. Now it shouldn’t have been such a huge shock that Cub was a good dancer. Allay culture was very peticular about their myriads of dances and songs.

It was still a surprise, though. A very pleasant one. Being able to fall into a hold and know that you would be caught and swept along- It made her heart go faster.

And Cub- Cub was a sight. He was beaming at her for the first time since they met, looking at her as though she had hung the moon and stars. So many people had looked at her like that in her lifetime. And yet she’d never felt so much happiness upon receiving it.

Another song ticked over and Ariana started laughing. She went up on her tip toes to brush their noses together and whispered “You’ll have to sing this one with me.”

Immediately that blush came back. “I can’t-”

“Hush, it’s all in good fun. Please?”

She knew she had won even before Cub opened his mouth and began to sing the opening lyrics of his part. His voice was far from the standard attractive Ariana was used to hearing from singers. It had a certain clang to it that made it very unique.

Ariana immediately became addicted to the sound.

Their dance slowed down with the music, movements becoming smaller and less sudden as the rhythm grew gentle until they almost came to a full stop. They were doing small steps, back and forth Arianas hands on Cubs shoulders, with him gently holding onto her hips.

They gazed at each other singing their lines in reverent whispers, as though they were telling secrets. Eventually they ended up closing their eyes, foreheads resting against each other, even the small steps aborted for gentle swaying.

When the song ended and the next one started up neither of them felt the need to pick up the pace again. They stood and swayed and breathed each other in. And Ariana could have died happily if Scar hadn’t been missing in this moment.

Cub nuzzled against her and she hummed with delight. Then her eyes fluttered open in shock when she felt chapped lips briefly graze hers. Cub immediately drew back, if only far enough to give them both some breathing room.

They both blinked at each other owlishly, not quite back to reality. Ariana saw the moment Cub realized what he had done and decided not to comment on it further.

“I uh…” Cub let go of her and cleared his throat looking panicked and a little bit guilty. “I… this was…”

Ariana sighed and walked over to the jukebox to cut off the music. She knew there would be no more dancing tonight. Maybe never. “I enjoyed myself very much. I hope you did, too.”

“Yeah…”

She squeezed his shoulder as she went by him. “You want to go see how Scar is doing now?”

“I… yes. Yes I better… do that.”

“Well!” She said a bit more peppy than she felt. “I better get going then. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Wait!”

She hadn’t thought Cub would reach out for her again. And her legs were starting to feel like jelly from… everything. She winced when her ankle collapsed to the side and she nearly fell, only stabilized by Cubs hold on her. “You alright?”

She waved him off with a smile. “Yes, yes. Just surprised me. I’m all good. What did you want?”

“Do you mind spending some time with us? Scar probably baked out of boredom. And I don’t want to be the only one eating cake again.”

Ariana hesitated, trying to read Cubs body language and failing. “You’d want that?”

“Very much.”

The ball of anxiety in her stomach relaxed. “Alright then. Lead the way.”

Notes:

I love writing Ariana so much. Her and Cub always turn out so mushy.

Sorry for the late update this time. I'm still travelling and my anxiety is at an all time high. I couldn't do a lot yesterday. Thank the stars Secret Life exists. It's my only lifeline at the moment. I love that Grian is back at his needy boyfriend arc again. And I'm so excited to find out with whom he'll partner in the end. If he will do so at all. Someone please adopt the poor lonely birb. He's already obsessing over eggs again.

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments! You guys are amazing! <3

Chapter 24

It was sweet that Cub had tried not to be rude for once. They’d gone up to find Scar cuddled up on the couch with Jellie, the smell of freshly baked goods wafting from the kitchen. He lit up when he saw them and Jellie wasn’t happy when she was moved from his lap so he could stand to greet them.

His cheerful “Did you have a good time?” made guilt twist in Arianas stomach. And she didn’t know whether it was her bad concience or Cubs. Or Scars confusion about how he should treat and address Grian as Ariana, but the time she spent with them felt awkward and tense. So she made up a bad excuse about having to air out her wings and left.

Back at her own base she slowly changed her clothes and washed away everything that made her Ariana. A ritualistic change Grian had performed often because he felt like his head couldn’t keep up with the sudden shift in personality otherwise.

His base was too quiet. The silence and lack of anything to do gave his mind too much room to think. Grian hugged himself and grit his teeth against the oncoming tears. Suddenly everything that had happened crashed upon him like waves. How lovely Cub had been. The feather light kiss on Grians lips. The pleasant conversation. The dancing. The singing.

Cub had finally been so sweet to him, showed affection and adoration without annoyance threatening to take over any second. But Grian had not been Grian. Grian had been Ariana. Cubs idol.

What did that mean for them? Was his only chance at gaining Cubs favour changing fully into Ariana? But Scar wouldn’t like that. Scar obviously liked him better as Grian.

Should Grian want that? Want to change just for someone to love him?

No. As much as Grian liked being Ariana he could never just be her. She was a nice breath of fresh air. A beloved character he liked to take out and play as. But she wasn’t him. Not enough to be able to take over his life.

He shouldn’t be thinking like that in the first place! Just look at what he had done! He made Cub cheat on Scar! And now what? He was scheming on how to get them both? How disgusting.

“Mumbo?” His voice wavered as he called out to his friend. The huge black stone vault towered menacingly over him as he crept up to it. “Are you there?”

There was no reply. Not even the light snores Grian usually heard in the dead of the night. The few torches that were strewn about were enough to savely navigate over their shared bridge. It was also enough to see the mess at the front door, which was still just a gaint hole.

Grian frowned down at the odd formation of Sculk and redstone. It looked like Mumbo had tried to do a circuit. There was redstone dust sprinkled on top of Sculk. It looked like a bizarre birthday cake. Grian hoped Mumbo didn’t lick his fingertips again. He had a bad habit of doing so and more often than not ended up accidently eating redstone dust.

He probably should have supervised Mumbo after all. If he had then he wouldn’t have caused so much trouble again. What was done, was done, though. Grian prayed that Cub and Scar would talk it out and not let it get between them.

Whatever the consequences were for Grian…

“Bed. I should just go to bed.” Grian grumbled, stepping through the half build walls of the vault and collapsed on the bed. He hated how there was no warm body there to latch onto. But it probably served him right. Given what he had done he shouldn’t be allowed to have nice things.

~~~

Scar wondered what was going on. He had been so thrilled that his two favourite people got to spend some quality time with each other! Cub had always been so grumpy about visiting Grian, almost as though it was more of a chore than a pleasure. Somehow Grian dressing up as Ariana made all the difference. Scar had taken one look at the two of them and knew they were having a great time.

And while he would have usually inserted himself in the little playdate, Scar didn’t really get the appeal of Ariana. Sure Grian looked amazing dressed up like that. And it wasn’t like Grian stopped being Grian. It was just a bit confusing. Cub obviously addressed Grian in a different fashion when he was Ariana. And Grian held himself differently, too.

So Scar didn’t quite know how to act around Ariana. That didn’t mean that he could make the two of them this awkward around him, right? He had been so delighted when the both of them had come up to him to share the rest of the night with him. But something had been off and then Grian left them very suddenly and Cub wouldn’t look him in the eye.

Something was going on. And Scar, knowing himself and his antics, was sure that it had nothing to do with him this time. Well he was 90 percent sure. Sometimes he forgot stuff.

Cub had retreated towards the kitchen to clean up Scars mess. And Scar had followed him into the room, leaning heavily on the doorframe to watch him putter around the cramped space. “So how did it go?”

A burning question that Cub apparently didn’t want to answer if his unintelligable mumbling was anything to go by.

Scar moved forward to hug his partner from behind, making Cubs breath hitch. “What was that, love?~”

The hands that had been cleaning the dishes came up to clutch at Scars. “I… I messed up Scar. I’m so sorry.”

Not liking the distress in Cubs voice Scar nuzzled Cubs neck and hummed. “What happened?”

“I…” The next word was a mere croak and Scar pulled him tighter against himself. Weirdly enough he wasn’t worried. A little confused, but he doubted Cub would reveal anything mind shattering.

“Go on.”

“I’m so sorry, Scar.”

“I don’t know what you are apologizing for, love. You need to talk to me.”

“I kissed Ariana.”

Scars mind came to a full stop. He blinked at the dishes in the sink, waiting for some kind of reaction from his body. For the rage. For the jealousy to bubble up as it always did whenever someone else touched his loved ones. For the Vex in his head to scream. And the Vex did stir to life. Only they weren’t loud about it. They were almost… purring.

Instead of hurt there was an overwhelming wave of relief. A sort of “finally” that nearly slipped out of his mouth. And wasn’t that… something.

“You kissed our Grian?” He asked, just to be sure he heard that right.

Cub nodded. “I did. I’m so-”

“Can I have a kiss, too?”

Cub choked on the next words he had wanted to say. Probably more sorry’s. “You what? You want me to?”

“Well of course! It’s only fair right? Grian gets kisses. I get kisses.”

Cub turned in Scars hold, showing shock and bewilderment. “You’re not mad?”

“No?” Scar said, not really sure why, either. “Unless you won’t smooch me right now.” It probably wasn’t the best way to go about it all. Scar was aware that this was not usually how these sorts of situations went. But Cub and Scar had never been a conventional couple. And Scar sure as hell didn’t want to start acting like one now.

Thankfully Cub gladly followed through with Scars command and pulled him into a harsh kiss, which Scar had to soften up until they were both breathing each other in. Scar smiled at the love of his life, his partner in crime and got a tentative smile back.

“How aren’t you mad at me?”

Scar pulled back at the question and moved to take a seat at the kitchen table. “I don’t know. And believe me, I’m about as flatterbasted- flapper- flabberbasket- ugh as confused as you are by it.”

The chair opposite him creaked as Cub sat down as well, fiddling with his hands in a rare show of nervousness. “I’m still sorry. I berated you for playing with Grians mind. For being too possessive. And here I am-”

“Does that mean-”

“That still doesn’t make what you did okay.” Cub interrupted him firmly.

Scar chuckled. “Was worth a try. But let’s don’t focus on what I did wrong. Let’s focus on what you did wrong, eh?” The way Cub hunched in on himself made Scar smile softly at his partner. “Oh Cubby don’t be like that. I said I wasn’t angry at you. And honestly, now that I think about it, it was really just a matter of time, wasn’t it?”

Cub gave him an incredulous look. “What?!”

Kicking back on his chair and nearly falling over, Scar threw out his arms with a laugh. “I mean it was either me or you!”

It was starting to make sense! Everything was falling into place. Scar didn’t have to deny anything now, not to himself and not to Cub. They were on even ground again! Although Cub seemed to lag behind a bit.

“What? How?!”

Scar let himself fall forward again, wincing when his elbows hit the table too hard. “We’ve both been very bad at leaving Grian alone, no?”

Cub nodded, nose still scrunched up in adorable confusion. “Yes?”

Scar ticked off more evidence for his logic. “You’ve been worried sick about his health, right?”

“Yeah, I mean-”

“And I was so worried about him finding us scary at first and then I got really worried that Mumbo would steal him away.”

They both growled at the thought and Scar cheered. “Hah! There! Now Cub answer me this: If I kissed Grian in front of you, how would you feel?”

“Jealous.” Came the immediate response.

“Of whom?”

Cub opened his mouth and then closed it. “Uhm.”

Scar didn’t give him time to think, he was too excited by this. “What if I kissed you right after? Would you be good then?”

He was really giving Cubs brain a workout here. “I- maybe?”

“And Grian? If he came up to you and-”

“Scar!” Cub stopped him, holding out his hand. “Slow down. Are you implying-”

“I think-” Scar pointed up and held his other hand against his chest.

“That’s always a dangerous thing coming from you.” Cub couldn’t help but tease, making Scar giggle and break character for a second.

“Cub shush! I’m trying to say something here!” He laughed. “I think, we’ve kind of accidently already half claimed Grian as ours. Without realizing. Mind. I would have spoken to you about it, had I known.” It made so much sense! All these emotions and instincts riling them up. Wasn’t that how they had been about each other at first? Jealous and protective and overly possessive until they had settled into a comfortable partnership, instincts sated with a simple mating bite and mingled Vex magic.

Not that either of them couldn’t get jealous anymore. There had been that odd situation two worlds ago where Cub had nearly perma-murdered Bdubs after the mossy man had inserted himself as close advisor to Scar. But that whole fiasco had turned into an absolute train wreck for a whole different reason later on. Which had probably been a good thing because it had distracted Cub from his scheming.

“I’m not sure…” Cub interrupted his musings. Apparently it didn’t make as much sense to him as it did to Scar.

Scar regarded his partner for a moment. “It’s just a hunch. And really, can you blame us? Grian- He’s a very affectionate fellow. He’s cute.”

Cub pursed his lips and huffed, crossing his arms. Scar reached out to him to squish his cheeks. “Very cute!”

Scars hands were swatted away. “I guess he is.”

“And he’s a prankster.”

Cub let out a breathy laugh. “That he is.”

“He’s your angel Ariana.” Scar couldn’t help but tease, making Cub blush. “He fits.”

“Does he? Scar-”

“It’s okay if you’re not sure yet.” Scar interrupted him again, taking Cubs hands into his. “I’m always going to be yours first. If you don’t think it’s a good idea than I’ll drop it. Heck I just came up with this! I could be wrong! But I think it’s something to think about.”

Cub was silent letting Scar rub his thumb over his knuckles as he thought. “You’re not mad I kissed Ariana.” He started up again, looping around to the beginning.

Scar sighed feeling like he had made no progress at all. And here everyone thought he was the oblivious one! No one gave him the credit he deserved! Absolutely no one! If people knew who was doing the emotional labour in this relationship they would be shocked! Shocked!

“Does it make a difference for you? Kissing Ariana instead of Grian?” That would make this whole thing even more complicated. And for a brief moment Scar worried- but then Cub shook his head.

“No… No Grian is Ariana just with more… and less…”

“Very eloquant Cub.”

“Eloquent.”

“Don’t patronise me, mister! You’re the man with few words!”

Cub caught the hand that had lifted to point at him. “Do you think Grian kisses other people?”

Something vicious threatened to climb up his throat at the thought. And the Vex in his head screamed, furious. “Like Mumbo?”

“Maybe. Or Ren.”

The grimace Scar was currently making was not a pretty one. But he tried to calm himself down. “I don’t think so.”

Cub tilted his head. “Not even Mumbo?”

Scar pouted. “No.”

“We shouldn’t assume, though. As you said, Grian is affectionate.”

Scar snarled. “I don’t want him to-”

“But it’s a possibility. I just… I’m not saying I’m not thinking about it. But remember that this isn’t just a choice between you and me. We can’t just… take him. As much as the Vex in our heads might like that idea.”

Scar slumped over the table, hitting his chin on the surface with a groan. “You don’t think he loves us?”

Why wouldn’t he? They were great! And he’d get two for one! It was an amayzing deal!

Cub patted him on the head. “I don’t know. I don’t know a lot right now. How about we let everything sink in first? Sleep over it and then come back to this sometime later? You might still want to scream at me in the morning.”

Scar looked up to waggle his eyebrows at him with a grin, making Cub groan. “Not like that. The angry screaming.”

Scar scoffed but painstakingly picked himself up from the position he had slumped into. “I doubt it. But lead the way. All this talking made me exhausted. And I’m still waiting to hear from you about how that first date with Grian went!”

“Scar! It wasn’t a date!”

~~~

Grian woke up to a searing pain in his chest and the Rift and Entity nearly tearing his mind apart with their screeching. Disorientated he reached out, feeling weak and barely able to move. His hand landed on an all too familiar chest, eyes getting adjusted to the unnatural darkness surrounding him to see Mumbo above him with his maw open.

No that was wrong. Grians breath hitched, the scream that wanted to get out turning into silent air as it was sucked from him. Mumbo didn’t look like Mumbo anymore. His eyes were black, irises a terrifying electric blue. Sculk had crept over his face, framing it in black and his mustache had turned into shiny blue whiskers.

His mouth was opened up too wide, the teeth in there too many and too sharp. Grian could have easily looked down his throat if it hadn’t been for the fact that there was nothing in there. Just a gaping darkness begging to be filled.

There was a string of something translucent coming up from his own mouth, travelling lazily into Mumbo. Grian felt whatever it was being torn from him and panicked. The Rift screamed for him, enraged, if that was even possible.

Thick ropes of magic had fastened around him, trying to keep Mumbo from stealing what wasn’t his. It was a horrible tug of war and Grian was the rope. Or not him exactly, just what was within him.

Grian weakly tried to push his friend off, coordination almost nonexistent. One hand managed to catch Mumbos jaw and pushed, trying to close the mouth. His own lips were moving, spitting out silent pleas.

The Rift was plunging into him now. He could feel the alien magic enter him through every pore of his body. It lashed out and Grian finally did scream, the sonic wave ripping Mumbo from him.

Mumbos maw snapped shut and the thin rope of almost smoke got cut by sharp teeth. It felt like someone had just bitten off one of his limbs and Grian screamed again. Now free Grian struggled to sit up, breathing heavily and gazing terrified at the monster Mumbo had become.

And Mumbo gazed back, eyes switching back and forth from normal back to blue, equally terrified. “Grian- oh no I’m so-”

Grian didn’t wait for him to finish. The Entity was calling to him and Grian darted off not caring that it was still the middle of the night. He shouldn’t have been able to fly. He didn’t have his elytra on. And yet when he opened up his wings they were big and powerful enough to boost him up into the sky.

He soured through the night like a comet, the tail he left behind glimmering violet. He crash landed on the Entity’s back and curled up immediately, panting and holding his aching chest. The stone under him shifted to create an opening and fleshy vines caught him before he could fall.

Grian let himself be shifted until he lay in a nest of pulsing vines, whimpering at the sharp pain that was coursing through his body. His breath was still too fast, his mind full and blank at the same time, unable to process what had just happened.

He’d just been asleep. And then Mumbo-

Grian cried out at another stab that shot through his heart and spread through his body, curling up more as though that would somehow ease the pain.

He needed to call Xisuma. Something was wrong with Mumbo. Something had happened with the Sculk. But he didn’t have his communicator on him-

The air around him flickered and grew icy cold. And then a vine plopped his communicator in front of him. With shaky hands he reached for it and searched for Xisumas name in his contacts. When he had finally found it he hit call.

The beeping merged with Grians sobs as he waited, praying for the admin to pick up despite the late hour.

Grian had never been so relieved about hearing Xisumas disgruntled voice. “Grian? It’s really late, dude. What’s wrong?”

“X!” Grian sobbed, hugging the communicator to his chest, the vines surrounding him holding him tighter in return. “Help! Something’s wrong with Mumbo! He- He… Please help!”

Notes:

Angst incoming :D Enough fluff for now~ (don't worry there will be comfort, too)

Who else is going crazy over the Life Series right now btw? Scar and Grian sang a duet! A duet!!! And the new alliance ahhhh. And there are so, so many call backs to earlier seasons. They are such a beautiful mess of deeply confused and goofy people and I love how this season is kind of like a sitcom (somehow even more of one than Limited Life).

Chapter 25

Xisuma hoped he would never hear Grian in so much pain again. After the first babbled pleas he immediately went to wake up Keralis and shot Doc a message while he tried to calm down the distressed Allay.

It was hard to get anything coherent from him. He was clearly hurt and panicking and try as he might Xisuma couldn’t get his current location out of him. Trying to find him via the GPS system didn’t work either. The trusty method failed because the coordinates kept glitching, something intervering with his signal. Trying it the old fashioned way through touching into the worlds magic also didn't help. There was a heavy cloud of alien interference, odd magic twisting and struggling in his grasp, effectively sabotaging his attempts at localizing their fellow Allay.

Which could mean only two things: Either Grian was at the Rift or at the Entity. Xisuma hoped his first hunch was correct. Keralis and him quickly flew towards Grians base, Xisuma getting a message from Doc mid-flight. He ignored the ping in order to get to his destination faster. And to not faceplant into the nearest tree. He’d learned the hard way that flying and reading was not a good combination.

They landed on the bridge, hearing crying and Docs low voice booming through the night. It came from the vault and both Xisuma and Keralis darted towards it. What he saw inside broke Xisumas heart. Doc was cradling Mumbo in his arms, the hold both gentle and tight enough to be restricting. He had Mumbos head firmly tucked under his chin, trying in vain to calm the younger Hermit down.

And Mumbo… Mumbo looked horrible. Deformed with limbs too long and Sculk running all over his body. X knew immediately what had gone wrong and cursed himself. He should have learned from past mistakes. He should have known that this could be a very real possibility.

They shouldn’t have let Mumbo touch any of the Sculk, what with Mumbos tendency to lick his fingers and eat things he shouldn’t. And then turn into things he shouldn’t.

Both Mumbo and Doc looked up at their arrival and Mumbo shifted in Docs hold, a fresh wave of tears spilling over. “Xisuma! I… I think I hurt Grian. Is he?”

“It’s okay.” Xisuma was quick to shush him, bending down to gently bonk their heads together. The thought of infestation was a fleeting one and was easily overpowered by the urge to comfort. “He called. He’s safe.” He didn’t know that, but he didn’t want to make Mumbo panic further. “I’m going to him now.”

“Tell him I’m sorry! I’m not… I don’t feel like myself-”

Doc rumbled above him, holding him tighter. “We know. We’ll get through this. Just like last time.”

Mumbo twitched in his embrace, half trying to get away from the touch. “I tried to… I’m so… so empty. I tried to- no I got. I ate his soul, X! Or… Not all of it. I can feel it. In me. It’s… I can feel him somewhere else. The other part. Oh gosh, I think I’m going to throw up.”

And Mumbo promptly did so, tipping over and emptying his stomach. What came out was looking good. Disgusting but like normal food stuff. Nothing black or void like.

Xisuma hated leaving Mumbo like this, but Grian was still alone and hurting somewhere. Keralis bumped shoulders with him. “Go find our Brian. I’ll stay here and help Doc with Mumbo.”

They would have to isolate him again. And they needed to do it quick. X nodded at Keralis. “Thank you. Keep me updated.”

“I will.” Keralis promised, shooing him off.

Xisuma didn’t hestitate any further. Grian had been alone for long enough. And the call had gone silent. Not a good sign. The Rift was a bust. It stood lonely and menacingly in the cave, casting everything in a pinkish glow. It was brighter than usual and the air was so thick with magic that even Xisumas air purifier had a hard time making the air breathable.

He was quick to back out of the cave again. He had a feeling that he’d overstayed his welcome in just these few seconds he’d been there. His next stop was the shopping district. The Entity was thankfully still where it usually stood. But here, too, there was no Grian in sight.

Getting his communicator close to his helmet, Xisuma tried to get some help from the Allay again. “Grian? Are you still there? Can you hear me?”

Rustles and some sniffling. “Yeah.”

Xisuma breathed a sigh of relief. “I need you to help me find you.”

There were some wet, disgusting noises Xisuma shuddered at, alarm bells going off in his head. “I…” Grian swallowed hard, breath hitching. “I’m at the Entity.”

Finally! But that didn’t make any sense. “I’m at the Entity right now. I don’t see you.”

“’m inside.”

Inside? Xisuma furrowed his brow and flew a loop over the Entity. There was no entrance and he doubted the Entity would be happy about him taking out his pickaxe and making one. Touching back down he gingerly tapped at one of the legs, feeling the ground shake beneath him in answer.

“Uhm… Entity? Can you let me in to see if my friend is okay?”

A wave of pure…. What was it? Negativity? Was shoved against him. Like a gaint “No” slapped right into his face. Magic curled and tugged at him, pushing him away. There were needles in his brain.

Xisuma winced and fought against the storm. “Grian! Grian please tell the Entity to calm down and let me in. I’m not a threat!”

There was silence from the other end. And then the tugging stopped and the pressure in his skull subsided. The Entity rumbled above him, one gaint leg scratching at the ground. A hole opened up in its belly, red sludge dripping from it.

Xisuma readied himself to fly up, but before he could get a rocket out a red vine shot out of the hole and snatched him up. The scream he let out in surprise was girlish in pitch and almost destroyed his vocal chords.

The hole closed as soon as he was inside. The ground he bounced on was fleshy and disgustingly wet. The whole space was a grotesque parody of a living beings inside. It reminded Xisuma a bit of the Nether. Of the red warped forests. Only squishier.

The light levels were about the same, too. Xisuma had no problems finding Grian in the small space. He was curled up in a nest of vines, red seeping into his pyjamas. He was pale, eyes sunken and glassy and he was far too still. The shock must have fully kicked in by now.

Slowly Xisuma approached the small Allay, keeping an eye on the vines. They pulsed and shifted, but didn’t attack him as he got closer. So Xisuma climbed up the pile and sat down next to Grian. The vines under him twitched when he touched the Allay, but settled soon after.

It seemed to be enough that Grian had leaned into Xisumas touch, sluggishly blinking up at the admin. Xisuma let his gaze quickly roam over him, relieved when he found no physical injuries on his friend. All that red must have come from the Entity.

Finally having found him, Xisuma could quit the call and tend to Grian in person. Despite what his eyes told him he let his hands reassure him further, carefully patting down Grians body. Just to make sure that he didn’t overlook anything.

Grian croaked out an exhausted hum in response, wings starting to buzz with anxiety. Xisuma was quick to shush him, using his thumbs to rub the tears from his eyes.

“Hey. It’s okay. You’re safe. Did you listen in on what Mumbo said?”

Grian took a while to process his words. He stared blankly at him for far too long, but eventually nodded and looked away. As though he had anything to feel guilty about.

“Good.” Xisuma praised him and frowned when Grian just started to curl up again. He hated to take his helmet off, but… He wanted Grian to feel comfortable with him right now. And he knew his helmet prevented him from reading very important facial clues. So with a hiss the helmet was taken off. Breathing got about ten times harder immediately.

Grian tracked his movements, sluggish at first, but then with more and more interest. His eyes lost a bit of that glassy look as they flitted over Xisumas features. The Allay let out an interested chime and leaned in closer.

It made a warm wave of endearment wash over Xisuma. Grian was truly precious, when he was being curious. The little Allay was not the least bit shy in his approach whenever he wanted to know something.

One of Grians hands found its way to Xisumas chest feeling out the rattled breaths he took.

“It’s okay.”

Grian shot him a doubtful look, but retreated back into his former position and clutched at his own chest again.

“Are you in pain?”

It was a dumb question. Xisuma mentally hit himself for it. Grian gave him a tiny nod, anyway, too tired to properly judge.

Xisuma hated how out of his depth he was in this. He could tap into the magic of the world and twist it to make it safer for his Hermits. As long as they stayed long enough in one world for him to get attuned to it properly. He could aid worlds in providing infinite respawns. He could make barriers to ward off possible threats from the Void.

But he couldn’t heal a broken soul. Heck he didn’t even know what that meant.

And Grian and Mumbo didn’t know either. They were both lost and scared and Xisuma wished that he could do more. The Entity was much better at this. It looped its vines around Grians frail form and held him tight. It comforted and protected as much as a semi sentient piece of rock could.

Xisuma could only sit there and listen to Grians breath hitch every now and again. His next question sounded about as foolish as the first. “Is there any way I can help you?”

The shrug and broken noise was expected. Of course Grian wouldn’t know. Xisuma should. He was the admin. He was supposed to make sure things like this didn’t happen!

I’m so sorry I failed you. Xisuma desperately wanted to say. He didn’t. That apology was for later, when Grian would have the energy and mental space to process it. Right now it would only be a burden. And Xisuma had it rather be a burden on him than on Grian.

“Do you want anything? Should I get you something? Or do you want to go somewhere else?”

Grian thought about it. At least the continued questioning seemed to help him concentrate on staying present. “Potion? Maybe?… Strength? Feel weak.”

“Of course! Of course wait let me see if I-” Xisuma slid down the nest of vines to place his enderchest down. It was a bit like an emergency survival kit doubling as a first aid kit. Dealing with Scar and Cub after having first found them lost and half feral on some abandoned planet had made Xisuma prepared for most accidents. And Scars inherent clumsiness and knack for getting stuck in death loops had taught him a few things more.

A strength potion was quickly found among his stock and Grian took it with only a hint of hesitation. It was always fascinating, how quick potions worked their magic. There was already a bit of a spark back in Grians eyes.

Xisuma gave him a healing and regen potion as well, happy to see the ashen skin turn rosy once more.

The potions gave Grian enough energy to crawl out of the safety of the Entitys embrace. Xisuma still had to catch him when he slid on the wet and uneven floor. Grian immediately latched onto him and didn’t let go. And Xisuma had no qualms about picking him up and wrapping him in a tight hug.

“Still hurts.” Grian complained, rightfully so.

“I’m sorry.”

Grians grip only tightened as he let out a hopeless sob. “’m empty.”

Xisuma carefully lowered himself, mindful not to disturb the precious bundle in his arms. “You won’t be for long. I promise I’ll find a way to help you through this.”

Could souls regrow? Xisuma prayed that that was the case. If not then… then… He would think of something. He would stitch Grians soul back together himself if he had to. And had Grians permission. Grian had gone through enough unwilling alterations already. Xisuma would not add to them.

The trembling had grown stronger again. And Xisuma could do nothing but hold on and try to sooth Grian. The vines from the Entity slithered around them, some drawing close and hesitantly reaching for the Allay. They were attempting to imitate Xisuma, trying to provide what they didn’t know how to feel.

Xisuma smiled at them, lungs burning and heart aching for his friend. At least they were all helpless together.

~~~

Scar had woken up thinking the days ahead would be brighter. He felt that with their feelings and instincts finally sorted out, the rest would just fall into place. The veil was lifted. The stage was set. Now they just needed to act.

Mumbo had no chance of beating them to Grians heart!

Instead he woke up to Cub shaking him far too early in the morning. He swatted his partners hand away and turned his back to him with a muttered “no”.

Sometimes, when Cub was feeling kind, that little gesture was enough to gift him with at least 5 more minutes. Today was no such day.

“Scar! Get up. Emergency meeting.”

Now those words were not something Scar wanted to hear only seconds after regaining consciousness. He prayed for Cubs sake that this wasn’t some sort of evil prank. Or he might actually want to scream at him in the not fun way.

“What? Whyyy.” Scar whined, but made an attempt to get up.

Cub had vanished from his side as soon as Scar had moved to sit. He was already dressed, glasses a bit askew on his nose and tie crooked, but much further along in his preparation than Scar was. “I don’t know. The message just said emergency meeting at 10.”

Scar took the time to rub his eyes and yawn. “How late is it?”

“9:50.”

“Damn it.” Why such a meeting on such short notice? Didn’t Xisuma know that some of them were prone to sleeping in?

It ruined his morning to have to hurry so much and he was in a foul mood when they made it to the designated meeting spot, full Vex aspect on display showing everyone how not amused he was.

Cub had himself together a bit more. He took these things seriously. And maybe Scar should, too. It was apparent that something had gone very wrong by the fact that Keralis was greeting them and telling them to sit, not Xisuma.

Keralis also wasn’t smiling. Keralis was always smiling.

Most Hermits had made it in time. Only Xisuma, Mumbo and Doc were missing. And Grian, but Grian had only been allowed to a meeting once and that was under special circumstances (aka Mumbo dragging him into it without permission).

None of the Hermits were happy to be called away from whatever they had been doing. A lot of them valued their sleep, when they weren’t hyperfixating on a project and decided to throw the need for sleep out entirely.

Others, like Tango, just didn’t like to be forced away from their work.

They were all antsy and tense, grumbling and muttering to each other. Keralis shushed them gently, his soothing voice working its magic and calming the Hermits down.

Keralis gave them a terse smile, unable to recreate the brightness of his normal ones. “I know. I’m sorry that I had to summon you all here in this rushed fashion. But something happened last night that you all need to be aware of.”

“What happened?” False asked, hand already resting on the handle of her sword.

Keralis took a big breath. And now that Scar was worried enough to pay attention and actually care about what he saw, he noticed how shaken Keralis looked. “Grian was attacked last night. By Mumbo.”

Gasps and shocked whispers rose up in answer. Scars heart stuttered, panic quickly washing through him and making him shudder and flex his wings. The Vex started screaming in his head, so loud he had to strain his ears to still hear what was being said around him.

Cub reached for his hand and squeezed tight enough to hurt, grounding him. The grimace on his face told Scar that he had the same problem. It was so clear now, how much they cared for their little Allay. One word of Grian being hurt and they were itching to fight, to fly off in search of him.

Gem beat them to the important question, though. “Is he alright?”

Keralis shook his head. “No. No he’s not. Apparently Mumbo ate part of his soul? We’re… unsure if that is really the case. Or what that might mean. No! Scar, Cub, stay put! That goes for you, too, Pearl! Everyone calm down please I’m not done explaining!”

It was very rare that Keralis unravelled to show himself as anything else but human. But there was a reason he and Xisuma were so close and why Keralis was second in command when it came to emergencies.

The air around them pressed down and dark tendrils of the Void sprung from Keralis’ shadow to cage them in and keep them from leaving. Scar froze up immediately, Vex quietening down at the sight of a much bigger predator so close by.

When everyone had hushed up again Keralis drew back a bit, but still blocked out most of the sun. He cleared his throat to compose himself and continued with his explanation. “Xisuma is with Grian at the moment, keeping him company. He told me that Grian is being sheltered by the Entity at the moment. It seems the Entity is very protective right now and will probably deny anyone entry who dares to come near. Xisuma had to have Grians explicit permission to come in and even that was a struggle. So just… don’t rush in and start a fight. Xisuma says Grian needs time to calm down right now. It won’t do him good if you crowd him.”

He paused for a moment, letting the new information sink in, before starting up again. “As for Mumbo, he’s with Doc. It’s probably a case similar to the Mycelium incident two worlds ago. But we can’t be sure. We don’t know what the Sculk does. So it will be for the best if no one does anything with the new blocks until we can figure out what happened.”

“Where’s Mumbo, exactly?” Tango asked, flaming tail swishing anxiously from side to side, flames burning a brighter blue than usual.

There was no question about whether they could see him or not. If it was another incident, then Mumbo would need the solitude to figure his body out and change back. What that would do to the part of Grians soul that he had ingested, no one knew.

Keralis was still hesitant to answer the question. He was probably worried that Mumbo could be swarmed as well, whether it was by concerned Hermits or angry Vex. “He’s… He’s at Docs perimeter at the moment. But he won’t be staying there. Doc is waiting for him to calm down enough to get him to one of the smaller space ships. He’ll be orbiting us for a while. And once he feels safe enough to come down he can. In the meantime we’ll be analysing the Sculk to make sure this isn’t an infection. Once Doc is free I’ll message you. Everyone who got in contact with it will go to him for an examination. If it really is one than we won't need to worry about isolation. We were all in contact with each other at some point, so slowing down a possible spread is probably already impossible. Pearl you know a bit more about it. Would you be willing to assist in examining everyone?”

Pearl couldn’t make her voice work. Her lips were glued together, face as pale as the moon. But her glare was fierce as she nodded.

And just like that, the meeting was dismissed. Keralis drew back his tendrils after one last warning to let both Mumbo and Grian recover in peace. Everyone was too shocked to ask any more questions. They wandered off like zombies. Some going off in groups like Joe and Cleo or Impulse, Gem and Pearl. Others sprinting off towards the safety of their bases like Bdubs and Tango.

Keralis heaved a huge sigh, swaying on his feet, before taking off himself. The last one to go, leaving Scar and Cub alone.

They were both too stunned to move yet. If they had their instincts would have brought them straight to Grian. And they would have started a fight. So they stood still and let the Vex in their heads rage.

Scars heart hurt. A treacherous voice in his head whispered to him that at least like this, Grian would definitely never kiss Mumbo.

The victory tasted stale in his mouth.

Notes:

I forgot to add that last chapter, but I got fanart for this story!!!

This pretty picture of Scar, Cub and Grian cuddling in bed together, from the lovely otselotus! I may have screamed a little when I saw it. I love it so much!

Chapter 26

The Entity was a good host. It fed and watered and sheltered him well. Grian didn’t want to think about the logistics of that. The Entity was good at stealing stuff from its surroundings. And there were plenty of shops it could nap things from.

Without any windows and his communicator laying somewhere far out of reach Grian didn’t know how many hours or days passed by. He wasn’t quite there for most of it. At first the pain was just too much, all encompassing and taking away his ability to take in anything else. And then the emptiness gnawed at him, fraying his already delicate nerves and driving him almost crazy.

Xisuma couldn’t stay with him. He did for a long while until Grian could breath in even patterns once more and was at least coherent enough to speak in full sentences. But he had to leave eventually and the Entity was not gracious enough to let him back in.

Grian was thankful for the isolation. And the last time he used the communicator was to let Xisuma know that he wanted to be alone for a little bit.

So he stayed alone until he found he could think again. And when he couldn’t think he felt around his body, dove into the gaping void in his chest and gingerly stroked along the edges of his bleeding soul.

It was odd. Grian knew what missing Mumbo felt like. He knew what being connected to someone felt like. This was something completely new. But despite the dubious consent with which he had given away part of his soul, Grian found that he minded the theft much less than he should.

He could trace it, the part of his soul that now rested somewhere in Mumbos chest. Somewhere a hundred, maybe a thousand blocks away. He could feel it flicker. After the pain ebbed away and he got used to the emptiness enough to not lose his mind he started to wonder if Mumbo felt full. If he had changed because of Grians essence now residing in him.

The question didn’t leave him alone. It haunted his dreams. And the urge to get back out and be with someone came back once he was able to stand up straight again.

He missed Cub and Scar. But he couldn’t see them after what he might have done to their relationship. He couldn’t stomach Pearls mother henning, yet. Nor Docs hovering and manhandling.

He missed Mumbo. He was a bit afraid of him. The image of his best friend leaning over him, maw gaping, twisted into a creature straight out of Grians worst nightmares- It was ingrained in his brain. It haunted his dreams.

And Grian couldn’t stand to fear someone he held so dear. Someone who had given him so much comfort in the past. It had been an accident. So much Grian had understood even though he didn’t quite get how.

He wanted to know, though. He missed Mumbo and he felt trapped in his hesitancy to go to anyone else. The first time he had used his communicator after everything and it was to contact the one who had hurt him.

But it was Mumbo. Grian couldn’t think of a world without him being by his side anymore.

Grian whispered to you: Hi Mumbo. How are you doing?

Grian stared at the message, thinking how stupid it sounded. How it held none of the questions he wanted to ask. And none of the emotion he felt. He hit send. Only seconds later he got a reply.

Mumbo whispered to you: Grian? Is that really you?

Well at least Mumbo was as much of a spoon as always. Grian relaxed a bit as he typed. The Entities vines had come to wrap around his torso and waist, letting him drop all of his weight onto them. They had been quite affectionate. Which Grian had welcomed given how much he had needed something to hold on to.

Grian whispered to you: Who else would it be?

Mumbo whispered to you: I don’t know. The Entity may have learned how to type?

Grian poked the tip of one of the vines, kind of like booping someone on the nose. “Now wouldn’t that be a blast, huh Entity? Can you write?”

The vine he had just poked recoiled before tentatively inching towards the communicator Grian held in his hands. It slithered over it, leaving red slimy streaks in its wake. And then it drew back, deciding that it rather act as a scarf for Grian.

Grian wiped the communicator on his already ruined sweater. Void was he gross. He really needed a bath and a change of clothes. Later. Once the thought of braving the world outside didn’t leave him a trembling mess.

Grian whispered to you: It doesn’t even really know how words work. So don’t worry. It’s really me.

This time it took a bit longer for Mumbo to respond. Grian didn’t mind the waiting time. His world still moved in slow motion. Processing things was hard. It was a bit funny how Grian always seemed to find himself in situations such as these.

He’d been about as disorientated when he had crashed through the weird portal and landed in this world. He’d been uprooted once more when he’d been freed from the Pillagers basement and then again when the Rift had reached out to him.

Huh, now that he thought about it, he hadn’t really been just himself for a long time. Without any fractures or ethereal things invading his mind and body. Without a thousand things to worry about.

Void was he tired.

His gaze caught on the light of his communicator again. There were other messages there. World chat was full of them. But he also had quite the rising number of private ones from nearly every Hermit.

He didn’t even attempt to open any of them. He was lonely, but he also couldn’t stomach more than one social interaction right now. And Mumbo had priority.

Mumbo thankfully hadn’t just ghosted him, either. Another ding and another reply.

Mumbo whispered to you: You still want to write with me?

The poor sod. Grian shook his head, managing a small smile.

Grian whispered to you: I do. Can you tell me what happened?

Grian put more of his weight into the vines holding him up and focused on his breathing. Just typing out the question had set his heart racing. He needed to know, though. He needed to know to forgive Mumbo. And he desperately wanted to forgive Mumbo.

Several dings ran through the silence. Grian checked his communicator every time, but they were all new ones from others. Brief glimpses of “Are you okay?” or “Do you need anything?”. Someone writing “Do you want someone to come over?”. The frequency of which they were send had increased over time.

The Hermits had left him alone at first. But they weren’t a very patient bunch.

A text from Scar popped up, so short that Grian caught it without having to actually read it. “Just a sign please.”

Grian hestitated. Cub hadn’t written him yet. If he had Grian wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from responding. Scar was the same. But Scar had actually reached out to him. And Grian, naturally, grasped at the offered hand.

Grian whispered to you: I’m here.

GoodtimewithScar whispered to you: Thank you.

Cub wrote soon after, a message Grian didn’t need to reply to.

Cubfan135 whispered to you: We’ll be waiting for you. Take your time.

It sounded warm, but could also be a threat. They did need to talk after that kiss. It was important. Grian felt like throwing up just thinking about it.

The next ping finally held Mumbos message, a wall of text Grian found hard to read in the dim light.

Mumbo whispered to you: It’s a bit hard to explain. And frankly I should have done so sooner. It just slipped my mind! Everyone else knew and somehow I just forgot that you didn’t know. I’m sorry about that. I’m such a spoon. And usually that works out well somehow. But this time I hurt you and I’m so so incredibly sorry. I wish I could say that will never happen again. But given my nature I can’t promise that.

Gosh how to explain it. It’s really rather complicated. I’m a shapeshifter. And usually that’s all fine and dandy. I have my favoured shape. The one you’re familiar with. I saw someone like it once and liked the bland business man look. And the mustache. Especially the mustache.

So usually I can control how I look and act. But sometimes I kinda go weird? Usually it has something to do with my diet. A bit like an allergy? Like if I over indulge in something I turn into it. I was a potato for a while, for example. And there was this whole fiasco with the mushrooms when I had too much stew. You can ask Scar about that. Sometimes it happens when I don’t eat something for a very long time and then take a bite. Like when I tried to go vegetarian and then had a pork chop and turned myself into a pig.

It also happens with new stuff. Like my body wants to try out being the new thing. You know how horrible I am with licking my fingers when I shouldn’t. I think when I experimented with the Sculk and the Redstone I licked my fingers and ate some of the Sculk. And my body just… decided it wanted to be a Sculk Monster for a while. So yeah. Funny that. Or not funny. Because I hurt you. Sorry.

The explanation was a bit hard to digest. It turned the image Grian had of his best friend on his head for one. Grian had always just assumed that Mumbo was a human. He acted like it well enough.

Despite what Mumbo had written it was actually quite simple, though. Mumbo was a shapeshifter. Mumbo sometimes shifted into things on accident. And when he shifted into things he took over attributes of these things. Like eating souls.

Heh, the phrase you are what you eat was quite literal in Mumbos case then.

Wait. If Mumbos body turned into what he ate when he first ate a thing-

Grian whispered to you: Wait a minute! Are you turning into me now? I’m pretty sure you ate part of my soul. I can feel it.

Mumbo whispered to you: Wait you can?! Fascinating! And good question! I mean I’m trying really hard to change back to regular old Mumbo right now. And a soul isn’t very digestable, right? I don’t really know where it went. It’s kind of just sloshing around, I think. But now that you mentioned it. I do feel different. I’m not turning into you. But I do feel a change? If that makes sense? I’ll keep an eye on it.

Grian couldn’t help the excited grin that took over his features. It was the first show of positive emotion in a while. There was just something about the idea of Mumbo taking on traits of him that deeply satisfied the Allay part of his brain.

Allays traded energies when they bonded. Not only with mates but with close friends as well. They shared shards of amethysts as a courting ritual because they could use them as catalysts. Grian himself had never let his magic really tangle with anyone else. There just hadn’t been anyone around who could have reciprocated.

And while the way things had gone weren’t ideal this was at least… acceptable. Grian could work with that. Hopefully.

He typed back a “please do” and decided that this was enough for one social interaction session. He was getting groggy again. The Entity hoisted him up and moved him towards the nest of vines. Grian was already back asleep before he was even laid down.

During the next few days Grian slowly began to move around more and exchanged a few messages with Mumbo. The poor man had freaked out when Grian had just stopped responding the first time around. And Grian needed a well of patience he didn’t have to calm him back down and stop the flurry of apologies clogging up his messages.

Regularly chatting with Mumbo again gave him the confidence to face the outside world once more. He was starting to get cabin fever. And he was getting really, really gross.

The Entity did not agree with his decision.

“This is ridiculous.” Grian swatted away yet another slippery red vine that tried to tug him back into the nest. “Get off and let me out.”

The insides of his pretty pet rock shook as the Entity rumbled. Grian slipped and caught himself on the wet wall, feeling it pulse under his palms. He wrinkled his nose at the disgusting feeling and quickly drew back to wipe his hands on his ruined clothes.

“Come on! I’m filthy. I stink. I’m uncomfortable. I want to get out and see some sunlight!”

He heard it scratch against the ground outside. A petulant stomping of a temper tantrum throwing child. Grians wings flashed in irritation. They moved as much as they could. But they were sticky as well and caught against the fabric of his sweater.

Slowly a small opening formed far above him, letting in a sliver of light. If he squinted hard enough he might even make out the happy blue of the sky.

“Entity I can’t reach that. And I may be small but not that small.”

The opening widened a tiny fraction. Grian groaned. “No! That’s not what I need. Let me out fully! Or I will… I will-” He could write one of the Hermits and ask for help. But he really didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Not the Hermits and not the Entity.

His lips started to wobble as helplessness overwhelmed him. He hated being trapped. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have the energy for this.

The Entity, sensing his distress, scooped him up in its vines again. But instead of plopping him back into the pile of vines, as Grian had feared, it gently lowered him through a hole in the ground. The vines that held him were hesitant to let him go. They clung to him until he started to wiggle out of them.

Grian sensed that the Entity wasn’t at all happy. It didn’t like giving up things. So Grian stumbled over to one of the spidery legs and hugged it. He even gave it a little kiss. “Thank you Entity. For taking care of me and letting me go. I’ll bring you many good things in return.”

The warm copper under his touch vibrated and his mind buzzed pleasantly. Well someone was easy to bribe. He should have thought about that sooner.

For now he had different worries, though. He had no clue how he had gotten from his base to the shopping district on that fateful night. He didn’t have an elytra. He had nothing that could help him in his enderchest. And he didn’t think he could recreate how he had gotten here.

Walking was out of the question. He was still far too shaky.

Grian was already out of breath once he had made it down the hill the Entity stood on. The way to the next best shop felt like it was thousands of blocks long. And once he was in there and able to open an enderchest he quickly found out that he had deposited a total of zero diamonds in there. They were all still ore blocks stashed away in shulker boxes all around his base.

Now this sucked. He had just become unstuck! How did he hit another barrier so fast?!

He debated just taking something from the elytra and rocket shop and paying later. That was acceptable in emergencies, right? No one would be mad?

“Man you look like you’ve just crawled out under a pile of fresh corpses.”

Grian screeched and whirled around to find Tango standing behind him. The frosty blaze hybrid had his hood down for once. He looked furious for reasons Grian didn’t know. Until he noticed that Tango wasn’t actually glaring at him but squinting.

“And you look like you haven’t seen the sun in weeks.”

Tango stalked towards him, flaming tail idly swaying from side to side. He circled Grian with an odd look on his face, plucking at his clothes and hair as he went. The noises he made were curious and non threatening enough that Grian let him do as he pleased. Even if he wasn’t happy with the attention. Good thing they were far enough from the Entity or there might have been a fight.

Tango didn’t seem to notice that he was being rude. Once he had finished his rounds he stopped in front of him and rested his hands on Grians shoulders, bending down to be eye level with him. “I mean you’re not wrong. How are you, Gri?”

“Filthy. As you can see. And…”

“And?” Tango coaxed.

Grian shifted his weight and dared to shrug Tangos hands off to give himself some space. “I don’t know how to get back to my base without walking.”

Tango straightened back up with a small hmmm sound. “Do you need an elytra? I can give you one and some rockets no problem.”

The offer was perfect. Or it should have been perfect. Grians legs already protested the weight they had to carry. The sun made his head hurt. And he was already yearning for sleep once more. He hadn’t been this active for days.

“That’s kind but… I don’t know if I’ll make it. I’m…”

Tango nodded in understanding. “You look like poop.”

Grian snorted. “Thanks.”

“Smell like it, too.” Tango teased with a sharp grin.

“Thank you Tango.”

Tango giggled, hiding his mouth with one hand as he did. “Sorry sorry. You must feel awful. Unfortunately my noodly arms will not be able to carry you for this long. I can message Doc or-” And here he leaned back in close again, waggling his eyebrows, voice turning sultry. “or Cub and Scar.”

“Doc will be fine.” Grian squeaked resisting the urge to hide his face, making Tango laugh again.

“Awww so shy all of a sudden! You’re a real cutie, Gri! Even covered in mystery sauce.”

Mystery sauce… This man was mad. How were any of the Hermits still alive with this kind of attitude?

While Grian questioned his life choices Tango had already send a text and taken Grians hand to lead him to the nearest bench. Sitting down felt like he had ascended to heaven. He immediately slumped against Tango, boneless and ready to just take a quick nap until Doc got to them.

The only thing preventing him from doing so was Tangos temperature. He should have been warm, nearly too hot for Grian to touch. Instead leaning against him was like snuggling up to a block of ice. Granted it was a block of ice that had a cloak wrapped around it, but it was still not exactly pleasant.

But Tango acted once Grian had snuggled up to him. He lifted his arm to wrap around him, hand coming to rest on Grians shoulder and rubbing up and down in a soothing motion. So Grian decided to stay despite the cold.

Grian, for once in his life, didn’t necessarily want the physical contact. But he saw Tangos pale skin and dark circles under his eyes. He knew what isolation and obsession over a project looked like. Tango hadn’t even complained about him ruining his fancy outfit. He was probably craving some contact.

The humming was nice, too. Tango moved his head from side to side, kicking out his feet as he filled the air with a happy tune. His tail looped around Grians waist, the flame coming to rest in his lap. Grian held his hands over it curiously. And when he was neither burned nor gained frostbite from it he let his fingers glide through it.

Tango watched him play with his flame from the corner of his eyes. “We’ll both need a bath after this.”

Grian made a noise of acknowledgement. “I needed a bath like three days ago.”

“Make that three weeks, buddy.”

Hands stilled and Grian blinked to try and get his brain to restart after the crash it had just had. “Excuse me?!”

Tangos grip on his shoulder tightened for a moment before the slow up and down motion continued. “Yeah. You were gone for a while. Guess there’s not much to tell the time in the Entity. Although you could have checked your communicator.”

Grian hunched in on himself a little, unconsciously grabbing the tail in his lap to play with it. The appendage twitched in protest at first, Tango making a displeased noise, before forcing himself to relax. “There was too much on there. I couldn’t get to it for a bit.”

Tango gently pried off Grians fingers on his tail to wrap it tighter around his middle. “It’s fine. You haven’t missed much! Decked Out 2 still isn’t finished.”

“That’s the game your working on, right? In that spooky citadel you’ve been building? Which looks amazing by the way! I’ve never seen anything this intricate.”

The grin Tango shot him at the compliment was dazzling, the flame on his tail crackling happily in a few short bursts. There was a bluish hue dusting his cheeks, a pleased flush. It forced Grian to smile right back at him. “Yeah! It’s been giving me some headaches, trying to figure all the logistics out. But it’s getting there! And when it’s done I’ll be hosting a huge tournament and all the Hermits will be able to play and have fun and get squishy squished by my ravagers! For fun!”

All the Hermits… “Could I… Will I be allowed to play, too?”

The speed with which Tango snapped his head back to him made Grian jump. “Wha- Oh of course!” He ruffled Grians hair to lighten up the mood again, but couldn’t help the small yuck when that hand came away with gunks of red slime.

Grian giggled at Tangos grimace, feeling light at the response. Hopefully he hadn’t just forced Tango into inviting him to play as well. But Tango hadn’t hesitated when answering him. So that was probably a good sign.

Tango smiled down at him at the noise and tried to discreetly wipe off the goo on Grians sweater. “You’re pretty much an honorary Hermit at this point. You’re always included.”

Grian felt a flush coming on, heart fluttering even though he didn’t quite belief Tangos words. Even if the blaze hybrid thought it, that didn’t mean everyone else was on the same page. “Thank you Tango. I’m looking forward to playing it.”

“If it gets done before we have to hop worlds again.” Came Docs voice from somewhere above before the creeper hybrid landed in front of them.

Tango unfurled from him in an instant to jump up and wave his arms angrily at Doc. “Don’t you guys dare! I will finish! And you will play!”

Doc ignored the smaller hybrid spitting fire in his direction and addressed Grian instead. “I don’t know if you already know, but this guy is a perfectionist. If we’re unlucky he’ll take so long to be satisfied with his game that we’ll maybe be able to play it twice before having to leave. Like-”

“Hey! I’m right here! And that will never happen again. I will glue your silly faces to the floor until I’m done if I have to!”

“We’ll see about that.” Doc challenged with a sharp grin, leaving Tango visibly fuming.

“You big meanie! I’ll show you perfectionism.” He muttered, getting quieter as he turned tail and stomped off, only to stop and point at Grian. “Take care of the birdie!”

“And you take care of yourself, man!” Doc hollered back, shaking his head when Tango just walked away without a reply.

Grian pouted at Tangos back. “He didn’t even say goodbye.” And he called him a bird again.

“And you didn’t even say hello.” Doc countered with a fond smile.

That just made Grian puff up even more. “That’s because you immediately started riling up Tango!”

Doc shrugged. “What can I say? It’s nice not to be the one to be annoyed for once.”

Well… point to Doc, Grian guessed. “Fine. Excuse accepted. Hello Doc.”

“Ouch. Cold. Hello to you, too, Grian. How are you holding up?”

Grian shrugged, looking off into the distance. Hooves clacked as Doc came closer and knelt down to be eye level with him. “Tango mentioned you needing a lift home.”

“Yeah.” Without looking at him Grian raised his arms. He didn’t need to wait long to be scooped up.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

One rocket burst later and there were up in the air. Grian immediately came to regret his choice of transportation. His frazzled nerves could not take Docs jerky and mechanical flying style.

He probably nearly strangled Doc with the way he was clinging on to him. “Void Doc! Fly better!”

Doc dipped down in response, making Grian scream. He let out a distressed gurgle when Doc caught himself on another airdraft for an abrupt stop in midair and then used a rocket to propell them up again.

“Doc I swear I will throw up over your cybernetics if you don’t smooth out your flight!” Grian snapped. He had no patience for any teasing left.

Thankfully Doc took the threat seriously and started to glide over the trees and buildings, letting Grian finally relax.

There was nothing Doc could do about the short jerks whenever he had to fire off another rocket. But at least the periods in between were calm now. Grians heartrate lowered, his breathing evening out as he let the wind tug at his matted hair.

There was something very important he needed to tell Doc before he could fall asleep, though. “You guys should visit Tango more. He’s lonely.”

“He’s fine. He’s just trying to finish his game.”

Grian lifted his head to stare at the patch of metal that made up Docs cheek and reached up to lightly tug at the prothestic horn. “He cuddled with me, Doc. Would you do that?”

“Of course.” Came the immediate, far too eager reply. Grian would need to remember that. It seemed most Hermits were very happy to receive and dish out affection, whenever they were given a chance.

Grian snuggled back into the crook of Docs neck. “I meant in my current state.”

“I’d throw you in a lake first.”

“See? Tango didn’t hesitate. Just because he’s willfully isolating himself doesn’t mean he’s not getting lonely. He’s making something very special for you guys. You should visit him more.”

“He’ll just shoo us out.”

“Then don’t be in the way.”

A beat of silence, air rushing through their ears as they flew over the landscape below. “I’ll bring it up with the others. Zed will be all up for thinking of interesting ways to draw Tango out of his cave every once in a while. And if Tango gets angry we’ll just say that you made us do it.”

They landed on top of the bridge between Mumbos and Grians bases. Doc plucked him off of him to set Grian down, holding him steady when he wobbled.

Grian looked up at him. In the bright light of day he knew he must look absolutely pathetic. “You think he’d buy that? I couldn’t make you do things if I tried at the moment.”

Doc regarded him with a tilt of his head. “You’re cute.”

Pfff Doc knew how to flatter him. “Not right now.”

“Pity points then.”

Grian laughed, the sound a bit hollow, only half amused but body going through the motions anyway. “Do I get an IOU, too?”

Large, gentle hands softly pushed him towards his base. “Don’t push your luck.”

“Command doesn’t compute.” Grian snarked back, but stood firm against the hands trying to corall him into his base. “Doc stop. I… All my stuff is at Mumbos.”

Doc stopped. “Oh... Do you want me to get it?”

Grian shook his head. “No, I will. Just… could you come with?”

“Of course.”

“And give me some space?”

Doc took a step back and nodded. “Yeah.”

Grian shot him a tired, yet grateful smile. “Thanks.”

His body protested at the prospect of so much walking. How he had ever thought that he would make it back to his base on his own was beyond him. Mumbos base stood threatening in the distance, setting Grians nerves ablaze.

He looked down at the cavern underneath instead, where he knew the Rift was waiting for him. He could feel it reaching out. The magic in the air had reacted as soon as they had arrived, cradling and prodding him. It didn’t seep into his skin. The Rift seemed to understand that Grian was too fragile for that at the moment.

It did try to lure him back down, though. Singing to him with a soft hum, imitating the chimes of Allays in order to calm him down and make him feel safe again.

Grian had no desire to vanish into another hole for the time being. He hadn’t seen daylight in a long while. For much longer than he had thought, even. He wanted to stay above ground and outside for a bit.

Doc was a shadow behind him. Grian could hear his hooves and the shifting of metallic parts and the hiss of hydraulics. The sound of his breathing was an unique noise. A mix between mechanic and natural.

He heard Doc hesitate when they were over the cavern entrance, breath hitching in slight fear. It was a bit funny. Grian didn’t even think twice about the Rift below. Nor did the abyss beneath them bother him.

It was the half build structure in front of him that made him want to turn tail and run. The one he had called home. The one he had found comfort in for so many nights in a row. How much one single action could change everything.

Thankfully he knew to ignore his fear well. He was too stubborn to let it win.

Notes:

I'm back with some more hurt/comfort and Tango! I wrote this around the time Decked Out 2 opened and started watching Tango more. I adore this silly man so much.

I'm currently fully swept up by the Hermitcraft TCG mania. Unfortunately I didn't get any of Rares for the Hermits I watch so I'm hoping for the Overstock Sale to get some more Booster. I need these caaaaards. Rip my bank account. If I'm lucky enough to get any, that is.

Chapter 27

Grian ended up back in a hole much sooner than intended. His own base was too rough and drafty to stay in. Mumbos was, too, of course. But two bodies had made it homelier and the sky above had been pretty to look at during these warm summer nights.

Both bases were too empty to stay at. Too cold and unwelcoming. Grian managed a total of one night in his before he surrendered to the Rifts call and dragged his bed down to the cave. It was cold here, too. Cold and stuffy and scary.

At least he wasn’t alone, though. The Rifts presence pressed heavily down on him, like an especially thick weighted blanket. Or a slab of concrete. When its presence got too much Grian emerged from the hole in the ground to spend time in Mumbos base.

It was uncomfortable and scary, but everything here was. His magical base, the sentient Rift… It all screamed danger. Grian barely reacted to his racing heart anymore. The ache in his chest was much worse.

Grian had hoped that it would fade overtime. And in a way it did. But every now and again he would feel the edges of his torn apart soul flare up in what he could only describe as phantom pain.

Whenever it happened, usually when he was just waking up, Grian was thrown back to the incident. He would try to breath through it first. Sometimes that helped. But some days were worse than others. Some days his patience was thin and his mood low and he would scream and claw at his chest and beg for it to just stop.

It drove him mad. And there was nothing he could do about it. He wished Mumbo would come back already. Maybe having him close would make the agony stop. Maybe all he needed was his other part to be close.

Mumbo stayed up in the stars, though. Fighting his own body for control.

And Grian waited for him below, decorating his metaphorical basement to pass the time and chatting to the Rift.

Sometimes Hermits would visit him. Doc had come by a few times to make sure that he was okay and that there was no Sculk infestation. Pearl had come and gone. Xisuma and Keralis, too. Through their gossip he had heard rumours of Bdubs having had a vision. He was being cagey about it, but apparently he was planning something with Ren.

Ren, who had started to complain a lot about the state of their set up world. He was scolding the Hermits in meetings for littering and the broken economy and the lack of events to bring their group back together.

For once Grian was very happy that he hadn’t been invited back to those. He didn’t think that he could stomach a harsh tone at the moment. He would probably either break down crying at the first show of even slight general annoyance or snap and start a murder. Depending on his daily mood.

He rather spent his time sketching out designs for his cave and humming along with the Rift. Grian was doing just that when there was a crash at the entrance. When he looked up whoever had come down was already gone, leaving a mess of things on the floor.

Groaning Grian stood from his bed and wandered over to pick everything up. The hard hat he discovered told him that it was probably Scar that had come down to him. The death was expected then.

When the last of the items had been stored in a nearby chest two shadows descended on him. Grian squinted up at them, seeing the outline of huge bat like wings. They were stretched out under their respective elytras.

Grian crossed his arms and waited for Cub and Scar to land. “Needed Cub to safely guide you down?”

Scar stumbled on his landing, caught off guard by the jab. He was spluttering and making up excuses as Cub strode forward. “Something like that.”

“Hey!”

The gentle smile Cub gifted him with made Grians insides squirm. “I see that there was a limit to the waiting time.” He blurted out, grimacing at how rude he sounded and immediately backtracked when Cubs expression turned apologetic and Scar halted in his approach, suddenly hesitant. “Sorry. Just. I’m just in a bad mood. It’s nice to see you.”

Cub stood stiff and awkward beside him now. “Very diplomatic of you.”

“Others were visiting you, so we thought it would be okay…” Scar muttered, full puppy dog eyes on display as he lifted his arms. “Do you need a hug?”

Grian shook his head and massaged his chest. He’d tried to distract himself from another bout of pain. And the whole moving about had only made it worse. “No. I’m good.”

Cub had zeroed in on his small movement. “Are you hurt?”

Like a leash being pulled tight, the words drew Scar closer. And gosh he loved these two to bits but did they have to crowd him so?

“Nothing you can do about it.”

“Is it… Does your soul hurt?” Scar asked, voice shaking.

They weren’t even trying to speak about how Grian had almost ruined their relationship. Instead they huddled close, Cubs wing raising as if to shield him. He clearly wanted to do much more than that. Scar, too. But they had picked up on Grians wish to not be touched and tried their best to adhere to it.

Grian wanted to kiss them both for being so sweet and considerate. But that would have just complicated things further. “More the part that’s missing.”

“Oh.” And that little sound held so much more understanding than Grian ever thought he’d get. Scar smiled at him, a small sad thing full of compassion. “I know that feeling. Nothing painkillers can do with that, I presume?”

Grian shook his head. He’d tried. But this wasn’t physical.

“Go on get back into bed, then. Cub stay with him until I come back?”

How did Scar still trust him alone with Cub?

“Of course.”

How did Cub still let himself be around Grian alone? It didn’t make sense. And Grians one braincell was currently taking a forced vacation due to a hazardous working environment. So he didn’t have the mental brainpower to even wish to comprehend what was going on.

Cub herded him back towards the bed with his outstretched wings boxing Grian in, hands hovering close but never quite touching. Grian settled back on it with a small noise of pain and Cub produced a shulker to sit on.

The Rift let out a threatening hum, lights flashing within its depths. Cub eyed it warily, but didn’t budge, wings spreading, showing dominance. Grian huffed at the stand off and let his head hit the pillow, curling in on himself and trying to breath the pain away.

He didn’t want to admit it, but just having Cub there with him made it all so much more bearable.

That didn’t mean that he was very pleased when the Vex tried to force a conversation on him. “You’ve done a lot down here. It’s almost habitable now.”

Grian opened his eyes a fraction to glare at him. Answering him would mean speaking. And speaking meant effort. Effort for which he didn’t have enough energy at the moment. Not answering was not an option, though. It never was with any of the Hermits. Not when they went out of their way to visit him.

They meant well and Grian loved having them around. “Dunno if that was a compliment or insult.”

Cub smiled at him and didn’t elaborate. Grians glare turned sharper. “Hey don’t just grin at me like that! That’s so rude!”

“What? Smiling at you?”

“Yes!” It made all the feelings he shouldn’t have rise up. I love you. He wanted to say. To Cub. To Scar. He wanted to take all the kindness they so freely offered and turn it into something more.

The words shriveled up and died on his tongue.

It was a good thing that Vex weren’t mind readers and that Grian was good at hiding. Cub didn’t know that Grian wanted to cry out of frustration. He was focused on the banter, head tilting to the side and grin widening. “What are you gonna do about it?”

“What are you going to do to make up for it, you mean.”

“I could sing to you.”

Grians breath got stuck in his chest and for a moment the ache nestled somewhere in his ribcage had nothing to do with Mumbo ripping his soul apart. He would have taken the whole thing if it hadn’t been for the Rift. And sometimes Grian wondered if that wouldn’t have been better.

With a strength he didn’t know he had left, Grian pushed himself up. “You would?”

Cubs gaze was so warm and fond. “Any song requests?” He echoed the question Grian had asked not long ago.

His brain went blank. Grian – an Allay and pop star with the memory of hundreds of songs – couldn’t come up with even a single title. “Anything.”

It was the truth. Cub could have sung “All my little Ducklings” and Grian would have thought it a masterpiece. Only he didn’t. He chose one of Grians songs. Because of course he would.

Guilt and fondness battled within him as he leaned forward like a flower towards the sun. This was just a repeat of last time wasn’t it? Only this time he wasn’t Ariana. He was Grian. Grian at his worst. What would happen if he was the one pulling Cub into a kiss this time?

What would happen if Scar flew in on them?

Grian didn’t want to find out. Cub was Scars and Scar was Cubs. Grian had no business slotting himself between the two. They were being generous. Grian would behave and not take more than he was offered.

His wings, clean and bright once more, flared out and stretched as far as they could. His useless Allay instincts showing them off to a potential partner. Grian bit back on the hum that rose in his throat. He was struggling not to try and harmonize with Cub. That was not what this was.

He was so entranced by the Vex in front of him, Grian barely noticed the arrival of the second one. He twitched slightly when Scars honey bright voice echoed through the cave. “Oh. I haven’t heard you sing in so long.”

Grian almost melted at the pure adoration and joy in Scars tone, but furrowed his brows at the loud meow that followed soon after.

Cub cut off with a groan. “Really?”

The disdain radiating off Cub made Grian look towards Scar, who had performed the perfect landing for once. Understandable that he was much more careful with the precious cargo he held.

“What did you think I was going back to the base for?”

“Jellie!”

Scar chuckled at Grians enthusiastic yell, fighting to keep the cat in his arms from wiggling out of his hold. The cave may have been mob proof, but it wasn’t even Scar safe much less cat safe. “See! Someone is happy to see her!”

“She’s an evil menace.” Cub grumbled and crossed his arms as Scar walked up to them. The cat made a small mrrp? sound and sniffed in his direction. Apparently the rivalry was onesided.

Scar pet her head with a dramatic flair that made Grian fear for Jellies neck. “Excuse me mister?! She’s a perfect little angel! Right Grian?”

She wasn’t. No cats were. They were just cute enough to get away with everything. Grian took great inspiration from them. “Let me pet her and then I’ll decide.”

“Of course! Come on lay back down. Chest up.”

What?! Cubs eyebrow rose and Grian flushed a bright red, nearly choking on his own spit. Before his brain had caught up with the horrible phrasing he had done as asked however and Scar was leaning over him to deposit Jellie on his chest.

He could feel her little claws dig into his sweater. She was understandably curious about her new surroundings, ears perked up and gaze wandering. Scar held her in place for a moment to gage whether she would jump right off the bed. But Jellie seemed to sense that she had been brought here for a reason.

Her attention went to Grians sweater, nosing the fluffy fabric. Slowly she began to knead her claws into him, a purr rising up, loud and clear. Scar let her go and she immediately began to circle herself before laying down right were Scar had placed her.

Grian couldn’t get his hands on her fast enough, marveling at the smooth texture of her fur. “Oh aren’t you a true beauty? So pretty and well behaved.”

He purr got louder at his praise and attention, the vibrations going through and filling up the empty cravice inside his ribcage. It didn’t chase the pain away. Neither did the warm, dry hand that stroked strands of hair out of his face. Or the equally dry and chapped lips pressing against his forehead in a chaste kiss.

They were a very welcome distraction, though. Even if- Grian glanced at Cub after Scar had leaned back up and sat down on the ground to better reach Jellie. Was he mad? He did stare pretty intensely at them. But he wasn’t saying anything. So Grian wouldn’t say anything either.

Maybe it was only fair in their eyes. Cub had gotten to kiss Grian. So Scar could steal one for himself, too. Grian scratched behind Jellies ears and closed his eyes. Nope, he wouldn’t open that can of worms right now.

They stayed in comfortable silence for a long while, just basking in each others presence. Grian might have dozed off for a little bit. Scar definitely had fallen asleep if the snores were anything to go by.

They were all startled when a noise rose up in the cave, rattling and loud. Cub shot up from his seat and had a sword in hand faster than Grian could blink his eyes open. Scar merely yelled and fell over sideways.

Grian – more used to the strange happenings in his basement – wasn’t very worried and didn’t take long to figure out what was going on. When he did he started to giggle, then chuckle which developed into full blown manic cackling.

Both Scar and Cub looked at him as if he had gone mad. So Grian tried to explain in between gasping for breath. “It’s- pffff hihihi… The Rift. Oh my goodness it’s imitating Jellie!”

“What?” Cub asked, very much unamused, while Scar let out a tiny “ohhhh”.

While Grian tried to calm down – Jellie wasn’t happy with him moving so much – Cub tentatively vanished his sword and sat back down again. “They better not start communicating with each other.”

“But Cub wouldn’t that be exciting! Right Grian?!”

“She’s already enough of a menace Scar.” Cub spoke before Grian could give his opinion.

“Pfff you’re just grumpy because she leaves cat hair all over your stuff! She loves you!”

Grian let them bicker, mentally nudging the Rift to take its fake purring down a notch or two, while also showing it that he appreciated the effort. Jellie had been the most unaffected. She had barely lifted her head and was intently staring at the Rift. But otherwise she was as relaxed as ever. Really Grians laughter had disturbed her more than the Rift.

She was truly an amazing kitty. Grian felt he needed to reward her bravery with smooches and pets. “If your dads get a divorce because of you, you’re staying with me.” He whispered into her fur.

He had been quiet and yet Scar had still heard him. Probably because he was way too close again, threatening to push Grian off the bed so he could also sit on it.

“Oh no mister! No Jellienapping allowed!”

“Please take her.”

Grian buried his face deeper into Jellies fur, laughing as the two started to bicker with each other again. For the first time in a while he felt whole.

Notes:

Have a bit of fluff in these trying times.

Thank you for all the sweet comments for the last chapters! I've been pretty busy and haven't been able to reply to most of them yet. And I'll be away on the weekend, which is why I decided to upload this chapter early. I do still appreciate every last one and will get back to replying as soon as I have the time again.

Chapter 28

Sitting alone in a spacecraft when you had no destination to look forward to was pretty pants. Mumbo avoided looking outside because the world below was taunting him with its promise of laughter and friendship. His family was so far away, yet so close. He could just get into the cockpit and set course for Spawn.

It had been locked at first. Doc had made that modification together with Ren after Mumbo had transformed into something bad for the first time. A remote option to make sure Mumbo didn’t come back before he was ready.

Doc had opened it up to him a few days ago and Mumbo refused to set a foot in there. He was fully back to being Mumbo. But he still didn’t trust himself enough to come back. What if he reverted right back into a soul sucking monster as soon as he came into contact with the Sculk?

What if he hurt Grian again?

He was one of luckiest people ever to live for Grian to have forgiven him so fast. Mumbo didn’t think he deserved it. But then he would also not look a gifted horse in the mouth.

Rebuilding their friendship had still taken time. Grian had refused to voice call him at first. It had just been plain text for weeks. Messaging people at all had been a challenge with the large claws his hands had turned into. But Mumbo had tried for Grian.

He’d been rewarded by the Allays continued trust. Grian kept seeking him out, wanting answers and trading banter with Mumbo like he hadn’t taken part of his soul away. Communicating with the small Allay had been the highlight of his days for what felt like weeks.

The other Hermits tried to make him feel less lonely, too. But they also tended to get distracted pretty easily. And they were at that time of the expedition where they were all fretting about their mega builds.

Doc and Xisuma checked in on him the most. Closely followed by Scar and Etho. But they would be all serious and sad. Or awkwardly encouraging and mildly threatening in Scars case. And that just didn’t do anything to help his mood.

The first time he had heard Grians voice again through the speakers of his communicator, Mumbo admitted that he had cried a little. Or… well okay it had been a lot. He’d been a sobbing mess. Grian had been too, though! So at least they had been sobbing messes together!

Ever since then they never missed a day without calling each other. Mumbo didn’t have much to talk about. Neither did Grian. They were both trying their best to heal up, which led to very little excitement during their awake time. It was a good thing both were very good at talking about nothing in particular and blowing conversations into three times the size they actually needed to be.

Goodness he was already itching to talk to this fool of a man again.

Mumbo flexed his hand, marvelling at the human skin and normal proportions it had taken on once more. He wondered when that had happened, trying to jog his two brain cells into doing some actual work.

He knew it had been somewhere around week two? Maybe? But how had he gotten there?

The Hermits mostly assumed that he had it all figured out. That his sudden changes were some sort of allergy. In truth Mumbo knew very little about why his body chose to do what it did. How had he become Mumbo Jumbo the nervous business man with an astonishingly beautiful mustache?

He didn’t know. He’d seen someone like it when he had merely been a teenager. And the next day he’d been that. That was what he vaguely remembered happening and that was the story he stuck to.

Mumbo never consciously chose his form, though. And usually that was fine because he stayed in one and only one anyway. So he had no qualms about letting the Hermits believe in his nonexistent abilities.

It had gotten them into danger in the past, of course. But it had all been in good fun most of the time. Keeping him from spreading mycelium everywhere in World 7 had let to a minigame competition. And Scar, Cub and Bdubs had worked wonders creating that Moopop drink to heal the Hermits that had been turned into his “Spores” by him. That brand was still out there, maybe not helping others in the way it had them, but doing very good at just being a fun drink for teenagers to consume.

Him being a potato in World 8 and then turning into some kind of pig abomination had been funny for the most part. It had harmed him more than anyone else. And that harm had merely been mild distress and embarassment.

This time, though… This time the damage he’d done felt permanent. He shouldn’t have assumed that everything would always turn out to be fine. He’d come to trust the Hermits too much. Hadn’t even thought about the sudden changes becoming too much of a problem.

Until it had been too late. Until he’d hurt his best friend.

He couldn’t come back like this. Mumbo couldn’t ignore this anymore. He needed to get a better grip on himself if he wanted his loved ones to be safe.

He needed answers to his origin. And he wouldn’t find them here. Oh gosh now he dreaded talking to Grian again. He would not like Mumbos decision at all. And Mumbo wasn’t even physically present to comfort the little guy.

First things first, though: He needed an action plan. His resources were still good. They always packed the smaller, secondary spacecraft full of food and drink whenever Mumbo had to be isolated. They never knew how long it took for him to turn back. And they didn’t want him to starve or dehydrate.

Mumbo checked the inventory and studied the star charts to map out a route he could take. He would need to get to one of the more populated planets. Preferably one with a lot of shapeshifters and a good education system with lots of freely accessible databases.

Maybe a main cult or two wouldn’t hurt either. Mumbo wasn’t good with magic. He could manifacture end crystals no problem, but he was pants at everything else. And if he was already out there seeking answers, he might as well try and find a way to give Grian that stolen part of his soul back.

His focus shifted to one of the bigger planets towards the middle of the chart. There in the main cluster where all exploration had started, was one of the brightest, most advanced worlds out there. But no. Trying to get there with this little ship would get him killed. It would also take him far too long.

He needed one that was a bit closer to the world they were currently inhabiting. Something his small spacecraft could handle. It was frustrating that he had to do this again. He’d just been on a self discovery journey! How had he not done anything productive during that time?

Because it had been a vacation. Mumbo reminded the mean part of his mind that always found something to criticize. That journey had been meant to get his creative juices flowing again.

But it could come in handy. Mumbo darted to his enderchest and pulled out the travel log he had written. It was more a mess of ideas, sketches, physical photos and descriptions of places and people he found cool than a diary. Sometimes he’d been so excited that his handwriting was barely legible.

It had all the information he needed. And soon he had the perfect route planned out. It would take some time to get to the main planet he was interested in, but if Mumbo did it right, he could make some promising stops on the way.

A journey such as this was not something to be taken lightly. Mumbo had planned his first one for a long time and had agonized over whether he really wanted to go for ages before actually going through with it.

He didn’t have that time now. He needed to do this as quick as possible to repair what he had broken. And to make sure it never happened again.

Mumbo texted Xisuma first, which led to a call that lasted roughly two hours. They talked logistics mostly and Mumbo didn’t tell him all the reasons he wanted to go. He’d rather take the secret that he couldn’t change forms at will with him to the grave. He knew that none of the Hermits would be mad over his deceit for long. Everyone in their group had secrets. But he also knew that they wouldn’t let him live it down. And he’d rather not take that L.

The list of things he needed to do during his voyage grew as Xisuma piled tasks on top of it. X wasn’t happy that Mumbo was leaving them again so soon. But it did give them all a great opportunity to publish their new finds and get some help analysing the Sculk from the outside.

X uploaded a whole set of data to Mumbos communicator. No actual blocks would be transported. The danger was too much. And Mumbo would need to warn the next space port of his approach and possible contamination. Meaning that he would lose some time being desinfected, quarantined (again) and his spacecraft being deep cleaned. Mumbo didn’t look forward to that.

He busied himself with all the small tasks he could do to prepare, anxiously tracking the time until the point Grian usually called him. He had been watching the seconds tick down to the inevitable call. And still he let out a scream and send his communication flying when Grians familiar ringtone broke through the silence.

Quickly scooping the device back up and checking it for cracks Mumbo accepted the incoming call with a racing heart and sweaty hands.

“Mumbo!”

“He-hello Grian! How are you today? Is the Rift still doing… uh… uhm… is the Rift still doing Rift… business?”

There was silence on the line. Grian was probably staring incredulously at his communicator. “Yeah…” He spoke slowly, tone dry. “Sure yeah Rift business as usual. What’s got you so nervous today, buddy?”

Mumbo rubbed his fingers over the smooth surface of his comm and wondered how mad Grian would be if he just hung up now and sent him a quick text that he was leaving later.

“Me? Nervous?! I’m… I’m not nervous! Just… the normal amount of nervous. I mean-”

“Mumbo, breath. What’s gotten your brain cells in a twist?”

A littany of unsure noises escaped Mumbo as he tried to form a sentence that wouldn’t send his friend spiraling. “I-”

“You’re not doing what I said. Breath for me Mumbo.”

Mumbo took a deep breath and oh that was good. He’d not done that whole breathing thing in a bit, had he? “Okay. Okay I’m good.”

An airy laugh came through the line. “You’re a terrible lair. Do I need to text someone to get up there and check on you?”

Grian could come up. Mumbo bit his lip to not say that sudden idea out loud. If Grian came up here Mumbo couldn’t promise not to just fly off with him. And maybe Grian wouldn’t even mind that much. But Cub and Scar certainly would and he was already at risk of ending up in a death loop once he came back.

It was a thought for later, when everything was back to being fixed. A roadtrip with Grian sounded lovely. Dangerous and nervewracking, but absolutely something Mumbo would add to his bucket list.

“N-n-no that’s fine. I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Do I hear Jellie in the background or did you decide to adopt a cat?”

“Yeah I have Jellie! Scar brought her over and she’s been keeping me company. I love her Mumbo. I’m actually planning to keep her, but don’t tell Scar- Hey wait! Oh you devious man! You can’t just try and distract me like that! You know that always works!”

Mumbo sighed, disappointment evident. “It was worth a try.”

If they had been sitting in the same room together, Grian would have pointed at him with his finger by now. As it was Mumbo only had the pleasure of listening to his friends enraged noises and had to imagine the range of facial gymnastics his friend was currently going through.

When Grian was done and stayed quiet, no doubt sulking, Mumbo tried once more to bring up the courage to deliver the bad news. “I… I actually wanted to… to tell you… something?”

“Shoot.”

“I don’t have any cannons-”

“I meant tell me, Mumbo.” Grian interrupted him, fondly exasperated.

“Oh. Oh yeah that makes more sense. I don’t know why I thought-”

“Mumboooo.”

Oh void he loved when Grian drew out his name like that. He always turned it into a bit of a tune at the end.

“I love you.” Mumbo blurted out. “You’re my best friend in the whole wide world.” He added, just in case Scar was in hearing range. He didn’t want to stoke his ire even more.

“Love you, too, buddy.” Grian crooned back at him, making Mumbo grin so wide that his cheeks hurt.

Oh no his eyes were getting wet again. He couldn’t cry now! Grian would notice! And then he would start crying, too! And then telling him would get even harder!

Right. He needed to try harder this time. Just get it out there! “I… okay uhm Grian? I know this might sound bad right now but… uhm… I need to… I need to go away for a longer trip… again.”

Dead silence greeted him and Mumbo clutched his communicator for dear life, heartbeat rocketing up a tick every second Grian wasn’t responding.

When he did Mumbo wasn’t sure if the quiet hadn’t been better. “Wh- why?”

Mumbo winced, tears spilling over at the hurt in his best friends tone. He wanted to sprint into the cockpit and crash land in his base. He wanted to be where Grian was so he could clutch him tight and promise not to leave him ever again.

He could feel the part of Grians soul within him lash out. It was like having a scream permanently echoing through his body. It felt like grief.

“I- I have to find a way to give you your soul back-”

“Fuck my soul! I’m fine with it being like that! I just need you to come back!”

Grians cussing made Mumbo choke. He’d never heard him this angry before. But there was no way he could back down now. “I can’t-”

“But why?!” Grian sobbed and oh no they were both crying this was horrible! “I- I already said I don’t mind. Why… Is it… am I-”

Knowing exactly where that line of questioning would go Mumbo was quick to talk over him. “It’s not you! It’s me!”

Grian let out a snort that tangled with the next sniffle. “Mumbo! Mumbo, you know how cliché that sounds, right?”

Mumbo rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a chuckle. “Oh goodness it does sound kind of bad, doesn’t it? It’s true, though. I-” He decided then and there that he wouldn’t be able to take his secret to the grave with him. Grian had to know. “Grian I’m gonna let you in on something no one knows about me. I- I can’t actually control my shifting. Like at all. And that’s… that’s not acceptable. Not when that hurts my friends.”

The sniffles Grian let out were underlined by the static of their shitty connection. “Can’t you figure it out here?”

Mumbo shook his head, then remembered that Grian couldn’t see him and forced himself to speak once more. “No. No I need outside help.”

“Can’t you wait until you go to the next world?”

Wouldn’t that be lovely? Just procrastinate a bit more. Run just a bit longer from his problems. Grians suggestion sounded so enticing. With every plea from his friend Mumbos resolve crumbled more. He needed to cut this short or he would stay.

“I can’t.” He prayed that Grian would take it and drop it. He should have known better. Grian was too stubborn for that kind of thing.

“But-”

Mumbo did something horrible. He croaked an “I’ll miss you.” and cut the call. His communicator immediately flashed again. Grians name stood boldly on the screen, begging him to answer. Mumbo ignored it in favour of texting Scar.

He slid the device as far from himself as he was able after he had done his due and finally let himself break down.

Notes:

Here have a bit more angst in this jolly time :D

My Collectors Edition cards arrived when I wasn't home today and are now at a packing station I can't get to until tomorrow :( But at least they got here!

Chapter 29

The park felt empty without Jellie there to supervise it. She was a horrible guard cat, but what she lacked in work ethic she made up for with cuteness. Scar loved seeing her stroll about the buildings he was stomping out of the ground. She had that sort of detached curiousity about her whenever she deemed something interesting enough to sniff at.

And while she didn’t give skeletons or zombies the time of day, she did go feral on creepers. Poor Doc.

It was worth it, though. Seeing Grian smile at least a little bit after what he was currently going through- Scar would have burned the world down if it drew a chuckle out of him. And Cub would have stood right beside him. Probably being way more effective at it. He’d come around rather quickly after their conversation. And they were both wholly embracing their protective instincts by now.

Unfortunately they couldn’t be with their little Allay all the time. Knowing their feelings they’d immediately became ten times softer. Which led to more physical affection and especially Scar was having a hard time holding back. He wanted to wrap Grian up in his wings and kiss the man silly.

Making such bold advances now, though… That was impossible. Grian was having far too much on his plate to be able to focus on a romantic relationship. And both Cub and Scar knew that for this all to work out they needed to communicate well. Or at least much better than they had before.

If Grian was even interested. Cub constantly reminded him that he might not be. But Scar hated that possibility and was wholeheartedly ignoring it.

His communicator pinged, startling him into falling off the roof he was currently building. He splatted onto the ground and woke back up in the bed he had set up on the street exactly for these occasions. Grumbling angrily to himself he hurried to dress up again and snatched his communicator up to complain to whoever had just caused his death.

All frustration flew out the window when he saw the message Mumbo had sent. Instead of writing back Scar hurried to strap on his elytra and grab the rockets that were littering the ground. He left the rest of his stuff to be dragged off by zombies. Getting to Grian was his priority.

The howls he could hear when he came close to the huge rock formation chilled him to the bone and made him dive nose first into the cave below. Flying through the threshold felt like dipping into the ocean. The air pressure down at the bottom was almost unbearable. But what was even worse was seeing Grian kneel in front of the Rift, scratching at its surface and clutching himself, wailing and making sounds Scar had never heard a mortal being make before.

And Scar didn’t care if the Rift would permanently kill him for it. He dove towards Grian without a second thought, pulling him back against his chest and away from the wobbly, jelly like surface of the Rift.

Grian was cold in his arms. Icy and trembling and unable to hold still. He didn’t seem to have even noticed that Scar had scooped him up. Which wasn’t surprising given that Grian also hadn’t been aware of Jellie trying to get his attention. Her yowling was about as loud as Grians wails. Together they were working very hard to burst Scars eardrums.

“Sh sh. Grian, love, easy. Come back to me, come on. I know, I know Jellie, this is horrible. I’m here. I’m here.”

Jellie pressed herself against him and pawed at Grian, yowls turning into quieter meows and soothing, if a bit desperate sounding purrs.

Scar began rocking Grian in his arms and continued to make hushing sounds, trying very hard to keep his own tears at bay. He pressed Grians head against his chest, hoping that the steady heartbeat below would help ground him.

It felt like an eternity but eventually Grian tired himself out, his screams turning into sobs, turning into sniffles. The shaking subsided as did the flailing until Grian just clung to Scar as tightly as he possible could leaving almost no room for Scar to breath.

The Rift had calmed down, too. The air was still heavy and Scar felt an oppressive presence poking him from all sides. But it was bearable. Everything was bearable if it meant Scar could comfort his little Allay.

He would murder Mumbo for what he had done later.

Eventually Jellie had managed to squeeze herself between them and was pressing hard against Grians front. Scar smiled when he felt movement and looked down to see Grian loosening one death grip for his hand to wander towards the cat.

He took it as his cue to speak. Surely Grian would be listening to him now, right? “Hello there, G. You with me now?”

“Hm.”

Scar should have brought some water. Grians vocal chords sounded destroyed. “I’m glad. Do you want to talk about what happened?”

After a bit of a pause Grian nodded. “Mumbo’s leaving again…”

Oh that good for nothing scoundrel! “I’m so sorry, songbird.”

“’m not a bird.” Grian grumbled, his breath hitching and shuddering.

Scar nuzzled into Grians hair. “I know. You’re a pretty fairy. But you love the nickname. You’re our pesky bird. And my songbird.”

Being charming usually didn’t help Scar much when he was dealing with other Hermits and tried to scam them. But with Grian- He always seemed to glow whenever a nickname or praise pleased him. By now Scar knew well how to make him happy.

He knew Grian was getting flustered because of the buzzing of his wings and the red tips of his ears. He grinned when Grian grumbled something unintelligable to him and pressed his face against his chest harder.

“Why does Mumbo want to leave?” Scar asked after a while, when Grian had relaxed a bit in his hold again.

Grian tensed at the question. “He wants to… to get a grip on the changing thing. Doesn’t want it to happen again. And… and he wants to give me back the part of my soul he stole.”

“Hm.” That was reasonable. Scar had been writing a bit with Mumbo here and there. He might have been very mad at the redstoner, but Mumbo was also his friend and thus Scar was naturally worried about him as well. And yes, Scar might have been a bit passive-aggressive in his messages! He still knew that Mumbo had not done any of it with ill intent, though. Mumbo was devious when he was in a certain mood, but he was not cruel.

He must feel so guilty. As he should, in Scars humble opinion. But he was doing his best to do damage control. So Cub and Scar wouldn’t have to trap him in a death loop for too long.

Grian started to wriggle out of his grasp and Scar begrudgingly drew back to give him space. Grian sat back, Jellie easily following his movements and planting herself in his lap. He giggled at her and rubbed at his eyes with his arm, while Scar smiled warmly at the two.

“’m sorry I made such a ruckus.” Grian muttered. “It’s… I get why he needs to go. I just… the distance hurts. I thought it would be easier with him right here, you know? And I can’t make him stay. I hate that I can’t make him stay. And you guys just got him back, too! And now he’s leaving because of me-”

“Hey!” Scar reached out to cup Grians cheeks and make him look at him. “Hey, hey, hey no. You are not at fault for any of this. You got caught in the crossfire. Mumbo is doing something because he knows he needs to do it. If you hadn’t been there to get hurt then he would have taken someone elses soul. He would have still tranformed into a Sculk monster. Don’t think for a second that just because you got caught in this whole thing that you are the cause of it.”

Grian lifted the hand that wasn’t buried in Jellies fur to brush it against one of Scars hands, tracing its knuckles and leaning into Scars touch. “Thanks…”

He didn’t sound like he believed it. Which was fine. Scar could work with that. He was a patient man. He was! With certain things. He’d make Grian understand.

Beside them the Rift continued to hum, making its own, unheard promises.

~~~

Things got harder for Grian once Mumbos spaceship took off. It was almost like he was slowly being pulled apart, stretched like a rubber band. He started dreaming things Mumbo would confirm later to have been moments of Mumbos day. And sometimes he had flashes of thoughts that weren’t his.

It was like the two halves of his soul were desparately trying to hold onto each other. Mumbo wasn’t as affected by it. He, too, had sensations and phantom thoughts. But it wasn’t nearly as bad. Which made sense. It was Grians soul after all. Mumbo was just the vessel for part of it, not fully linked up with it. He just felt its after effects of sloshling around.

Not that Grian would ever tell Mumbo how much the growing distance between them hurt. How palpable it was to him. He had some pride. Not a lot, given that he would have begged Mumbo to stay if that last call with him had gone on for much longer. But he had some!

Scar visited him much more often after his breakdown and Jellie refused to leave his side even for a second. Once Ren found him crying in the shopping district, others flooded to his basement as well.

Gone was the unspoken agreement of the Hermits to give him some space. Those who had the time and weren’t too afraid of the Rift easily came to him over and over, trying to cheer him up or give him comfort. It all felt like a bit of deja vu. How often would Grian occupy the Hermits with babysitting him?

Bdubs chatted his ear off with horse facts and had mock arguments with Jellie. Ren played the guitar for him and taught him new songs. Etho made fun of his base, riling him up to get a bit of the frustration out and even managed to get him out of the basement so he could show off his own base.

Even Tango came out of his hole to keep him company once or twice. Impulse, too, although he usually came with Pearl.

Pearl, of course, was one of the more regular visitors. The soup she made still was a toss up between being very good and being a health hazard. But she was the only one he could talk to who knew their old crew and friends. She had opened up a bit towards the topic after noticing that talking about them helped Grian stay distracted. And together they re-discovered inside jokes and fond moments long past once more.

They also had “girls nights” every now and then. There was something about dressing up as Ariana Griande and screaming his heart out to some random karaoke songs with Pearl, that almost made him forget that he was Grian. He’d dressed up as Ariana every now and again and had started to write some new songs. But he tried to avoid doing so when Scar was over as the poor Vex still had no clue how to deal with a female, more sugary sweet version of Grian.

It was sad that Doc couldn’t visit. He had flown off with Mumbo to keep him company for a bit before leaving him at the first stop and coming back. He wanted to make sure that Mumbo was in the right mental space to take on such a long journey alone again. And Grian was infinitely thankful to him for that.

Cub didn’t have an excuse for his absence, though. And Grian couldn’t help but be upset about him not visiting.

Scar tried to explain to him why the other Vex held his distance. “Cub isn’t very good at cheering others up. He doesn’t want to accidently hurt you.”

A flimsy excuse. Cub had sang to him so sweetly before. He knew how to be lovely and caring.

“He doesn’t like Jellie much. And I think the Rift doesn’t like him at all.”

Grian pouted at that, knowing that the Rift was a big factor for the Hermits that didn’t visit him. Xisuma and Keralis would happily approach him at the shopping district. As would Jevin and Hypno. But they made a wide berth around his base, especially his basement. They could deal well with the Entity. The Rift was another matter.

Still Grian was sure he could convince the Rift to play nice with Cub! Maybe.

Grian sighed as he once more paced around his lab basement. He had a rare moment to himself and couldn’t really get himself to do anything. There was so much that could be done. The basement was clean and mob proof, but it was empty.

So much potential and no brain power left to make something of it. Grian rubbed his chest again with a grimace. The phantom pain had made a home in his body, no more coming in short bouts to sit out. It was a permanent guest now, growing steadily the further Mumbo went away from him.

On some days Grian wondered if he would survive this. Would he be able to welcome Mumbo back home? Or would his soul be torn apart before that could happen?

It was already sapping away all his strength. And it had only been a few weeks. He’d barely managed to drag himself to Rens coronation a few days ago. It was wild that Xisuma would let Ren grab power like that. Especially because Ren had immediately started to implement drastic measures, making everyone throw their diamonds into a pit.

The big statue of him that had popped up the day after was already telling. And the quests Ren had oh so graciously bestowed upon them were nothing more than chores in Grians eyes.

He was itching to prank the whole thing at the very least. Seeing Ren like this made him anxious. He acted and spoke like a totally different person. And everyone was just going along with it! Giggling and laughing like children.

The Hermits were going crazy. No matter what Xisuma said about Bdubs being good at choosing leaders in trying times. Grian had spent many a night listening to Bdubs gossip. The man was a chaos loving gremlin, who lived for the drama!

And Grian could respect that, usually. Heck he would have taken part in it if he hadn’t been so tired and in so much pain.

As always these days his pacing made him end up back at the Rift. He found that leaning into it was the only thing that even remotely helped with the pain. The membrane was still intact, rubbery and cold. It gave a bit when he put his weight into it. And if he pressed his ear against it he could hear the whispers of the universe.

It was a new development. Grian had only been able to hear the hum of the empty Void at first, mixed with the usual noise from the Rift. The voices had come slowly, distorted and muffled.

Whoever was out there sounded like kin. Sounded worried in a detached sort of way. They’d been watching him ever since Evo. They’d found him again drifting after he had gone through their portal. The one not made to be gone through, yet. And they’d patched him up and send him on to one of their worlds.

Their language wasn’t Grians own. He didn’t understand their whispering. He didn’t know who they were, exactly. If there were different from the Rift or just an extension. They sounded different. But while he couldn’t understand their language they sometimes seemed to give him flashes of knowledge. It wasn’t unlike the way the Entity and Rift communicated with him. Although it did feel more abstract and confusing, as though the things that lurked behind the thin barrier of the Rift had never been in direct contact with a Player before.

There was a connection to be made there to the civilization they’d researched on Evo. He’d felt their presence there as well, albeit more… or less? He’d never heard them. He’d never felt them either. But he had used their portals and played with their tasks, never quite disobedient, but never quite going by the rules either.

It had all gone a bit fuzzy. His time on Evo a barely remembered fever dream. He’d been so different back then. So Grian couldn’t really tell what had transpired when or even if it had really happened. His mind wouldn’t let him think far enough to solve the puzzle.

It didn’t really matter to him. The Rift and Entity had been brutal but caring. And while terror was a normal reaction when faced with concepts much larger than oneself, Grian didn’t feel threatened by the new supernatural addition.

The whispers were like a lullaby. Grian loved falling asleep leaning against the Rift because of them. They made him dream of realities where Mumbo had always been with him. Where he was a Hermit. Where Scar was his husband or his neighboor. And a myriad of other possibilities that sometimes were sad but mostly felt right. He always met the same people. There was no him without Mumbo or Scar or Cub. Or if there were he wasn’t shown these possibilities.

Grian was wide awake now, though. He was wide awake when the surface below him started to bubble and flash, the magic around him whirling and blowing through the cave like a storm. The Rift became a vortex. And Grian, so close that he might have fallen through even with just the membrane gone, had no chance of getting out before being sucked in.

As he was hurled through space once more, threads wove themselves through the souls of the people he had so craved to be close to, as well as those who had spent so much time with him recently. They were hastily stitched together and dragged off. All dropped into a new world.

When Grian opened his eyes to a foreign sky the only thing he could think was: Not again.

Notes:

To the person I replied to in the comments and promised fluff. I'm sorry I didn't remember I already posted that chapter. Have more angst instead :)

Also that Secret Life finale, huh? I may or may not have abandoned all other tasks to start a drawing for the winner.
And Hermitcraft season 10 next year baby! Woooo!

Chapter 30

Cub was a very intelligent man. He was perceptive and analytical and when it came to scamming people and playing pranks he was the perfect partner in crime and major master mind behind their schemes. Whatever they were doing, Cub always took it farther and knew how to get away with it.

He was the brain to Scars… gut.

But when it came to the more fragile matters of the heart and mind, Cub could be as dumb as a rock and as stubborn as a mule. He would set himself some sort of goal and stick to it no matter what. And right now it drove Scar absolutely crazy.

“Just come with me next time I visit him. He misses you.”

Cub, who had been on the receiving end of this particular plea ever since Mumbo had fucked up everything, shook his head. “I’m only going to stress him out.”

Scar threw his arms up with an enraged noise. “Cub listen to yourself! Please just take the advise you have given me back when Grian first came to us! He’s not afraid of you! He wants to see you!”

Cub crossed his arms and stared him down, frown deeply etched into his face. “That was different. You were being delusional. Even if he wants me around I’ve seen how much my presence is stressing him out ever since I accidently kissed him. He looks at me like he’s sure I’m about to explode at him any second.”

Scar walked up to the love of his life (or one of them), grabbed Cub by the shoulders and shook him for good measure. “Then tell him you won’t.”

Cubs hands covered his and he stood firm, shaking his head once more. Scar hoped he would get a headache from it eventually. It would serve him right. “I don’t think he has the energy for that kind of conversation now, Scar. He’s already dealing with far too much.”

“It’s not like you’re going to profess your undying love for him.” Scar would want to be present for that. And they had both agreed to wait with that until the whole Mumbo fiasco had sorted itself out.

“And how am I supposed to explain to him that I’m not mad about kissing him? And that you are not mad about me kissing him either?”

That was a good point. A bloody annoying one at that. Scar opened his mouth to retort, but at that moment he felt something snake around his core. It happened so fast that the words he was about to utter got stuck in his throat.

Something had caught him. Or a very essential part of him. All alarm bells went off in his body. The Vex awoke in his mind and started to scream. Scar could only let out a surprised and slightly pained “Eeep” before he was suddenly pulled away from reality itself and hurled through space.

~~~

Cub didn’t know what had happened. One moment Scar had been in front of him, furious and ready to drag Cub to Grian if he had to. And then Cub had blinked and… gone.

His hands were empty. His shoulders were already growing cold. He stood alone next to Total Chaos questioning his perception. It was hard to think with the Vex in his head scrambling around his mind in panic and confusion. They echoed his own state of mind for once. Their screeching melted with the shrill, continuous ringing in his head.

He felt untethered. Bereft.

Cub stood there, staring at the spot Scar had stood in for several long minutes before he regained enough mental capacities to act. It was a testament to how rattled he was that he didn’t even think to use his communicator and flew straight to where he had last seen Xisuma not too long ago.

He spotted him in the shopping district, idly walking along the streets to take in the buildings the Hermits had created. Cub yelled his name from above before he dove down.

“Cub! It’s nice to see… you. Oh my lord what is wrong now?”

“Scar is gone!”

Xisuma yelped when he was grabbed by the shoulders. Cubs grip was bruising, but X probably didn’t even feel it through his armour.

“Oh.” X sounded far too relieved, making the Vex in Cubs head hiss. “Well I’m sure he’s just with Gri-”

“He vanished. In front of me.”

“Did he eat a chorus fruit?”

“No.”

“Threw an ender pearl?”

“No!”

“Maybe he has a stasis cha-”

“It’s nothing like that!” Cub yelled at him, then took a deep breath. “It felt different. And Scar has no stasis chambers-”

“You know of.” Xisuma said, probably trying to sooth Cubs nerves.

He didn’t appreciate it. “No. He’s vanished X! He-”

Hands landed on his, their positions eerily similar to Cubs and Scars not long ago. Cubs stomach lurched at the tought, a part of him scared that he would suddenly disappear, too.

Xisuma squeezed his hands in what Cub was sure was a reassuring way, but didn’t really cut through his panic. “Have you tried messaging him? I’m sure he’s fine. It can’t all be spooky supernatural intervention.” He sounded desperate as he said that, almost pleading with the world for it to be okay.

He did have a point, though. This was why he had gone to X. The admin did have his regular brain farts, but overall he was one of the most mild mannered, stress resilient people Cub knew.

“I… I didn’t.”

“Go on then.”

They both stared at the device after Cub had typed a private message to Scar. An error bounced back a few seconds later. Connection failed. Message was unable to be send.

Xisuma swallowed hard beside him. “Okay. Okay don’t panic. I’ll just- I’ll see if I can locate him. Give me a moment.”

While Xisuma connected to the world and tried to feel out where Scar could have possibly gone, Cub tried sending the message again. And again. And again. The pit in his stomach grew with every failed attempt. And Xisuma had nothing to comfort him with.

“I… I can’t find him.”

So Xisuma only confirmed what Cub had alread presumed. “He’s been teleported off world then.”

“But that can’t be!” Xisuma threw his arms out and proceeded to wave them up and down as he spoke. “There’s no such thing as inter-world portals, much less teleportation!”

That Xisuma was still in denial about this was astounding. “Really? Then how do you think Grian got here?”

Xisuma stopped waving his arms, his appendages falling limply to the side. “I had my theories. The end portal may have glitched out. We’ve had time anomalies in the past. He might have not hopped worlds at all just skipped a lot of time. Or… well he might have lied, too. I wouldn’t begrudge him for it. Clearly something bad had happened to him and we are pretty much strangers to him-” Xisuma cut himself off when he saw the murder in Cubs eyes and back pedaled slightly. “I mean we were strangers at the time. It’s natural to lie to protect oneself in such situations.”

These were the most bullshit theories Cub had ever heard. They neglected the fact that Grian had appeared somewhere totally different than the End portal in the Overworld. And they didn’t account for the supernatural changes Grian was obviously going through. That Grian could have lied was laughable and insulting. He had taken great lengths to inform them of everything he was planning to do ever since he arrived. He asked for permission. He made sure not to cross boundaries. Cub knew manipulation and he could spot the signs of people trying to keep secrets. Grian was honest. More honest than most of the Hermits!

Xisumas theories were just a feeble attempt to rationalize away a scary unknown. And Cub didn’t criticize him for it. This season had turned out to be one emergency after another and the discoveries they’ve made had mostly been dangerous and mind-breaking.

It also didn’t matter what Xisuma might have thought. Because it was clearly wrong and they had more important matters to deal with. And Cub had no clue what to do.

His silence was enough to spur Xisuma into action. “Right. Well if inter-world teleportation is a thing, then Grian would be the one to know the most about that. I hate to say this, but let’s go to the Rift and talk to him.”

It was almost laughable. Scar had tried so hard to get Cub to talk to Grian. And he had succeeded! But at what cost?

The rocks were quiet as Cub and Xisuma flew close to them. The air was heavy with magic as always, feeling like sandpaper on Cubs skin. The cave was as eerie as ever. Only its resident was missing. Even Jellie was nowhere to be found.

This time Cub didn’t hesitate to send out a text to the Allay, making a gurgled sound when that message, too, came back with an error. “Grian’s gone, as well.”

Xisuma stared at Cubs communicator, the glare of the device reflecting on his helmet and hiding his usually visible eyes. His voice was tight with fear as he spoke. “I’m going to call another emergency meeting.”

~~~

The new world he had ended up in felt different than the one the Hermits currently inhabited. Grian felt more connected here and it didn’t take him long to remember what that familiar feeling meant.

There were people who could speak to worlds. The training to be able to do so was harsh and expensive. But once you got through it you could recruit your own crew and go out to explore and rebuild civilizations that had been long lost to time.

When Taurtis and Grian had planned their future carriers as space explorers they had quickly decided against just joining some random admin. Both had a bit of a problem with authority figures and the thought of traveling with strangers in a small spacecraft for ages hadn’t been a pleasant one.

They had wanted an adventure. A roadtrip through the stars. And they wanted to do that with friends.

So once Ariana had made them enough money and the passive income of her albums selling millions and millions of copies kept sustaining them enough, Grian applied for admin school. His background was a bit unique, but his carreer did show dedication, meticulousness and care. That he had studied architecture while creating music was another plus point. And his natural ability to manipulate and feel out magic as an Allay eventually got him a place in the program.

He’d been the admin of their group and thus he knew the feeling of tapping into a worlds core. It was a bit different this time, like this world had been primed to greet him. Usually it took active work to open up communication with a world.

You had to meditate and poke and prod. New technology could help visualize the magical streams and convert them into data and code, which made it easier especially for admins that didn’t have any magical advantages.

But admin panels were only tools that supported communication. The connection had to be made first in order to use them.

Grian hadn’t tried anything at all. And yet this world had immediately lit up at his arrival, open and ready for his commands. He didn’t have any admin panels in his communicator. It wouldn’t have made sense for Xisuma to give him one with such additions.

But he did have a communicator which did give him some room to work with, especially with such a willing host.

His breath caught in his throat when he managed to find out if there were any Players with him. The list of names that glared back at him was cobbled together from new and old friends. He saw Jimmy’s name and immediately wanted to cry.

There was nothing that could have stopped him from sending out a text in world chat. And he didn’t have to wait long before a flurry of answers popped up. Everyone was confused and slightly scared. But Grians old crew and friends were also overjoyed. A lot of them had never seen each other again after Evo, it seemed. Or had only communicated very sporadically.

And well, Grian had been missing for a few years.

The Hermits were naturally a bit more upset about having been teleported to a totally new place. Especially Tango, who had already been stressing himself out over not being able to finish before they had to leave for the next planet again.

But they were also curious. It was hard to keep up with the myriad of texts both in world and several private chats. Grian reminded them to seek shelter first before they continued, carefully keeping track of time and for once taking his own advise to heart.

After he had hollowed out a small hole in the side of a mountain and crafted a door to keep the monsters out, Grian focused on tracking down his Players. And they were his, no matter if they were a Hermit or not. This planet had spoken to him. He was the admin. That meant he was responsible for their safety.

He would not fail at this again.

The first thing he did after he had written everyone back and promised to catch up was to gage how safe the world was to die in. Scar, Jimmy and Joel were all prone to dying a lot in very stupid ways. He needed to warn them to be careful should this world not be strong enough to revive them.

The feedback he got from the worlds core was… confusing. And a bit concerning.

There was interference, almost invisible lines flowing through the natural flow of magic turned code of the world. As though it had been strung up in a web and laid bare for him, a fly on a surgery table.

The planet in and off itself did not have a lot of inherent magic. Grian estimated it to be able to grant three lifes at most. And then…

Well then there were the strings. And the echoes of whispers from the Void. For some reason Grian did not panic at the thought of perma-death. Because he was sure perma-death wouldn’t come.

Because it wasn’t just this planet that had been wrapped in strings of foreign magic. The Players had been, too. It took a bit of analysing, but Grian eventually recognised the pattern as a sort of safety net.

Three lifes. They had three lifes and then, before their souls would be taken to the afterlife, they would be pulled back to where they had come from. The lines would provide them with enough energy to survive the trip safely. And that also meant that they wouldn’t have to worry about figuring out a way to get off this world again.

Grian: So good news and bad news. Bad news: This world is pants and we only have three lifes, so be careful. Good news: It doesn’t matter cause if we lose all our lifes we just get teleported back to our current home worlds.

Cleo: How sure are you of this?

Grian: Very.

Jimmy: I’d like to have that as a percentage, please.

Grian: No :)

Jimmy: :(

Pearl: Just trust him Jimmy. He’s become an expert at weird space time glitches.

Martyn: Good. Those years lost in space did him some good then.

Scott: I wasn’t even there but I’m sure that’s a bit too soon Martyn.

Ren: There are so many new ppl here, help.

Bdubs: We should do an introductory round!

Cleo: Hi, I’m Cleo.

Joel: Group call!

Tango: GUYS WE HAVE A PROBLEM I JUST TOOK A MASSIVE JUNK OF DAMAGE OUT OF NOWHERE!!!

Grian: I’m making a group. Get in. And don’t all talk at once.

Grian wondered why he had even bothered typing that. As soon as he opened up the group call for everyone to join there were screams and people started talking over each other in rapid fashion. Was this how Xisuma felt during meetings? No wonder he liked to let others take the lead.

“Alright everyone SHUT UP!”

His Players fell silent and Grian let out a breath. “Thanks. Hi everyone! I know the circumstances aren’t that great, but… I’m so happy to finally meet you again! I can’t wait to see you all in person very soon! So uhhh about the damage thing. I don’t know-”

Ethos smooth voice cut him off. “Oh me and Joel already figured it out. We’re both linked to each other. If one of us takes damage we both take damage.”

“You already met?” Grian asked, but Ethos explanation was drowned out by Scars excited “They’re soulmates!”

Bdubs was not happy with that term. “NO WAY!!!”

“It does have a nice ring to it.” Scott mused.

Grian could almost hear Rens tail wagging when he spoke up. It was such a relief to hear him sound normal again. “Yes! It sounds so romantic, let’s find our soulmates!”

Several people were cheering and Grians heart skipped several beats, face growing warm wondering… hoping that...

No. No, Scar being his soulmate would be a disaster. Cub and Scar were linked by Vex magic. Grian was at least 90% sure they were formally bonded. And that must look a bit like an Allay bonding. With their magic linked and tied, both partners giving a part of themselves to each other.

What would an additional soulbond do to that? Oh Void, any soulbond could mess their existing bond up! But especially a bond with him would be disastrous. He’d already nearly wrecked their relationship!

But... on the other hand…

Grian rubbed over his chest again, noticing for the first time that there was no pain there anymore. There was still a hole. A part of him still felt a bit empty. And he could still make out the shape of his missing part somewhere far far away. But it wasn’t tearing him apart anymore.

He’d been stitched back together in a freaky, Frankenstein way. And he’d dragged several other people into this mess with him.

Grian stared at his communicator and forced himself to tune back into the conversation. Now that some of the most pressing mysteries had been solved everyone seemed… happy. They weren’t stuck here. They had a fun new mechanic (Tangos words) to play with. And they were meeting new people!

No one seemed to be even the slightest bit concerned. Grian wanted to cry happy tears. What had he done to deserve knowing such crazy people?

Tangos excited voice was the first thing he registered after he had forced himself to listen once more. “We could make a game out of this!”

Grian chuckled. Of course. Of course Tango, would suggest playing a game. Tango, who had spent all his time working on one of the most intricate games Grian had ever seen. The Hermits were truly something else. “What do you propose?”

“Murder!”

The way Tango almost sang the word made Grian pause. And not just him, the rest of the group had to digest what had just been said, too.

Until Scar piped up for the first time – aside from the quick introductory round Grian had barely been present for. “That does sound like fun!”

Should he be a bit embarassed about his new friends being so murder happy?

“I mean. If Grian is sure we’ll just go back to our worlds after? Sure. Why not.” Joel easily agreed.

Grian could almost hear the nonchalant shrug Scott probably made as he spoke up. “I’m always filled with gay rage. I’m in.”

“Can we also burn things?” Scar asked, sounding so excited that Grian had to do a double take. He knew Scar had a mischevious streak. But he’d never suggested property damage before. Or had been so on board with violence.

One by one all members of the group agreed. Apparently having to follow rules and not being allowed to blow up stuff, steal, lie and cheat had left them all with a hidden desire for anarchy. Grian couldn’t begrudge them for it. He, too, was one of the people to easily agree with the plan.

As the admin he felt responsible for setting some ground rules, though. Even if they weren’t many. Naturally there was a safeword. Grian knew most of his Players well, but a lot of them had never interacted with each other. Boundaries were sure to be crossed at some point.

He also gave them the radius around Spawn, the natural waypoint of a world, were people would respawn if the worlds magic allowed for it. It wouldn’t do to use the whole planet as a playground. They weren’t many and they were already scattered. If they didn’t have some designated area to set up in they might just never run into each other.

And Grian was determined to run into every last one of them. Many times.

With his work done, Grian finally decided to face the day. The whole meeting hadn’t taken as long as he had feared and instead of taking a good junk of daytime away from him, he still had enough time left to go out and explore.

Taking the door he had used to seal himself off with him, Grian stepped out into the Savanna he had spawned in. It wasn’t the prettiest biome. Much like the Mesa it was lacking colour and didn’t have much to offer aside from tall grass and acacia wood that tended to clash with most other wood colours.

Checking his coordinates and mentally drawing a border around the terrain he decided that he would climb up the mountain he had based in for the time being. It was always good to get some high ground at first to see where everything was. And hopefully he could make out some of his Players in the distance! He was itching to get to everyone.

He heard the baaahs and the clacking of hooves before he saw the creatures, their sounds making him scramble up to reach them faster. Grian heaved himself up and saw their white coats in the distance. Food!

The top of the mountain was relatively flat. He just had to be careful not to slip on the loose rubble- Wait a minute those weren’t sheep! His brows furrowed when he got closer to his source of fresh meat.

Technically, Grian knew what a goat was. Doc had their trademark horns, showing himself to be a descendant of them. But out in the wild, Grian had never seen one. It had been a long standing fact that the original goats had become extinct long before Grian had even been born. Docs discovery of an old, tomato farming goat people civilization had just been further proof of that.

But here they were. Walking around and screaming their little hearts out. And charging at him. AHHHH!

Grian dove to the side with a screech and just a moment later there was a clank and a mournful “baah”. He twisted around fast, preparing for another strike- only to find that the goat had apparently lost interest in him and was happily trodding off towards its brethren.

On the ground, where it had hit the stone wall, laid one of its horns.

Grian chimed at the inanimate object, curiously shuffling over to it and picking it up. The texture of it was rough, feeling almost exactly like the horns that adorned Docs head. Or well at least the one biological one he still had. His metal one was obviously different and tended to be much warmer and smoother.

Another interested noise escaped him when he turned the horn over in his hand and found that it was hollow.

There was another, smaller opening at the tip as well. And Grian, always happy to try out new things, quickly put two and two together and blew into the smaller hole. The sound echoed through the mountains, travelling far. It wasn’t the best noise in the world, but the hint of music and the pure volume of the thing made Grians wings flutter and flash with delight.

He was so distracted that he didn’t notice one of the goats targetting him from afar. He was only reminded of the fact that these things were not totally passive when he felt a sharp pain in his hip and toppled over.

“Hey!”

Glaring at the goat Grian quickly vanished the horn into his inventory. The animal was unimpressed by his stare and lowered its head to nibble at his sweater.

“Oh no! You don’t! Bad goat! Bad!” Grian pushed the goat head away with one hand while the other pulled his sweater out of its mouth.

The goat let out a mean baaah and stumbled back a bit, readying itself for revenge. Grian hopped back up, this time ready for the attack. He jumped sideways and the goat bonked its horns against the stonewall behind him, loosing a horn just like the one before it.

Grian picked it up and naturally tried it out as well. This one sounded much more pleasant. He blew it again for good measure, giggling at the sound. Oh, oh what other horns were there? How many loud noises could he make?

He didn’t know how long he spent trying to convince the goats to ram him and give him their horns. The first two, accidental times had been the easiest. But Grian soon learnt that goats were stubborn and only turned violent when they wanted to.

It also didn’t help that he was getting super hungry. More hungry than he should have. Grian never needed much sustainance. The marvels of being small and essentially a ball of energy. So the aching hole in his stomach could only mean one thing: His soulmate wasn’t taking care of themself.

Which sucked because Grian had only planned for himself. Meaning that he had thought he could just procrastinate with herding goats and get some food later. He could have killed the animals he was with. But… those were Docs ancestors. Probably. He didn’t want to accidently kill Docs great great great great grandparent or something. He liked Doc!

“Heya!”

Grian swivelled around towards the voice, lighting up at the sight of a familiar pretty blue haired male. “Scott! ScottScottScottScott! SCOTT!”

Scott laughed standing still so Grian could flitt around him several times before pulling the squirming, over-excited Allay into a quick hug. “Hi! Fancy meeting you here. What’ cha doing?”

Grian was grinning from ear to ear, hopping up and down and gesturing towards his find. “There are goats here! I’ve been trying to get their horns for the last… I dunno. You gotta try the goat horns. Have you already found your soulmate?”

“Oh so that was the noises I heard! It’s why I came over here in the first place.” Scott said, much, much calmer and slower compared to Grians excited chatter. He sat down on one of the boulders and took the offered horn, inspecting it with a curious hum. Quickly glancing at Grian and seeing him vibrate in place he decided to be nice and blow it. His eyes widened and he started to grin as well, when Grian pulled out another one and responded with it.

“Okay that is nice. How far away can you hear it, you reckon? I didn’t meet my soulmate yet, by the way. You?”

Grian pushed the hand trying to give the goat horn back to him away. “Pretty far, I think. Probably even throughout the whole radius we’ve set up. You can keep that one. I like the other better. I haven’t found my souldmate yet either. Kinda hung out here all day. But whoever it is isn’t eating. And I don’t have any food.”

“Oh.” A mischevious grin spread over Scotts face as he pocketed the horn. “This is going to drive the others crazy! I love it! Do you need any food? I have melons.”

“I dunno, I think I saw some chicken nearby.”

“Killing lifestock, Grian? When there are perfectly good melons right over there?” Scott pointed below them. Way, way down the mountain. Turns out the patch of Savanna turned into a Jungle pretty quickly.

Still Grian could squint his eyes all he wanted and couldn’t make out the green melons among the vibrant green of the jungle. And the chicken were clucking around at the base of the mountain, which was much closer.

“Yeah I’ll pass- Oh finally! Whoever is bonded to me is eating. Wow that’s… that’s weird.”

Scott swung his legs up and down. “Isn’t it?” But he seemed unbothered, smiling that slightly mischevious, slightly excited smile he’d approached Grian with that very first time they’d met.

Scott had hit on him at a bar way, way back and while Grian hadn’t been interested to turn his night into that kind of night, they did get chatting. One thing led to another, Grian found out that Scott was looking for an act to promote his championship and in the morning he had a private message from Ariana Griande herself.

It didn’t take long for Scott to put two and two together. But he had kept quiet about Grians secret, aside from a few inside jokes the two had shared over a good wine and a movie.

Scott was staring at him with a fond look, tinged with sadness now. “It’s good to see you again. We’ve- I was worried about you. I knew you wouldn’t be able to contact me for a bit, with the whole exploring stuff and all. But then Pearl and Jimmy ended up in my tournament and told me that you had gone missing. Where were you?”

Despite Scott having been the one to say “Too soon” to Martyn after the joke at the start, apparently he had no qualms about asking. Grian appreciated him for it.

Grian jumped up to where Scott was dangling his feet to make sure no goat would ram him while he had that conversation. He made a point of sitting one block higher than Scott.

“That’s a tricky question. I guess for most of the time I wasn’t really there? I went through a glitchy end portal, I think. And stuff got fuzzy after that.”

Scott nodded. “Jimmy told me that you all went. But the rest had gotten back to Evo no problem. Only you were gone.”

“They really all got out then?” Grian breathed, tears prickling at the edge of his eyes. He wiped them away before they could fall, hating that he let out a sniffle. He shouldn’t have been so relieved. Pearl had told him so, too. But Pearl… she’d been through some stuff. And she was a good liar. Even to herself.

Jimmy couldn’t lie to save his life.

Scott patted him on the leg, resting his hand there for a moment. “They did. Well… all except…”

“Taurtis.” Pearl hadn’t mentioned him. And Grian had already had a feeling that he’d been gone for good long before that glitched end portal.

“What happened after?” Scott spoke into the grief ridden silence. “Pearl didn’t seem surprised to hear from you.”

Grian continued to dap at his eyes with his sweater. “Ah. Yeah I ended up in another world. And Pearl and the Hermits were there, too. They found me. And I’ve been living with them ever since. I tried to reach out to everyone! But I’ve been too far away. Or you’ve been too far away.”

“That makes sense.” Scott said as if it actually did. “I’ve been through some wild stuff, too! We had a real life demon on our world. Destroyed half of it so we all had to start over. Granted that was my fault. I summoned it to move the plot along.”

“Wait you’re an explorer, too?!” The question was out before his brain caught up with the rest of what Scott had said. “You did WHAT?!” No wonder everyone was so chill. They were all crazy. Absolute bananas.

“Nah. I’m more… the stuff I get up to is more of a roleplaying thing? Fwhip, the one who has been our admin, he flew us over to an empty world as a kind of ultra extreme larp game. We’ve been building a lot, too, of course. But it’s been mostly roleplay and messing with each other. Oh Jimmy is a Sheriff! You’ve got to see him! He’s all about respect now! And he’s so small! It’s so funny when he’s running around and screaming ‘Respect the Sheriff!!!’” Scott made a playful grimace and acted as though he was throwing a tantrum, his voice pitched high to imitate Jimmy’s.

Grian tipped his head back to let out a full bellied laugh. “Oh I need to see him now! That sounds- Pfff that sounds so much like Timmy!”

Scott looked up at him with a small smile, shining eyes and open arms. “You need a hug bestie?”

Grian sniffled again, the noise quickly turning into a sob as he lunged at Scott and planted himself firmly into his lap. “I miss- missed ‘im so mu- much!”

“I know. I know. He missed you, too. We all did. I’m glad you’re okay. You are okay, right?”

Pulling back a bit to be able to look Scott in the eyes again, Grian nodded. “Yeah. I’m… I’m getting okay...er.”

Scott snorted, bringing his hands up to squish Grians cheeks. “Wonderful word choice, there.”

Grian stuck his tongue out at him. Making Scott laugh and pull back so Grian was able to wriggle out of his lap and hop down again. “The others are fine, too?”

He had to wait for his question to be answered until Scotts laugh had peetered out. “Yeah. Yeah they are all good.”

And that. After hearing that Grian thought he might be able to die happy.

Notes:

Early update cause I'll be away visiting family until the new year. So this will also be the last update in 2023.
Next chapter will be up on the first staturday 2024 :)

Thanks so much for all the lovely comments this year. It's been a blast! I wish you all a merry holiday season and a happy new year!

Chapter 31

Scar and Grian weren’t the only ones missing. Xisuma tried very hard not to let panic fully overwhelm him. But a big chunk of his Players had just… poofed. Gone. Their names were sliding down his inner eye like the end credits of a movie. Ren, Bdubs, Etho, Cleo, Impulse, Pearl, Tango, Scar and Grian.

Nine of his Hermits. His family and friends. People who were relying on him to keep them safe! The remaining ones were all on edge. It was another huge blow after Mumbos transformation. And the worry was eating everyone up.

Hypno and Keralis flanked his sides, both holding onto his shoulders and looking over the admin panels with him. Usually he didn’t need them when he was just doing minor adjustments or was searching for one of his friends. As a Voidwalker he had enough inherent magic to bend most of the worlds magic to his whim without technological crutches. And Hypno was great at helping him maintain everything so he didn’t need to make massive changes most of the time.

But this was different. He needed to know what was going on with this world. And if he had to dig into its core and rip that secret out from it, so be it. It had hurt his Players enough.

“X, take it easy. You don’t want to tear anything apart and make a bigger mess.” Hypno cautioned, swiping away a line Xisuma had been fiddling with.

Keralis could only take Xisumas hand before it could snatch that particular line up again. He had no admin training. The knowledge he’d gained over the years was by watching Xisuma and Hypno. But that wasn’t enough for the advanced stuff.

Xisuma tried to wrangle his hand back out of Keralis’ grasp. “I don’t-”

“Jo Rift! Give us our friends back!”

Joes yell made every Hermit turn their head to him. Joe was standing in front of the Rift, hands on his hips and giving it his most disappointed look. They all waited with baited breath, tense and nervous.

A myriad of scenarios flashed through Xisumas head, each more horrible than the last. But the Rift merely stayed unresponsive, humming its usual hum, the lights within flashing in mesmerizing patterns. To Xisumas ears it sounded smug. He wanted to punch it so badly.

Joe deflated. “Well it was worth a try. Anyone else wanna give it a go?”

Gem stepped forward, eyeing it up and down. She’d been the most calm about it all, despite how worried she must have been about Pearl and Impulse. The three had been joined at the hip this time around.

She hummed at it, placing one of her hands against the membrane and closing her eyes. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated. Joe stayed close to her, ready to pull her back should anything happen. But her eyes merely fluttered open after a few breaths and she shook her head.

“I don’t know how he does it. The Rift isn’t giving me anything.” She pushed at the membrane for good measure, causing the other Hermits to yell in alarm.

When that didn’t do anything either she let herself be pulled back by Joe with a pout. “It’s so mean. Give me my friends back, you jerk!” She kicked at it, but Joe had pulled her back far enough and her foot only hit empty air.

Ah, there were the tears. It seemed even their brave little Gem had her breaking point. Joe led her over to the bed, where she could sit and cry, Joe rubbing her back in silent solidarity. “I just need a little bit.” She whispered. “I just need to know where they are. Please!”

But she got no answer. The Rift did not care for them. It had chosen its favourite among them and he had been taken from them to who knew where. It would communicate with no one else.

Xisuma took in a shuddering breath. “Maybe… maybe we could try the Entity. It was a bit more chatty towards me when it held Grian.”

“To the Entity then.” Hypno agreed, his words echoed back by the other Hermits.

~~~

Scar was awoken by the Vex chattering excitedly in his head. Their screaming and snarling had been a constant companion since he had been pulled away from Cub. The journey to where he was currently laying on the ground was filled by them and the terrifying, roaring silence of the Void.

He must have blacked out at some point. Because he remembered noise and then nothing and now the Vex had started up their ruckus again.

Scar wasn’t a very observant person, especially when it came to his own body and needs. He was used to ignoring a lot of the issues that came with being a Vex Hybrid. The phantom pains. The voices in his head of a swarm that didn’t exist anymore. The nightmares. His lost chime and long lost innocence.

But he wasn’t totally oblivious. He knew the Vex in his head. He could usually tell very well whether they were angry, delighted or wanted to shed blood. He didn’t always know why or what they were targeting. But he knew them well enough to distinguish between emotions at least.

When he’d been ripped from Cub and his current home world they’d been furious and panicked. Now they were pretty much purring. Which made Scar suspicious. The Vex in his head reacted to his bonds and moods most and foremost. They were a bit like an instinct. Or like a craving. Like a swarming mass of bees telling him to do stuff or cheering him on.

That the Vex were excited, almost satisfied, was concerning. Especially because they had just been angry at leaving Cub behind.

He was also feeling… odd. Weighted or… or… doubled. Like there was a mirage of him walking around somewhere. Scar took a bit of time to lay on the ground and stare up at the sky, trying to take stock of his body and where everything was.

Physically he seemed to be fine. A bit hungry, but nothing had changed about his appearance. No limbs missing or deformed. All his teeth were where they were supposed to be. But something felt different about his magic. It wasn’t just the feeling of another person running around in his own skin somewhere else. Scar realized that it was also as if there was a second person layered on top of him.

But… it didn’t hurt. It actually felt kind of thrilling. His bond with Cub was still intact and held firm. Scar wasn’t injured in any way. And the Vex didn’t seem bothered by the change at all. Sooooo. That meant, in his book, that it was safe to ignore the strange happenstance for the time being.

He had obviously landed somewhere completely new. It would be a shame not to explore. He could worry about how he would be getting home later. First: Adventure!

There was a Pillager Outpost in the distance. It was the first thing that caught his eye after he had stood up. The Vex turned from purring to mostly hissing at it. Although their reactions were torn between hating the structure and the beings within and their inherent loyalty and fear of the masters that had faux created them.

Or that had created the real versions of them once. Scars swarm was dead. And they had never quite merged. So he wasn’t really dealing with anything real. It got confusing really fast when you were dealing with matters of the mind. Which is why Scar usually didn’t.

He tilted his head at the structure. It was no Woodland Mansion, but it would do well to preserve his tradition. The tower was made out of wood, too. It would be easy to burn down. Or… easy once he’d gotten himself some gear. Taking a little peek probably wouldn’t hurt, though.

His communicator started vibrating with messages a few minutes after he had settled down behind some bushes to track the movements of the Pillagers. Thankfully he was far enough away from them that his yelp of surprise wasn’t heard.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one in this new place. Honestly, it kind of shocked him that he was even somewhere entirely new. Scar had just assumed he’d been transported to an unknown part of the map. That he was actually on a wholly different planet was… oh dear Cub was probably losing his mind trying to find him right now. Yikes.

Scar scanned the list of names, a mix between old and new. He smiled when he found Grians among them and frowned when there was no Cub in sight.

Things quickly derailed from there. An official introduction round. The reveal that Grian would be the admin of their group – oh and how the Vex purred at that – and then the discovery of their new bonds.

He had stopped listening to the excited babbling of the others at that point, his mind caught up by the term “soulmate”. Again he went into himself to tug at the magic and feel out its new shape. Again he inspected the bond he and Cub shared, suddenly scared that it had been damaged or overridden.

When he found it safe and sound his curiousity took over and he tried to find out who his soulmate was through sheer force. No luck. He should have known better. Scar only knew his and Cubs signatures. So he could only identify Cubs magic within him and his own. Everything else? Could be residual magic. Could be the Vex corruption or the natural mutations that usually occurred every now and then. Or really a myriad of other things.

If you traversed space and time and got involved with so many different magical objects as Scar and most of the other Hermits did, at some point there was just no use in checking up on ones inner magical household anymore. It would always turn out to be suspicious soup. The important thing was to keep ones core magic balanced. Like a good immune system. Everything else would sort itself out.

So no luck there. Which only led Scar to speculate. Grian came to mind first. His dream soulmate besides Cub. And he couldn’t breath for a second, overwhelmed with emotions and a fierce longing for the little Allay.

Then reality crashed down on him. Or rather the other, just as possible realities. Grian could be bonded to someone else. Scar could be bonded to someone else.

The thought alone made him feel dirty and sent panic through his body. He didn’t want to be shackled to anyone if it wasn’t Cub or Grian. Scar barred his teeth and snarled, eyes flashing an electric blue. He would have no master!

“-could make a game out of this!” Tangos excited yell startled him out of the long growl he let out.

His head was still a bit fuzzy, though. The sheer terror of ending up where he’d once been, tied down and turned inside out, was making it hard to focus. Until Tango crooned “Murder!” and the Vex within him perked up at the chance of some good old fashioned bloodshed.

Scar unmuted himself. “That does sound like fun!” If murder was accepted as part of the game, then he could kill Grians soulmate without remorse. And his own, if he had to. Three times wasn’t much. He was a master at getting stuck in death loops, he should know.

He tried to focus on listening to the others from then on. Of course rules had to be made. And Grian… Scar had never heard Grian be so authoritative. It made his throat run dry.

After all was said and done and Scar had forgotten about half the rules they had agreed on, he decided it was time to get a move on. He’d been sitting in the bushes for far too long and his knees were killing him.

When he got up to leave he saw a speck of blue not far from him and got excited. Could he see Grian again so soon? He almost fell forward in his haste to get to it, only to be disappointed. The being that greeted him once he had run up to it wasn’t his little Allay. It was an Allay. Much smaller than Grian, all blue with eyes bright instead of dark.

It shrunk away from him at first, the way Scar had feared Grian would when he had first met him. It was afraid of him. As it should. Scar hummed at it, hoping to ease its nerves. He didn’t have anything to gift it.

Scar shouldn’t have cared, but the thought made him sad. He hadn’t had anything to gift Grian those first precious minutes either. Nothing except freedom, which Grian should have had in the first place.

He still remembered the way Grian had looked in that horrible cage. Small and lost and scared, but with a deviant fire in his eyes. He’d trembled and flinched at Scars movements and yet he’d been all too willing to interact with him.

Scar missed him. It had just been a few hours, but the thought of him potentially being with someone else drove him mad.

That could become a problem. The jealousy had already droven him to do some very stupid and mean things back on their current home planet. And something told him Grian would not be happy with him if Scar got all too possessive of him.

He was halfway up an oak tree, reaching towards an apple when he noticed what he was doing and frowned. Maybe… maybe he couldn’t have his little Allay with him, but…

Scar plucked the apple from the tree and hopped back down, wincing when his knees protested loudly at the rash action. The small, pureblooded Allay, scared as it was had moved closer to him once more, drawn in by the shiny red thing in his hands.

As the bright blue fairy approached him with a hesitant chime, Scar held the apple out to it with a smile and an encouraging coo. He pressed down hard on everything that made him Vex. The more he looked and felt like a normal Player, the better the chance this Allay would stay by his side.

Something warm fluttered awake in his chest as the Allay took the apple from him and did a little loop in the air. It was cute. Allays were naturally cute. So cute it hurt, sometimes. Scar had lost that. That certain, innocent spark. He knew he would never not be threatening anymore. Even toned down to almost nothing he still had the scars and the sharp teeth. His skin would never have a healthy colour again.

The Allay circled him with excited chimes a few times before floating off in search for more apples. Scar shook himself out of his sad thought spiral to chase after it, feeling a dreadful sense of deja vue. Still it was safer to chase fairies than Grian.

Notes:

I'm back for the new year. I hope you all had a good start to 2024.

It's honestly going to feel very weird writing Jellie from here on out. But given how much she meant to Scar I'm not going to just erase her from the story. I hope Scar has all the love and support he needs to get through the grief.
I lost my families cat yesterday too. He was 14 and I was his favourite person. So I'm pretty gutted at the moment as well. Good thing I have a lot of writing to keep me distracted.

Chapter 32

Scott hung around him for much longer than Grian had expected. It seemed Grians excitement about the horns was shared. Or maybe Scott just liked being around the friend he’d thought lost for years. Whatever it was Grian was happy to have the company. He had missed Scotts snark.

And he’d been eager to get updates on MCC as well. Grian wasn’t sure if Cub was still willing to throw in a good word for him after… So Grian took the opportunity he had.

Their conversation ebbed and flowed as the sun slowly began its decent. Grian was mostly focused on the goats after Scott had distracted him a few too many times. His poor legs and stomach were probably bruised horribly by that point. He sent a quick apology to whoever his soulmate was.

Either way, because he was trying to be a bit better and not get hit by the goats so much, Scott was the one to notice the newcomers.

Grian saw him wave out of the corner of his eye, before Scott yelled down the mountain. “Heya!”

The wind carried two voices up to them and Grian immediately stopped what he was doing to bound over to Scott so he could greet Big B and Tango. It was surprising and oddly reassuring to see them travel together. As far as Grian knew, they had never met before and yet they seemed to be having a good time in each others presence.

He’d been a bit worried that his two or three friend groups wouldn’t match well. But it looked like they were doing just fine.

Once they’d heaved themselves onto the stony platform, Big B looked up at him with a smile. Grian couldn’t help but stumble closer, letting out an excited chime. And for the first time in what felt like forever, Grian received an equally excited chime back. Not the scratchy imitation from the Rift. Not the melodic hum Scar sometimes gave him. A real, high pitched, chime that was perfectly tuned to his own, echoing its sentiment.

They didn’t clash. That’s not what Allays did, as much as Grian wanted to throw himself at Big B and never let go. They looped around each other instead, in a dance and song only familiar to them, magic and fondness building in the air as they drew closer and closer until they were finally in each others arms.

Words still evaded them, their natures having taken over fully. Big B held him up and spun him around, both of their wings working overtime and covering everything in fairy dust. Grian let out a myriad of little jingles, a sweet tune of warm affection before he dove down to touch their foreheads together.

Big B trilled in response, his voice low and warm like honey and Grian felt himself glow as he was sat down. They both turned towards Scott and Tango, who looked at them with starry eyes.

Grian giggled at Tangos flaming hair. It had gone back to its warm orange glow and it was just settling down once more after having flickered along to Big B’s and Grians tune. There was no stopping the happy wagging of his tail, though.

“That was so cute!” Scott cooed, making Grian blush and Big B chuckle awkwardly.

Tango hopped up and down and clapped his hands. “It was! Good thing Scar isn’t here!”

That made Grian frown. “Why would that be an issue?” But his question was ignored in favour of Scotts “Are you two soulmates?”

Tango shook his heads. “Nah. Just travel companions.” His eyes gleamed, grin turning sharper. He looked so lively now, more so than back home. Less stressed and more animated. But when he voiced his next question and looked over at Grian he looked a little nervous. “Wanna try?”

Hope bloomed in Grians chest as he looked over to Big B. Maybe he could be his soulmate? He would be easy. They were both Allay Hybrids and they had known each other since they had been children. Grian knew their dance and song. Big B wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

Grian turned fully towards Big B, smiled and slapped him. The sound of his hand hitting flesh echoed through the mountain, making Scott and Tango wince. Big B blinked at him in shock before touching his hand to his burning cheek. “Ow.”

Grian looked at his own hand, disappointed. “Not tied.”

Scott approached Tango, who looked at him warily. “Can we do this without violence?”

Scott, who might have looked like the least violent person, but thrived in chaos as much as Grian did, smiled. “No.”

Grian laughed as Scott chased Tango down, the Blaze Hybrid screaming bloody murder. The slap that eventually followed was a disappointment as well. Neither of them were each others soulmates. Somehow, Tango looked beyond relieved by that, while Grian was sulking. He’d really hoped for Big B to be his bonded. It would have made life so much easier.

Scott would have been a bit hard. That man was always so flirty and Grian wouldn’t have been able to deal with it very well. And Scott was also perceptive. He would have figured out Grians little crush on Scar and then he would have teased Grian about it mercilessly.

Tango, too, would have been alright. He was a bit rude sometimes, but he was also someone Grian hadn’t spend a lot of time with. Which meant he was safe to just hang around with.

Not that it mattered, because none of them were his soulmate. And maybe, maybe Grian could work with that as well. He didn’t need to know who his soulmate was. He could just pretend the bond didn’t exist. Ignore his burning curiousity and go on with exploring the world. He was good at that. At exploring, but mostly at ignoring his problems away.

Tango and Big B decided to stay for a bit, as well. Grian apologized for dragging them all into this weird soul business. At this stage he was pretty sure this whole thing had been cooked up by the Rift. Although he had no clue how the mostly dormant portal had done it.

Neither of his friends were all that concerned about it. “It’s nice to be outside for a bit.” Tango admitted, flames flickering anxiously, as though saying that he had needed a break was somehow bad.

“Are you kidding? I get to meet new people and see some of my friends again! It’s like a surprise vacation slash get together!” Scott exclaimed, looking happy as a clam.

Big B gave Grian one of his deceivingly soft smiles. “I got to see you again. I couldn’t be happier.”

And yes, they’d said as much over the communicator, already. But hearing it point blank and being able to see their honest expressions… It settled something dark and squirming within him. His friends were truly okay with all of this. Happy even! And Grian would do his best to keep it that way.

Grateful, he gave Tango and Big B a horn each and one after the other they blew into it, asnwering the one that had come before.

Grian giggled as the sound got carried away by the wind. “Welcome to the horn club!”

The giggle turned into a choked off sound when a sharp pain suddenly ran from the soles of his feet up his legs, making him fall and gasp for breath. Teary eyed and confused he turned on his side and clutched at his limbs. The pain wouldn’t stop. It throbbed, muscles twitching. It felt as though he had jumped off a height he shouldn’t have and hadn’t even tried to roll to avoid the worst of the impact.

Carefully feeling along his legs he found that at least nothing had been broken. Another sharp pain tore through his shoulder, visions of an arrow getting stuck in flesh blinking in and out of his mind.

He was so confused by all the sudden phantom sensations that he hadn’t even noticed that he was babbling for food and help. Only when too warm hands broke the death grip he had on his legs and another set of pale ones offered him food did Grian become aware of the people surrounding him.

Tango was the one to stop him from maybe hurting himself further, guiding him to take the food Scott had offered to him. Big B carefully helped him to sit up and let him lean into him.

Grian breathed through the worst of the pain and eagerly took the food, trying not to think about the injuries that could suddenly appear. Whatever danger his soulmate appeared to have been in, they seemed to have gotten out of it.

He wasn’t hurt any further and his soulmate must have started eating, too, for the pain he did feel started to subside.

Okay. Change of plans. There would be no procrastination this time. Taking a shaky breath he spewed out the first thing that came to mind. “That sucked. My soulmate is horrible.”

Tango laughed at his misery, it sounded almost hysterical. “Yeah. I feel you.”

Big B pointed at the Blaze Hybrid with a chuckle. “I found him hurt and picked him up. That’s how we ended up traveling together.”

The conversation started flowing again, but Grian barely listened to it. His head was swimming thinking about who his soulmate could be. By the amount of times he’d gotten hurt already, small pains and bruises blooming on his body like grotesque flowers, it had to be someone reckless.

Joel was out of the question. He was already soulbound to Etho. Jimmy was his next best bet. That man couldn’t keep himself alive if he tried. But if it wasn’t Jimmy…

That left Scar.

Hope and dread warred within him at the realization. Suddenly he was so very sure that it would be one of them. Jimmy would have been tolerable. He was a get back home fast pass. But Scar…

Grian wanted it to be Scar. But he also didn’t want it to be Scar.

“I better go look for my soulmate before he gets me killed.”

Waving goodbye to his friends left him feeling hollow. But traveling with them would have slowed him down. And he needed to get to his soulmate fast. Whoever it was had shown him that ignoring them would not be an option. If he wanted to stay here a little bit longer he would need to find his match soon and do everything in his power to protect them.

During his journey his gaze skimmed over his surroundings, keeping an eye out for a potential good spot for a base. There was still a game to play. And if they were going to end up killing each other Grian needed a good defendable position.

He found one not far off from a jungle biome and marked it off as his. Sure there were no rules against stealing and grieving in place, but Grian hoped that people would still remember to be kind in the beginning. It was one thing to crave murder and crime. Settling into a life like that was a different thing.

On his search for his soulmate he bumped into a few more people looking for “love”. Cleo and Bdubs and later on Impulse. All of them were happy to see him. All of them seemed excited to play.

They didn’t care that something had stitched together their souls despite them having already been whole. It made Grians protective instincts rear up. He knew what altering a soul could lead to. He’d lived with the misery of half a soul for long enough. And Grian didn’t quite understand why.

If this was really something the Rift and Entity had cooked up, then what was the point of threading everyone together in pairs? Sure it seemed to stabilize him, but everyone else had been totally fine up until they had been kidnapped.

His ponderings were interrupted by nearly falling head first into a ravine with a gentle river flowing in it. Heart skipping a beat at the near miss. His half bend over the edge position gave him a great view of what laid below. In this case he spotted two people in a boat.

Alright maybe being around people slowed him down, but he couldn’t just ignore Joel and Etho. “Joel! Etho! Up here!”

Both of his friends looked up and waved back at him. They looked so cozy and relaxed squished against each other in the small boat. Grian was slightly envious. So he decided to be petty and make them wet.

Jumping off the cliff was not one of his better ideas. He narrowly missed the shallow waters and the splash didn’t even make it to Joel and Etho. All he ended up doing was to give himself and his soulmate a couple more bruises. And on top of that he got himself a mouthful of water.

Unfortunately he could still hear the laughter above his spluttering as he resurfaced. Grumbling he swam to the boat and clung to it, having half a mind to topple it over. Joel either must have noticed the dangerous glint in his eyes or he had just decided to be an ass, because he was quick to shove him back into the water.

Yeah, Joel definitely had just wanted to be mean, Grian thought as he came back up the second time, somehow feeling even wetter than before.

Etho was probably the only one concerned about the boat. A fact which was underlined by the “Whoa! Hey careful!” he let out before furiously trying to keep the rickety seacraft upright.

Grian splashed him for his troubles. As a treat.

Joel leaned over to him, not making it easier on Etho, who was doing all the rowing while also trying to keep them from tipping over. “Soooo~ Have you found your soulmate yet?”

Grian was starting to despise that question. He also despised Joels shit eating grin, that told him exactly that Joel knew he Grian was still searching. Bloody Joel with his sharp teeth and weird green antenna poking out of his fluffy hair. Grian had known that man for ages and still hadn’t figured out what kind of Hybrid he was.

The boat docked on the shore and Grian eagerly followed them up onto dry land. Etho was quick to place down a crafting table and furnace. And Grian was quick to hop on top of the warm stone and let the heat dry him off.

“No, I haven’t yet. I’ve got a hunch it might be Jimmy or Scar, though-”

As if summoned by his words there was a mighty splash as another body suddenly hit the water, making everyone jump.

“Oh! Well hello there! Nice day isn’t it? Has anyone seen my Allay? It floated off somewhere-”

Scar apparently did not need air, Grian thought, his own breath caught in his throat. No one who needed to breath could just start blabbering on without a care in the world after nearly drowning. And why was he talking about an Allay? Grian was right here!

The stupid Vex didn’t even have the decency to swim over to them. He just stayed floating in the middle of the river, waving his arms around as though he didn’t need them to stay afloat. Grian was about 90% sure he would be taken under by the current any minute now.

“Sorry Scar we’ve only got the one Allay, here.” Joel told him, pointing at Grian.

What?! What did he mean they only got the one? They only needed one! And that was Grian! “Hey!”

Etho awkwardly patted him on the head, making both of them slightly uncomfortable. Neither had interacted with the other a lot, because Etho had always visited him with Bdubs and the moss covered man had a way of taking over the room. So the affectionate gesture felt a bit forced. Like Etho was trying to imitate someone he was not. Grian still appreciated the gesture and softly chimed at him. Ethos eyes narrowed in turn and Grian interpreted that as a smile.

“Have you found your soulmate, yet. Scar!” Joels teasing tone turned into a terrified scream of Scars name, when the Vex was suddenly pulled under.

Grians own alarmed call echoed through the ravine, unheard by the one it was meant for. Scar bopped back up a few seconds later, none the wiser that he had just caused the others a fair amount of distress.

At least the man was finally swimming towards the shore. “Puhh that water, am I right? Nasty! And cold. Brrr. Grian scoot over will you?”

Grian almost fell onto the crafting bench in his haste to make room for Scar, stomping down on the urge to check him for injuries. “You didn’t answer the question.”

It was then Scar finally looked him in the eyes. There was a strange glint in them, almost menacing. The Allay in Grian screamed danger at the sight. And the Grian in Grian immediately wondered if he had done something wrong to earn Scars ire.

“I haven’t little songbird. What about you?”

Grian shook his head, throat suddenly too tight to get a noise through. He hadn’t even noticed how Scar had leaned in closer until the Vex drew back again, leaving him room to breath once more.

The tense atmosphere was broken by Scars smile and cheerful exclamation of “Well I hope you find them soon! Oh look! There’s that little rascal! Come back here!”

There was no way Grians brain could keep up with Scars antics. The strangely distanced and intense way Scar was suddenly acting around him left him reeling. And then Joel came up behind Scar as the man retreated, hitting him hard on the shoulder.

Scar didn’t notice. He was already too absorbed with his hunt for the pureblooded Allay. But Grian felt the damning throb of the punch, his face saying everything even before he could answer Joels whispered question of “Did you feel that?”.

“No.” He whimpered, dread turning over into panic, fully shoving aside the small spark of joy. He threw his head back and wailed. “NOOOOO!”

Joel and Etho made pitying noises. Joel even went so far as to give him a sideways hug. “My condolences, man.”

Grian couldn’t respond to him. He got out a cracked “Scar.”, flinching when the man in question slipped on the shore, trying to scramble up the cliff after the Allay.

“Scar!” He yelled louder, knowing he should have been heard. But Scar was either too focused on the shiny blue thing in front of him or just didn’t want to hear him. Both options made him angry. “Scar! We’re- Scar come back! I need to tell you something!”

There was a brief pause in Scars movements before he continued running off. Grian let out an enraged noise. “Scar! I’m trying to tell you I’m your soulmate! And you keep chasing fairies!”

He was the fairy Scar should have been after! Why wasn’t Scar chasing him?!

Notes:

Some people were anticipating that last scene in my comments. I hope I did it justice XD It was one of the scenes I've had in my head for ages and that pushed me to write as much as possible so I could finally get to it.

Also thank you so much for all the lovely comments. They mean a lot to me. I've been taking it easy and have been playing a lot of Cult of the Lamb to cheer me up. Which I may have become a little obsessed about. I'm thinking about a crossover. In the far, far future because writing on three big stories at once is already enough for now.

Chapter 33

The Entity was somehow even less responsive than the Rift. Cub glared up at it and had half the mind to sharpen his pickaxe on the bloody boulder. The Hermits had tried to cajole the damned thing for hours. It felt like a safer bet to speak to than the Rift. Despite its impressive legs and tendency to steal stuff from its surroundings, the Entity had firmly been established as a shop in most of the Hermits minds. And a shop usually didn’t hurt. Except when it had been build as a prank. Or been booby trapped for a war. Neither of which applied to this situation.

Cub would have preferred violence over the silence. It didn’t even mentally shove at them. And Gem had some very mean words to say to it. Cub did, too, but he refrained from antagonizing it. Xisuma had told them that the Entity had sheltered Grian once, so the thing was most likely just being protective of the little Allay. A sentiment Cub could get behind.

It was really the only soothing fact about this whole fiasco. Neither the Entity nor the Rift had been actively malevolent. They’d been weird and spooky and threatening. But Grian had liked them and as of yet hadn’t been scorned.

Cub turned his back to the Entity and the gathered Hermits that were still hanging around. As much as he hated to do it he would go back to Scars and his base for now and… and wait. He had to belief that whatever was happening wasn’t anything bad. He had to. Because if both Scar and Grian were lost…

That wasn’t a reality he wanted to experience.

Patience was Cubs virtue. Usually. He thought things through before doing them. He knew to wait for a good moment to strike. Waiting for something that he wasn’t sure would happen, though… It was torture.

It started with him pacing around, going up and down the tree, touching all the little trinkets that were littering their shared space. The base felt empty and cold without Scar. And it was oddly quiet without Jellie.

That was his first distraction from the waiting. Another shock of panic. He didn’t even like the cat. It took far too much of Scars attention away from him. And the bloody feline loved to mess with his redstone.

But her being gone as well wasn’t a good sign. What the hell did the Rift want with Jellie?

So Cub went looking for her. She couldn’t be gone. She was the only thing left that could have tied them together. But she wasn’t in Scarland and she wasn’t at Scars tree or the mattress shop or even the cookie shop.

Cub ended up right back at the Rift in his search for her. Its eerie glow and hum filled the cave that had started to look more and more like the bare bones of a laboratory. Except for a bed and a few chests there wasn’t much Jellie could have hidden inside or under. And eventually Cubs attention shifted from finding Jellie back to the Rift.

Its mere existence was mocking him. The humming was all wrong. The colour was alien. Too pink to be a real portal, defying everything he knew about how the world worked. He narrowed his eyes at it. “You better take good care of them.”

His growled words were replied with by a tug that made his breath stop. It felt almost… annoyed. Like someone was trying to get him to notice something extremely obvious.

Well Cub could be annoyed right back if that was the game they were playing. “Oh now you want to communicate.”

Was the Rift shy or something? Or had it just waited for him to figure things out on his own? Cub would need to speak to Grian about his weird pet dimensional hole if- when he got back. For now he would take the crumbs he had been given.

Sitting down on the bed, Cub closed his eyes and felt out the place the Rift had shown him.

~~

Mumbo was feeling weird. Of course, that described about 90 percent of his existence, but it was still worthwhile to mention. Because while Mumbo was full of oddness he had started to meticulously catalogue said oddness in order to get a better grip on himself. There really wasn’t anything better to do when drifting through space.

He could have listened to music. If he wanted to go mad hearing Ariana Griande on loop for the next weeks. Cub had hijacked the system, probably as a prank meant to take effects ages ago. And the radio wouldn’t play anything else.

Mumbo liked Grians singing voice very much. He just didn’t care for the kind of music his female counterpart produced.

There also wasn’t much to read or watch. Mumbo hadn’t taken anything but the very essentials on this tiny ship. And he was starting to regret it a bit.

He usually spent his time staring off into literal space, writing in his little journal and trying to figure out how his body worked. Maybe if he had grown up among his kind this would have come natural to him. But he hadn’t and thus the inner workings of his cells were as alien to him as the vast corners of his mind.

The heightened awareness helped to alert him to more incoming changes, at least. It had started with twitches of pain every now and again. They were so small that Mumbo wouldn’t have even noticed them had he been going about his usual business. Quite how one would find bruises days later, wondering how they had gotten there.

Then there had been more intense ones, feeling a bit like cramps or strained muscles. Only they felt more like an echo, as though they had travelled a long way to reach him, the distance weakening their signal.

He’d searched his body after it had happened a few times. Especially after that one, more intense wave of hurt. There were no bruises. No open wounds. A relief but puzzling nonetheless. Because these weren’t the usual – I sat in an awkward position for too long – pains.

Mumbo figured it must have had something to do with Grians soul, which had sat oddly idle within his chest for a while now. It worried him. So he’d tried texting Grian about it. But he must have been too far out already.

The only thing he got back was a glaring red error message.

~~~

There was a joke somewhere in Grians current predicament. An Allay Hybrid, chasing a Vex Hybrid, chasing an Allay. They only needed a pureblooded Vex to close the loop. The whole time he was fuming and confused.

Why was Scar even bothering with this sad excuse for a fairy? Scar had never shown much interest in them! And why was Scar still going away from him? Surely he must have noticed by now that Grian was his soulmate, right? Right?!

Scar must be toying with him. This was some kind of twisted revenge for letting Cub kiss him. It had to be. No one could be this oblivious.

And still here Grian was, following his soulbound across the map to make sure Scar didn’t get himself killed. Etho and Joel were no help in the matter. Etho had told Scar what a cool thing it would be to base on top of the pillager outpost. How much of a strategical advantage they would have.

Grian had called bullshit immediately, but Ethos word was stronger. Apparently everyone respected the mans words. Something about him not being able to lie. And being wise.

At least one of those things couldn’t have been true because just a few hours later they’d found themselves surrounded by angry pillagers, high up in the sky with no chance of escape.

Thankfully Joel and Etho had fallen for their own words. They were panicking alongside him, Joel babbling and Etho awkwardly hanging about making timid suggestions until Grian decided to throw down a water bucket, make a boat from scratch, force Scar into it and rowed it off the edge.

Grian didn’t know who was screaming the most at that point. His brain had barely comprehended that his plan had worked when Scar pulled at his arm and urged him to run. Etho and Joel were right behind them. And then they were in front and oh dear Grian had lost Scar again-

An arrow shot into his back. But no it wasn’t his. It was Scars. “Scar! Come on!”

“Ahhhhhh!”

Grian spun around, heart in his throat and shield held high. When had he taken that out? Probably when he’d unsheathed his sword. Both actions had been missed by him. But he must have performed them because here he was, waiting for Scar to pass him so that he could buy them some time hacking away at their pursuers.

He didn’t bother with a full on attack. These might not be the kinds to turn Allays into Vex, but they were just as bad. These outposts were for capturing Allays and raiding villages. And once the pillagers had gathered enough they would send their spoils off to the nearest Woodland Mansion.

Grian had no wish to end back up in the basement of one. And he was sure Scar didn’t want to end up a slave to one of the evokers either. Void why had Scar wanted to base on top of a pillager outpost of all things?!

An almost hysterical laugh left him when they crossed other Players and introduced their pursuers as “The Boys”. The way Bdubs screamed when he saw what kind of guests they had brought to his home would have been hilarious in any other given situation. And maybe Grian had gone mad because the tiny part of him that wasn’t terrified out of its wits did find it kind of funny.

They eventually got rid of them by the end of the day. A new problem appearing in the form of the moon slowly brightening up the sky to take the suns place. They didn’t have a base and they didn’t have a bed. And the few people they had met probably wouldn’t like having them around.

Etho and Joel stayed with them and together the four of them build a small shelter. One of them scraped up some coal to make torches and a campfire. And Grian finally let himself calm down, exhaustion slowing down his heart and tugging at his eyelids.

The others still had some left over energy. Especially Scar, who didn’t seem to regret a thing. He had sat himself down between Etho and Joel, as far away from Grian as possible. “Whoooo what a day, am I right boys?”

Grian stomped down on the urge to hop over the campfire and plant himself into Scars lap. He grumpled a vague affirmative instead and huddled closer into his sweater, rubbing his nose into the rough fabric of the turtle neck.

By the next morning, Scar had disappeared. Grian stared at the spot he’d fallen asleep in. The red streaks of the early morning had barely left the sky. And Scar was not an early riser. Another pang of hurt shot through his chest, this time emotional rather than physical.

Scar was fine. He wasn’t injured or hungry. He just… didn’t want to be with Grian.

There were soft footsteps behind him and soon a hand was placed between his wings. “Hey, you alright?”

Grians lower lip wobbled. “Yeah.”

“Your voice broke there, mate. You wanna try that again?”

Grian shook his head. “Just morning voice.”

He was brave enough to stare down against Joels sceptical gaze and was relieved when his friend drew back with a long suffering sigh. “Fine by me then. We wanna go find a base. You’re free to tag along.”

It was a nice thought, not being alone. Grian shook his head anyway. “I have a spot already. I’m going to start to build something there, too.”

Waving goodbye to his friends felt like cutting the cord to civilization. Grian had half a mind to sprint after them anyway. The pull to create something of his own was strong enough to keep him from doing so, though.

It had always been one of the things he’d looked forward to the most, making a home from scratch somewhere far far away. It was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding things. Those early days, trying to scrape together enough resources to survive. To build a basis that would enable him to flourish later on.

A new beginning was a new game with the dice yet to roll and a clean slate. And while Grian knew that he could never escape himself wherever he went, it still felt freeing to start from scratch. That he could, technically, re-invent himself every new world he hopped on.

New beginnings were also tidious and frustrating, especially if you had a timelimit to set up. Grian was reminded of that fact quickly once he started to chop down trees. The tasks of hunting, setting up the first weed farm and building a sort of ramshackle shelter were almost enough to keep him from fretting over his partner.

Almost.

Grian sat down heavily on the freshly made bed and stared at the beginnings of walls he had started to build. He’d made the base too big. He’d accidently made a base for two. His lower lip started to tremble again, throat closing up and eyes burning.

Grian bit down on it, pushing away the hurt that was so profound that it made him dizzy. Trying to distract himself further, he took out his communicator. Reading world chat was always fun. Everyone liked to chat when they wanted to procrastinate or share their pains.

No one had died so far. A miracle given that the group of players included Jimmy and Scar. And they had already begun to group together and trash talk.

Joel had written him a private message.

Joel whispered to you: I asked Scar if he knows who is soulmate is again. He still has no clue Grian! He really is so oblivious. You better go tell him because I doubt he’ll find out himself. He’s by the bamboo forest with the Jellie pandas, whatever that means.

A spark of hope flared up in his chest, quickly being smothered by doubt. Not even the confusion about what the heck Jellie pandas were supposed to be could stop his thoughts from spiralling immediately.

It was great that Scar didn’t know. At least he wasn’t ignoring him because he didn’t want to be soulmates with him. But that left the question: Did Grian want him to know?

The short and easy answer was yes. Grian wanted to keep him close to protect him. He wanted to win this game. Or at least stay long enough to spend more time with everyone. He hadn’t even seen Jimmy yet!

The more complicated answer was no. Scar was already acting weird around him. He must be feeling so unbalanced without Cub. Anxiety churned in Grians stomach. Oh Void, what if his bond with Cub had somehow been tampered with? Oh no that would explain Scars weird behavior!

Forcing Scar to acknowledge their soulbond just felt cruel in that context. Like he was using this to shove Cub out of the game to insert himself into Scars life more firmly. And he didn’t want that. First of all he wanted to be with Scar and Cub. And second of all… he didn’t want to hurt them.

He’d already given them so much grief. He couldn’t just kiss Cub and then turn around and cling to Scar. Especially if he was right and Scar was still reeling from having his soul forcefully tied to someone else.

Grian was a master manipulator, but only if it was fun. Taking advantage of this situation and potentially ruining Cubs and Scars relationship forever wasn’t.

A dull pain making his ankle throb made him grimace and bend down to rub at it. “Scar! Take better care of yourself.”

That was another thing. Could he leave Scar to fend for himself? At some point it would look suspicious if he kept popping up to check on the Vex. And once everyone had partnered up Scar would know, right? What would he think of Grians silence then?

Groaning, Grian put his head in his hands. This was going to be a disaster either way. But he couldn’t help the fluttering in his chest at the thought of Scar in his base, nore the pure shock of joy at the realization that he had him as his soulmate.

If this would lead to heartbreak either way, maybe he could at least allow himself a little taste of mated life to a Vex?

Another throb, this time on his right arm, confirmed his choice. Whatever happened after was solely up to the Void. But he needed to tell Scar before the man killed himself. That would be an awkward way for him to find out.

Notes:

Thank you all so much for the comments! I'm sorry I didn't get to reply to them for the last uhhh month or so. Life has been super busy in a good way after the rocky start of January. But the whiplash has me quite exhausted so I haven't been able to write a lot much less reply to comments.

I read and love them all, though! It's so cool to read all the thoughts and predictions and I'm super happy that this story is being enjoyed!

Chapter 34

It took incredible effort to slink off into the sunrise after their shared night together. Scar had wanted nothing more than to grab Grian and hold him close ever since he’d found him together with Joel and Etho. But his instincts hadn’t stopped there. He’d seen red once he’d realized Grian wasn’t alone. And only the knowledge that Joel and Etho were already bound together had saved them from being brutally murdered. Barely.

Scar had wanted to bite and claim and make sure Grian was his and by extension Cubs. The insecurity of Scars bond was driving him crazy. Vex were territorial creatures and Scar as a person was very possessive. He tried not to be. He knew his particular, violent brand of jealousy wasn’t sexy. But he did slip up from time to time.

Scar could not slip up around Grian. The poor thing had already been through way too much. Part of which had been Scars fault already. Cub had been right, just because it seemingly hadn’t bothered Grian didn’t mean that mild mind control had been okay. He didn’t want to lose all his chances just because of stupid, unhealthy urges.

It was best to steer away from temptation and keep to himself. He had an Allay! It wasn’t the one he wanted, but it was company. And once he was red he could let loose and get some of his more violent urges out.

The problem was that Grian, as always, had a different idea. He stuck around, gave him food and tools and looked heartbroken whenever Scar scooched away from him even a little. It, in turn, broke Scars heart and only reinforced his want to grab at Grian and keep him safe. Even if it really was the other way around. Grian was much more capable than him.

It became so hard for Scar to shove down his instincts that he easily became overwhelmed and diverted back to a state of mind that loved to just take orders. Ethos suggestion of building on top of the pillager outpost bounced around his mind like a screensaver, red and shiny despite the flares of panic it shot through him.

A primal part of him longed for the simplicity of imprisonment. He was getting so exhausted fighting against the current of emotions that it sounded like heaven to be overtaken and controlled.

So Scar let himself be led to the outpost and climbed high, high up. Or he was the one leading, really. He thought the idea alone would make Grian leave him be. But he stuck around, stubborn as a mule and complaining all the way.

Why?

Scar could see his transculent wings tremble. The primal fear in his eyes shone like a beacon. Grian had gone pale at the mention of the outpost and even paler once they’d gotten there. Scar could imagine what he was feeling as he himself wasn’t fairing any better.

Why were they both doing this? It didn’t even give them any advantage in the end. They barely made it out alive and ended the day with no base and no resources. And Scar had made Grian feel bad.

Why?!

He was so overcome by guilt and anger at himself that he couldn’t sleep at all. Which was the only reason he had been up early in the first place. A blessing in disguise. He started walking in a random direction, the Allay thankfully keeping close. Scar would have started crying if it had left him, too.

Now he did need to get his act together and find a good place to build his base. The thing that first came to his mind was that he wanted to hide. But he didn’t want to feel caged in either, so carving out a cave or tunnel system was out of the question.

Spotting the high trees of a jungle in the distance made an idea pop up in his mind. The jungle was thick and dark but also bright and full of life. He’d settled in that biome two worlds ago and it had been one of the prettiest locations he’d ever made his home in. It was a bit of a hassle to set up there, but the comfort of a happy memory steered him in that direction anyway.

And while every step that took him further away from Grian felt like tearing his soul out, Scar found that his decision was the right one once he got to the bamboo forest. He had to stop and stare at what he saw, grin stretching ever wider while the tears finally started to flow.

There, amongst giant copies of herself, laid Jellie, spread out in the early morning sun. She lifted her head when he stumbled closer and meowed at him in a petulant tone as if to say “You’re late”.

She let out a huffed mrrp when he picked her up and spun her around, holding her tightly to his chest. The laugh he let out was bordering on hysterical. “Jellie! Oh gosh how did you get here?!”

She must have been very cross at him for manhandling her like that, but her benevolence was unlimited and so she let Scar nuzzle her without biting at his nose. She did start to wriggle when he refused to let her go afterwards, aggravating the other Jellie like animals in the vicinity.

Scar had enough awareness to be mindful and set her down when one of the creatures started to hiss at him. And Jellie proudly pranced over to her new friends, tail held high and showing that she was the boss around here.

He watched her with a soft smile, bad feelings forgotten for just a moment. “Seems like you’ve managed to find some friends! Although… those aren’t cats. They look more like… pandas? Pandas with your coat? Jellie could it be that your soulbond got a bit wacky?”

It could have been just a quirk of the world. The slimes in Docs perimeter were transculant oversized tomatoes, after all. Jellie had no real answer for him. Though she probably also didn’t care.

Neither did Scar, if he were being honest. Which he was! A lot of the time! He had never really liked pandas to begin with. They’d been part of the reason why setting up in a jungle biome was such a pain. Why did something so vicious look so cuddly? It was a mean trap is what it was.

The Jellie pandas were much cuter and friendlier. Once Jellie had rubbed herself all over the wild animals with a contented purr they quickly settled back down. Some even came close to Scar to sniff at his hand, quickly starting to nudge him for food.

He laughed when one particularly hard shove nearly send him falling backwards and leaned over to hug the offender. The Jellie panda grumbled, but soon started to purr. It was a much deeper sound than Jellies purr. And it reviberated inside Scars chest and rattled his bones until he all but melted on top of the poor animal.

From one heartbeat to the next he found himself laying down with the Jellies in the sun. His head was cushioned on fluffy fur and the real Jellie had crawled onto his stomach. The sun was filtering down through the canopy of vibrantly green leafs. And somewhere in the distance he could hear a parrot screech its little heart out.

The need for productivity was forgotten as exhaustion made friends with his recently found contentment and finally sent him to sleep. He didn’t know how long he had napped in the sun, blissfully unaware of the struggles of his waking life. The first thing that registered in his mind was the screaming parrot.

Although its screams sounded a bit too much like words. “Scar!”

Now did Jellie teach it to say his name? Scar pried his eyes open and frowned up at the trees.

“Scar? Are you here?”

Ah. His heart started to thump hard again, consciousness rushing back to him in a wave of excitement. That was another pesky bird!

Oh no it was Grian.

Scar wondered if the little Allay would miss him in the pile of Jellies if he stayed still enough. But no such luck.

“Scar! What are you doing with- What are these?!”

Not wanting Grian to think he had ignored him he slowly sat up and stretched with a yawn, blinking slowly at the Allay, acting much more tired than he was. “Oh hey there Grian! These are Jellies, of course! Aren’t they cute?”

Grian hesitantly took a step closer, warily watching the Jellie pandas. “I don’t know. They look dangerous.”

Scar waved his hand at him. “Nah. They are perfect little angels. Just like Jellie herself! Look she came with us!”

The way Grians eyes lit up at the sight of the cat made Scar want to rush over and smother him with kisses. He held tightly onto the squirming bundle of fur instead. Grian came closer to him all the same, eager to pet the cat. And if Scar held Jellie a little bit closer so Grian had to lean into him to reach her well then that was Scars secret to take to the grave.

“How did you get here pretty?” Grian cooed, pressing closer against Scar and bending down to kiss Jellies head.

Scar desperately wanted to do the same to Grian. “She always finds a way. She’s been following me around for… uhm… five worlds now? I think? She’s a clever girl.”

There was so much love in Grians eyes when he gazed at the cat that Scar was beginning to get a little bit jealous. Until those lovely dark eyes swept up to him and Scar briefly forgot how to breath.

“She really is so special.”

So are you. Scar thought, Vex demanding he do something now that Grian was so close within reach again. He made the executive decision to move away instead. Scar plopped Jellie into Grians arms to stand up and stretch, wincing at all the joints that popped and cracked as he did so.

It was a reminder to himself that he was still in charge, not the evoker that had tried to twist him into something he wasn’t and not the Vex and instincts that had taken over his mind ever since. It was a bitter win, especially with the solemn way Grian tracked his movements.

“So what brings you here on this fine day?” Scar broke the silence that threatened to choke them both. Man, he was doing so many hard things today.

Grians face turned determined as he granted Jellie her freedom and stood as well, motioning for Scar to follow. “I wanted to show you something. Come with me for a sec.”

Now whatever Grian had come to him for couldn’t be a good thing if he was making that kind of face. Scar panicked and froze up. He had been so good this whole time! It had taken so much out of him to just be a decent Player. But Scar had his limits.

Seeing what Grian was grumpy about was the limit. So Scar did what he did best in situations he wanted to avoid, he talked and distracted until hopefully the issue would be entirely forgotten.

“I don’t know, Grian. Look at the Jellies! I can’t just leave them alone. They are so cute!” He needed the emotional back up. And they were pretty cute.

Scar pulled out a bamboo stick from his inventory and discreetly led a few of the Jellies over with them, earning an exasperated look from Grian. “It’s not going to take that long, I promise.”

A whine nearly tore through his throat, Grians words sounding like a threat.

Grian didn’t seem to see his distress under the fake bright smile and goofy laugh Scar pulled up to mask his growing panic. He pulled him by the arm and manhandled him into a position that was suitable for him.

“Now look at me.”

Scar wanted to look anywhere else. “But Grian the Jellies!” One of them had chosen that moment to snatch the bamboo from his hand. The huge animal promptly sat down on its behind and snacked on the treat, making satisfied noises.

There was a brief pain on his temple, Scar must be starting to get a headache from all the stress.

“Scar!”

“What? What did I miss?”

Grian made a frustrated noise. “Would you stop playing with the Jellie pandas for a second and look at me!”

“I am! I am looking at you!” Scar briefly glanced in his direction before being nudged by another Jellie panda again. He only briefly saw Grian holding something in his hand. And then something hit him hard.

Surprised he touched his now bleeding temple and turned to Grian with wide eyes. “Ow… What… Why did you throw a rock at me?”

Grian was trembling all over, from fear or repressed rage Scar couldn’t tell. His voice was small and strangled when he replied, however. “You weren’t looking.”

A tiny spark of his own anger flared in Scars chest. “And you decided to hurt me because I didn’t give you attention?”

The way Grian clenched his jaw made Scar fear for his teeth. “You’re still not looking! Just! Don’t you see.”

Grian aggressively pointed at his own head, where an identical sluggish stream of red made its way down his temple.

Oh.

“Oh.” Scar breathed, unable to feel anything at the revelation. “Oh. We’re… That whole time? Since when did you know?”

Grian deflated with a huge sigh. “Since the ravine. When I screamed no, remember?”

“That was yesterday! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“I tried!” Grian roared back before folding in on himself again. “You wouldn’t listen. So I had to do it this way.”

Scar pressed his lips together, trying to hold onto the righteous anger. But Grian did look desperate and there was another question that was soon overtaking his thoughts. “Wait. What was the no for?”

Grian looked pained. “I… I fell. I just… fell.”

Notes:

I wrote this chapter in November so reading through it now feels a bit weird, but also right. Hope you guys liked the additional Jellie lore :)

Btw. a bit of a loooong heads up. I got informed that I'll be flying over to South Africa in March for work related reasons. And before and after that will be filled with vacation. So I'll probably be able to post at the first and last weekend of March but not in between as I'll be doing other stuff then. Primarily freaking out about the work trip I'm sure. I've never been outside of Europe before XD

Chapter 35

Hurting Scar hadn’t been the plan. But then again, it had never been and somehow he still ended up ruining everything again and again. Now that he was looking back at all of their past interactions it really had just been a matter of time before Scar would cut ties with him. Grian would have liked it if he hadn’t decided to do so now when they were literally tied together, though.

Or no. He should have been relieved. Scar not wanting to base with him should have been great. It made things so much easier.

Instead he was angry. The same emotion that made him throw a rock at Scar still burned bright within his chest and flared up with every rejection Scar threw his way.

He could have just slapped him. Grian thought as he watched Scar from atop the wood and dripstone wall he was slowly raising higher and higher. Just like he had done with Tango and Big B, he could have done minimal damage to them both.

The rock had been in his hand before he had even realized. And he had merely knocked it gently on his head before the frustration about Scars antics had gotten the better of him.

Grian blew a sharp breath through his nose. He was so tired of thinking about everyone. Mostly he was tired about Cub and Scar constantly being on his mind. Grian was his own person! He’d been fine without them for years! Happy even!

Why couldn’t he stop obsessing for a second and get on with his life?!

He watched Scar fall down trying to chase one of the Jellie pandas around and winced before he even felt the pain. Right. Because the world wouldn’t let him.

Grian had half the mind to throw himself off a cliff three times to get this all over with. But that would have been mean. And dangerous. He was the admin of this world. He needed to stick around as long as possible to make sure everyone would be alright. A world that had been tampered with to this extend could develop what the tech savvy people had coined “glitches” and the magically enclined ones “fractures”.

They could doom a world and its Players if left unchecked. And Grian would rather make sure that didn’t happen.

He also didn’t want to leave before he had met-

“Grian!”

Sometimes it was scary how his thoughts summoned forth the people he wanted to see in reality. He spun around so fast he lost his footing and slipped off the small platform on his wall. He masked his fall with a rather painful, but cool landing, nonchalantly shaking out his feet that took the full impact of the fall.

Somehow he didn’t find the will to feel sorry for Scar. “Jimmy!”

The urge to run up to the panting blonde with the bright yellow feathers was overwhelming. Grian knew, however, that doing so would worry Jimmy and he didn’t want to make their first meeting in ages awkward.

So he donned his meanest smile, showing the teeth Jimmy had always found creepy. “Back from dying?”

The reaction was expected and relieving. Jimmy came to a stop a few paces away from him, face slowly turning red and pout starting to form. “Ah! Why do you need to have so many teeth! You’re supposed to be a cute fairy! Also! Rude! I didn’t mean to die!”

It was Grians turn to pout and cross his arms. “I am cute! And you never mean to die. You’re just bad at living.”

“Hey!” Jimmys tone was enraged, but his eyes were wide and shining, a smile threatening to break through the frown he was trying very hard to maintain. Both of them were maybe starting to cry a little.

Oh bugger.

Suddenly launching himself at Jimmy with everything he had predictably sent them both to the ground. They knocked heads on impact, teeth clacking with the force of their clash.

Grian didn’t dwell long on the pain. He ducked his head to rest it against Jimmys collarbone, fisting the T-shirt the avian had on, fabric straining not to tear. It didn’t take long for big, fluffy wings to envelop him and press him closer.

They were both breathing heavily through their emotions, Jimmy scratching at the ground with hands that weren’t sure if they should hold Grian or not. Until they finally ended up grasping at the fabric of Grians sweater just below his wings.

Remorseful chimes were met by confused chirps and soothing trills until they finally detangled themselves from each other. Grian gave Jimmy another, less aggressive headbutt to the chin before standing up and dusting himself off. He would have stayed longer. Despite Jimmy favouring being bullied as a love language, he could also be an absolute sap for ages.

Grian had nested with him a few times during Evo and knew first hand that once Jimmy had a hold on someone and was emotional enough there was no chance of escape. And they didn’t have the time for that here.

Jimmy took a few attempts to get up mostly because he was still shaky, lanky bird feet unwilling to cooperate with him. Grian always thought Jimmy had too many joints for such a clumsy person. The grumbling at his giggles only made him want to cry more.

Gosh he’d missed this big idiot. “Sooo are you only here to see me Timmy?”

“It’s Jim. Big man Jim. No, don’t give me that look! I’m literally a head taller than you.”

“Half at most. And that’s just because you are like 60 percent legs.”

Jimmy dug his claws into the soft ground and huffed. “That still counts!”

“Hmhm.” Grian felt generous and didn’t comment further. His humming said everything. Before Jimmy could try and start a fight he couldn’t win, however, Grian distracted him with a question. “So is there a reason you came up here? Despite missing me, of course.”

Those big eyes should have belonged to a puppy not to a bird. “I did miss you.”

Void this manchild would be the death of him. If it had been anyone else Grian would have let loose on the waterworks. But Jimmy didn’t do well dealing with other peoples sadness, so Grian tried to keep it together. To keep their usual dance and song intact. And to make sure they didn’t end up sobbing messes.

“Of course you did.” And then, because not echoing the sentiment felt a bit too mean after everything, “Missed you, too. Timmy.”

Jimmy gave him a wobbly smile before perking up. “I did come here for something actually! I heard from Scott that you are a bit of a horn dealer.”

The puppy dog eyes were back. Jimmy even went so far as to lean down a little bit and fold his slim hands in front of his chest in a pleading gesture. “Can I please, please have one? Hearing everyone constantly blow their horns is driving me crazy. I wanna be part of the horn club!”

“Oh. Oh Tim.” Grian was honestly feeling pretty bad for the avian, although he wouldn’t have given him a horn even if he had a spare one left.

Jimmy understood his tone very well, his wings drooping. “No. Please don’t tell me-”

“I already gave out all my horns. I only have this one left.” He took it out and blew it to demonstrate. His tune was answered one by one until the air was filled by noise. His heart fluttered pleasantly at the responses, knowing that every speck of sound was a friend somewhere close by.

Jimmy tilted his head back and let loose the most pathetic “Noooooo!” Grian had ever heard.

It even summoned Scar, who had been doing… something. Grian had lost track of his partner ever since Jimmys appearance.

“What’s going on here?” There was plain curiousity in Scars voice as he climbed up the hill, but something seemed a bit off. His magic felt hostile and he had his tattered wings out. When he saw Jimmy he grinned at him with a crooned “Well hello there! I don’t think we’ve met!”, but it sounded more like a threat than a greeting.

Even Jimmy, the most oblivious person Grian knew besides Mumbo and Scar, picked up on the odd behaviour and chose to make it worse by leaning down and whispering to Grian. “Why is this guy giving me murder eyes?”

Grian merely shrugged. “He’s my soulmate. Hi Scar!” He addressed the Vex. “This is Jimmy! He’s my best friend. Besides Mumbo.”

“Who’s Mumbo-”

“Don’t give him your horn or I will end you.”

“Hey!”

Scars aggression slowly turned to confusion as he continued to watch the two. “Why do you not want him to have a horn?”

“Because he wants one.”

Jimmys pout was back full force. “That is so mean! I just don’t want to be left out!”

“I still don’t understand.”

Grian huffed. “It’s really quite simple!” He quoted Mumbo while wagging his finger. “What Timmy wants he doesn’t get.”

Scar stared at him blankly. “I thought his name was Jimmy.”

“Eh. Jimmy. Jim. Timmy. Tim. Tomato tomato.”

Jimmy whined beside him like a little child. “Grian!”

Grian gave him his meanest grin and chimed back. “Timmy!”

Scar tilted his head at them, deep in thought. “You’re Tangos soulmate, yes?”

Now that made Grian perk up. Hadn’t he seen a death message not too long ago? “Wait, Timmy, did you meet Tango after dying or did you know beforehand.”

The way Jimmy buried his red face in his hands in embarrassment was answer enough, but it was still nice to hear him squeak out a tiny “No.”

Grian burst out laughing. He’d joked about dying being the worst way to find out who your soulmate was. Poor Jimmy. Poor Tango. Those two wouldn’t survive long.

Scar was chuckling now too, even if he was still staying away from them, back ramrod straight and wings stretched out in a show of… dominance? Grian didn’t really get what Scars problem with Jimmy was. Maybe it was wing envy. He’d never seen him this territorial before. Especially about a base he didn’t want to call home anyway.

“It’s not that funny!” Jimmy cried out, reaching out to Grian to stop him from laughing so much. He hestated when he heard a warning growl from Scar, gaze turning calculating.

Grian was too busy laughing to notice the shift and when he straightened up himself the moment was already over. “It kind of is.” He giggled, turning serious quickly after that. “He’s treating you well?”

It was one thing for Jimmys close friends to bully him. They knew his boundaries and tells. And Tango was a sweetheart but he could come on pretty strong without noticing. Grians worries melted away as soon as he saw how Jimmy brightened up, wings fluffing up and shifting excitedly at the mention of his soulmate.

“He is! We’re building a ranch together! We’re the Ranchers!” There was an odd spark when he leaned back down towards Grian. “Is your soulmate treating you right?”

The quick and easy answer was a hard no. But Scar was right there and looked so sad and guilty that Grian couldn’t help but bound over to link their arms together. “Yes! Hasn’t died once yet. I’m so proud of him!”

Grian was clutching Scars arm like a lifeline, praying the Vex wouldn’t act weird again and pull away to ruin the illusion of harmony. He was so stuck in his head about it that he never noticed the way Scars wings curled around him. Scars focus shifted entirely to him, gaze turning soft and fond as he started to lean towards him like a flower to the sun.

Jimmy saw, though. Jimmy saw Grians flush and death grip as well as they way Scar almost folded himself in half to shield the Allay from Jimmys sight. And look, Jimmy wasn’t the brightest bulb in the shed. He knew that. But he still had functioning eyes and knew Grians body language. That Allay was down hard. Oh what a wonderful thing to tease him with!

Not while Scar was around, though. The Vex looked scary.

Notes:

Hermitcraft season 10 starting today WOOOO!!! I'm so happy that Joel and Skizz got invited! I can't wait for the first episodes to come out!

Chapter 36

All efforts to contact their lost Hermits had been for naught. They’d tried everything from meddling with magic, to strengthening redstone signals and had spent countless hours trying to negotiate with the Entity and Rift. Research into the lost cultures of this world had doubled, especially after Doc had gotten back. With so many weird things going on surely the past inhabitants had known something about world to world tranportation.

But nothing. They were all running around like headless chicken despite their various meetings, charts and protocols. Everyone was merely a few more fails away from pulling their own hair out in frustration.

Cub had seen Doc comforting an unconsolable Gem a few times. And he himself had joined the squad of keeping Xisuma from overworking himself into an early perma-death.

He would have been much more stricken, too, if it hadn’t been for the mating bond between him and Scar. It was still alive and well, although it felt doubled in a weird way. Like some kind of echo following every slight push and pull he felt.

It was curious. And he wondered if Mumbo was experiencing something similar. Cub had been debating about whether to contact their wandering Hermit for a few days now. A little bit of outside help would be great. And the spoon shouldn’t be too far away for a signal to reach him, yet.

There was the vicious part of him that snarled at the thought of being even slightly in contact with the one who hurt Grian. And another that worried about how the news of his best friend going missing would impact his friend.

The Hermits back on World 9 all had each other. And while that didn’t necessary help with feeling like an absolute failure, it still helped in keeping up group morale. Mumbo was all alone in space and already feeling awful.

As much as Cub was angry at Mumbo for losing control of his abilities, he also didn’t want to cause him further distress.

Mumbo was still one of his close friends.

Cub stared at his communicator. He was sitting on top of his jukebox, no music blaring through the air for once. Xisuma had been against informing Mumbo of the current events. To not stress him out and to keep his focus on his mission.

Reaching out to check in on him wouldn’t hurt, though. Right? Cub was just being nice. If the conversation turned towards how Grian was doing then well, how could Cub possibly lie?

~~~

There were many things Scar wasn’t happy about. That he wasn’t able to write Cub irked him to no end. That he couldn’t hold Grian close and kiss him silly when he was right there frustrated him even more.

And then there was the way Grian acted. Sure Scar wasn’t doing much better, but at least Scar had a reason for acting weird! He had stupid Vex instincts to keep at bay. Allays had no such possessive natures.

And yet Grian was playing a game of hot and cold with him. He would try to keep him close and then push him away for no reason. He was being bossy and temperamental and kept running off. Scar was only ever given tasks and whenever he wanted to add his own flair Grian would refuse him because that was not helping them with the death game.

Couldn’t they have a little fun?! Did Grian really think Scar was that incompetent? Sure he ended up in deathloops a lot. But that’s because he only had himself to look out for! He could be careful!

“No Scar we are not bringing the Jellies into our base. The cat is enough.” Grian called out to him in a flat tone from atop the walls. Which looked very flammable. So clearly Grian didn’t know how to death game either.

“Why not? They are wonderful fluffy creatures!” Scar yelped when he nearly got his hand bitten off by a Jellie panda who wanted the bamboo in his grip a little too much.

Grian shot him a look as if to say I told you so. “They are dangerous. What if you accidently hit one of them? They’ll go on a rampage and destroy all our stuff. Or worse cost us a life.”

Scar pouted, petting the Jellie panda that had nearly torn his limb off. Grian was catastrophizing! They were just big cats. Big panda like cats. Give them a patch of sunshine and some bamboo and they were the sweetest creatures around. “It would be cozy, though! Think of the amay-zing cuddles!”

There was no arguing with Grian on this. The little Allay stood firm and his wings flashed in warning when Scar tried to lead the herd in anyway. The chime Grian let out was distorted and threatening enough to make Scar back down fast. Also had his wings stretched for a moment there? Now that was concerning. Grian didn’t seem like he was in pain, though.

He’d have to keep an eye on that. From a distance. While building a sanctuary for his pretty pets. He would show his mat- Grian that he was a worthy partner- no teammate.

Jellie, the real one, meowed from her perch around his shoulders. She’d been a constant at his side, unlike the Allay he had found at the outpost, which had wandered off in its stupidity. Scar had forgotten how airheaded most of the mobs in their worlds were. If you didn’t have something they wanted in your hand or a lead to drag them along they usually weren’t very likely to follow. Or they would get distracted by the next best shiny thing.

Grumbling Scar stomped off, already feeling bereft of Grians presence by just turning his back to him. He decided that a bit of a walk was in order. Moving about always helped to clear his head a bit. He didn’t want to act rashly again like he had with his pent up Vex magic.

He growled when he felt a small stab in his palm, Grian had probably just earned himself a splinter. And Scar couldn’t do anything but deal with it until his soulmate deigned to pull it out and eat.

This sucked.

He found Pearl building up in the woods. She looked a bit worse for wear, smile crooked and full of deception. Her eyes were shining but not in a happy way. It didn’t take long for Scar to find out about Scott and how he had refused to be soulmates with her because she hadn’t even thought to search for him.

Martyn had left her shortly after. They’d been together when they had woken up in this new world and had decided to travel together. They’d known each other for ages. It seemed they had both been part of Grians crew back on Evo.

And Martyn had been upset that Pearl had tried to get Scott to stay with her, when he had just been rejected by Cleo, too. So in the end they had both ended up alone, with Cleo and Scott partnering up together.

No wonder she was a bit destraught. Scar tried to cheer her up a bit and fan the flames of war while internally panicking.

He hadn’t looked for his soulmate either, too afraid of the pull and what the bond could mean. Too wary of his Vex instincts tearing everyone apart that they didn’t think would be a worthy partner. Or in Grians case, getting far too possessive.

Grian could have taken offense to that. Had it hurt him? Seeing how his soulmate fumbled about on his own happy as a clam not sparing a thought on him? Was that why he was acting so weird now? It was clear Grian saw him more as a liability than an asset. So he would rather keep Scar close to keep an eye on him.

Scar faltered in his next sentence, gaze growing glassy as he mulled the possibility of an angry Grian over in his head. Pearl kept quiet as he thought. She must have noticed something off about him, too, but had refrained from commenting on it as of yet. Maybe his complaining had already said enough.

He thought about it a bit more. About the parallels and disparities between his and Pearls stories. Grian hadn’t needed to look for him much. They’d been together for most of the first or second day and Grian had known.

Grian had known while Scar had not. So technically, at least in Scars book, Grian had been the one responsible for shedding light on their bond.

Why hadn’t he told him?

The familiar anger was back, thinly veiling the hurt that was the true source of his suffering. It was amplified by another stab of pain. This one probably originating in Grian falling off the lower part of the wall or something.

Right. There was only so much peacefulness he could scrape up in a death game before he went crazy. “Say Pearl, how about we torture our soulmates a little bit?”

It took a while for the words to sink in, but after some hesitance Pearls smile was as sharp and dangerous as his. “Well~ what did you think? Do you have a cactus?”

Scar shook his head. “Unfortunately no. I don’t think there’s even an inch of desert in the radius we’ve been permitted to stay in. And I haven’t seen any otherwise.”

“Bummer.” Pearl muttered, seeming really dejected. “We can’t do anything too bad, though. I don’t want to accidently kill myself and my soulmate. I just want a tiny bit of torture.”

“Torture?” A foreign voice rang out to them from behind. It had a ring to it that set Scars teeth on edge and he turned around as nonchalantly as he could to gage who had just snuck up on them.

“Now I don’t think I like the vibe of that, my dudes. I don’t know if I can be friends with someone who is willing to hurt their soulmate.”

They were on horses. How the heck had they managed to remain undetected riding horses?! The shock was shortlived, however. As was the relief of seeing Ren and hearing him speak normally again.

His eyes didn’t take long to zero in on the man he didn’t know. Dark skin, black, cropped hair, roundish face and big dark eyes. And yet there was a bluish glow to him, the delicate fairy wings peeked out from his back in a semi defensive gesture. An Allay hybrid.

No. NonononoNO. Another Allay Hybrid here in this world? When Grian was so unhappy with Scar being his soulmate? That was unfair! The Vex in his head chanted threat, threat, threat. Scar bared his teeth at him, masking the aggression with a smile while his own tattered wings spread out in a clear show of dominance. Unlike with Grian Scar felt quite satisfied when this Allay let out a nervous chime, fairy wings quick to be tugged back into hiding.

Neither Ren nor Pearl noticed the exchange, too caught up in their own argument as Pearl tried to convince Ren about her innocence.

“I don’t want to hear anymore of your lies.” Ren finally concluded, making Scar tune back into the current conversation, although his eyes never strayed from the Allay. “Come on Big B. We better go.”

“Yeah.” Big B nodded and it annoyed Scar that his voice didn’t even wobble.

They turned their horses around and rode off, leaving Scar with far too much pent up aggression.

“I can’t believe those guys! Scar! Why does your timing have to be so bad? Scar?” Pearl tapped him on the shoulder before sliding around him to inspect his face. “You okay there, buddy?”

Scar shuddered at the contact, wings flexing. He was barely holding back a growl. It was only because Pearl was an ally in his book and he liked her that he kept his growing bloodlust at bay. He snatched Pearls hand away and held it too his chest, trying and failing to rebuild his charming facade.

“Of course, of course! I’m fine and daddy- I mean dandy. Let’s forget about these losers and get back to the important things, shall we?”

Pearl let him hold her hand in a death grip and tilted her head in thought. “Hm.” She hummed at him, a short, inquisitive note. Her gaze had turned calculating and Scar saw the exact moment she figured it out even before she let out a tiny “Oh.”

“Oh Scaaar.” She laughed, high and light and maybe a little bit deranged. “Oh you sweet, ridiculous man. Don’t like the competition?”

Scar knew it was meant to be teasing. And he desperately wished to quip back something light hearted back. But the only thing that came out was the growl he had held back for what felt like an eternity.

Void he felt like an animal. He had never hated being a Vex more.

Pearls gaze turned from fond to pitying and she gently pried her hand out of Scars hold to be able to put both of her hands on his shoulders. “Scar.”

“Can we just… do something fun? We could use powdered snow.”

Her grip turned a bit tighter as he leaned down to rest his head on her shoulder. “Scar you know this will not make things between you and Grian easier, right?”

As if that still mattered. “I know.”

Notes:

Sorry for the late update! I was on another trip and came back later than I thought I would (trains are the worst).

Chapter 37

What was Scar doing?! White hot fury fought off the growing cold in his limbs. He wasn’t able to feel his nose anymore. And his fingers had lost all dexterity, making it hard to set up the sugar cane farm. He’d found out that no one had any at this point. No one had thought to look for it because it hadn’t been deemed an important resource.

But the way things worked had been altered in this world. The ingredients for TNT were different and needed paper and gun powder. And you needed sugar cane for paper.

Grian didn’t know if anyone else had already figured that out. He had only noticed because he was rigerously checking the worlds magic to figure out what changes had been made to it. It was the only thing he could do, feeling as cold as he did.

Bloody Scar, what had Grian done to deserve this? Did the Vex hate their bond so much? Was he trying to break it? The thought made Grians breath hitch in a very unpleasant way, pain blooming in his chest that had nothing to do with whatever Scar was doing. At least not physically.

So he kept himself busy. There were quite a few things that were different from the worlds that Grian had seen before. Although a lot of it reminded Grian of Evo. Both worlds had felt almost like a playground. As though someone or something had been using it for expermiments, altering reality itself.

Evo had been a bit more extreme with its weird portals that would beam them through time and odd statues leaving playful notes and ominous warnings, playing with Grians crew like they had been rats in a labyrinth. This world was a bit less altered.

Crafting worked a bit different and it was more responsive and tuned towards Grians magic. Which meant he could easily make some adjustments, establishing a way to see which Player was on which life.

In some cases, however, it didn’t budge. And that worried him. Because enchanted gear was important in a death game. And they had no ability to make an enchanter. The world just wouldn’t allow it. Instead Grian had found out that the only enchanter that existed in this world was far below them in a sculk infested cavern.

Grian shuddered at having to go there to enchant his stuff. But he knew ultimately someone would venture down there. The risk was great. Grian still remembered vividly how the creature – the Hermits had named it Warden – had obliterated his ears and life with one sonic blast.

The darkness had been terrifying, too. As was the silence of the place.

He couldn’t be a chicken. He needed to get down there, preferably with a group of friends for moral support. He needed to find out where exactly the cavern they needed was and build a safe room around the enchanter. And who knew, maybe they would be able to learn a bit more about the strange blocks while at it.

Now, who would he want to go with? Not Scar that was for sure. The man would get them killed. And Grian didn’t think he would be able to keep calm if he saw him now-

“Oh Grian~”

Speak of the- “Scar?”

“Grian! I had a wonderful idea-”

Scar wasn’t able to finish that sentence. Before he knew it he had an angry Allay in his face. “What were you doing?!”

Scar was taken aback. He tried to lean away from the sharp teeth while also holding onto the thighs that had wrapped around his waist. The little Allay had pretty much attached himself to him so that Grian could bite his nose off. “Uhm… I… I played moral support for Pearl?”

“By freezing half to death?!” Grian screeched at him, hurting his own ears with the high pitched noise.

This close Grian could see the mirth swirling in Scars pretty eyes, even if it was slightly shadowed by guilt. “She wanted to tickle Scott a bit because…”

“Because what, Scar?” Grian all but snarled, unsure whether he should keep clinging to his own soulmate or not. He was cold and so was Scar, but maybe some aggressive cuddling could warm them up.

Oh void that sounded so wrong in his head. Thank the stars they didn’t share thoughts, too. Scar lifted him off and thus pulled his mind out of the gutter. He stared a bit at the flashing and fluttering wings Grian couldn’t quite control in his distressed state, but was quick to give Grian one of his stupidly charming, winning smiles.

His only saving grace was the small wobble at the edge, telling Grian to be cautious of the honesty of Scars following words. “Scott broke up with her to be with Cleo.”

Grian had been hyper aware of the hands that had wandered up to hold onto his arms, never quite letting him go while also making sure that he couldn’t move closer to the Vex again. But after the admission they’d become claws, carefully digging new holes into his favourite sweater.

It was driving him a bit crazy so he could be excused for not connecting the dots immediately. “Scott broke up with- but Scott is gay?”

“Their soulmates, G.” Scar spelled it out to him, sounding pained.

“Oh. That makes sense then. Although I don’t know why he would wanna be with Cleo instead. Well… Hm, I guess Timmy’s not really available right now. And Big B is with Ren and Martyn… who’s Martyn with?”

Scar shrugged and finally pulled back. “With himself, I think. Just like Pearl. They were together at first but had a fallout. Cleo is Martyns soulmate.”

Grian wanted to scream at the renewed distance between them. And yet he took the opportunity to turn his back to his ally to continue working on their shared base. “That sucks. Still didn’t need to make us freeze so much.” He barely got any sugarcane planted, Grian wanted to add, before hesitating.

Scar was acting far too suspicious, seeking out Pearl and harming them for fun. It might not be a good strategy to tell him about their possible monopoly now.

“I was committing to the bit, Grian! Making allies!”

“With one of the only outsiders right now? Scar, I love Pearl, but wouldn’t it have been more useful to suck up to Scott and Cleo instead?”

“Well!” Scar floundered, growing more aggravated by the second. “I’m working on that part!”

“How is freezing our tits off, working on it?”

“It’s called manipulation, Grian.”

Any possible shred of productivity dissolved in their petty argument until they had to retreat into their base for the night. The sharp ache that originated in using two separate beds, that stood at least five feet apart, was only mildly soothed by Scars mad ranting gliding over to him for the next hours.

At least Scar wasn’t angry enough at him that he had chosen to sleep outside. But having a body so close, one whose soul was so tightly woven into his own, and not being able to snuggle up to it was its own brand of unique torture.

Sending Scar off to try and get some more resources didn’t help with Grians whole situation either. But at least he had sent Scar off himself, which meant Scar hadn’t merely abandoned him for no reason this time.

Grian hadn’t thought it possible for his stupid pining to get any worse, but here he was. Deciding that their base was as defendable for the moment as it was gonna get, he slunk off into the dark in the hopes of diamonds and some peace of mind.

What he found instead was twinkling stars on a pulsing dark mass of spongey void. It made a wet sound when he first hit it with his pick by accident. But after that he was quick to whip out his torch and stare at the stuff, dread pooling in his stomach.

“Noooo. You can’t be serious. I only wanted to get some diamonds!” He whined, trying to hide his growing fear from himself.

His wings buzzed with anxiety, pulsing along with the inky mass in front of him. He felt them stretch oddly in response and leaned into the feeling until he felt the tips of his enlarged wings press against the confines of his mineshaft.

The faint sensation jolted him into furling his wings back in, shrinking them to their original size with a hammering heart.

There was… so much going on right now. Grian didn’t want to think about what that had been all about. His magic and Allay traits had gone highwire ever since that blasted end portal. And it had only worsened after meeting the Entity and the Rift. It scared him, of course. But it also made him feel powerful.

There was something ancient and primal in him, having made its home in his core. It hummed to the Void and the creatures lurking in the dark nothingness. And it harmonized with the vibrations of the Rift.

It wasn’t a problem until it hurt somebody. And as far as Grian was aware he hadn’t suddenly transformed into a monster and sucked someones soul out. Mumbo.

With a sigh Grian lowered his pickaxe and thought about what to do next. “Should I tell Timmy and Tango that they have a sculk infestation beneath their ranch?” He wondered out loud, only realizing afterwards that noise was dangerous in this place.

He held his breath, worried the hammering of his heart was already too loud. Nothing. Grian breathed out again, debating with himself.

The sculk hadn’t really done anything to them, right? It hadn’t spread at all, despite the Rifts warning. And the bad that had come out of it had merely been Mumbos body going weird. So it wouldn’t hurt if he took a little peak, right?

He would need to get used to the sculk eventually, after all. Yeah. His sudden decision to go explore the probably most dangerous place in this world was totally a calculated choice. It had nothing to do with the regular pangs of pain, the sudden inability to breath for short amounts of time or the freezing that had plagued him ever since he’d sent Scar off to do his thing.

No, Grian was very logical about all this. Yes. He was even super careful when he hacked away the sculk, breaking it without silktouch. What he uncovered took his breath away. He’d thought he would get to a cave filled with the stuff. Instead he found a whole city.

It was illuminated by blue soulfire, which barely brought any light to the place and made it somehow seem even darker. The buildings were intricate despite the beating they had taken from the corruption. And Grian could clearly still see the beauty in them beneath the ruin and rot.

This was nothing like the structures the Villagers or Pillagers created. The best they could do were the Woodland Mansions, but even those paled in comparison to this. Somehow Grian doubted that either of the two groups had build this. It was too big and pretty. And both Villagers and Pillagers were simple minded folk. They didn’t care for luxury or pretty things.

They operated on their routines and traditions and hadn’t changed for thousands of years. They were found on every world, just like any other animal. But even though they should logically have the tools and minds to progress, they just never did.

Some speculated that Players were the decendants of them. But Grian had always wondered if something wasn’t keeping them from advancing, holding them in their evolutionary place.

If that was the case than they must have done something unimaginable to earn such a curse.

Grian slunk down the few steps towards the bottom of the cave, gently hopping onto the streets of the city. Maybe they’d build this after all. A long, long time ago.

Players usually neglected to look up. There weren’t any resources in the sky. And phantoms announced themselves before they attacked. Grian was one of the few who did. He liked to take in everything, even the emptiness of a cloudless sky on a bright summer day.

And here there was so much to look at. Bridges and towers and walls. And further ahead, towering over the city, there was a huge rectangle, decorated with symbols Grian could only imagine in the shadows.

It looked a bit like a portal, only it wasn’t made out of obsidian. A small draft came from it, icy cold and malicious. Odd.

Grian continued to creep along the street he was on, looking for a good place to get to higher ground so he could see more. He noted that someone must have already been here. There was wool covering the ground on some places. A very smart move.

He found a chest, abandoned on the bridge and was careful to open it as silently as possible. A chime nearly left him at the sight of an amethyst shard. It reminded him of the one Xisuma had gifted him. The one that had supposedly been made by Scar.

The shards magic had not done anything for him yet. But that might have been because Grian had stowed it away in his enderchest. Xisuma had said that they were a one time use. And Grian so often found himself in perilious situations that he would have surely lost the precious artifact by now.

Grian didn’t want to lose the crystal, so he had hidden it away for safekeeping. He was doing just fine without its protection.

The quiet flatter of tiny bat wings made him jump and nearly slam the lid of the chest on his fingers. Scrambling to not make any noise and to keep his fingers whole, Grian cursed his flightiness under his breath.

Sure the broken fingers and possible death by Warden would have served Scar right, but it would have also hurt Grian. And Grian, as the sole inhabitant of his body as far as he was aware, did not appreciate either of the two outcomes.

The sight of a shrieker shortly after made him successfully rethink his life choices and decide to get back to the surface. This place was best explored with a group of friends. Preferably competent and quiet ones. Which meant no Scar and no Jimmy. And on second thought probably no Joel, either.

Choice made Grian uncrouched to better see where the exit was, only to find that he couldn’t see the walls of the cave anymore. Turning around in slow circles he realized that he also had no clue where he was in the city. He had just kind of… wandered around. He hadn’t marked down any path he had taken. And now he was properly lost.

Damn.

Okay. Pick a direction and walk, or rather sneak, until you hit rock and then… Oh dear he would have to staircase up, didn’t he? Well maybe he was lucky and he would come out somewhere close where he had gotten in.

Haha. No. No, of course not. Right. Hacking out a staircase to the overworld it was. He hoped Scar wouldn’t get bored and burn their base down while he was gone. This could take a while.

Notes:

I'm back with another chapter~ I hope you liked it and that the slow burn isn't going too slow for you. This is the slowest slow burn I've ever written and we're about at the half way mark for the story.

There's so much Hermitcraft coming out again it's so cool. I really, really wanna call the group of Hermits that settled around the Cherry Blossom Mountain "The Crackers" after their first episodes. Almost all of them have a crack to live in.
I wonder if this group will be even better than Boatem. Even though I'm a bit sad Pearl isn't with them, too. But at least she's not far away.

Also I'm going to my first TCG Meet up today! I'm so anxious about it. XD

Chapter 38

Grian’s day had just been the worst. Scar was actively sabotaging their health trying to make allies. He hadn’t found a single diamond, gotten lost in a spooky underground city and now he was wasting his time breaking stone and wearing down his pickaxe.

His muscles ached and he hoped Scar felt as exhausted as he was. At least his soulmate seemed to be eating for them both in regular intervalls. Good.

The rhythmic clack, clack, clunk of his pickaxe hitting and breaking the stone had been his only companion for hours. Sweat and dust clung to every part of his body. He stank. Not that he cared much about it. But he also felt gross and wanted nothing more than a bath. Maybe drown a little to give Scar some of his own medicine-

Void he really wasn’t in a good mood. He never would have thought that he would think such aggressive thoughts in regards to Scar. He liked Scar! Loved him even. But he was also being so, so annoying. And Grian was getting so, so tired of this stupid mining.

The repitition of it all did eventually make him space out for periods of time, his body going on autopilot while his mind wandered. It wasn’t quite enough to fully get rid of the discomfort, but Grian got deep enough into his own head to become a perfect victim for a jumpscare.

“Oh thank god someone else is here.”

“AHHHHH!”

Martyn had to dodge the pickaxe Grian swung his way. And for a moment, the tight space was filled with both of their screams. Or in Grian’s case, high pitched screeching.

Both were bend over and leaning heavily onto the uneven wall of the staircase when they were done being surprised.

And while Grian spluttered. “You- you can’t just sneak up on a man like that!” Martyn started to laugh.

“I didn’t! I swear I wasn’t being quiet at all! I nearly got shot off your staircase by a skeleton not long ago. It just took me a while to catch up. And then I had to get my breath back to talk to you.”
He chuckled a bit more, wiping sweat from under his headband. “Hoooo boy, you scared the living daylight out of me.”

“I did?! You almost gave me a heart attack! I’ve been mining up alone for years, Martyn. Years!”

“Oh dear.” Martyn continued to laugh, clutching his chest. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been lost in the caves for ages, too. How have you been?”

Grian had turned away from the sound of joy and had started to hack away at the stone again until he hit dirt and switched to his shovel. “Awful, thanks for asking. How about you?”

“Same, same. But my day got brighter when I met you.” Martyn almost sang, not helping with the heavy task of getting them out from under the ground. “Did you find anything interesting down there?”

Both of them took in a deep breath when Grian finally breached the surface. Only now, smelling the early morning air, did Grian truly notice how stale and damp the air beneath Tango’s and Jimmys base had been.

After crawling out of the dirt like some kind of worm Grian flopped onto the grass with a groan and stretched out his wings. They didn’t grow this time, although Grian felt the points where he needed to tug to expand them. An interesting new development that explained how he had been able to fly from Mumbo’s base to the Entity that fateful night.

A gift from the Rift, maybe? Or from the beings beyond it. Something to ponder once he was safely back with the rest of the Hermits. Oh, he hoped they weren’t fed up with his supernatural shenanigans at this point. He was not ready to be kicked off the world just yet, if ever.

Thankfully Martyn stomped on his budding anxiety by plopping down next to him and patting his head like a dog, laughing when Grian tried to bite him and failed.

Grian looked up to make a mean comment, but stopped at the fond smile Martyn gave him. The two of them more often than not found themselves on opposite sides whenever they decided to play. And because of that they seldom hung out together with just the two of them.

Had he met Martyn in person yet? He wasn’t quite sure. A lot happened over the days and his mind was usually preoccupied with Scar or plans for securing their monopoly.

This was nice, though. Having a quiet moment with one of his oldest friends. His glare had softened long since until eventually he found himself smiling back. The awkward angle he held his head was starting to hurt soon enough, so he lowered it back onto his arms again, wings fluttering, trying to get the dirt off.

The silence between them was calm and happy. The silence of two people basking in each others presence. It didn’t last long.

“You changed a bit.” Martyn remarked, staring off into the distance.

Grian hummed, an eerie sound devoid of its usual cheer. To proof a point.

Martyn wouldn’t be spooked so easily, of course. It seemed Grian’s little mockery had only made his friend sad. “Me too, buddy.”

That made Grian look up again. “Oh? Do you want to talk about it?” He couldn’t see anything off with his friend. But. Hm. Martyn had been human, a rare breed among Players. Humans usually didn’t have a magical aura around them. Was that new or because of his soulbond? Now he was curious.

But Martyn wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of spilling the beans. He didn’t close up as hard as Pearl, but he did not elaborate. “Nah. I’d much rather know if you found anything down there.”

Oh yeah he’d asked that before. “I did. Have you ever encountered a void like mushroom block on your recent travels?”

Martyn didn’t, so Grian had the pleasure to tell him all about the sculk and the Warden and the city he had found deep below. He inevitably had to talk about the incident with Mumbo and then had to explain a whole lot more about the Rift and why he thought the soulbonds existed in this world.

By the end of it Martyn was all for exploring the spooky, sculk infested ruins to get some enchanting done and promised to take on the task of getting together a good group to go. Grian was almost sad to see him go. It had been nice to talk to someone about… well about everything, really.

And Martyn was a good listener.

~~~

Swindling his way into making people give him their resources did not go well. Scar knew for a fact that he could easily talk people into giving them their pants and diamonds without any payment on his part. But now that he could actually use his wide variety of skills to impress his mate- teammate! Teammate. Now that he could use his skills to impress his teammate he somehow found himself tripping over his own words like a toddler.

Everyone was so much more suspicious of his antics because of the game they were playing. Having his Vex aspect out so much probably didn’t help either. Especially with the new Players, Grian’s old friends.

Allays were naturally mischievious creatures, but Vex even more so. And Grian himself seemed to have a reputation. So Scar being partnered with him was already enough cause for concern it seemed.

There was nothing he could do about it. And yet he wanted to do something about it. Grian already thought he was a liability. He couldn’t proof him right.

Jellie, noticing his growing distress, had jumped onto his shoulders and refused to move. When she noticed that the Vex and general thoughts in his mind became too loud, she began to purr. And Scar didn’t know how she did it. If she maybe was some kind of psychic. But her timing was always spot on.

He found himself petting her head or giving her nose kisses more and more throughout the day. Until he finally had enough of his own blumbering about and decided to do something less social. The Jellie pandas were still in a hole close to their shared base. It hurt him to see them squashed together like that.

Scar was a builder most and foremost. Maybe making something beautiful for the whole server to enjoy would be enough to make Grian happy. And if it didn’t, then at least it would make Scar happy.

Sitting down with Jellie in his lap and a sketchbook open that he had found in a chest at the Pillager outpost immediately calmed his racing heart. There was something so soothing about enjoying nature and letting his mind wander.

The only two things missing were a good cup of tea and his two favourite people by his side. But he could do without. Slowly a vision formed in his head of a sanctuary for lost souls and bonds to be mended. This world seemed to be all about bonds. But already rifts were forming between the teams. Pearl, Martyn, Scott and Cleo were the most obvious.

Scar counted Impulse and Bdubs among the troubled couples as well. Bdubs had imprinted so hard on Etho from the day they had met, Scar doubted Impulse would have much luck in keeping him as a loyal ally.

And Scar… He knew something was askew between him and Grian. And he also knew that most of that came from himself. They were both unbalanced. Somewhere to rest and enjoy each others presence away from the game might be good for them, too.

Eventually Scar went from sketching to placing the first blocks to outline his sanctuary. It was during this that Grian showed up again, making Scar’s heart flutter. Even though he looked like crap.

“Don’t say what you’re thinking.” Grian warned him upon arrival. He was covered in dirt and stone dust from head to toe. His hair was sticking to his forehead in greasy strands and he looked extremely exhausted.

Exhaustion could never beat Grian’s curiousity, however. He stumbled closer, eyes narrowed. Oh, he was in a bad mood. That couldn’t be good for Scar. “What are you doing?”

“I’m building somewhere for the Jellie pandas to live! They can’t stay in their hole forever.”

Grian frowned harder. “I can’t see why not.” He muttered, causing Scar to gasp.

“Grian! That would be so cruel! How would you feel-” The glare he got was intense and deserved. Scar immediately shut up. Right. Grian had been living in something much worse than a hole for void knew how long. He had a very good grasp of what it felt like. As did Scar.

Torn between stepping close and drawing Grian into a hug and keeping his distance so he wouldn’t get his hand bitten off, Scar hovered awkwardly close. “Sorry. How was your day?” Or night. Really the day had just started. Grian had been gone for a good chunk of yesterday and throughout the night. But Scar was not in the right headspace to form complicated sentences. Grian would know what he meant.

Scar felt like an idle housewife trying to lift the mood of her husband, as it were. A husband, who had just come home after a rotten day of work. Thankfully Grian didn’t blow up on him. He was merely tired and grumpy.

He also looked torn about what he should do, leaning slightly towards Scar, but never enough to touch him. Scar felt horrible for him and extended an arm in a hopefully clear invitation.

Grian looked at it as though it could be a trap. “I got stuck underground for most of it. And I got zero diamonds out of it. But I did find something interesting.”

After saying that, Grian did cave and leaned into him fully. And okay, this didn’t make the whole situation any less awkward. Now he had a very sleepy Allay trapped in a sidehug and was kinda stuck just standing there.

Would Grian get angry at him if Scar picked him up and carried him into their base? “Oh? Do tell!”

Grian angled his head so he could look up at Scar, keeping silent. And despite him looking absolutely filthy Scar had a hard time reigning in the urge to kiss him. “I don’t know if I should tell you.” The Allay eventually confessed.

Scar scoffed. “I’m your soulmate. You should tell me everything!”

Grian snorted, but it sounded more sad than amused. “Right.” He said, unimpressed by Scars logic. “I found the place where the Warden lives.”

Now that was terrifyingly interesting. “Ohhhh. Can I-”

“Absolutely not. It’s not Scar safe. In fact, I forbid you to even think about going down there.”

That made Scar pout. That was unfair! He wanted to have fun, too! “But-”

“I already regret telling you.”

“Grian! Grian! Look what I got!” Jimmy’s voice interrupted them. It took a bit longer for the blonde head to appear in their line of sight.

Jimmy looked happy and excited. Scar didn’t like it. A vicious jealousy burned in his chest. Tango and Jimmy had only just met. And yet they were the healthiest couple on the server, making Scar downright sick with how cheesy they were in each others presence.

Grian’s old friend must have done something to annoy Grian as well. Because the Allay at his side let out an eerie noise akin to a growl. Not that Jimmy seemed to care. His grin only grew wider and now Scar’s Vex instincts saw that as a threat, making him join Grian.

Jimmy apparently had no self preservation instincts or sense of danger, because the canary only laughed. “Awww sorry I interrupted something.”

“You didn’t.” Grian almost snarled.

“What do you want?” Scar cut to the chase.

Grian sighed beside him. “I think I can already guess.”

All energy seemed to get sucked out of Grian’s body when Jimmy showed the horn and blew into it with triumph. And still Grian didn’t fail to answer the call.

Notes:

I'm starting to really eat up the buffer chapters I wrote to be honest. I've not gotten around to writing much and have spread myself a bit thin with the stories that I'm working on. I know I'm most comfortable working on two at a time. But now I'm already up to four.
I'll see how long I can afford to keep the weekly updates. Maybe not posting anything next month will do me some good. Although it irks me that I won't be able to write a lot in March either.

Also someone taught me to write possessives right. Ayyyy. (Yes I went through all my unposted pre-written stuff to edit the mistakes out.)

Chapter 39

Grian hated that he had needed to extend any more energy towards Jimmy that day. Or really to extend any energy at all. But especially towards Jimmy. The bloody avian never knew when to back down, innocently steering up trouble and biting off more than he could chew.

He was like a younger sibling antagonizing Grian like that. And Grian knew Jimmy would end up crying and whining about the consequences of his actions once the dust settled. And this time Grian didn’t even need to get involved. Jimmy had tried to steal Scar’s horse. A horse which, Grian admitted to only in his head, he had actually kind of forgotten about.

Poking Scar was all fun and games, usually. Grian had done so a lot during his time with the Hermits, too. Scar was a gentle, yet mischievious soul, who would retaliate, but never lash out.

But Scar hadn’t been in the best of moods ever since landing in this world. His Vex aspect was in full display most of the time, setting Grian’s Allay instincts on edge. He’d been acting off, too. He was more territorial and bloodthirsty.

He was a threat. Not to Grian. At least not in any deliberate sense. The constant influx of small pains and discomforts notwithstanding. They were both guilty of egging each other on in that department even if Grian didn’t want that to be true.

Scar was a threat to everyone else. He was brimming with barely held back malevolence. And Jimmy might have just plucked the right strings to set something off.

Not that Grian was seeking carnage any less. There was something about playing a murder game that primed him for violent thoughts. So he didn’t think twice about inviting Jimmy to explore the Deep Dark with him and some shadowy group of friends.

Sure he had planned to keep all the vulnerable Players away from the potentially dangerous place. But Jimmy apparently needed the reminder that he wasn’t king.

Scar wasn’t happy with his choice, of course. He was sulking after Jimmy left – without Scar’s horse. The way he chopped up the newly grown mangrove tree in their base looked like he was trying to maim a person.

Grian let him simmer and concentrated on placing the blocks that would make up the second floor of their… cake… base. He actually really liked how it was coming along. A few more days of work and they might end up with something decent to live in.

“Why did you invite Jimmy to the Deep Dark when I can’t go?” Scar finally complained, words bursting forth in a bitter fashion after mere minutes of silence.

“Because I want Jimmy dead and you alive.” Grian simply responded, looking over at his partner.

Scar had paused midswing and slowly lowered his axe. Jellie used the break in motion to hop off Scar’s shoulders. The poor cat had the worst sealegs ever after landing on the ground, but quickly darted off to seek shelter among her big friends after the violent yanking about she had just endured.
Scar himself stood motionless in the sun. The light blues and greys of his skin and wings made for a lovely contrast to the warm browns and yellows of the wood and sun. “I can be good, you know. I don’t need protecting. And what about you?”

“What about me?” Grian parroted back at him, resuming his task of placing blocks, even though his muscles were screaming at him to stop.

Scar, likewise, continued hacking away at the tree. It was almost peaceful, the way they were working with each other for once. “Why is it okay for you to put us in danger?”

Us. Right. It was hard to forget that he was tied to Scar. But it easily slipped his mind that Scar was also tied to him. It just didn’t feel like it. It left a bitter aftertaste and a twitch of panic in his chest. There was Cub to consider, after all.

“I won’t hurt us.” Grian promised him.

Scar grimaced at his words.

~~~

Grian was delighted when the little group he’d be risking his life with to get semi good enchantments turned up at his and Scar’s base. Immediately Big B and him were circling each other in greeting, dancing and chiming as though they were trying to fuse with each other.

It was a more or less traditional greeting, short and with only a quick hug to show some friendly affection. Grian’s grin was huge and he laughed hard when Big B managed to trip over his own two feet right after they had finished.

The fact that no one else laughed with him clued him in on something being wrong. And it was when he focused on the others that he noticed the tense atmosphere. Ren didn’t look pleased. He was trying to hide it very hard, but his ears were laid flat against his skull and his usually so lively tail didn’t move an inch.

Big B had frozen up and was looking wide eyed behind Grian instead of Ren, though. So Ren’s jealousy couldn’t be-

Oh. Grian felt it now. He’d become so accustomed to Scar’s wild magical aura that it barely set off his alarm bells anymore. But he hadn’t been immune to the Vex’s threatening presence when he’d first met him. He vividly remembered the pangs of fear that shot through his system during their very first interactions. It was only because Grian was good at ignoring his fear and had already been oh so curious about the bashful Vex and his partner that he had sought out Scar and Cub over and over again.

Had Big B and Scar met yet? Maybe. But a Vex Hybrid in full aspect was different from the Scar Grian had been dealing with at first. A version of Scar who had made damn well sure to make Grian feel as comfortable as possible around him.

Scar was not trying any of that during this game and thus he was leagues more terrifying. One meeting wouldn’t have done the trick.

Grian didn’t even have to look to know that his partner was probably grinning at the newcomers showing all his wonderful sharp teeth. Had he not gotten very intimate with the fact that Scar was a total goof and horrible at PVP Grian would have succumbed to his instincts, too in that case.

As it was Grian tried to ease the tension a bit by gesturing towards Scar and letting out a soothing chime for Big B. “Oh yeah, this is Scar! He’s my soulmate!”

“I know.” Big B said slowly, not letting Scar out of his sight.

Ren came up beside him, grip on his sword and ears pressing even more against his skull. “We’ve met. He’s not a very good one, is he? Torturing you with powdered snow?”

Grian didn’t take the bait, but he did take note of it. If Ren wanted to play the break up game he could, too. He had enough beef with king Ren already to get a little bit of revenge on him. A plan was already forming in his head.

He shrugged and skipped over to Scar’s side to take his arm, grinning proudly when Scar immediately wrapped one wing around him. “Nah, we’re in a perfectly healthy relationship.”

Scar choked beside him. Grian hoped he was blushing. Scar always looked so pretty when he did. And less threatening. Which was the goal.

Ren wasn’t impressed. “You have a really weird sense of what’s healthy, my dude.”

Martyn, who had stood among the group, but had kept silent until now, decided he had waited enough. “Does it matter? We’re in a death game. Can’t say either of us has a great sense for what’s healthy. And really I love the drama, I do. But I also want to see what this sculk stuff is all about. So how about we get our butts going?”

“Is… is Scar coming with?” Big B asked, tone hesitant and wings fluttering anxiously.

Grian shook his head. “No. Someone needs to take care of the base.” He pointedly looked up at Scar, daring him to protest. Which Scar was about to do had Ren not beat him to it.

“You just don’t want him to end up in a death loop.” Ren only half joked, tail giving one brief wack before it stilled again.

“You said it not me.” Grian sang above the choked “Hey!” coming from Scar.

They set off towards the Wardens lair soon after, with Martyn and Ren chatting away and falling into a roleplay of sorts and Grian looking over his shoulder every few seconds. He had let Martyn lead and ignored the awful citation of lines in the front, too worried about Scar possibly following them.

It was a shame that today was such a beautiful day. The sky was almost cloudless. The temperature was perfect for running around outside and causing chaos. Grian had been in all the biomes and seen most of the gems a world had to offer. And yet seeing a pretty field of flowers or wandering through a serene forest during the day never got old.

The details were always different. He’d walked by that one tree possibly eleven times in his search for food. And it still stood tall and impressive, looking menacing or welcoming depending on the light.

Sadly Grian would not be able to watch nature do its thing today. Instead he was going deep, deep down where the air was cold and dry and every sound he made could get him killed. And not only that. Martyn had been right, his staircase was a death trap all its own.

He’d been so exhausted when he had hacked it out of the stubborn stone. And his shoddy craftmanship showed especially at the top portion of the way down. The tunnel down was narrow, allowing for only one person to squeeze through at a time. The steps were uneven, shadows tricking the mind into seeing edges where there were none.

At one point the tunnel opened up into a dark cave, the stairs leading further down still and if you squinted, you could see another hole not too far away. This section was probably the worst. Grian had quickly build up with what blocks he’d had available and hadn’t thought to put in railings or to widen the plattforms.

His goal had been to get up as fast as possible not to make it the safest trip. And up had been fine. He hadn’t been almost shot off by a skeleton lurking in the dark. Down was an entirely different matter.

He’d used dripstone blocks. Which had a good grip because they had a ribbed sort of surface, but which were brittle and soaked up moisture as though they were trying to imitate a sponge. That made them slippery.

Slowing down in this open part made them perfect targets for skeletons wanting to practice their aim. And because Grian hadn’t bothered to light up the section, there were plenty around. They all had their shields up, wobbling from step to step, screaming occasionally when an arrow buried itself into one of their shields.

Grian was very glad that he was the last in the queue. Sure he had an unprotected back, but at least when he fell he had three people between him and the hard ground. Not that he did slip up. None of them did. They were all professionals.

The trip down must have taken them at least half an hour. It stretched on forever, their world narrowing down to a few set of steps and the gaping maw of darkness beneath. Grian could hear Big B counting the torches under his breath. When they had arrived at the Deep Dark he had lost count a couple of times, but had ended up with a number around 78.

Grian let the others take in the sight before them, taking the time to scope out the area again as to not get lost. It truly was an impressive city even without being able to see most of it. The sculk and blue flames were oddly pretty as well, imitating a small galaxy crawling over brittle stone.

“It looks like this sculk stuff came out of the big portal.” Martyn stated, pointing at the huge rectangle.

Ren followed Martyn’s finger and tilted his head to the side to maybe see it better. He still had his shades on, though. Grian wondered if he could even see ten inches in front of him. Ren proved him wrong by speaking. “You’re right. Maybe that’s why it’s broken? Whoever lived here was trying to stop the Sculk from spreading?”

Grian wanted to know less about the portal and more about how Ren’s shades worked. Where they even normal shades? Ren hung around Doc a lot. Maybe they were fancy high tech goggles. Or maybe they were another gift from Gigacorp like Rosie. In which case Grian wanted to have nothing to do with them. He wasn’t a sellout like Ren.

“It looks like the Void is trying to take over the overworld.” Big B whispered beside him and Grian nodded.

Leaning over to keep their conversation private and to not accidently set off any shriekers, Grian agreed. “Yeah, feels like it too.”

“How do you mean?”

“Touching the stuff, it feels like touching the Void. Only that it’s more physical. Like it’s freezing and-”

“Grian.” Ren interrupted him. “You touched the stuff? Didn’t Xisuma say not to?”

So much for keeping the conversation private. “Ren.” Grian imitating Ren’s exasperated tone. “You should know by now that I’m bad at listening.”

“Can we please go down and explore already?” Martyn complained and didn’t wait for them to reply. The rest of the group briefly looked at each other before shrugging and following him.

They kept close as they looked around for the enchanter, but Ren and Martyn were still a bit further away from Big B and Grian. Grian took the opportunity and hung back a bit more so he could ask Big B about his soulbond to Ren. He didn’t get very far with it, unfortunately, because Big B seemed to be more worried about Scar.

Grian felt honoured to be fretted over like that and was only slightly miffed on Scar’s behalf. The Vex was a positively lovely fellow! When he was with the Hermits and working on Scarland. But that was hard to explain much less prove to someone who had met Scar in a murder game and had probably already been threatened at least once by him.

Their conversation dwindled after the first shrieker had been spotted. Ren and Grian had flashbacks to the last time they’d set it off and thus shut up fast. Befuddled Martyn and Big B followed suit.

It wasn’t long until they saw the first blocks of tightly pressed wool, Big B echoing the question Grian had had the first time he’d visited the place. “Someone was already here?”

“Someone is already here.” Martyn hissed, uselessly pointing to somewhere in front of them.

Grian leaned over and squinted to shoo the darkness off, but could only see more arches and sculk clinging to every surface. “I don’t see anyone.”

“Not see. Can’t you hear them?” Martyn whispered harshly to him.

“Nope.” Grian popped the p as quietly as possible, which left a very disappointing plop. “Ren what does your super dog hearing tell you?”

“Nothing.” Ren answered, not amused.

Martyn sighed at them. “Fine. Let’s go to them then. I’ll show you that I’m right.”

Notes:

So this is going to be the only chapter for this month. I'll be away for the rest of it and won't be able to write or post. Now I'm finally going to be the one reading fanfic at the airport XD

Have a great month and thanks again for all the kind comments!

Chapter 40

Thanks to Martyn’s super hearing they not only found the people that had haunted the city before them, but were also led straight to the enchanter. It turned out that Etho and Impulse had been on their own little mission to get better gear.

They had noticed them as Grian’s group drew closer, waving cheerfully and beckoning them over. The whole area had already been mostly outfitted with wool until the enchanter resembled an odd egg in the middle of a cozy nest.

If they hadn’t been in the most dangerous place this world probably had to offer Grian would have seriously thought about laying down and taking a nap. As it was he only half-seriously thought about it, keeping himself content with tracing the wool with his hands.

Would it be very forward of him to install a sort of cuddle room shaped like a nest in their base? And how heartbroken would he be if Scar refused to use it?

His mind was quickly swept off the topic when everyone in his group scrambled to be the first one to enchant their stuff. No one had gathered a lot of residue magic from dying mobs or gathered ore. The only magic the enchanter would take in exchange for the random blessings it gave. It was a bit like a vulture, taking only the dead energy that could flow freely without having a source that could pull it back out.

One by one they used the spells that appeared in the book to enchant their armour. Lapis as the catalyst, kickstarting the enchanter and making it grasp at the floating symbols in the air to create the spells that appeared in thick blue ink on the pages. Magic as the fuel needed to get those spells into the material of weapons and breastplates and boots.

Usually enchanting could take hours of rolling the dice, filling pages upon pages with useless spells that lost its meaning as soon as one was selected. You enchanted and scrubbed the magic back off to try again and hopefully get something better. Get something more.

But they didn’t have time nor resources. Even with all the wool and some warm torches strewn about, it was hard to forget that they were in a dangerous place. It was best not to dwell for too long.

So they took what they could get, cursing or cheering at the random blessings. They got a bit too unlucky. And thus frustration was voiced a bit too loudly, which made the first Shrieker scream its displeasure at them.

Darkness crashed over them in an instant. Sweeping over from the edges of the “nest” and disorientating them.

“What the-”

“Oh no.”

“I think it’s time to go boys.” Grian whispered before they could panic even more.

“You think the Warden is about to come out already?” Ren asked. He was up on one of the walls, halfway to aborting the mission. And Grian couldn’t help but elbow Big B to point it out to him.

“Look at him Big B. He’s ready to flee, but tries to keep us here?”

“I’m just asking-”

“Hey what do you think happens if I blow this horn?” Call him manic, but Allays weren’t the best at keeping silent. He blew his horn. As a joke. As a way to prove that he wasn’t scared when he was in fact holding onto his bladder as to not cause an accident.

Blowing the horn didn’t give him the usual response. Instead, another ear splitting scream tore through the cave.

“Grian!” Ren yelled at him, fur brizzling with anger, teeth bared and ears flat. His outburst caused another Shrieker to go off.

Etho’s response was much calmer in comparison. “What the hell, man.”

Martyn and Impulse were already a few blocks away, making their escape. Proving that they were the smart ones of the group. Grian waited with baited breath for something to happen. Only for Big B to tug at his sleeve with an urgent “Let’s go!”

Where to when they couldn’t see. The torches helped a little bit. Grian rammed them into the ground during his escape form a monster he didn’t even know was actually there. Until he heard it. That sickening wet sound of the Warden emerging from the ground somewhere behind them.

With the darkness preventing him from seeing much it felt like his world had shrunken down to just him in a bubble of weak light. He didn’t know whether to jump a gap or heave himself up a wall until seconds before the obstacle hit him.

He’d quickly lost sight of his friends. But he could hear footsteps and yells. The Warden was quiet in comparison. It lurked somewhere out of Grian’s periphery, sniffing them out.

Bits of orange light from foreign torches guided him back towards safety. With every leap of faith he took, jumping from light to light praying that he wouldn’t end up in the maw of the beast, he drew closer to the familiar voices of Martyn and Ren and Impulse.

...

Where was Big B?

The question got stuck in his throat, pain without a source shocking his already rattled system. He staggered, stopped, catching his breath and there! A glimpse of a hand with dark skin. A pitter patter of feet running past him.

Grian coughed out phantom blood. What was Scar doing supposedly safe up in their base? Had he upset the Jellie pandas after all? There was no time to eat down here!

He was going to die. He was going to die and lose them a life and it wouldn’t be his fault.

The thundering blood in his ears made him almost deaf, helpless with his two dominant senses almost gone. Grian stumbled forward nontheless. He didn’t have much hope of survival. The wounds kept trickling in even though Scar was eating. But he was at least going to try.

The dark slowly crept away from him. And with each shaky step he took, fast and uncoordinated, Grian could see more, navigate more. Hope nearly gave him a heart attack as he saw Martyn and Ren at the entrance they’d used to come here.

Impulse and Etho weren’t too far away and Grian was able to make out Big B somewhere further up the walls beside him. They gathered at the stairs to safety, but something stopped them from going. Morbid curiousity.

Martyn had stepped out of the tunnel leading upwards to frown at the deadly city. “Where is it?”

“I can’t see it.” Big B panted, the last one to arrive after Grian.

Grian stepped further out into the open again, too. With a nonchalance he didn’t possess, he took a snowball out from his inventory and threw it at random. It gave a splat near one of the sensors, which lit up the area around it with a noise between gurgling and clicking.

“There!” Impulse pointed at the Warden, who had been slowly ambling up to them from above.

It was the first time Grian really had the time to take it in and compare it to the Warden inspired nightmare his best friend had turned into. Mumbo had done a shoddy job of imitating the monster. The real Warden was bigger and broader, huge antlers decorated with glowing glops of goo.

It had no whiskers and no eyes, but a mouth that drooped down at the corners and a chest that was permanently ripped open. Grian wondered if it hurt to have ones ribs outside like that. He also wondered why the souls didn’t just escape. They didn’t look happy in that black cavity where normal mobs had a heart.

Grian couldn’t see a nose, but it had to have one, for it was continuously sniffing the air… And catching their scent.

There was an almost comical pause when the group realized that they were fucked. That brief window of utter “Oh shit” as the Wardens head turned to them and it let out a chirr, antlers flashing.

The ribs along its chest cavity trembled, the souls whirling fast in their circle of doom. Grian knew what was coming next without having seen it before. “Run!”

Everyone turned almost in synch and sprinted up the stairs. But the distance wasn’t enough for the radius of the sonic blast that tore through the tunnel after them. The shockwave catapulted Grian forward and up several steps until he crashed into Impulses back with a pained noise.

The attack hadn’t killed him. Thank the Void for his newly enchanted stuff and the distance he’d already put between himself and the Warden. But his senses had been obliterated. For a few terrible minutes there was only a deafening silence and a myriad of black spots dancing along his vision.

And pain. It felt like the blast had shattered his bones and left his insides a bloody mess. But he couldn’t feel anything else. His skin was numb. He couldn’t feel his feet or legs or knew whether he was being touched and helped along or not.

And then he was slammed back inside his body. Or… no. The outside world slammed back into him. His vision cleared and his hearing came back and he found that he was still escaping the monster with the help of his friends.

It was only after they had cleared the open space where skeletons loved to ambush them that they took a break from climbing up, all but collapsing on the stairs.

No one dared to speak. And no one could, too busy taking huge gulps of air to fill up their lungs. Grian wasn’t just gasping for air. He was also taking a rigorous stock of his body, feeling along the edges to make sure that everything was still in place.

Scar was frantically consuming food on the other end of their bond, healing them up bite by bite. Grian let him do the brunt of the work and just let himself exist for a second. There was still tension. The Warden could have easily followed them or creep up from the stone floor like a demon summoned.

Only after minutes with no chirring, clicking or soggy footsteps did everyone start to relax. Breath finally caught, words flowed easily back out of their mouths.

Big B was the first daring enough to speak. “Is it really gone?”

The group listened once more, intently and then looked at Martyn for confirmation. “It’s gone.”

“Wooo!” Ren took that is his cue to celebrate. “That was a close one guys! Let’s never do that again.”

“What, you didn’t think it was a fun outing?” Etho teased him.

“Not for me!”

“At least we got something valuable out of it.” Impulse, ever the optimist, added.

It was the one thing that they all agreed on. But it also caused them immense dread. Most pairs had been broken up for this excursion aside from Ren and Big B. Which meant they would have to come back down in the future if they also wanted to give more protection to their soulmates.

A problem for their future selves. Their present ones had it rough enough with the climb upwards.

~~~

Scar hadn’t been aware of how scary the soulbond could get. One minute he was fine and dandy, minding his own business and building up his sanctuary. And the next his whole world exploded into a glorious boom of pain and misery.

For a brief moment he didn’t know up from down or inside from outside. And then the panic set in. He dove for the next best chest containing their food and began to eat faster than a starving man.

Once the tingling numbness faded from his fingertips and his hearing came back to him, the anger came. And after its brief performance of sparking flames and boiling blood it got shooed off the stage by worry.

He knew what the sudden drop in health meant. It was almost dusk and still Grian hadn’t returned. Where they stuck down there with the Warden? Was Grian stuck down there with the Warden?

Scar shouldn’t have let him go. His soulmate had been traumatised by it. Or something resembling it. Mumbo. Grian shouldn’t have been made to confront his fears like that. Scar should have gone. He should have been the provider. What bloody mate was he?!

A pathetic one. Also not a real one. Only a teammate. A teammate doing what?

Wings drooping he looked at what he had managed to do today. An outline of the sanctuary. Feeding the Jellie pandas and more importantly Jellie. Not getting killed. He had been wounded a little bit. And maybe he had spent some time with Pearl again. Just to keep her some company. Forge some much needed alliances. And mostly to complain.

Dejected he typed a message to Grian to at least ask him if he needed any rescuing. The text he got back eventually put him in an even worse mood. No. Just a simple no. No reassurance that Grian was fine or on his way back.

His mate didn’t think Scar important enough to inform him about anything!

Scar bit back a growl and stomped over to the wheat fields Grian had planted. Some of it was ripe enough to harvest. They’d need a lot of new food after what he’d just gone through for the both of them.

He beat down time with these idle tasks. Harvesting, tidying, cooking new food and playing with Jellie. Until he saw a familiar red dot in the distance and became rooted to the spot to watch it draw closer.

Grian looked… all healed up. And yet he also looked like he’d been run over by one of his cherished boulders. He was pale, for one. And his pupils were far too wide, making his eyes even darker than the black they already were. Not that Scar had realized before that this was even possible.

Scar knew that spooked look well enough. Better than he would have liked. “Wel-”

“You are absolutely forbidden to go down there.” Grian cut him off. He marched up to him, hesitating between falling against Scars chest or shoulder past him.

Scar didn’t give him a choice. He was quick to tug Grian under his arm and guide him back into their shared base. He worried about the cold coming off of his favourite Allay.

“Welcome back.” Scar finished what he had wanted to say, earning himself a scoff at his cheerfulness. “And whyever should I not?”

“Scar. I nearly died and killed us both. You should know why.”

Oh he was in a prickly mood. Understandable given the circumstances, but rather hard to work with. Scar wished Grian would come home happy at least once. This all felt horribly like they were acting out a broken marriage and Scar didn’t like that particular script.

“I noticed.” Scar said, sounding more bitter than intended. “But Grian, I need sparkly boots, too!”

He was prepared for Grian to wave him off. To tell him that no, Scar, you do not need fancy gear. Instead Grian let out the most world weary sigh and nodded. “I know. I’ll… I’ll work on it.”

Oh no. Oh no Grian would not subject himself to the underground horrors again that made him look like he regretted still being alive! Not if Scar had any say in it!

He couldn’t talk Grian out of it, of course. Scar had learned that lesson. Angry Vex were bad, but no one seemed to understand that angry Allays were worse. Or maybe it was just Grian. If someone hit Grians stubborn vein they were in for one hell of a threat display.

So Scar dropped the topic with a vague “I’m sure you will” and began scheming while making sure Grian sat down on one of their beds and had Jellie secure in his lap. Having the enchanter where one of the worst monsters they’d ever encountered lived was just stupid. They were already trying to murder each other, why should they take the risk of dying by mobs?

Dying via monster or environmental damage was lame. Also it wouldn’t hurt to have a second monopoly – Scar knew about the sugarcane even if Grian didn’t want him, too. So maybe if he snuck off and stole the enchanter when no one was looking-

“Scar? You are being way too quiet there, buddy.” Grian called after him cautiously.

Scar hated the wary look on his face. He hated that Grian’s base mood these days was stressed and miserable. He wanted to have the easy going, prank loving rascal back. He wanted to see Grian smile again. He wanted to hear him laugh again.

Maybe stealing the enchanter would light up Grian’s mood once more. He seemed to love to cause some chaos, still. And it would be prove that Scar was a worthy partner to have around. That he could take care of them both, too.

Scar desperately wanted that trust. For himself but also for Grian. The little Allay really needed to chill out and let others take care of him every once in a while.

“Scar? You’re starting to worry me, mate.”

Mate. “Sorry! Just thought about the Sanctuary. Do you need anything? Food? Water? Cuddles?”

He held his breath, hoping the casual drop of cuddles wasn’t being too straigh forward. He didn’t want to come off as too clingy should Grian not be comfortable with the idea. But dear Void was he craving some good old fashioned physical affection from his soulmate right now.

Grian seemed to stop and ponder the question, idly stroking Jellie, who had flopped over to show her belly. The devious cat would purr and arch her back before viciously attacking the hand scratching her belly. Scar could feel the tiny pinpricks of pain and smiled at the scene, wishing he could be part of it.

“I…” Grian eventually started, still looking unsure. “I’d like… uhm.”

The struggle to speak already said enough for Scar. He hopped over and onto the bed to wrap himself around Grian from behind. Instinctively his wings stretched and came around them, building a cocoon for Grian and Jellie.

Scar let himself sink into his role of big spoon and pretty much draped himself around Grian like a blanket, nose buried in dirty blonde hair (and the dirt was literal this time). It soothed the instincts a bit that he constantly worked so hard to repress.

Their fingers brushed against each other as they both petted Jellie, who eventually had enough and started to bite. She didn’t want to leave the nice dark space, but she did want to rest and not be touched anymore.

So Grian made a bowl with his arms and Scar looped his around them, forming a sort of double border. It took a bit for Grian to relax after that. At first he sat stock still, making sure only the edges of his wings really touched Scar’s chest. But inch by inch he wound down until he was comfortably nestled against Scar.

When the humming started Scar counted that as a valid success, his heart growing three sizes from the fondness the sound produced alone. A humming Allay was a happy Allay, after all.

Notes:

I'm back! Thank you for all the sweet comments while I was gone! I had a very nice trip. Sadly April has filled up with fun appointments (and I truly mean that) quicker than I could blink. Which means my updating schedule might stay a bit wacky during this month. Hence the early update.

I'm super excited for the Charity Stream on Saturday! I'll probably have to miss most of it, but I hope I'll be there for a bit. For those who don't know, the Auction and Donation page is already up.

Chapter 41

Jimmy was with the Jellie pandas again. Grian had been watching him from atop his… cake… base, instead of working on the second and third layer like he had wanted to. It was just too entertaining. The hole was so small that the pandas barely had room to move around. And somehow the horse had been adopted into the herd and was constantly being snuggled up against.

And Jimmy was probably trying to do something down there. They’d been asking for sugarcane a lot these days. No one seemed to believe them when they said Pearl had it. Even after the whole Enderman fiasco with Ren and Big B.

Maybe Jimmy was also trying to steal Scar’s horse again. He had tried to do that a lot, too for whatever reason. But he kept getting stuck between bodies, sniffed and gnawed at. He was barely able to keep himself standing. And Grian was sure he would lose a life by being squashed by Jellie panda any minute now.

It wasn’t like the animals were having a bad time down there. Scar took them out every day to give them food and to play with them. And whenever he wasn’t paying them attention they would just follow Jellie back into the hole to preen each other and cuddle.

The horse was always dragged back in as well, no matter how many times Scar tried to bind it to the next best tree. Grian didn’t like to admit it, but he did like having the chubby animals around. They were incredibly cute even though their resemblance to Jellie was a bit creepy.

They were also nice to watch. And seeing Jimmy floundering was always a huge bonus as well. Especially because Jimmy had been a huge pain in the ass recently. Not only was he having a grand time with Tango – those two were sickenly sweet together and Grian wanted to have that with Scar, too. But he was also teasing Grian about his crush on Scar whenever the Vex wasn’t around to threaten him.

The bastard wasn’t sneaky in any way either. Most of the time Scar wasn’t even that far away! Which meant he could overhear Jimmys teasing any time! It only hadn’t happened yet because those two somehow couldn’t sense each other at all. It was so weird. If they didn’t have direct sight on each other they just somehow assumed the other wasn’t there.

Scar very much was there and would probably care a lot more about what Jimmy was doing in the panda pit than Grian. He was hacking away on another mangrove tree. Those buggers were so hard to grow and take down. And the wood they gained from one tree was a measly amount in comparison to the work they had. If the wood would just stop being so pretty.

Grian loved the contrast it gave to the pale yellow of the birch wood. And Scar loved the rich dark red colour and smoothness of it. So someone had to chop them. Which was Scar most of the time.

Grian leaned further into the railing of his cake, careful not to catch his elbows on the spikes. It was getting a bit boring, actually. “Scar? Jimmy is trying to steal your horse again.” He called down, smirking when he heard an enraged noise as a response.

“What? Jimmy!”

“Wha- Noooo. No I didn’t-” Jimmy started in the most unconvincing way possible, before admitting a bit sheepishly, “Actually I’m stuck.”

Grian snorted. “I can see that. Better think of a way to get out quick before Scar comes out.”

“You’d like that.” Jimmy, never knowing when to keep his mouth shut and not poke the goat, yelled up. Yelled.

“No! That doesn’t even-” Make sense.

“I’m already out!” Scar yelled, meaning a very different thing.

Not that Grian cared. It matched the conversation well enough. “Exactly!”

“Ahhhhh!” By pure idiotic luck – the only luck Jimmy seemed to get ever – the Canary managed to scramble out of the hole before Scar could snatch him up.

Grian watched the chase for a while, snickering. It was truly a nice day. Aside from Ren and Big B dying and the occasional popping up of other Players asking if they had any sugarcane, no drama had happened for quite a bit.

Everyone was focused on building some form of base and getting resources before stirring up serious trouble. Bdubs and Impulse were even planning a pool party as far as Grian was aware. It would probably be a trapped one, but Grian wanted to go anyway.

There was a calm to everyone that Grian had begun to miss with the Hermits and even back on Evo. Or way before that. The only days that came close to this peace were the dark hours spent in their spacecraft, doing maintenance work and then resting together or apart. And the early days on a new world, exploring together, building homes and setting up.

Grinding and work was a crucial part of every stage of their explorer life. You couldn’t be idle for too long or you might run into problems later on that you wouldn’t be able to solve. But there were times when the grind slowed down and life could be taken in through deep breaths and a curious gaze.

Even Scar had settled somewhat. He still had that manic energy about him from time to time. But he wasn’t constantly fighting against invisible foes. He’d become quite territorial and protective, especially of the Jellie pandas. And although he masked it well, being so close to each other all the time made it glaringly obvious how tense Scar had become.

It set Grian on edge in return. As though he wasn’t generally a ball of anxiety to begin with. And so most days had been a balancing act between avoidance and seeking each other out to work together as a team.

They had somewhat found an equilibrium. Despite Grian trying to not lean into his soulbond too much, he did take any offer of cuddles Scar threw his way. He even ignored the way Scar seemed to clutch him whenever Grian gave him the chance. The poor Vex was probably missing Cub somewhat fierce. Grian certainly did.

It wasn’t the best possible living conditions. Grian’s days were still filled with pining. It was, however, more than bearable. And whenever it got too much he could make his way over to Big B.

They’d been writing and meeting up in secret so much that they’d jokenly started to call each other secret soulmates. Well, half jokenly, really. Both of them loved their soulmates very much. Big B had even been gifted a pair of fake wolf ears because he’d become so entranced with Ren's.

But both of their bonds were somewhat doomed. Grian had made sure to plant doubts about Ren's loyality and competence into Big B’s mind. Which wasn’t hard because Ren kept running into Martyn and whenever those two got together you might as well get yourself some popcorn and watch the show.

And Scar… Well Grian had spent hours whining about Scar to Big B. And because you couldn’t mention Scar without also mentioning Cub, Grian had spent a few additional hours whining about Cub, too.

They’d come to the conclusion that Vex were confusing. Very confusing. And Big B still firmly believed Scar to be a threat and constantly worried about Grian’s safety. Recently Grian had liked to point out to him that he still had all his lifes and Big B did not.

“I swear this man is such a… a… a rascal!” Scar’s angry voice brought him back from his musings. The Vex was stomping back up the hill, visibly fuming. If they hadn’t all been very much against swearing he would have probably called Jimmy something much worse.

Grian wasn’t much impressed by the display. “Did you get him?”

Scar flapped his wings once, a gesture of extreme annoyance that Grian had become painfully aware of during their game of murder. “Not yet.”

Now that didn’t sound ominous at all. “Too bad. Now can you get back in and help me-”

“Coming!”

It didn’t take long before others came to pester them again. Tango and Joel were a bit of an odd pair to come to them. Although Joel loved to hang around Jimmy a lot to tease him. And Tango must have either befriended him by assimilation or was trying to keep him away from Jimmy like the knight of shining armour he was.

Grian was starting to grow suspicious. Even with the proximity the amount of times Jimmy, Joel, Etho and Tango especially came to them was far too frequent. They also always came in other configurations. Sometimes it was Jimmy alone or Joel. And then there was Tango and Etho and now Tango and Joel.

Day in and day out they swarmed in and out of their base, poking and prodding. For sugarcane. For Scar's horse. Joel had even threatened the Jellie pandas once and had swiftly regretted it.

There was no peace to be gained from his neighbours, he mournfully concluded. And just when the two of them had fallen into a rhythm with Scar building his panda reserve and Grian mostly working on their base.

“Oh Grian!” Scar all but sang from outside the cake's borders, after another attempt at stealing his horse had failed. “Can you finish our base alone? I wanna kill and I want to burn down their ranch, please and thank you!”

Before Grian could even comprehend what had been said to him Scar was out. He must have held that urge in for a while then. Grian stopped what he was doing to watch him run towards Tangos and Jimmys ranch like something had possessed him.

He shook his head and decided to be the responsible one for now. Let Scar have his fun. Maybe blowing off some steam would help him calm down. Jimmy and Tango didn’t pose too much of a threat. They were the only ones Grian ranked worse in survival and PvP skills than Scar.

The smell of smoke drifted over to him as he worked. And soon the flames were so big that Grian couldn’t ignore them anymore. Not with him up so high and the ranch so close. He only stopped to stare for a minute or two before spurring back into action, waiting to drop down any moment.

There had to be a fight. No way had Scar just completely destroyed Jimmy's home without the two inhabitants noticing. Grian braced himself for the pain. For the sudden loss of a sense or two. Anything really.

He was able to finish his base in utter peace with only Martyn stopping by to comment on it and the burning building not far away.

Grian wouldn’t see Scar until two days after. The longest two days Grian had ever had to live through in his life. And he was counting the basement imprisonment as well. Because it was one thing to sit in isolation and fear of ones life, only being able to count the metal bars keeping you from freedom as a way to pass the time. And it was another to be able to run free, but to know that somewhere out there was your soulmate, probably getting himself into trouble.

It wasn’t pining exactly. That particular feeling was actually a bit more tolerable when Scar wasn’t with him. Mostly because the saying out of sight out of mind could be made true every once in a while when Grian got emersed in a task.

He did miss him. But missing someone had become as much a part of himself as that weird energy that was humming within him ever since he’d jumped through the wacky end portal.

It was mostly the worry and anticipation that killed him in these two days of waiting. The twinges of pain that could grow into something much worse any second. The knowledge that his partner was most likely being hunted down for sport and Grian could do nothing to help him.

The fear that he would drop dead any second and respawn somewhere, maybe even still away from Scar. He hated the thought of waking up alone after losing a life.

So maybe his reaction to seeing his soulmate again after such a long time may have been a bit over the top. But it had been two days! Two days with no word from his idiot of a partner! He’d just come back from another long foraging trip when he saw him standing in front of the panda reserve with a pleased grin. And all thoughts of keeping distance and not ruining relationships were thrown straight out the window.

Scar was getting a bit dizzy from the excited Allay flitting around him in tight, fast circles chiming and chanting Scar’s name in between rapid fire questions. Once Grian had finally calmed down and stopped Scar wobbled once, twice, only to fall flat on his ass.

The Vex stared up at him with eyes filled with wonder. “Well hello there.”

Instead of a sassy remark another bright chime left his mouth. He had to clear his throat and bat at his vibrating wings to calm himself down enough to get a word out. “Hi Scar, back from hiding?”

“Me? I would never hide! Pssssht! I was just… being away. Tactically. For a bit.”

Grian huffed at him fondly and even went so far as to offer Scar a hand. He needed that contact. Would have clung for longer. But he’d gotten a bit of a grip on himself now that the first rush of excitement had swept over him. “I don’t think that’s a thing. But I didn’t take any damage while you were gone so… good job.”

Scar beamed at him. “Thank you! Have you been in the my panda reserve already?”

Grian shook his head, but followed his excited teammate into the enclosure. “No. I was busy building our base.”

As soon as the wooden gates closed behind him something settled in his chest. While Grian had built a fortress, Scar at built a retreat. The space wasn’t done yet, but it was already doing a good job of showing tranquility.

Tiny ponds littered the uneven ground. Tall stalks of bamboo reached high towards the sky. And the walls, with stripped and natural wood alternating in stripes, felt at the same time cozy and natural. They were a good backdrop, wrapping them in an embrace instead of caging them in. It was like walking out of a dense forest into a sunny clearing.

Grian also had no idea what Scar had done to the ground to make it this soft and pleasant to walk upon. He was truly a master of terraforming.

Scar let him take everything in, gaze warm and attentive. “Well?”

There was a whole essay Grian could have written him. Scar had the magical ability to take any place of the map, no matter how ugly or dangerous, and turn it into something wonderous.

“It’s good.” Grian said simply, knowing that his body language was answer enough. By the smirk Scar gave him, he had guessed correctly. “And our base? Do you like it?”

He was much more nervous about the feedback than he let on. He’d dragged Scar away from his favoured plot of land and pretty much shoved him into his base, after all.

Scar glanced at the huge structure that was all sharp edges and spiky ends. “It looks amazing, G!”

Grian couldn’t help the flush and proud chime that left him, wings starting to flutter and flash again until he was hovering off the ground once more. “Thank you! Martyn said it looks like a cake.”

Scar tilted his head as though the different angle would help him envision it better. “Hm… It does a little bit. It as the layers. And colours. We don’t need any more mango wood, right? I’m so tired of chopping down these mango- mangave, mongove? It’s mango wood, right?”

Scar stumbling over words would never get old. The clumsiness warmed Grian’s heart, reminding him that the Vex was an absolute goof even when he tried to be anything but. “It’s mangrove. And yes Scar. We’re done chopping trees.”

Grian laughed at the cheer that earned him.

“Yess! No more!” Scar wooped, throwing his hands in the air.

“Except.” Grian said, smirking at the way Scar instantly deflated and looked at him with wariness. “Martyn said something that made me rethink my life choices.”

The glare Scar gave him wasn’t directed at him, Grian knew. It still sent an anxious shiver down his spine and made him fumble with his next words. “He said our base looked very flammable.”

“Oh.” Scar looked back at the cake with new eyes. “Well, best not to mention it to anyone. Especially Jimmy or Tango. But well-” He shrugged, turning to add more leafs to the wall. “Who would burn down another ones base like that anyways?”

Grian snickered, following behind to see how Scar worked on decorating the sanctuary. “Yeah Scar. Who would do such a thing?”

“No one, I tell you!” Scar laughed and turned to him with a mischievious glint in his eyes. “Although if I had to guess it would be you.”

“What? Me? You were the one to-”

“Really?” Scar interrupted him with a waggle of his eyebrows, leaning down to him, wings spreading. He looked like a demon ready to make a deal. And Grian would have sold his soul to him in a second had Scar not already been bound to it. “I’m not the one holding the flint and steel, mister.”

“Huh?” It took a bit for the words to register in his brain. Grian was far too busy internally squealing about Scars charm. Oh dear if he wasn’t being careful he’d fall in love with this fool even more! “What- I don’t have-”

He patted himself down before remembering that he had an inventory for a reason and checked his communicator for the items within. Just like Scar had said, there, laying innocently in some pocket dimension right next to the 5 bread he had left, was a flint and steel he’d not formerly possessed.

“How did that get- Scar! You- you thief!” Grian squawked at him, pointing fingers.

The warm, hearty laugh Scar sent his way only made Grian’s wings flutter more. “Now I don’t think a thief would give you things, G.”

The bloody Vex looked far too proud for the stunt he’d just pulled off. Bastard. “Don’t you dare pin things on me.” Grian berated him half heartedly. “Everyone knows it was you anyway.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Scar sang.

Ugh, this was the worst. How was Grian supposed to keep his distance when Scar was being like this?! Maybe the absence had helped and made them fonder of each other. Not that Grian had needed to get more attached to this fool of a man.

He really needed a plan to spend less time with Scar again. A ridiculous thought given how Scar had just come back after being missing for two days. But Grian couldn’t keep this up. It was a horrible curse. That no matter the interaction it was never right. Too aggressive and Grian would be hurt and moping. Too friendly and Grian would need to pull away. Too distant and they had a bad chance of survival. Too close and Grian could end up damaging their friendship in irreparable ways.

Screw having found a good equilibrium. This was turning out to be a near impossible balancing act. And no one could tell him when he was in the green. He needed to find Big B. He needed someone to whine to.

Notes:

The Scarland Artbook pre-order is open guys! It's so pretty! You can find them on tumblr if you're interested (and probably Twitter as well, but I'm not active there so who knows). The money earned from the books will go to charity. Hermitcraft fandom is really thriving with all these cool projects underway. Pre-order period ends on the 12th May.

Chapter 42

The abomination Ren and Big B called their base was empty when he came to it. On the way Grian had seen the full extent of Scar’s little escapade. Only the smoking shell of Jimmy’s and Tango’s ranch remained. And retaliation would surely follow soon. What had that maniac been thinking? Antagonizing Yellows!

The traffic light system had been Grian’s idea. Sure they only had three lifes, but Grian knew most of the others well enough. If chaos arouse there would be quite a few people who were likely to forget what count they were on. So they needed a distinct marker telling them who had how many lifes left.

Grian had gotten permission to layer a sort of glamour on top of everyones appearance, which mostly changed their eyes. They flashed green, yellow or red when making eye contact with someone, indicating their status. The chat names on their communicator reflected that as well. Grian had needed some help from Tango and Etho and had been grateful that the truce had held up until he’d gotten these changes done.

Calling each other Greens and Yellows had been the natural conclusion to their new rating system. And Grian was sure they would also call the first rednames Reds.

Timmy and Tango were yellow and thus wouldn’t try to hurt them outright. But given their poor track record that was likely to change any day now. They really had mucked up with the whole building alliances thing so far. Grian went through the list of people he could trust with his back turned and came up with preciously few names.

Popping into Big B’s base unannounced and unseen, Grian used the opportunity to snoop around a bit. The cobblestone box with the horrid face on it didn’t look much better from the inside than it did on the outside. There were rudimentary farms and a horse. Some crude furniture, quickly hewn from scraps of wood likely to give you more splinters than comfort if you dared to touch it.

He couldn’t see any beds, meaning Ren and Big B had at least one brain cell between the two of them. More than Grian and Scar had, in Grian’s humble opinion. Climbing up on the second level revealed more rudimentary furniture and a whole lot of empty space.

Grian hummed in thought. Sure he’d originally had only come here to meet Big B and complain about Scar's ridiculous amounts of charm. But if he was already here he might as well cause some mischief and do some dividing for later conquering.

Setting something up with the few things he had on hand and not knowing when the owners of the home would come back was stressful. But just about the right amount to keep his mind off the less pleasant things.

After a while Grian stepped back and stared at his work. The big heart shape couldn’t be overlooked. The rest was assembled quickly as well. A chest full of freshly baked bread and a few signs with a very bad secret message on them. Something that would crack Big B up and send him right to him. And something that would hopefully give Rens ego a bit of a blow without painting a big red target on Grian’s back.

It was a good prank building up on the whole secret soulmate joke they’d gotten going. Big B would surely appreciate it for what it was. And their soulmates?

Well if Scar was chasing dumb fairies and Ren ran off with Martyn on fake quests of honour, Big B and Grian could have their own fake romance going. It wasn’t quite what he’d come to Big B’s for, but he was sure that soon enough they would find a time and place to talk again.

Nodding at his work and carefully not thinking about any consequences his action might cause, Grian turned and trodded off.

~~~

His panda reserve was finished. Scar had spent quite some time admiring his work and checking it for flaws. Wrangling the unruly Jellie pandas into the closed off structure had been a bit of a nightmare. They had become quite fond of their hole in the ground. And Jellie, in true cat fashion, also preferred the close confines of their earthy prison to the comparably open space the sanctuary provided.

But now everything was set up and ready to go. This was not some unhelpful pet project he’d taken up to distract himself from the very possessive urges regarding his sweet partner. No! This was part of an elaborate plan to get themselves some allies!

Now who should he help with rekindling love? Jimmy and Tango were good and would probably burn his hard work down in an instant. Etho and Joel seemed to be doing pretty well as a pair. As was – surprisingly – Impulse and Bdubs.

Pearl and Scott maybe? No, Pearl was becoming more unhinged by the day and Scott seemed thoroughly disturbed by her. Ren and Big B, maybe. If those two could just be a bit more together than maybe Scar wouldn’t need to kick them from the game soon.

The mere thought of having Big B anywhere near the velvet cake base caused the Vex in his head to screech with barely held back bloodlust. It was such a stark contrast to the reaction they had whenever Grian came close.

It wasn’t like he hated the Allay. He wasn’t as cute as Grian, but that was no fault of his own. He was polite. Truly the only thing that made Scar want to tear his throat out was the fact that he was close to Grian.

It was unfair! They’d just gotten rid of Mumbo as a contender for Grian’s affection. And now here was an even more perfect partner for their pesky bird. Someone neither Scar nor Cub had the means to compete with. Could two Vex equal one Allay? No. Two Vex was, admittedly, even worse than one. Because more Vex meant more havoc. Not that Grian didn’t like havoc, but- Ugh!

Grian liked Big B. That was the damning part of the equation.

Their greeting had been the worst thing to watch. It showed all the little things Scar and Cub had lost during their painful transformation. The innocent cheer. The chiming and dancing. Big B and Grian had been floating with ease and had glowed with a mesmerizing electric blue.

Scar had recognised the steps of a regular greeting, even if it had been that of close friends. He had traced the motions and mourned. For his wings were perfect for hugs but would not get him off the ground in the way Allay wings could.

His feet had been firmly planted on the ground ever since he’d become a Vex. The only exception were the times he used his elytra. But the clunky prothesis didn’t allow for the small twists and turns a traditional Allay greeting required.

The most he could do was stand in one stop and turn with the flow of the chimes as he’d done when Grian had welcomed him back last time. The memory sent another pang through his heart. He hadn’t realized it, but Grian had flitted about him in an attempt of a traditional greeting. And Scar hadn’t been able to reciprocate.

Because Scar was a lousy Vex and couldn’t even give that to his partner.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of the dark thoughts and self doubts. He didn’t want the self loathing to come back. He didn’t want to have that self awareness back. He knew that he had changed. He’d lived with that for years now.

He couldn’t revert back to the beginning. He couldn’t do that to Cub, who had taken it all so much worse. If Scar fell back on doubts than Cub would and then they would both spiral down, down, down.

There was no need for that. As much as Scar could regret and rage at the abilities he’d lost, there was no way of getting them back. And thus any emotion he fed into that particular train of thought would be an utter waste.

He needed to focus on the things he could do. Grian hadn’t shunned him completely, yet. So there was something salvagable there. He just needed some victims- erm poor lost souls he could help. To prove that he wasn’t useless. That he was more than a mindless, violent Vex.

No Big B then. Scar could make no promises where he was involved.

That left Martyn and Cleo. Yes. Yes he could work with these two.

Scar didn’t even try to track them down. He merely typed a private message to both of them and hoped their curiousity was enough to lead them to him. The answer Cleo gave him was a surprise. They had a gift for him. A gift so he wouldn’t burn Scott’s and Cleo’s house down. Lovely. Scar hoped it didn’t include any explosives. Or well, any exploding explosives anyway. He would always be happy to receive some god old TNT.

Martyn was harder to get a hold of. He was probably either moping around like a wet cat or galavanting through the caves with Ren in tow. But he did reply eventually and sure enough, Scar managed to get them both in the panda reserve at the same time. Or roughly the same time.

Cleo arrived first, red hair aglow in the midday sun, resembling the fire they wanted to avoid. Gone were the snakes that had grown from their wild strands and they wore their usual comfortable clothes again. As with Ren, Scar felt much more comfortable with this familiar version of Cleo. He’d always been deathly afraid of snakes, which had made interacting with Cleo very hard indeed.

“Cleo! It’s so good to see you! Come on in, come on in! If you’d like to leave a small donation by the entrance, be my guest!” Scar waved them in with a cheerfulness he actually felt for once.

Cleo let themself be ushered into the sanctuary with a bemused smile tugging up their lips. “Hello Scar, it’s nice to see you, too. And I’m already donating something to you. Don’t get greedy.”

“You said it was a gift!”

Cleo shrugged. They looked nonchalant, but their eyes swept over the lovingly planted bushes and bamboo, catching on clear ponds and the high walls that gave them a bit of respite from the sun. Naturally their gaze got caught on the Jellie pandas. “Odd creatures. Did Jellie have kids?”

Scar let Cleo take everything in and tried very hard to not imagine what Cleo was implying. “You said you wanted to give me something?”

Cleo snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Here you go.” They pulled out something from their satchel and threw it at Scar, who caught it. With his face. Thankfully it was only fabric this time and not another stone.

Scar fumbled an embarrassingly long time with his gift before he got a good grip on it. His breath got caught in his throat and tears started to form in his eyes when he finally saw what Cleo had gotten him. “Oh.”

“Are you good?” Cleo asked, half bemused, half concerned.

Scar sniffled. “Yes, yes! I’m just a bit overwhelmed.” He gently laid the new outfit on a dry rock and started to shed his armour.

A panicked noise made him stop and then Cleo grabbed his arm for good measure. “Scar! Don’t just change in front of me! At least wait until I’m gone!”

Scar pouted. “But I want to try it on! What if it doesn’t fit?”

Oh no he’d insulted Cleo, hadn’t he? They didn’t look very impressed, either way. Maybe he should be worried about his things spontanously catching fire now. “You know I always get my measurements right.” Cleo sniffed and not at all in that touched way Scar had earlier.

Scar backtracked fast. “I know, I know! I was just- uhm, curious! And where do I put it in the meanti- Oh what in the world?!”

He struggled more out of surprise than anything as he was suddenly trapped in a leathery loop. Additionally something was shoved in his hands and then Cleo stepped back with a satisfied huff.

Scar blinked at them, feeling along the new addition to his body and clutching the bundle that had been pressed to his chest in his other hand. He now had the satchel Cleo had worn earlier and a small backpack to boot.

Cleo looked him up and down with their hands on their hips. “There. Something to carry your new clothes in for now. And later all that bamboo you keep feeding the pandas. The backpack is for Jellie. I noticed she doesn’t like to leave your side these days. Maybe she’s more comfortable in there than on your shoulders or head.”

Scar carefully examined the things he’d been given and Jellie – summoned by the mentioning of her name – trodded over to help him with that task. While he bent down to let Jellie sniff the bag that was meant for her, Martyn arrived and let himself in.

“Hello! Knock, knock is anyone- Oh. It’s you.”

Scar inspected his things a little harder to avoid the awkward stand off between the soulmates. He was suddenly very happy that at least Grian and him were on decent speaking terms. Grian even touched him every now and then! And accepted cuddles! It was mostly to keep up appearances, but it was still miles better than whatever those two had.

Out of the corner of his eye Scar could make out Cleo’s tight expression, their stance speaking of violence to come. “Hello Martyn. What are you doing here?”

“Scar invited me over to show me something.” Martyn replied easily.

“Scar!”

Scar quickly stood up, earning a disgruntled meow from Jellie, who had just gotten one paw in the backpack. The furry devil slithered up his pant leg as retribution, taking extra care to dig in deep where parts of fabric were revealed in between the plating of his armour.

“Hey, hey, hey no need to get violent just yet! I only wanted to show you the panda reserve and let you experience its healing magic!” Scar threw his arms out with a winning smile, upsetting Jellie’s balance, who had managed to climb on his shoulders. He bit down a wince as sharp claws dug into his muscles to keep Jellie from falling off.

Hopefully Grian wouldn’t mind a few scratches. It was for a good cause. That cause being a content cat.

Martyn crossed his arms and glowered at him. “Healing magic? What are you talking about?”

Cleo mimicked Martyn’s stance and oh he was standing right between them. That probably wasn’t very good. “Yeah Scar. What are you talking about?”

He wouldn’t be a very good business man if he couldn’t play it cool in heated situations such as these. His smile never wavered. “Well you see! This has been built not only for the safety and comfort of these lovely, extremely rare animals. And aren’t they just the cutest-” Scar couldn’t help but coo. “No, no, no my dear friends! This place will help you to mend your bonds and rekindle love!”

“It was never kindled to begin with.” Cleo pointed out and Martyn nodded.

“See! You’re already agreeing with each other! It’s the magic air of the sanctuary! Go on walk around and feed the Jellies! This is a place of relaxation and- no Cleo please put that flint and steel down!”

Cleo huffed, but complied. “Fiiine. But I swear if this is a trap-”

“It’s not! I promise, it’s not!” With a practiced swirl of his hand he grabbed a bunch of bamboo from his inventory and handed it out to his scowling companions. “Now go on. Frolic in the fields, feed the pandas-”

“Make love?” Martyn joked, eyebrow raised.

Cleo grimaced. “Eww.”

“Noo! Please keep it to frolicking only. The poor Jellies!” He paused and then, after a moment of thought, wagged his finger at them. “This establishment is for rekindling love not for making love. You can do that one at home.”

“Such specific terms.” Cleo joked, but hesitantly started holding their bamboo out for the next best Jellie panda to grab.

Martyn huffed and glared at the plant sticks he’d been given until a panda shoved itself in his face and made him squeal in surprise. He spluttered and backpedaled, his misfortune making Cleo laugh and point.

Scar watched them from the entrance, smiling as the magic of the sanctuary took hold of his guests. The bright space did wonders to relax both Cleo and Martyn and soon enough they went from sharp bickering to almost gentle snarking at each other.

About an hour in they had distributed all their bamboo, petted most of the Jellies and were walking up to Scar, who grinned at them. “And? How would you rate your experience?”

Martyn laughed. “3 out of 5. The ambiance is great. The company could have been better.”

Cleo’s mouth twitched, but they firmly held back a smile. “Would rate the same. The guy operating the establishment kept staring at us. It got creepy.”

Scar opened and closed his mouth at them. “Wha- the audacity-”

Cleo’s hand on his shoulder shut up his half hearted start of a tirade. “It’s beautiful Scar. Grian will love it. Why don’t you use it for yourself next, hm?”

“I- I don’t know what you mean. Me and Grian are doing fabulously! We’re the best pairing out there! A well oiled machine! A-” He continued to blabber, fumbling more and more with his words as he ran out of good things to describe their team as.

Cleo and Martyn let him ramble, sharing looks every now and again. It was only when Scar finally ran out of steam and had stopped rotating his hands as though he wanted to create a tornado out of thin air that Martyn spoke up. “Even if your bond doesn’t need fixing. I think Grian would appreciate a nice day out. He’s been pretty stressed lately. And this here really is nice.”

Scar exhaled all the air he’d used to puff himself up in one long breath. “You think he would like to spend some time in here? With me?”

Cleo nodded, squeezing his shoulder. “He would. Just ask him.”

Scar looked down, mind full and chest tight. “I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

“Good.” Cleo patted him as they let go to walk through the wooden gates. “Thanks for the hour of calm. I guess I don’t have to burn this place to the ground.”

“What?!”

Cleo and Martyn left Scar to his angry noises, falling into step with each other. Oddly enough they had managed to get to know and like their supposed soulmate in that short amount of time in the sanctuary. And they had to go in the same direction anyway.

Martyn still needed to scold his soulmate, though. “Really Cleo. I thought you knew the game. It’s divide and conquer not bring them together and make them stronger.”

“I know.” Cleo groaned. “But you saw them! They are so, so… pathetic!”

Notes:

Been overcome by the TCG card craze this past week. I only need rare False to complete my collection now, why is she so hard to get? ;A;

Anyway have a little bit of angst. I don't write Cleo enough. I love her snark. I know she goes by they/them and she/her, but I always found switching pronouns for one person in stories hard to read. So I'm using they/them for Cleo mostly.

Chapter 43

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Grian and Scar always ran into each other at their base. It was their base. They both lived there. So of course they would both come back to it at it the end of the day, when they’d completed all their shenanigans.

And yet every time Grian came home from one trip or another he had a small heart attack whenever he saw the first glimpse of Scar. He’d been so adamant about not basing with him that Grian still sometimes feared to find him gone.

He hated that his heart still fluttered at having him here. That the base felt more and more like a home and their partnership less and less like a necessity.

Today Grian found his soulmate by the finished panda reserve, a contemplative look on his face. Grian decided that he looked distracted enough for a jumpscare and crept up to him until he stood right beside him.

He leaned forward as if curious and rocked back on his feet, grinning with glee when Scar still hadn’t noticed him. Grian took a moment to take him in and to let the excitement bubble in his chest.

Grian opened his mouth, ready to speak and to hear that wonderful wahooo scream Scar let out whenever he got surprised. Scar was faster, though. He turned his head, intense gaze now solely focused on Grian.

“Hello songbird-”

The scream belonged to Grian. It was mean! Scar hadn’t even done anything scream worthy! And still the sudden movement when he’d been so sure that he’d stayed undetected got to him.

“Scar!” He whined, very unhappy that he’d lost his opportunity for a jumpscare.

Scar laughed at him. The bastard knew exactly what he’d been planning and had played along! Rude! “What is it Grian? Did something happen?”

You did! Grian almost said, but rather grumbled some nonsensical words, only brightening Scar’s mood. There was something that had caught Grian's attention, though. It was a pretty obvious change. Especially because Scar, for some reason, had decided that armour in a death game was for losers.

At least he wasn’t running around shirtless.

“You’ve got clothes.” Bloody mouth not saying what his brain wanted it to. Of course Scar had clothes! What sentence was that?

“Yes I do! New ones even!” Scar happily exclaimed and yeah, if one person knew how to stumble through a conversation with half formed sentences it was Scar.

“They…uhm… they look good. Where did you get them?”

“Cleo gave them to me as a bribe to not burn their house down.” Scar happily proclaimed, probably very proud of this achievement.

“Huh.” Was the only sensible thing Grian could come up with. Something within him wanted to complain. To caution Scar against taking anything from people they had unsteady alliances with. Anything could have been trapped. People were itching to get on with the game. They needed Reds for the fun to truly begin.

And yet there were no words that came to him. Scar looked too happy to bother and whatever Grian would have been able to say would have been lost on the Vex anyway. Scar was reckless. And Grian was starting to realize that he couldn’t contain him or keep him safe forever.

Thankfully, Scar never needed others to keep a conversation flowing. When Grian only let out a noise of acknowldgement he barrelled right on ahead. “I helped Cleo and Martyn to get along again, by the way. They loved the panda reserve! We should try it for ourselves sometime! Oh also I found the Deep Dark.”

“You what- Scar, I forbid you from going!” There was no way his rule would stick this time around. No matter with how much intent Grian spoke it with. He needed to find something to distract his lovely, idiot of a soulmate with. Should he tell him about the sugarcane after all? Maybe-

But first the other thing. “And why would you help matchmake between Cleo and Martyn? We’re not here to make friends, Scar!” The words were out before he’d really thought about them. He was so used to arguing with Scar at this point, to have a contrary opinion on matters, that his first instinct was to negate whatever Scar had been doing.

Before he could retrace his words and amend his stance Scar jumped to defend his actions. “I did what you told me to do earlier and am making allies! Or how do you think will you be able to sell the sugarcane if everyone wants to have your head, hm mister? Aha! You thought I didn’t know about the sugarcane, did you? But I, in fact, saw you when you were trying to get rid of the pandas!”

Boy were there so many things to unpack there. Grian helplessly trailed behind Scar, mortified and confused at the sudden turn of the conversation. He wanted to argue that Scar had also been very busy making enemies, but there were more pressing matters to take care of.

“I- uh, I didn’t- Scar where are you going? Scar put the shovel down there’s really no need-”

There was no better soothing balm than the look of utter befuddlement that adorned Scar’s face once he’d dug down far enough to get to the small hole Grian had planned to grow their precious plant in weeks ago.

And really, it only served him right that Grian was laughing in his face now. “You really thought I’d leave that there?” He chimed, bad mood all but forgotten, along with all the things he’d wanted to say.

Well the decision had been made for him. This was as good as a distraction from the Deep Dark as any. “And no Scar, we are not going to sell the only monopoly we have. We are going to sell paper.”

“Paper? Not sugar?”

“Scar. Why would we sell anyone sugar.”

The way Scar floundered, bluish red blush creeping up his cheeks, was heartwrenchingly endearing. Grian wanted to hit him for it. “I- Well I don’t know! Maybe someone wants to bake their soulmate a cake!”

“Pff, who wants cake? Cookies are way better.”

“No way!”

“Yes way!”

Their petty little back and forth lasted for an embarrassingly long time and left them both giggling and breathless.

“Sooo can I be a paper salesman? Pretty please?” Scar folded his hands in front of him and shook them, one step from falling to his knees, the overdramatic Vex.

Grian shook his head at his partner's antics. “Yes, sure. But I’ll come with. We’re going to be a double act.” His poor heart, but Grian didn’t want Scar to blow their cover.

Scar jumped up and pumped his fist into the air. “Yes! Let’s goooo!”

“Tomorrow.” Grian said, looking at the sky, which was starting to darken.

Scar followed his gaze and nodded. “Tomorrow. How about we take some food into the sanctuary and spend a nice night out?”

He should say no. His infatuation didn’t need to be fed. But the yearning was too big and Scar looked so hopeful. When had been the last time Scar had actively wanted to spend time with him? Aside from the occasional brief cuddle whenever the Vex missed Cub too much and needed some comfort.

“Okay.”

The smile Scar gave him was brighter than the sun. And Grian was sure he would burn himself on it.

~~~

There was no need to be nervous. Scar was an expert salesman. The best of the best! He could sell someone a piece of rotten flesh for a stack of diamonds and have the unfortunate person of the trade thank him for it. Selling his fellow friends and loose acquaintances some pieces of paper should be no problem! (Aside from the fact that the last time he’d tried to get resources from his friends ended up with him admitting defeat and building a sanctuary for his pets. But Scar was trying very hard not to think about that.)

Scar peered over at Grian, wishing desperately that he would mysteriously disappear. Maybe he could fall into a hole. Or get summoned back to their base because of one thing or another. Maybe Scar should have started a small fire when they left this morning.

It wasn’t like Scar wasn’t thrilled at having his soulmate at his side. They were doing a couple thing! Well a partner in crime thing, really. But that was even better because that was exactly how Cub and him had bonded at first.

So Scar was excited about that. Excited, but also very, very scared of mucking it up. This was his time to shine. To prove to Grian once and for all that Scar was useful. Because the panda reserve was nice, but it didn’t convince Grian at all. Not of his usefulness.

Their little date in the sanctuary- Their little, platonic evening in the sanctuary had done wonders to endear Grian to him again. They’d laughed and joked like they had back home, leaning against each other so Jellie could sprawl out over both of their laps. But Scar felt like it wasn’t enough. Grian liked goofing off with him, but he didn’t feel safe around him.

Cleo had been right, of course. Grian had been so tense that Scar was impressed he hadn’t snapped a tendon yet. Over the course of the evening he’d become all smiles and chimes, his wings buzzing happily behind him.

Even now Scar reaped the fruits of his hard work. Grian hadn’t admonished him for something or other once yet. And he still gave him a grin every once in a while. Even though his gaze had already grown wary once more, sweeping over the landscape searching for threats. Because he didn’t trust Scar to sense them in time.

So despite Grians vigilance returning as soon as they were back out on the road, they had still made some decent progress in their relationship. And Scar didn’t want to take two steps back again. He was deathly afraid of making a mistake and ruining things.

The stage fright wasn’t helping. Scar felt his fight or flight instinct - which was firmly planted on the fight side of the spectrum ever since they’d come here - kick into gear as soon as they saw Etho and Joel on the horizon.

His pace sped up just enough to keep him in front of Grian, shielding him from view and possible arrows. The whole sharing injuries thing rendered that particular protective instinct utterly useless. But at least like that he’d take the first hit and the worst of the pain.

They exchanged greetings, friendly as ever, Etho waving and Joel drawling an almost bored “Hello lads, what’s up?”

Joel was the one Scar was tracking. He knew Etho and while he could be a threat he was mostly just a relaxed guy, tagging along for the ride. Joel was still almost a stranger. From the few times they’d interacted Scar could already tell that the unfamiliar hybrid had a manic edge to him. One he didn’t even try to hide.

There was a glint in his eyes and an edge to his smile that made Scar wary of an incoming attack. Even when Joel himself stood still with his arms crossed and- Oh Scar had been asked something hadn’t he?

“I’m sorry what was that?”

There was a stiffled giggle from behind him and Scar felt his stomach drop. He was already failing, wasn’t he? Oh no here came the waterworks. Sweat gallore in his armpits. Yikes. Not a good look for a respectable salesman.

Damn it was Cleos shirt made out of cotton? Ugh, they’d be able to see everything! And smell it later!

“I asked what’s up lads.” Joel was kind enough to repeat.

Ah, they were still at the beginning of the conversation then. Good, good. Scar could recover from that. “Well good that you ask! We are here to sell things! Wonderful things! Important things! Especially if you want to blow things up!”

That made Joel perk up. “You’ve got TNT?!”

“Ah no.” Scar amended, dreading that he had just set Joels expectations too high. “We got something even better!”

Now he’d lost Joel. “What’s better than TNT?”

“Sugarca- I mean paper!”

Etho hummed in thought, ambling up a few paces to stand next to Joel. He put an idle hand on his soulmates shoulder and Scar saw how the smaller man leant into the touch by just a few inches. Void it was a good thing Bdubs wasn’t here. Joel would have been torn apart. Or Bdubs might have just started crying. It was really hard to tell sometimes what the little Glare Hybrid would do.

“You’ve got sugarcane?” Joel asked.

“No.” Grian piped up from behind him, sounding far too amused. “Didn’t you listen? We’re selling paper. Pa-per.”

“He said sugarcane, though.” Etho pointed out. “That’s the first thing he said.”

“Freudian slip of the mouth. You know I can’t do words Etho. Now us having sugarcane? Pfff, don’t be silly. We only have these lovely pieces of bright white paper.”

Scar pulled out their goods, thankful that Grian had been stingy and hadn’t given him any sugarcane. In the state he was in he probably would have pulled out the wrong thing. He waved the offered item in front of their customers, letting them trace his movements before vanishing the goods once more. “Now do you want to make us an offer?”

“If you don’t have sugarcane,” Joel continued his line of questioning, uncaring for Scar’s growing panic. Or maybe delighting in it even. “Then how do you have paper?”

“Pearl!” The lie came easy to him. Pearl was already shaping up to be the antagonist, nay the Boogeyman of the whole game. He didn’t feel bad about putting the blame on her.

Joel scrunched up his face. “Pearl?”

“Hmhm! She gave us the paper to sell for her!”

Neither of the two seemed convinced. Scar felt Grian shift behind him again and soon enough his sweet voice rang out to back him up. “Yeah Pearl. You know, she said we could keep a cut if we helped her spread it. No one wants to make deals with her right now.”

The lie sounded so much more convincing with the added details. But Scar’s relief didn’t last long because Grian must have done something behind his back for Joel to let out an enraged scream and point at him.

“I knew it! There! I saw you holding it!”

“You must be really craving sugarcane, if you’re already hallucinating it.” Grian taunted, doing something again and by that point Scar was too afraid to look.

He could take an educated guess anyway. Joels face was starting to go from red to purple as he stomped and pointed some more. “Don’t make me mad! You-!”

“Who me?” Grian asked in the most innocent way he could muster between giggles.

Etho had gone to stand fully behind Joel by now, stopping him from lurching forward by holding onto both of his shoulders. “I think you should go now.”

Despite the blunder from the start at the game Scar still thought Etho to be a wise man worthy of taking advise from. “Right. Come on Grian. I think they don’t want our paper after all.”

He turned and took Grian’s hand to pull him away from the temper tantrum Joel was cooking up. Grian let himself be dragged away, stiffling his laughter and trying to keep up with Scar’s big strides. Eventually he gave up and used his wings to float, leaving Scar to pull him along like a particularly noisy balloon.

Once they were out of earshot and Scar couldn’t feel Joel’s or Etho’s presence anymore, Scar slowed down. Grian floated up to his side, his hand limp in Scars grasp, but not trying to get out of it.

Scar chanced a glance in his direction and was utterly relieved that his soulmate didn’t look mad. On the contrary, Grian gifted him with a small, apologetic smile.

“Sorry. That’s on me. I couldn’t help it. Joel is too much fun to rile up.”

Scar shook his head, feeling that the blame was not to be placed on Grian’s shoulders at all. “No it’s fine, I messed up first.”

There must have been something in his voice or body language that made Grian pause and consider him. “Hm, let’s just say we both messed this up a little, yeah?”

Yeah, Scar could take that. “Okay.”

Grian gently bumped into him. “Great. Only I don’t think anyone will buy our paper now. And we’ll have to deal with Joel and Etho poking around our base soon.” He paused, frowning and Scar immediately wanted to lean down and smooth over his wrinkles. “They’ll spread the information, I’m sure. Scar, can you go back to our base and look after it while I cause some distractions?”

Scar didn’t want to part from Grian so soon. But he had no good excuse to keep him with him, so all he could do was agree. “Yeah I can do that.”

“Good. I’ll be back by sundown!” Grian chirped, slipping away from him to run off.

His hand felt empty and cold, clenching and unclenching around thin air. Their little adventure had been so short...

At least Grian hadn’t lost all faith in him.

Notes:

I messed up my shoulder real bad and couldn't write much cause of the pain these past few days. The agony.
There might not be a chapter next week idk. Cause not only did I have problems with sitting and moving about, I'm also away on rl stuff again. So if I don't update next weekend you know why.

But hey doesn't matter MCC is on the 4th of May! Etho is back baby! The TIES are finally back together. Also Xisuma is in and I'm so hyped for Green Geckos.

Chapter 44

What was Grian even doing? Leaving Scar was a bad idea. No it was, technically, a very good idea. His poor heart didn’t need more to fill it with love. It was already overflowing. But leaving Scar to protect their base? Alone?

And what was Grian doing? He didn’t have any plan. He usually never had except for when he wanted to murder someone. A distraction. What kind of distraction would distract his friends enough to forget about the sugarcane?

He stopped short, in the middle of nowhere, chest heaving from the short run up a hill. It was around midday and hot. There hadn’t been a lick of rain ever since they’d arrived here. A pity. He could have used some water to wash away his worries.

At least Scar had looked happy. If he’d been a dog hybrid Grian was sure Scar would have wagged his tail. Grian wondered why he had been so thrilled to be sent back to the base. Was it because they were separating again?

No. Scar had been chipper all morning. And he hadn’t looked particularly mad about what Grian had done. On the contrary. Grian didn’t understand how the Vex had gotten it in his head that he was somehow to blame for their failed sales pitch. Sure he had slipped up a little. But Joel and Etho had already suspected them to have sugarcane. And Grian had been the one to show them that they were right.

If Grian had only played along they would have gotten out of their mess eventually. But that wouldn’t have been as fun. Joel was safe to anger. His friend got mad and loud at the smallest of things sure. But could he efficiently kill someone? No. Joel switched too fast and panicked even faster. He sucked at traps and got too impatient and more often than not ended up harming himself and his environment more than anyone else.

Etho was a bit different. Grian didn’t have a good read on him. He suspected that his calm attitude might be a good facade, hiding something dangerous underneath. He doubted it, though. Etho was too… nice. And the blunder at the beginning was hard to forget, speaking more of faked wisdom than true genius.

He was more scared of Jimmy and Tango. Not scared scared, just… cautious. Tango was an excellent redstoner from what Grian had seen. And Jimmy was very good at accidently creating chaos and destruction even if that usually killed him as well.

So naturally, Grian’s first instinct was to go bother them. Because if all things failed he could always count on Jimmy to make things worse. The two had started to rebuild their ranch and had created a ramshackle cobblestone building with a shabby birch wood roof. The whole build was a bit hard on the eyes while still somehow feeling homey. Which created an unpleasant dissonance within Grian’s builder brain.

No one was home. Which was in even parts disappointing and worrying. It did, however, create the perfect opportunity to snoop around. Scar had used up a lot of resources to create his panda reserve. And Grian had spent a lot of his time exploring and fooling around not doing anything useful whatsoever. So skimming a bit off the top from other Players would do them some good.

Jimmy and Tango, Grian learned quickly, were the wrong people to rob. Because they had absolutely nothing worthwhile stealing. How much had Scar burned? Or were these two just that hopeless? Scar’s and his meagre resources looked like a mound of treasure in comparison.

The scratching of bird feet against wood clued Grian in on Jimmy’s appearance. And soon enough, the canary’s voice rang out from the doorway. “Grian! What are you doing in our house!”

“Nothing.” Grian sang, opening another chest. One he’d already opened, because he’d shuffled through everything, even the hidden staches Jimmy and Tango probably thought were well concealed.

Jimmy was at his side in an instant, fuming and waving his hands around, but doing nothing effective to stop him. “You’re obviously not doing nothing! Stop it! Stop snooping!”

Grian happily ignored him, internally cheering at the puffed up wings and cheeks of his pouting friend. Easily sidestepping Jimmy, he went to open another chest. “Relax Timmy, it’s not like you have anything of value.”

The littany of angry noises Jimmy emitted were a far cry from birdsong. “Why you- We- Blame Scar!”

“You mean praise him.” Grian corrected, planning no such thing. “Although I doubt you lost that much in the fire.” He paused when a distressing thought suddenly entered his mind and he turned to Jimmy, expression turning stern. “He didn’t destroy your nest, did he?”

Sensing that their usual dance and song had been put on hold, Jimmy’s wings lowered, feathers flattening and arms falling back to his side. “No, he didn’t. I may be a fool, but I wouldn’t build my nest somewhere that could be easily targetted. And even if it had burned down it’s not like a get too attached to them. It’s fine.”

That was a big fat lie. Back on Evo Grian had been the one wasting a whole afternoon consoling a sobbing Jimmy after the birdbrained idiot had blown up his own nest with a Creeper. The avian got much more attached to his safe space than any other Player did to a shoddy bed.

Grian regarded him for a moment more, carefully scanning his features to make sure Jimmy wasn’t just dismissing him. He liked to do that. Jimmy was a people pleaser most and foremost. Even when confronted with his closest friends and family.

Satisfied with what he saw, Grian nodded. At least Jimmy didn’t seem to lie about the nest being somewhere hidden. “Good. You seem to have grown at least half a braincell while I was gone.”

“Hey!”

“Hello. Sorry to interrupt-”

“Why is everyone and their mom trampling through my house?!” Jimmy screamed, cutting off Big B’s soft voice.

Grian and Big B blinked at him and Big B murmured a confused “I haven’t seen anyones mom around anywhere.”

“I haven’t either.” Grian chirped.

The two Allays gravitated towards each other, going through the motions of a traditional greeting without the hurried frenzy from before. They kept it short and sweet, ending their dance with a short nuzzle.

When they turned back to Jimmy he was standing there with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. “Why is it that everytime I’m in the same space as you two I feel like a third wheel?”

Grian shrugged, laughing. “I don’t know Tim. Maybe you should ask that your therapist. What’s up Big B? Oh are these new?”

Turning to better tune out Jimmy's spluttering Grian batted his eyes at Big B, hoping he was coming off as coy.

“Yes they are! Ren gave them to me, aren’t they cool? I wanted to speak to you. In private, if I may?”

“Sure. Bye Timmy!” Grian pranced after Big B, suddenly giddy. He didn’t acknowledge the “It’s Jimmy!” Jimmy shouted after them. Barely even heard it above the pounding of his heart. Sure Big B and him were only fake flirting, but somehow Grian still got nervous about his gift.

After they’d left the ranch Grian couldn’t hold his question in anymore. “Did you find my present?”

Big B turned and gave him a radiant smile. “Yeah I did. That’s why I want to show you something.”

Curious, Grian continued to follow. “And Ren? I assume he saw it, too?”

“He did.” Big B laughed. “I’m pretty sure he already guessed it’s from you, too.”

“The sunglasses. Did he get jealous?” Grian teased, wings fluttering happily behind him.

“He was! Can’t say I mind. I got double the loot for it.”

“And did you like it? My gift, not Rens.”

“It was very sweet.” Big B admitted, voice thick and honey sweet, the underlying hum to it sending pleasant vibrations through Grians bones. “Super obvious, though. Ren was not happy.”

“Suits him right.” Grian huffed. “Where is he anyway?”

They were close to the monstrousity Big B and Ren called a base. Grian could see the gaint face looming in the not too far distance. Its sheer size made it hard not to see and Grian wished it was already night. He would gladly take on a hoard of zombies in exchange for not being able to see what Big B and Ren had collaborated on.

Big B had never been much of a builder and thus was immune to the awful way his build destroyed their surroundings. He was much more interested in the chest that he’d plopped down in front of them. “Oh he’s off with Martyn again.”

Grian scowled, the air around him whistling in an irritated noise that reminded him of the howls of the wind speeding through a ravine. It was high pitched, building up dread and making his displeasure known.

It wasn’t a sound an Allay could make and yet it made sense for it to come from him. “Cheater.”

There was a flutter of wings and then a hand on his shoulder. Big B didn’t seem fussed about Grian's little display of otherness. His chime was as clear and bright as always, happy to reply to the eerie sound as though it was a normal exchange.

“I don’t mind. As long as he doesn’t kill us. It’s just a game, man. Not like with you and Scar.”

Grian shrugged the hand off and crossed his arms with a frown. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Right.” Big B chose to drop the subject. He had heard enough of Grian's woes. They both knew that whatever it was, the thing between Grian and Scar was serious enough. “Anyway I got you something. As a return gift. And- you know I tried. So please don’t laugh.”

Curiousity piqued Grian tried to see what was in the chest only for Big B to step in front of him. “No. Promise first.”

“I promise.” Grian said immediately and was let through. And now, his promises had never been that good. More like light assurances maybe. Possibilities. And really how was he supposed to not laugh at what he saw?

He took the messily wrapped cookies out of the chest and held them up to inspect them better. They were mishapen blobs of halfbaked cookie dough. “What’s that even supposed to be?”

Big B pouted, hand twitching to snatch the package out of Grians hands. “You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

Giggling, Grian danced out of Big B’s reach once the other Allay did decide to try and swipe the cookies back. “Nooo these are mine!” Grian laughed. “And you know me better than that.”

It didn’t take long for Big B to crack up and let his chuckles slip out as well. “I do.”

“Now. Tell me what were they supposed to be?”

“Hearts.” Big B sighed, shaking his head. “They were supposed to be heart shaped.”

“Hearts?!” Grian let out a full blown laugh, the force of it hurting his sides and ohhh Scar must be so confused by that kind of pain. “Big B!”

Big B stood uselessly beside him, holding in his own laughter, hands coming up to gesture before falling down again. “I tried! And well, they could be anatomically correct hearts!”

Grian wiped away the tears, grin stretching wide enough to make his cheeks cramp. He looked at the cookies again and let out another round of giggles. “If anyone possesses a heart shaped like these they are not a healthy person.”

“Well…!” Big B started. “Well you don’t have to take them, if you don’t like them.”

“Oh I like them.” Grian was quick to assure his friend, holding the wrapped parcel close to his chest. “I just like teasing you.”

“Don’t say that yet. How about you try one first.”

There was the possibility of poison. The thought came to him in a flash as he opened the wrapping. They were still playing and it wasn’t like Big B was outright murdering him if he had decided to spice things up. Did poisoned cookies count as a trap?

The chance of Big B tampering with them was very low. But the chance of them being way undercooked or having something in them that wasn’t supposed to be in cookie dough was high. Grian bit into one with gusto anyway. He was used to weird side effects from Scar's elven cookies. And he would gladly die for a healthy dose of sugar in his system.

They were still warm, the crust hard and a bit charred and the inside melting into his mouth. They were so sweet that he could feel his teeth deteriorate as he chewed. And the half baked dough clogged up his throat as it went down.

Grian swallowed and immediately grabbed the next to munch on. They weren’t Scar's cookies. No one could even come close to making anything as good as Scar. Or bad, depending on what he was experimenting with at the time.

But they were cookies and as Grian had told Scar time and time again: cookies topped everything. Even cake and especially pie.

Notes:

Managed to post another chapter after all. But I'll have to skip next week's chapter.

Chapter 45

Scar had a major problem with following orders of any kind. He should have guarded their base. It was important to keep their monopoly. And he didn’t want to disappoint Grian any more than he already had.

But guarding something when no one was coming to attack was boring. And there was only so much pampering the pandas that he could do. He couldn’t even take a nap with his favourite cat! Jellie was in one of her anti-social moods again. She stayed close to watch him but hissed and squirmed away from his touch whenever he tried to pet her. Fussy creature.

Now Scar could have taken a little nap anyway, alone or not. Or gone mining. Or he could have tended to their farms. Anything to show Grian that he was a good, worthy soulmate. But he didn’t. It wasn’t in his nature to follow commands. Ever since the Pillagers had tried to take his mind away from him he had developed a bad habit of ignoring any and all orders. He’d become quite good at creatively avoiding them. Whether it was by not listening or blaming his dyslexia.

He also wasn’t good at just laying low. He could take a break no problem, unlike some people. Like Cub. But Scar felt well rested and anxious without either of his mates by his side. And because he couldn’t seek out Cub his feet naturally brought him to Grian.

Scar was only making sure the little Allay wouldn’t get them killed! Causing distractions was dangerous business.

Now he obviously didn’t know for sure where Grian could have ended up. But he could take a good guess. His little Allay loved to poke that brightly feathered, lanky friend of his. Scar still wasn’t sure whether the Canary’s name was Tim, Jim, Timmy or Jimmy.

And sure enough he got to the Ranch just as Grian and Big B exited it. The Vex in his mind hissed at the sight and a growl got caught in his throat. Self loathing soon followed. Grian was allowed to be with whoever he wanted. Scar knew that on an intellectual level. But he’d prefer it if Grian could be with him rather than anyone else. Cub excluded, of course. Scar loved seeing those two together.

A fine distraction Grian made, Scar grumbled in his mind, stumbling after the two. They were so engrossed in each other that neither noticed his poor attempt at sneaking around. Did his soulmate even have a plan? Or had he just needed an excuse to leave Scar for Big B?

The weight of his sword on his side reminded him that he had options. Violent options. And the pain in his cheeks told him firmly to stay his hand if he wanted Grian to still be friends with him after all of this.

He rubbed at his face, irritated beyond belief. The two had stopped somewhere close to Ren’s and Big B’s horrible base. Scar inched closer to see them better, wishing he had an invisibility potion to see it all. As it were he had to make due with a conveniently placed tree and squint to see what Grian was pulling out of the chest.

He mentally chastised the Allay again. Sure Big B had just set the chest down, but it could still have been trapped! And what was this? Cookies?! They looked undigestable even from a distance!

Scar wasn’t even surprised when he felt his throat clogging up, a sickly sweet aftertaste invading his mouth. It was a miracle that neither of them had come to harm after Grian had tried the first cookie. And then he even ate another one! Those were dangerous! Sure they weren’t dying, but if Scar felt it then it meant that it was harmful. Or painful. Or at least slightly uncomfortable!

And yet Grian only laughed and fluttered, teasing Big B who took the light hearted insults with what seemed to be long practiced ease.

They were perfect together.

It wasn’t the first time Scar thought that. They did look striking together, after all. Vibrant and buzzing. He wondered if Scar and Cub could have looked like that once. They had met at a pillager outpost, clinging to the wooden bars of separate cages. They’d never managed a formal greeting. And they’re light had been dulled by the stress of being moved and starved half to death.

Scar should ask Cub for a dance once he made it back to him. They had shied away from a lot of what had made them Allays once. Even if they could never quite get rid of their longing for music and mischief. Maybe they shouldn’t have. They’d lost enough. They hadn’t needed to strip themselves of more.

Grians pearly, manic laugh drew him back to the two secret soulmates. Red tinted the edges of his vision even while his heart fluttered at seeing his love so happy. He grit his teeth hard enough to nearly crack a tooth, regretting his choice to leave their base.

Staying ignorant would have been kinder.

And yet he couldn’t just leave them be. When they parted ways after striking a deal Scar trailed after Grian like a shadow. It was only once Grian had successfully managed to piss off Jimmy enough to get banished from the ranch that Scar slunk back to their base. If only to not be discovered.

He may not be a good guard dog, but he could at least pretend to be. And he didn’t even feel bad about it this time. Not with Grian sneaking around keeping secrets, too.

“Scar! You actually did what I said for once!”

The astonishment in Grians voice made him bristle. Oh how he wished to tell him what he’d seen. He wanted to see the face Grian made when Scar revealed that he knew about Grian cheating.

Only Grian wasn’t. This was a game. They weren’t actually together. Well they were bound, but it hadn’t really been consensual and gosh that made his head hurt.

“Scar? You okay?”

Grian had somehow crossed the distance between them and had started to tug at his shirt, his shiny black eyes full of concern.

“I- sure! Yes! Why wouldn’t I be! How are you? Did the… Did the distracting go well?” His voice cracked a bit at the end, but at least his smile was immaticulate.

Grian didn’t buy his cheerfulness by the looks of things. That was one impressive frown. If only Scar could kiss it off of him. “I… It went okay? Scar are you sure everything is alright? No one came by and tried anything?”

Scar shook his head, very aware of the hand still tangled in the fabric of his shirt. “No, no! Everything is a-may-zing.”

“O-kayyy.” Grian drawled, letting go and taking a step back. “I… I’m going to bed now. Are you coming?”

“I’ll be with you shortly.”

Settling in for the night was the most awkward affair Scar had ever had the displeasure of enduring. Grian had already fully disappeared under his blanket, only a tuft of hair sticking out showing that there was an actual player underneath the mound of fluffiness.

Their beds were close enough beside each other that Scar only had to stretch his arm out all the way and he could touch those wayward locks. Odd, because he knew he hadn’t placed his bed this close to Grian's because of that exact temptation. Maybe someone had messed with their base while Scar had been snooping after his soulmate.

Scar made it worse by turning on his side, gazing at the lump, imagining Grian curled up inside. There was a faint glow from underneath the covers. Not quite bright enough to be called a nightlight.

Why do you not stay at my side?. The words were clawing at his throat, fighting to be spoken. Scar held them back. It was a stupid question to bother Grian with. He already knew why he could never be enough. Not when compared to another Allay.

~~~

Hopelessness had befallen the Hermits. It had been more than two weeks since they’d lost a good chunk of their dearest friends. And no one had been able to locate them yet. The Rift and Entity stayed silent. And the world stubbornly kept its secrets.

Over time some of the Hermits wandered back to Grian's Rift, forming little impromptu gatherings. Cub ran into Gem there more often than not. She’d been hit the worst. New as she was to their group, all her closest friends had been whisked away without a trace.

She was putting on a strong front. Her base still grew day by day and whenever Cub saw her outside Grian's cave she was as friendly and chatty as always. It was only when she sat on the bed facing the Rift that her smile slipped away and her shoulders slumped. The purples and pinks of the not so dormant portal somehow made her usually fiery red hair look dull.

Gem didn’t much look her age anymore when she sat down to stare defiantly at the Rift. Her sword on her lap, ready to jump up and fight despite clearly having had all energy sucked out of her by worrying all day and night.

She looked older. Too exhausted.

And because Cub also watched over the Rift whenever his mind got too busy he ended up seeing her that way often.

Today it was him that had gotten to the bed first. Cub still didn’t understand Grian's need to sleep so close to the Rift. He’d always spent his nights at Mumbo's base. Sometimes, both Scar and him were blessed by Grian's presence in their home. But after Mumbo's second departure Grian had, for some reason, chosen his new sleeping spot in front of the Rift.

The flickering lights that were so different from the swirls of the Nether Portal made Cub nauseous the longer he watched them. So he dragged his gaze away from the alien force and back to his communicator.

Unbeknowest to Xisuma, Cub had started to message Mumbo and was in constant exchange with the mustachioed man. Just as he had thought, Mumbo had been quick to ask after Grian once Cub had sent his first message. And naturally Cub had been honest.

There had been panicking. A wall of text fluttering onto his screen in a flurry of anxious messages. Cub had almost felt bad and thus had done his best to calm the man who was stuck in space all on his own.

Their communication had slowed down by now. A few messages back and forth per day. Inquiries and reassurances. Cub had been a bit disappointed when Mumbo had refused to come back, still too afraid to cause further harm and determined to carry out Xisuma's mission.

Mumbo whispered to you: I feel like there’s shenanigans afoot.

Cub tilted his head at the screen, squinting to make sense of the letters after his eyes had gotten confused by the twinkling lights of the Rift. So he hadn’t been the only one feeling weird.

Cub whispered to you: Why do you think that?

Cub wrapped the blanket around himself while he waited for a reply. The scent of his partner and Grian was long gone by now, but the sentiment was still there.

Mumbo whispered to you: I find myself gasping for air every once in a while. At first I thought I had the hiccups, but this feels different. Like an aborted hiccup? Kinda strange. Been hours now. I wonder what they are doing?

Now was that something to bother Xisuma about? Cub had told him about his bond with Scar being intact. And it had calmed everyone somewhat to know that at least one member of their dysfunctional family was seemingly fine. His bond with Scar didn’t work like the one between Mumbo and Grian, though. He could feel Scar's presence, miles and miles away. He could tap into his magic and gage his mood depending on its movements. But that was all very vague and mostly up for Cub's interpretation. It had gotten even harder with a kind of shadow trailing behind Scar's magic signature.

Mumbo had a far clearer picture of Grian. Not about his emotional state, but rather his health. It was dull and came with a weird kind of feedback that more often than not distorted the picture. But it was still easier to imagine what Grian was up to through the signals Mumbo was getting.

It was the only thing keeping them sane in this mess. Feeling along their bonds, exchanging signals and trying to decipher their meanings. At the very least it proved to them that their loved ones were still alive and probably doing something, somewhere.

Cub whispered to you: Odd. I can feel Scar's magic building up. I’d say he’s quite furious. Or anxious. Could be either. It was a bit like tinkering with redstone, following the lines and checking each component to trouble shoot a contraption.

A displacement of air told him that someone was gliding down the cave entrance and he briefly looked up to see Gem flutter down. Her landing was smooth and her feet had barely hit the ground before she was already walking towards him, taking off her elytra with practiced ease.

“Hi Cub!” She greeted as she came over and plopped down next to him. “You’re gonna get into so much trouble if X ever finds out about you writing Mumbo all the time.”

Halting in his motion to hide his communicator in the blanket folds, Cub let out a soft chuckle. “Can’t hide nothing from you, can I?”

Gem pressed into his side, gazing down at the screen to unashamedly read Cub's private messages. “You were trying to hide it?” She teased.

“Not everyone is as observant as you. They don’t call you great for nothing.” He liked reminding her of that. It wasn’t like she didn’t have any self confidence, but the whole ordeal had certainly kicked her down a peg or two. She could use some building up, in Cub's opinion. And it was the truth, anyway.

She laughed at him for it. “Everyone else is just too preoccupied with worrying. I think this has been the most unproductive two and a half weeks ever. We’re mostly just twiddling our thumbs and hoping for a miracle.” Gem paused, tapping at Cub's communicator. “Except for you and Mumbo, of course.”

“We don’t do much.” Cub confessed. “And X, Hypno and Keralis are trying their best to locate them.”

“You mean X is trying his hardest to break the world and Hypno and Keralis are doing everything to distract him from doing so.”

“Welll.”

Gem shook her head at him. “Sooo you and Mumbo?”

“Me and Mumbo.” Cub confirmed.

Gem yawned, slumping further against him. “Anything new?”

Cub shook his head. Technically no. They were feeling around in the dark playing guessing games. “And you? How are your dreams?”

They’d almost made a habit out of sitting like this. And because they were grasping at straws every odd thing was discussed in depth. Doc’s perimeter. Xisuma's bone axe. Everything that could be connected to their current mystery.

Gem had admitted to having dreams more vivid than usual. About the people she’d been with before joining the Hermits. They didn’t seem to be harmful, although they did take a toll on her whenever she had them. As though her body worked double shifts whenever she visited her friends.

Empires, that’s how Gem's group had dubbed their world, had been pretty weird, too. At least what Gem could remember of it. She knew her friends had migrated to the undestroyed part of it when Gem and Pearl had left. And Gem rationalized that with everything going on it was probably her mind trying to conjure up happier times.

It failed miserably at that, it seemed. “They’ve been a bit unsettling. People have disappeared there, too. I don’t know if it’s just my subconsciousness mixing things up. Either way, I don’t like it.”

“Oh man.” Cub didn’t know what else to say. Asking more questions felt rude. Especially because that was one group more Gem was cut off from. The pinging of his communicator saved him from continuing that thread of the conversation.

Mumbo whispered to you: He’s not dying that’s for sure. Drowning maybe? Doing something underwater? He told me that he thought about one day building a base in the ocean. I told him it was a bad idea.

Hm, nothing to worry Xisuma with, then.

Gem had read it, too, apparently. “Why do you think they won’t contact us?”

Her voice was so fragile and small and Cub brought an arm around her to rub at her shoulder, draping part of the blanket around her as he did. “I don’t think they can reach us, Gem.”

Just like they were unable to reach them.

“I wish we could just get them back already.” Gem voiced her frustration.

“I wish that, too, Gem. I wish that, too.”

Notes:

With these double upload weekends I always worry that I'll accidently upload the wrong chapter to the wrong fanfic one day XD
Thanks so much for all the lovely comments again! And I'm sorry I haven't been replying a lot. Work has started to really kick my butt again (I have so many deadlines to meet and I'm now essentially working for three people) and my head just can't do any more words at the end of the day. I do appreciate them so much, though! Seeing some nice words after a day of mostly dealing with frustrated clients is a balm to my heart.

Chapter 46

A bad nights sleep brought with it several complications. First of all, it meant that Scar had spent most of his time staring at a Grian shaped lump and twisting his thoughts into messy knots trying to understand the Allay’s actions. Second of all, it meant that he got barely any sleep, which he needed to keep himself from murdering people in cold blood. And third, he had spent all night riling himself up.

There was no rationality left in him. His last shred of empathy had jumped from the sinking ship into a sea of rage and petty jealousy. He was far too tired to keep his cool, so he went about his day thin lipped and cranky.

It took snapping once at Grian and seeing those beady black eyes widen that made him stomp off. His excuse: He would try to sell paper one last time. With his mood down in the gutter that was hard enough. His smiles just wouldn’t stick to his face and every time he opened his mouth he wanted to scream.

Grian lowered his chance of getting anything sold even further by doing… things. Scar didn’t know what things, but they stole the breath from his lungs and made his chest burn. Running around their designated play area he really tried to be productive and do what he had said he would do. He was a mostly honest sort of man. Not like one secretive, cheating Allay.

His heart hurt thinking about the two. And Scar wondered if Grian felt it, too. If he knew what it meant. Gasping for air and rubbing at his chest, lungs sore, Scar realized that even if Grian could feel Scar’s heart burn, he probably wouldn’t notice over the pain of drowning.

Why was Grian drowning?!

Was it one of his games again? Was he getting back at Scar for snapping at him earlier this morning?

Maybe Scar should pay Pearl a visit. Start with the powdered snow again. See how Grian liked that.

Visiting Pearl only cost him his horse and from then on out Scar’s only objective was to get back to their shared base without setting anything on fire. Or killing someone. He did let out his frustration on some poor mobs, getting a few scrapes in the process. It was nice to get injured on his own terms for a bit.

~~~

“It’s a bust Grian! No one wants to buy any paper. And Pearl just stole my horse!”

Grian jumped at Scar’s sudden entrance, clutching at his chest where his heart made a valiant effort of beating through it. “Scar! My poor little heart!”

The rest of his admonishement got stuck in his throat as his eyes caught upon the sight the Vex made. Scar was not in a good mood. Grian wished he wouldn’t try to smile when he was clearly ready to rip someone’s head off.

His wings fluttered anxiously behind him. Even knowing how sweet Scar really was and how corrupted he himself had become, the angry Vex still made his flight or fight instincts kick into gear. It was probably why Scar had all but fled from Grian that morning. Grian might be a bit oblivious sometimes, but Scar had pretty much blasted his guilt for snapping at him into the atmosphere.

Grian hoped he had guessed the source of Scar’s fury right. Being aggressive in a murder game made sense. But they were all supposed to have fun. And Scar certainly was not having any at the moment.

It had to be their slipping monopoly. Grian was well aware that they would not be able to hold onto their sugarcane forever. Too many people were poking around their base ever more persistent in finding their treasure. And Grian flashing their price at an already angry Joel hadn’t helped either.

It made sense that Scar was angry at him for it, even if he said otherwise. Grian had been adamant about keeping the sugarcane secret. And then he went and ruined it himself.

Wanting to run and hide, Grian put on his own cheerful mask and hoped that his efforts to establish a new monopoly for them would be well received. “Yeah, I figured. I don’t understand why everyone wants to mess with your horse.”

Scar’s smile finally slipped away to show the extent of his irritation. “I don’t know either! I mean I know it’s a good horse, but still!”

He threw his hands up and Grian caught sight of his claws, fully extended. Pretty yet deadly. Oh the damage Scar could do if he just set his mind to it. And if he weren’t so prone to injure himself in the process.

Should he tell Scar about his plan for a new monopoly already? He looked like he needed a pick me up. But Grian wasn’t done shovelling sand, yet. Spitballing a new scam it was. Scar really seemed to like scams.

“You know we have a whole lot of propagules.”

Scar shot him a confused look. “So? Don’t tell me you need more mango wood. I refuse to chop down any more of these blasted trees, G! I refuse!”

Grian quickly shook his head, relaxing as the atmosphere shifted from tense to something more relaxed. “That’s not where I’m going at all.” And it’s mangrove. Grian bit back. There was no use in correcting Scar on that. His brain had already been rewired to use that word and only that. Trying to force Scar to do otherwise would be as fruitless as trying to teach a rock to run a marathon. “I’m just thinking, they look a lot like sugarcane. From a distance. Or if flashed quickly.”

“Hm… Where are you going with that?”

His beautiful, dense soulmate. “I mean if we can’t sell them paper, let’s sell them sugarcane. Only not really.”

To Scar he couldn’t have been more cryptic. Grian realized this when Scar furrowed his brow and made a beyond confused noise. The threat factor was instantly destroyed. Now Grian only wanted to bound over there, squish his cheeks together and kiss him silly. More silly than he already was. The goof.

Maybe Grian should ask Doc for a check up once they were back home. It surely wasn’t normal that he was flinging so wildly between emotions. No wait, on second thought, maybe not. He was not ready to find out how much he’d strayed from being a pure Allay Hybrid. And who knew what Doc would actually do with him. Wait, was Doc even a doctor?

“I mean we tell them that we are selling sugarcane. But then we throw them propagules instead. They’re nearly the same thing, yeah?”

“Oh.” Grian could almost hear the light bulb switch on over Scar’s head. “Oh they’d be so mad.”

The grin he got for his suggestion was a genuine one. Oh, how he’d missed Scar’s good mood. It was a shame that they couldn’t act on Grian’s plan. Because only a short while later, they were set upon by Joel and Etho again, asking for sugar.

There was some confusion about who was distracting whom as Scar coaxed Etho into the panda reserve. Grian watched them pull each other into conversation only for a little while once he realized Joel had snuck off.

Leaving Scar to deal with Etho, Grian turned on his heel and raced back into their base. The haste wasn’t real. Grian had had time to let go of the dream to be the sole owner of sugarcane. There was no pressure in keeping Joel from discovering it. Although he wouldn’t make it easy for him either. Joel’s anger was just too funny. It had a certain pathetic tinge to it that reminded him of Jimmy’s whining whenever he got teased.

Their base was empty, though. The mess he found within all their own. Both him and Scar were horrible at keeping things organized. Chests were strewn about. Not all of them used for what they were there for. More often than not Grian put things on top of them and didn’t bother to open them up. And Scar was no better, making and placing new chests in order to avoid cleaning up Grian’s mess.

Frowning, Grian tip toed around their home, looking out for anything amiss. He heard the digging before he saw the hole. It was nestled right up to the wall and already quite deep. Grian huffed and jumped into it, sliding down the shallow path and hopping down the few harsher drops where Joel had burrowed down at a steeper angle.

By some miracle he didn’t land directly on top of Joel, but inches behind him, using his wings to break his fall.

“What are you looking for?”

Joel jumped at his sudden appearance. Up close Grian could see him sweating buckets. “Ahhh! Nothing! Nothing at all! I’m not here! You didn’t see me do nothing!”

The shovelling sped up and Grian giggled at Joel’s rising anxiety. “Really?” He drawled, letting Joel break the ground before him. “Why are you digging up my base, then?”

“Exercise! Aha! Here- What the- Oh come on!” Joel threw his shovel against the floor and flung his arms out towards the empty space. It had held sugarcane once. And Joel was the second one to fall for the decoy.

Grian gingerly picked up the spade. “I guess whatever you are not looking for.” With a smug grin he held out Joel’s tool to him. “It’s not here.”

Joel let out an aborted half scream and ripped the shovel from Grian’s hand to stab it into the nearest wall. “I’ll find your sugarcane! Just you wait!”

“Not if I find it first!” An all too familiar voice wafted to them through the packed dirt. Grian immediately recognized it as Cleo’s.

Oh dear, that wasn’t fair! It was a pincer maneuver! Where was Scar? “Why are you here?!”

Cleo laughed at his despair, not bothering with a reply. They, likewise, took great satisfaction from causing other people to lose a few nerves. Things got out of hand quickly after that. It was easy to trail behind Joel and mock him. It was harder to keep track of two people. Three, once Etho managed to distract Scar enough to join the fray.

Instead of splitting up, Scar joined him and got one shot at trying their propagule scam on Joel before Ethos voice rang out to them. “Aha! Scar I got your diamonds!”

“What?! Oh no you- You can’t just go at a man's privates like that!”

“Scar! Phrasing!” Grian yelled after him as laughter erupted around them.

Cleo beat them to Etho and so they found the two standing over Scar’s hidden chest. A very badly hidden chest. It had been set only a few inches into the ground and had been half-hazardly covered with dirt. The spot was too close to their base, under a very unique looking birch tree that anyone would have beelined for in search for treasure.

They really weren’t very good at this game, Grian lamented as Scar tried to swindle back his diamonds from Etho. He didn’t bother to listen. Scar’s salesman voice was pleasant enough to get lost in. There were other things he could draw his attention to during the short stalemate. His wings were covered in dust and not the fairy kind. They felt too heavy with it. So Grian shook them out, making Joel behind him splutter, before gliding careful hands over them.

He didn’t need to preen them, not like Jimmy had to with his. But it didn’t hurt to check them over every once in a while to make sure they stayed pristine.

Distracted as he was he only caught bits and pieces of the conversation until Cleo said his name. “We could just kill Grian.”

It was the wrong thing to say, even in jest. Grian paused in his ministrations as he felt a wave of sinister magic wash over him. A snarled “You better not.” soon followed and Grian looked up at the sound to see Scar having pulled out all the stops for his threat display.

He wasn’t sure whether his accelerating heartbeat had more to do with fear or excitement. The intimidation wasn’t focused on him, after all. It was for him. And wasn’t that flattering.

Still he stayed where he was. The distance was perfect for him to oggle his soulmate without getting in the way of a potential fight. He felt Joel scoot a bit closer to him, using Grian as a shield.

A mouth close to his ear whispered: “You’re soulmate is scary.”

Grian let out a hum in agreement. Scary but charming. Scar looked like he had crawled straight out of the Void and yet that perfect, sharp smile was still in place. And his voice. Oh his voice. Grians eyes glazed over at it, his wings shivering with the thrum of magic that suddenly surrounded them.

Scar’s voice was always lovely. But now, laced with magic, it was irresistible. Grian could do nothing else but listen, even if the words were lost to his brain. He saw things, too. He must have. But he was too lost in the sounds to register the sights.

The show was over before he knew it. And while he blinked awake and tried to figure out where he was again Scar was already off, having thrown down the propagules as a trade for his diamonds.

Grian snorted at the poor continuation of the joke and made himself scarce. He didn’t want to wait around for everyone else to get his bearings. They might not have liked the mind control very much.

With every step he took he got further away from the syrupy, warm cocoon Scar’s voice had spun for him. And once he found himself back out in the cold open his brain kicked back into gear, an uncomfortable feeling of familiarity overcoming him.

That voice. That effect. He’d experienced that before! In his dreams. Scar had whispered nonsense into his mind. Nothing suggestive. He’d not made him do anything. Although Grian had nearly worn oven mitts as shoes once. But that had been sleepy Grian being dumb. Right?... Right?! Why would Scar have done that to him?

He frowned, suddenly unsure if he should seek out his soulmate right now. He was… not quite afraid. But close to it. No one liked to be coherced into anything against their will. And Scar had…

Had he? Was he being paranoid? But if he had then why?

In the context of the game it made sense. Scar had taken what belonged to him and hadn’t done any further harm. He knew Etho better than Grian, so hopefully no boundaries had been crossed. Grian, as the admin, would still send Etho a private message to check up on him. Just in case.

But back with the Hermits? Had Grian done anything he didn’t want to do, following those dreams? There had only been an increased want to see Cub and Scar. But he’d wanted to be with the two Vex before that, too.

Grian let out a small breath and rubbed at his chest to calm his racing heart. Another point on the list of things-he-wouldn’t-ask-Scar-about-because-he-was-a-coward.

Chapter 47

The avoidance game was back on after that. Grian slid out into the wildernis at dawn before Scar was even awake and came back late at night, wet and exhausted. Trying to get a monopoly on sand was much harder than he had thought. There was no desert in their play area, so all the sand they had was located in river beds.

He didn’t know what Scar was up to while he was gone. There was no pain to guess his actions by. But Grian wasn’t eager to find out either. He was still unsure about how he should treat Scar’s temper. And he felt guilty as well as worried about Scar’s potential use of magic on him. Guilty because he didn’t want to accuse Scar of doing something just because he could. Scared because his mind had been a community area for a while now. And the potential of more alien things lurking in it than he knew of wasn’t one he wanted to explore.

Was it calculated that his feet brought him to Scott and his Relationship Ranch? Not really. But then again how would he know what alien force was propelling him forward? Whether it was pure chance or something more controlling and sinister?

Scott was a breath of fresh air either way. The ranch looked good, too. Much better than Jimmy’s and Tango’s. Scott seemed delighted by the compliment, but he had taken it with the air of someone who knew he’d already won. Jimmy had improved at building over the years. But he had yet to come close to their skills.

Pearl was there, too. She was there until she wasn’t, quickly making herself scarce upon Grian’s arrival. Apparently Grian had interrupted something important. Even if both parties played it off.

He didn’t like the way Pearl held herself. She was haggard and twitchy and her smile was a bit manic. He tried to keep her there for a while longer to observe. Maybe the two of them could talk. Maybe Scott and her could. But she just giggled and left. Another private message he needed to write then. At least Etho had waved away his worries. As had Joel and Cleo, only proving that everyone here was crazy.

Grian watched her go with a frown, big brother instincts flaring up. “You should make amends with her.”

Scott shook his head. “Not a chance! She’s crazy, Grian. Do you know what she did?”

As Scott listed off all her bad deeds and Grian listened and nodded along his stomach began to churn. Those… those actions sounded awfully familiar to what Scar had done to him. Ignoring him at the beginning, causing him pain for fun, antagonizing potential allies-

“Yeah those are definitely red flags.” It was just a game. It was just a game and they were all having fun.

Right?

“I’m glad you see it my way.” Scott said with the slightly arrogant flair that made him so flashy and charming. He even flipped his blue hair out of his face and threw his hips out in a way Grian had only seen Anime girls do. Or rock stars. Ariana had perfected that move on stage through imitating Scott’s mannerisms. The blue haired pretty boy made for a perfect show girl and he knew it.

They’d done a workshop together once Grian had come to know him better. One week of wine and style and conversations filled with flirty innuendos neither of them meant. Grian had dragged Scott, Jimmy, Joel, Lizzy and Netty out to shop with him for cute stage outfits more than once, too. Scott had proven to have the best eye for fashion, so he had been the one to receive late night calls of Grian lamenting about fabric choice. Had Scott not been so busy with his own projects, Grian would have hired him as his manager in a heartbeat.

Scott played his part so well that it was hard to gage whether he meant what he said or not. The way he had interacted with Pearl before Grian had interrupted them had been cordial enough. And even with him complaining he hadn’t sounded mad in the slightest. He even seemed happy.

Pearl and Scott had known each other before, too, Grian reminded himself. They were both probably playing a game of their own to keep it fun.

“I could help you with your soulmate, though?” Scott suggested after Grian had stayed silent for too long, trapped in a whirlstorm of worries about different people. “Why don’t you shoot Scar a text and I see what I can do for you two, hm?”

Grian couldn’t lie, he was eager to message Scar to come over. Stupid, stupid lovestruck fool that he was. He wanted to fix it all! He was just too scared to do it alone. Getting some help sounded lovely. Especially from Scott. It was only mildly terrifying that Ren and Big B stopped by shortly afterwards. That they were fighting was great. That Big B wasn’t too hung up about it and waggled eyebrows at him the whole time was even better. But he wanted them gone before Scar showed up.

If he even showed up.

They scraped by each other just so. Enough for Scar and Big B to catch sight of each other. Grian prayed for nothing to happen. And for once his pleas were heard. In a beat, Scar was in his personal space and eager to play along, only the tense line of his body showing how much anger he had built up inside of him.

Sweet, cocky Scott didn’t let himself be intimidated by the grouchy Vex nor payed the anxious Allay any mind. “Great! Now that you are both here we can start with some trust exercises to see how strong your bond is. If you follow me over to this here building-”

Trust exercise? Grian looked over at Scar, who mirrored his scepticism. Wasn’t this whole thing a giant trust exercise? They both trodded over to the shack like thing anyway. They didn’t have much to lose at this point.

“So what you do is this: Grian you get in here and try to dodge the goat that will try to ram you in a second. Scar you go over to the other side and wait.”

Doing as he was told Scar yawned loud and wide, showing off exactly how he felt about it all. While also showing off very sharp and pretty canines. Damn the tooth fairy would have a field day if Scar were to ever lose them. They’d be among her most prized possessions for sure. Not that Grian wanted to have them anywhere but in Scar’s mouth-

Oh shoot he nearly failed the exercise! Bloody distracting Vex! Why was he standing exactly in that one spot where Grian could see him still?!

Scott must have thought the same thing. “Scar it’s not a trust exercise if you watch Grian.”

“Then why is there a hole in the wall?” Scar muttered, temper quick to rise. Another yawn quickly followed.

Grian wondered how Scott was making Scar do the things he wanted him to do. It took Grian much more than a soft chiding to make his soulmate do anything! And even then it was always a toss up between Scar obeying him or doing something completely different just out of spite.

Not that Grian wouldn’t have done the exact same thing. Maybe tying two freedom loving souls together hadn’t been the best idea of whoever had done it.

“Alright! Grian be ready!”

Grian was ready. He had been ready ever since Scar had vanished out of his line of sight. Which was exactly five seconds before Scott had told him to be ready. “I am!”

The goat took its sweet time after its first uncounted attempt. It rather inspected the back of the shack and nibbled on some grass there. Grian blew a raspberry at it to get its attention, already growing bored. He heard Scar yawn again on the other side. If they didn’t get on with this he would just fall asleep! And then Grian would have to let himself be rammed by the goat to wake him up again.

Yes, he did try to avoid riling up the already pissed off Vex. But Scar’s goofy screams were so good. And Grian’s self-perservation instincts always lost against the possibility for funny bits. He was fully capable of blowing a horn in the one place where making a sound could get you killed. He was not above poking an angry Vex until he bit Grian’s head off just for shits and giggles.

After eons had gone by the goat finally turned to him and lowered its head. Grian tensed, ready to dodge in the small space. The goat charged, Grian’s breath hitched and at the last moment he stepped to the side and felt its fur brush against his leg.

“I won!” He exclaimed, loud enough to startle Scar into falling over.

“Congrats! You have proven to be a reliable soulmate!”

Grian was quick to clamber back out of the building, Scar not far behind him. One look at Scott’s beaming smile told him that there wouldn’t be more than this. Well that had been a waste of time then. Grian had already proven himself to be reliable ten times over! It was Scar who wasn’t pulling his weight most of the time. He should have been the one jumping away from goats. But they weren’t doing this again. Scar didn’t look like he could dodge a snail right now anyway.

Scott clapped his hands together, either unaware of or ignoring his participants lack of enthusiasm. “Well! This was fun. I’m glad I could help you strengthen your bond. Please leave a positive review outside.”

Grian was about to retort when he felt Scars warmth at his side. His partner bend down to whisper into his ear. “Am I the only one who thinks this was a waste of time?”

Turning his head slightly towards Scar to whisper back Grian thought briefly about accidently brushing Scar’s lips. “No. I think so too.”

Scar leant back before Grian could act on his foolish notions. “Oh good! Let’s go then. We are too good of a couple to need this therapy anyway.”

Grians brain bluescreened at the word “couple”, so that he barely managed to catch Scar’s next words.

“We can finally deal with the people digging up our base, too.”

“I- we, what?! Scar! Why didn’t you say something earlier!”

“Oh don’t worry so much! They are only digging holes. You’ve got the sugarcane on you.”

He should have let the goat ram him. He was so very close to going back in there. “Scar- I. I don’t have all the sugarcane on me! They’re going to find it!”

“What in the world?! I thought you- Oh nooooo.”

They rushed back to their base, Scott’s laughter trailing behind them like a bad omen. The bastard had probably been tasked to distract them. They were so far out it was infuriating. Grian’s legs couldn’t run fast enough. They couldn’t. Scar’s larger strides covered more ground, but for some reason his soulmate refused to go faster than him. He let Grian lead, the slower thump thump of his boots like a clock in the background.

They had lost so much time already. What if they were already too late?

In the end it would have been better if they’d stayed away. For it was Grian’s anxious lingering around that gave the spot away. Grian’s desperate pleas for Joel to just trade paper with him fell on deaf ears. And they were left with a base that resembled swiss cheese and no monopoly.

He’d not seen Scar throughout most of the confrontation. Grian found him waving off Impulse in front of the panda reserve. So much for trust exercises.

Given Scar’s track record through this game so far, Grian shouldn’t have been surprised. But he still felt petulant about his mate’s absence. “Scar? What were you doing? I could have used some help back there.”

His legs screamed at him as he walked up the slope. He was a good talking distance away from Scar, who turned to him with that charming, innocent smile of his. But talking distance wasn’t touching distance. Even if Grian hadn’t decided on whether he wanted to slap or cling to him yet.

Scar was none the wiser, but at least the whole ordeal had managed to wake him up. “Oh Grian! There you are. I was putting the fire out that Cleo made. And then Impulse came to collect Bdubs – who was helping me, by the way, which was very kind of him – and I had to show him the pandas.”

“Cleo said you were the one to put our base on fire.” Grian remembered her taunting him with that and he didn’t doubt her honesty. Although both Cleo and Scar loved to set fire to things, so it could have been either of them.

With the guilty look Scar was slowly adapting Grian was betting more on Cleo’s story being true. “Oh well! You know I may have missed a lava bucket. The details don’t matter. I saved our base, though!”

Grian followed the arch of Scar’s arms towards their smoldering, wet base. A burnt cake served on a plate of swiss cheese. Somehow it was the perfect symbolism for their current relationship. “It looks sad.”

Scar nodded his head. “Come feed the pandas with me?”

“Only if you help me to fill in the holes later.”

“Deal!”

Grian had the feeling that he’d made a mistake with his phrasing. “Later” was a far too ambiguous word to use when making Scar promise anything. Grian heaved a sigh as he followed his soulmate into the one undamaged retreat they still had. What was he even thinking? It wasn’t like he could make Scar do anything. He wasn't the one with mind control magic.

Notes:

Not much to say on this one. Angst keeps coming. Did anyone listen to the Phasmo Valley Girl song made by Jono? It's more of a bop than it has any right to be.

Chapter 48

Space was quiet. The air in Mumbo’s small spacecraft was still. Lights on interfaces flashed, but didn’t make a sound. Not even the metal of the ship creaked under the strain of movement. There was nothing but inky black and the occasional cluster of stars streaking by on the outside and the grey and white walls on the inside.

The beauty of the void they’d shown Mumbo and many, many other Players in school was only a microscopic part of the known and unknown universe. What they didn’t tell you in astronomy class was that while light travels far, there’s also so much distance between one galaxy and the next.

And when crossing that distance you’ll encounter a whole lot of nothing. Breathtaking views are for those lucky enough to be close to a galaxy or even a cluster of galaxies. If you weren’t, though…

It was like being stuck in a desert or out in the far ocean. There was miles and miles of hidden life and marvels and dangers. Things a Player’s eye couldn’t see. Because the spectrum was wrong or the body wasn’t glowing enough.

Or maybe the Player had his eyes closed. Like Mumbo. He’d grown sick of space by now. Sick of the artificial air that allowed him to breath inside the tiny technological bubble he was damned to call his home. Sick of the solitude. Sick of the glimpses of beauty strewn in between long stretches of dotted black.

He was bored. He was anxious. He was always anxious. But ever since Cub had written him he was even more anxious than was usual for him. He’d gotten into the habit of obsessively checking his communicator for new messages. And when he didn’t do that he was doing what he was currently doing. Which was sit still on the floor and listen to his body.

Because his body was telling him things no one else could. Every little twitch and ache and rise of tension could mean something. Part of Grian’s soul thrummed in his chest, twisting itself up into knots. It had grown content within Mumbo. He’d even go so far as to say that the part of Grian’s soul that Mumbo had sucked out of him had made Mumbo’s body its new home.

It was also talkative. Not in any tangible way. It didn’t use words or even images to communicate. It used dreams, emotions, sensory input. The dreams were the most clear and Mumbo tried to sleep as much as possible. As much as he was allowed without neglecting his mission. Unfortunately he was a chronic insomaniac and thus had an already troubling relationship with sleep.

Sleeping beside Grian had helped. And one would think having part of his best mate’s soul in his body would be enough of a subsitude for his absence. But it turned out that nothing could beat the real, warm and breathing body of his friend. Sure Grian was a fussy sleeper who would move around a lot due to his nightmares. So sometimes it was easier to shove him into his own bed instead of trying to cling to him like an octopus. But something about the Allay’s proximity made it so easy for Mumbo to fall asleep. And it was that hurdle that usually kept him from a good night’s rest in the first place.

Trying to achieve that quick, smooth slide into unconsciousness without having Grian physically by his side was hard enough. It was made harder by the fact that Mumbo was trying very hard to fall asleep. Which meant that he grew anxious the longer he didn’t. Which turned into frustration eventually. And then he wouldn’t be able to sleep at all.

It was his school life all over again. Where he would check his clock every few minutes, laying awake in bed and counting all the missed hours of sleep, knowing that he needed rest, that he needed to wake up early.

So the dreams were hard to come by. And thus he could only concentrate on the other two possibilities. There wasn’t much to glean from them today. There was an undercurrent of… unhappiness, that could also have come from Mumbo himself. And gosh he hoped his own feelings weren’t causing Grian’s moods to change. That would be more than pants. The poor little guy was going through enough. How many times had he been kidnapped by now?

Mumbo grimaced, screwing his eyes shut tighter, as though that would help anything. A few seconds later his mustache began to twitch and Mumbo knew all was lost. His groan was the first thing to cut through the still air in hours as he stood up to pace. His joints happily added to the sound, popping and cracking.

He almost sent himself straight back to the floor. He had misjudged how much control he would still have over his sleeping leg. It bend as soon as he put his weight on it. Thankfully there was always a wall or console or something to hold on to in the cramped space.

Shaking out his leg and massaging some feeling back into it, Mumbo tried to calm down again. It was no use being so aggravated all the time. It didn’t help him to listen. And what if he missed something crucial because of it?

Once steady on his feet, Mumbo grabbed his communicator again and clicked on Grian’s name. A string of red error messages greeted him, growing longer every day. He added another one, trying to contact his missing friend. He felt a bit guilty about it. Other Hermits were missing, too. And yet here he was, ramming his head against the wall for someone who hadn’t even been officially added to the roster.

He told himself that it was because Grian was their best bet to find the others, but he knew he was kidding no one with that excuse. Grian had been special the moment he’d fluttered into his life. And he missed his little buddy something fierce.

… So much for being alright with Grian eventually leaving their group. Now knowing what it felt like to be apart from Grian for so long, Mumbo was sure he wouldn’t be able to survive him leaving for good. He was tearing up just thinking about it!

His heart leapt up into his throat when his communicator vibrated in his hands. Hope bloomed in his chest only to be crushed by cruel reality. It was just X, asking how things were going.

Things weren’t going. They weren’t going anywhere at all. Mumbo gave X a thumbs up.

~~~

Grian had decided to tell Scar about the sand. It had been a hard decision, especially with recent not-quite discoveries. Grian had needed the time to himself to mull over how he felt about Scar potentially invading his mind. He didn’t want to talk to the Vex directly about it, so he needed to come to terms with the potential break of boundaries on his own terms.

What he had needed to figure out first was if he even had boundaries regarding mind breaches in the first place. A wild thing to consider. One that should have been clear for most people. Grian wasn’t most people, though, which meant he struggled with the question quite a bit.

If anyone would have asked him about the topic before he’d set out to explore other worlds he would have screamed “yes” immediately. No one should be in his head except for him and the voices that where his own. But since then he’d been through so much weird stuff. Grian had known that he would need to raise his tolerance levels during his journey through the stars. He hadn’t had a clue back then how much that would be true. And how subtle the changes could be.

Little by little his experiences chipped away his view of what was normal and acceptable. He liked to think that he had been crazy from the start. He’d been open to a lot of things already. That’s why he even considered going out to repair old worlds and build up new ones. But now…

Normalcy was a social concept. A framework build from routines and their environment. Back home there had been laws for Players and neat little boxes to shove everyone into in order to get through the day quicker. A quick scan of a person and a few ticks of boxes and bam! You roughly knew what to expect from an encounter.

Out in space it all melted away and was replaced by new, much more malleable rules. He’d encountered beings who could only communicate by violating his pre-set boundaries. He’d done and gone through things he hadn’t even known were possible!

It gave him a right existential crisis, thinking about it all. He’d always been Grian, even when he’d strutted about as Ariana. And until now he’d not noticed being different. Aside from the magical shenanigans going on in his body he thought he’d stayed the same.

But he didn’t. His views, his feelings, wants and needs, they’d all changed in hidden ways, leaving the surface to look roughly the same and yet altering enough to make him a stranger in his past self’s eyes. It was disorientating. And scary.

And Grian was absolutely fine with it.

The more he thought about the past years or months or however long it had actually been since he’d set off from his home world, the more fond he grew of his memories. He’d had some great times. He’d done things he hadn’t even dreamed of doing. And he’d met incredible people along the way.

His crew had recognised him. As had his old friends. They’d looked at him and accepted him just as they always had. They’d all gone crazy, hadn’t they? When they were younger they’d sit in a seedy bar and drink shoddy drinks and call it adventurous. And now they were playing death games for fun!

So his more rugged, unhinged self struggled with the question of mental boundaries. And came away with the decision that he was okay with it in this specific case. He drew the line at mind control. All Scar had done was the slightly more sinister equivalent of whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Grian was down for that!

Just like with Mumbo ripping apart his soul, what should have been a warning to cut ties for anyone with a weaker stomach, Grian ended up finding… almost endearing. In a strange, distorted kind of way. Both actions had brought him closer to the two people he loved most dearly. Grian’s soul nestled in Mumbo’s ribcage. Best friends united forever with something much better than a blood vow or friendship braceletes.

And Scar’s honey voice in his head, chasing away bad dreams and making him want to wear mittens for shoes.

The only one missing was Cub. And wasn’t that an utterly insane thing to think about? Hadn’t he tied himself tightly enough to the three of them? He had Mumbo and Scar literally stuck to his soul. And with Scar, didn’t he also have Cub by extension?

He liked that. In the end, Allays were made to merge. Pure Allays could just divide themselves with a bit of music and a piece of amethyst. Every Allay a part of the former. All connected by the same metaphysical stuff. Player Allays imitated that tradition in reverse. All Allays essentially came from one. And so Players inherently wanted to feel that oneness. They didn’t fuse per say. Their bodies were too physical for that. But with everything else they tied themselves to their partners, no matter if platonic or romantic. Once the attraction was high enough on both sides, Player Allays were greedy things.

And Grian was greedy for Scar, Cub and Mumbo. Despite all the frustration, fear and grief his new friendships had brought him he also had never felt this joyful around someone else before. With Mumbo it was like a puzzle piece clicking into place, making him whole. He’d met this awkward bean of a man and immediately felt comforted by his presence. Life around his best friend felt ten times easier, no matter how much Grian was brooding, pining or getting caught up in his own head.

With Cub and Scar it was a freefall ending in a fluffy bed. Being around them was exhilerating and calming in equal measures. When they did something together Grian felt powerful and free. And yet they always caught him and brought him down gently, never leaving him to float off too high and wind up somewhere he couldn’t get down from.

He was obsessed with them. For better or worse Grian couldn’t part with any of them. Not on his own. Not when neither of them had told him to go. Yet.

Grian was painfully aware that he would need to eventually. He doubted Xisuma or any of the Hermits left behind would want a liability such as him around after what had happened with the Rift. He could just hope that he would cross paths with Mumbo in space when he was sent off to go back to his home world.

And it had been at that point where he’d thought “screw it” and went back to Scar. Because an angry Vex he was hopelessly in love with was a better thing to tackle than the pit of agony in his stomach whenever he thought of ending up cut off from the Hermits.

It was Scar who was working on rebuilding the base this time. He was filling in holes as he had promised, a pinched look on his face. Grian took a few moments to collect his thoughts and admire his soulmate from afar. It wasn’t that Scar always looked good. Far from it. There were times where he was the perfect picture of his nightmares and still made Grian want to giggle at the soft flutters of his heart.

It was more that Scar was enchanting. The sight of him like a drug. And no matter how angry or hurt Grian could get because of him there would always be a big part of him that grew warm at the sight of the soft, mischievious Vex.

Right now Scar wasn’t making for a pretty picture in the slightest. He was drenched in sweat, clothes sticking to him in a way that made Grian’s own skin itch and nose twitch from the imagined smell. Cleo had made Scar’s dress shirt out of cotton. That kind of fabric soaked up bad smells like a sponge! It was horrid. A bad fashion choice in the summer.

Scar’s hair was greasy as well, combed back out of his face and sticking to his scalp. The scars on his skin looked red and irritated in the light, a stark contrast to his grey blue skin, which made him look like an undead thing.

Grian tackled him from behind once he’d shuddered out of his trance and they both tumbled into the shallow hole Scar had just been working on filling.

“Ahhhh! I’m being attacked!” Scar lashed out, twisting underneath him and shoving at his shoulders, claws digging into fabric and flesh alike. “I’m- Grian! What in the world! You’re cold! And wet! Ow why did you have to do that?”

Scar sat up and rubbed at his back with one hand. The other detached from Grian’s shoulder and slid down his arm to rest at his elbow. The resulting pout looked so much better on Scar’s face than the frown. Grian let out an involuntary chime of appreciation, causing Scar to flush. It made Grian repeat the sound.

“Come shovel sand with me.”

Scar blinked up at him, not following his wild knot of thoughts. “I- is that some kind of euphemism or code I don’t know…?”

“No!” Grian laughed, feeling a bit manic. What was he doing ramming head first into conversations like that? Did he not know how to be subtle and pace himself? “I meant what I said. We could have a monopoly again. And I want you to be part of it.”

The answer was obviously no. He did not know how to be anything but extreme. Poor Scar didn’t know how to keep up with him. “Sand? Why sand?”

Because he’d dreamed near the Rift and saw its significance. Sand dunes and a castle on top of a lonely desert mountain. A big, high tech warehouse and a huge sign reading “Sahara”. Sand was important. It was a red thread weaving through splintered narratives.

“Because it makes TNT, duh. And if everyone has paper, but only we have sand-”

Scar’s eyes lit up. “Then we have the power.”

And oh how they were both longing for even a scrap of power at this point. “Exactly!”

“Wait.” Another light went on behind Scar’s eyes. “Is that why you’re wet?”

Grian nodded and then, after a brief pause, shook out his hair causing Scar to complain. “Yeah. There’s no desert in our area. So all the sand we have is in the river.”

Scar gasped and pointed his finger at him. “That’s why you were drowning all the time?!”

Grian leaned back as to not get stabbed in the throat by the sharp needle that was Scar’s fingernail. “Yeah. Sorry. It was meant to be a surprise. But doing it alone is so hard.”

Scar’s eyes practically melted into puddles of fondness. He was quick to trap both of Grian’s hands in his, bringing them to his chest. The heart underneath soft skin beat fast and strong. “Oh Grian. That’s why I’m here. You don’t have to do anything alone.”

Liar, Grian wanted to call him out on his bluff. But Scar’s vow sounded too charming to ruin with the truth.

Notes:

Hermitcraft TCG Series 2 Alter Egos are coming! Who else is excited? XD

Chapter 49

They would have a monopoly again. Grian thought through gritted teeth as his air got stolen from his lungs once more, phantom water spilling inside. He coughed. So that was what drowning on land felt like. Or in his case, in a dry boat. Poor Scar, no wonder he’d been so miffed.

Anyway. The monopoly. It was important that Grian kept thinking about the monopoly or else he would descent into the deep and drown Scar himself-

A splash sounded from beside him and then two hands grabbed the boat. Scar’s head popped out of the water soon after. Eerie blue glinting eyes shone up at Grian. With his full Vex aspect out and needle sharp grin Scar looked like a deep sea horror creature ready to eat him.

A deep sea horror creature with manic puppy dog energy, that is. Which immediately made it 100% less scary and more endearing. “I’ve got most of it!”

“Cool.” Grian stuttered, trying to keep the boat from tipping over. “It’s fine if some stray blocks are left. We just need most of it.”

“And we have most of it.” Scar sang as he climbed back up. He struggled to get back into the boat and ended up flopping halfway over the edge. His wings stuck to his body and made it look as though he was wrapped in a leathery cocoon.

Grian leaned back with a grimace, knowing what was to come. And sure enough, Scar’s wings flipped open. A few droplets hit him, but at least Grian managed to avoid being slapped by a soggy wing. “Scar! Careful!”

The boat rocked dangerously during Scar’s attempts to get himself fully in it. And it nearly toppled over again when he tried to sit up. Grian had to give his all for them not to end back up in the water. “Scar!”

“I’m fine! I’ve got this! Ack- Tada!” Scar threw his arms out, wings spreading with them and the proud grin stayed on his face for but a second before a gust of wind got caught up in his wings and made the boat speed forwards a few inches.

The resounding screech broke Grian completely. It was all so ridiculous. Scar was so ridiculous. He started giggling, high pitched and happy. He was wet, tired and his lungs were still hurting. And nothing of that mattered because they had just found out that Scar’s wings could be used as sails.

“Noooo Scar! Leave them open! We’ll get back on land faster!” He barely got the words out between his cackles. And of course Scar did exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

He got it, though. The tug at Scar’s wings had been sharp enough to leave the roots of his own throbbing with a dull pain. It was surprisingly reasonable that Scar folded them back in. What was less reasonable was that he started stripping.

Blood rushed up to his face and filled out his cheeks. “Scar! What are you doing?! Put your shirt back on!”

“But it’s wet and sticky!” Scar whined, continuing to wrestle with his clothers.

Grian threw himself at the Vex and stopped him from pulling the shirt any higher. The sudden movement and inevitable tussle finally upset the boat enough to throw them off. And they both screeched as they went sideways and splashed into the water. They were still entangled when Grian learned that Scar could use his wings not only as sails but also as fins. Before he could rearrange his sense of direction into something that made sense Scar had grabbed him and shot for the nearest shoreline.

The competence and fluidity of his movements were baffling. And Grian was left blinking up at the clear blue sky in astonishment. A wet wing fell on him like a blanket as Scar flopped down next to him with a cough and a groan. “Well that was fun.”

There was a certain snark to it, but Grian couldn’t help but agree. Unconsciously he grabbed the edge of the wing and rubbed the leathery surface with a hum. Laying on his back with the sun warming up his body and Scar so close, he was tempted to take a nap. Scar would have probably been right with him. He made no move to take back his wing. He wasn’t even trying to get his shirt back in order. It was still half unbuttoned and crumbled up around his chest.

Grian had no clue where Scar’s chestplate had gone. Hopefully it had been vanished into his inventory and not been gifted to one of the Drowned by accident. Somehow Grian didn’t care much either way. He was far too relaxed to worry about anything for once.

A few precious seconds passed. Grian took deep, deliberate breaths. Nothing hurt. Nothing was threatening them. Or clogging up their insides. Or freezing them. Scar was right by his side, unable to get them both into trouble.

Another few ticks and Grian started to twitch. The sun was nice. As was the ground. And the company.

Scar groaned. “You’re getting bored again aren’t you?”

It sounded defeated and Grian felt guilty for ruining a perfectly fine moment. But unfortunately, Scar was right. Grian just wasn’t made to keep still. “It’s so peaceful.”

Scar snorted into his elbow and retracted his wing. “And what are you going to do about that?” He asked. He heaved himself up and finally set his clothing right. And there was his chestplate, gleaming silver in the sun as he clasped it back on. Void he had far too little protection for how reckless he was.

The small respite had been enough to calm Scar into returning to his Player side. And while his wings were still out and on full display, a healthy tanned skin colour had replaced the undead grey. When Scar looked at him with a smile this time his eyes flashed green for a second before turning back into hazel. And his teeth were white but not as sharp anymore.

“Hm.” Grian thought about that. His musings briefly interrupted by the hand Scar offered to lift him up. “We could go bother Timmy?”

It was his go to for when he was bored. At least when Timmy was in the vicinity. If he wasn’t then he would go bother his immediate neighboors. Something Doc had learned the hard way. Because Grian always chose the ones who kicked up the most fuss at his presence.

“Anything you want.” Scar promised in a sing song voice.

Want you. Grian didn’t say. Instead he led the way to the Ranch. Joel had given him Jimmy’s horn as an apology gift for digging up Grian’s and Scar’s base. And Grian suddenly craved to see Jimmy’s reaction to it.

His feathery friend was home and immediately started squawking at the sight of them. It was odd. He acted as though Grian had found him with his hand in the forbidden cookie jar. “Grian! What are you-”

Chosing to ignore the alarm bells going off in his head for the moment, Grian chirped out a cheerful, “’Ello Timmy!”

Sadly, Grian had to let go of Scar’s hand to flit over to Jimmy. There was no real use to greeting him with a dance. Grian usually didn’t bother with traditional Allay greetings. Meeting someone like Big B was rare and why bother going through all the steps if you could just barrel into your friends and hug them instead? Jimmy especially was far too clumsy to keep up with his steps. But it was fun to see him flail about and his heart fluttered with fondness when his hums were met with trills.

Eventually they fell back on old patterns again. Jimmy swatted at him as though he were an annoying fly. And Grian twisted away and watched him hit a chest instead.

Holding his throbbing hand Jimmy pouted down at him, feathers ruffled. “Owww! Grian!”

“It’s not my fault that you can’t aim.” Grian smirked and pulled out his horn. “Look what I’ve got!”

“No.” Jimmy gaped, then turned to Scar, who was stood in the doorway, watching the whole exchange with a small smile. “You!”

Scar held up his hands. “What? What did I do?”

“You brought him here!”

“No.” Scar pointed now, his o wobbling up and down in tone. “He brought me here.”

Grian tooted Jimmy’s horn in agreement, laughing when other Players blew their horns in answer, making Jimmy wail.

“Give that back to me!” Jimmy lunged at him and Grian hopped out of reach again. Poor canary. The building was too small on the inside for his wings to spread fully the way he wanted to.

Tango was probably getting so confused by the random bursts of pain in parts he didn’t even possess. And Grian briefly wondered what that must feel like, before diving under the arm Scar had used to lean against the doorframe, Jimmy hot on his heels.

Scar was almost ran over by a fuming Avian, but made no move to stop Jimmy from chasing behind Grian.

“Grian please! Give it back!”

“No! It was a gift from Joel.”

Grian hopped over the wooden gate of the Ranch and twirled around mid air to taunt Jimmy further when he heard shouting from the hills. He stopped dead in his tracks, the hand still holding the horn frozen mid stretch. He’d wanted to lure Jimmy into trying to snatch it again. But now he was too distracted by the noises of chaos and panic to react to Jimmy’s approach.

The triumphant “Hah! I’ve got it!” was overshadowed by a sudden darkness crawling over them. Grian’s heart stuttered and his blood turned to ice. Warden.

“What’s happening?” Scar cried out.

“Tango!”

“Hey Jimmy! Flee! Flee!” Tango cackled, barrelling towards them from the sounds of it. He sounded gleeful. Manic. And Grian had thought his soulmate was crazy.

The command to run hadn’t been for him, but Grian darted off anyway. “Scar!”

He couldn’t see his soulmate. That bloody black fog was everywhere, teasing him by only giving him the minimum view to navigate by. Grian could hear a bunch of others running around, yelling and fighting over what to do with the Warden. They’d already grown cozy with the monster, laughter filling the air more than screams. Although those were still present whenever the monster drew too close for comfort.

From the ruckus Grian was able to figure out that a group was trying to get the Warden into Tango’s and Jimmy’s Ranch. While Tango tried to bring it to Scar.

Now that wouldn’t do. “Scar!”

“I’m here- ack that was a wall.”

Sharp pain shot along the bridge of his nose and Grian tripped over himself in his haste to stop. For a second his mind thought he’d been the one to run into a wall. But he threw his arms out to feel plain, empty air.

The Warden was close though. It was sniffing the air and letting out rattling noises with every sharp exhale, clearly aggravated. It was probably a jarring experience to be lured out of its cocoon of silence out into the bright and loud world above.

Grian felt a bit sorry for the creature. Until he stepped too close and was blasted by it. Thankfully his body had already memorized the sound of imminent pulverization. He dodged before he fully understood what was happening. Still the blast caught his shoulder and the blood vessels burst from the hit.

His right ear stopped working for a hot minute as well. Grian felt something inside it pop and then suddenly he was overcome by nausea and dizziness. He heard Scar cry out in confusion and pain in the distance. Someone else was yelling for Grian to lure the Warden to the Ranch. It was Tango’s and Jimmy’s lovechild! And with growing dread Grian realized that the monster was now focused on him.

Scrambling back up Grian sprinted away. If he was going towards or away from the Ranch he had no clue. The brief change in perspective had already scrambled his sense of direction and the darkness had swallowed up the rest and- He had to get it away from Scar at least!

The creature was wobbling after him. Grian had never seen it charge anyone. It was slow, almost clumsy as it hobbled about. It didn’t need to get close to obliterate him. Grian laughed at that and forced his legs to run harder.

This hadn’t been on his bingo card today. But Grian couldn’t really complain. It was far from peaceful now and that was all that mattered.

Given how slow the Warden was, Grian managed to sprint out of its zone of influence. Colour and the bright light of the sun assaulted his senses as he did. It was worse than hitting his nose on a brick wall. Grian had a one to one comparison for that now. Throwing off the darkness effect in the caves was so much less awful.

Up in the overworld it felt like the sun was stabbing his eyes out. He gasped and curled up, blinking and rubbing at his eyes to get them to work right again. His sight was blurry for a bit until he could make out shapes around him. A white and red blob aimed at a Player shaped someone who mildly resembled Big B. Grian didn’t see the arrow hit anything. Instead shortly after there was an explosion and Grian felt the world’s magic twist and contract as it respawned whoever had just lost a life.

“Grian move! It’s still on you!” Someone yelled and shoved him from behind. Martyn most likely. It was hard to make out the voice as it came from the right, where he still barely heard anything.

Scar was trying to heal them back up fast by eating, but it still took too long for Grian to get his bearings. So Martyn decided to drag him off.

The sound of death followed after them and once more their light was snuffed out. He hoped Martyn knew where he was going. He also hoped that Martyn wasn’t planning on getting him killed.

Whatever Martyn had planned he was at least confident. His much better hearing allowed him to dodge the creatures attacks before Grian knew about them coming. He was used as a bit of a meat shield, sure. But there was only one hit more before they emerged victorious by nearly falling into the ravine.

Grian’s wings worked overtime to make sure they both stayed tinkering on the edge. And it was then that the Warden decided to show them that it could actually be fast when it was angry.

It was its doom. Charging towards them like a bull seeing red, all Grian and Martyn had to do at this point was to let themselves fall to one side or the other to let the Warden sail on over them. Martyn took the fall, cushioning Grian with his body. The Warden’s exposed ribcage briefly caressed the tips of Grian’s wings and Grian thought he felt one of the damned souls try and latch onto them.

The moment was gone within seconds. A big splash signaled the end of the chaos. Pressing his freezing wings tightly to his back, Grian stood and offered Martyn a hand. With the darkness leaving their field of vision they could see the Warden bop up and down in the river below. It was an odd sight. The creature clearly was not meant to be in contact with water. Bits of starlight ooze flaked off and got washed away by the current. Grian hoped its presence in the river wouldn’t do anything to their only convenient water source. Was it hollow within? The Warden didn’t as much swim as it floated. The fish in the water had distracted it from its earlier pursuit and were now the target of its wrath.

“It looks kind of pathetic now.” Scar’s arm suddenly wound around his shoulder and tugged him away from Martyn and the edge.

Grian whined at the move. He’d wanted to stay with Martyn for a little bit! He never got to hang out with him! “It does. I wonder if it knows where it is.” He said instead. The trembling in Scar’s arm and the claws that dug ever so gently into his skin told him to hold his tongue. Scar was distressed. If he needed the company Grian would provide it.

“Nah I think it doesn’t really care.” Martyn inserted himself back into the conversation, refusing to be third wheeled so easily. “Looks like it’s happy down there.”

Tango was of a different opinion. The trio turned as they heard him run up to them. His flaming hair was wild and his big red eyes burned. Jimmy was walking a few paces behind at a leasurely pace, hands clasped behind his back. “What did you do to our poor boy!”

“We put him in time out.” Grian said at the same time Martyn replied “We made him cool off.”

Jimmy snorted, earning a glare from Tango. The canary was never one to be bothered by outright shows of aggression. He was very emotionally intelligent, however. Sometimes. Not that he acted upon that intelligence most of the time. He seemed to be especially tuned into Tango, though and was actually involved in keeping him somewhat calm.

One clawed hand on Tango’s shoulder and the Blaze Hybrid’s anger vanished. Jimmy gave him one of his sweetest smiles. The one reserved for special occasions and a weapon that could melt hearts. “It’s alright. He’s alive and well. We can fish him out whenever we want, yeah?”

Grian marveled at the ease of which Jimmy placated Tango. They truly made for an exceptional pair. He was both happy for them and extremely jealous. Although he didn’t have much time to dwell on either emotion as someone suddenly shoved Scar from behind and kicked him over the edge.

The shocked “Scar!” got stuck in his throat as pain lit up his whole body. He barely noticed the push and fall of his own person. But he sure as hell felt the impact.

Notes:

I'm going to reduce my updates to going bi-weekly for a bit. Got super exhausted because of work and I really really need to go touch some grass now that the weather is nice again XD
Thank you for all the sweet comments again! <3

Chapter 50

“Scar, are you okay?” The question was whispered in the dark of the night, wafting over to the other bed. Miraculously they hadn’t died from the fall. But it had been a close call.

The laughter from above still haunted him. And his bones had yet to understand that they had been mended from their broken state. They had dragged themselves back to the relative safety of their base to lick their wounds. A ridiculous amount of steak and carrots and bread had been consumed. Their stomachs churned, but their bodies had gladly taken in the small amounts of healing quality most food possessed nowadays.

They’d decided to get to bed early. But Grian kept tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Scar seemed to have the same problem. He’d been deathly still for most of their agreed upon resting time, before he’d abruptly sat up with a noise between a whine and a growl, prompting Grian’s question.

It took a moment for Scar to answer. And Grian sat up himself during the pause. “I’m fine.”

That was the worst lie Scar had uttered so far. “You’re voice cracked a little there, buddy. You wanna try again?”

Scar grimaced as though he had bitten into something sour. “I…” He started kneeding his claws into the blanket. “Do you…”

He broke off again. Grian waited for him to continue for a long while until he couldn’t take it anymore and slowly stumbled his way over to his soulmate. Scar naturally made place for him and relaxed a tiny amount as Grian pressed their sides together with a soothing hum.

Grian let them sit there, in silence and darkness, and soaked up Scar’s warmth. “What do you wanna ask me?”

Scar swallowed loud enough for Grian to hear. Unfortunately Grian was too slow to watch Scar’s adams apple bop. “Do you… do you regret it? Being tied to me?”

Oh Scar. Grian thought, torn on what to reply. It was so complicated. How was he to explain without hurting feelings or outing his own?

“I like being with you.” A perfect non-answer. And by the looks of it Scar wasn’t very satisfied with it.

Grian nuzzled into his shoulder, distracting Scar from asking him to clarify. “Do you think we can sleep like this? We should use tomorrow to gear up more. Things are starting to get dangerous.”

A clawed hand hesitantly came up to scratch at his scalp and play with Grian’s hair. “We can try.”

The moon crawled over the sky at a snails pace. And when the sun finally did show up it felt like it, too, wanted to do everything in slow mode. Grian patiently kept himself glued to Scar’s side during the long night, but didn’t really get much sleep.

His communicator vibrated with a few messages during his vigil. And he heard Scar’s going off, too. Probably other Players checking in on them. They all had a pretty good grasp on each others boundaries, but when play got rough it was best to double check.

The poor idiots were probably a bit worried after Scar and him had fled. Grian would get to soothing them soon. Once the sun was at a respectable enough angle to get up. Or once Scar stopped clutching him to his chest like an overgrown teddybear.

At least Scar would be well rested today. Grian had half a mind to wiggle out of his death grip to try and get a few minutes of shut eye in his own bed. But leaving Scar to wake up alone after his timid question yesterday felt cruel. And anyway he liked the cuddles. It was just hard to sleep when he was close to being suffocated by Scar’s buff arms.

Scar also twitched in his sleep. A lot. Grian hadn’t noticed before during his sleepovers with Cub and Scar because while they’d been together in bed they’d still had space. Or Cub had hoarded Scar for himself. Oh how he missed Cub!

But now Scar was smothering him with his bulk and it was hard to ignore. Thankfully there were no wings to curl around him. As much as Grian loved that particular Vex trait, the added wings would have caged him in completely. And Grian liked his freedom.

When the sun had turned from orange-red to a warm yellow, Grian began to move. He may or may not have elbowed Scar in his attempts to free himself, too.

Claws dug into his clothes as a whine erupted from the being underneath him. “Griaaaan. Five more minutes…”

“No.” Grian refused, squinting at the hand that clutched at his arm and wondering if he should bite it. It did look very chewable. “I can’t lay still anymore, Scar. I need to get up or I’m going to go crazy.”

An unhappy grumble followed his words and the arms only tightened. “Be still just a bit longer.”

The way Scar acted made heat flare up within him. Grian stomped on the flames in panic. Now was not the time to get horny! There were things that needed to get done! And Scar was taken! Void neither Cub nor Scar made it easy to resist them. Grian didn’t want to become a homewrecker! He really didn’t!

So while Grian very much wanted to give in to Scar’s demands and maybe see where following Scar’s orders would lead, he only wiggled harder. “No! Scar please.”

When his pleading was ignored, Grian turned to snatch the first bit of naked skin he could see between his teeth. It worked like magic. Scar squealed as he felt his neck being punctured. Grian’s teeth were sharp. He flailed and Grian jumped as soon as the arms released him.

He landed in a crouch a few paces away from the bed and was quick to slide up into a standing position. He felt for his own neck, where a sharp stinging pain throbbed pleasantly against his palm. There was no wound on him and thus no blood to taint his hand. He had it in his mouth instead, coating his tongue with a thick, metallic taste.

The chime he let out was satisfied and almost purr like. Scar was less pleased. He was kneeling on the bed. His wings burst out of his back as grey and blue crept into his skin and eyes. He looked at Grian with wide, pulsing electric blue eyes, wings flared and ready to pounce. His mouth stood open, but hadn’t formed into a snarl yet.

Grian tensed, waiting for retribution. But Scar only whined again and relaxed. “Grian! That wasn’t necessary!”

Another distorted chime left his lips as they curled into a smile. “It did the job though! Come on let’s clean up and get something to eat. We gotta hit the mines early if we wanna gear up before anything more happens!”

They usually didn’t eat breakfast together. Grian tended to be gone long before Scar was up. But today he let himself be dragged into the panda reserve for an early picnic. They checked over their messages while they ate, not entirely unbothered by the jellie pandas.

Jellie was always around and thus her presence barely registered until she plopped herself into Grian’s lap and gave him the stink eye when he ignored her. She got her scratches from Scar, who leaned over to take care of his princess.

Grian smiled at their silly friends, something in his chest loosening at the clearly concerned questions about their wellbeing. They were all just playing, but it was easy to forget that part when things turned so violent. His body didn’t understand that he wasn’t in danger and that these people weren’t really threats. So the reassurance was well received.

There was something disconcerting that caught his attention, though. “When did Ren and Big B turn red?”

Scar leant harder against his side to take a peek at Grian’s communicator. The action was wholly unnecessary. He had his own device to check. But Grian couldn’t complain about the excuse for the close contact.

“Hm… How… unfortunate.”

The satisfaction in those words was so apparent Grian could taste it on his tongue. His own glee bubbled up in his chest. Red meant there would finally be some more lethal chaos. The question was if Big B was still going to be an ally to him. Sure they had agreed that all alliances would be cut when they turned red. But where secret soulmates included in that rule?

He pocketed his communicator to nibble at another of Big B’s cookies, deep in thought. He would need to bring his fellow Allay a present and test the waters. But not dressed the way he was now. Even if Big B didn’t pose a threat, Ren certainly would. “I’m gonna be hitting the mines soon and then go down to the enchanter to upgrade my new armour. Fingers crossed that I’ll find enough diamonds. Write me when you get your gear ready, yeah? I can enchant it for you.”

Scar, who had been glaring at the cookie in his hand for some reason, immediately started to protest. “I can enchant it on my own-”

“No.” Grian put his foot down. He felt nauseous just thinking about Scar being down there. Scar was loud and curious and got lost so easily. They’d both die in a heartbeat. “I’ll do it. I already know where it is so it’ll be faster.”

“But you hate it down there!” Scar snarled. He opened his mouth to say more, but thought better of it and pressed his lips together again with a dissatisfied Hrmph.

The words left unsaid would haunt Grian for a while. He was happy that Scar didn’t argue further, though.

“I kinda don’t hate it as much anymore. It’s fine.”

Scar turned to him, eyes wide and shining. “Promise?”

Grian didn’t really know what he was supposed to promise, but nodded anyway. Anything for Scar. Well anything that wouldn’t get them killed. “Promise.”

That earned him a tiny smile. A smile that distracted him enough for Scar to be able to snatch the half eaten cookie from him. “Hey!”

Scar wrinkled his nose at the partly burned pastry. “Where did you get that? It looks awful! I feel it clogging up my throat.”

“It was a gift from- it was a gift Scar. You don’t criticize gifts. Now give it back.”

Grian stretched his arm out without success. Scar vanished the half eaten cookie with a sniff. “I can make you better cookies than that. You can gift those to your- to your friend and show him how it’s really done.”

Grian’s mouth watered at the thought of being graced by Scar’s culinary skills again. “Promise you won’t add anything weird to them and I might take you up on that offer. These cookies are a bit awful.” And it would be funny to show off Scar’s baking skills to Big B. Maybe that would convince him that the Vex made for a perfect mate. And endear the redname towards a continued allyship.

“I’d love to, little songbird.” Scar purred, looking extremely happy. Grian didn’t know why his soulmate was so pleased. Maybe it was a baker’s pride. Not that he had any competition to worry about in the first place.

“When we’re all geared up, though.” Grian reminded him.

Scar’s sigh held all the disappointment in the world. “Of course. I don’t suppose we can mine together?”

“It’s not-”

“Not efficient, I know. See you for supper then.”

There were lips on his cheek. They touched him for a fraction of a second, dry and chapped and Grian half thought he’d done a really good job of imagining his wishful thinking into reality. But once his brain booted back up he not only felt the lingering presence of Scar’s kiss, but also a crumb of foodstuffs he’d left behind.

Disgusted Grian wiped his cheek with his sleeve and yelled at Scar’s retreating back. “Scar! Gross!”

“See you later, G!”

That… That absolute menace! Grian kept rubbing at his cheek for good measure. Maybe then it would actually have a reason to be red. Good thing he wouldn’t need to keep his head on for his first task of the day. He only needed to hit a sharp, pointy tool against hard, pointy rock over and over. There needed to be no thoughts or spacial awareness.

It didn’t help his restlessness. He was jittery because of the sleep deprivation. And despite that his brain tried to conjure up new thoughts at speed. It didn’t help that mining was utterly boring if Grian couldn’t get into the trance state. Even the sight of vibrant blue diamonds didn’t cause the rush of joy they usually brought. He was falling into a bad mood. He was painfully aware that he could use his time to do other things. With people. And maybe even explosions if Big B was up for a little trap setting.

Sure Grian wasn’t red yet. Not even yellow. Although he was a bit mellow- No, no no puns. Either way he might not be allowed to outright kill anyone or set traps. But he could… he could stand innocently beside the trap maker and give them pointers. Right!

He counted every diamond he found. The siren call of chaos was enough to spur him on until he had everything he needed. Grian hesitated after he pocketed the last diamond he needed. Despite what he had told Scar he didn’t like what came next: going into the Deep Dark.

Grian wasn’t as scared as he’d once been. He didn’t lie. That didn’t mean that he didn’t find the place spooky anymore. And dangerous. Slinking down into the city, his heart picked up speed once more. Treacherous, treacherous thing.

He knew how to navigate the city by now, at least. Grian was quick to sneak up to the enchanter and blow his lapis on low level enchantments. He didn’t flee the place as soon as he was finished. But it was a near thing.

When he emerged from the natural darkness of the underground he was shocked to find that not even half the day had gone by. He still had so much time! That hadn’t been on his agenda. With their designated play area so small and so many of them here he thought he would have needed to look harder.

Alas, he had been lucky. The exercise had done him good. Even though he hadn’t slept much he felt weirdly refreshed and giddy. And protected with newly enchanted armour he felt safe enough to wander around to see what the Warden was up to.

He hadn’t been the only one with that idea it seemed. Standing on a ramshackle cobblestone bridge that hadn’t been there when Grian almost fell to his doom, were a bunch of people. Grian could make out Martyn, Etho and Joel. They were holding… fishing rods.

Grian didn’t want to be seen yet. There was a monstrous urge to sneak up on them and push at least one of his friends down. If they didn’t shatter on the rocks maybe the Warden would scream them into oblivion. A little bit of payback for his own broken bones.

He watched them instead. The treeline was perfect to draw closer without being detected. Not that he needed a lot of camouflage. The trio was preoccupied with each other and whatever they were doing more than enough.

Grian made it to the edge of the ravine no problem and dared to look down. There it was. The Warden. A fish out of water. It was stuck. Was it blind? It had no eyes and used its hearing and sense of smell to navigate more than anything. How horribly alien it must feel then, to be stuck somewhere that confused all its senses. It couldn’t even merge with the floor and move out that way, because it didn’t touch the ground.

The horror at seeing such a deadly creature slowly faded as Grian looked on. It was so helpless down there. Floating but unable to find its way out of the river. There were no fish around it anymore. They must have all been pulverized by its sonic blast.

But if there were no fish then what were they doing with their fishing rods?

Maybe it was time to show himself and see what his friends were up to. “What doin’?”

Etho turned towards him while Joel and Martyn continued to yell over each other. There was a glint in his eyes that Grian couldn’t place. “We’re fishing, Grian.” Suddenly he had a hook in his sweater and was pulled off the ledge. “Come join us!”

His scream alerted the other two to his presence. But their confused shouts were drowned out by the wind rushing in his ears. For a terrifying second he was falling, praying for Scar to forgive him once he hit the ground. And then the line that had pulled him to his doom went taut and he was weightless, rising up up up, falling again and-

Landing on… cobble?

Grian blinked at his new location, unable to comprehend what had happened for a second. He was swarmed by his friends, who watched him expectantly, while Etho bend down to unhook his fishing rod.

The experience caught up with him once he realized that he was fine. And once the realization was complete he started to giggle, an odd jingle accompanying his noises of joy. That… that had been fun!

Grian wasn’t the only one baffled by what Etho had just done. “I didn’t know you could do that with fishing rods!” Joel yelled, flabbergasted.

“That’s so cool!” Martyn exclaimed, grinning.

“Do it again! Do it again!” Grian heard himself babble. He turned his big, black eyes to Etho, who had the gall to snort at him.

He sounded like a dad humouring his kid when he said “Alright, alright.” But Grian didn’t care because he was gonna reverse fall again.

Notes:

You could have had some actual communication between the two this chapter. However, I decided to leave many things unsaid and let matters get worse instead.

Chapter 51

Mumbo had made it. He had safely landed on the planet he had selected as his destination. Cub should have felt relieved at that. There would finally be some progress if all went well. Yet he only felt loneliness creep in. Mumbo was busy talking to other people now. And whenever Cub checked his communicator his inbox with private messages was empty. Maybe, if he was lucky and Mumbo wasn’t getting too distracted and/or overwhelmed, he would get one short text.

Cub should just leave his com at home. It was only driving him crazy. He had never been the kind of person to check his messages much. He usually did well focusing on his tasks. He was also usually a very calm person.

None of his original character traits had survived Grian’s arrival, it seemed. With it all going to shit there was nothing left of him. Only frustration remained. Frustration that needed an outlet.

Thankfully Gem was happy to provide him with just that. Cub had had an inkling that Gem was much more than what she appeared to be. She was cute and bubbly on the outside. A perfect princess for the elven castle she was building. But she had always held herself like a fighter. And once Cub had seen the outline of the dungeon she had planned he knew that he was in the presence of someone who could match the bloodlust of a Vex.

It was Gem who asked him for their first fight. They’d been sitting in front of the Rift again, getting dizzy from the swirls and ancient hums coming from deep within. Her eyes had been shining when she’d dragged him up and flew off, screaming for him to follow.

They met at Gem’s base now instead of Grian’s Rift. Sometimes Gem also came to bug him at the huge snow cube that would eventually become Total Chaos. Not that he was doing much work on it at the moment. None of the Hermits were really working at their projects anymore. It felt like cheating somehow. They didn’t want their friends showing up again having gone through who knew what to be greeted by monuments of their lost time.

Everyone was more or less sitting at their bases and were starting to go crazy. Cub had seen that huge corkboard wall in Xisuma’s base that was covered in a mess of red string. And Doc had locked himself in the Crastle of all places, muttering about Ren’s kingly absence. Cub had visited him a few times and had quickly backed out again after seeing the huge Creeper Hybrid lean over a table full of plans, muttering about overthrowing the government once it was back, cursing the goatmother and talking to the Hivemind, a conglomerat of voices only Doc could hear. But with the Vex whispering in Cub’s own head he wasn’t one to judge.

Even Gem had stopped to work on her base after going strong for a while. Which meant she had all the time she needed to pester him.

“Cub! CubCubCubCubCUB!” Gem chanted his name as she flew at him. Cub stepped away at the last second to feel her rush past him. Her landing wasn’t as graceful as Grian’s would have been. But she didn’t faceplant like Scar.

Her feet had barely touched the ground and she was already whirling around to face him, auburn hair wild. “Hello Cub!”

“Eyo. How’s it going?” Cub stepped away from the shulker box he had mindlessly rummaged through to smile at her.

“I was wondering if you were up for a bit of sparring?” Gem asked him once she saw that she had his full attention.

“Hm.” He faked thinking about it, holding back a laugh as he watched her bounce around. She was worse than Mumbo with her inability to stand still. Pearl had given her a pair of antlers as a joke because Gem jumped around so much, that she reminded Pearl of a Deer Hybrid. The joke was on her, though, because Gem ended up loving the antlers and hadn’t taken them off since except for when she needed to sleep. “I guess I can spare a few minutes.”

She cheered. “Great! I’ve brought swords. And beds. Come on, set your spawn.”

Gem placed the beds down with a thud and Cub tapped the dark blue one, reaching out and anchoring his body to it. The world listened and locked his new spawning point in.

When he turned Gem was already there, holding out a wooden sword to him with a smile. “Armour off.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Scar would have said “pants off” and Cub would have made a crude joke about it and-

“Cub. No thinking.” Gem gently reminded him.

“Yes ma’am.” Cub repeated, quieter and less chipper.

They got into their stances opposite each other, counted to three and charged. Gem was a slippery thing. All that bouncing around when she was idle didn’t even come close to the rapid moves she made to avoid his blows during a fight. Her speed was what made her so dangerous. But it was also her downfall more often than not.

Cub was less agile, not only because of his bulk but mostly because he felt no need to excert that much energy. He moved with her to not give her an opening, never taking more steps than he needed to.

While Gem hit to keep her opponent from aiming, Cub hit to crit. That meant that whoever got the first hit in would most likely win. So the beginnings of their fights were the most nerve wracking, both dancing around each other, Gem leading them more often than not. Watching, faking moves, dodging and aiming until-

Cub’s communicator vibrated with an incoming private message. The flurry of movement stopped and Cub dropped his sword to get his device out. Gem jumped to his side, fight forgotten. Cub had selected a very specific tone for Mumbo. A sound both him and Gem reacted to like two starving dogs hearing the food bell.

The text was disappointing. Both of their shoulders slumped at the short life update. Mumbo was doing his best to talk to all the right people, but there had been no leads so far. Bureaucracy was slow and Mumbo needed to jump through hoops of it to get anything done. He was still in quarantine, too. Reliant on people in airtight suits to come to him.

Cub sighed, energy spent just from reading the text. Gem didn’t seem much inclined to pick up where they’d left off either. She vanished her sword into her inventory before addressing him. “Do you want to go to Grian’s and stare at the Rift for a bit?”

She said it as though they were going to watch TV instead of staying vigil in front of a powerful ancient portal that had swallowed up their friends. “Yeah sure.”

They packed up and left. The Rift didn’t even greet them as they descended. It continued to hum its eerie hum. The air vibrated with it. And no matter how often and how long Cub was down there, dipping down into the cave always felt like plunging into the ocean.

The air was clogged up with magic, thick and barely breathable. It was oddly warm for a place devoid of sunlight or central heating. And the imposing presence of the Rift always made Cub want to leave again as soon as he got there.

Cub was hard to intimidate, though. He’d been through shit. He wouldn’t be outdone by a measly portal. Gem wasn’t phased at all. She only glared at the pink glowing crack in the wall as she settled down on the bed and flipped a strand of her hair over her shoulder.

“We should get some more stuff in here.” Cub mused, joining her. He was glad no one else had decided to show up. “A campfire. Some bookcases.”

“An actual floor.” Gem added, smiling a sad smile. “You know I think I can finally understand how Pearl must have felt…”

Cub frowned in confusion. Pearl? “I think I need more context to understand.”

Gem worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to say.”

“I won’t tattle.”

Gem chuckled, holding her hand over her mouth to hide it. “Of course you wouldn’t. I’d murder you if you did.”

“My head would look pretty in your dungeon.” Cub jokenly mused.

She grinned at him. “It would look good on a spike.”

Xisuma had done the right thing, adding that little bit of magic flair to their world that would drop a replica doll head once a Player had been killed. They’d thought it a bit too gruesome at first. But Cleo had wanted the addition for their statue building. It made crafting different heads so much easier if they didn’t need to do everything from scratch. And everyone loved Cleo’s storytelling through armour stands too much to tell them no.

They had adopted to the change faster than expected. It didn’t hurt and it was nice to have a trophy for a kill. Especially because the magic didn’t distinguish between Player and Mob kills.

But they weren’t talking about Xisuma’s brilliant ability to tweak any world they landed on to their liking, no matter how ridiculous their demands were. Gem had a secret to spill.

When Cub didn’t continue their banter and only continued to smile at her she shook her head and scrunched up her face again. “I really don’t know… oh bugger. Fine. This all just reminds me of how Grian disappeared the first time around.”

“Oh?” Cub’s stomach churned. He didn’t like to think about what their little Allay had gone through before they had found him. Grian himself had kept tight lipped about his time between Evo and ending up in that dratted mansion. And he had never interacted enough with Pearl to hear her version of the events.

Gem nodded. “Hmhm. She said the Rift reminded her of the portals they’d went through. They didn’t take you through space but through time. They looked much more like normal portals than this one. But the shapes in it were the same. And there are a few symbols here that match the ones she’d seen on Evo.”

“Maybe we should tell Xisuma or Mumbo. If anyone could get access to the old mission case files-” There was a main database for that. Every admin was supposed to keep a captains log to make sure no one went rogue on a mission. The access to them was restricted, of course. But with their current predicament maybe they would be in luck.

But Gem made a negative noise. “I don’t think it will help. Pearl said that there are no records left. Everything got corrupted. Probably because the world’s magic was off. But she said the Void was, too. She said they always felt watched. But when they left for good they could have sworn that they could see shapes in the stars.”

“Did she say if the presence in their world was malevolent?” If so than Xisuma definitely had to know. The chance was high that they were dealing with something similar. Or even the same thing.

Gem only shook her head again. “Pearl didn’t think so. The presence felt more curious. It had rules and would do punishments, but never severe ones. And Pearl said it was more to make sure no one did anything to mess up the fragile magic of Evo. It was an unstable planet and the portals were all wacky. Pearl thinks that whatever was there wanted to make sure they were only going through the right ones at the right times.”

“Hm. Did they communicate with everyone?” Cub asked as calm as he could. There was some anger simmering underneath his skin and turning it greyish blue. Gem could have told him about this much earlier on. They could have had a lead!

But he understood the weight of a secret. Cub had only half joked about not tattling on anyone. The Hermits all had their histories and weird quirks. They needed to trust each other not to ask too many questions and to back off when a subject turned out to be too delicate of a matter. And if Gem had concluded that Pearl’s secret was more important to keep than to spill than Cub needed to trust her with her decision.

He didn’t want to make an enemy out of her just because he was feeling stressed and petty. She was the only one whose company he could tolerate at the moment. Aside from Mumbo’s, who was millions of blocks away.

“Pearl didn’t say…” Gem trailed off, looking over and grimacing. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I know it sounds like I withheld important information. I didn’t. I promise. I’ve been mulling this over in my head for ages-”

“It’s fine, Gem.” His voice had turned monotone. He had no energy left to force his usual cheer into it.

Gem was wise enough not to push the issue for two minutes before she cracked under the pressure and began to babble again. “I wish it was important. But we already knew that something was up with the Rift and the portal. And we knew that Grian had gone through a wacky endportal before. Pearl just gave me some more details. And she didn’t think it would matter. She wanted the things to be left alone. We still have the sculk to worry about-”

“There’s nothing to worry about the sculk?” Not in Cub’s opinion. It had been the only other thing they had been able to focus on during the absence of their friends. Aside from going stir crazy. And what they’ve found out so far was that while the sculk block stained a bit and the Warden was a pain in the ass, there was no real danger to the new blocks. On the contrary, the sculk catalyst was a perfect storage for leftover magic, soaking up the lingering bits of it that faded away after a kill.

“Pearl didn’t think so.”

Well Pearl wasn’t here and couldn’t stop them from experimenting. Cub bit his tongue not to say that out loud. They were all suffering here. There was no need to hurt each other. “I wonder if things would go through if we threw some into the Rift.” He derailed the conversation instead.

Xisuma would have lost his head if he had heard him. “Don’t antagonize the Rift!” He would have cried. Gem only grinned at him. “Let’s try it out!”

If they couldn’t get the Rift to give them their friends back, maybe they could annoy it enough to swallow them up, too.

Notes:

I'm away on the weekend so enjoy an early update :) This one is for anyone who misses Cub in this story as much as I do. Also Gem is great. As always.

Chapter 52

They accidently killed Tango’s and Jimmy’s son. Grian stared blankly at the spot where the Warden had landed after they had fished him up. It had puffed out of existence immediately after hitting the ground, leaving behind an odd, vase like block covered in sculk and sounding like a hollow bone block when tapped. His death had proven how dangerous of a weapon a fishing rod could be. Especially when multiple people used it on one target.

The past hours of fooling around made Grian feel a bit queasy now. That splat on the ground could have been him. Oh well, at least it had been fun.

Not so much for Tango. He was crushed – or at least pretended to be - kneeling on the ground and hugging the odd block to his chest. He wasn’t outright crying, but it was a close thing. Jimmy was crouched down behind him, wings carefully wrapped around his mate and making quiet chittering noises.

Jimmy looked very content doing that. Not upset at all. The canary glanced up to meet his gaze and gave him a cheeky smile. And ohhh Jimmy loved this. The chaos and open affection. Grian chimed at him, happy for his friend. Jimmy trilled back, unheard by his soulmate.

Speaking of soulmate, Grian should probably find out where his went. Most of the day was already done and dusted, so it might be a good time to get back together. As teammates. Doing death game stuff. Yes.

Wandering by Ren’s and Big B’s base made him pause. The cobblestone block had an angry face on it now. When had that happened? Again he wondered if the secret soulmate alliance was still up. He definitely needed to visit Big B sometime soon to get a confirmation.

Just not when he had no clue where Scar was. He didn’t want his soulmate to find out that he was cheating- Wait no. He wasn’t. He was making tactical relationships! If he could get Big B and Ren to do his dirty work than that could only benefit Scar and him.

Still the thought of Scar finding out about Big B made him squeamish. With how territorial and violent Scar had been acting as of late Grian wasn’t sure what kind of trigger would set him off for good. He didn’t want to be forcefully evicted from their Red Velvet Keep – a name he had workshopped during these sleepless nights where he was either too far away from Scar or being squished by him.

The sun was slowly crawling down and tainting everything with a golden hue when Grian made it to their base. Searching the whole thing as well as taking a bit longer to pet all the pandas and Jellie in the panda reserve. There was no sign of Scar, which made Grian’s stomach drop. That was not good. And a terrible thought crossed his mind, a flash of a dark cave with glittering stars inside. Oh, what was his idiot of a Vex doing now?

~~~

Scar was getting tired of mining. Usually it was what he did to relax. When his body felt stiff and all the edges felt wrong. When the Vex in his head wouldn’t stop their chatter, craving blood and violence and a dominant voice to obey, mining was his way out.

But while Scar had become more and more frustrated about his Vex aspects as the murder game went on, he hadn’t reached the point where he felt the urge to hide underground. Especially because Scar finding enough diamonds for a full set of armour would lead to Grian having to go back to the Deep Dark.

Grian hated the Deep Dark. Sure he puffed himself up and put on a brave face, but Scar hadn’t spent most of the first weeks after Grian fell into his world memorizing the Allay’s body language for nothing! He could tell when his little mate was scared or uncomfortable. He could tell between the tremble of nerves in his fragile wings and the shiver of excitement.

And Grian had visibly paled when he’d talked about the enchanter. Scar hated that Grian felt the need to play provider for the two of them. Scar liked to play light, loose and fast. He never took anything seriously. But Grian seemed to be the exact opposite.

He played to win. While Scar played for fun. And that was hard to balance out. They were missing Cub, who had both traits in equal measure and would have been the perfect link between the two. Void how he just wanted to get even a scrap of Cub. A text. A touch. Just a glimpse! He missed him so much that it hurt.

Scar might have been bound to Grian by some unfathomable force. But he had been tied to Cub first. And their bond ached. Not in a strained, close-to-snapping way, thank the Void. But they were both left adrift without each other and were feeding that lostness and longing into their bond.

Scar hoped that Grian didn’t feel that kind of pain. That it was too metaphysical. Scar let out a dry chuckle at that. So little had changed. After everything Grian had shown himself to be, brave and stubborn and a menace. Scar had never lost that urge to bundle him up and keep him somewhere safe.

Grian would have squawked at him in outrage if Scar ever tried such a thing. He could count on a lot of struggling, biting, cussing of the most imaginative kind and probably some hostile magic if he ever did...

Without his permission, his body had started to dig up while his mind was busy amusing itself with visions of a cute, angry Ally. He emerged somewhere close to his and Grian’s base and immediately got blinded by the sun. Hissing, he brought his arm up to shield his eyes from further damage. That was one way to get him out of his head, he supposed. And he’d had such a nice daydream, too.

A quick poke around told him that the base was devoid of life. The panda reserve not so much, but it didn’t hold the precious one he wanted to share the rest of the day with. Jellie still got a good cuddle session and a snack, because she was a good girl and Scar needed a hug.

Burying his face in her fur and listening to her purr, Scar thought about the enchanter again. He could just steal it. Grian wasn’t here to stop him. It was stupid that they had left it down there in the first place. Scar understood that they wanted to create some yellow and red names so the true fun could begin. But Grian shouldn’t have to struggle through his trauma for the benefit of others!

Grian’s angry face popped into his head once more. Those cute, puffed up cheeks and those terrifying sharp, black eyes glimming with malevolent magic. Maybe… Maybe he wouldn’t go alone. Grian couldn’t be too angry at him if Scar made sure to keep himself safe!

Yes! That was a good plan. And he knew exactly whom to ask for this extraordinary adventure! His route to Bdubs naturally took him along the river and to where the Warden currently spent his water holiday.

He heard Grian before he saw him. His shrieking laughter was so loud not even the excited shouts of the others could drown it out. It made Scar’s heart flutter and the Vex in him purr. The sight was less pleasing. On the contrary it made him want to get his wings out and try to glide over there. He was on the wrong side to stop his stupid soulmate from what he was doing. And Scar knew he would just end up floating five feet away from the Warden if he tried to use his useless, good for nothing wings like that.

Grian let out a loud “Whoop!” when he landed from his fishing rod adventure. His joyous sound was followed by a round of cheers and Joel’s excited “Me next! Me next!”

The- the… the nerve! And Grian accused him of playing with their lifes! Well if this wasn’t a double all clear for him to go down to the Deep Dark! Really. If Scar hadn’t stood on the wrong end of the ravine he would have dragged his little Allay back to their base and shown him-

No. No dirty brain, he wasn’t going there. Focus on finding Bdubs. Focus on finding Bdubs, yes. It was hard to tear his eyes away from Grian. Despite the distance making seeing details hard, he still loved watching him. And while it was a stupid thought, Scar was also scared that if he looked away something might happen. If they died had they even sat their spawns close to each other?

Scar shook his head. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t die. They wouldn’t! Stomping off to get his mission over with, Scar vowed that he would make sure to be the last green in the game together with Grian. They would show everyone how well they worked together! Maybe then he would finally be able to proof it to himself.

At least his walk was a short one and Bdubs was alone and happy to see him. A thing they’d had in common. Not that Scar liked to see himself. He was very much at odds with himself at the moment. But he was glad to see his short, moss covered friend.

The two of them had bonded early over their shared interest in art and later had joined together every now and then to create some chaos together. Their reunion was made sweeter by the fact that Bdubs had tried to kill Big B during Tango’s Warden shenanigans.

Yes, he had missed his shot, but it had been enough to startle Big B into stumbling into a Creeper. Ugh, Big B. Scar felt the urge to claw at his own skin just thinking about the Allay.

He mirrored Bdubs’ wave instead and forced on a cheerful smile. “Hello Bdubs! How’s everything going? You and Impulse still good?”

Scar saw Bdub’s eyes widen a fraction and knew his appearance had slipped again. He quickly stomped on his Vex instincts and forced the blue from his skin. He had been switching so much between Player and Vex aspect since they’d arrived in this new world. It was laughable how little self control he suddenly had. It was as though he had been freshly turned again. But he couldn’t help it. He was so stressed and with the new bond with Grian there was so much to supress. He just wanted to look like a Player, damn it! Not the dratted wreck the pillagers left behind.

Bdubs visibly relaxed once Scar was more himself again. “Everything’s good! Wonderful even! We’re getting ready for a pool party! It’s just taking longer than we thought to get everything set up, because-” He paused and gazed off into the distance with a blank look, before blinking and grinning up at Scar. He had lost a tooth, apparently. Ouchie. Nothing Xisuma or Doc couldn’t fix once they were back, though. “Anyway what have you been up to?”

“Oh you know…” Scar shrugged and circled Bdubs to be able to throw an arm around his shoulder to gently guide him away from whatever he had been doing. “Been here and there. Thought about visiting Tango to see how he’s been doing.”

Bdubs was the perfect height to use as a crutch. Scar loved to lean on him whenever he could and Bdubs was in a good enough mood not to throw a tantrum about it. The downside of being so close to him was that Bdubs tended to shout. And he shouted his next question directly into Scar’s sensitive ear. “You reconciled with Tango?!”

Scar cringed away from him, but kept his arm where it was. “Of course!”

“How?!” This question was delivered to him even louder. Void, had Bdubs been taking lessons from the Warden?

“The same way I reconcile with everyone, of course! Flattery, bribery and words!”

Bdubs nodded, his big eyes even bigger now, but from wonder not fear. “You are very good at words. But Scar, he tried to kill you!”

Scar did a mental check of the timeline and came back befuddled. He couldn’t remember an attempt on his life. “Me? When?”

“When?” Bdubs acted as though Scar had lost all his marbles. Which wasn’t true! He’d only lost half at the very most! “Scar. That Warden was for you!”

Now that was rude. Especially because that Warden had hurt Grian. Oh for- so much for keeping his Vex aspect in check. “Why would he do such a thing?”

Bdubs slipped out from underneath Scar’s arm to step in front of him with crossed arms. “Scar. You burned their ranch to the ground.”

“Well-” Scar floundered, torn between keeping up with the conversation and his body’s changes. He was getting a bit out of hand. Melting under the pressure. Thankfully his mouth could run without him. “It was an eyesore. I was doing them a favour! And really if anything they started it with their petty horse thievery.”

He pushed Bdubs along. If they kept standing there and discussing past grievances they wouldn’t get to where Scar wanted them to be on time. He only knew of the entrance close to Grian’s and his base to get to the Deep Dark. And if they didn’t hurry up Grian would get back home before they could slip into the dark underground.

And if that happened- Scar would scream. And cry. He needed something to go his way for once.

Bdubs wasn’t getting the memo. He let himself be manhandled sure, but his pace was agonizingly slow. “I do think arson is a bit worse than horse theft.”

Scar gasped. Arson worse than horse theft? What was he hearing? And from Bdubs of all people. Who loved horses about as much as his clocks. “I must disagree! Arson- It’s constructive destruction! Life grows from the ashes, Bdubs. I burned down that horrible first attempt at a ranch and now look at their house. You can’t say the thing before that was better. And horses, as you know, are loyal companions. Taking one from its owner is a cruel crime-”

He continued to defend his cause. Once he had gained steam he felt the words flowing from his mouth with ease. It brought him joy to ramble. He may fumble every now and then, but the amount and speed of his speech was what steamrolled over the other Player’s and made them bend to his whims most and foremost. The quality of his speech was merely an afterthought.

Bdubs nodded along and made agreeable noises until the stream of words trickled into silence. “Right. So what are we doing, actually?”

Honestly, Scar would have preferred Bdubs not to ask. Surprising him would have been so much funnier. “Oh, we’re going on an adventure!”

“I love adventures!” Bdubs gasped, his grin wide and childlike. “Especially with you! Your adventures are always so safe and fun! Where are we going?”

Scar flashed him a grin of his own. “To the Deep Dark to steal the enchanter.”

Notes:

I'm back with another chapter~ The new posting schedule is doing wonders for me. I'm so much more relaxed now.

Also: The new Permit Office lore! I'm so hyped about Cub joining the fray. I've already been itching to write a Permit Office AU with Eldritch (now maybe Vex?) upper upper management and secret identity shenanigans and deep sea horror and- I need to sit on that a bit more (and finish my two ongoing fics first) before I can actually start writing anything tangible. But the world the Hermits are creating this season makes for such an intriguing background for cool stories. And I can't wait to start playing in that particular sandbox, inserting my own storylines without following canon events for once.
Anyway Cub, Cub, Cub!!!

Btw. Grian is streaming tonight. I can't wait for that as well.

Chapter 53

It had been a very good decision to bring Bdubs along. Scar was barely phased by all the creepy crawly going on in the Deep Dark. He hadn’t seen much of it in the first place, back when he’d still been with the other Hermits. And the second time exposure wasn’t much more spectacular. So it was a dark, swampy place with scary sound effects. There were tons of those out there! Scar had even created some of them.

The basement of a woodland mansion was more terrifying in his humble opinion. The only thing to worry about in this pulsing, void like hole was the Warden. And it was a shit guard dog, because they’d been traipsing around and following the wool paths for quite some time now without it showing up.

“Scar!” Bdubs hissed, trying and failing to be quiet. “Would you stop humming! You’re going to kill us!”

And that was where Bdubs came in. His short friend was more easily spooked and thus felt the need to remind Scar of how much danger they were actually in. He had already proven himself to be the brain of the operation when he’d suggested marking down the exit for an easy escape.

That he was constantly telling Scar to keep quiet was getting a bit annoying, but Scar saw the value in Bdub’s advise. “It’s just a bit of a jolly tune! This place could use some cheering up, don’t you think? What could possibly-”

A scream tore through the cave, its source only a few blocks away. They both looked at the shrieker, hearts momentarily forgetting how to beat. Then they both turned to look at each other again, Bdubs giving him the stink eye. “Strike one.”

Scar gave him a wobbly smile that had lost all its confidence. “Still two more to go.”

“Why did I agree to come with you again?” Bdubs groaned. He really, really tried to keep his own voice down. But he was naturally loud and thus the shrieker went off a second time.

They snuck past it and some feet away before Scar deemed it safe enough to speak again. “Because my adventures are always a-may-zing!”

Bdubs grumbled at that, but didn’t object. He was getting ever more twitchy the longer they stayed down there, so it was a good thing that they found the enchanter soon after. It was at the very back, covered in wool on all sides. It was a wild fire waiting to happen, with torches stuck in the walls of the very flammable material. Scar resisted the urge to tip one of the torches over and set everything ablaze. They’d tested the Warden’s water resistance. How about some fire next?

Scar brought out his pickaxe instead and mined the enchanter. As soon as it broke and popped into his hand the world around them shifted and twisted. A horrid ripping sound filled the air. And apparently the wool wasn’t enough to shield from that kind of supernatural noise. Another scream tried and failed to burst their eardrums and darkness flowed into their field of vision.

They tensed up, Bdubs whimpering at his side. When several minutes ticked past without the sounds of a Warden heaving itself out of the ground, Scar blew a raspberry in the general direction of the shrieker.

“Scar!” One could have thought someone had insulted Bdubs’ mother with how scandalized he sounded.

“The security in this place sucks.” Scar replied, as though that could explain his actions. “Let’s get out of here.”

They had made it barely a few steps outside when the Warden appeared close by. And while Scar still thought its reaction time was shit, its presence was much more terrifying than the empty ruined city.

Knowing a threat was there and not being able to see it was even worse. Standing still and waiting for it to disappear was not an option, though. They needed to move and fast. Just not fast enough to make a noise. And hopefully away and not towards it.

Bdub’s idea to mark the exit really came in clutch. And they were on their way back over the bridge they’d created when Scar saw something much worse than the Warden: Grian.

His soulmate was standing on another bridge running parallel to the one Bdubs and him were standing on, looking very displeased. Scar waved at him and urged Bdubs to go faster. It wasn’t enough. Somehow his mate was able to teleport to them no problem. Grian caught up with them in the tunnel back to the surface.

And he was seething. “Scar! What did I tell you?!”

Oh dear he was mad enough that his chimes came out distorted. “To gear up?” Scar didn’t dare turn to face his angry mate. Even though his back prickled with the might of Grian’s glare. “Don’t worry! I had Bdubs with me! I was being very safe!”

Bdubs made an affronted noise, probably because Grian still looked less than pleased. “Yeah! I’m a good babysitter!”

Scar decided not to object to the sentence even if he very much was not a baby. “See?”

A sigh came from behind him and when Grian spoke next his voice was tight. “Scar, look at me.”

A whimper crawled up his throat and was quickly swallowed back down as Scar turned, giving his mate another sheepish wave. Grian had his arms crossed and wings spread. Purple pulsed through the tiny, intricate veins in them. They also looked bigger somehow. Stretched with extra light and blurry at the edges.

“I haven’t seen the message in chat that you enchanted something. So what did you do down here?”

“Well you see-” Scar chuckled nervously, slowly beginning to regret his actions. He had calculated the risks of this venture but boy was he bad at math it seemed. Why was Cub not here? He had all the common sense! “I thought… uhm… you didn’t like going down here to enchant your stuff. And no one else did either! And we can’t craft any new ones. And we’ve been trying to get a monopoly for ages now-”

“You’re rambling.” Grian cut him off, tone flat.

Scar ignored him and pulled out the enchanter, small yet heavy in his hand. “So I stole the enchanter for us!”

He got a blank look for his trouble. It was enough to make even Bdubs shift nervously behind him. Grian’s face had shifted into something unreadable. Black, beady eyes glazed over. A short shock of a shiver ran through his mate’s body. And then Grian was with them again, zapped off all energy.

“You stole the enchanter.” Grian parroted back at them to taste the words, their new reality on his tongue. “Why would you- That thing was down there for a reason-”

“To make more reds, I know.” Scar was quick to babble over him, hating the way Grian sounded. “But this is so much better, no? We can blackmail people with this-”

“Ahem.” Bdubs tried to object, but was swiftly ignored.

“You painted a target on our back-” Grian spit.

“I feel like my parents are fighting.” Bdubs mumbled. And it was telling that he was truly whispering now, when he hadn’t been able to before when their lifes had depended on it.

“You have it then.” Scar took a step forward and held the enchanter out to him. “You can have it for us and keep it safe-”

His attempt to sooth ruffled feathers had backfired spectacularly. His words crashed into Grian like lightning and he stumbled back, eyes wide and fearful. Scar froze up not only at the sight but at the sudden, sharp pain in his chest.

Before he could ask what was wrong Grian was already shaking his head. “No. No you keep it. Make sure it’s safe and no one hears of this.”

“Ahem.”

They both looked at Bdubs, who stared back at them with his big eyes and meek little smile. “My lips are sealed. If I can use the enchanter sometime?”

Grian looked like he wanted to scream. Scar felt about the same.

~~~

He shouldn’t have looked for Scar. Grian thought, not for the first time that day. He should have stayed at their base and petted Jellie some more. He could have lived in blissful ignorance.

You may slay me and take the enchanter.

His breath hitched. That hadn’t been his Scar. His Scar hadn’t said it like that. But it had been so close-

Grian had panicked and then he’d been furious. That bloody enchanter. And bloody Scar, who always, without fail, got attached to the damn thing, dragging chaos and tragedy to their doorstep. Naturally things went to shit after that. And Grian… he hadn’t really been there for most of it. Every scene had skipped past him as though he’d entered a particularly laggy game. While his brain was computing one moment, his life had already skipped over to the next three.

He’d left feeling disorientated and had ended up meeting Big B outside of Bdubs’ and Impulse's house. He’d gifted his secret soulmate with some beautiful red blocks of TNT. At least one relationship saved.

And then Scar had appeared out of nowhere and had started asking questions, acting like he had any reason to be mad or judgemental. And Grian hadn’t wanted to snap at him, but he had still been so scared.

The dreams he’d had when he’d slept next to the Rift had shown him other realities. As much as sand had always connected him, the enchanter had always been their undoing-

I can talk to other people, Scar!

He didn’t want to live through that.

So he’d snapped and… and Scar hadn’t taken it well. But that didn’t matter because Grian had messed up even more after that.

They had just wanted to chat a bit with Impulse and Bdubs. Grian had wanted to inquire about the pool party and the two were a good buffer between him and Scar after the short spat. Then Scott had shown up and then Pearl.

Pearl was… Grian, deep in his own slightly manic episode, hadn’t known whether she was enjoying herself or falling apart at the seams. But as always he was right beside her. She brought out the worst in him when she was being like that. Just like she was bringing out the best in him, when she left him inspired.

To his credit, the fishing rod game had been fun before. No one had been hurt but the Warden. And the distraction was welcome. He was showing Scar that he could interact with people. Only that ended up killing Joel and Etho. Their neighbours! And they were red now!

Showing everyone how much they meant business by killing Pearl and thus Scott on the spot, too. Scar and him had fled then. Scar’s angry words still bouncing around his head. But the shock had been enough to slam him back into his body and line it up with real time once more. Which was continuing with its stomach churning pace towards Grian’s doom.

Joel and Etho had visited them and threatened the pandas to get to the enchanter. Because of course that’s what they would be looking for from them. At least blaming Pearl for their deaths had seemed to work. Scar had managed to coax them away with a business deal for the time being. And they had used that to pillar up from their base.

Grian blinked back into awareness placing dirt blocks and attaching spikes to them. Scar was at his back, still mumbling child friendly curses. He felt awful. But now was not the right time for a heart to heart.

A horn blew from down bellow and was quickly answered by another. “Oh bloody- What now?!”

It was all happening too quickly for his poor braincell to catch up. He just wanted things to slow down again. To curl up somewhere and cry his little heart out. Grian slipped on the dirt in his haste to see who was bothering them now. Still too disorientated and light headed to make sense of where he was and how to move his body without hurting himself.

A sharp claw saved him from falling and pulled him back down onto the wooden platform. It nicked the skin of his lower back a bit, the sting deserved. Scar didn’t acknowledge him otherwise. He peered down at the two blonde dots below and yelled.

“What?”

Grian joined him, mindful of the stalactites he’d attached above as he looked down at the two blondes. Great. Just what he had needed. Jimmy and Tango. They were so far down that it was hard to understand them.

Jimmy was yelling something, that was for sure. “-ter!”

It didn’t sound hostile. But with everything falling apart around them, Grian couldn’t be sure. Speaking to Scar directly made his anxiety spike even more, but they needed to communicate in this. “Should we hack down the spikes?”

“Nah. We can’t afford to make more enemies.”

Ouch, that hurt. “True. What should we do?”

“Let them up.” Scar stated, far too calm for the situation they were in.

“What?!” Further protests shrivelled up and died on his tongue as Scar looked over to him. He wasn’t even glaring. Wasn’t even in his full Vex aspect. And yet Grian felt himself shrinking away from him the tiniest amount.

For once Scar didn’t react to his fear. A testament to the fury bubbling underneath the Vexes skin. “They just want to enchant some stuff. I’ll let them up. Then we’ll have some company.”

Grian didn’t want more company. They were on shaky ground with both Jimmy and Tango. What if they backstabbed Scar and threw him over the edge of the platform? But Grian didn’t want to argue with Scar. And so he watched as his teammate put down some water to let the Ranchers up.

Jimmy was the first to claw himself out of the waterfall and shook out his wings, slapping Tango in the face, who had come up right after him. Jimmy took one look at Grian, ignored his own soulmate's screeches as Tango tried to not fall out of the waterflow, and glued himself to the side of his best friend.

“What’s up?” The wet wing that came around Grian’s shoulders was less comfortable than Jimmy probably thought.

But the added weight was nice. As was the cooling effect the water had on his overheating body. Turns out running around like a maniac could make you sweat even with the sun slowly going down.

“We are!” Scar announced proudly, taken the burden of speech from Grian. Which probably made Jimmy worry even more.

Tango only shot them a questioning look, but decided not to get involved. “Soooo Scar, buddy. Can we enchant some stuff?”

“Of course! Of course! Here you go!” Scar placed down the enchanter with a sweeping gesture.

The wing around him lifted of as Jimmy left him for the enchanter. He plucked at his wet sweater with a grimace. It was sticking uncomfortably to his skin and without a warm body at his side it was actually starting to get a bit too cold. Catching his death through possible sickness turned out to be the least of his problems, though. The platform gave them a great view of the surrounding area. And Grian saw a group of Players at the Relationship gather together and then run towards their base.

“Uh oh. Uhm fellas? I think we’re going to be under attack soon.”

Tango and Jimmy stopped their enchanting to look to where Grian was pointing. Jimmy’s feathers puffed up as he let out a worried warble. Tango only groaned. “What? Why?”

“Do you think we’ll have time to get down before-”

Jimmy didn’t even get to finish that hopeful thought. A flaming arrow cut him off. It didn’t get up far enough to hit any of them. But the loud thunk was an unmistakable sign of war.

Scar was cackling, bloodlust shining in his eyes. “Nope! You’re stuck with us now boys!”

Well that was one way to make allies, Grian mused. And that was his last coherent thought before chaos broke out.

Notes:

I'm going to be away for the weekend celebrating my birthday with family, so ya'll are getting an early update. :D

Chapter 54

“Did you make the pillar leading up to your platform out of wood?!”

Tango’s panicked screeching made Scar let out a loud bellow of a laugh. “You saw it when you swam up!”

Tango shouldn’t have wasted his breath with that question. The smoldering planks underneath their feet should have been a dead giveaway. Soon enough there would be smoke and then fire and either they suffocated first or got burned alive. Finally some action.

His only regret was that he hadn’t crafted any arrows before building up. A huge oversight on his part. They were sitting ducks up here. The only weapons they had were the spikes and water. And those didn’t do much.

“Scar? I think they are setting the pandas on fire.” Grian warned him.

His soulmate was standing up on the narrow dirt platform, trying to hit their assailants with stalactites. It was hard to gage whether he was having fun or not. He was a beautiful mess. Sweaty, with wild hair and pink glowing eyes, wings spread wide, larger than normal, with streaks of blurred light doubling their size. They almost looked like feathers from where Scar was standing.

Grian looked like an angel of war, bend over the edge of the platform, ready to strike. And when he gazed at Scar with this intense look in his eyes all Scar wanted to do was kneel down and submit to his every will.

Grian’s words stopped him from doing so. Instead Scar raced over to the nearest edge to have a look for himself. And sure enough, Joel and Etho were down there with flint and steel, setting the panicked animals on fire.

Jellie was down there! “Oh no they are not!”

They wouldn’t hurt her. Scar knew that. But the threat was still there. And Scar wouldn’t have any of it. That sanctuary held the best memories with Grian he had on this world. They would not destroy their refuge!

“Wha- Scar what are you doing?!” Jimmy exclaimed loudly, stopping in his attempt to kill the spreading fire with water.

Grian and Tango turned to look and Scar knew he needed to act fast now. He jumped onto the nearest dirt block, whipped out his water bucket and threw his perplexed group of friends a feral grin. “I’m going down there and giving them a stern talking to!”

“Scar no!”

He felt the ghost of Grian’s fingers on his back, trying to grasp the shirt. But by that point it was already too late, Scar was falling and screaming. It wasn’t a scream of terror. It was a war cry. Loud enough to make the people at the bottom freeze and look up.

His reflexes hadn’t been good ever since he had been turned. The Pillagers had made sure to ruin his body in ways that made a lot of things he’d once done effortlessly almost impossible. His joints were stiff most of the time. And when they weren’t the phantom pain left behind by the tranformation distracted him too much from moving efficiently.

It was by pure determination that he splashed the water down right before he landed with a splash. That he hadn’t broken all his bones and poofed out of existence left him reeling for but a second. He had already been high on bloodlust and now the euphoria of having done something his body shouldn’t have been able to do coursed through him as well.

Cheers came from above and Grian’s proud yells made Scar puff out his chest and raise to his full height. He was woefully unprepared for a fight against four people at once. But he would make sure to rip into them with all he got.

The grin he bestowed upon his enemies was a gruesome warning. His wings spread wide casting a grotesque shadow on the ground before him. “I’d advise you to stop hurting the pandas now.”

He hadn’t used any of his magic for the suggestion and he didn’t need to. Joel, Etho, Cleo and Scott were so perplexed by his display of competence that they just… nodded.

It was so anti-climatic that Scar could only watch them run. He knew the fight wasn’t over. Already arrows were flying upwards once more to catch the people up top. And if Scar stayed he’d become a target again soon. So he scooped up Jellie to get her out of the line of fire. It was only after their base was way behind him that the panic set in.

He’d left his soulmate to die.

~~~

Scar was an absolute madlad. Grian couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. An MLG waterbucket clutch. From his fumbling fool of a soulmate? He was so proud! Unfortunately there wasn’t much time to celebrate and his mood quickly shifted back into panic mode as Jimmy and Tango poofed only minutes after Scar’s miraculous descent.

He was alone and surrounded by enemies. And if he didn’t get out soon Scar’s display of competence would have been for naught. Grian couldn’t let that happen. He was already responsible for everything escalating. He couldn’t also be responsible for turning them yellow.

Not now. Grian pleaded with whatever gods existed in the Void as he desperately tried to fight the flames licking up the sides of his narrow platform, lungs burning from the inhaled smoke. Please let me survive just a bit longer.

He gritted his teeth as frustrated tears mixed with those that had already gathered in his eyes from the fumes. He was fighting a losing battle. He needed to get down, too! His flight instinct took over as an arrow almost hit him in the shoulder. They were so close now, pillaring up to get to him because smoking him out was taking too long.

Getting shot would have been preferable to suffocating or burning alive. But if Grian could have it, he’d rather chose to avoid death. He took the few blocks that he had and made a precarious bridge off to the side. All he needed to do was jump into the water of the river somewhere down below and he would be fine. It was an awkward angle, but if he made it he could duck under and escape undetected.

Yells and cheers came from below as a rain of flaming arrows tried to push him from the bridge too early. Grian curled into himself and brought up a shield to protect himself from most of the damage. His breath came out in quick pants, adrenalin so high that he didn’t even register the pain of an arrow lodging into his leg.

He wasn’t in any position to jump yet. He was too far away from the river. But Grian couldn’t think of that. And his body didn’t care. He launched himself off the bridge and… and didn’t fall. Just like that night when Mumbo took half of his soul, his fragile fairy wings took him to safety.

He glided down towards the water, getting close enough to dip his hand in and shudder at the cold. Then he lifted off again and sped up. His assailants were screaming behind him, baffled and excited. He could barely hear them over his own manical laughter and cheering. He only heard Joel’s exasperated “That’s blimmin’ cheating!”, because he was that loud.

It didn’t matter whether he had broken the rules of the game or not. Grian had made it! He was free!

Now where to go? They had let him go, but he doubted that they would stop hunting him for long. He needed to find somewhere relatively safe. And he needed to find Scar. Why didn’t their soulbond come with integrated GPS?

The pain of the arrow stuck in his leg slowly started to register as well. Scar was eating, but it didn’t do much with the tip still embedded in his flesh. He landed painfully under a tree to pull the arrow out with a wince. The small opening knitted itself back together under his watchful eye and soon there was nothing left of the wound but a dull phantom throbbing and the picture of blood in his mind.

He took a moment to get some fresh air into his abused lungs and listened to his surroundings. It was starting to turn into night. There was only a sliver of red on the horizon. And instead of hostile Players he now had to worry about hostile Mobs.

Standing and shaking out his strained wings he really caught a glimpse of them for the first time. They were… they were so pretty. Blue turning into pink then purple. He could see where his allay wings ended and his extensions began.

He tried to comb his fingers through the feather like appendages, but they went right through, tingling as they touched the illusions of light. And while he couldn’t touch them he could feel them being touched.

They moved different, too. Grian was used to fluttering around, using his wings like a bug. But now he had extra joints even if they weren’t flesh and blood and bone. So they worked more like bird wings. That he even knew how to navigate them like this was only because he had flown with elytra before. But these were smoother. And they belonged to him. No taking them off or having to repair them when they broke. He was essentially a bird now.

A pesky bird. He thought, wanting to croon like one, but not daring to make a sound. He liked this change. He liked this change a lot.

Still he needed to get moving. Grian flapped his wings, euphoria shooting through his body at the sound. At being able to do that. The action so foreign, but feeling so right. He thought he’d tasted freedom when he’d used an elytra for the first time. And yet he’d only gotten a mere taste of it back then.

He flapped his wings again, taking off – without a rocket! He didn’t need to fly long before something glowing blue caught his eye. His stomach churned with dread and he dropped to the ground beside it. With his feet hitting dirt the dreadful feeling only grew, chasing away whatever bits of joy he’d felt beforehand. His heart was still beating far too fast in his chest. And the threat of a moment’s quiet made him weary and anxious.

He focused on the confused little Allay Scar had given an apple at the start of their game. Jealousy sparked to life only briefly at the sight of it. Scar had left it to wander eventually, losing interest in it as fast as he had in Grian.
It had ventured to the very edge of their designated play area in search of his caregiver. And it was about to fly off into the zone they couldn’t go to. So Grian chimed softly at it, catching its attention.

The small fairy let out a higher chime and flew closer, greeting him with a twirl and the sound of bells. Grian tucked his expansions back in so he looked more like an Allay again and did his own short version of a greeting, his chimes a bit deeper and still slightly distorted from the leftover panic.

The Allay didn’t seem to mind. Despite Grian never having given it anything, it flew into his personal space to hover over his shoulder and nuzzle into his neck. Grian carefully stroked its head and trilled at it. The poor little guy had gotten turned around so much. One more Allay Scar didn’t know how to take care of.

“It’s okay.” Grian croaked. Had the smoke ruined his voice? Why was his throat so tight? “Guess I’m staying here for a bit, huh little buddy?” He spoke to it as he moved to dig himself a shelter.

The Allay floated off to give him space to work, chittering as if agreeing. Grian grinned at it, albeit wobbly. He only stopped his work to shoot Scar a private message and his coords. He wanted to have something semi decent ready for when his soulmate came back to him. It wasn’t enough to show how truly sorry he was for it all. But hopefully it would be a start.

As the minutes ticked by the true weight of his actions of the day fully crashed down on him. The silence made his mind scream. He’d been such an idiot! He’d ruined everything. All the alliances they’d possibly had, gone in a flash of stupidity. And he’d accused Scar of sabotage.

They’d all turned against him because of his mistake. Only Tango and Jimmy had been by Grian’s and Scar’s side. But they’d had no other choice. Grian shuddered at the memories that flashed before his eyes and rang in his ears as he worked. Pearl’s unhinged laughter. The screams and shouts of shock when Joel and Etho died. Scar’s angry voice-

“Grian? Are you here somewhere? Did you- you didn’t turn into a real Allay, did you? Grian?!”

Sniffling Grian choked on a wet laugh. “Here!” His voice broke a bit. He hadn’t noticed that he had started to cry. “Down h-here!”

“Grian?” Scar slid down the hole. Grian heard him land with a stumble, but didn’t dare turn from the chests he’d placed down. “G- what- Is everything okay, bud?”

Grian stood but couldn’t bring himself to turn around. He shook his head, shoulders shaking and unable to trust his voice. He didn’t need to move, though. Two thick, sturdy arms wrapped around him from behind and soon enough he was pressed into Scar’s warm body.

“Hey there. It’s okay. I’m here. We’re okay. Do you need to call a break?”

Scar’s voice was so close to his ear. So close that it was almost in his head. And Grian was very close to begging Scar to just use his Vex magic to go deeper. To loosen the knots and confusion in Grian’s soul. To free him of thoughts and agency.

He’d tasted ultimate freedom mere moments before. And all it took for him to want to throw it away were a few minutes of calm and Scar’s voice offering salvation from the storm inside his head.

Grian turned in Scar’s embrace, not liking how his wings were getting squished. This way he was able to cushion his head on Scar’s chest, too.

He shook his head and clutched onto his soulmate, letting the emotions of the day wash over him. “’m sorry.”

A clawed hand came up to scratch at his scalp. “Whatever for?”

“Ruined it all.” Grian answered, tone flat because he had no energy to put any life into it.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Scar huffed, sounding… cheerful? “I’d say you kickstarted the fun!”

Fun… Scar had looked like he was enjoying himself. And… Well there had been a lot of screaming. But there’d also been a lot of laughter.

“Did you have fun?” Scar’s question gently coaxed Grian out of his own head.

Did he? It had been terrifying. And he was clinging to Scar at the moment, crying. It had all been a bit too much too fast. What with the enchanter and past possible realities, maybe just dreams clinging to him and making him fearful. The guilt had eaten him up from the inside. All those small mistakes piling up until the scales tipped over. And here they were now, without a base and without allies.

The fighting, though? The scheming and panic and hastily made truce. The flying? That had been awesome. “I did.”

The hand that had tussled his hair and scratched at its roots trailed down to rub Grian’s back, careful to slip underneath fragile wings at first in order not to disturb them. “Really?”

“Hm.”

“And you’re crying, because?” Scar prompted when Grian didn’t elaborate further. He sounded cautious and curious.

Grian had to think about that one. He still felt off kilter. “Just a crash, I think?”

“Ohhh like a subdrop?”

The word was so unexpected in their current situation that it took Grian a hot minute to realize what had been said. When it finally clicked he let out a staticy screech and dislodged himself from his soulmate to wave his hands at him in a flustered manner. “Scar! We are not talking about that right now!”

Scar stared at him, amused. He crossed his arms, folding them over and under each other in an attempt to get them into a comfortable position. As though they were still trying to accommodate Grian’s body and didn’t know what to do with all the empty space.

“Why not? It’s a bit like it, no? You had a high and now you have a drop. And you get all-” Scar untangled his arms again to draw circles into the air with one of his hands. “Emotion-ey.”

“Right.” Grian said, not wanting to go down that path of the conversation any further. “It was cool, though.” He admitted, dragging his gaze to the floor.

“What was?”

“Your water bucket clutch.”

Scar perked up at that and threw a beaming smile at Grian. “You saw that?! It was so cool, right? See! I can be competent!”

Grian nodded. “It was very cool. But… uh, did you have a plan for when you got down? Just out of curiousity.”

“Nope!” Scar popped the p and had no reason to sound so proud. “I didn’t even think I would make it down there in one piece. But no one else did either! They were all so shocked that they just, let me go do my thing.”

Then why did you jump in the first place?! Grian screamed internally, but held it inside. He couldn’t chastice his soulmate. He couldn’t. Not after turning nearly all of their friends against them.

“Right.” Was the only response he felt qualified enough to give. “Okay. Well… it worked out. I guess.”

“Very well! We’re the only green ones left!”

“Wait what?!” Grian quickly got out his communicator, checking over all the names. Everyone else was either yellow or red. “How?! When did Impulse and Bdubs die?”

“I don’t know! I think sometime around when everyone was trying to climb our pillar.” Scar was bouncing in place, grin so wide that Grian’s cheeks were starting to hurt.

“That’s amazing! Scar! I don’t know how we did it! But- oh gosh everyone will be after us now, oh no.”

“I guess no more secret soulmates then-” Scar’s jaw snapped shut with an audible click.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing! Nothing- I…” Scar trailed off looking to the side and frowning.

Grian should let it slide. Not poke the sleeping Vex. If Scar knew about Big B than that was bad enough. But they didn’t need to talk about it. They didn’t need to talk about it, if Grian just let Scar’s little slip of the tongue slide.

“You said something about a secret soulmate.” Oh for fucks sake.

Scar grimaced. “So?”

“How did you-”

He was interrupted by a hollow laugh. “You’re not very subtle, G.”

That- that wasn’t true! Grian had been so careful! “Well.” He huffed, biting back the defensive words he wanted to say. “I have to disappoint you. Big B said secret soulmates is still on.”

“Not so secret anymore.” Scar rumbled, voice so low it was close to dissolving.

Grian shifted nervously. He didn’t like it when Scar got truly angry. Especially when that anger was directed at him. “Maybe.”

“And you’re not soulmates either.” Scar spat, looking up at Grian, teeth bared and eyes glinting. “I am.”

“Jeez Scar calm your tits.” Grian snapped back, stomping on his instinct to run and hide. “It’s just a joke.”

“What is?!”

The shout startled Grian so much that he jumped backwards and onto a chest, wings spreading and expanding. With a shock he noticed that he was against a wall in a hole in the ground and Scar was blocking the exit.

Okay. Okay he needed to keep his cool. There was an angry Vex in his way, sure. But that angry Vex was Scar. And Scar wouldn’t hurt him- Well… Not much. Hopefully.

He just needed to explain himself a bit better. If he could get his tongue to work. “The secret soulmate bit.” He slurred around the knot in his throat. “It’s just a joke, cause we kept running into each other and spending time together. And I thought…” Grian took a deep breath, tracking Scar’s every movement. His partner was tense, but didn’t show any sign of getting ready for an attack. “I thought it would be a good way to sow some discord between him and Ren.”

Scar scrunched up his nose. He didn’t look convinced. Shit. “And what about us?”

Grian shrugged. “I thought you wouldn’t care.” He half lied. He’d known deep down that it would rile Scar up. He hadn’t anticipated this kind of anger, though.

Scar made a disbelieving noise. “And that’s why you snuck around? Because you thought I didn’t care?”

“You were sneaking around doing your thing, too! We aren’t joined at the hip, Scar! I can do my own bits!” Grian found himself yelling, not knowing where his own anger had suddenly come from. Maybe the fear had turned sour. A protective instinct kicking in. Or maybe it was the audacity of Scar accusing him of sneaking around when that was kind of part of the game. Everyone was doing it!

“And anyway!” Grian continued, making Scar snap his mouth shut and grit his teeth with a growl. “You don’t… You don’t get to patronize me. You were chasing fairies at the start! And then you didn’t even want to base with me. And then you hurt us with the snow. You can’t blame me for being a bit secretive!”

“So… you also did it to hurt me.”

“I didn’t even know that it would hurt you! I just…” Grian shrugged and curled into himself. “I just wanted to have some fun with a friend.”

Scar deflated and in the silence that followed, he walked over to where Grian was crouching. He sat on the ledge of the chest, a hairs breadth away from the still Allay Hybrid.

A chuckle rippled through the air. “We truly make a fine pair.” Scar mused. “I’m sorry. This is exactly why I wanted to stay away. I get so possessive when I’m bonded. You should have seen Cub and myself after we’d gotten our stuff together and marked each other as taken. There was a time where I would go berserk when people even looked at Cub in a slightly adoring way. And I remember fondly a time where Cub was so jealous of Bdubs- Ah well that’s Cub’s story to tell. What I mean is that I was worried I’d overdo it with you. So I tried to stay away. But I couldn’t at the same time. And that made me cranky. And now here we are.”

Grian listened intendly to his partner. The words “I’m sorry” had startled him because he hadn’t been expecting them. His chest felt lighter and lighter the further Scar got into his explanation. Void they were both so stupid.

Well it was time that he spilled the beans about his insecurities, he guessed. “I felt guilty for messing up yours and Cub’s bond. I didn’t know how you felt about all this. I thought maybe that was why you’d been avoiding me. I’m so scared that I hurt your bond-”

“Grian.” Scar stopped him, twisting his torso so that he could bend over and in front of Grian to peer at his downcast eyes. “You didn’t mess up anything. Me and Cub are fine. Nothing’s broken or strained or even altered.”

His back popped as he leaned back and he grimaced at the flash of pain. Grian made a disapproving noise as well, but Scar quickly shushed him. “And even if anything had been torn, it wouldn’t have been your fault either. You’re as much a victim as any of us.”

Grian shook his head. “But this whole thing is because of me.”

“Well technically. Maybe. Details! Point is you didn’t choose for this to happen. You didn’t even do anything to nudge happenstance into happening this way. And we’re all fine! Having a good time! Tango finally got out of his hole!”

That was a good thing, wasn’t it. “I’m still sorry. For making you upset, too. I really didn’t mean to.”

“Me neither.” Scar whispered. And then, after neither of them had said anything for a while he shifted again and opened his arms. “Hug?”

“Oh Void yes.” Grian let himself fall into the offered embrace, his arms coming around to wrap around his soulmate. They bumped against the bagpack Cleo had gifted Scar and it moved.

Grian twitched back, but Scar didn’t let him go. “Scar what- Is that Jellie?!”

A disgruntled meow answered for him and Grian pushed away with more strength, much to the displeasure of Scar, who begrudgingly let him go. Grian leaned behind the Vex to peer inside the bagpack. Two big green eyes stared back at him, pupils so big they had swallowed up most of the colour.

He immediately stuck his arms inside to pull her out. “Hello kitty!”

“She’s a grown lady.” Scar grumbled, steadying himself on the chest so he wouldn’t fall.

Mood lifted by the presence of an annoyed fluffball, Grian’s grin was almost back to its full brightness. “Awww jealous?”

Scar crossed his arms and huffed. “No!”

How hadn’t he noticed this before? Scar was so obvious in his jealousy. Something warm and equally as possessive grew in his chest. It meant that in this world Scar was his.

To calm his racing heart he plopped back down next to Scar, pouting when Jellie chose the Vexes lap over his. He leaned against Scar instead, who put an arm around him and pulled him close again. Jellie let out another loud meow, demanding to be compensated for everything she had to endure since she’d been snatched from her brethren.

She was rewarded with pets from both Grian and Scar, who slowly wound down in her glorious presence.

It was because they were both calm again that Scar dared to whisper the dangerous question. “So you’ll keep the secret soulmate act?”

Grian nodded. “Big B is a good ally. But… I’m still yours.”

That seemed to be the right thing to say. Grian understood now. Scar’s poor Vex instincts had him all riled up. That territorial attitude had been tied to him. If he’d known he would have reassured Scar earlier.

Another thought crossed his mind, sharp and hurtful. It was the soulbond that made Scar like this. He wouldn’t call Grian his once they were back. At least he hoped the bond would be broken when they left this world. It would be incredibly unfair to Cub otherwise.

But that meant that Grian needed to be careful not to get used to this and not to say too much. He didn’t want to make it awkward afterwards. So he amended: “I’ll always prioritize our team, okay?”

Scar deflated slightly, sounding unhappy when he replied with a quiet “Okay”.

Notes:

They almost had it there.

Updating a day early again cause I'm away on the weekend. Again. My schedule has been all over the place this year, but I'm happy to get out a bit more.

Chapter 55

Grian left for the pool party while Scar went to sleep in their little hole in the ground. He would have liked to sleep with him, but there was only one bed and he had been looking forward to the party for a long time and-

He couldn’t take advantage of Scar’s confused Vex instincts like that. If Grian had gone to bed with him then Scar would have let him get close. Would have pulled him even closer.

That wasn’t fair to Cub.

He itched for the warm, strong embrace Scar always offered even when it left him sleepless and sweaty. So he went where he knew he could get some form of distraction. The pool party started out slow with everyone wary of each other despite the truce.

They had Reds among them for the first time, mingling with the Yellows and Grian became very aware that he was the only Green amidst them all. So he hunkered down on a nearby hill to watch, not wanting to get caught in whatever trap was supposed to go off and ruin Scar’s beauty sleep.

He was soon joined by Jimmy, Pearl and Scott, who were all too happy to add their snide remarks and commentary about the people below while sharing food and drink. They were hovering, making sure that he was alright. And Grian felt about as miffed about it as he felt amused.

After all he had wanted to hover around Jimmy and Pearl for a while now, too. He didn’t worry about Scott. He was in his element, thriving on the social strife and subtle manipulation tactics he could try out to win the game. He was probably taking notes for his next MCC. But Pearl and Jimmy had been unbalanced from the start. Especially Pearl.

She had donned a red cape despite still being yellow. And the glint in her eyes whenever she looked at him was less mischievious and more malevolent. It took a bit of coaxing and prodding, but eventually Grian figured out that there was nothing seriously bothering her. She was only sleep deprived. And a sleep deprived Pearl was ten times crazier than the normal Pearl. And more emotional.

Jimmy, on the other hand, would have none of Grian’s worrying. He puffed up like an offended chick, as though Grian caring about his well being was downright ridiculous and a huge insult, too. He was in full motherhen mode. And so Grian could only hide behind Scott, who happily distracted and further enraged Jimmy with his flirting. Apparently they had history. And Scott used that history to rile Jimmy up until he was close to strangling the blue haired pretty boy.

So all in all it was turning out to be a tolerable if slightly boring night. They made their own entertainment much to Jimmy’s chagrin until Joel finally got dared to jump into the water and a hoard of zombies bubbled up the suspicious vent that was located in the middle of the pool.

The delicious chaos this created took all night to clean up. And they were all a bit delirious in the end, running high on adrenalin and bloodlust. Grian had been a good, responsible soulmate and stayed up on the hill, practicing his aim together with his group. He was mostly shooting zombies, but wasn’t feeling too bad about catching a Player or two with some stray arrows.

The hill was the prime spot to witness the battle and the subsequent murder of Bdubs and Impulse. A bang to end a banger party. Although with the Reds now running loose it was probably time to scramble. Sure he was on Big B’s no-kill-list, but he somehow doubted Ren would care for their secret soulmate allyship.

Jimmy seemed to have a scrap of self perservation instinct left in him, because he, too, was quick to make himself scarce. Only he also grabbed Grian. Letting out a confused chime, but unwilling to return to Scar yet, Grian let himself be pulled along.

Only after a few minutes of silently speedwalking away from disaster reminded Grian that he was still the only Green and Jimmy had many reasons to off him, too.

“Jimmy? Not that I’m worried about you killing me, but where are you taking me? Because if I’m getting kidnapped I’ll have to message Scar. He wouldn’t get it otherwise. Oh no wait. He doesn’t really read. Nevermind.”

Jimmy’s hand tightened a fraction around his wrist as he let out a chuckle. “Oh I am kidnapping you! It’s a good kidnapping, though. No need to involve Scar.”

Grian dug his heels in just to be a menace. “But where are we going?”

Strength was not something Jimmy possessed. All his energy had gone into producing heighth not muscle. So the little bit of resistance from Grian was enough to bring them both to a complete stop. Something Jimmy didn’t appreciate at all.

Grian cackled as Jimmy pulled on his arm and then tried to push him from behind. “Oh come oooon! We’re almost there. You’ll see!”

Grian took two steps forward to make Jimmy feel accomplished. “’You’ll see’ in a death game isn’t very trustworthy, Tim.”

Several annoyed noises came from behind him. “Fiiiine. Don’t come with me then Mr. No Fun. I’ll just go to my secret place alone.”

For all the bullying Jimmy happily endured on the daily, people tended to forget how sneaky the Canary could be when he wanted to really get something. He’d hooked Grian with the mention of secrets. And then he stomped off, knowing perfectly well that Grian couldn’t just let it be.

Manipulative bastard. Grian was so proud of him.

He ended up following Jimmy to a tight gap in a rough cliff face, hidden so well that there had been no need for added distractions. Squeezing through he shuffled through the narrow passageway to a tiny cave stuffed full of fluffy blankets, pillows and covered with bright yellow feathers.

Grian stood there in awe as Jimmy swiftly snuggled into the nest. Jimmy maybe wasn’t the best builder, but his nest making skills were on a whole other level. The colours and materials were warm, glimmering gently in the orange light of the lantern hanging above. Everything was woven together in an expert manner. Every pillow, blanket and feather placed with intent and purpose, the colours blending together nicely, pleasant to the eye.

He wouldn’t have dared to step into it hadn’t Jimmy beckoned him over. And even then Grian took great care to discard his boots and quickly patted off the dust on his clothes.

It was an honour and a show of great trust that Jimmy was willing to share his hiding spot with him in this death game. So Grian held his tongue when the Avian started fussing over him, feeling too cozy to put up much of a fight.

He didn’t think that this intervention was really necessary. He was stressed, sure. But so was everyone else. That was what the game was for. To let loose, have some fun and not think about whatever supernatural force had discarded the known rules of the universe to mash them together in a foreign world.

Still preening Jimmy’s wings took a bit of the edge off. The soft feathers gliding between his fingers, the warm light from above, the heavenly soft nest and Jimmy’s happy crooning and trills soothed his frayed nerves and made his rolling train of thoughts come to a stop.

They ended up staying and resting in Jimmy’s nest for the rest of the day, alternating between talking shit and wrestling each other, grooming and napping. Jimmy didn’t pry. He looked like he very badly wanted to know what was going on with Grian. But he didn’t ask and Grian showed his appreciation accordingly by being as annoying as he possibly could be without risking being thrown out of the nest.

He left Jimmy’s secret den feeling fresh and clear minded. One whole day gone, wisely wasted. He was impressed that Scar had been staying out of trouble for that long. A spark of anxiety shot through him when he returned to their hide out.

The place was deathly quiet and smelt sickenly sweet. The Allay was nowhere to be seen and neither was Jellie. Scar had closed the entrance with some hastily nailed together wooden boards. Had there been an attack?

He quickly looked around for signs of a struggle, then checked his comm for a possible blackmail text. Nothing. Huh. A trap then, maybe?

Gingerly he inched towards the blocked off entrance and pressed a hand to it. He sniffed the air, trying to determine whether there was any redstone hooked up to it. The fine red dust had a metalic smell to it and if there was a lot laying about it also made Grian’s nose tingle.

It wasn’t very obvious, of course, or trap making with it would have been impossible. The smell was so faint that it was easily overpowered by other things. And you needed a whole lot of redstone to cause enough power for a tingly feeling. Grian only knew about these things because he had hung around Mumbo a lot. And Mumbo pretty much ate the stuff when he wasn’t being watched over by someone else and stopped in time.

Finding nothing suspicious, Grian still decided to shovel his way in instead of breaking down the planks. It had the added bonus of being the quieter option. He squinted into the relatively dark room, his eyes taking a minute to adjust to the new light levels. There was only one torch that was almost burned down. Scar was slumbering peacefully on their bed, the Allay flitting around his head as though it was trying to use its fairy dust to give him good dreams. Jellie laid at the foot of the bed, spread out and stretching her paws every now and again.

Grian cooed at the scene and took a picture with his comm for safekeeping. Now came the fun part: Waking up Scar.

Jellie looked up at him when he approached and the Allay gave a happy chime that was thankfully quiet enough not to disturb Scar.

“Hello my lovelies.” Grian crooned at them, motioning for them to come to him. The Allay did so without a fuss. While Scar had given it the apple, it felt more comfortable around its own kind.

Jellie was much less inclined to move. She continued to lounge at Scar’s feet, sending Grian a curious look. Or maybe she was judging him. It was hard to tell with her sometimes. Now that wouldn’t do. He didn’t want her to get caught up in his shenanigans. She would take away cuddle privileges if she got mad at him!

He tiptoed closer and reached for her, maintaining eye contact all the way. You didn’t look away when a cat was staring at you. You just didn’t. Or there would be consequences. Like a paw to your face. Or a sudden missing cat. Or a broken glass on the floor. Actually that also happened no matter what you did. Grian had yet to figure out what it was with cats and their vendetta against anything that was pushable and on a high surface. Although he couldn’t complain about their behavior, being a compulsionary button presser himself.

His fingertips brushed against her fur and the purrs she let out were bordering on aggressive. She narrowed her eyes even further, paws kneeding into the the sheets.

“Come on princess.” Grian whispered. “Believe me you don’t wanna be here right now.”

He got his hands under her and was about to lift her up when she moved and jumped off the bed herself. She gave him the stink eye, sat down a few paces away and started to clean herself.

“So intelligent.” Grian praised her, then checked up on Scar. The Vex was still in dreamland.

Grian took another long moment to just look at him. Then he took out a water bucket, took a deep breath and yelled: “Scar clutch this!”

The water splashed artfully onto the bed in a wide arc, covering most of Scar in its wet embrace. There was but a second where nothing happened, Scar’s slumbering brain still too deep in whatever scene it had confured up to process what was going on in time.

Then it clicked and Scar shot up, letting out the goofiest scream Grian had ever heard from him. The sudden pain in his back as Scar hit the ground beside the bed was fully worth it. Grian wished he had been recording. “Ahhhhh attack! What in the- Grian! How could you!”

Grian was too busy cackling to answer. His wings were beating overtime, lifting him off the ground. The Allay was flying circles around him, letting out its own merry tune.

“Griaaaan!”

“Scaaaa- ha- aar!” Grian sang back, his partner’s name only half choked off by another oncoming fit of giggles.

He had tears in his eyes at this point, so he couldn’t see Scar’s pout. But he heard him get up and leave the room. So Grian stumbled after him, willing his wings to calm so he could get his feet back on the ground. “Awww come on. It was funny!”

“I’ll show you funny.” Scar muttered, coming to stand next to the cactus.

Grian stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh no. No you wouldn’t.”

He shouldn’t have said that. Challenging Scar never led to good things. With a confident, bordering on sadistic grin, Scar slowly started to lean over and touched the cactus.

“Scar stop.”

Its thin needles pressed into Scar’s palm, the pressure building until skin broke.

“Scar stop!”

Scar didn’t stop. He did the exact opposite, lining up his arm with the prickly surface and pushing. Grian winced at the hundreds of pin pricks of pain blossoming all along his arm.

“Scar! Stop!”

“What’s up Gri? Can’t handle being stung?”

Oh this smug, bastard! At this rate they were going to die of blood poisoning! Grian wouldn’t let them lose their green life to something as stupid as a cactus. He barreled against Scar’s chest, his sudden attack leaving no room for Scar to defend against it. Grian’s back stung from the impact of the fall. But Scar’s must have been on fire, given that he had been the one to take the brunt of it.

Grian had only slightly bruised his knees as he straddled Scar’s middle and bend over to snarl in his face. “I said stop.”

Scar stared up at him with a dopey smile. “Well hello there!”

Grian curled up to press his face into Scar’s chest, shaking with laughter. “You! You’re so-”

“A-may-zing?” Grian couldn’t see it, happily living between Scar’s breasts at the moment. But he heard the eyebrow waggle!

“I’m going to hack up that cactus now.”

“Awww but G it’s a good defense!”

A hot desert and a high wall of cacti. A ring of the desert plant, sprinkled with red, locking in anguished cries and broken dreams.

Yeah the bloody thing was getting taken down. “It wasn’t that helpful.” Grian mumbled, caught between a groan of pain and wanting to laugh a bit more at the ridiculousness of it all.

Getting off of Scar, he took out an axe to make good on his promise. And by the time Scar had made it off the ground the prickly plant was gone.

“Soooo.” Grian said into the silence, twirling his axe before letting it vanish into his inventory. “What did you do today? Slept through it all?”

“Oh no! I prepared something for you.”

Perking up at the possibility of a gift, Grian turned and looked at Scar expectantly. “Oh?”

Scar threw him a grin. “Yes oh. Here, see?” He pulled a neatly wrapped package from thin air and presented it to Grian with a bow.

And okay, how was Grian not supposed to fall for that? Scar was brimming with charm! It was unfair! His wings fluttered at the cute display without his say so. And he had to stomp down on another noise of affection by swiping the package from Scar’s outstretched hands and ripping it open.

He blinked at the perfectly shaped, well baked cookies he found inside. His mouth was watering as his stomach filled with dread. And sure enough when he looked back up at Scar the Vexes grin had turned mean.

“For your secret soulmate, just as promised.”

Grian looked back down just to escape the heat in Scar’s gaze. Without much thought he reached into the box and took a cookie out. Scar couldn’t demand a response from him if he had his mouth full.

Sweet, sugary flavour exploded in his mouth. Scar’s cookies were everything that Big B’s were not. Which made them perfect. And by the way Scar laughed and didn’t panic they were probably also not poisonous.

Although given what they had just gone through maybe that was wishful thinking on Grian’s part. Either way Grian hadn’t lied when he had said – or thought? - that he would die for Scar’s cookies.

“These are so good.” Grian managed to get out after having eaten one, already reaching for the next. “Big B might not get any.”

Suddenly his hands were empty. “Hey!”

“Ah ah ah. Big B and Ren need an incentive to not kill us, remember?”

“But-” Grian tried to come up with a quick excuse. “I’m healing us!”

“There’s potatoes in the chests.” Scar stated with a grin.

Grian pouted. He didn’t want vegetables. He wanted Scar’s sweet cookies! “Big B won’t appreciate them the way I do.”

Scar stared him down, unresponsive and still gifting him with that sharp, teasing grin of his. So Grian needed to come up with something better, huh? He crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side to shake his marbles around a bit. Maybe with the different angle his two braincells would finally meet and spark something like a thought.

They had unwittingly entered a staring contest, which was only interrupted by the occasional blinking. Whenever Scar’s lashes snapped back up again his eyes glinted green, reminding Grian that they were going to be target number one now.

“Sand for cookies?” Grian blurted out, his mouth more productive than his brain.

“Huh?” Ah, Grian hadn’t been the only one who’d enjoyed the wind whistling through his empty head.

“Sand for cookies.” Grian repeated, this time really thinking about what he was saying. “We need to make alliances, yeah? Or else we’ll be hunted down. And you are the expert salesman between the two of us.” Even if Scar had failed to sell anything successfully since the start of the game. “So I give you sand to sell and I get the cookies to bribe Big B with. Deal?”

Scar hummed in thought and Grian unconsciously harmonized with him. “Alright. Sounds like a deal.”

Notes:

I've decided that chapter 60 will be the last one for the Double Life Arc. Let's see if I manage that or not. But just so you guys know how much longer these two will dance around each other without Cub in the mix. Honestly this arc has gone on for so much longer than I initially planned and I'm a bit worried that I went into too much detail and stretched it out too much. I'm trying to tell the rest of the story without skipping over the key moments, but without dragging it out for much longer. So I'm sorry if the pacing might get a little wonky from time to time.

Chapter 56

They travelled together to their abandoned base, unwilling to leave each other’s side in these dangerous times. The air around them was light. With almost all secrets out in the open and spoken about they had finally managed to find their groove. Scar’s teasing about Big B had turned lighter, the undertone of hurt gone. And in turn Grian found the small pains they inflicted on each other for fun more bearable. Less like a punishment and more like scrapes and bruises left over from lighthearted rough housing.

The threat of the others made them more cautious, however. They were both alert and constantly scanning their surroundings, covering each others blind spots. And so they were already wary when they approached the Velvet Keep.

There was a big likelhood that the base had been trapped in their absence. Grian wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea to move back in. It didn’t look very habitable anymore anyway. Burnt, flodded, dug up and used for scaffolding, the original shape and colours were barely visible anymore. Only a few of the spikes remained untouched, more odd decoration choice than working defense by now.

It was probably looted already, too. “We should relocate.”

Scar hummed in agreement, ducking through one of the many holes to get inside. “I’ll take the pandas out of the sanctuary.”

“Scar no!” A hoard of pandas would be a dead giveaway!

“But Grian! It would be cozy!”

Grian hopped in after him, halting for a moment to sniff the air. It just smelt like old burned wood and bad life choices. No copious amounts of redstone dust. And what was he afraid of anyway? They had most of the sand. No one but Big B probably had enough TNT to blow them up.

He joined Scar by the chests. The stuff he’d put on top of them had been swiped away onto the charred and scratched up floor. So he could easily open a chest he hadn’t looked into since the foundations of this base had been set.

“It would also be stinky.” Grian pointed out, frowning at the lack of items he found inside. Especially food related ones. “And dangerous. They are doing good in the sanctuary anyway. You wouldn’t want to shove them back into a cramped hole, would you?”

Scar didn’t have much luck with his hunt for salvagable stuff either. Not that he was putting much effort into it. Or taking things that were actually valuable. “They actually really enjoyed the first one.”

“Scar!”

“What? I’m just stating facts!”

The horns in the distance were just stating facts, too. In the beginning sounds of friendship and connection, the blaring of the horns had turned threatening. A call for a hunt. And Grian knew exactly who the prey was.

“Scar.”

“Yes, yes.” The Vex stood and dusted himself off. “Time to scatter.”

They bolted for the nearest exit and out into the open. Their enemies were up in the hills and greeted them with flaming arrows.

“Split!” Grian yelled, veering off to the right while Scar kept running straight ahead, having heard him.

Grian had thought the terror of the Warden coming after them had been bad. Or the days Scar had been gone after he had burned Jimmy’s and Tango’s ranch to the ground. But this was worse. He felt the distance grow between them, stretching with every leap and bound Grian made. He didn’t know if anyone had followed him. And he didn’t know how well Scar was prepared to outrun their hunting party.

Any moment now pain could explode in his body parts. And he would need to check whether it had been him or Scar who had gotten injured. It didn’t help that Grian was precariously low on food. So there was very little that could help them heal if they did get caught.

Being the last green in the game sucked. He’d not had this much exercise since his days on Evo. At least when it came to running. Whenever he thought himself save he could hear horns in the distance, mocking him. It was hard to gage their distance. Their sound travelled far. And Grian was too paranoid to just stay in one spot. The urge to blow his own horn in response was huge. He had been the originator of the horn club and now he couldn’t join in on their calls for fear of being detected.

Eventually he caught a glimpse of the hunting party from far away, trailing after Scar. Like a pack of wolves going for the weakest link. Grian sent a quick prayer to Scar, pleading with him to miraculously survive this, too. Then he veered off to the nearest abandoned base.

While the rest of the Players was busy chasing after Scar, Grian would take the opportunity to take from them as much as possible. The fields he’d stumbled across weren’t very fertile. With everyone prioritizing traps and defenses over pretty builds and nice farms, the crops were left in a sorry state. Watered and cared for enough to get the maximum of food for the least amount of work. Trampled and raided ten times over.

For if you wanted to get on another Player’s nerves the best way to do so was either to trample some of their crops in front of them or to rummage through their chests while they were standing beside you. Grian would know, he’d done both of those things to Jimmy multiple times.

Still Grian was able to harvest enough wheat to make some bread. The only real win he would get all day as it turned out. He ran into Joel in his search for a good spot for a secret base and lost a stack of sand to keep his life. Which was more than the poor horse Joel had used could say. Grian had heard it squealing in pain and panic even when he hadn’t stayed to witness its death.

His heart was still hammering from the interaction, Joel’s manic laughter ringing in his ears, when the world’s magic twisted and writhed. His stomach dropped and churned, it’s acid bubbling up Grian’s throat. His fingers tingled, numb. And for a minute he clamped his mouth shut and forbade his breath from leaving his body.

The enchanter had changed ownership. The world was being oddly sensitive about the enchanter’s whereabouts. It didn’t like that it had left it’s original spot. It was just causing ripples in the world’s magic now. But it was still tethered to its original position, not supposed to belong to anybody. Grian could feel that it was messing with the worlds magic something bad, strings getting tangled up, code glitching, however you wanted to describe it.

The beings that were puppeteering the show didn’t seem to mind all that much about it being gone from where it was supposed to be, at least. And they were actively engaging with the problem. Grian braved a quick look at his communicator’s admin panel and glanced over the bright lines of code. The decrypted magic readings told him that things were being taken care of and that the world was no closer to crashing and burning than the day they had arrived.

Good. One less thing to worry about. He had plenty of other stuff to focus on. Like Scar. Scar had been the one with the enchanter. And if it was with someone else now-

What had happened to his soulmate?

The question had barely formed in his head when another set of horns declared their bloodlust in the distance and set Grian running again. He had to think about himself first, he scolded himself. If Scar was in danger Grian had to get to safety so he could heal them when needed.

If he could just scope out what bodily pains were his and what were Scar’s it would be easier to determine whether they actually needed healing at the moment or not. His legs and lungs were screaming at him in unionized rage. And Grian was mostly sure that was from both him and Scar having used them far too much. The nausea could be from food poisoning or panic or also too much running. Or a combination of the three.

His side hurt. Again, wrong breathing did that to you. But the stabbing pain could also be a phantom stab wound. His head hurt, too. From thinking too much, maybe. Dehydration was a close second contender. Or Scar had hit his head somewhere. Maybe he had been knocked out?

If Scar went unconscious would Grian follow suit? They could sleep in shifts no problem. But sleep wasn’t harmful to their health.

He’d worked himself into a delusional frenzy by the time he saw Scar in the distance. Impossibly, he sped up to meet him. He barely had any breath left in him to yell Scar’s name. But he was heard anyway. Scar hopped down from his horse just in time to catch his little Allay.

Grian was spun around only once before being smashed into Scar’s chest, Scar’s bulky arms locking him in place. He was dizzy and sweaty and happy. Scar was here and he was alright!

“I stole some horses for us.” His soulmate said after a minute of silence where they both caught their breath.

Grian had no energy left to feel anything about the statement. “Nice.”

There was a pleasant, low vibration against his ear and Grian pressed himself closer. “We should probably get going.” The rumble told him and oh that was Scar speaking.

“Five more minutes.”

“Are you falling asleep on me, mister?”

There was almost no room to shake his head, but Grian managed. “No.” He mumbled, like the liar he was.

“Okay. Then I can let you go now and you won’t fall over?”

Grian made a noise not even he knew the meaning of and Scar let him go. He whined as his feet hit the ground again, tingling unpleasantly, a thousand needles crawling up his shins. He shook the exhaustion from his head. Scar was being sensible for once. They needed to keep moving. But they couldn’t go on like this without a plan.

“We need to find allies.” Grian thought out loud as he tried to clamber up the second horse. This one had diamond armour. Neat.

Scar rode up to his side and helped to boost him up. “Were you able to speak to your secret soulmate yet?”

Grian blew a raspberry at him. “Maybe we should go to Pearl’s tower.”

“Pearl?” Scar frowned at him. “Isn’t she crazy?”

Crazy good at the game, Grian thought. “That doesn’t need to be a bad thing. Everyone is avoiding her. She’s perfect.”

Scar shrugged. “Alright. If you want to leave your secret soulmate hanging-”

“Scar!” Grian whined, getting a bit uncomfortable with the teasing.”Let’s just go.”

“Aye aye captain!”

They didn’t get very far. Their time together cut short by an angry mob. Apparently horse stealing was considered a serious crime in this game. Grian lost his soulmate in the rush of getting away again, mourning the warm presence at his side as soon as he noticed its absence.

At least he had a get away horse this time. But that was about as much luck as he got. For Pearl’s tower was empty and the glimpse of red he had seen near the Relationship proved to be a mere trick of the eye, a mirage leading him straight into his enemies arms.

The way Joel had answered to Grian’s pleas of “Can I do anything to protect myself?” with “Yeah. Die!” would haunt his dreams for a long time. Not even the knowledge that Joel had found the enchanter buried under the panda reserve could quench the terror of being looked at like fresh meat. Joel had been nothing but honest in his reply. Losing a life was the only way to get them to stop. At least for a little bit.

And Grian was seriously considering the possibility. There were too many Reds around thirsting for Grian’s and Scar’s green life. And it was not fun to be prey. But pride and ambition stopped him from doing so. They had two more lifes than most of the others! Grian couldn’t take that away just because he was getting a little tired.

That didn’t stop him from whining to his soulmate when they inevitably found each other again. Scar was most likely getting dizzy trying to keep up not only with Grian’s high pitched rambling, but also the Allay’s frantic circles.

His beautiful Vex took it in stride, however and managed to coax him into a prepared safe space not far from Pearl’s tower to calm him down. His soulmate was beaming with pride as he showed Grian the small space. They had their own crops again and a secret stash of valuables. They were back on their feet once more!

There was only one very important thing missing. “Scar, buddy, this is all great. You did a very good job. But you kinda forgot about a very crucial thing.”

“Really?” Scar looked around, trying to see what Grian was seeing. “What?”

“Beds.” Grian helped him out. “We gotta respawn here when we die.” For they would die eventually. Grian had no doubt about that.

Scar’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Oh! G, you’re a genius! Would you happen to have a sheep with you?”

He didn’t. And between the two of them they had one wool block. There weren’t any sheep around their designated play area anymore either. Grian hadn’t seen one of the fluffy animals in ages. Bloody hell they would need to steal a bed from someone.

Well, they still needed to talk to Pearl. And they were basically neighbours now.

Notes:

I totally forgot to post this chapter last saturday. Sorry!
Thank you again for all the lovely comments and sorry for not being able to reply at the moment. I appreciate them so much, though! <3

There won't be a stable upload schedule for October and November cause I'll be travelling a bunch and won't know when I'll have time to write or access to the internet to post something. This year has been a bit crazy in that regard. I'm having a lot of fun, though. Thank you so much for being patient with me!

Chapter 57

Pearl was home this time and not as happy to see them as Grian had hoped she would be. Really she had whined to him in private chat about being so lonely in this game and now that they were here she didn’t even look thankful!

On the contrary, of course she had to throw in a small threat to end their lifes, too. Grian was miffed about it for about ten seconds until she invited them into her tower. Which they had already climbed halfway up at this point. But she also hadn’t tried to shoot them off the ladder until then, so she was probably just being difficult to be difficult. Something Grian could get behind.

“So what are you doing here, exactly?” Pearl asked once they were all up and Scar had somehow managed to fold himself under one of the decorative trapdoors. Really, even while playing a death game, Pearl couldn’t help but try to make things pretty.

“What?” Grian asked back, cramming as much innocence as possible into his words. “Can’t we visit a dear, lonely friend? Out of the goodness of our hearts?”

He turned his back to her and Scar and looked out one of the windows. Sheesh they were high up. It gave him some bad flashbacks to how they had ended up in their own base.

Behind him Scar added cheerfully, “I’m hiding so people can’t see me from the windows- Grian get back from there, they’ll snipe you!”

Grian pulled back with a huff. He’d wanted to climb out and test the stability of the outer window sill. But it was probably best to not give his partner any more reason to fret for now. Both of their nerves were frazzled enough.

Pearl stood beside Scar’s curled up and half hidden form. Her arms were crossed and her expression amused, giving her game away. The dark circles under her eyes were much more prevalent now. But her gaze was still sharp and alert, her stance cocky and confident. There was a tension to her that had crept into all of their bodies as the game had progressed to its final stages.

They were all feigning a nonchalance that neither of them felt. They were all paranoid, ever listening out for the horns that had once been so comforting to hear.

“I don’t believe you.” Pearl stated bluntly.

“Okay, okay. You got us.” Grian threw up his hands. “We’re here to make friends. Everyone is after us. There are so many Reds! We gotta band together.”

“Hm.” Pearl tilted her head, expression turning unreadable.

Now this could go either way. An undecided Pearl was a loose cannon. Grian needed to come up with a compelling argument fast-

Scar had crawled out of his hiding spot in the meantime and with a flourish produced a green, prickly plant from his inventory. “I’ve brought you something as a gift to seal our allyship!”

Her eyes lit up at the sight and she broke out into delighted laughter. “Oh Scar! This is perfect. Gimmie!”

Before Grian could object to the exchange, Scar had handed over the cactus. And from there it didn’t take long until the plant was standing proudly in the middle of the room, Pearl sat on top of it.

Oh void he hadn’t realized how crazy Pearl had become in her insomnia riddled state! “Pearl! Pearl that’s enough. Get down from there.”

Pearl only giggled seemingly immune to the pain. She did wear armour, so it probably wasn’t that bad. Really the poor plant looked like it was struggling more than her. Then again a cactus did not grow to be able to support a full grown human with armour. It was holding up. But only barely.

Scar was not helping either. He was laughing and cheering her on, the madman. Did he really have the braincell out of the three of them? Blasphemy! He thought he could stop being the responsible one for a second!

“Pearl come on. You are damaging your armour.”

“It’s just a little tickle, Griba.” Pearl cooed at him.

Grian halted at the old nickname, pain curling in his chest. Scar took in a sharp breath beside him and felt for his own heart, confused. When his soulmate looked his way Grian merely shook his head. He was just getting sentimental. Pearl hadn’t used that nickname since Evo.

“That’s enough tickling. Come on. Scar no! You are not joining in!” Frantic, he grabbed at the shovel in his inventory and stabbed it at the plant. “Why are you both crazy!”

His intervention had come too late. While Scar could not hurt them, Pearl’s antics had summoned Scott and Cleo, who were less than pleased with Grian’s and Scar’s presence in her base. And because the others had tailed the two, they soon were surrounded. Grian was starting to hate high places.

~~~

If Scar had a diamond for every time he had gotten trapped in the sky in this game he would have three diamonds by now. Which wasn’t much, but would get him one and a half diamond boots. Something he might need if his friends kept shooting at them. Although it seemed more and more likely that the finishing blow might actually come from the inside. He was bringing out all his charm and fast talking skills to make sure Scott and Cleo didn’t kill them.

He was so busy with that, in fact, that he only noticed how close Grian had crept towards the danger outside, when he felt a sharp pain in his left arm.

Frantic he whipped around and shouted Grian’s name. The bloody Allay was hanging out of the tower, playing with water and getting shot! Hot fury glaced with a sharp protective urge shot through him and he lunged forward. Sharp claws nicked Grian’s sweater as they caught the fabric and pulled. “Grian! Get back in here! What in the world!”

He barely caught himself from cursing when wide beady black eyes looked up at him, uncomprehending.

“We need to get down from here.” Grian muttered at him, words a little slurred and spewing too fast from chapped lips. “We need a bed.”

Those two thoughts combined didn’t make a lick of sense, but Scar knew what Grian meant. He glanced over his partner, noticing the tremble and the wings that blurred and stretched. Scar wished he would just fly away. As much as Scar worried about the distortion, it was a handy thing to have working wings in a situation such as this.

But his stubborn mate wouldn’t leave without him. Of course he wouldn’t. Bound as they were they needed a way for both of them to leave safely. It still warmed his heart and frustrated him to no end, Grian’s loyalty. For all the cheating and lying, Grian always stuck to his side when it mattered. And Scar wanted nothing more than to scoop him up, use his own wings to fly away from this mess they’d both created and hide his Allay somewhere safe.

Scar pushed the memory of how he had abandoned his soulmate up in their own base down with a vicious whirlwind of guilt. He had been distracted by wanting to save Jellie then. There was nothing taking his focus from Grian now.

His useless, torn Vex wings wouldn’t allow for him to be the hero this time either, of course. But he could at least make himself useful in a different way. “Ready the boat Grian, I’ll get the bed.”

He was good at stealing. It was made easier by the fact that everyone else was busy defending the tower. He nicked Pearl’s bed in no time and scrambled after Grian, who had placed down a boat and was waiting for him on the edge of the outer window sill.

As soon as Scar was in, Grian rowed them off the tower. There was a small pond down below, which they weren’t going to hit. Thinking back at the time Grian and him had gathered the sand from the river, Scar flapped open his wings and braced himself.

Wind gathered beneath his leathery limbs and pulled the fine skin between the bones taut. Abruptly their fall slowed to a glide and Scar did his best to angle them in a way that would make them land in the water.

Grian was cheering in front of him, but screeched when the first arrow flew in their direction. Thankfully Scar’s partner was always more prepared than him and pulled out a shield to protect them both until they hit the ground.

Splash and go. The boat hadn’t yet fully stopped rocking when the two of them had already clambered out of it and started moving again. Grian was lagging behind, laughing and apparently having totally forgotten about the people still chasing them.

“Scar! This was awesome! Your wings are so cool!”

Scar preened at the praise before the horns in the distance reminded him that there was no space for positive emotion right now. Void how he wished that Grian’s flight instinct was more developed. They needed to get going!

“Why thank you! How about you keep cheering while running. They are still coming for us!”

The pitter patter of small feet sped up behind him with a quiet “Ah shit.”

All their running and daring escape art was for naught in the end. What killed them was not the wrath of a Redname, though. It was their own damn curiousity and Scar’s bloody clumsiness.

Getting torn apart by a hoard of zombies had never felt so justified. An appropriate punishment for his own stupidity. Only Grian had felt the echoes of it, too and that just wasn’t fair.

Scar woke up naked hundreds of blocks away from his soulmate, skin itching and heart hammering. The pain was already a distant afterthought. The death had been most unpleasant, but Scar was used to getting trapped in deathloops. What was worse was the crushing guilt and disappointment weighing down his chest as though he had somehow managed to inhale a ton of bricks.

So much for being a good soulmate. He’d cost them their first life! And they hadn’t even gone out fighting! Getting killed by some useless mob. That was the worst way to go!

He stewed in his own misery for a long while, safe in the knowledge that everyone else was likely gathered at their death site looting their inventory. He was brainstorming ideas about how he could make it up to Grian when his communicator pinged.

Wondering if Grian had messaged him, Scar was quick to take the device out and blinked at the barrage of text that assaulted his eyes. Jimmy and Tango were out. Out out. Killed by an Enderman. Hah!

The world chat was flooded with various messages, both happy and anxious. Scar, too, couldn’t decide on an emotion and quickly checked the list of Players near him.

Tango and Jimmy were gone.

Scar’s hand twitched, undecided. He wanted to trust Grian’s word and believe that they were both back home and safe. But he also wanted to know for sure. Grian was the admin. He could check somehow, right?

But if not? He didn’t want to cause his mate distress. His sweet little Allay was probably already second guessing himself, worried sick about his friends. They had all just taken Grian’s word at face value before, why doubt it now?

Scar bit his lip. Without his permission his fingers had already typed in Grian’s name, the blinking cursor of the empty text box taunting him.

Scar whispered to you: Hi G-

He didn’t get to finish his message. Grian beat him to it.

Grian whispered to you: Come to Jimmy’s and Tango’s funeral at the old ranch.

~~~

Grian was glad that he had set his spawn close to where he had build Jimmy’s and Tango’s grave when Scar caused their second death of the day. The explosion was a quick way to go, at least. Unlike the getting torn apart by zombies bit. Grian had had his fair share of gruesome deaths, but this one ranked among the top 10 most unpleasant. Or maybe the top 20. Grian should make a tier list. Ah the joys of being an explorer.

It was still a more pleasant topic to think about than… well. He hadn’t built Jimmy’s and Tango’s grave for nothing. What if they were gone for good? Grian was 99% sure that wasn’t the case. He’d checked the threads holding them all together a hundred times over. But Jimmy and Tango were gone and so were their threads and he couldn’t check again. So what if?

He’d had trouble with that in the past, going out of the flat when he had still lived on one of the more populated planets. He’d always close the door behind him and then turned around and walked straight back in just so he could make sure that the oven was turned off. Even when he knew that he hadn’t even used the damn thing in a while.

It had just been a scary thought to burn everything he owned to the ground out of a silly mistake. A sentiment he had grown out of during his travels. There were no constants in space.

He had never lost the urge to check, though. Not when it came to things he cared about. He had stopped caring about material things. He had never stopped caring about the people he loved.

It drove him mad that he couldn’t make sure that the Ranchers were fine. That he had to wait until he had been robbed of his third life until he could make sure that Tango had made it. Because if Tango had made it, Jimmy must have made it, too.

That would drive him crazy, too, Grian knew. Not being able to reach Jimmy. But at least he would get a little bit of reassurance.

So maybe he wasn’t very mad at having lost two lifes in such a short timespan. Maybe he wanted the game to be over with a little bit faster than he had before. Poor Scar didn’t know that when he came crawling back to him, though. His sweet, beautiful Vex soulmate looked at him like an abused dog waiting for his owner to hit him.

Grian stretched up to hold Scar’s face in both of his hands and nuzzled their noses together to stop the apologies stumbling from Scar’s lips. It was the closest he could get away with without outright kissing him.

Scar melted against him with a purr that was a bit too rough and rattling to be mistaken for that of a cat’s. He bent over him, folding himself neatly so he could hide his face in Grian’s shoulder and clutched him tight.

The mumbled “’m sorry”, a pale echo of his former frantic apologies, blew warm breath against the fabric of Grian’s sweater. Oh how he wished that it had been uttered against his skin.

Grian awkwardly patted Scar’s back with a high pitched chuckle and red face. “Nothing to be sorry for, bud. You couldn’t see what was happening above you very well. I shouldn’t have let you leave anyway.”

“Why aren’t you two dating, yet?!” Joel’s exasperated voice made them flinch away from each other.

Not because they had something to hide. Grian was very vocal with all of his affections. It was just… being reminded of someone else close by was surprising. He had forgotten about Joel and Etho joining him at the grave. Also, they couldn’t fight for their lifes clinging to each other. And that was the hill that he would die on. Embarassment? Grian didn’t know her.

Grian fanned his face with one hand to try and shoo the redness away. “Joel! That- You can’t just say that!”

Joel looked unimpressed. Actually, he looked annoyed. Hands on hips, scowl on his face, annoyed. Etho stood beside him, chill as ever, but their was an unmistakable mischievious glint in his eyes.

Grian was thinking about whether it would be worth it to bring up the very important fact that Scar was taken - Joel didn’t know, but Etho should – when Scar fumbled with his response to the question. “Wha- Why aren’t you dating, yet?”

It was Joel’s turn to gape at them like a fish, while Etho awkwardly coughed into his fist. Something that sounded suspiciously like “Bdubs” accompanied the gesture.

Honestly Grian didn’t think Bdubs would be that jealous. The issue he saw as more problematic was that Joel was not a Hermit and thus would be gone from Etho’s life after the game was over. He could only ever be a summertime fling. Thinking about it made him sad. Especially because there was a high chance that this would be Grian’s fate as well. Minus the fling part. Because Scar and him weren’t dating much less sleeping with each other.

Ah and the red was back, dusting his cheeks. Thankfully no one was paying much attention to him. Conversation quickly turned to the topic of who had blown up Scar and then the Vex was off again, ready to commit arson.

Grian shouted after him to stop him, but as always, Scar’s laser focus made him deaf. He glanced over to Joel and Etho, trying to gage their aggression levels. Joel’s cheeks were still puffed out in a pout, pale skin tinted a rosy hue. He wasn’t even tracking Scar with his eyes, opting to look at the ground instead. The grass underneath his feet was being abused by his constant kicks at it.

Etho was watching Grian back, making the small Allay flinch in shock when he noticed and prompting him to say something. “You’re not going after him?”

Etho shrugged. “Nah. If he burns down the Relationship you two won’t live long either way.”

Grian shuddered at the casual threat. He was still unsure about how dangerous Etho really was. He had his clumsy moments. But then again those times could also be masking competence, baiting others into underestimating him.

“I’ll start drafting my will then, I guess.”

“I’ll make sure your funeral sucks less than this one.” Joel chimed in, still sounding mildly pissed.

“Oh come on, it hasn’t even started, yet! We are still waiting on-” Well Scar. And maybe others.

“Well I’ve stared at this bloody grave for long enough. Come on, Etho.”

“Bye Grian.” Etho gave him a little wave as he let himself get dragged off by Joel. And just like that, Grian was left alone with his thoughts again.

He stared at the grave he’d built, lips starting to quiver. “I hope you two are back home now.”

In the end, Grian got the perfect funeral for them after all. With the Relationship burning in the background and Otherside playing from a stolen jukebox. His own days were numbered now, but Grian felt no anxiety about it as he leaned against Scar to watch the flames consume the big wooden ship. A perfect, ironic, almost background. Just slightly too much to the right to really frame the grave of their two beloved friends.

Scott and Pearl chatted beside them like old friends, while Martyn narrated the slow destruction of one of the better structures in their game. Cleo stood closer to the jukebox, arms crossed and a satisfied smile on their face.

Surrounded by good company, Grian let himself feel safe for once. No one heard him over the music and chatting when he whispered his last goodbye to the empty grave.

Notes:

I'm back! Thanks for your patience! Unfortunately I'll be continuing to travel and be busy until January next year so updates will stay sporadic for now. I will try my best to keep them bi-weekly. But I really can't promise regular updates at the moment the way things are. This year has been a bit crazy like that. It's mostly been all good, though!

Chapter 58

Cub had lost hope of his days changing. It had been slow misery for weeks, every day sucking out a bit more energy from his slowly dwindling source. Some days it was hard to get out of bed. Some of the Hermits had started to lose hope and begun to grief, wanting the quick pain of a thread severed and a book closed. Others, like Gem and him, clung onto their routines like a lifeline, no matter how destructive or pointless.

When Cub woke up that day he expected no less hardship, boredom and lead filling up his lungs, weighing him down until he could barely move. Instead he blinked his eyes open to a barrage of pings.

Miffed he rolled over to swipe at his communicator. It was never far out of his reach anymore, ready to be checked up on at a moments notice. Cub didn’t much want to look at a bright screen so early in the morning, but habit had him moving anyway.

He was glad that his body had acted without his consent as he puzzled through the myriad of text messages that had flooded the world chat. His eyes widened when realization slowly sank in, an adrenalin spike so big that it catapulted him out of the bed shooting through his body.

Cub was off like a rocket, uncaring for his appearance. He only ran back into his room to shove his elytra on and grab some actual rockets to fly over to spawn.

There was already a crowd there. Most Hermits were still in their underwear or PJ’s. The sun had barely even risen above the horizon. It was dark enough that the flame they’d all wanted to see stood out bright like a beacon.

Poor Tango was overwhelmed by the swarm of anxious Hermits. He was barely out of one hug when he was swooped up into the next one. All of them were probably bone crushing. The chatter was loud, questions yelled over cheers and tearfully babbled welcome backs.

Cub inserted himself into the craze seamlessly, grabbing at the lanky Blaze Hybrid to squeeze him tight. To make sure that he was really there. Tango’s head flames puffed and sizzled with embarassement and happiness. His tail was lashing out behind him, curling around everyone and everything to ground its owner.

“Okay okay, chill people! I can’t breath- Ack! Hey! No elbow hittings!” It was when Tango started to scratch them that they all knew to back off a bit. Except for Zed, who always had permission to cling to Tango in any manner that he saw fit.

The bombardment of questions didn’t stop, though. So many people were tripping over each other to talk that the words bled into each other and disappeared into pure noise. Cub had his own words to say, but he had the sense to hold them back. For now.

Heart pounding he took his place in the circle that had formed around Tango and waited. At first his focus was on scanning Tango up and down to make sure that he was alright. And while the Blaze Hybrid looked a bit frazzled, there were no injuries that Cub could detect.

Surface wise he was fine then. Cub caught Doc’s eyes and tilted his head. Doc blinked at him slowly, red eye burning, seeing much more than anyone else ever could. Even Iskall’s cybernetic one wasn’t as powerful – or invasive – as Doc’s. It had it’s up and downsides.

Doc’s demeanor was calm given the situation they found themselves in. Nothing wrong with Tango then. He was fine.

Cub let out a slow breath as the noise of his friends died down. Tango was fine. That meant the others must be, too. Right?

There was a hand on his arm, fingers twisting into the fabric of his star covered PJ’s. He looked over to find Gem beside him. She was tense, but gave him a terse smile. She was clearly having a hard time keeping still. She was all over the place on her good days, prancing around in happy circles. She was almost vibrating out of her hastily put on boots now.

Cub gave her a cheeky grin back and let her knead into the fabric of his sleeve. Sometimes she dug a little too deep, her sharp nails scratching at skin. That too, Cub let slide. It was a nice distraction for him, too.

“Guys!” Tango eventually wailed and finally, finally got the silence he’d been asking for since he arrived back home. “Thank you! Geez, I’m happy to be back, too. And I guess you are wondering where everyone went- SHUT UP!” He yelled as the last sentence made some of the Hermits start again.

Tango huffed and tried to put his hands on his hips before he noticed that Zed was still there and awkwardly left them hanging instead. “I’m here to give you answers! Promise! Just give me a minute.”

Dissatisfied grumbles could be heard around the circle as Tango closed his eyes and took a few large gulps of air. They all jumped when he suddenly let out a scream. But as soon as it had begun it stopped and Tango turned back to them with a smile that only twitched a little at the edges.

“Okay I’m good. So let me explainificate some things first and then you can all throw questions at me after, okay?”

Cub nodded along with most of the other Hermits. The last dregs of sleep had long since left him. And so he was perfectly able to focus in on the tale Tango started to spin for them.

It was a long one. So long, in fact, that they had started to settle down with snacks eventually. Xisuma, always the dad of the server when it mattered most, had gone around to provide blankets for everyone. And Gem and False had sprung up to take the distribution of food and drinks into their hands.

It was around midday when Tango had finished telling them everything he knew and the mood had lightened signifciantly throughout. For the first time since their dear friends had disappeared they had clarity. It felt like Cub had just emerged from an ocean, finally able to breath again.

Tango was not allowed to just hole himself up after all of that, of course. As much as the Blaze wanted to get back to Decked Out 2, the remaining Hermits had developed a bit of a hyperfixation with him. Understandably, given that he was the only one back from his little venture and questions kept forming in their heads.

Cub himself was guilty of bothering Tango at the Frozen Citadel. He tried to keep the visits to a minimum so he wouldn’t be permanently banned from the premises like Xisuma. But it was hard to withstand the urge to stick to Tango’s side. Even harder to not interrogate him about Scar and Grian. Although he did ask about their wellbeing and relayed the answers to Mumbo, who had been in tears when Cub had written him with an update in everything. Sure Cub didn’t know if he had actually cried. But with the amount of crying emojis Mumbo had sent and Mumbo’s general tendency to cry it was a good enough guess.

Still Cub tried to spread his questions out, only asking a few every now and again. Everyone else was needling the poor fellow for all the details on the others already. Cub didn’t want Tango to lose his mind having to go through a bunch of interrogations every day.

His efforts were rewarded by Tango seeking him out every once in a while. Even though those visits were a little bit… uncomfortable. The usually chatty Blaze oftentimes just stared at him, unblinking, for several minutes, opened his mouth to say something, shook his head, closed it and flew off again.

He stared when Cub visited him, too, of course. But not as much. And the quiet made more sense in the context of Tango focusing on his redstone. Cub wasn’t really trying for conversation either. He saw how tired Tango was of everyone poking him constantly. He was happy, but the Hermits… well they could get pretty overwhelming. And Cub could relate to wanting to get a project done.

Cub tended to use his visits to merely observe his friend. Blue had crept back into the flames on his head and tail. Tango had changed back into his dungeon master outfit, too. Although he omitted to wear the hood and cloak whenever he got real deep into his redstone. The elaborate outfit didn’t do well in the cramped, dusty space full of moving parts that could easily snatch up a bit of fabric.

It was one of those days where Cub was lucky enough to be the only one to bother Tango. Usually the huge bowles of the Citadel were crowded with at least two or three Hermits more. But it was early. Really the only time of the day now that Tango could get any work done. And most of the Hermits were still sleeping or just about to nod off.

Cub had watched Tango fuss over a signal length that didn’t quite add up to what he was trying to do for about an hour now. And honestly Cub could see himself doing this for much longer. Tango was prone to mutter, screech and scream at his redstone even when he refused to elaborate anything he was doing when Cub asked him about it. And it was such a huge relief to hear Tango’s voice echo in the cavern. Reminding him that Tango was real. Unchanged. Untraumatized.

“Say Cubby? What is your stance on polyamory?”

The question came out of nowhere and was spoken so nonchalantly that Cub was immediately on alert. “If it’s about your soulmate, don’t you want to ask Zed and Impulse that? Although given you three are already an item, I think you’re good.”

Tango pursed his lips, which Cub only saw once the Blaze Hybrid had stood up to face him and not the tangle of redstone he’d been working on. “That’s not it.”

Cub tilted his head. “What is it then?”

“That’s not the question!” Tango pointed, tail flicking behind him, already irritated. He’d developed a bit of a short fuse since he’d come back. A mix between him not having a moment to himself and two of his mates still being missing. One he might never see again. “Answer my question!”

“Okay.” Cub shrugged, confused but not all too fussed about Tango’s hissy fit. “Like, in general or?”

It was nice to see Tango fume. Cub stomped down on the grin his lips wanted to form. It wouldn’t do to drive Tango mad. Zed would be very cross with him. And no one wanted a mad Zed on their tail. No one had ever experienced a mad Zed, but given his way of thinking up absolute bonkers scenarios no one wanted to.

“Yes!” Tango threw his hands up, flames puffing and twisting. “In general.”

“I don’t mind it.” It was a bit more complicated than that, of course. Scar and him were seriously thinking about adding Grian to their relationship, after all. But that was none of Tango’s business.

Tango calmed down again fast, letting all his frustration out with a long breath. “Okay. Uhm… and how do you feel about sharing Scar.”

Cub’s eyes narrowed, electric blue light filling them as his mouth stretched wide into a threatening grin. With a sing song voice that made the air around them vibrate he politely asked back before he decided on ripping Tango to shreds. “And why do you ask?”

Tango knew better than to throw another tantrum in the face of an aggitated Vex. He flaundered instead, trying out different words before discarding them again. “It’s just… uhhhh. You know how I said Grian and Scar are currently soulmates?”

The Vex in his mind went from screaming to purring. There was a flash of worry in his gut. A fear of being abandoned, which was quickly snuffed out by the bond he still felt and the love that was trickling through it in a steady stream. Now that he knew what to look for he could feel Grian in there, too. He was the shadow. The after image. The third thread that wove them all together into a beautiful braid. He would need to investigate this new bond further once he was alone. Since its appearance he’d thought the blurriness of Scar’s bond had been some kind of glitch or corruption so Cub had never traced it. Now that he knew that it was Grian – even if it was just a shadow of a link through Scar’s link with the Allay – he wanted to wrap his own magic around it and never let go. Maybe he could sent some positive emotions Grian’s way. The little Allay probably needed it as much as Scar did.

Cub nodded, trying to focus on the conversation again. He also took a few breaths to calm down. Apparently Tango was not thinking about adding Scar to his polycule, at all.

Tango fiddled with the sleeves of his fine dress shirt. “You know Scar’s been… uhm… how do I say this? Words… words… words are hard. This is why I invent them half of the time!” He huffed, annoyed with himself. Cub let him think in peace. “Uh… I guess possessive? Clingy? Utterly nuts about our resident cute boy? And uh… Ya know I like G. He’s cool. And small. And squishy. And I’m thinking of placing buttons in the dungeon just because I know that he loves pressing them-”

He stopped short when he heard Cub growling, gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. “What I mean is- I know you guys get super jealous so… You’re not gonna tear G’s head off when he gets back here, right Cubby?”

Stumped by the question, Cub took a few seconds to answer. “Why would I do that?”

Now it was Tango’s turn to look confused. “Because you and Scar- oh. Oh! That makes sense, actually.”

What was making sense? Nothing was making sense to Cub! “What?”

Tango grinned and clapped his hands. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you!”

“Tango, what?” Cub tried again.

“You three! You and Scar have a crush on G, right? You’re both possessive of him! That’s like- a Vex trait, yeah? Like. I dunno. You’re mating call?”

Cub stared his friend down with a blank look on his face. “Vex don’t have mating calls. And threatening violence is not a courting ritual either.” Not to mention that Vex didn’t really have a culture of their own. They were distorted Allays, brainwashed to fight for their master until their death. There were no Vex that were free of will. None except Cub and Scar, who didn’t count as they weren’t mobs and shouldn’t have been converted in the first place.

“But!” Tango pointed one pointy finger at Cub. “But! It’s a sign of affection! Right?”

Cub really wanted to deny it. But he didn’t want to cause any misunderstandings. Tango was the kind to meddle. Who knew what he would think of doing if he somehow got it into his head that Cub and Scar were a threat to Grian!

“I hate to admit to that. So I won’t.” Was what he settled on.

Tango grinned at him and sauntered over to sit beside him. Immediately his tail came around to curl around Cub. It only squeezed him briefly before letting go again to drape itself over Tango’s lap. He never liked anyone else touching it as it was pretty sensitive. But he himself loved to fiddle with it to keep his hands occupied.

“So I’m not wrong.”

Cub shook his head. And Tango let the conversation breath for a second before deciding that he was the one asking the questions now. “Does Grian know you two like him? Did you tell him?”

“No.” Cub forced out. But Tango kept looking at him with big, round, icy blue eyes almost the colour of a Vex's and Cub relented. “It didn’t seem like the right time. When we figured out we liked him he had just been hurt by Mumbo. We didn’t want to overwhelm him.”

Tango nodded at him, but had a big frown on his face. “I guess that makes sense. But Cubby maybe you should talk to him when he gets back, yeah? Scar and G are like the worst communicators in the history of ever! Seriously it hurt to watch them.”

Now that was making Cub worry. “What did Scar do?”

Tango’s nervous giggle only widened the pit in his stomach. “Well he’s been Scar!”

That could mean so many things. Especially in the context of a murder game. “How Scar?”

“Like Vex 9000 Scar. The vexiest you’ve ever seen him.”

“Oh no has he eaten anyone?”

Tango froze up for a second before turning to look at him in horror. “What?!”

Cub relaxed with a sigh. “I’ll take that as a no. That’s good. So what has he done then?”

“What? No! Wait! You can’t just skip over the part where you suggested that Scar is a cannibal!”

The flailing arms nearly hit Cub in the face. He scooted away from the clearly disturbed Blaze Hybrid and shrugged. “I didn’t suggest anything-”

“You did-!”

“I stated a fact.”

He watched Tango grow quiet and still. He stared as his friend swallowed and kept his gaze when Tango was brave enough to look at him again.

His friend flinched a bit under his intense stare as Cub dared him to say anything negative about his partner. Wisely, Tango didn’t. He sighed, sent a prayer to the ceiling and muttered: “Well guess it’s not worse than any of Zed’s hobbies. I never saw him doing anything like that, though? What kind of death message would that even produce?”

“He tends not to do it too often. Only when he’s really… vexed.” Cub found it a bit rude that Tango was judging his partner for that in the first place. Tango himself was creating a whole game around death and had just willingly competed in a game of violent murder. Also being half Vex, was it really cannibalism if the other Player was a different kind of hybrid? “Anyway mind sharing any details on Scar’s behavior?”

Tango grimaced and flushed with second hand embarassement. “I kinda don’t, but because I love you guys I will.”

If Cub had had any less dignity, he would have put his head in his hands and groaned. This was going to be such a mess. And Scar was supposed to be the emotionally reasonable one!

Notes:

No Grian and Scar this chapter. But a whole lot of Cub! We all missed Cub, right?

Updates will unfortunately continue to be sporadic until January. I always forget how busy the end of the year gets. The urge to write is so strong, though. Ahhhhh

Chapter 59

They were finally red! The guilt quickly morphed into excitement during the funeral they held for Tango and Jimmy. The freedom of being allowed to kill and maim even drowned out the worry about Tango’s whereabouts eventually.

There was Grian’s warm body at his side, half cuddled up to him, and a roaring fire on the horizon, the red of the flames bleeding into the oranges and purples of the sky. Otherside played on loop as the wind blew acrid smoke their way.

Pearl, Cleo, Scott and Martyn had long abandoned them as the last bits and pieces of the Relationship burned up into ash. And as the Ranch burned up behind them, courtesy of Grian committing some well earned arson. They’d grown bored or tired or impatient. There were so many Reds now. It was time that the real chaos began.

Scar’s gaze shifted from the remains of the ship to the grave Grian had build for Tango and Jimmy. If everything had gone right then they would be home now. Hopefully Tango could explain to the other Hermits what was going on. Hopefully Cub would finally know where his partner went.

The guilt poked his insides, tentative and asking if it was allowed to come back out again. After all here Scar was, Grian in his arms having a quite romantic moment, while Cub had been left behind. It felt a bit like cheating. And Scar was painfully aware of his left side, which stayed empty and cold.

But before he could truly start to turn mellow, Grian moved to look up at him with the widest grin. “We’re finally red, Scar.”

Scar chuckled. “That we are!”

Grian jumped for joy and Scar had to give him space or risk getting hit in the jaw by Grian’s head. The Allay’s wings fluttered and flashed, chimes and bells seamlessly mixing with the tunes from the jukebox. “We’re red!”

His partners excitement blew away all negative emotions. It was always so cute when Grian screeched like that!

“We are!” Scar parroted back helplessly. He would have happily kept this senseless back and forth going, too. If only to keep Grian in this state of murderous excitement. “We can kill people now!”

“Yesss! Ren first! Ren first!”

Scar did a double take on that. Ren? Had Grian forgotten that Big B was tied to their furry friend? It seemed like it as his partner pranced away from Jimmy’s and Tango’s grave, urging Scar to follow. Scar gave a little shrug to himself as he trodded behind his Allay. If Grian accidently killed his secret soulmate Scar wouldn’t complain.

Quite the opposite, actually. “What do you have in mind, little bird?”

Grian shot him an annoyed look at the nickname. Scar knew that the only times he was okay with being called a bird was when the word “pesky” was involved. Seeing his soulmate’s adorable pout only made Scar want to call him annoying nicknames more, though. Grian may have learned how to weaponize his adorable appearance, but with every blessing came a curse. And so Grian would have to learn how to live with the consequences of his cuteness.

“I was thinking about trapping Ren’s base.” Grian answered, turning around a bit to grab at Scar’s sleeve to pull him along.

A perfect non-plan plan, then. Scar could roll with that. He widened his strides to keep up with Grian’s impatience, trying to mask how eager he was for the carnage to come. A primal part of him couldn’t wait to watch Grian cause havoc. He wanted to hear that deranged laugh he’d only had the pleasure to listen to a few times by now.

He could let off some of the accumulated steam on another Player later. Right now he was content to be an innocent accomplice to murder.

They made it to Ren’s and Big B’s base without running into anyone. It was a relief that they weren’t target number one anymore. With two deaths in a row they had probably earned themselves a bit of a break in their frenemies' eyes. Well it was going to be their doom.

As quickly and quietly as they could, they made it all the way up to the top. Which honestly? There wasn’t much trying involved. They were giggling like little children about to play a prank. Grian’s chimes had become addicting. His joyous, otherworldly tunes causing the Vex inside his head to screech with delight. The jittery energy had to be let out somehow. And because Grian’s laugh was infective and Scar couldn’t just pull him into the nearest corner and kiss his soulmate silly, Scar chuckled along.

Needless to say it was the worst break in in the history of break ins.

“Alright, what now?” Scar looked around the almost empty platform. There was a lot of cobble. A lot. The monotone texture was hurting his eyes. He didn’t know much about Big B’s building skills, but Ren could have been better! Seriously even the Ranch had looked more homey than this. He was very tempted to start on designing an interior instead of trapping anything. Just so there could be something to trap.

Grian didn’t have the same problem. He hadn’t answered his question, too focused on fiddling with something above the ladder to hear the Vex. Scar fondly shook his head at him and started to rummage through the few chests that were lying about.

“Fiends! There are fiends in our abode!”

Shocks of adrenalin zapped through his body as he heard the commotion from below. The hunts from the days before where still in his system, causing his flight instinct to kick into gear right away. He quickly made his way back to the opening where the ladder was and dropped down onto the level below to make sure he stood between their assailants and Grian.

“Scar, watch it!” Grian seethed above him not particularly thankful for the protection Scar was trying to offer.

“You filthy intruders! Come down and face me like honorable men!” Ren spat as he climbed up, eyes flashing red.

Big B had stayed behind, sword out, but hesitating on the stairs to the entrance. “Grian?!”

“We’re not honorable!” Scar yelled back down, over Big B’s voice, loud enough to drown it out. He didn’t want Grian to remember that Big B was bound to Ren. Above the panic of another close quarter fight and the knowledge that one more fuck up would end them, there was the fear of his prey getting away. He needed that other Allay eliminated. “Also that’s rude! What about the women? And everyone in between? And beyond? And-”

He couldn’t even finish his defensive ramblings, because from one moment to the next something heavy and pointy sailed down inches from his head and struck Ren. In an instant the yapping Wolf Hybrid was gone, barely able to finish a scream of “This is outrageous!”, and his belongings and leftover magic plummeted to the floor. Scar stared at the wreckage and for a moment there was stunned silence from everyone.

“What the hell?” Joel yelled, causing Scar to flinch. He hadn’t even realized that there had been other people coming over.

“Did I hit him?” Grian yelled down, voice wobbly and filled with disbelief.

“What the heck did you do?” Joel screeched back.

Scar marveled at the fear in his voice, Vex purring at the clean kill their mate had produced. He scrambled back up and grinned at his partner, who stood at the edge of the hole leading down, shell shocked.

Now that wouldn’t do. Sure Scar’s own brain was still trying to make sense of what his eyes had just seen. But Grian needed to be praised immediately. “You did! That was- I have no clue what that was, but it was amayzing!”

Wide, black eyes met his and blinked at him. Scar heaved himself up the last few inches and didn’t waste any time in scooping Grian up to twirl him around. “Whatever you did, you nailed it! You nailed Ren!”

Grian clung to him as he was whirled around. “I did it!” He cackled, loud and manic. “I can’t believe that worked! Ha Haaaaa!!!” A moment later Scar’s words fully filtered through his brain and he smacked Scar’s arms. “Scar! Would you think before speaking!”

His little Allay was still grinning from ear to ear, so he couldn’t be too cross with him. Scar didn’t want to let go of him yet, but stretched his arms out so that he could put a little bit of distance between them as a precaution. There was a dangerous, overexcited glint in those beautiful black orbs. A flash of red telling of a bloodlust not quite quenched. And while they were partners and Grian probably saw the same reflected back in Scar’s own eyes- Well Scar didn’t want to end up as collateral damage. Or do something stupid like kiss him. Or lose his nose because Grian suddenly decided he wanted to bite him.

Honestly they were both pumped full of adrenalin and dopamine! Who knew what either of them would do any given moment! The sudden shift in momentum as he held Grian out like an offering nearly caused their third death by stumbling dangerously close to the edge of the hole with the ladder. Grian continued to contently dangle in Scar’s grip and didn’t even complain about his slip up, still basking in the glory of his kill.

“Can someone explain to me what the heck just happened?!” Joel’s half hysterical screaming from the entrance reminded the pair that they were still not alone.

They both grinned down at Joel, who may have worn a frown on his face, but somehow still looked excited. “Well?!” And impatient.

“I killed him with a stalactite!” Grian finally shared his secret with them. “They do crazy damage! I noticed when I accidently hit Scar with one. I didn’t know they could straight up kill people! How cool is that?”

Now Joel looked a bit concerned and stepped away a bit, eyeing the space above Grian and Scar warily. “Yeah. Cool. Say why did we say we shouldn’t wear helmets anymore?”

“Because it’s harder to see faces with the helmets on, Joel.”

Joel fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “But we all know each other now. A little bit of extra protection surely-”

“No.” The word was infused with a brain splitting dissonance that locked up Scar’s muscles and kept him from drawing another breath until the last echo of Grian’s displeasure faded away.

There was no further contest to the rule. Joel was quick to nod and stammer excuses to leave. “Right. Okay! Great we had that chat. I’ll uh- go with Etho now. Don’t wanna end up like Ren and Big B, ya know? So uh- yeah. Bye!”

Scar knew Grian had finally realized the error of his ways by the way his partner nearly melted into a sad little puddle in his hands. He had to pinch his lips together hard to keep the smile off his face.

“Oh no. Oh no Scar. I… I killed Big B!”

Scar bit on his lip for good measure. “How unfortunate.” He mumbled, barely keeping his delight out of his voice. If Grian caught on he could blame the leftover euphoria of the kill.

Grian let out a whine, eyes watering a little and Scar set him gently back down. “I think we need to make another grave.”

“Of course.” Scar said in a solemn tone, voice trembling from the effort. He patted Grian’s head. “I’ll bring the cookies.”

He did a bit more than that, in the end. The way Grian moped around and shot him guilty glances, Scar felt the need to show his little Allay that he wasn’t alone in this. That he was fine to mourn a friend gone. Even if it was just a mock death and he was probably fine somewhere in the known or unknown universe. Now blessedly far away from his soulmate.

Sure the grave wasn’t his best work. But Big B hadn’t been a builder so if his ghost had somehow lingered he wouldn’t be able to tell. And Grian wasn’t in the mood to judge. He stood in front of the cold stone and nibbled on one of Scar’s cookies, deep in thought.

It felt a bit like deja vu. They’d just left Jimmy’s and Tango’s gravestone. And now they stood in front of another. Only this time there were no flames or music. No friends to keep them company even just for a little while.

There was only a cold stone floor and a natural darkness creeping up on them as the sun set. Scar stared at the grave in solemn understanding that things were coming to a close.

The silence was starting to become unbearable. He walked up to his partner and gently bumped shoulders with him. “You okay?”

Grian stopped his nibbling to look up to him. “Hm? Oh yeah. I think.” He looked down at the pastry in his hands. “I guess these are mine now, eh?”

Scar chuckled as he wrapped a protective arm around Grian’s shoulder and bent down to nuzzle the crown of his head. “All yours. And I’ll make you more once we’re back home.”

He heard Grian’s wings flutter. “For free?”

“For free.”

“Without any weird ingredients in them?”

Scar thought about it for a second. “Maybe.”

Grian grumbled a little, but leaned into Scar’s embrace. “Fine. I’ll make Pearl test taste them.”

Oh his devious little Allay. Scar buried his nose deeper into Grian’s fluffy hair, happy to be let so close, chest lighter with their banter. Things here might be ending, but if he played his cards right he might still have a bright future ahead of him.

Notes:

Sorry for going so silent for a while. Pre-christmas craziness has gotten to me. Which is also why I decided that this will be the last chapter I'll be posting for this fic this year. I'll try and get back to a regular posting schedule in January.

I am doing the AO3 wrapped ask game over on tumblr in the meantime, though. So if anyone wants me to answer some of the questions feel free to send an ask.

Thank you all so much for the lovely comments, kudos and re-reads this year! I hope you guys have a great holiday season, whether you celebrate christmas, hanukka or something else (or maybe don't celebrate at all). Happy New Years as well! See you all in 2025! :)

Chapter 60

Grian hadn’t meant to kill Big B so soon after turning red. His main target had been Ren. Ren, who had been so obnoxious with his stupid kingly attitude back home and those stupid quests that were nothing more than chores. Ren, who had snatched Big B as his soulmate and taken Grian’s easy option out of whatever mess Scar’s and his relationship was at the moment.

Of course Grian had forgotten all about that in his haste to get some revenge on the poor dog. And as if karma hadn’t already been served to him tenfold he found his beautiful velvet keep burned to the ground not much later. So that was what Joel and Etho had meant when they had started chanting “The ship burns everything burns”. Scar would not be happy about the defiled sanctuary. At least some of the pandas were still around.

It wasn’t like Grian could be mad about the base being gone either. There was no change in a Player’s code when they turned red, but even just the symbolism of their names turning another colour sent a rush through everyone it happened to. Grian had felt it, too. It felt as though he had been straining against an invisible leash all game long and was now finally allowed to run free.

His kill, despite the consequences, had felt good. Refreshing. And he had turned around to burn down Jimmy’s and Tango’s Ranch the moment he was done talking to their gravestone.

Letting his gaze briefly sweep over the carnage Grian’s focus quickly shifted to his communicator. Specifically the yellow names that were still present in their little Player group. Scott, Pearl, Martyn and Cleo. Only two more pairs and then everyone would be red. With four people already out the game would likely be over soon.

It was about time, too. As much fun as it had been to see so many of his old friends, it was high time everyone went back to where they belonged. Grian had been finding more and more bugs everytime he checked the world’s magic. It’s code was getting tangled and glitchy, held together only by ductape and string. Whoever had build the web of magic that supported the current mechanics was doing a pretty good job of keeping the whole net from collapsing. But it was only a matter of time before something tore. Thinking back to Evo Grian knew he had to speed things up without causing everyone else concern.

Thankfully the reds were already out for blood. It would be easy to form a brief fellowship to get rid of the last yellows. And after that? Grian doubted that anyone would last long. Now he only had to construct a good enough meeting ground that could be used as a neutral zone. He had just finished constructing the six seats of the Fellowship of the Reds when his soulmate managed to find him.

“Oh you got to be kidding me?!”

Grian looked up from where he’d just placed one of his stalactites. “Oh, there you are.”

Scar barely heard him over his own growling. His eyes were that pretty blue colour that made Grian want to pluck them out and devour them. For some reason he was sure they would taste like gooseberries. Oh, he was going to need to distract his Vex before he murdered the very obvious culprits that were going to visit them soon.

“It’s not that bad. Look what happened to our base.” He gestured behind him at the skeleton of burned beams and floating bits up in the sky.

Scar followed the arch of his arm and squinted up into the sun. “Now that’s new. I don’t believe blocks should be doing that.”

“Eh.” Grian shrugged. “It’s fine.” His base back with the Hermits was made up of much bigger floating rocks and that world hadn’t collapsed yet.

His soulmate looked a bit skeptical. “The world will hold up then?”

“Until we’re finished, sure. After that, I don’t know. I’m troubleshooting whenever I got the time. I’m not sure how long it’ll hold up without an admin.” Grian confessed. Scar wasn’t one to panic, so he was confident in confiding in him.

“Hm. Do you think everyone will go back if we die? Or will they stay until their three lives are up?”

That was actually a good question. One Grian hadn’t even thought about. “I…” Was it bad that he got upset at the thought of the game ending with him? He wanted there to be a winner. “I hope not?”

Scar made a sound that told Grian that he had just lost him. “Hope that they go back with us or?”

“I want them to be able to keep playing.” He said and suddenly felt as though a thousand eyes were honing in on him, an invisible force taking his words and making them so. Grian relaxed and looked up. There was only the clear blue of the sky, the Void beyond invisible to him. But he knew without a doubt that there was something behind it. Something that was invested in him. That had been whispering to him ever since he’d discovered that Rift. Maybe even before that.

He arranged his face into the sternest expression he could muster and pointed upward. “You better take good care of them, too should I be gone sooner!”

Scar came up beside him and looked up as well, tilting his head to try and see what he was talking to. “What?”

Well at least his soulmate wasn’t mad anymore. And even though he didn’t get an answer from above he was sure he had gotten his point across. His Players would be safe.“Come on. Help me set this up before everyone arrives.”

Scar, as always, wasn’t of much help. He ended up placing a grant total of two blocks before being distracted by the pandas. Not much later Joel and Etho arrived, acting all innocent about the burning, but being too giddy to sell the act.

Thankfully Scar had been mollified by feeding the pandas and playing with Jellie, who had wandered into their makeshift neutral zone with the air of a queen returning to her kingdom. Grian vowed to sneak her a raw fish or two when Scar wasn’t looking. Her presence was greatly lowering the risk of Scar going on a rampage. Now Grian only had to hope that everyone else would behave.

There was tension at first, of course. They were all red and could try and go for a kill whenever they felt like it. They hadn’t even really agreed to forming an alliance yet. Grian had just sent them a message that told them to meet up at the burned cake.

He was cursing his builder instincts a little bit when Pearl snuck up on them not long after they had all settled down in their seats. If he hadn’t wanted to make the space look cool with the stalactites sticking out of the ground, there wouldn’t have been a way to easily eavesdrop.

At least it was just Pearl. She was basically a honorary red at this point. Others weren’t as happy with her presence. “Pearl stay out of the circle or I’ll drive my sword through your guts!” Joel threatened the giggling woman, not for the first time.

Grian sighed, they hadn’t even gotten to suggest ganging up on the yellows yet! And looking over to his soulmate, Grian quickly realized that he wouldn’t get any help from his silvertongue of a Vex either. Scar was too busy feeding the pandas and giving Etho and Joel the stink eye. His partner was the only one who wasn’t using his chair as intended. No, the Vex had sat down next to the damned thing, complaining about the seat being too hard on his back. The ungrateful git. He was using it as an armrest instead, while Jellie had taken his place on top of the chair.

She probably enjoyed the way the sun had warmed the rock beneath her. Jellie had stretched herself out as much as possible in order for her body to catch all the light of the sun that it could. Occasionally she let out tiny purrs and mrrps, causing the members of the Fellowship of the Reds to look over and coo at her.

“I’m staying where I am! I’m staying! See?”

Grian looked over and made another disgruntled noise. Pearl wore one of the widest grins he had ever seen on her and was toeing the line between being in and out of the circle, clearly aggravating Joel and loving every second of it.

Void this meeting was already turning out to be a disaster. Grian wondered how Xisuma pushed through them. The Hermits were a lunatic bunch with the attention span of toddlers. And apparently his friends weren’t any better.

“Okay. Fellas, fellas, how about we focus, yeah? As you’ve noticed there’s only four yellows left. Scott, Cleo, Martyn and Pearl. I say we all come together in a grand fellowship to turn our Player list a nice, monotone shade of red. What do you say?”

Blank looks reflected back at him as his words were being processed. Then Bdubs pointed at Pearl. “She’s also yellow.”

“Yes.” Grian agreed with a patience he didn’t possess. His skin itched and every second he had to sit still and talk when he could run and spill blood felt like an agonizing eternity. “But Pearl is more ally than enemy. She wants Scott dead as much as we do.”

Pearl nodded and brought out the powdered snow, taking off her boots before stepping into it. Of course she had to get into the circle to do it, making Joel’s hackles rise again. She gave them all a cheeky grin as she started to freeze. “I do.”

“Well we could just kill you.” Bdubs suggested. “That would be one pair down.”

Pearl gasped, but didn’t look scared in the slightest. “No! I object!”

“You’re yellow, you don’t get to have a say in anything we do.” Grian reminded her, earning himself a pout.

He thrust out a hand to stop Impulse from unsheathing his sword further. “Impulse!” He hissed, eyes glowing a menacing pink for a second, voice slightly layered. “We’re still just brainstorming.”

Startled, Impulse fell back into his seat with a sheepish smile. “Okay.”

“Geez when did you turn from cute to scary?” Bdubs muttered.

Scar was quick to let out an affronted gasp on Grian’s behalf. “He’s still cute! The most adorably pretty little bird around!”

Bdubs rolled his eyes. “Of course Mister love-sick fool.”

Scar let out a vicious growl, ready to fight for something Grian didn’t even care about. He could be cute and scary, damn it! Bdubs stood up as well and oh this was not going well. So when Etho also left his seat and pulled out his sword Grian prepared for a fight. “Grian, you have my sword.”

Dumbfounded, Grian blinked at the silver haired man for a couple of seconds, mind racing through the conversation to find the thread Etho had picked up again. When he finally found the place he smiled and cheered. “Yess! That’s what I wanted!”

The others were quick to catch on, brewing fight all but forgotten in the name of re-enacting a favourite movie scene. Joel vowed to join with his crossbow, Bdubs with his shield, Impulse with his redstone and Scar with his flint and steel. Pearl waved her hand and stated plainly that she was just there for the chaos.

And chaos broke out sooner rather than later, for the fellowship had barely been founded when they heard Cleo and Scott digging down below them. From then on out the hunt was on. And Grian enjoyed running with the pack of predators instead of being the scared prey for once.

However the quick chase only managed to disperse the group, some following Scott, others Cleo and Martyn and some just split off to do their own thing. Presumably. There was no way Grian was able to keep track of everyone and their goals. Heck it had only taken about half an hour of running for Grian to lose almost everyone but his soulmate.

“I can’t believe Pearl betrayed us like that.” He pouted, more proud of his mischievious sister in spirit than actually hurt by her actions.

Scar skidded to a stop beside him and almost face planted into the dirt. Grian reached out to catch one of his wings and only realized seconds too late that that was not an appropriate limb to use for tugging. He winced at the sting and made an apologetic noise when Scar turned to look at him.

“Ow.”

“Sorry.”

“You don’t just touch a man’s wings like that, Grian.” Scar scolded him.

Grian crossed his arms and tensed up, his own wings pressed to his back, worried they might get grabbed as retaliation. “Falling on your face would have hurt worse.”

“I was fine!”

“Really?” Grian scoffed. “Looked to me like gravity was winning there.”

Scar kicked at the ground. “Well I... I was bluffing!”

“Sure buddy.” He was getting sidetracked again. They needed another kill. “How about we go trap Pearl’s tower? I think I saw Martyn in the area. Maybe we can catch him with some TNT.”

It was a good enough peace offering. Grian should remember that for future spats. Unfortunately neither of them were very good at traps and Grian didn’t have any more stalactites to drop on peoples heads. With a sigh he took out his flint and steel and burned the top of Pearl’s tower down.

Scar rowed them to safety, cackling all the way down. Grian could feel his mirth vibrate against his cheek as he leaned into him, clinging on tight as to not fall out of the boat turned aircraft. The rest of the day was a flurry of motion, full of brief meetings with the other reds, setting up failing traps and shooting at the yellows whenever they dared to show themselves.

They briefly got sidetracked by horses. Which wouldn’t have been too strange given that Bdubs and Joel were on Grian’s team now. But the circumstances were a little bit concerning. It was never a good sign when mobs started acting weird. Sure they were wild animals that had their own mannerisms. But that had nothing to do with age or appearance. If a horse looked like a grown up to some and a foal to others you knew the world was turning sideways. Thankfully they were all crazy here and his friends trusted him way too much for how clueless Grian was about the whole thing. And so they easily slid back into their game.

More running. More setting things on fire. And eventually they circled back to Pearl’s tower. By that point Grian’s blood was boiling, his body an exposed wire sparking with electricity. Being hunted had been fun in a way, but it had been utterly exhausting. The anxiety, having to be alert at all times and not being able to rest had sapped up all his energy when he’d been prey. And as soon as he had been able to catch a break he’d crashed.

Hunting, though, that was a different game. He had a pack to howl with, could take time to stop and plan and refuel. He didn’t need to watch his back or worry about his partner. He could focus on eliminating the people that were still ahead of him. Every missed opportunity was only building up delicious tension.

Grian let out a hum he’d never made before. Distorted, yes, but in a way that sounded more like a record player being forced to play backwards. His wings had grown again and he was flapping them now, only the hand of Etho keeping him from cheating too much and flying up to Scott. Shooting him down was going to be more satisfying anyway.

Scar wasn’t fairing any better. He was squirming in place, Vex aspect on full display, bow out and grinning. One look at him and Grian nearly started a fight with him instead. Just because he looked so enticing. Like he could match his violence and maybe even get out on top.

Their red friends were equally as delirious with bloodlust, barking and jeering and barely Player like anymore even though their physical appearance didn’t change like Scar’s and Grian’s did. Someone got a lucky shot at Scott. Or maybe the local pretty boy felt like he’d gotten cornered up there. Whatever had changed the tides of this hunt, their prey was coming down, trying for a quick get away.

Grian bolted towards where he knew Scott would land, his pack behind him and his soulmate at his side. He caught sight of Pearl in the trees. It didn’t seem like she was running with them, though. So the two had made up again? Or maybe they’d just been mock fighting all along. It was hard to keep track of all the fake and real relationships around him even though he should have kept a better eye on everyone. Alas the social game wasn’t his forte. Scott played it better than him.

But Scott was going down now. They were making sure of it. With a bang and a flash of a rainbow Pearl and Scott turned red. Joel howled in victory, nearly bursting Grian’s eardrums. It didn’t matter, the rush of a death was better than anything any drug could have provided. It was such a perfect death, too! Scott took great pride in being gay and colourful, so being shot by fireworks that illuminated his bits with pretty rainbow sparkles was the best death that he could have hoped for. Good for him because his bits were definitely being looted.

“What now? What now?” Scar asked beside him. His magic was lashing out wildly, painting almost visible swirls of blue in the air. Just a bit more pent up energy and Scar might have been able to manifest blocks of Vex magic that could potentially corrupt the world a tiny bit more. He was clearly miffed about not having gotten his own kill yet.

Grian regarded him for a moment and accidently lured Scar into a staring match. His eyes were so bright and Grian so close that he could see his own face reflected back at himself. His own eyes were black and huge, a glint of pink where the pupil should have been.

“Traps?” He warbled, voice so distorted that he might as well have spoken in another language.

And yet his friends understood him perfectly well. They followed him as though they were moths and he their guiding light. Only Grian was probably leading them to an explody end. They had quickly decided on trying out a TNT minecart trap somewhere close to Impulse’s and Bdub’s base. And somehow Grian found himself placing the TNT minecarts.

“Scar? If I mess this up, I’m sorry!”

“What?!”

Grian wiped the sweat from his forehead, somehow afraid that even such small drops could set off the TNT before him. Warping the space around minecards enough that they could occupy the same spot without getting damaged and explode took a lot of concentration. He really shouldn’t have started a conversation with Scar.

Especially because the bloody Vex wasn’t even paying attention to him anyway. “I said-”

“I’m going to try and lure someone in!”

“Scar no!”

Suffice it to say that that trap hadn’t worked either. But at least none of their group had died. So on they went to blow up Martyn’s gross, heart shaped base. They had wanted to retrieve the TNT at first. But then someone – probably Scar – had started shooting the flesh coloured blob with flaming arrows. And priorities shifted quickly from getting more TNT to blowing up that eyesore.

Grian felt a bit bad about it. The blood red bits and almost organic shape reminded him of the fleshy insides of the Entity. And while it was very unlikely that Martyn’s base had sentience, the world was still wacky enough that Grian had worried about it a little.

He missed the Entity. He wondered if his little rock friend was doing well. It was probably upset about not getting stocked and not getting any attention. Grian would need to visit it as soon as he was back. If he got back.

“We should get some Wardens up here.” Grian blurted out while his mind was elsewhere, giving his mouth a chance to run free. He took a breath and blinked, then shrugged and decided to keep the suggestion as it was.

Surely a few Wardens would help to speed things up. Right? He was high enough on adrenalin that he felt almost no apprehension going back down to the Deep Dark. At least the purpose was a more fun one this time. And he wasn’t alone. Although…

Grian eyed his soulmate. Maybe not being alone when the company involved him wasn’t a good idea. Then again, at this stage of the game, any death was a good death.

The Deep Dark was as dreary as ever, but it didn’t look as abandoned or wild anymore. Paths of wool and orange flickering torches lined the ancient structures. Patches of sculk had been taken out and chests had been left open. Small waterfalls splashed down into shallow pools from bridges and openings in the cave walls. And crafting benches littered the space as well. Because of course no one ever bothered to pick up their crafting benches.

Honestly the closer he looked the more the place seemed like an abandoned playground. The only thing missing was a brightly coloured ball pit.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Impulse asked lightly, only a little tremble in his voice showing his nerves.

Bdubs was beside him, huge eyes taking everything in with childlike wonder now that they weren’t rushing in and out of the place like maniacs.

Scar clapped his hands. “We make some noise!”

Grian was on him in a second shushing him. He had grabbed Scar’s hands that were still held together and beat his tiny wings to be able to reach Scar’s mouth with his other hand. He could feel Scar smiling against his palm and glowered. “Scar no.”

“We need to prepare a pathway to get the Warden up first.” Etho explained while Grian continued to glare at his smug soulmate daring him to try and lick his palm. He would bite his tongue off. “And we need a nametag so it won’t despawn later.”

“Does anyone know where Tango built the water stream up?” Joel asked, gaze sweeping over the massive cave.

“No. But I do know where Cleo and Martyn are.” Bdubs tried to say in a voice that wasn’t bordering on yelling and failed miserably.

Thankfully no Shrieker was near or they would have been plunged into darkness the moment Scar had decided to clap his hands. Thus the group could clearly follow Bdubs’ finger to where he was pointing. And sure enough, if Grian squinted and concentrated really hard he could make out a green and a red shape in the distance.

He wrinkled his nose and let go of Scar. “What are they doing here?”

“Probably trying to get us killed.” Etho mused just as a Shrieker went off on the other end of the hall.

It was far enough away that its areal effect didn’t reach them, but the bone chilling screech still made them fidget with unease. It seemed like this would become a much more rushed operation than they had originally planned.

“Okay.” Grian breathed, heart fluttering. He had wanted a Warden to appear. He reminded himself as a second Shrieker was triggered. “We need to find a way to get a Warden up to the surface fast.”

“You do that. I’m going to kill Cleo!” Scar shouted.

“Scar!”

Grian hadn’t been the only one screaming his soulmate’s name. The others were just as shocked, Impulse even launching forward as if anyone could hold back Scar if he really wanted to do something.

Grian stayed rooted to the spot, breath caught in his throat as he watched Scar disappear behind one of the pillars. The third strike rang out in the cavern and just like that death greeted them once more. It materialised from the pulsing, starry vines and spongy blocks that mocked the Void, crawling out of the ground like some kind of demon. Maybe it was. Maybe everyone had always gotten a demons horns all wrong.

It was unfair that it hadn’t appeared near Martyn and Cleo even though they had been the ones to set it off. But he guessed that his group was just bigger, more easily found.

Whatever it was that had given them the short end of the stick, it left them with a Warden that was far too close for comfort and a water stream that had yet to be discovered. Grian pelted the monster into the face with a snowball.

“Move!”

Their group split apart. Grian hated that he had to run again. He had thought that his plan would give him a little bit of respite in that area. Alas he would be getting another round of cardio in. Locating anything in this maze of sculk, old arches and wool bridges that wasn’t positioned right by the huge, busted portal was tricky. Now with a Warden on the loose and darkness never far away from the edges of his vision it became even harder.

He tripped over his own feet in his haste to get to somewhere high. At least this time the Warden wasn’t focused on him. He didn’t know who was being targeted. There were yells coming from everywhere and if they weren’t being careful they would coax another Warden out.

Wings beating overtime to give him just that little bit of extra lift, Grian made it onto one of the bridges and immediately jumped at the next pillar to get on one of the arches. The ancient structures didn’t just look cool in their decayed state. The brittle stone also had a lot of footholds to use for climbing. Thankfully the structures were also still stable enough to walk around on.

He panted once he had gotten up on one of the highest arches and tried to get his bearings. His head had quite some trouble to process everything that had happened after he had turned red. It was still somewhere with Martyn’s base, lagging behind somewhat awful. He forced it to skip a few scenes just so he could better focus on the present. He had thoroughly lost his group, although he could hear Bdubs screaming somewhere on the other side of the city.

When he turned he caught a flash of yellow darting between the buildings and figured that must have been Impulse. There was no sign of Scar, Cleo and Martyn. And also nothing from Joel or Etho. On the bright side, though, there was also no pain! So Grian figured he was as safe as he could be given the circumstances.

Taking the time he had to scan the far side of the cave Grian wished he had taken a spyglass with him. There was something much further out that looked like a hole with a couple of torches. But he couldn’t be sure until he was a bit closer.

Grian started tiptoing along the bridges, jumping from one pillar to the next to stay up as long as he could. He knew the Warden’s blast range was ridiculous and would pulverize him no matter what. But at least this way he could keep watch over most of the area. It helped, too, that the Ancient City was, overall, a very quiet place. Curiously, no other mobs ever seemed to wander into it. The shadows stayed free of Skeletons and Zombies. The air was stale and still, only a faint breeze coming out of the broken, alien portal at the far back of the city.

Every sound that echoed through this abandoned space could be heard loud and clear because of that background of silence. Even the Warden’s quiet shuffling and sniffing. So even if Grian couldn’t see it most of the time, he had a pretty good idea as to where it was.

Another step was taken on the brittle path to the watery hole that was hopefully Tango’s bubble elevator. At first Grian thought he had caught onto a loose tile. But the sudden vertigo didn’t match his movements. He wasn’t slipping, wasn’t falling. Only the world around him shifted, a distant thunder, easy to miss, rumbled at the back of his mind.

He stopped and blinked and took the time to pull out his communicator. Martyn and Cleo were red.

Grian met up with their murderer close to the artificial water stream. Or rather Scar found him after he had just dropped down to get a closer look at the structure.

Arms slung around him as a mouth that was far too close to his ear whispered a joyful “Grian!”.

He just about remembered to hold back his scream of surprise. “Scar!” He yelled-whispered and squirmed to turn in his soulmates’ grasp. “You did it!”

Scar grinned down out him looking much calmer now that he had gotten his kill in. “I did!”

Grian opened his mouth to praise him more, but Scar was faster. “It was so bad Grian!” He exclaimed, taking one hand off of him to gesture at the water stream. “I was hunting them down in there. And the water kept pushing me back. It was the slowest, most boring chase ev-”

Grian wisely used his hand instead of his mouth to shut the Vex up. “Hush! Don’t explain it to me. In my mind it was epic.”

“But it wasn’t-”

He pressed his palm harder against Scar’s lips. “No. You don’t say anything further and it will stay cool in my head.”

Scar’s eyes gleamed, ready to protest again just so he could be contrary. Grian held his gaze and glowered him into submission while a thousand butterflies had apparently made a nest in his chest.

They all regrouped eventually, only to leave Grian alone shortly after. There were no yellows anymore so there was no need for a red alliance. Everyone was jumpy in each other’s presence. And Scar still had leftover energy to shake off.

So one by one his friends slipped away while Grian worked to repair the water stream and check the tunnel that would lead him out. His heart skipped a beat when he turned and no one was there with him anymore. He’d been talking to thin air for a while he presumed.

He had half the mind to join the rest up top once he realized that he was alone. He didn’t want to deal with a Warden without at least some of his friends nearby. But he was stubborn, too. This was his plan. His time to cause some major mayhem in the overworld. And the bug like demon creature wasn’t that hard to handle anyway. It did remind him a bit of Mumbo in its clumsiness. You took the redstoner out of his element and he would also fumble around blind and start screaming eventually.

It was a stupid thing to do, in hindsight. He had no prior experience with handling dangerous mobs, much less Wardens. And he was exhausted. Of course something would go wrong. Of course the Warden would somehow be able to sniff him out through the stone and water and blast him.

As his eardrums shattered and his lifeline broke all he could do was apologize to Scar while a petty part of him reasoned that at least he had only caused one of their deaths.

It was finally time to go home.

Notes:

First update of the new year let's gooo! Hope you had a great holiday season and I wish you all a happy new year!

For 2025 I will be keeping the upload schedule of once every two weeks for now. As that seems to work best with my current writing speed.

Chapter 61

His last death came out of nowhere and blew his brains out. One moment he was riding a horse and the next he was being obliterated by the echoes of a sonic boom, shredded into a thousand tiny particles and sucked up into the Void. Awareness wasn’t a thing in these brief moments of travel between the stars. He had no body to comprehend what was going on around him. But the experience was etched into his soul, his magic itching and violated. It quivered before settling, a new, alien layer molded onto it that slid over his original core like a slimy, protective film.

Scar plucked at it with his consciousness as soon as he could. It was sticky, but seemed to unravel as time went by. And while it had a weird hum to it that reminded him of Grian when he distorted- Actually that was a big reason why he was probably okay trusting its presence. It was sorting itself out as he poked at it. So it was surely fine.

There were more important things to concentrate on anyway. Like the warm body beside him that was beginning to shift.

Finally opening his eyes, Scar recognized his home immediately. The sky was a lighter shade of blackish blue due to the light pollution the Hermits had brought with them. Only the brightest stars and closest, biggest space stations could be seen from their temporary home world. And still the sight made him dizzy, his body still unsure if it was even really there or not.

Scar tried to get his senses back in order. A business he was quite familiar with, given that his body liked to play tricks on him ever since his painful transformation. First came touch. The grass beneath his fingers was cold, but dry and cut short. It prickled, unlike the high grass he’d grown used to in the past few… weeks? Months? Time was so hard to keep track of.

Next came taste. There was nothing in his mouth so all he could do was take a huge gulp of air and marvel at its flavor. It was a bit metallic and sparky from all the redstone dust that their redstone experts were using. It was very-

“Scar?” Grian’s small voice cracked. Scar hadn’t gotten to the part where he figured out how to use his body yet, so all he could do was force out a garbled noise that could have been interpreted as “Grian.”

Odd. Not only did Grian seem much better off even though he had been the one who had ended up actually being pulverized. The way back also had left much more of an impact on Scar’s body. Back then he had just woken up a bit disorientated. Now his body just hated him.

He decided to stay laying down while Grian sat up. It already took a lot out of him to turn his head so he could look at the Allay. He put in a small amount of extra energy to muster up a grin. His mouth felt foreign when it formed the next sentence. “We made it back. You were right”

Grian looked up at him, dazed and with eyes too big and unfocused. “I was? I mean of course!” His gaze sharpened, expression pinched as though he was making a considerable effort to come back to himself. “I’m never wrong!”

It was said with so much false confidence that Scar wanted to pull him into a hug and never let go. But he couldn’t move just yet so he opted for some verbal affirmation. “Never! That’s why I always put my trust in you.”

Grian shook his head at him with a small smile. And Scar didn’t often get jealous with his partners. But seeing Grian move so effortlessly made something bitter rise up in his throat. It was unfair. Scar wanted that too.

Grian must have seen the displeasure on his face because his happy expression vanished and he curled in on himself, hugging his knees and resting his head on them. “Sorry.”

“About what?” Scar forced out and because of that it must have sounded harsher than he meant it to. He clawed at the ground and wriggled his toes to loosen up. Just a little bit longer and he might be able to sit up and get to Grian.

“About the dying” Grian whispered as if confessing to a sin. His head was bent at an awkward angle so he could look at Scar. And his eyes were huge and black. Two shiny black holes that drew Scar in and threatened to steal his sense of self again.

He blinked against their gravity and forced himself upright. Several of his bones popped and creaked as he did, making him grimace and wince. “Nah that’s okay.” He took a breath, finding his lungs had already used up all the air he had given them to speak. “I’ve made us die twice.”

Grian watched him struggle and slowly unfurled himself to crawl towards him. “Still. You were allowed to say sorry. So I get to say I’m sorry, too. Scar, are you okay there, buddy?”

His lovely, too stubborn for his own good, Allay! If he had the energy to argue he would have done so. “I- I might have gotten a bit travel sick or something.”

“Or something.” Grian mocked him and stood, reaching out to haul Scar up as well.

It was always surprising how strong Grian really was. Especially when such acts of strength were accompanied by the cute picture of Grian having to flap his wings and hover up to even get high enough to lift Scar up on his feet.

Being forced upright might not have been the best thing. His knees wobbled, joints locking up to try and keep him steady. His breath hitched as he both fell to the side and threatened to collapse fully. But Grian was still by his side, holding him upright and making worried noises.

“Scar! That’s not good. You’re not- the way back didn’t hurt you, right? I can’t check, I’m not an admin anymore. Xisuma! I’m gonna-”

“Hush little bird.” Scar put a hand over Grian’s and squeezed. “It’s okay. The death plus the transportation method through the stars probably just… messed me up a bit.”

Okay that wasn’t the most reassuring thing to say. “It’s fine. It’s a Vex thing.” He tried to clarify. Having to say it like that made a bolt of shame run through him. A new wave of hate for what he had become toppled over the relief of being back home.

“Oh.” Grian breathed out, oblivious to Scar’s turmoil. “How long will you…?”

Lost for words Grian waved a hand over Scar’s body, which shouldn’t have explained anything, but very much summarized the issue.

“Dunno. Tends to vary. But… it’ll pass.” He could already breath a little bit easier. His body was acclimating to the old new world once more. But these things took time. Scar had long since learned not to get too impatient about it all even if it was frustrating.

“Do you want me to fly you home?” Grian asked sweetly. And in any other context Scar would have taken that as a sure fire sign that the little Allay was interested in him romantically.

In this particular context, though, Scar was only confused. “You don’t have an el-”

With a sound like a whistle and an echo of an ominous bell, Grian flapped open his wings. They stretched as they rose, edges blurring and blue melting into pink melting into purple until the tips resembled feathers more than fairy wings.

They didn’t look real or like they could carry anything. It was like looking at a rainbow. But Scar knew better. They were more than just breathtaking. They were strong just like Grian. He would be safe in his arms.

“Ah.” Was all that his vocal cords could get out. He held his arms out instead, earning a huffed chuckle from the Allay.

“Okay.” Grian effortlessly picked him up, which didn’t mean that it wasn’t a bit awkward. Their size difference was not in their favour in this endeavor and Scar had to hunch over to get his arms around Grian’s neck. “I’ll get you home, mister.”

“You didn’t even buy me dinner first.” Scar quipped, half heartedly. His words were lost in the wind and his own hammering heartbeat.

At least the breeze cooled his heated face. It shouldn’t be so hot to be carried around by someone so much smaller than him. Especially when most of his instincts still screamed “protect!” whenever Grian was near.

The distance from Spawn to Scar’s elven tree wasn’t far. He barely had time to compose (enjoy) himself before being set down again. Gently, as though he was made out of glass. Scar wanted to bite someone’s head off. But he also wanted to melt into a gooey, flustered puddle.

Grian let him lean on him and even kept quiet about him hiding his face in Grian’s hair. Only when knocks echoed through the night and Grian shouted for Cub did Scar straighten up as much as he was able.

They didn’t need to wait long at all. Grian had barely gotten out Cub’s name when they heard crashing from inside. A moment later Cub appeared in the doorway, looking disheveled and for once showed not an inch of composure.

He looked at them as if they were ghosts. Grian waved at him. “’ello. I’m doing a home delivery.”

Cub stepped forward and slowly stretched his arms out. His palm was warm against Scar’s cheek. And Grian made a startled noise as he got the same treatment. The slight shift of his frame told Scar that he was leaning into the touch as much as Scar was.

A thumb swept over Scar’s cheekbone, Grian probably bein granted the same gesture and ohh if that didn’t warm Scar’s heart. They were all together now. All three of them linked by touch. It was glorious.

And then, finally Cub whispered his first words, a stunned, “You’re back.”

Grian let out a pleased hum. “We lost the game. But Scar is feeling a bit travel sick. Could you take care of him? I don’t know what to do?”

The gentle strokes under his eye stopped as Cub stepped back to check up on him. Scar opened his eyes and cringed at the pinched look he was getting. “It’s just the usual.”

That didn’t comfort Cub in the slightest. He shook his head and reached out again. This time Scar let himself fall forward and into awaiting arms. It was pure heaven being cradled by his mate again. Still he squirmed and turned until he could face Grian once more. It felt so wrong to have him standing on the opposite side, the dark, dangerous world at his back while Scar and Cub where illuminated by the cozy light of their home.

“Thank you for bringing him back, G.”

Grian smiled at them. “That’s the least I could do. I’ll better get going. There’s a certain Rift that is overdue for a lecture in boundaries.”

“Alright. Fly safe. And Grian?”

Said Allay tiled his head. “Yeah?”

“Don’t forget to write Mumbo as soon as you can.”

The widening of Grian’s eyes clued Scar in that the Allay had not even thought about the other lanky male. A vicious part of him purred at that.

“Thanks, I won’t! Bye Cub, bye Scar! Get better soon!”

They waved their own goodbye. And only when Grian’s sillouette disappeared from their view did Scar sack against Cub. “Why did you have to remind him of Mumbo?”

Cub didn’t hear his question as he manhandled Scar into their home. It seemed like only now did the absence of rocket blasts register in his mind. “Wait. Grian didn’t have an elytra. How-?”

“It’s just a thing.” Scar soothed, unwilling to open that can of worms when he was feeling like utter shit. “A Grian thing.”

“That’s… concerning. He's going to be okay by himself?”

They made it to the stairs. Scar glared at them. Why had he designed his tree like this? What had possessed him and made him think placing the bedroom on the top floor was a good idea?

He better reply before those ridiculously uneven steps took away his breath. “He’s fine. Wish he’d stayed, though.”

“I’m kinda glad he didn’t.”

Scar’s eyes twitched at the confession. Cub didn’t sound jealous, but Cub was also very good at masking his emotions. “I’m glad to have some alone time with you, too.” He hurried to say, lest he estrange his mate. It was the truth. It was just a bit more complicated than that.

About halfway up the stairs, Cub gave up on merely supporting his weight and picked him up like a princess. Chapped lips pressed against Scar’s forhead before Cub rumbled, “I love you.”

Scar tilted his head so he could kiss his mate for real. “I love you, too.”

The way he was set down on the bed made his heart ache. He looked up at Cub with pure adoration, grinning when he knelt down to take of Scar’s boots.

Seeing his feet reminded him of something. “Hey Cub?”

“Hm?”

“When I’m better I want to have a dance with you.”

~~~

Grian’s head was swirling when he touched down on the bridge that connected his and Mumbo’s base. He was back home. He was back home so everyone else would be back home, too. Eventually. Hopefully. There was no way to check up on the others, who were still playing now that he was out. No way of helping stabilize the world should they accidently break things.

Anxiety clawed up his throat, while his stomach roiled with guilt. Seeing Scar in pain, barely able to move, had been a shock greater than the sudden displacement of himself. The random world teleportation he was almost getting used to. Having Scar lean on him, stiff as a board, wincing as joints locked and muscles cramped and not being able to feel a thing? That was a slap to the face he didn’t know how to deal with.

Grian stood still for a moment, just gazing at the huge rock formation. He clutched his chest, feeling his heart thrum inside his ribcage. He was fine. His soul didn’t hurt anymore. There was no tugging. No odd stretch that threatened to unravel his entire self. He could feel the stitches at the edges of his soul. Threads of another, who was already bound to someone else. Scar and him were still linked. Only something had changed. This world’s magic didn’t support the shared pain. The coils of their bond had been dislodged somewhat during the way back.

It was easier to breath now. The distance was less suffocating even if it left Grian disorientated and lost. Oh how he wished he could have stayed with Cub and Scar. The two Vexes looked so good together. They had screamed safety and warmth. And for once his Allay instinct had urged him to insert himself between the two and follow them into the warm light of their tree.

Grian owed them some alone time, though. He’d robbed Scar of enough time. And Grian needed to do other things. Like talk to the Rift and write Mumbo. And maybe also contact Xisuma and beg him for forgiveness. He dreaded all of these things.

Taking a deep breath and briefly closing his eyes to steel himself against the inevitable, Grian spread his wings again to sail down into his hole. The little spark of joy when he stretched wings that should not be able to fly was quickly snuffed out again as he saw the soft glow of the otherworldly portal.

It grew a bit brighter at his arrival and hummed at him in greeting. Grian wanted to smile at the warm welcome, but forced himself to remain stern. He stomped right up to it and knocked on the surface. The sound it made was of breaking amethyst.

“You! You are in a load of trouble!” He started his tirade. Sure he had no clue how he could punish a portal that may or may not be sentient. Much less the creatures that lurked beyond it and were even more unreachable. But he had to try and talk some sense into it. “What were you thinking, kidnapping so many of my friends like that?”

Silence and an odd vibration in the air. There was a flash of a feeling that was difficult to grasp. Grian took a step back, crossed his arms and shook his head. “I think I understand what you were trying to do. And I’m thankful. Really. I… I’m not being torn apart anymore. And I got to see some friends that I thought I’d never meet again.”

He sniffed and wiped away a tear. A smile had broken out on his face despite his best efforts and the Rift let out a series of badly immitated jingles that made his head hurt. “But!” He continued before the Rift or whatever operated it could get too comfortable with its actions, “A lot of people were hurt in the process. People that are very dear to me. You… We were lucky everyone was so chill with everything. But the Hermits back here must have been worried sick! And the others that were with me must have been very confused and scared at the beginning, too. Plus you should have seen Scar just now! The poor guy was knackered! His magic is already super wonky at best. This could have hurt him or the bond he has with Cub.”

Grian waited a bit for the words to sink in. The Rift hadn’t reacted to them at all. Which made him wonder if it was even still listening to him. If a Rift could even listen. “What I’m trying to say is: You got to ask people first before you whisk them away to some other world. I’m sure a few of the Hermits would have jumped at the chance had they been given a choice. My old friends as well. They are all crazy, you know? It would have made things much easier. For me. And I can imagine for you as well.”

He inched closer to pat the Rift again, tingles shooting up through his fingers and up his arm. “Just try to keep that in mind should you plan anything else in the future, yeah? And thank you… just… thank you.”

When he stepped back again this time, his foot kicked something on the ground. Confused he glanced down and saw a wooden bowl with specks of old soup still clinging to its surface. Frowning he glanced around, actually taking in his surroundings instead of only focusing at the Rift. The space around his bed was a mess. There were chests strewn about, items littering the floor and two crafting benches placed not far away. Chairs had been crafted at some point and had been plonked down a few paces behind the bed. A bed which was wrinkled and full of crumps. As though it had been used every day for the last however long he had been gone.

Grian squinted up at the Rift once more. “What is all this? Did you throw house parties while I was away?”

The Rift didn’t deign to answer that question.

Chapter 62

Notes:

Early update cause I'm going to be away for a little while. I'm not yet sure if I'll be able to keep the upload schedule this month ngl. I'll try my best though!

Ignoring the mess the Hermits had made, Grian sat on his bed and opened his DM’s. For a heart stopping moment the thing didn’t want to turn on. But once it did Grian understood why it was having so much trouble. He was greeted by a whole backload of unread messages. They must have all gone through once Grian had appeared at spawn and was within range again. Apparently his communicator had been working overtime to load all the attempts at communication the Hermits had made during his time away. The little bubble icon at the top right showed 661 missed texts as well as 189 unanswered calls and these numbers kept going up as his communicator continued to update. It wasn’t even trying to emmit the normal beeping tone for incoming messages. The barrage was just too much for the poor thing to handle. Which also meant that it was lagging so much that even writing a simple “Hi” took him a whole three minutes.

So he placed the device on one of the chests and busied himself with cleaning up the pile of junk that the Hermits had left for him. Even with a task at hand it was hard to wait. A steady chant of Mumbo, Mumbo, Mumbo was building up in his head as he picked the items up from the floor.

Mumbo. He hadn’t thought much about his mustachioed friend for quite some time. But now that Cub had mentioned him, the image of his friend wouldn’t leave him be. The metaphysical pain of a thread stretching unbearably thin might be gone, but Mumbo still had part of his soul.

Was he going to be mad at Grian for making a mess while he was trying to fix things? Would he come back now that Grian was fine and didn’t really need the other half of his soul back? Would he still chose to be away?

He checked his communicator every few seconds. Sometimes he dropped the items he had just gathered on the bed or floor in front of him just to sooth that urge. In the end he was still faster with cleaning up than the device was at loading everything in. What a piece of junk.

The total amount of texts was overwhelming. And almost half of it came from Mumbo. Tears threatened to blur his sight as he skimmed over what Mumbo had left him. His friend had written him multiple times everyday. To say hi. To see if a message would finally go through. To tell him about his day. There were texts in there that were so raw that they hurt. Grian stopped scrolling down not even halfway through. He was already a sniffling wreck.

There was no way Grian would text Mumbo. He needed to call him.

“Grian!” Mumbo’s voice was a balm for all his fears. It had taken an uncountable number of slow and steady beeps until he picked up. Mostly because they were so far away from each other and the call took a while to connect. But the little time Grian had to sit there and wait was enough for doubts to take over.

The desperate cheer in the call of his name washed them all away until all that bubbled up was a strangled, equally as happy “Mumbo!”.

“Grian!”

“Mumbo!”

“Grian!”

Grian laughed, the sound only broken by a few hicupped sobs that forced their way through. “Mumbo!”

“You’re back!” Mumbo broke the chain and Grian could hear the radiant smile in that statement.

“Yes. Me and Scar are back.” But you aren’t.

“I’m so glad! Mate I was so worried about you! Are you- are you okay?”

Would you turn around and come get me if I wasn’t? Grian wanted to ask, but didn’t. He didn’t want to know the answer to that.

Physically yes. Meta-physically kinda. Mentally no. His soul was stitched up, sure. But he would also soon be thrown out by the Hermits and how would he see Mumbo again after that? He didn’t know where he stood with Cub and Scar and it was maddening being so obsessed with these two, when there was so much more going on that he should focus on. Like how he was supposed to get to the next space station or planet once he inevitably got kicked off of this one.

“In a manner of speaking.” He answered because what was he supposed to say?!

There was an equally as gross sniffle on the other side of the line, because Mumbo was an ugly crier, too. “That… that doesn’t sound reassuring, bud. What’s going on with you? Tell me.”

Grian’s lips wobbled, Mumbo’s gentle coaxing threatening to break the dam holding back everything that had ever bothered him. It was hard to speak around the lump in his throat. Harder yet to answer Mumbo’s question without unloading everything on his lanky friends’ too thin shoulders. “I… I’m just scared of… of people being mad. And… and I don’t want to leave, Mumbo! You haven’t come back yet. And I… Cub and Scar… and the others! I-”

“Hush G it’s okay take a breath.” Mumbo rushed in to stop him from spiralling. “You don’t have to worry. I’ve been in contact with Cub. No one is mad at you at all! Alright, maybe worried mad. But that’s like- that’s like the best mad there is! And even if they wanted you out. I wouldn’t let them! I- I’ll guilt them into keeping you until I’ll at least get back again! And then I’ll just come with you. We can go to space together. Screw the others… uhm… No one gave you any trouble on your return, right?”

While Mumbo’s reassurances had had a panicked edge to it, the last question was said calm and threatening after a pause. Grian shook his head. “They’re your family, Mumbo.”

“Yes and?” Mumbo sniffed and not in the sad way. More in the snobbish, offended kind of way. Just with a bit more snot to it. Because he had just been crying a minute ago.

“I have friends here, too.”

“I’ll make sure that I’m the only friend you need, then.”

Grian had to grin through his tears, a soft croon escaping his throat. “I love you. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to it, yeah?”

It sounded like a good alternative at least. There would still be heartbreak, but Grian wouldn’t end up utterly alone and lost. And Grian was possessive enough to take Mumbo up on his offer even though he knew how many people he would deprive of his best friends’ presence.

“Yeah, I guess.” Did Mumbo sound disappointed? No that couldn’t be right. Must have been wishful thinking. “Love you, too, mate.”

Grian grinned at his communicator. He was so lost in Mumbo’s words that he walked straight into the chest that stood next to the bed, which he’d been looping ever since this conversation had started.

The small curse he let out made Mumbo panic again. “Grian?! What happened? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine I just ran into something. I hope Scar is-” He clamped his mouth shut. No Scar would be fine. They didn’t share each others pain anymore. He didn’t need to be careful. And he wouldn’t need to worry about what Scar was up to either.

“What about Scar?” Mumbo gently pried him from his thoughts.

This time Grian kicked the chest with intent. “Nothing. I just got confused. Scar is-” Not fine. Not fine, but with Cub. Which makes it better. “He didn’t feel well when we got back.”

“Oh. A flare up?”

“Hm. Cub thought so. Scar thought so, too, but I don’t trust his judgement.”

A laugh came from the other line and it was contagous, even if there really wasn’t anything to giggle about. “So how have you been?” Grian asked after the pearly sound had stopped. He kept looping around the bed as he waited for an answer, careful now not to run into things.

“Well I was worried sick for one.” Mumbo started, making Grian grimace and apologize. “Otherwise I’ve been mostly bored and annoyed. I forgot how bureaucratic everything is out here! I’ve been in forced quarantine for four weeks until they figured out how to analyse the sculk samples I brought with me. Than it took them another two to get back the body samples from me and tell me I was clear of any infection. I went to several interviews, had my reports questioned, had Xisuma’s authority and the legitimacy of our mission questioned. Had to phone into the headquarters to make them verify everything-”

“Why wouldn’t they believe you? You have a tag and everything. It shouldn’t have been so hard.” Was that something he needed to worry about, too eventually? He must have still been in the data base somewhere. And he still had his tag. Xisuma had scanned him for it and put it into the Hermit’s database so Grian could have a working communicator again.

“Yeah, so-” Mumbo chuckled nervously. “Turns out sending the shapeshifter from a potentially corrupted planet wasn’t the brightest idea. They were worried that I was an impostor. Me, Grian! Me! I can’t lie to save my life!”

“I know. But I get it. You’re always so nervous. And when you’re not nervous you’re sassy. So you’re kinda always being suspicious.” Grian admitted. “So you know what you are now? Does that mean you’ll be back soon?”

“Gee thanks for siding with them.” Mumbo snarked back. “I can’t yet, unfortunately. It helps to know what I am. But I’m still caught up here. I’ll have to make sure we Hermits will get the recognition for our find. And I hope to get another shapeshifter or two flown in so they can teach me how to control my shifting. There’s research being done on the sculk samples I brought with me, too. And that might give us valuable data. I know some of the Hermits are already experimenting with the new blocks. I want to make sure they are safe in doing so.”

This wasn’t the answer he wanted. But at least Mumbo seemed to be as upset about it as he was. And there was also one more silver lining. “Okay. But… but that means you won’t be going any further? We can still text and call?”

“We can text and call.” Mumbo breathed out like a prayer.

It was a promise Grian would hold him to. “That’s good. I… I’m so glad I get to hear you again, Mumbo.”

“Me too buddy. Me too.”

The rest of their talk was stilted and a bit awkward. There was so much to catch each other up on and the flood of information was hard to put into words. Mumbo constantly stumbled over what he wanted to say. And Grian had a hard time listening. It was the same the other way around, too. Because they both had to deal with their minds running away from them while their brain also tried to process what was going on in their current conversation.

Still the longer they talked the more their tears dried and their smiles grew. And through the stuttered words and repeated affirmations that they were both there and staying, everything else around them disappeared for a while. That is until the world sent them a reminder that it was still there and wanted their attention.

“Ah I just got a notif from the captain. I need to cut it here- Uhm… I’ll… I’ll text when I’m next available?” Mumbo stuttered, nervously interrupting Grian.

Grian stopped short, immediately bluescreening on his rant. “You… Yeah. Yeah that sounds good.” Now not to be too clingy- “How long will you be busy for?” Damn it.

“I don’t know yet.” Mumbo answered mournfully.

“Okay.”

“I’ll try and be quick about it.”

Grian really tried not to sound upset, but a little bit of hurt slipped into his voice anyway. “Okay.”

“See ya.”

“Bye bye.”

The click that signified the end of the call echoed in the cave like a slamming door. The Rift let out a series of warbled chimes, lights within its depth flashing. Grian looked from his communicator to glare at it. “Don’t take that tone with me. Mumbo is doing his best.”

If he asked the Rift to kidnap his best friend would he get Mumbo back? And if so would he be in one piece? No. No he couldn’t. He had just ranted at it about how important consent was. And Mumbo had a job to do elsewhere.

Grian had one too. Kind of. The best course of action for now would be to get to Xisuma before the Admin could get to him and grovel at Xisuma’s feet to please let him stay. The clock on his communicator told him that was a great idea if he wanted to have Keralis on his tail. It was 3.14 am. The time of the day even Xisuma usually took to sleep.

“I’m going to go check up on the Entity.” He told the Rift instead. Not that it needed to be informed about where Grian was going. It probably already knew where he was at all times anyway-

Now that was a bit of a disturbing thought. One that Grian immediately buried and vowed to never think again. The Entity’s call was an easy distraction. It had tugged at his head space ever since he’d said its name out loud. Like a little child that had tried to be patient for christmas, but now that it was sitting in front of its presents it really just wanted to dig in.

It was still dark out as he darted out of his cave on glistening wings. He was already halfway to the shopping district when he remembered that he should have taken his elytra. But the stretch had come so natural to him. The strain in his small fairy wings like a sore muscle after a good workout. More of a satisfied throbbing than real pain.

Grian was aware that it was unnatural, though. His distorted wings could easily make some of the Hermits uncomfortable. And it felt even more like cheating here, when there were Hermits that relied on others to buy rockets. Next time he would use his fake wings again. No need to add to the reasons he should be thrown off planet.

Given that it would probably be his last flight with his own wings for a while, Grian relished the way wind swept through them as much as he could. And when it came time to land he circled downwards slowly, doing a fast spin every now and again. He wouldn’t have that agility with his elytra.

The Entity let him have his fun for a bit, but soon grew impatient and lifted a spidery leg. Grian winced at the load noise the shifting of the limb made. The Entity’s legs didn’t have gears. So it was pure copper on copper plating that grinded against each other.

Grian twisted in the air once more to adjust his trajectory and flapped his wings to get him close enough to the Entitie’s leg to land on it. As soon as his feet hit the copper his wings shrunk down and the limb was lowered. Being so close to the source of the horrible grating noise did not make it any better. Even though it was pretty cool. The Entity was careful with its movements. It didn’t have joints in the traditional sense. So it couldn’t twist its leg very well to keep Grian balanced. Grian helped by walking along the limb to make sure he stood somewhere that was mostly horizontal. Until he eventually just jumped down the rest of the way.

“’Ello old friend. Have you been doing well?” Grian patted the leg that was now trying to shove him towards the underside of the Entity’s belly.

The huge boulder above him rumbled, causing bits of debris to fall down on his head. A flash of loneliness and annoyance shot through Grian’s body and made him coo. “How rude of the others to avoid you. But I guess that at least means you still have your stock.”

The feeling of fullness made Grian grin even if his stomach was quite confused about the sudden highjacking. When the red, pulsing vines dropped down from the hole in the Entity’s belly Grian reached up to grab at them and let them wind around him. He was quickly lifted up into his favourite rock and deposited onto the plush, fleshy surface within.

He was going to be so gross in the morning. But Grian couldn’t find it in himself to care. The inside of the Entity was safe. The noises of the outside muted. The Entity would let no one else in if Grian didn’t want anyone else inside. He was safe to cozy up and think.

Sleep would keep evading him, he knew. He hoped his soulmate- that Scar was faring better in Cub’s arms.

Notes:

This was written after episode 4 of Wild Life and I think it shows. I love how crazy Grian and Mumbo are about each other.

Chapter 63

The peace didn’t last long. It never did for him. His communicator started to explode with new messages as soon as it had digested all the old ones. The poor thing was working so hard that eventually it decided to quit its job and self destruct. The device overheated so bad that it nearly burned a hole in his pants’ back pocket. Grian was glad that he had been able to call Mumbo the day before. But the additional strain had probably not been good for the device at all.

He thought about just letting it be. So what if the Hermits couldn’t contact him again? It’s not like that was unusual by now. But no, he had to be responsible. Or else Xisuma or one of the other more law orientated Hermits like Doc or Impulse would come to him and drag him out by the ear. Also he had promised Mumbo frequent calls. Or Mumbo had promised him. The contents of the conversation with him was a bit blurry. The track back to this world might have worn him out more than he thought it had at first.

Grumbling he said good bye to the Entity and squirmed out of the big boulder with only some difficulty, swatting at the vines that didn’t want to let him go. The squelchy noise his shoes made on impact with the ground told him that he should really take a shower or bath first before going near anybody. But given that he had forbidden himself to use his semi-natural wings the best he could do was take a dip in the cold river and dig through a random ender chest for a swap of new clothes.

It made him only slightly more presentable, but Xisuma surely was used to worse from his Hermits. Now to actually locate the tea loving admin. Walking along the paths through the shopping district, Grian noticed that nothing much had changed in his absence. It was like this world had just stopped to exist while he had been away. And that was at once comforting and disturbing. The Hermits were a lot of things, but idle wasn’t one of them. They always worked on something. Even just a week was enough for them to transform an area into something completely unrecognisable.

That he could easily navigate his way around the shopping district and had no problem finding Xisuma’s lair was cause for concern. Had the Rift done something to this world, too? Had something happened to the rest of the Hermits? Worry gnawed at his stomach and made him take larger and faster strides. It couldn’t be. Cub had seemed fine. Shaken and close to tears, but he hadn’t looked any different.

But Cub was Cub. He always looked like he was on top of the situation, no matter if he really knew what was going on or not.

Knocking on Xisuma’s door suddenly was more of a relief than a chore. The fact that he had needed to climb a whole fucking mountain to reach it only added to that. And thankfully it didn’t take long before the admin came to greet him. Grian didn’t even get to utter his usual slightly butchered version of X’s name, however. Xisuma was already on him, arms trapping Grian tightly against cold armor.

“Grian!”

He wondered when the day would come where people would stop using that half aggravated, half fond tone when greeting him.

“Hi Xishuma.” He answered meekly and patted Xisuma’s back. “Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but-”

“Don’t be silly! You’re always welcome! Goodness me just… just give me second. Let me-” Xisuma drew back, possibly to drag Grian into his base and offer him tea. But Xisuma stopped short, breath hitching. “My word you look awful!”

Now that was rude. Grian had taken the time to clean himself! He looked perfectly presentable! For Hermit standards at least. And those were the only standards he needed to beat. “Hey!”

Xisuma didn’t hear him and proceeded to tug at the miffed Allay. “Come in, come in. Goodness me where are my manners? Left them in bed this morning, I’m sure. Have you even eaten since you got back? No don’t answer that question. Of course you haven’t. Why would you? You wouldn’t fit in with us Hermits so well if you knew how to take care of yourself.”

Xisuma continued to grumble under his breath until they arrived to an area that could almost be described as a kitchen. Only with more bones and ominous vibes. The space was still under construction, it seemed. Grian could see a few shulker boxes peeking through a half finished wall.

The odd decour didn’t bother him. It was much warmer inside than outside. And Grian got to sit down for a minute, too. And okay, maybe he checked out the hole in the wall more so than a normal, polite guest would do. They were deep inside the skull now and Grian liked to have his escape routes mapped out clearly before attempting to relax.

He wasn’t in any danger from Xisuma, of course. The admin had overwhelmed him with his kindness once again. But painful conversations were just as good a reason for a hasty retreat than a battle. More so even, in Grian’s book. He could handle a bit of pain and bloodshed. He didn’t deal well with awkward silences and attempts to spin harsh facts into gentle half-truths.

“How do you want your tea?”

“Pardon?”

“What tea do you want? And how do you take it? I’m sorry I feel like I should know by now, but… well we haven’t really hung out much since we’ve met, I guess.”

That was true. Xisuma was lovely, but being close to the admin gave Grian horrible anxiety. X was the one person who could kick Grian out in an instant. And he was terrified of making a wrong move and ending up back in the Void.

It was why Grian only managed a tense, half polite smile when he replied. “Black is fine with a splash of milk and honey.”

Xisuma nodded, firm as though he’d been given the order to execute someone. Maybe it was the armor and the helmet that obscured Xisuma’s face. Their admin had opted for a more… metal look once he had started on his base. It clashed a lot with his overall personality and made it really hard for Grian to read him.

A skull shaped cup was slid into his awaiting hands a few minutes later, where neither of them had said a word. The thick ceramic protected him from the hot contents within. It only emitted a gentle warmth that quickly seeped into his stiff fingers. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” Grian croaked and didn’t make any move to take a sip. Adding the milk usually made the tea instantly drinkable. But Grian had burned his mouth enough times to be wary of steaming hot beverages when they were first given to him. “I… did Tango and Ren arrive well?”

Xisuma sat down opposite him and leaned back. Grian breathed into the space between them, glad that the admin wasn’t getting into his personal bubble the way so many of the other Hermits tended to.

“They did. Did you and Scar?”

Grian nodded before he thought about it and then shook his head. “I’m fine-” Xisuma made a noise that told him that the admin strongly disaggreed with that. He ignored it. “But Scar got sick. He’s with Cub…”

He looked down into the milky swirls of his drink, clutching the cup like a lifeline. Two beats. Three beats. No admonishing came. Not even the disappointment Grian was so afraid of from Xisuma. The admin had given him so many chances that Grian sometimes wanted to scream at him to just get it over with and kick him out.

Instead Xisuma sat silent for a while, breathing deeply, before taking off his helmet. He grimaced, mumbling something about his base needing an air pressure control for situations like these. Grian wondered what kind of situation he was referring to and if it was very bad that he was in one of them.

Another breath, this time accompanied by a rattle that chilled Grian to the bone. “I guess that was to be expected.” Xisuma said, taking a sip from his own cup of tea. “It’s been a while since he had a flare up. Don’t worry, Cub knows how to help him out.” Xisuma lifted his cup again to drink, grimaced and sat it back down. “It is just a flare up, right?”

“Yes.” Grian was quick to reassure him. “Scar thought so, at least. And Cub… He didn’t look too worried? But I think he was mostly just relieved to see him again.”

It was odd to be able to see Xisuma smile. The pale skin around his eyes crinkled and small, almost invisible dimples formed on his cheeks. “I’m sure he was quite happy to see the both of you. I know it’s not been too long since you’ve arrived, but did you already get back to the others? I’ve not seen a message from you in world chat, yet. But with the way everyone is spamming, I might have just missed it.”

“No ah…” Grian fiddled with his cup, wings fluttering anxiously at his back. He was painfully aware that he was coating Xisuma’s very menacing base with glittery pixie dust. He was so destroying the vibe. “That is… That’s one of the reasons I’ve come to you.”

It occurred to him while he tried to explain himself, that it might come off as very rude that Grian’s only time he willfully sought out X was to ask him to fix stuff for him. “I wanted to see you first, of course! After Cub. But my communicator kind of… broke. From all the messages.”

He fished the thing out of his back pocket and sheepishly handed it over to Xisuma. The only response he got was a laugh. “Oh dear! I should have anticipated that. Tango didn’t have that problem because everyone flew in to greet him. And Ren was similar. They tried to do that with you, too, by the way. But you arrived so late in the night that most of us where asleep. And when we noticed that you were here – by seeing your names on the member list, by the way – you had already disappeared.”

Well good thing they hadn’t formed a search party for them.

“Gem wanted to come looking for you, immediately. I had a hard time calming everyone down and convince them to give you space.” Xisuma continued, making Grian wince.

“Thank you. And sorry for… well.”

Xisuma waved his hand. “Don’t mention it. I know your tendency to… Uh… self isolate, I guess is the best word for it. I was pretty sure that you would come out of the Entity when you were ready to face the world- or us – again. And really Cub could have written a little note in the chat, too. But I guess he was preoccupied with Scar. I can’t be mad at him for that.”

“You… you knew I was in the Entity?”

Xisuma shrugged and scratched his head. “I didn’t? I figured that’s the most likely place you would end up after… you know.”

“It was lonely.” Grian felt the need to defend his decision to hide. No, not hide. He hadn’t been self isolating. It had just been for the night. He had needed to sleep somewhere! “No one had been visiting while I was gone.”

Xisuma gave him a sheepish smile. It looked so alien on him. Mostly because Grian was used to only seeing himself reflected in the dark glass of Xisuma’s helmet. To see the expressions along with hearing the voice was an experience Grian would cherish for the rest of his life. He was honored enough to be allowed to witness it twice. The first time he hadn’t been lucid enough to really appreciate the gesture.

Xisuma’s mouth moved as he answered and Grian paid rapt attention to the way it morphed into different forms. “The Entity was a bit cranky when you left. It wasn’t very safe to be around. And the Hermits might have been slightly miffed at it. We didn’t know if it was behind your disappearance or not.”

Grian lifted an eyeprow. “It’s a rock.”

Xisuma nodded and raised his cup for a drink. “A sentient rock.”

“Still a rock.”

“With spider legs.”

“There’s a Rift in my basement.” Grian pointed out and Xisuma laughed.

“That was our second guess.”

Why only second? Grian wanted to ask. But he also didn’t want to derail the conversation any further. So he opted for circling back to the important things that weren’t a minefield to talk about. “So can you fix my comm?”

“I can.” Xisuma nodded. He hadn’t spared a glance at the device after first getting it from Grian. “It might take some time, though. And I don’t have a spare for you at the moment. I’m sure you won’t mind going without one for now?”

It was only half a question. Grian only had to affirm what Xisuma already knew. “That won’t be a problem. Someone should tell Mumbo, though. Or his head might explode from worrying too much.”

“I’ll write him. Come back around in… say… three days during the afternoon?”

Grian stood and smiled. “Will do!”

Xisuma sighed at Grian’s eagerness to leave. “Come on I’ll show you out before you get lost.”

There was a perfectly Grian sized hole in the wall he was sure would lead him… somewhere that led him out somehow. But Xisuma had already rounded the table and gently laid his hand on Grian’s shoulder to guide him out. His breathing had become shallow and forced. His pinched expression told Grian that the admin was starting to get really uncomfortable.

So he put his weight against the hand to stop them and pointed at the forgotten helmet. “Wouldn’t it be best if you put that on again?”

“Oh… Yes. Yes you’re right. Just a moment.”

They ventured out the gaint skull once Xisuma could breath easy again. The admin halted them once Grian could see the sun. “I know I said to drop by in three days, but… You are always welcome here. I’d love to have a chat with you every now and then. There’s barely any people around here who appreciate a good cup of tea.”

Grian’s heart fluttered at the casual invitation and he gave his admin a warm smile. “You’ll regret giving me an open invitation.” He teased. “Just ask Doc how that went for him.”

He walked away from his chuckling admin, giving him a short wave goodbye. The sun was high up in the sky at that point. And Grian had glimpsed an easier path down that he could walk at a slow pace. The fresh, powdery snow crunched underneath his boots and small puffs of fog drifted up whenever he took a breath. The air was clear and sharp, the cold stinging his reddening cheeks just enough to make him feel alive.

The silent enjoyment of the walk lasted until he was about a third of the way down. Rocket bursts echoed around the mountain and a dark shape with bright blue flames circled overhead before crashing down in front of him. Grian stopped just at the right moment so he wouldn’t end up on the ground with a body on top of him. It only gave him about half a second of freedom before he was tackled anyway.

The body that held him captive was ice cold. But the robe was fluffy and the relief of seeing Tango alright and well made Grian cling to him all the same. He hid his nose in the puff of white fur that rimmed the hood. He felt Tango’s tail wrap around the back of his legs, further entangling him with the blaze hybrid.

They stood like that, silent and happy, until Grian started to shiver and push away. Tango let him go slowly, the tail still hanging on. The smile Grian was gifted was as radiant as the rings underneath Tango’s eyes were dark. “Hello G. Good to see you back.”

“Good to see you, too. You’ve gone all blue again.”

Tango let out a chuckle and swept a hand through his flaming hair. “Yeah. The Citadel consumed me pretty quickly once I got back. So… have you taken up walking as a hobby now or what?”

Given the cue, Grian started to move once more, Tango falling into step beside him. “I wanted to take everything in and see the changes that I missed.” He half lied.

“And you noticed that you didn’t miss much, huh?”

“Yeah.” Grian frowned. “Do you know why?”

Tango laughed. “Because everyone was moping about! Also I guess they felt like it was unfair to us if they kept on building while we were away. They started up again once I told them that we were having a fun time over in another world.”

Grian playfully bumped their shoulders. Not that he could actually reach Tango’s shoulder with his. It was close enough, though. “Thanks for clearing that up for us.”

“You’re welcome. It was a nightmare dealing with everyone, by the way. They wouldn’t leave me alone for a second! And they kept getting into my redstone!”

The bump Grian got in retaliation showed the amount of frustration Tango had felt and happened just as he stepped on some ice on the road. Grian tried to regain his balance by flailing his arms about, but only managed to destabilize himself further. If it hadn’t been for Tango’s tail wrapping around his waist and two icy hands grabbing one of his arms, he would have toppled over sideways and gotten down the mountain much quicker than he had intended.

“Tango! You don’t have to kill me over it. We are not in a death game anymore!”

“We are not in a death game anymore.” Tango parroted back with a funny voice. “Can’t a man be a little violent every once in a while?”

“We were being violent.” Grian pointed out, shooing away the hands that didn’t want to let go of him. “You brought a Warden to the overworld.”

“Yeah and it killed nobody!” Tango whined, flinging his hands in the air.

Careful to watch his step now and to avoid being pushed by the aggravated Blaze Hybrid again, Grian sidestepped a patch of suspicious looking snow and brought some more distance between himself and his walking partner. “There’s gonna be a lot of death once you’ve finished your game, right?”

The grin that appeared on Tango’s face due to the question was downright evil. “Oh yeah! And yours and Scar’s arrival should finally get everyone off my back and onto yours. Not that they didn’t crowd around Ren, too. But the more distractions the better. So I’ll be able to actually get something done for once!” He cheered. “Speaking of Scar, I’ve spoken to Cub about your soulbond thingy.”

Dread pooled in Grian’s stomach and his voice came out thin when he replied. “Yeah?”

Tango, not noticing the shift in Grian’s mood, nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! You should really talk about it with him! Before things get anymore… eh… weird.”

“Right. Yeah I… I’ll do that. After… uhm… after he’s done caring for Scar.” It was a good enough reason to procrastinate, right?

The mention of Scar’s health sparked another round of questions from Tango. And while Grian wanted nothing more than to use his unnatural wings and fly away, resolution to use them or not be damned, he stayed rooted to Tango’s side.

He owed Tango big time for all the drama he had to go through, after all. It was still a relief once they parted ways at the bottom of the mountain. Tango not able to stay away from his project for too long. That he even took the time to look for Grian to have a chat was a miracle.

Grian wasn’t in such a hurry. His goal was to slink back to his base without being seen and figure out there on how to talk to Cub about… everything. Hopefully Scar would stay bedridden for a little while longer. Grian immediately feeling guilty about that thought.

Notes:

Tango really just wanted to help. Oops.

Sorry for the late update. I was away on vacation and got sick afterwards. Still not feeling well enough to write much at all. So this chapter will be the last I'm posting for this month. I hope to be back to my usual schedule of bi-weekly in March.

Thank you all for the kudos and comments! <3

Chapter 64

Grian couldn’t speak with Cub yet, no matter how much he wanted to. He had Scar to take care of. And even if that hadn’t been the case he should have Scar to himself for a while. If Grian wanted to convince Cub that he wasn’t trying to get between the two or steal Scar away he actually needed to prove it. And the best way to do so was to give them some much deserved space.

So he killed time by visiting the Hermits. First had been Ren, who had holed himself up in the Crastle. He had been happy to see the Allay. But Grian had been wary of him as soon as he saw a glimpse of Ren’s robes. He had donned the king outfit once more. But he explained to Grian that he wanted to wait until everyone but Mumbo was back to officially take up his kingly duties again.

The next obvious Hermit to bother was Doc. He was the closest and also the least clingy. He was safe even if his perimeter was not. He was reminded of that fact when he got himself stuck in one of the holes that littered the ground at the edges of Doc’s playground. Bedrock wasn’t easy to blow up and apparently Doc had neglected to even out the floor where he wasn’t building at the moment.

If he had used his distorted wings instead of his elytra it would have probably been fine. Grian had gotten used to having more mobility than the stiff, mechanical wings could provide. And thus he’d landed at an awkward angle and got one of his feet stuck between two chagged bits of the unyielding rock. Thankfully Doc hadn’t tried to bomb through the world. If he had destroyed the thin layer of bedrock Grian’s foot would have touched the hollow core of the world that mirrored the Void around it. And Grian would have frozen his toes off.

As it was only his ankle hurt from scraping against the sharp edges as Grian tried in vain to get out of his predicament. Maybe not having his communicator was a bigger issue than expected.

“Stuck in my hole again, pesky bird?” Came the low rumble of his hopefully saviour.

Grian stopped glaring at his trapped foot and twisted around as much as possible to give Doc a cheerful smile. “I think you have a problem with potholes in your base.”

One of Doc’s hooves idly tapped the ground as he tilted his head. “I think they are doing a pretty good job at keeping some people from snooping around.”

Grian pouted. “Hey! I wasn’t snooping! I came to visit!”

“That’s basically the same thing with you.” Doc quipped lightly and walked closer to peer at Grian’s predicament. “That looks painful. You want me to try to get you out or to end you? Where’s your respawn?”

“Mumbo’s base. Try to get me out? I don’t wanna fly all the way over to you again.” Grian whined, wincing when Doc knelt down and took hold of his ankle.

“Alright. Good thing I always have a bit of slime on me. That might help.”

Skeletons rattled in the distance. But Doc wasn’t fuzzed by them. Grian grimaced at the odd feeling of slime on his skin. It stung where the substance covered his scratches. And Grian wondered if that was sanitary. Would he need to drink a health potion after this so he wouldn’t end up getting poisoned?

Doc must have sensed Grian’s disgusted grimace. Or maybe Grian had made a noise he hadn’t been aware of. Either way the Creeper Hybrid let out a snort and briefly gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. It’s just gross not harmful. And you should be used to getting dirty by now. I’ve seen you covered in that red muck from the Entity. Ah- there you go. Free again. You good?”

Grian held onto Doc’s arm and shook out his foot. It hurt. Doc gave him a blank look when Grian winced and shoved a golden carrot into his face. “You’re an idiot.”

Grateful for the food, Grian grabbed the carrot and immediately started to nibble on it while Doc gently guided him away from the edge of the perimeter and more towards the center.

“Maybe, but I’m your idiot.”

“No.” Doc immediately refused. “I’m not taking that responsibility. You’re far too much work.”

Now that was mean. And what else was Grian to do but poke the goat when he was acting so cold? He was already on thin ice with the Hermits, might as well crack it. So without further ado, he swallowed the rest of his food, twisted to walk in front of Doc and hopped up.

As suspected, big hands scrambled to catch his bum before it could hit the ground and he was hoisted up to lean comfortably on the metal plating of Doc’s chest. With a chime he snuggled in. Only half because he wanted to mock his neighboor, who had frozen in place.

When he heard a disgruntled noise from above Grian deigned to look up at him with a grin. “What? My ankle still hurts.” He lied.

Doc’s expression was thunderous, but his grip remained gentle and he made no motion to set Grian down again. “You’re a pest.”

“No I’m a fairy.”

“Pesky bird.” Doc muttered. “Any reason you came to bother me?”

Grian pouted, anxiety settling in his gut as Doc continued to sound gruff. He was pretty sure that Doc was just his usual grumpy old man self. But the doubt still lingered at the back of his mind, making him more self-conscious. “I just thought you’d wanted to see me. X said people have been wanting to get in touch with me after I arrived…”

He trailed off and let his head slip down to rest his cheek on the warm metal of Doc’s chest again. It thrummed slightly under him. Grian wondered if Doc had some sort of engine nestled between his ribs instead of a heart.

“You could have just written in the chat.” Doc deadpanned, but his hold had tightened a bit before he relaxed again.

“Communicator broke.”

“Ah. Well in that case. Thanks for coming around. How was the death game?”

Only the Hermits would ask so casually about something so gruesome. “Fun.” Frustrating.

Doc made a noise as though he had heard the secret second word. “Was it?”

A warning not to lie. That was what Doc’s question was. Or maybe something softer. A second chance for Grian to spill the beans. Grian regretted that he had given in to the urge to pester Doc with cuddles. With Doc’s arms around him it was impossible to make for a quick exit.

He gnawed at his lip instead of answering, turning over in his mind what he could maybe say. What it all meant. Doc let him think in silence. He stood still, close to the platform that hosted his bed.

Eventually Grian decided on his words. “It was fun. But it was also a lot of other things. Being partnered up with Scar was a nightmare.”

“Really?” Doc laughed and the movement caused the metal plates of his chest to scrape against Grian’s cheek. “I thought you would have loved it.”

Was he that obvious? “He dies so easily, Doc! And he gets distracted by everything! And he doesn’t listen! It was like trying to keep track of a toddler!”

The laughter got louder and harder until it got interrupted by snorts. Grian, who had somehow managed to keep his hold on Doc while gesticulating wildy with one arm, wriggled to get away from the rumbling. The scraping of metal against skin was getting uncomfortable. Doc took the cue and let go of him, only to lean over and ruffle his hair once Grian had found stable footing again. “That’s rich coming from you.”

“Hey!” Grian could be responsible! He could! He just chose not to be more often than not. He ducked before Doc could get to his hair again and sniffed. “You’re so mean. You’re not appreciating my presence at all.”

“Oh I appreciate it.” Doc grinned down at him, wide and feral. “I enjoy mocking you.”

Grian grinned back, showing teeth. Doc’s natural instinct to antagonize dragged out the vicious part in Grian. Doc pushed when others would back down. He wasn’t afraid to come off as mean or even threatening. Witnessing his rage was as sweet as witnessing his cockiness. Grian needed to know how far they would go in provoking each other. Eventually.

He wouldn’t needle any further today, though. He was still unbalanced and unsure of his place in this world. Grian wanted to end this conversation on a good note. “Well I’m done being mocked. Glad you haven’t blown everything up in my absence. See you around!”

The rocket to Doc’s face had not been intentional. Grian had lost a bit of his usual grace when flying with an elytra. But it was a happy accident that sent Doc to the ground, spluttering mild profanities in his direction.

Grian laughed as he rose higher, heart lighter. At least Doc wasn’t mad at him for disappearing his friends. Maybe he could stay a bit longer after all.

It continued with a visit to Gem, who semi-accidently ran him through with a sword the first time he appeared at her base. Granted he had snuck up on her. Not his brightest moment, to be sure. He stayed with her much longer than he had intended. The girl had a menacing aura around her and wouldn’t just let him swoop away.

She was also much more skilled and spacially aware than most other Hermits Grian knew. So it wasn’t like he could have fled her presence even if he wanted to after she had glowered him into submission. It wasn’t bad staying with her anyway. Gem matched his chaotic energy well. And Grian had quickly mentally adobted her as a younger sibling.

He just hated how much anguish he had brought her. She was so clearly worried about Impulse and Pearl, who had yet to come back from the game. Grian had to spent the first hour or so gently talking her down from her frantic state. After she had stabbed him by accident and he had had to fly back to her again. And after she had tackled him into a hug and briefly cried into his shoulder when he had come around the second time.

It was an emotional reunion that sat heavy in Grian’s gut. But eventually the highly volatile wildfire of emotions fizzled out and Grian relaxed again. They wound up sitting on one of the docks, boots discarded somewhere behind them and feet gently splashing in the water.

“Thank you for talking to me about Impulse and Pearl.” Gem said after a long moment of silence. “Tango kept insisting Pearl had gone crazy and I was starting to get really worried again.”

“I mean Pearl is crazy.” Grian mused. “But that’s nothing new.”

Gem sighed and leaned back to catch the sun with her face. “At least she’s having fun. Next time you’re whisking away my friends to a murder game take me with you, too. I’d be great at it.”

“But that wouldn’t be fair to the others. You’d obviously win!” Not to mention that Grian had absolutely no say in who had come with him and who hadn’t.

“That’s not true, there’s other good fighters around. And I’m not good at redstone or traps in general. Also I’m only semi-good at PVP.”

“Please tell me who is better at PVP than you.” Grian scoffed.

“False is pretty good.” Gem pointed out before a strange glint slithered into her eyes. “Cub is hard to match, too.”

At the mention of Cub Grian’s heart constricted so fast and hard that he thought he was having a heart attack. There was no way Gem knew that he was putting off seeing him, right? Not like he was obligated to see him in the first place. Cub had Scar to catch him up on stuff. And Grian didn’t have a quest that read “meet all the Hermits and let them know you are fine”.

And he was trying to be polite! It wasn’t like he was procrastinating this time. Quite the opposite, in fact. Every fibre of his being screamed for him to get to the two Vexes. He wanted to mend as many broken bonds as fast as possible so he could stay with the Hermits just a little bit longer.

“Cub’s good at fighting?” Why did his mouth always run wild while his mind was still in a corner crafting a lovely mess of half aborted plans and excuses? And what kind of question was that anyway?

Gem threw him a grin that looked way too smug for Grian’s liking. “Oh yeah! We were sparring a lot while you guys were away. It took our minds off of… you know. And then when Ren started pestering him about you and Scar-” She broke off with a shrug. As though Grian hadn’t leaned closer with every word, eager to hear all of it.

He made a strangled noise when Gem didn’t elaborate any further. Craving the crumbs of information like a drowning man craved air. “What did Ren do?”

“Oh not just Ren.” Gem was quick to correct him with a laugh, opening the pit in his stomach further. “I think Tango started it. And Ren just chimed in. You know how melodramatic he can get.”

“What did they do, then?”

Gem chuckled seeming to find the memory hilarious. “They may have mentioned a certain other Allay that got you to abandon Scar’s loving embrace.”

“Wha- That- Scar chased after another fairy first!”

Grian found Gem’s wheezing entirely unjustified. It was the truth! Scar had been the one to abandon him for an Allay first. Grian had just wanted to catch up with a good friend and fool around a bit.

“Also!” He yelled over Gem’s giggles. “We managed to put our differences about BigB aside in the end.” The other Allay - the mob one - had been too cute and innocent to stay mad at for long. It hadn’t really done anything but float around on its own, after all. And it had taken a liking to Grian pretty quickly, too.

“Oh yeah I know. Ren wouldn’t shut up about that. But Tango speculated that you probably didn’t think about BigB being tied to him.”

Tango’s guess had some merit, but Gem didn’t need to know that. He crossed his arms and pulled his face into a scowl. “It was a murder game. Of course I’ll murder people as soon as I’m allowed to.”

Gem hummed an all knowing hum at him. Grian was quick to harmonize with her. He could have ended the conversation here and there. Gem seemed satisfied with him now. But something about what she had said stood out to him and his curiousity was stronger than his anxiety. It always was.

“So… why did Cub want to fight you after Ren and Tango… you know?”

It took a while for Gem to answer. Her brow furrowed in thought and she tapped her fingers against the newly crafted wood that she had made to look old and worn. “He got wound up by the stories, I think.”

That much Grian had already gathered. But why? Had he been jealous because Grian was suddenly bonded to Scar? Or had he been furious because Grian had kind of, maybe a little cheated on Scar? Both? The possibilities were terrifying and endless. And Grian quickly lost the courage to ask further questions. Mostly because they weren’t Gem’s to answer.

He bid her farewell not long after, feeling her piercing, calculating gaze on him until he was well out of sight. There was very much a need to speak with Cub now. To put things straight between them. But it hadn’t even been a day. Surely Cub and Scar needed more time than that. And thus he found himself visiting False and later Keralis. Both were happy to see him as well. And while False was easy and quick to talk to, Keralis kept him much longer until he had no choice but to spend the night at his place.

Grian was able to stretch out his sidequest to five days until he had visited every last Hermit that was on world except for Cub at least twice and sometimes more. Doc was getting really annoyed with him.

But with every new snippet of gossip the thoughts of what Cub might be feeling towards him turned more vicious. Until he couldn’t take the uncertainty anymore. It was time that he ripped that bandaid off. Everything had to be better than this useless agonizing about what could be.

Which is why, after nearly a week of being none too patient, he found himself at the entrance to Scar’s beautiful elven tree. He was trembling badly from nerves when he got there, his mind a mess of hundreds of made up scenarios. None of which matched the reality of what he found there.

They weren’t home. No one bothered to open when he knocked politely on the door. Grian frowned at the lack of response. He couldn’t make himself leave, though. If he did he wouldn’t be able to hype himself up enough to try a second time. Loitering in front of Scar’s and Cub’s home wasn’t an option for him either. It was boring, for one. And kinda pathetic. And the door was unlocked.

Grian let himself in, crooning at the warmth that hit his face. Magic clogged the air here as well. Although it wasn’t as oppressing as in the area Grian had set up his base. It was more a sheen of warm light dusting the surface than an overwhelming pressure. Grian had gotten used to the Rift’s heavy presence. The magic around his base felt like a weighted blanket to him now. In contrast the magic inside Scar’s tree was more like a gentle breeze. Refreshing and energizing.

Despite having spent quite some time in this particular home, Grian was quick to check every room for something new. Scar’s living space was a bit of a mess as always. The kitchen was the worst as it was still the place Scar baked most of his cookies. Ingredients were piled up in vaguely thematically appropriate piles. Pans and pots littered every spare surface. And patches of flour dusted the floor white, marking the spots where Scar had made and kneaded the dough.

There were even two random shulker boxes crammed under the table where they couldn’t be opened. It still smelled faintly of cookies, which led him to investigate the oven. And sure enough a few neat lines of Scar’s delicious pastries hid within the cavern of the kitchen appliance. Grian snatched one up, sniffing it before taking the plunge and putting it into his mouth. It was a bit sour instead of sweet, but otherwise it didn’t give him any weird side effects.

Stealing two more for the journey, Grian made his way upstairs. It was good to see proof of Scar’s recovery pretty much everywhere. The messy kitchen was a dead giveaway. The empty and unmade bed another. Sketches littered the table in his sitting room, neatly dated and rimmed with notes. Grian only spared them a glance. A builder’s sketchbooks were holy and even if he was very curious he wouldn’t check out something so private without Scar’s explicit permission.

There was a secret room he stumbled across by mere accident. It was located in the stairwell and Grian had only found it because the magic had felt odd at that spot. The room was small, dark and cramped. Candles were the main decoration, lining the wooden shelves on the walls. A very dangerous fire hazard if Xisuma hadn’t constricted this world’s fire to only spread as far as his players wanted it to spread.

A lectern stood at the center. The book on it closed. Grian nudged it open to find it mostly blank with only a few nonsense words scribbled down here and there. He remembered those phrases from his dreams. So this was where Scar had spoken to him when Grian had been asleep all those months ago. He had half the mind to pocket it out of spite, but thought better of it. Sogging with aggitated Vex magic this particular trinket was nothing he wanted to keep close to the Rift.

Instead he moved on, taking cautious steps down into the roots of the tree. His ears were perked, waiting for a sound other than his own footsteps and the natural creaking of the wood. He had hoped that Scar and Cub would have arrived back home at this point. Sure it was only about lunch time. But surely they hadn’t been quite done baking cookies. Maybe it would have been smarter to fly around the world to look for them. But Grian had genuinely no clue where the two could be.

He wondered if Xisuma would approve of adding a tracking app to their communicators. It was really a bit mean that only the admin could sniff them out when things were dire. Not that Grian could have even used said app. Xisuma had become sidetracked with other projects and the arrival of Impulse and Bdubs. So his communicator was still being worked on.

Grian was already having Mumbo withdrawals again. But in this instance it also made him unable to just… write Cub to ask him to meet somewhere.

He could maybe have come up with another solution than to snoop around Cub’s and Scar’s shared base until they arrived back home. If he had been brave enough to think of one.

As it were he was struggling to stay content with exploring the base. Entering Cub’s domain made his stomach flip. His eyes immediately sought out the jukebox, a faint smile tugging up the corners of his lips at the memory of them dancing. Or Ariana and Cub dancing.

He ignored its pull and kept to the walls instead. He started on one edge of the watery entrance and slowly made his way over to the storage area. Cub had labelled most of his chests. But they weren’t linked to a sorter system yet so really anything could be in them. Grian figured he could hold off his boredom a tiny fragment of time longer if he opened all of them. After the third it was really only commitment to his decision that kept him going. That is until he heard a click and the familiar drag of stone against floor.

He’d caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. And he was at least adept enough at redstone to know that he needed to be quick about this. Diving through the opened crack he nearly smacked his nose against the wall of the other side. Because the room wasn’t very long. It had width, though. And the worn down stones told of its purpose. Cub must have paced around a lot. But why?

The wall behind him slid shut again and Grian marveled at the timing. It was the perfect length to casually stroll into this hidden area. He shouldn’t have thought that his redstone skills equaled Cub’s. The Vex was obviously much better at the craft than he was.

There was a button next to the exit. An easy way out. At least Grian didn’t have to worry about being trapped somewhere he shouldn’t be. That left him to explore the rest of the small room with more ease of mind. Confident he turned around again to be met with a wall of signs. Was this Cub’s planning room? Or was it a room of secrets?

Cub loved to put all kinds of things on signs. Ideas for pranks. To do lists. Even – ugh – statistics. Grian didn’t want to read anything that could be a spoiler for one of Cub’s future actions. But if it was something else he was happy to snoop. So he skimmed the words on the signs just a little.

What he found didn’t make him happy. He read it nonetheless.

Notes:

So who still remembers the signs? :D
(Not me I had to go back to chapter 16 to read them again)

Chapter 65

There had been a thousand imagined scenarios of their reunion before Scar came back into his world. They had even encompassed the few weeks afterwards. And had maybe included a certain, black eyed Allay as well. Reality showed him that one was to be wary of anticipating other peoples’ behavior. Too many variables had to be in place for an exact outcome. Thankfully Cub was flexible.

It also helped that none of his darker imaginations came true. Scar was happy to see him and he was as clingy and loving as always. A bit more, given the amount of time they had spent apart. And a bit less than Cub would have thought at first. But given the circumstances just the right amount.

Scar hadn’t had a flare up in so long that Cub hadn’t thought of one happening as a possibility. And his memory was hazy on how much energy such an event sucked from his mate. Scar was quick to remind him. The first two days were spent hiding in bed and clinging to each other. Scar unable to leave the confines of their nest. Cub only extracted himself from his mate to get them something to eat and drink or to relief himself. Otherwise he was always found curled around his partner, rubbing spasming limbs and praying for the pain to leave Scar’s body.

There wasn’t much he could do during that part of Scar’s recovery. It irked him. But he knew the whole ordeal irked Scar much more. The other Vex was impatient. Had always been when it came to his body and mind. He’d fought hard against his involuntary transformation and in some ways he was still fighting, always clawing at the damage that couldn’t be undone. As though if he could peel off enough layers of himself he would find his innocence again. And Cub had vowed to pick up the pieces his mate wrenched from himself every day. For the rest of his life if need be.

Exhaustion was enough for the blankets to feel like a tomb, however. And Scar, for all his stubborness, could not find a way out of it for a long while. The bed had felt too big with only the two of them in it. There was a blank spot between them that was obviously missing something. Cub was still somewhat happy that Grian was somewhere else. He had needed some alone time with Scar. Some time to reassure himself that yes, he was still Scar’s mate. Their bond was still stable and wanted. But he had also not wanted Grian to see Scar like this.

The poor Allay had looked so worried and stressed. And Cub knew from experience that Scar didn’t take well to motherhenning when he was dealing with his Vex issues. He tended to bite the hand that tried to feed him in an attempt to prove his own independence. Cub knew the perfect balance of care and distance by now. Grian did not. And he was the type to hover just like Scar.

Still Cub hadn’t counted on the soulbond between Scar and Grian to be so strong. It thrummed even through him, extending through the bond he shared with Scar. So that the ache of missing their Allay turned just a little bit sharper.

When Scar was finally able to get up on the third day Cub was by his side to steady him. This stage of the process was easier. With Scar having some semblance of control back his good mood returned as well. Dimmed, of course and marred with bouts of frustration. But much easier dealt with than the dark, brooding depression that had sucked all joy from the air before that.

The tricky part now was to keep Scar occupied and his body stimulated without doing anything too strenuous. If Cub didn’t measure their daily activity to fit Scar’s energy levels at least somewhat he knew his mate would come crashing down again. And as much as he loved being in bed with Scar he’d rather have him in there under different circumstances.

So they strolled around the world, careful to avoid the other members of their group. It wasn’t like they didn’t want to see anyone else. But Scar did not have the patience yet to deal with social situations. And the Hermits were a bundle of mayhem even when they tried not to be. It didn’t work like that, of course. Everyone knew where Cub and Scar lived. And by now everyone knew that Grian and Scar were back home.

Hermits had come around to poke their heads into their base long before Cub and Scar had been able to move about. And while they were quick to leave once they saw what state Scar was in they were harder to get rid of once they noticed an improvement in Scar’s health.

The Hermits had learned to keep their distance whenever Scar was having a flare up. But they also had a one track mind and easily forgot that Scar was still recovering when they saw him up and about.

They ended up spending their time under the thick canopy of trees or underground so as not to be caught by the prying eyes of a flying Hermit. Scar couldn’t do much in terms of physical activity, so he merely tagged along on Cub’s adventures.

By day four Scar was almost back to full health and had dragged him down to the basement to dance with him. Cub had a suspicion where the sudden want to dance with him had come from. It didn’t make it less amusing to see his partner fumble with the jukebox and complain about his music choices.

“Don’t let Grian hear you or he might never talk to you again. He worked very hard on those songs, you know.” Cub teased, standing a few paces away from Scar, arms crossed and admiring the healthy flush that had come back to Scar’s skin.

Scar sat in front of the jukebox, slender fingers skimming through the discs, his face set in a pouty frown. “And they are lovely. But I’ve heard all of them far too many times.” He picked out a disc, looked it over, grimaced and slid it back among the others. “You can’t even dance to half of this!”

“You can.” Cub had. At the parties and concerts and with Grian that one time. “It’s perfectly lovely music.”

“It sounds weird, knowing how Grian really sounds.” Scar admitted, finally finding a song that he liked.

Now that was interesting. Cub’s stomach did a weird, giddy flip at the idea of Grian’s voice. He loved Ariana’s voice. Her melodies and lyrics had been his sanctuary on a lot of seemingly endless flights through space. They had helped him stay sane and heal when he had still grappled with the reality of his changes. Her songs had made him fall in love with music again after turning into a Vex. At a time where anything that reminded him of his lost Allay nature had been avoided at all costs.

But Ariana’s voice wasn’t exactly Grian’s. Well... It was, of course. They were the same person. It just wasn’t Grian’s real singing voice. It was higher pitched and layered and professional.

What did Grian sound like? “You’ve heard him sing?”

Scar shook his head. “Only hum, same as you. But even that is different. So.” He shrugged, put the disc into the jukebox and stood. The motion was smooth but far too fast and Cub had to lurch forward to keep a steadying hand on his partner.

Scar smiled at him in thanks and used Cub’s hold to draw him closer. He started to sway as the song started, a slow classic whose artifact could be found even in the dead worlds thousands of light years away from the main cluster of cosmic civilization.

Cub held him close and swayed with him. It wasn’t quite dancing yet. It was clear to him that Scar needed to built up some confidence to move first. Cub had all the time in the world, though. Even if nothing more came out of Scar’s sudden want to dance. Progress was progress. As long as his mate was happy.

Eventually the tips of Scar’s shoes bumped into Cub’s own and he took the first step. And from there it escalated quickly into more. They were both a bit rusty, but dancing was something they had known ever since they were able to stand. They easily slid into the different forms, laughing and grinning like fools as they spun around each other.

Cub let Scar lead the first dance. But the next was his. And on and on it went until a whole afternoon was gone and Cub had to put his foot down to stop Scar from overexerting himself.

Thankfully the next day Scar was only a little bit exhausted. So they baked cookies before they left for a walk. By that point he was recovered enough to want to interact with other people again. So they stopped by Tango’s citadel, much to the Blaze Hybrid’s chagrin and quiet joy.

Cub had lost Scar on the way back to their base to one distraction or another. But was sure that they would reunite at their tree eventually. He immediately felt that something was off once he stepped foot inside their base. The air was charged and heavy, curling around him and weighing him down like manifested dread. It tasted like the cold, almost oxygen free air of the End. Cub’s thoughts turned towards their little Allay. They hadn’t talked about him much, Cub trying to keep the focus on their bond first. But now he wished they had.

It would have helped, too, if Scar had been here with him now. He shot him a quick text, knowing that it wouldn’t do much. Scar never read his messages in time. It was a nightmare to get a hold of him when you couldn’t physically get to him.

Cub hesitated to go deeper into the base. He wanted to wait for his partner. But the imaginary Vex in his head were screaming at him to act as soon as possible. Something was wrong. Something Cub needed to fix immediately, it seemed.

He wasn’t the type to get scared easily, but as he rushed down the stairs fear had his heart fall out of rhythm. The air in his basement was almost unbreathable from the thick magic smog. He could hear faint distorted chimes coming from the wall where his secret room was hidden away. His stomach dropped.

Oh no.

He quickly opened the right series of chests to open the wall, startling the Allay within. It wasn’t one of his smartest moments, but seeing Grian’s distraught face before he carefully hid it under a blank mask made Cub charge forward into the room with him. It made him stand far too close to the source of the magical miasma, making his skin prickle and hair stand on end.

Grian didn’t look guilty for being caught red handed in a place he didn’t belong. He didn’t even flinch back when Cub had come charging at him. He glared down the Vex in front of him, delicate fairy wings spread like those of a dragon, a clear threat display.

And while his face now betrayed no emotions anymore his eyes were shiny and blazed with anger and hurt.

And despite all the warning signs. Despite Cub knowing better. He still had to chastice him. “Grian. You shouldn’t be here.”

Grian’s nose flared, eyes lighting up with something purple and violent that cowed even the bloodthirsty Vex at the back of Cub’s mind. “No. I shouldn’t be, should I?”

His voice was quiet and even as he gestured behind him to the signs. His statement meaning not just this room, but this world. Cub’s heart clenched. He wished he could make light of this. Joke around and ramble on like Scar usually did until the tension drained from Grian’s shoulders and he had forgotten about what he had been angry about in the first place. All he could think to say was “You weren’t supposed to see this.”

Which offended the Allay even more. “Of course I didn’t-”

“What are you doing here anyway?” Cub interrupted him, panicking inside, which meant that his voice came out flat and cold. He cursed himself for it. The Hermits knew what he sounded like when he was truly scared. Grian didn’t. And he most definitely was taking it the wrong way.

“I wanted to talk to you about Scar.” Grian shrugged in fake nonchalance, but he was far too agitated to make it even slightly believable. It was a violent twitch of the shoulders. A tick more than a shrug. “Seems like it was long overdue.”

Again Cub hated himself for putting a date on all his thoughts. There was no denying it. Maybe the torrents could be smoothed out somehow after all. Even if the waves had to come crashing down around them first. “I guess it is.”

Grian nodded and crossed his arms. It looked less like a display of dominance and more like an attempt to comfort himself. “So…” He started, then broke off, lost for words.

Cub wasn’t fairing any better. There were a myriad of things to address and Cub didn’t know where to start. Damn it Scar was the emotionally intelligent one! But apparently not even he had been able to get it right, given what Tango and Ren had told him.

“So…” Cub echoed Grian’s sentiment, wondering where all his wit had disappeared to.

“I’m too pure for you to handle?” Grian rasped out with a bitter smile, raising his pretty fairy wings higher. They pulsed with pink light, darkening towards the edges and blurring. The wings stretched out, sprouting into feather like shapes. Beautiful and dangerous and wrong. His voice distorted slightly with the next question. “Too much of an innocent little Allay?”

Cub fidgeted at the murder in Grian’s eyes, the Vex in his head loud. Scared but wanting to rise to the challenge. This was Scar’s soulbound. And by extension Cub’s. But Cub felt like he hadn’t quite established a strong enough bond with the Allay yet. And the instinct to fight and overpower the smaller one to get him to calm down and submit was maddening.

Cub wasn’t a mindless Vex, though. He could ignore his body and mind in order to have a civilized conversation with Grian. If only Grian would let him get a word in.

Instead Grian pulled the rug out from under him as he continued to speak. “Should I find myself another woodland mansion? Get in one of the cages and let them turn me into a Vex? Will you be able to stand me then?”

“Wha- No!” Cub blurted out, horrified. “No you… you don’t have to do that.”

“Good.” Grian sniffed, wings shrinking and lowering. “I wouldn’t have. Not even for you.”

Notes:

Fun fact: That last little bit of the chapter was the scene in my head that kickstarted the whole story. And now over a year later I finally got to write it! Isn't that a little bit insane?

Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! I'm sorry that I've not been replying much. Work has been a lot so I don't have much time or headspace to reply. It always makes me super happy to read the comments though! And don't worry I'm doing well taking time out for myself these days. :)

Chapter 66

Silence hung between them after Grian’s loaded statement. He almost wished he could take the last bit back. It revealed far too much. But there was nothing to be done about it now. And Cub didn’t seem to have caught on to him anyway. He looked at Grian with bright, shimmering eyes and a dead, pale face. It was impossible to read what the Vex was thinking. So Grian quickly jumped to the next point on Cub’s list. Better barrel on as long as he still got the wind in his sails.

“I won’t steal Scar from you.” It came out much softer than the words before. All the rage and hurt simmering down into something kinder. Grian could understand where that particular point had come from, after all. It had been at the back of his mind whenever he had gotten way too close to Scar. Something he had beaten himself up over whenever one of their interactions had teased the line between friendship and romance a little too much.

He was mad at Cub for writing his thoughts so plainly and leaving them for Grian to find. He hated what they meant. What they threatened. But he owed Cub this. “I won’t. Never. There’s not a chance that he would ever leave you.” Not for me. Not for anyone.

That was the truth. And still Cub stood there, silent and staring. The Vex swallowed and shook himself. It looked like he had to make an effort to move his mouth. “I… I know. We talked. Grian, the soulbond-”

“I’ll find a way to reverse it.” Grian lied.

“You-”

But Grian wouldn’t, no couldn’t, let Cub take over the conversation. Hearing his voice made his heart clench and his breath halt in his throat. He was convinced that he would die if he heard too much of it now. “Wouldn’t want to be tangled up with you when you’ll inevitably leave for your next mission.” He rambled over Cub’s stuttering. He’s not even a Hermit. That one stung. It was true. And that’s why it stung. "So really, there's nothing to fear." Let me live out the days I have here on this world and with the people I've come to hold dear. He pleaded in his head, the swell of emotions making him dizzy.

He didn’t know why Cub looked gutted when Grian said that. But Grian apparently didn’t know a lot of things. Like the fact that Cub had seen him as a threat the whole time. The mere thought of it made his stomach twist until he felt like throwing up. Ah the rage was leaving him, that violent red barrier that kept him from falling apart in front of the person he loved. He needed a break. He needed to get the fuck out of this claustrophobic room.

He didn’t want to talk to that bloody, beautiful Vex anymore and mess things up further. So he strode towards him, planning on shouldering past him with a “Good talk.”

He had even managed to get the words out. But Cub wouldn’t let him leave. There was an arm blocking his way and then gently pushing him back as Cub let out a firm “No.”

Grian flinched away from the touch with a hiss, wings springing up behind him and distorting, ready to give him the boost to barrel over Cub if necessary.

Cub held out his hands in a placating gesture. “No. We need to talk.”

“We just did.” Grian spit out a spark of fury igniting in his chest again. How dare Cub keep him cornered!

The Vex shook his head, careful not to take his eyes off the agitated Allay, who was visibly trembling by now, though it was hard to tell how much of the motion was controlled by rage and how much of it was fear. “No. You talked. I didn’t.”

Grian scowled at him, upset that Cub was upset. “What do you need to say? Your words are already on the wall.”

“Those were my thoughts from months ago!” Cub suddenly bellowed, tightly coiled nonchalance that had always been his shield smashed through by his desperation to get through to the Allay. And Grian was eager to match the volume.

“And? Did they change?!” He shouted back. Louder. Voice shrill and eyes flashing.

“Somewhat!” Came Cub's strangled reply, sounding unsure.

Grian blinked at him, the shock of confusion making him relax a little. “Somewhat?”

“I still think that you’re a bad influence on Scar.” Cub shrugged, letting out a small, strained chuckle. He was forcing himself to emote so much that the effort wasn't even missed by Grian, who didn't know what to make of that at all.

“And I’m still not a Hermit.” Grian added because he needed to say something and he had no clue where this was going and why Cub was acting the way he was acting. Was he more upset now or less? Angry? Sad? Hostile? It was hard for him to gage Cub's emotions on a good day, but with his own emotions wrecking his perception Grian was left lost in a sea of unidentifiable social cues.

“Unfortunately.” Cub nodded, some of his cheer coming back as he found his footing in the conversation again.

Great for him because Grian felt like someone had erased his feet. “Unfortunately?”

“Yes. You’d make a good Hermit.” Cub nodded to himself as though what he was saying made sense.

Grian had officially lost the thread. “Okay.”

Cub sighed and ran his hand through his hair. His gaze skimmed to the side for a short moment as if in thought and Grian flinched forward, ready to use that second of inattention to flee. But Cub was quick to set his sights back on him, eyes flashing a warning bright blue and the shadows of his Vex wings stretched out behind him. “I don’t mind you being around Scar anymore.” He rushed to say.

Shrill bells echoed in the small space between them. Grian’s displeasure at being caged in even more. His tone was flat and guarded as he parroted another “Okay.” Hopefully making it viciously clear that he wanted to be done with this whole ordeal. Preferably yesterday. His head was swimming. He couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on and he wanted out.

Cub deflated a bit, Vex aspect fading as fast as it had appeared. Grian was both sad and relieved that it was gone. Cub looked good all blue and powerful. “Actually I think we should continue this with Scar around.”

An olive branch. A chance of respite, however reluctantly given. Grian twitched forward again, eyes narrowing when Cub broadened his stance, still unwilling to let him go.

Oh no he was not waiting around for someone like Scar, who was notorious for getting distracted and never reading his messages. “Well I don’t see him around.”

The blank slate that Cub’s face had slipped back into as he had tried to be diplomatic gained a little bit of life again as Cub’s expression became pinched. “He’s going to be.”

So it was going to be like that, huh? Well if Cub wouldn’t let him go when Grian was being honest and direct than other means would need to be employed.

“Can we wait somewhere else, at least?” Grian tried for pity, lowering his wings when Cub looked at them with suspicion. “The air is getting a bit thick in here. And I'm starting to feel trapped like back then in the basement...”

That, finally, made Cub move. Probably because the amount of magic in the air was making it hard for him too breath, too. “Alright. Kitchen? Scar and I made cookies.”

Grian nodded and forced himself to relax enough to lure Cub into a false sense of security. He obediently followed him up the first set of stairs, but as soon they got close to the front door Grian bolted.

Wood splintered around him as he burst through the door, resolution not to use his unnatural wings trashed in favour of making a quick get away. He heard Cub curse behind him, but no rocket bursts followed. Grian still flew back to his base like his life depended on it and threw himself down into the hole where the familiar hum of the Rift greeted him.

He came crashing down with a thud. The harsh impact should have been enough to shatter his kneecaps, which he had landed on. The Rift wouldn’t let him get hurt that easily, however. It pulled at reality, making sure the harsh landing only stung a little bit.

Grian still stayed frozen and attentive for a few minutes, listening to his surroundings and watching the shadows on the floor. Only when there was really no hint of Cub having come after him did he rise and shake out his wings.

The Rift let out an inquisitive hum. Grian shrugged at it. After everything he had come home feeling mostly confused. The writing on the wall had hurt. Not just because of the obvious rejection in the words. But also because of the guilt it made Grian feel. He’d never meant to become a homewrecker. Cub and Scar were lovely people. He’d never meant for his existence to somehow make them feel lesser either.

Grian stretched out one of his wings and marvelled at the changes. He let out a snort as he watched pinkish purple light pulse along the thin veins. Purity his ass. He was as much Allay now as Cub and Scar were. The cheerful, chrystalin blue a mere baseline for the sharper edges. A facade to hide his true nature.

That wasn’t much better, though, was it? While Cub and Scar struggled with their forced transformation even now, Grian relished in his changes. He’d had a choice in some of them even. He’d willingly gotten close to the Entity and the Rift. Although he wondered if the start of his transformation could be traced back to that blurry stretch of time that he had spent between Evo and here. Or maybe it had started on Evo? With the weird time portals and the statues with warning messages and playful punishments. Beings beyond understanding prodding at people, not really knowing what people were.

And how the heck did he know about that all of a sudden?
His attention drifted back to the Rift and its mesmerizing lights. He stepped closer, testing the barrier once more, freezing his fingertips in the process. The membrane was hard like glass and yet it had just the slightest bit of give to it. He could hear whispers from within in a language he didn’t know, but that painted a picture of excitement and fondness.

There was a bond there now. A kinship that had grown stronger over time. Was he getting closer to them? Were they crafting him in their image? If so then why?

They didn’t understand him. Not really. And Grian didn’t understand them. Not quite. And yet…

Grian chimed at them, low and warm. Their presence was a comfort. They made a mess of things, sure. But overall they took care of him and his friends.

“Why did you have to bind me to Scar of all people?”

Incomprehension. As though the answer should have been obvious. Grian shook his head. “It made a mess of things. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what Cub wants now. I guess I never had a clue and just… just acted. Because I was greedy and I love him. As much as I love Scar.”

The whispers got louder and Grian scoffed. “That’s why you chose him, didn’t you? You shouldn’t try and matchmake. That sort of thing, it never ends well.”

Maybe he shouldn’t keep chasticing them like this. He wasn’t even sure if they understood what love was in the first place. If they had been emotional things before Grian and his crew had stumbled into their world. Or if they had started to learn and imitate Grian’s and his friends’ behavior after a while.

Did they need to learn? Would they listen to him? The Rift seemed to take his words into consideration at least. Although even here Grian wasn’t sure if the Rift was a being of its own or if it had always been a direct line of contact to the beings in the Void.

He decided to think about one thing at a time and not dwell on the supernatural bullshit this world and his last had thrown at him. “Cub wrote that he hates me.” Grian said, quietly. Another thing he was very confused about, but something that felt less sanity draining. “But he said that things changed. Does that mean he doesn’t hate me anymore? And that combined with the other sign… That I’m not even a Hermit.” His voice broke a little at the last word, eyes watering. “Does that mean that he hates me because I’m not a Hermit? He said I would make a good Hermit, though. Does he want me to become a Hermit?”

Grian wanted to become a Hermit. It was a scary thought that he tried not to think very often because rejection was scary and he didn’t want to end up alone drifting through space again. But he wanted to join their little ragtag group.

“I’m already missing the others.” Grian sniffed. “Scott would know what to do. He’s good with this kind of thing. He can socialize. He can flirt. He knows how to be gay. I don’t know what I’m doing at all.”

He was trying to get advice from a portal that may or may not be sentient or house beings that may or may not know what love even is. Minutes after he had berated it or them for meddling in his love life. Grian knew that it was ridiculous and he was giving off mixed signals. But he couldn’t help it. He was angry, hurt, guilty and confused. And maybe a little hopeful? All those emotions were giving him a headache either way. So he decided to take a leaf out of Joel’s book and ignore his problems for a little bit. He had kind of done his part anyway. He’d met with all the Hermits to show them that he was back and unhurt. And he’d talked to Cub. Kinda.

Quests done. He could panic about the impending talk with Cub and Scar when the two came over.

~~~

Cub stared at the broken hinge that hung onto the splintered doorframe. It was gently swaying with the leftover force Grian had used to break through the door, creaking ever so slightly, before the last connection wore down through the motion and it plummeted to the ground.

He had a rocket in his hand, ready to be set off. His Vex wings were on full display and spread wide, as though he could actually use them for flight. He folded them back and let them fade. He wasn’t like Grian. Couldn’t tranform his tattered appendages into something useful. He needed an elytra like everyone else. Well mostly everyone else. Grian was a special case.

He was always a special case.

Cub deflated further and stepped back into the house. He quickly made a new door to replace the last. It wouldn’t do to let in monsters. Scar didn’t need to be caught in a deathloop while he was still recovering. Next he stomped back down to his basement to rip the not-so-secret-anymore room apart and burn all the signs.

When he was done with that and there was no trace left of his past mistakes he went back up and to the kitchen to ransack the oven. Three cookies were already missing, making him smile. At least in a bittersweet way Grian had gotten to enjoy Scar’s and Cub’s baking.

He took out the tray and sat heavily at the kitchen table, reaching out to take a cookie every now and again while he thought. It wasn’t easy. The Vex in his head screamed for a hunt. To chase the feral Allay and drag him back, make him listen. He stomped on the voices and snarled back at them. Vex instincts were such a pesky thing to deal with.

Grian had obviously needed an out. He’d been cornered and unstable and Cub hadn’t done a great job of calming the little fairy down. He probably needed a minute to himself to cool down.

If he would have needed to rate his performance he would have given himself a 1/10. Only because he felt that he had at least managed to clear up some things.

Maybe a hug would have helped. But then again Grian hadn’t looked very approachable. Those teeth he had bared at Cub had looked sharp. There had been a real likelihood of Grian just poofing him by ripping his head off and then there wouldn’t have been any conversation at all.

Cub shoved another cookie into his mouth and chewed with a bit too much force. Maybe he should have tried anyway. He worried that he hadn’t been very clear with the things he’d said, as panicked as he’d been.

“Am I going crazy or is the front door another colour? Cub? Cuuuub? Are you there?” Scar’s cheerful inquiry clashed horribly with Cub’s current mood.

“Kitchen.”

There was a crash and in an instant Scar was with him. “What’s wrong?”

Ah he was using that flat tone of voice again. Cub grimaced. At least his face was working right. “I blew it.”

“Blew what?”

“Grian.”

“You blew Grian?”

“No.” Cub laughed, aware that Scar hadn’t caught onto the meaning of what he had just said. He wished. “I blew it with Grian.”

That just confused Scar even more. “But what did you blow? And if he was here why isn’t he here anymore? And why is the front door a different- oh. Oh you blew it with Grian.”

He loved his partner so much. “Yes.” He said and hoped Scar didn’t think they had destroyed the front door together.

Thankfully Scar wasn’t that dense. This time. “What happened?”

Scar sat down next to him and reached out to hold Cub’s hand, while Cub tried to explain what had happened. When he had finished his story the tray was empty and Scar had donned the deepest frown Cub had ever seen on him.

He was quiet for a long time afterwards, just holding Cub’s hands, drawing circles with his thumb and staring off into space. Cub let him. He too didn’t know how to proceed from here. They both knew they wanted Grian. At times it even looked like Grian wanted the same. But every time they thought about making advances something stupid happened. Like Mumbo tearing Grian’s soul in half. Or Grian and Scar getting abducted by semi-helpful space beings. Or this.

Cub vowed to never make a secret room again. At least not with anything substancial in it that could sabotage his relationships.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Scar eventually asked quietly.

“Yes.” There was no doubt in Cub’s mind. Sure Grian looked like he needed to be coddled and protected all the time. But he was much more resilient than anyone gave him credit for. Or that Cub and Scar gave him credit for. They still only saw the Allay in him. Maybe that’s where they were going wrong.

“Maybe we should go talk to him now.” Scar tasted the words, then shook his head. “Too early?”

Cub nodded. “I think so. Let him cool off. Let us talk about what we want from him first and then…”

Then what? Wait for the perfect time to catch him? Right. Because that had worked so well before. Timing wasn’t the issue here anymore. They were just shit at talking to each other. But what else could they do?

Cub tapped the table with his free hand, humming in thought. Scar watched him with mounting excitement, knowing that scheming look too well. He was on the edge of his seat when Cub spoke next. “When we’re ready we’ll show him that we want him around. Somehow.”

Scar deflated. “How?”

“By being us.” Cub shrugged. “You were spending time with him just fine before you started obsessing. I did, too. Kind of. I think a bit of light hearted interaction might do us some good. Play like we usually do. Draw him back in and…” He waved his hand. And then something or other would happen. Friendship or a relationship. At this point Cub would settle for anything that wasn’t a total disaster.

Scar didn’t seem to share his slightly desperate sentiment. He made a grimace and whined “But that could take ages!”

“And we have time.” Cub grinned sharply at him, squeezing the hand that was still trapping his. “There’s no competition here anymore. No Mumbo. No BigB. Just us. We’ll be fine.”

He hoped. Really he was saying that more to reassure himself than anyone else. They were going to be fine. They had to be.

Notes:

I really thought about making the fallout worse. But decided to give the three a break. So they got at least a bit of communication done.

I'll be off on a much needed vacation soon and won't be able to write for a bit. So the next chapter will be sometime next month. I haven't got a schedule yet. Depends how much writing I'll get done before and after the trip. Thanks so much again for reading this, leaving kudos and comments! I appreciate it a lot!

Chapter 67

Pearl was the last one to arrive back home. Gem and Impulse were the first to get to her, of course. But Grian wasn’t far behind. He’d had a few mental breakdowns in the meantime, venting to the Rift and crawling into the Entity whenever things got too overwhelming. But he had enough energy left to force himself to check up on Pearl. He needed to make sure that she was okay. He’d done the same with every Hermit that had come back. He owed it to them. Thankfully everyone had been okay. Sometimes a bit frustrated at being eliminated. Some missing their partners. But they had been happy to be back and looked healthy enough.

Pearl was a mess, however. She still wore her red cloak, tattered and dirty. And really it was the dirt more than the shadows under her haunted eyes that made him worry. Pearl had been obnoxiously clean ever since she had discovered the alien hospital site under her base. That she would allow any kind of stain on her person for even a second was boggling Grian’s mind.

She was skittish, too. Her angles sharper, her easy going personality all but gone. Grian only hesitated for a second before rushing up to her, wrapping as much of himself around her as was possible. She was a head taller than him and nearly bend herself in half in order to cling to him and Grian’s heart broke a little. Void what had he done?

“Pearl what happened?”

She made a strangled sound and only gripped him tighter, nearly crushing his fragile fairy wings. Grian hushed her gently and opted to run his hands over her crooked back.

Pearl shook in his arms. “I won, Grian.”

He let out an inquisitive chime at that. How was that bad?

She pulled back with a hysterical laugh, holding onto his shoulders with claw like hands, nails digging into his shoulder blades. Her grin was feral when she answered his unspoken question. “He blew himself up.”

Even though she was playing the pronoun game with him Grian knew who she meant. He’d kept tabs about who was left in the game via the people that had come back.

Why had Scott blown himself up? He was a sucker for drama, sure. But he was also a sucker for winning. And Pearl and him had been playing out some weird lovers to enemies fantasy the whole time. Surely Scott wouldn’t-

Actually no he absolutely would. Scott liked stories. He must have thought that it was a good way to end the game that was meant to be about love. Or bonds. Whatever.

“What did he say?”

“Hm?”

“Before he blew himself up. What did he say?”

The manic glint in Pearl’s eyes wavered and she chewed at her lips in thought. “I don’t remember it word for word. I think I only heard half of it anyway. Something along the lines of me deserving the win the most.”

“Huh.” Grian failed to see anything to be upset about. “Why…” Would it be rude of him to ask her why that made her look like someone had just killed her puppies?

“It’s not.” She shrugged, finally letting her hands drop from his shoulders. “It’s just what happened.”

Oh pluck his nose hairs and send them to the Ender Dragon, he wasn’t nearly emotionally and mentally stable enough to parse through this minefield of a conversation! He should have just taken Impulse’s word for it when he had written in chat that Pearl was okay but needed some space.

But that was obviously not true so actually it was a good thing he was here. “So what made you upset then?”

He was so good at handling emotionally delicate situations. Geez no wonder his, Cub’s and Scar’s relationship was such a mess. He tilted his head and made his eyes really big, hoping the cuteness would help to soften the words he had blurted out without thinking.

It worked somewhat, if Pearl’s shaky, but very much existent grin was anything to go by. “I was alone, after he blew up… And I’ve already been so on edge with everyone leaving that I… after Evo I just…”

Her lip wobbled and the tears spilled over. She crumbled before him, so Grian lurched forward to catch her and guide her gently to the floor. “I was so scared that I would never see anyone again.” She sobbed into his shoulder. “Everytime someone vanished I thought that might be the last time I’ll see them ever again. That they might become another Taurtis or… or you.”

Grian started trembling at her words. Evo had been a touchy subject ever since they had reunited. And while he had been aware that his crew members hadn’t gotten away unmarred he hadn’t thought that it had left such a deep mark.

And yet, even knowing what he knew now, he could only whisper a heartfelt “I’m sorry” into her hair.

She let out a huge, exhausted sigh. “Don’t be. I didn’t know it would get to me so much. And I wasn’t there alone for long. And you know how Gem and Impulse are. And the Hermits in general. I got squished into several group hugs pretty fast.”

“Still!” He whined, angry that he couldn’t take Pearl’s hurt from her.

“No.” She hiccuped and drew back again only to be able to squish his cheeks together. “You don’t get to feel bad about it, Griba.”

“Peaaarl!” Grian swiped at her, unable to talk well with her hands pressing against his cheeks.

“Griiibaaa.” She didn’t let him go, of course, only adjusting her grip to be able to pinch him instead. Her breath hitched, the bittersweet nickname coming out a bit mangled.

They giggled tearfully and leaned into each other until their foreheads touched. When was the last time they’d been like this? So close and trusting and open?

“But you’ll be fine?” Grian eventually asked after they had taken a few calming breaths, the sobs and sniffles subsiding. They both looked like a mess now. All snotty and red eyed.

He felt Pearl nod against him She let out a melodic hum Grian was quick to imitate. “I’ll be fine. Let me sleep for a week and I’ll feel like myself again. How are you doing?”

“Do you want to get up and go somewhere else that isn’t the floor?” Grian asked instead.

“Sure.”

They stood and instead of pulling him deeper into her base, Pearl opted to lead him down the path that wound around beautifully terraformed alien plants so that they could sit under a weird flower tree kind of… thingy. Grian squinted up at it with suspicion. But it didn’t move or let out some kind of weird alien pollen so he guessed they were okay.

They sat down beside each other and Grian wanted to quip about still being on the floor when Pearl beat him to it. “So? How have you been?”

Grian made a face. “Do you think I would make a good Hermit?”

There wasn’t even any hestitation when Pearl answered him. “Yes.” And then. “Do you want to be a Hermit?”

Grian shrugged, unable to affirm what he was so afraid of. “Cub is mad that I’m not.”

“I’m sure he is. Did you two talk?”

His grimace made Pearl grimace. “What happened?”

He pressed his lips together firmly and shook his head. This was not something to discuss when Pearl was already so unstable. She might actually set Scar’s tree on fire if he told her. And that would be the opposite of what he wanted. Which was to get on Cub’s good side again. If he was even on his bad side? He was still a bit lost in that regard. Also was Cub on his good side? Or was he still mad at the Vex? He had no answer to that either. And that made him want to take his brain out of his head, throw it into the Hermitsippi and find a new one somewhere with clearer thoughts and less emotions.

“Come on I told you my secret woes. Now you can tell me your secret woes! If it makes you feel safer we can go back into my base, I’ll lend you one of my pyjamas, we’ll make hot chocolate and have a girls night!”

Hot chocolate sounded incredible. Still he shook his head again. “No.”

Pearl leaned over until she had to prop her upper body up as to not crash to the ground. Spine twisted into a bad imitation of a corkscrew, she perfectly blocked his line of sight. “Come ooooon. You know you want to.”

Grian crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, fighting down a smile. “Nu-uh.”

“Ya-ah!”

“I’m not Ariana right now.”

“I’ll take a Grian then.” When Grian stayed silent, Pearl pulled out the dirty tactics. “It would make me feel better, too.”

Damn it. Pulling at his heartstrings. That was cheating! “We can have a sleepover, but I won’t talk about Cub or Scar!”

Famous last words. Grian should have known that Pearl would continue to play dirty to get all the gritty details out from him. She was good at manipulating him like that even when she wasn’t quite there herself.

The moon hadn’t even come out to steal the sun’s show and Grian already found himself spilling his guts to the soundtrack of Pearl’s enraged grunts and incredulous groans. He had no clue about how he had gotten to that point. Sitting on top of the head of the huge, alien face shaped tree that was towering over her base. In a nest made out of blankets and pillows pouring his little heart out.

She had flown him up there and had gone back down to get everything they needed. Then there had been an offering of fluffy pyjamas and a few cuppas of heavenly sweet hot chocolate that had tasted sweet, but with a mix of something headier. He’d started to feel a bit lightheaded, but the warmth of the drink and companionship had stopped him from thinking about it too much. It was normal to loosen up in good company, after all.

But taking stock of himself now… Grian halted in the middle of his tirade, arms outstretched before him in an angry gesture as the puzzle pieces clicked into place. “Pearl? Am I drunk?”

Her eyes were gleaming red in the twilight of the setting sun. “Whyever would you think that?”

He turned his head to eye the tray that sat innocently outside of the ring of pillows. There were two big thermos cans. One for Pearl and one for him. And he had a suspicion that one was not like the other.

“Gimmie your mug!” He screeched, lunging for her.

“No! That’s mine!” She yelled right back, leaning away from his grabby hands. Damn her and her tallness. Why did he have to be born so short?!

Mindful of the fluffy assembly of truly high quality nesting materials, Grian vanished his own mug before its contents could soil the cushions. Only then did he get his feet under him enough to tackle Pearl. For even the tallest person could be felled and what was in their grasp easily obtained once they were on the ground.

Pearl hadn’t been prepared for his attack and toppled like a particularly weak tree that had been kicked slightly too hard. She shrieked and tried to keep the hot chocolate from spilling, but Grian was faster. Sure using his deformed wings to boost himself and swoop for the cup before it could even tip sideways was kinda cheating. But all was fair in love and war and this certainly fell into one of the two categories… somehow.

He scrambled away from the writhing mass of his friend and quickly gulped down the contents of the mug. Thick, sweet sludge trickled down his throat and pooled like molten lava in his stomach. The taste was undiluted and free of any other flavour.

Grian pointed an outraged finger at Pearl. “I can’t believe- You spiked my drinks!”

Pearl abandoned her quest of sitting back up and stayed sprawled out as she was. “Maaaybe.”

“Peaaarl! That’s not fair!”

“All is fair in love and war.”

Void how he hated that phrase. “We’re not at war!”

“But you are in looove!” She sung the last word, trilling like a nightingale.

Grian’s heart fluttered at the happy, teasing notes and chimed before he could help himself. He scowled at being manipulated into being happy and quickly tried to quash the tendrils of joy in order to assert how upset he was at her behavior. “That was uncalled for. And whether I’m in love with the two or not is none of your business.”

That made her sit up so that she could look at him with a very manic grin. “It’s all of our business at this point.”

Grian didn’t want to know who was included in that “All” because he was sure he wouldn’t like the answer. “It’s really not. And it doesn’t matter. No. No don’t open that mouth of yours. I can’t keep doing this Pearl. I can’t forge bonds when there’s a very real possibility that you’ll all go on to some new exciting world in a few years time and leave me to go back to doing I don’t know what.”

The pitying look Pearl threw him made his stomach churn. “Oh Griba. Isn’t it a little bit too late for that?”

Well yes, but he could still try and mitigate the damage. “Better late than never.”

Pearl shook her head at him. “Don’t be daft. You’re already hooked. And even if you aren’t willing to say it you clearly want to be a Hermit.”

Grian squirmed on the spot and summoned back the half drunk chocolate from his inventory. He could use some more liquid courage. One sip and he grimaced at the taste. Compared to Pearl’s own drink it was so obvious that there was some serious amount of strong alcohol in his. Honestly what else had he expected from the woman who loved to put things in her soups that were never supposed to be put anywhere near food. He seemed to have a type when it came to making friendships. That he still ate anything his friends put in front of him was a testament to his non existent self-perservation.

After another long gulp he muttered a couragous “Maybe” and shrugged his shoulders. Then he quickly shook his head and looked at Pearl with panicked wide eyes. “You can’t tell them! Please don’t bring it up in any of your meetings. I know you guys only take in new people if the vote is one hundred percent in their favour. And I’m such a far cry from that!”

Pearl gave him an exasperated huff. “Then do something about that, you dolt! Where’s the pesky little bird who isn’t afraid to go toe to toe with some weird supernatural beings messing with his world? You love to push things. So go out there and push. Show them your worst. Show them your best. Make everyone see what they’ll miss should they dare to let you go.”

Her scowl deepened as she leaned over to take back her mug from the pillows Grian had so gingerly placed it on. “And for the record: I think that you would be surprised. Xisuma has already called you an honorary Hermit so many times and no one has ever protested. I think that I could pop the question in the next meeting and everyone would be more than happy to give you an official place. Or would at least agree to let you stay. Let’s be honest Mumbo would be heartbroken if he lost you. And no one wants to see Mumbo cry.”

Well, to be fair Grian wouldn’t want to see Mumbo cry. “I’ll think about it. And I still don’t want you to ask. Please.”

Pearl nodded. “You go at your own pace. Just don’t drag your feet too much.”

Grian – procrastinator extraordinaire - couldn’t promise her that. He would try his best, though.

Notes:

We cracked the 200k word count mark, baby! Thank you all so much for reading this story, commenting and leaving kudos! You're the best!
My upload schedule will keep being wonky for the foreseeable future, unfortunately. There's just a lot coming up at the moment. But I'll do my best to keep the chapters coming in regular intervalls.

Chapter 68

Grian’s mind was buzzing after his night with Pearl and not just from the hangover. They had gone from spiked chocolate to wine to whatever Pearl had been secretly brewing since she had set up her base near the freaky alien head tree. And the night had gone from cozy to a party. Void it had been ages since they had been able to hang out like that. And by the end of it they might have crossed the line from a bit too tipsy to black out drunk, but at least they had been happy.

He was confident now that Pearl would recover from the game. Although he had promised to visit more often. He had been so caught up with Scar and Cub and Mumbo that he had neglected her. And while she had been understanding Grian wanted to make it up to her.

Now he had done the rather unwise thing and had fought the after effects of the alcohol with a whole pot of coffee, half of which had gone straight back out again together with the sparse breakfast he had managed to eat. But he had felt better after that and at least a little bit of the coffein had apparently managed to get into his bloodstream because he was awake and bouncing around his base like a hyperactive squirrel on crack.

It might have been the coffein or it might have been the urge to act on the promise he had half heartedly given to Pearl. The only problem with that was that he had no idea what he should do to impress the other Hermits. Oh he had plans. Many plans! But they mostly involved all out wars and or pranks and Grian wasn’t sure how well those would be received after the vanishing act he had pulled on half the people in Xisuma’s team.

If the charged Creepers that kept popping up in his base were any indication he knew of at least one Hermit who was getting a bit annoyed at him. But Doc was not a good example to judge the others by. His favourite mad scientist was always grumpy and liked to poke back ten times harder just to see what Grian would do in retaliation.

After luring out the latest explosive invader, Grian decided to call his most trusted advisor to help in getting his thoughts in order. Coincidentally he was also building (or rather failing to build) a Kelp farm within one of his floating rocks and he hoped Mumbo could help with that, too.

If he actually picked up the call, that is. How late was it where Mumbo was again?

“Grian? What’s up buddy?”

“Mumbo!”

“Good lord you sound wretched is everything okay?” Mumbo’s voice immediately rose two octaves.

Grian cooed at Mumbo’s anxiety and wished he could hug his bean stalk of a friend and never let go. “I’m fine. Just had a night out with Pearl.”

“And that always leaves you with almost no voice?”

“We got drunk and I threw up a few times.” Grian confessed, omitting almost everything else he had done that night. No one needed to know about Pearl’s karaoke corner. Or their mutual love for screeching along to overly cheesy romcom songs from before the space age. Yes, Grian could sing well. But that didn’t mean he always wanted to. Sometimes he craved a little discord.

“Ah.” Mumbo sounded like he was unsure if he should stay worried or not. “Why are you calling, then? Not that I’m not happy to hear you! You know I always love to chat! It’s just that-”

“I’m currently watching kelp grow.” Grian decided to interrupt Mumbo’s nervous ramblings. As much as he loved to listen to them and space out to his friend’s voice, Grian himself was far too jittery to endure such a thing at the moment.

There was a brief silence at the other end as Mumbo tried to process the random words Grian had just thrown at him. “You’re doing what now?”

“Watching kelp grow, Mumbo. It’s supposed to be one of the fastest growing plants of any planet.” He’d learned that neat fact while he had been trying to read up on how to make a farm for the stuff. He had been dying to share it with someone.

Unfortunately Mumbo had not been dying to learn it. “Uh hu.” Was his rather disappointing response. “But why?”

“I’m trying to figure out how to impress the other Hermits so that they will have to let me stay with them.”

“How… How is that even related?”

Grian shrugged before he remembered that they weren’t face timing. “I needed something to do while working my brain.”

“You’re that nervous about it?” Mumbo guessed semi-correctly.

“I also drank a whole pot of coffee.”

The sigh that was tranferred via their connection held nothing but judgement. “Grian. That’s not healthy.”

“Well you’re not here so you can’t stop me.” The words were out before he could think them through and Grian winced at the petulant tone he had said them in. “Sorry. I know you…”

“I’d be there if I knew it was save for you.” Mumbo muttered softly, clearly upset.

“Did you make any progress?”

“A bit, I think.” There was rustling on the other line as Mumbo probably got comfortable wherever he was. Subconsciously, Grian mimicked him and sat down. He wouldn’t be tinkering with the farm until Mumbo had said his piece.

“So as you know I’m cleared now and get to walk around again. Which makes it much easier to meet people! The captain of the space station I’m at asked around for me while I couldn’t go out myself and was busy with the whole Sculk discovery thing approved and accredited. I will never stand in for Xisuma ever again. I thought our meetings are already boring and harrowing, but goodness me the amount of brain dead-” He cleared his throat before a swear or two slipped out. We got the recognition for discovering it, by the way! I sent the necessary paper work to Xisuma. “They theorized that we may have found something really odd because we are currently the exploration team that’s the furthest out there. And we have the go ahead to keep researching it. If it’s rare we’ll be able to file for dibs and get some of that sweet import money before Gigacorp can swoop in and monopolize the market again.”

Grian made a noncommittal sound. He wasn’t really interested in space economy. It was as shitty and cut throat as any economy. And he wasn’t very impressed with the standing theory either. It made sense that the further from the main hub they went the more weird stuff they were gonna see. Especially because the galaxy the main hub was located in was a relatively young one. And it had been altered so much by the myriad of races living there that barely anything truly old had survived.

He had known that Evo had existed in a blind spot, too and thus hadn’t been worried about the weird statues and looney portals. Unexplored frontiers tended to be in dark, creepy corners. But Mumbo was sounding more and more excited so Grian endulged him by asking “And they haven’t found anything close to it at home?”

“No!” Came the immediate, high pitched answer. “Isn’t that wild? I mean the closest thing to it might be mycelium. But the Sculk clearly isn’t a type of fungus. And it acts a bit like redstone? But it’s not a mineral either. We’ve discovered something entirely new! Now if it just wouldn’t be so dangerous…”

“I don’t think it is.” Grian said, remembering the amount of times they had gone down into the sculk infested caves during their game. “I mean it has the potential to be, maybe? It spreads like crazy if mobs die on that catalyst thingy. But it’s not toxic. And it looks pretty.”

“Wait really? Awww I wish I could experiment with it. I bet it could do some cool stuff combined with redstone.”

“I’m sure.” Grian agreed with his friend, who was much more adept at redstone and probably knew what he was talking about. “So what about your progress?”

“Ah yes! So uhm… oh that’s right! So the captain of the space station I’m at put his feelers out for me so to say-”

“Yes, you already said that.”

“Righ right.” Mumbo laughed. “And I’ll say it again if you keep interrupting me. Geez mate I’m trying to weave a story here.”

“You’re not Scar. Get to the point!”

“Would you rather talk to Scar?”

Grian could almost hear the eyebrow wiggle. And he could also feel the smugness that radiated from Mumbo’s end of the line when he said “No!” and meant it. His mustachioed friend could be so petty at times.

“Good.” Mumbo crooned. “All that to say is that a group of shapeshifters have been contacted and flown in to help me with my issue while I was getting all that Sculk stuff approved. I’ve met with them a few times by now and what I’ve learned so far is absolutely fascinating. I can’t share it, though. Apparently being a shapeshifter is like being in fight club. You’re not supposed to talk about it. They only came out because my case sounded really dangerous.”

Grian furrowed his brow in confusion. “But didn’t you say you knew of a few groups who might have been able to help you?”

“Yeahhh.” Mumbo chuckled nervously and Grian knew his friend was rubbing his neck and sweating profusely. “I might know a few cult leaders? Those people are good at dragging up information. Better than the officials and more reliable than basic crime bosses. But I actually got help the legal way! So all is good!”

Sometimes Grian wondered whether he was making friends with the right people. And then Mumbo would say something like what he had just said and reassure him that yes, he was, without a doubt, making friends with the best kind of people.

“I’m glad you are getting help.” He bit off the part where he wanted to ask how long it would take for him to come back now. He didn’t want to put his friend under pressure.

“Thanks! Anyway you said you needed help with the Kelp farm?”

Trust Mumbo to remember the redstone project but not the reason why Grian had called him in the first place. Grian smiled fondly into thin air, the warmth in his chest tranfering easily into his words. “Yes please.”

It was indeed quite simple, fixing his mistakes with Mumbo’s nagging guidance. The man was a natural at explaining things even when Grian made his job harder by not knowing how to talk about the contraption he had made leaving Mumbo to guess where everything was and what Grian had done wrong.

Within the stony walls of the rock, time didn’t matter. There was no sun and moon to guide Grian’s circadian rhythm and Mumbo’s voice kept him energized. It felt good to do something together again. And through their shared soul, Grian faintly felt a tug of joy whenever they accomplished a small fix on the machine.

Grian fluttered about the confined space like the Allay he was, happy and carefree as Mumbo patient if sometimes exasperated voice told him what to do. It was freeing to let someone else do most of the thinking for him. He liked having Mumbo thinking for him.

It wasn’t until Mumbo had to end the call that Grian realized that they hadn’t talked at all about the thing Grian had wanted to talk about with him. But he couldn’t be too mad about it. In fact he couldn’t be mad about it at all. It was just one more excuse to call him again later.

When he emerged from the biggest of the floating rocks it was the late afternoon and he was still brimming with leftover energy, now without the nausea and dizziness that had plagued him for the first half of of the day.

Finishing one project fueled his motivation to continue to work on his projects. And the bridge between his and Mumbo’s bases had been an eyesore to him ever since he had come back. At the time it had made perfect sense. A flat, deepslate monstrosity that led to the sleek walls of Mumbo’s vault. Simple and clean. But now that his base had come along so well and Mumbo’s was still mostly an outline the basic thing didn’t fit anymore.

His base was anything but simple and clean. It wasn’t dark either. And Mumbo’s vault would look more imposing if the landscape around it could contrast its dark towering form. Grian walked the length of the bridge, his boots clacking against the cold, even stone. The air flared as he got closer to the cave entrance under Mumbo’s base. The Rift, or whatever laid behind it, tugged at his consciousness, flodding his mind with images of what had stood before.

Grian shook his head an discarded the pictures. He didn’t want to build gothic. The intricate structures didn’t feel right to him. They might have matched the building that framed the entrance to his biggest rock. But it would be hard to strongarm the design into anything that fit Mumbo’s current building style.

And it wasn’t needed for the energy flow of the place. He’d made sure to keep the circles that the Rift and Entity had insisted on. That somehow helped to pool the magic of this planet and feed it to the Rift. He had also made sure to add the neccesary symbols, imitating the ones he had found in the cave and around his building site, matching them with the picture the Entity and Rift had shown him.

The bridge was mostly just for the aesthetics. Surely he was allowed some artistic liberty with it. Something more natural, more rocky would look much better.

Arches. The word got stuck in his head. Petulant and insistent. Grian huffed. “Fine. I’ll include arches. Just let me do the designing.”

An agreeable rumble went through the earth. Nothing big, a mere vibration at his feet. Grian took that as his cue to launch himself up into the sky to get to the shopping district. He would need quite a bit of stone and moss for what he had in mind.

It had been a while since he had gone shopping. He had forgotten how outrageous some of the prices had already become and how little he had left of his diamonds. Grian glared balefully at the statue of Ren and the piles of diamond blocks that sat on each hand. If the damn dog hadn’t made them all throw their hard earned diamonds into the pit.

Throwing a few diamonds in the chest he had just taken some moss from, regretting that he hadn’t built a moss farm instead of a kelp farm, Grian turned to fly towards the king’s statue. The planks creaked in protest as he landed with a heavy thud. He was a bit sad that they withheld his violent landing. The urge to destroy at least a little of the mark of corrupted authority was crushing. But Grian refrained from outright vandalism.

War was on his mind as he entered the statue and did his rounds. He’d been displeased before, when he had first come here. He hated the quest boards. They were nothing more than boring community tasks. Mere chores. Grian could barely keep his own base clean and he knew of several Hermits who had the same problem. Pearl had assigned herself the role of cleaning lady because the chest monsters were already getting out of hand for Void’s sake! How could Ren think that it was a good idea to try and make them do more chores?!

Especially because the amount of diamonds one could earn was pitiful. He sniffed at the low rewards for the dull things Ren wanted them to do. Some of which would benefit no one but the Dog Hybrid.

Grian had half a mind to torch the whole place. Or blow it up as Xisuma had made sure that no fires could spread. He had to remind himself that they weren’t in his world anymore. He wasn’t admin. He wasn’t making the rules. The Hermits had standards and those included not grieving any builds made by others.

Stealing was frowned upon, too. And Grian huffed as he remembered and pulled his hand out of the chest. His small brain was working overtime now, bridge forgotten. He wanted to do something about Ren. He’d been a thorn in his side in the game as well, taking BigB from him. And now he was just as irritating, if not more.

He liked Ren as a person. He was an amazing cuddle buddy and singing with him was great. But he was a shitty king and needed to be put in his place. Overthrown.

War.

Grian shook his head. No. That was too on the nose, wasn’t it? Too much too soon. Who would even join his side? He was a newbie who wasn’t even part of the group. He wished that he could have talked about this with Mumbo. He would have known how subtle or unsubtle Grian could be in his approach to incorporate himself into the Hermits’ shenanigans.

But he had missed his opportunity for the day and now that he was standing in front of something he could work with he didn’t want to wait for tomorrow. Especially because he would probably get sidetracked with Mumbo again. He always got sidetracked with Mumbo.

Dejected he stomped out of the quest room, stopping outside to once again glare up at the big representation of Ren. The pile of diamond blocks glinted in the sun, mocking him. He squinted at the pretty pile, tilting his head in thought.

Maybe he was thinking too much as though he was still playing a murder game. The Hermits were a peaceful bunch. They enjoyed some light hearted pranking and competition.

Grian grinned as something clicked in his mind. No, he wouldn’t start a war this time. He wouldn’t even resist Ren’s rules. He would be a perfect model citizen. He would be compliant. Maliciously compliant.

Notes:

Sorry about the late update! After finishing the Double Life Arc I noticed that I couldn't make heads or tails of my sparse outline notes that I had for the rest of the story anymore. Mostly because I had made them while season 9 was still ongoing. So I had all the base progress and the timelines of the Hermits still fresh in my head. Which meant I didn't think to write down anything that happened in canon. And that left me pretty lost on where I even was in the canon Hermitcraft storyline at the moment. It being nearly a year(ish???) since I wrote the notes, maybe even longer. Let that be a lesson folks: If you're writing a story that's supposed to follow canon events, include the canon events in your notes. You won't remember shit after one or two years of writing.

I'm currently rewatching Grian's POV of season 9 and am still going through my outline to mark certain events so my timeline makes sense to me again. (I also had to go back and figure out when I sent everyone off to Double Life. Cause I forgot that, too.)

Updates will continue to be slow because of this ongoing process. I pretty much finish one part of the outline, start writing a chapter and then go back to fill in the outline for the next chapter. So it takes me double as long as usual to get anything done. And sorry if some things don't add up at some points. I'm trying to keep everything consistent, but I never anticipated the story to be as long as it is and I'm wildly out of my depth here.
Fun fact: I thought it would be 40k long max. And that was already a generous estimation. What a fool I was.

Chapter 69

There was an obscene amount of charged creepers in his base. They were everywhere, hiding in the dark recesses of his rocks, crawling around the Rift’s entrance and turning up behind him at the most inconvenient of times, like when he was shuffling through his shulker boxes in search of the materials he needed for his bridge.

Nothing important had been exploded so far. The hiss of the temperamental beings was often warning enough and Grian had always been quick to fly away. The Rift, too, seemed to be vigilant for him. The ground trembled whenever danger was near, giving him a good heads up when he had the mind to focus on the vibrations in the ground.

He’d started using his distorted wings around his base because of these pests. His reaction time with an elytra was just too slow for close calls. Sleeping had become an adventure of its own and his bridge had taken much longer than Grian would have liked. With him having to patch up holes every few hours when one of the green gremlins managed to sneak up on him after all. Getting immersed in his work sometimes leading to him losing hours of progress due to charged creeper.

His persistence paid off, though. Grian thought as he circled his newly build bridge. It was made up of broken, mossy stones that floated to underline the two elegant arches that held up the main walkway. It looked powerful, natural and mystical all at the same time. As though an ancient civilization had built it a long time ago and the thing had degraded over time, now only held aloft by the stubborn magic that wouldn’t let it die.

It was much better than any old gothic built could have ever been and the Rift reluctantly agreed with him. He landed softly on the walkway, grinning at the way the soles of his feet sunk into the mossy patches he had artfully scattered about. It wasn’t only looking better it also felt better. He had earned himself a hearty pat on the back for this! He’d powered through and didn’t let himself be distracted – much – and had finished a project!

It was time to get himself a treat. His mind, of course, immediately went to Cub and Scar, then hopped over to Mumbo like a frightened kitten. But neither of the three men were truly available right now. Cub and Scar for obvious reasons and Mumbo because Grian had memorized his meeting schedule for the week and he knew the nervous shapeshifter was currently busy socializing. That left him with the option to visit his second favourite neighboor. Doc.

Perfect. He had some things to say to Doc.

Although his timing couldn’t have been worse. He heard the argument before he had even come close enough to see their faces and in a panic, he angled himself down and landed below the platform that held Doc’s bed.

Grian immediately felt dumb for hiding in such an obvious manner. Ren’s and Bdubs’ backs had been turned to him sure, but Doc had seen, his bionic eye glinting in annoyed recognition at the sight of him.

He folded his enlarged wings against his back, but as the voices got louder he wrapped them around himself instead, hiding not only in the shadows, but also in their transculent embrace.

“I don’t see where the problem is, Doc! Everyone else threw their diamonds into the pit. It’s for the good of the server! You’re going to crash the-”

“Yes yes, I’m going to crash the economy. Blah blah blah. You’ve been repeating the same excuse for the last half hour. Aren’t you getting tired of your own barking?” Doc drawled, almost sounding bored.

His lazy comeback earned him a shriek from Bdubs, who was by far the loudest of the three. “Wha- you can’t disrespect the king like that!”

“He’s not my king.” Doc tiredly explained probably not for the first time.

“You voted for him!”

Grian winced at the sheer volume Bdubs’ little lungs could produce. It was certainly true that small dogs barked louder than bigger ones. And apparently that went for people, too. Not for Grian, of course. He preferred biting.

The hiss that followed Bdubs’ statement instinctively made Grian want to flee and he had his wings halfway snapped open before he registered the source of the noise. Doc couldn’t explode like a real creeper, right?

“I didn’t.”

“But the majority did!” Bdubs sounded so smug about it.

Thinking back about the very chaotic coronation Grian very much wanted to object to that. Hadn’t they thrown someone out the medieval equivalent of an airlock for protesting against the Bdubs appointed king? And really no one had fully voted for anything. Most of them had been too busy laughing at Ren’s outrageous and over the top outfit and weird speech pattern. It had stopped them from protesting too much, though. So maybe that had been Bdubs’ and Ren’s plan all along.

Grian held his tongue. It was not his fight. He would not involve himself in something that sounded so personal. Doc didn’t seem to need any backup either way. He was confident and menacing enough as he replied. “Well I didn’t. And that’s what counts for me. I’m not going along with you people and that is final. Look I’m not even using my diamonds to shop! I’m using them as building blocks!”

“Sure.” Ren’s voice had smoothed out again, calm and condescending. “You are now. But tell me could you not, at any point, switch the diamond ore blocks out for something else and spend them? Who is to say that you aren’t just going to go back to using coloured wool and stone blocks in a week?”

“You’ll just have to take my word for it.” Doc growled, words final.

Grian could almost imagine Ren walking up to his best friend, ears pinned back, mouth pulled into a violent snarl, shoving himself into Doc’s personal space as he spit “I. Will. Not. And as long as you are part of this nation-”

“Then I will not be part of this nation. I declare the perimeter as an independent state! Now what do you want to do about that, your Highness?”

The silence that followed that statement was so thick it could have suffocated someone. Grian surely felt like he couldn’t breath. Then Grian heard someone – presumably Ren – stagger a few steps back.

“I…” Ren swallowed, stunned. “I…”

“I think we are done here, my liege? I don’t think this attempt at diplomacy will work.”

“No… no I guess you are right, Bdubs. Let’s go. This is not the end of it, Doc!”

“What are you gonna do? Declare war? I have a world eater!” Doc yelled after them, loud enough to still be heard over the rockets. “You can come up now pesky bird.” He muttered, much quieter and calmer once the king and his advisor were out of sight.

Tense muscles unwound, although his wings were reluctant to unfurl from around him. Hesitant Grian emerged from the shadows and flew up to land on the platform. Cautious of Doc’s temper, Grian perched on top of the wall of chests, far out of reaching distance. “Hi Doc. Sorry for eavesdropping.”

Doc huffed. “No you’re not. Stop being skittish and come down from there. Fear doesn’t look good on you.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Grian pouted and did as he was told. He was surprised that he wasn’t immediately grabbed by the scruff of his neck and shaken. That didn’t feel right. “Are you okay?”

A heavy hand reached for him, after all, if only to ruffle his hair. “Of course, why shouldn’t I be?”

“Because you and Ren…”

Doc let out an explosive laugh. “What? Thought I could only yell at you for fun?”

Grian’s grimace almost slipped into a pout. “Of course not! But you and Ren are usually so sweet to each other.”

“Most of the time sure.” Doc shrugged looking as unbothered as he sounded. Gone was the quick temper and Grian could detect no fury in his eyes. Even though Doc’s bionic one continued to glow a faint red. “But that doesn’t mean we need to be on the same side all the time. That would be boring.”

Grian tried to see it. Tried to imagine being on the other side from Mumbo and internally cringed. Although he would have happily backstabbed Scar in the Life Game, only because it would have been so much easier being his antagonist than being his soulmate.

“So you two are good? And you won’t get into trouble for going against him?”

“We are.” Doc reassured him, oddly gentle for once. “And only time will tell if I’ll get in trouble. I hope so, actually. If Ren pulls something I can get him back for it.”

“But you’re not going to get into trouble trouble.” Grian tried to clarify, dodging Doc’s attempt at further messing up his hair.

“You mean like with Xisuma?”

“Isn’t Ren king?”

“Yeah, but X is still the admin.”

Nodding Grian took the quick silence to really digest the new information given to him, relieved when he could confirm that the Hermits really were just playing.

Doc tilted his head at him with a thoughtful hum. “You know it’s kind of cute that you are checking in like that. But how come? It’s not like you are involved. Or-” And here Doc flashed him a dangerous, but excited grin. “do you want to get involved?”

The grin was contagous and Grian’s answering one was just as sharp, wings spreading wide behind him, a far cry from the small, fluttering things that they usually were. “Maybe.” He purred, then relaxed his stance a bit again, falling into himself until he was small and meek once more. “But honestly? I just like to check in on things. I was an admin, too before I got here. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the academy it’s that play on foreign planets can quickly turn serious when people forget that it’s all supposed to be in good fun. I may not be an admin here, but old habits die hard.”

“Huh. Didn’t peck you for the responsible type.”

Grian made an enraged noise. “Excuse me?”

Doc gave him an unimpressed look and crossed his arms. He didn’t even have to say anything for Grian to huff in defeat. “I can be responsible! I just chose not to be sometimes.”

“Most of the time.” Doc amended with a small, teasing grin.

Grian grumbled, knowing that he could only give a bad lie that wouldn’t convince Doc in the least. Without even realizing his wings had come to wrap around himself like a very light blanket, slightly fluffed up as if to accentuate his displeasure.

A moment later a gentle hand traced the feathers at one edge. “Nice wings, by the way.”

He had looked to the side to glower at the bed, so Grian hadn’t seen Doc reach out. He startled a bit, but was content enough not to flap his wings open again. He held still, letting curious fingers wander. He barely felt it, the extension more a magical mirage than an actual appendage.

“Thanks. They are way better than an elytra.” He said, a little awkwardly, after a while of Doc studying him.

“And yet you still use one. Why?”

That Doc even had to ask made Grian feel a little less guilty about using them to fly to the perimeter. “I don’t want to look like I’m cheating.”

Doc scoffed and tugged gently at one of the feathers. The delicate things slipped through his fingers, only half there. “Please it would give you zero advantage over any of us at this point. Maybe when we arrive at a new planet and have to set up first. But even then it would take most of us a week maximum to catch up.”

“You don’t mind them?” Grian asked, truly puzzled.

“Do you mind that I can scan you with my bionic eye and find out what your stress levels and most of your vitals are?”

“You can what?!- No wait never mind that’s, that’s probably the most normal thing you can do. Right?”

Doc shot him a proud grin. “Correct.”

Grian narrowed his eyes at him before a thought crossed his mind. “What do you see, when you look at them?”

“Not much.” Doc confessed, sounding at once intruiged and annoyed. “My visuals glitch sometimes, when I try to look closer. When I try to run scans they come back garbled. But mostly they just look and act like your usual fairy wings.”

That Doc had only seen his wings today and had no qualms about admitting to trying to analyse them made a knot loosen in Grian’s chest. Here was someone who was so unashamed of what he could do. Who was happy to take advantage of his inbuilt features, even if they could have been taken as creepy.

Surprisingly Grian didn’t feel violated by the knowledge either. It was just such a… Doc thing to do. Just like it was such an Entity thing to do to tug at his gut whenever it felt lonely or someone tried to buy one of the wares it had grown fond of.

“It must irk you.” Grian grinned, unfurling his wings to properly show them off. To show Doc how unlike his normal Allay wings. That Doc should have gotten other readings on them.

Doc merely huffed, not raising to the bait even though the bit of steam that came out of his nostrils told Grian that he was close to snapping at him. “Was there a reason you came to me again?”

Usually one to press harder at the button of another when presented one, Grian hesitated this time. There had been a reason he’d flown over to Doc. Well at least more reason then to merely enjoy annoying his neighboor. What had it been? It was on the tip of his tongue.

It hit him like a rock when his eyes caught onto the green fur of his friend. “You! You are filling my base with charged creepers! Stop it!”

“Oh, you found my little gift? I thought you would get lonely without Mumbo. So I got you some company.”

“Oh it’s banger company.” Grian sassed making Doc chuckle. “It took me so long to build because of them. They are everywhere! How are even getting them into my base? There’s no way you are luring them all to me.” He wouldn’t put it past the madman. But he also knew that Doc was too much of a redstone fanatic to do anything the traditional, builder way.

Not that Doc would tell him his secrets anytime soon. “I told you I will fill your base with creepers if you keep disrespecting my property.” Was the only thing he said on the matter.

“Fine. Keep your secrets. But don’t think I won’t poke around and find out anyway!”

His wings twitched, spread as they were it only took one heavy flap to propel him upwards. The snap that followed the movement was as loud as a rocket burst. And the gust of wind made Doc raise his arms to shield his eyes against it.

Still it was no rocket blast to the face. Something that would have transferred at least some of the annoyance Grian felt now over to Doc. Instead he glided away from the platform to the mocking words of his neighboor. “You wouldn’t understand a thing of how it works even if I did show you!”

Unwilling to let Doc have the last work he twisted around briefly to shout back. “You’re just scared that I’ll break it!”

Notes:

I lost my job yesterday, so either I'll be very very busy in the forseeable future or have a lot of time to write. We'll see!

Thank you all for the lovely comments again! I haven't been very good at replying, but I appreciate them so much!

Chapter 70

His sudden enthusiasm to work on his base was in no way related to his idealessness when it came to how he wanted to go about his malicious compliance. He had ideas. He was just… scared to execute them. Usually he wouldn’t be as hesitant, especially with something so tame as a non-resistance. But he wanted to impress the Hermits enough so that they would scramble to take him in. And the urge to plan everything to perfection stopped him from planning anything at all.

He collected things instead. Sculk to be precise. After finishing his bridge he had a better view of the cave entrance that led to the Rift and found it lacking. It was just such a normal thing. Nothing hinting at the extraordinary construct that was hiding underneath Mumbo’s base, except for the subtle shift of the air, now almost nonexistent as the Rifts’ magic echoed around the whole area.

That Mumbo had expressed a profound interest in the new blocks and was willing to scrunch up even more hours of his precious time to virtually accompany Grian during his sculk mining sessions was just a happy accident. One that Grian cheerfully exploited with no remorse whatsoever.

It also made him almost impossible to find by the other Hermits as long as Mumbo didn’t snitch. Although Grian had a very strong suspicion that the stick of a man had all but forgotten that everyone else existed. As far as Grian knew, Mumbo only sent written reports to Xisuma and swapped out short messages with Doc. And that was only the case because Xisuma poked Mumbo every once in a while to update him and Doc was a notorious motherhen who couldn’t help but make sure that their wayward member was doing alright.

Grian didn’t worry about these two seeking him out. Xisuma was easily distracted by everything else and too polite to break Grian’s self isolation. And Doc already saw enough of him every time Grian wanted to procrastinate from his current procrastination project.

No, he was more worried about Cub and Scar. Cub had been very clear that he had wanted another go at a conversation when they’d had their little argument in his secret room. Neither had made an attempt to lure him into another confrontation, yet. But both Cub and Scar had certainly tried to get his attention after leaving him to stew in his own emotions for a few days.

Scar had been more persistent and obvious in his pursuits, of course. He’d boldly flown into Grian’s base to give him more elven kisses and ask him about colour palettes. It had been the first time that Grian had been happy to have Doc’s charged creepers around. Even if the inevitable death loop had been rather painful to watch and had forced him to repair his landscape more times than he had been willing to do. Especially after the struggle he had had with building his bridge.

Cub was more subtle in his approach. So subtle, in fact, that it took Grian a while to realize that their meetings weren’t purely coincidental. He just always seemed to be there when Grian needed to be at the shopping district for one reason or another. The first few times that they had crossed paths Cub had merely smiled and nodded at him. It was only once Grian had stopped glowering at him and the chimes had lost their distortion that the Vex approached him with small talk. Gently poking at Grian to see how he was doing.

It started to become a bit weird after the fifth time and by the seventh Grian was fairly certain that Cub had installed some kind of Grian sensor in the shopping district. Maybe he had even managed to bribe the Entity somehow to alert him whenever Grian came over to restock the six-legged rock.

The Entity neither confirmed nor denied his accusations. But Grian started to avoid the shopping district, and by extension the Entity, after the tenth awkward talk with the Vex.

The Entity had not been happy about that. Still wasn’t, to be honest. But Grian wasn’t taking any chances. He had far too many irons in the fire as it was. His base, Mumbo, the Rift and his supposedly main quest to make the Hermits love him enough to let him stay. He could focus on his lovesickness for the two again once he was secure that they could keep seeing each other for the rest of eternity. Or however long their lifes were going to be.

So sculk collecting with Mumbo it was. That only left a very narrow timeframe for Scar and Cub to find him at his base. He was a genius.

~~~

“Do you think he is avoiding us?” Scar’s forlorn voice came from somewhere deep within the chest monster Grian was growing at the foot of his base.

Cub had sat down beneath the bridge, his back against the one supporting pillar. His partner hadn’t dared to go back to Grian’s base alone again after that debacle with the charged creepers. And Cub had volunteered to come along to make sure that his love didn’t end up in a death loop again.

“Oh absolutely.” He replied, sounding cheerful but really feeling quite disheartened. All their attempts to worm themselves back into the Allay’s good graces had failed spectacularly so far.

It seemed that they were actually quite bad at being casual around Grian now that they really wanted to build a relationship with him. Any relationship at all that didn’t involve the little fairy to bristle at the mere sight of them.

Scar had been a bit perturbed once he’d witnessed the extent of the damage Cub had caused. Not that he had held it against his fellow Vex that much. They both were incredibly bad at communicating with Grian, it seemed. And it had only gotten worse.

How was it that they had done better at befriending the Allay when they had both been bone deep in denial about their feelings and had been full of self loathing because of a fate they had had no say in?

“But why? I only wanted to give him cookies, Cub. Cookies! He loves cookies! And he didn’t even-”

“He didn’t even laugh at your deaths. I know buddy. It’s tough.” Cub sighed at his partner’s whining. It wasn’t the first time Scar had dumped his frustrations on him. It was deserved, but even Cub had his mental and emotional limits. “It probably won’t help if you rob him, though.”

Scar poked his head out of the shulker box he was currently rummaging through to pout at Cub. “I’m not stealing! I’m just… trying to look for hints. Geez his chest monster is bigger than mine. How is that even possible? His base is mostly rocks and moss!”

“Good thing Grian didn’t hear that, I think he would have taken offense.” It was bad enough that the Rift had taken note of their presence and wasn’t very pleased with them invading Grian’s privacy like that. The pressure in his skull had been steadily increasing ever since he had landed on the bridge. And if he concentrated and tuned out Scar’s chatter, he could faintly hear the growl like vibrations from the kinda-sentient portal. “What hint are you looking for anyway?”

With a bit more force than was truly necessary, Scar twirled the shulker box shut. “I don’t know! Something to work with? I’m all out of ideas. I need some inspiration. And…” Cub saw him grimace and stomped down on the urge to go to his partner, cup his cheeks and kiss him. Scar needed to work through his emotions without Cub distracting him. There would be time for affection after. “I’m kind of hoping to find something that will tell us that it’s not… too late, you know?” Scar eventually finished, biting his lower lip.

Mentally swiping at the oppressive presence of the Rift that was trying to poke into his mind like a curious child, Cub abandoned his post under the bridge to give his partner a hug. “I don’t think you’ll find anything here. Grian doesn’t leave his thoughts out in the open.”

Not like us. Cub didn’t say. “Do you maybe want to leave a message for him instead?”

Eager arms returned his embrace and a sloppy kiss was pressed against his cheek. “Yes! You’re a genius!”

Cub smiled at his lover, one of his rare, unstrained ones, nowadays. “I try. Do you have your enderchest with you?”

Scar let out a nervous chuckle. “Uhm… no? But surely my clever partner came prepared?”

Typical. “Of course.”

With a flourish Cub set down one of his many enderchests that he carried on his person at all times, just in case. When he opened it, however he paused, baffled at the contents. Scar, who had leaned down to snoop blinked in confusion. “Uhm Cubby Wubby? I don’t think that’s your enderchest?”

No, it wasn’t. It lacked the neatly organised shulker boxes, his spare elytra and rockets and potions. Everything. Instead he found a mess of knick knacks, among it a book and quill that Cub immediately identified as a personal journal. He was quick to snatch it up, only to skim through it. He didn’t want to invade this person’s privacy too much. He only wanted to find out whom the contents of this enderchest belonged to.

He didn’t need to look very hard. Cub would have recognised the handwriting anywhere. “This is Grian’s.”

“Why did your enderchest open to Grian’s enderchest?” Scar asked, utterly baffled. A sentiment which Cub shared, although he had a suspicion as to what had caused it.

He threw a glance at the Rift entrance, unsure what to make of this peculiar happenstance. Scar followed his gaze and hummed in thought. “Do you think it did it on purpose?”

With the way the magic around them crackled Cub was pretty sure that it was. “I’m not quite sure what it wants from us.”

The Rift had been angry at them from the moment they had set foot in Grian’s base. Or at least that’s what Cub had thought the pressure in his skull had meant. Now he wasn’t too sure anymore. Hadn’t Grian talked about this? How the Rift and the Entity tended to force themselves into his mind to ruffle through his thoughts and drop their own opinions into his head?

Had the Rift tried to scout out their intentions, maybe? Cub had half the mind to go down there and ask it. No matter if it gave him the silent treatment again. He was really getting desperate if he thought about talking to a thing that could only communicate via a complicated, very intrusive sort of charade. If it even felt inclined to do so.

His contemplations were interrupted by a gasp as Scar’s hand shot into the enderchest. “Cub look! That’s one of mine!”

Cub stared at the amethyst crystal shard, thoughts screeching to a halt. It emitted a faint glow of Vex magic that was unmistakably Scar’s. One of Scar’s magical crystals. “Did you make one since we got here?”

Scar shook his head. “No. And I have no clue how he got it. But wherever he got it from, he kept it! It was important enough to him that he even put it in his enderchest. So that must mean he can’t be that angry at us! Right? Right?!”

Mutely Cub nodded, not wanting to dampen Scar’s sudden optimism. He kept his doubts to himself. Grian had all kinds of useless things in his enderchest. Maybe he had thoughtlessly thrown in the shard and had since forgotten about it. And even if not. Even if he knew where it had come from and what it meant and had kept it because of its significance…

That only meant that Scar still had a chance.

The Rift took advantage of his wavering mental shields and crashed into his skull with a wave of indignation. Storming into his mind like a mother did into her teenage son’s room, finding it as unorderly as before she had ordered it to be cleaned.

Cub wanted to scoff at the foreign presence and throw it right back out. But he didn’t dare. He suddenly realised that Scar and him were guests in Grian’s base. And the Rift was the only sentient host currently present and willing to show them around. It would not do to be rude to it when it was so graciously trying to be helpful.

That only left him with one choice: a hasty retreat. “Come on Scar. You’ve got your sign. Let’s leave our Allay a message.”

Notes:

Grian keeps the title of king of avoidance and the Rift is trying so hard to matchmake.

Thank you to everyone who commented and especially to those who wished me well in my job search! I've been pretty anxious and demotivated because of the whole situation and don't have much energy to be sociable enough to reply individually (not that I'm ever good at that anyway, let's be honest), but the comments definitely cheered me up a lot! So thank you! :)
I'm taking care of myself as much as I'm able. I'm still sorry if my writing might be a bit lackluster while I'm trying to get my life in order.

Chapter 71

Mumbo was currently having the time of his life. He never would have thought that he would be able to enjoy his little outing so much. And really most of the time he hated to be stranded on this small space station far from his friends. Trying to get a grip on his shapeshifting abilities was frustrating. He worked best with clear instructions and guidelines. Redstone came easily to him because it had a very strict set of rules even if they sometimes didn’t seem very logical. Most contraptions were modular. You could think your way through a sequence of mechanical actions before you even started placing a block.

Shapeshifting was, as the term foreshadowed, a more blurry practice. It used feelings and instincts and worst of all, body awareness and a focused mind. Things Mumbo wasn’t very well versed in. And the way his reluctant teachers tried to explain the concepts to him didn’t make any bloody sense to him. He just didn’t have the right head for it. Which left his teachers annoyed and at a loss more often than not.

Then there was the isolation. He wasn’t a very sociable fellow, anxious as he was to make a good impression. So even after the quarantine was over he had a hard time connecting with anyone. It had been much easier during his vacation, when he’d known that however much of a fool he would make of himself, he would be gone by the morning, moving on to the next set of people. He missed his Hermits dearly.

So overall his little solo adventure to find himself was actually quite pants. But right this second? Sitting cross legged on the floor in his cramped space ship, curled over his communicator and mostly watching a dark screen? He was having fun. All thanks to one cheerful Allay, who couldn’t get enough of his presence for some ineffable reason. Not that Mumbo was complaining.

He was being about as clingy as Grian. He’d practically begged the Allay to take him with him to gather sculk just so he could have an excuse to talk to his little friend some more. Of course Grian didn’t need an excuse to talk to him. But Mumbo’s new shapeshifter buddies did. They kept him under a tight schedule. Their natural urge to stay away from their own kind nagging at them to get teaching him how to work his powers over with quickly.

They only gave him freetime to rest and to get his other business in order. And his resting time wasn’t nearly enough to get his craving for Grian’s presence sated. He usually wasn’t a very devious man. Manipulation only came easy to him in spontanous bursts as an afterthought to more longwinded, wacky plans. Using everyones interest in the newly discovered blocks and the attached unearthed ancient civilization to get to hang out with Grian a bit more had thus been a stroke of unexpected genius.

He was aware that he was kind of inconveniencing his friend with his scheme. Grian would have been done collecting sculk for his Rift entrance by now. He could have even made a farm for it-

Well alright maybe not. Grian and redstone didn’t mix well at all. He had no idea how his fluttery friend did it, but whenever Grian so much as looked at a redstone contraption it broke. The kelp farm hadn’t even needed that much and it had still taken them well over an afternoon to get it working-

Grian stepped too close to a sculk sensor and Mumbo’s screen briefly lit up with blue light. “Oh Grian look! A chest!”

They had sat with each other in silence for a while and Mumbo wondered if Grian had forgotten about him. The way his dark, grainy image shook certainly showed that Grian had startled quite badly.

There was also a tiny squeak that escaped his friend, dampened only by Grian’s desire to keep quiet. They’d already had several run ins with Wardens because they hadn’t been able to keep their mouths shut at the beginning and Mumbo kept forgetting to lower his voice. There was something about being thousands of light years away from the cave that deconnected Mumbo from his usual caution when it came to these things.

It had been good shock therapy at least. Mumbo had nearly thrown away the communicator when he’d gotten his first good look at the Warden. The worst thing had been that his body had remembered, too. It had remembered the cleaving emptiness between his ribcage and the long, sensitive, luminiscent whiskers. His body had tried to retrace the once taken shape, skin itching as it rippled and darkened. He’d caught the change before it could fully happen. It was easier to catch when it wasn’t triggered by him eating something strange. But the incident had still left him gasping and anxious. So he had missed most of Grian’s panicked rambling as he fled from the monster.

Mumbo had been more aware of Grian’s soul piece in his chest after that. But the second and third encounter went better. It helped that Grian wasn’t too terrified of the Warden anymore. He provoked it with snowballs and joked about how something as simple as a fishing rod could do it in.

Still the Warden was a hassle to deal with. And so at least Grian made a valiant effort to keep as quiet as possible. Which made it hard to hear him over the rustling of his sweater. The garment which he’d clipped his communicator to so that he could use it as a sort of body cam. “I can see it. You want me to take a peek?”

“Yes please! Maybe we’ll find something good this time.”

They hadn’t as of yet. There had been a few void like shards, some broken disks and stale potions. Bones, coal and a magic book or two. Nothing fancy aside from the curious shards and the one book containing a new enchantment that made you sneak more quickly (oh the irony!).

Grian expertly placed down several wool blocks around the chest before he dared to open it. Mumbo couldn’t see much as the blue tint from the torches barely lit up anything and Grian was being too far away from any sculk sensor to trigger that blue wave of light again.

So he had to resort to asking. “What’s in it?”

“Mostly junk.” Grian concluded, but something in his voice made Mumbo perk up. “There’s a whole music disk, though.”

“What is it?” He’d heard of Otherside, the song Grian had played during his Life Game. But he’d never heard it. Grian didn’t bring the disk back with him and he hadn’t found it in the ruins of this world yet.

His hopes of listening to the song were dashed, however, when Grian muttered a “Dunno.” and made to pocket the meager loot.

“Can we listen to it?”

“Sure thing, buddy.”

Grian was entirely silent when he lifted off the ground to fly out of the ancient city. It was strange to suddenly see the dim lights of the city below, the sculk twinking like a far away galaxy from above. It shouldn’t have been possible without any rockets. Grian’s soul piece vibrated in his chest at the elated happiness coursing through the Allay, it’s warmth flowing into the rest of Mumbo’s body. He could almost feel the phantom wings that spread from Grian’s back. Trust his little fairy friend to make the impossible happen. He wasn’t even born that way and yet he was already proving to be a much better shapeshifter than Mumbo.

His friend touched down at the small opening he had come from and climbed up the stairs while Mumbo was contemplating about how awesome Grian was. He squinted at the sudden brightness of the screen, wondering how the Allay could switch from dark to light without a wince.

“Do you have a jukebox with you?” He asked to distract himself from the slight pain in his eyes, finally realizing that it wasn't natural. It seemed that he hadn’t caught all the changes his body had been trying to make. It was a side effect of his lessons. His teachers were trying to force him into all kinds of shapes to get him used to the shifts. And because of that his body felt like wet clay, easier to flow out into something Mumbo didn’t want it to be.

Grian didn’t answer him right away. He only hummed a cheerful tune and carved out a small alcove to set down his enderchest. “What kind of Allay- No what kind of popstar are you taking me for?”

“I don’t know. Do popstars have some kind of obligation to carry around a jukebox at all times? Is this a thing? Do Allays?”

“Of course. It’s tradition and it’s pretty much in the job description.” Mumbo would have almost believed him if it hadn’t been for the giggles that escaped Grian between the words.

“That’s hogwash! You’re having me on!”

“Hogwash?!” Grian’s giggles dissolved into full blown cackles. “Where are you getting your words from, Mumbo? A dictionary from the eighteen hundreds?”

Mumbo sputtered, unable to come up with a good retort and thus floundering with made up noises to fill in the silence. It only made Grian laugh harder. “Oh Mumbo, never change.”

Well that was what he was trying to accomplish with this whole space stint! “Can you play the thing now?”

“Yes, yes. Give me a second.”

Mumbo fidgeted with his communicator and held his breath while Grian inserted the disk. At first nothing happened. Was the thing broken? But just as he opened his mouth to say something, a subtle crackling started, growing ever louder. Footsteps and what sounded like the clanking of chains emerged from the static. The stomping was loud and rhythmical for a bit, but soon turned frantic as a familiar clacking echoed through the track. Panicked, hushed voices speaking in a language Mumbo didn’t recognise pierced through the noise. And just as the first screams began did the song start, cutting off the misery that was befalling the ones who had started to record the melody.

They had frozen in their respective positions as the warbled music droned on. Mumbo barely heard it, the notes mere background noise to his screeching thoughts. Excitement mixed with dread in his stomach and made him ill. And his palms had gotten so sweaty that he had to lay his communicator on the floor before it slipped from his shaking fingers.

The silence that reigned after the track was done spoke of loss and doom. And even hundreds or thousands of years apart it was still potent enough to steal the breath from their lungs.

Mumbo needed several attempts before he could get his vocal chords to work. “Did… did we just listen to the end of a civilization?”

“I think…” Grian started, breath ragged, voice tight and slightly scared. “I think we heard the start of it. Yes.”

The beginning of the end had been recorded on a music disk that they had found in a meek wooden chest in the middle of a ruined city. Someone had taken the time during the collapse of their society, to preserve whatever that had been for the future. Maybe the start of it had been unintentional. But the rest… A recording needed to be stopped in order for the disk to pop out of the record player. So someone had deliberately continued to play this song. The one that they hadn’t even had the mind to really listen to. That was some true dedictation. Mumbo’s heart went out to the poor fellow who had faced the end with music in their soul.

“I want to go home now, Mumbo.” Grian whispered, a faint whine in his voice.

“Yeah. Yeah me too buddy. Let’s leave this place.”

Mumbo closed his eyes and breathed through the second hand hurt as Grian quickly vanished the music box and hurried back to his base. The trip didn’t take as long as he would have liked. He was still reeling from their discovery when the subtle crackle of magic told him that Grian had arrived at his base.

The inquisitive noise Grian made as he touched down on his bridge made Mumbo open his eyes again. The sight causing him to let out a choked chuckle. “Someone left a present for you!”

“Yeah.” Grian still didn’t sound too well either, but Mumbo could hear the curious glint in the Allay’s eyes. It was weird to realize. Yet the unique bond they shared made it quite possible to vividly imagine Grian’s body language through the most subtle shifts in his voice or quiver of his soul piece.

“Do you think it’s trapped?”

Mumbo let out a thoughtful hum at the question and squinted at the innocent looking, light blue shulker box. It was standing on what he new to be a ConVex block, a banner with the Vex symbol fluttering gently in the wind beside it.

Irritation and an irrational possessiveness flared up in his chest at the bold display. Grian couldn’t know what the two things meant. For him they were probably just weird decoration. But Mumbo had known Cub and Scar when they had started to lean more towards their Vex attributes. The ConVex had been the most notorious pranksters for a while. No base had been safe. ConCorp hadn’t been much better, although the mischief had been veiled by a facade of professionalism.

What were these two thinking now? “I don’t see any redstone. But I’d still advise- Grian!”

He’d been too slow. Grian’s curiousity had already won out and he’d bounded over to open the box.

“Diamonds! And dynamite!” He exclaimed excitedly.

“Dynamite?” Mumbo asked, briefly thrown by the term. He’d never seen a single stick of explosives- “Oh you mean TNT.”

“Duh. I thought you were the one with all the words.”

“Have you heard me talk?” Mumbo laughed, preening under the subtle praise. He would describe himself as many things, some of them not very flattering, and silver tongued was not among them. He waffled through his conversations with people more often than not. His inert conviction to be polite oftentimes causing him to choke on the sharper words he truly wanted to say.

Grian had been the exception, of course, as he always was. With Grian he could banter until the world ended and not worry about seeming rude. And Grian seemed to enjoy their conversations more than enough, because he answered with a light “Never enough.”

A bemused, fond smile made his mustache twitch and he leaned forward to pick up his communicator again. “Why did you say dynamite not TNT, though?”

“Just sounded better.” The Allay shrugged, greedily grabbing the diamonds that were nestled between diamond blocks and TNT. “Diamonds and Dynamite. Rolls off the tongue much better than diamonds and TNT, doesn’t it?”

“It sounds like a band name.” Mumbo agreed, wistfully watching as the pretty blue currency disappeared into Grian’s pockets. If he ever got around to building his big vault he would need to go mining a lot so he had a pile of diamonds to put into the protective space. Or maybe he could steal it? No that was Grian’s speciality.

Unaware of Mumbo’s diverging thought process, Grian continued their conversation on the thread that they had spun together. “Are you offering to join me in my stardom, Mumbo?”

A brief image of him covering under the harsh spotlights of a stage, people screaming his name flashed in his mind’s eye and he swallowed down an oncoming panic attack. “No. But would you rob a bank with me?”

A book slowly emerged from the pile of goodies, but Grian halted in his movements before it was fully uncovered. The video feed got a bit shaky as he giggled. “That’s another way to gain stardom!” He chortled a bit more before he got himself under control. “I’d do pretty much anything with you, buddy.”

A possessive warmth spread through his body, only part of it his own. “Good. I’ll need something to put in my vault. I’ll be the richest Hermit!”

“First you’ll need to built a vault.”

And for that you need to get back here. Mumbo heard loud and clear, even if Grian hadn’t said it.

He couldn’t answer to the unspoken. It frustrated him as much as it did Grian that he had made so little progress. So he kept up the lighthearted conversation. “But then I’ll be the richest Hermit!”

There was a little joyous jolt in his chest that came from Grian’s soul before the Allay answered. “We’ll make sure of that. Do you think the book is trapped?”

Sometimes Grian’s paranoia astounded him. But then, his friend wasn’t the one building secret rooms and elaborate trapped vaults to hide away in. “I don’t think you can trap books? Is it a spell book?”

The object in question was lifted up and away from the camera Mumbo relied on to see. “No, but there’s a message inside.” Grian muttered unhappily. “I don’t want to read, Mumbo!”

He really shouldn’t indulge the pesky bird. Grian had a bad habit of only ever glancing at text, no matter how important it was. But Mumbo wanted to know what Cub and Scar had written his best friend. And really, Grian not reading anything was also to his advantage most of the time. “Let me read it then.”

“Yay!” Grian chimed and snapped the shulker shut so that he had something to lie the book on. “But you have to read it to me!”

Mumbo laughed at the Allay’s giddiness. “That was the plan!” He cleared his throat for good measure, but also to glance at the writing before having to speak it out loud. Cub had written the letter. Which was a good thing because Scar’s handwriting was atrocious and his dyslexia oftentimes led to some rather unfortunate wordings.

Glad that he probably didn’t have to say anything unsavory, Mumbo began with as much flair as his general nervous nature allowed. “Ahem here it goes! Dearest Grian, we know that you might still want to keep your distance from us after The Incident – oh gosh they even capitalized it. Well good for them. At least they know they fucked up!”

“Mumbo!” Grian screeched, half laughing. “You can’t curse like that! My poor innocent ears!”

“Nothing about you is innocent. And don’t move about like that or I can’t read.” Mumbo countered, waiting for Grian to hold the camera still once more before continuing. “but we hope-”

“No wait start from the top again, I didn’t listen.”

“Grian!”

“Pleaseeee.”

Mumbo could feel the large, void like puppy dog eyes Grian was trying to give him and sighed. “Fine, but I won’t repeat myself again.”

“But what if I forget what you tell me?”

He was starting to regret his life choices. “Than you have the book and can read it yourself.”

“But Mumbo!”

Instead of engaging in what had the potential of becoming a bit, Mumbo started to read again, louder this time to be able to talk over Grian’s whiny noises. “Dearest Grian, we know that you might still want to keep your distance from us after The Incident, but we hope that you might be appeased-”

Grian interrupted him with a loud snort. “Cub wrote this didn’t he?”

“Yes. Although I’m sure Scar knows what appeased means.” Mumbo felt the need to defend the aloof Vex.

Fabric rustled as Grian shook his head. Or maybe he was nodding, Mumbo’s Grian senses weren’t specific about the notion. “Probably. But could he write it without butchering it?”

“Eh maybe. Can I continue?”

“Please do.”

Quickly checking for the part where he had left off he slipped back into narrating the letter once more. “-that you might be appeased by the offerings we’ve brought you. We heard you are short on diamonds and are wagering a guess that you might not look too kindly on the king’s quests. So we thought to give you a bit of a starting investment to keep your base building momentum. You’re base looks lovely by the way! Although it’s a bit explosive. Which suits you as Scar has learned from the Life Game you two played. We hope the blocks of TNT will bring you joy.” Mumbo squinted as the handwriting changed for the next paragraph, which was set some space below Cub’s message. “Wait a minute I need to decipher the next part.”

“Oh, did Scar write something, too?” Grian asked, sounding both amused and pleased.

Mumbo did not share in that sentiment. Mostly because he was the poor soul who needed to make sense of the hastily scrawled script. “Not just that. His hand must have been super shaky. But I think I got it? It says… uhm… Come around to our base again. We have cookies!”

Grian didn’t say anything for a while. And Mumbo kept quiet to give his friend some time to process the message. When Grian finally voiced his thoughts he sounded doubtful. “That’s it?”

“Yupp. Nothing more aside from their signatures.” Mumbo confirmed.

The camera feed shook a bit as Grian bend forward to snatch up the book and leaf through it. “Huh. That’s…”

Grian was clearly struggling for words and Mumbo didn’t want his best buddy to start spiralling again, so he blurted out the first thought that came to his mind. “It sounded a bit like a business deal.”

The hum the Allay let out in affirmation was only slightly distorted. “Yes. And I think they implied that I’m poor and lazy.”

“And could be easily lured by cookies.” Mumbo helpfully added.

“Yes.”

“You should prank them for the audacity.”

Mumbo felt Grian’s soul piece within him perk up with excitement at his suggestion. “I should!”

“Yes-” A timer cut off whatever he had wanted to say to fan the flames and Mumbo flinched so hard that his communicator slipped from his fingers. “Agh- no! Bloody- Sorry Grian! I wanted to help you come up with a prank, but I need to go to learn shapeshifting stuff now.”

For once Grian sounded more amused than sad that Mumbo had to go. “It’s fine, I’ll think of something and tell you all about it when you call again. Have fun with your shifty business!”

“Thanks! You too! I mean you have fun pranking Cub and Scar. Bye!”

“Bye Mumbo. Love you!”

“Love you too buddy!”

Despite the connection between them being cut way too early for Mumbo’s liking, he couldn’t help but grin at the dark display. A feeling of triumph flickered in his chest at the “I love you”. Grian might have been infatuated with Cub and Scar, but Mumbo was the first one of their group to have Grian’s affection and would probably be the only one to have this specific declaration directed at him for a long while.

Mumbo huffed as he stood up, his knees protesting every inch they had to lift him off the floor. It served the Vex couple right. They should be grovelling at Grian’s feet! He was looking forward to the story Grian would surely regal him with the next time they heard from each other. Knowing the Allay his retaliation would be something deliciously insidious.

Notes:

I decided this fic needed more Grian and Mumbo interaction. I love these two idiots.

Thank you again for all the lovely comments and well wishes! Job hunting sucks, but at least it's giving me some more experience to draw from for my stories so I guess I'm winning.

Chapter 72

Grian pocketed his communicator after Mumbo had ended the call and tried to ignore the small pang of disappointment that always came when his time with his best friend was up. A look towards the gift Cub and Scar had given him did the trick. But Grian wasn't sure if the emotions that assaulted him instead were any better.

He didn't know whether he should have felt relieved, happy, outraged or insulted and ended up feeling a bit of everything. The Rift prodded gently at his mind, unsure what to do with what it found, as well.

Grian laughed at the confusion that washed through his mind, this one clearly distinct from his own. "I know, buddy. I have no clue what to make of it either."

That somehow seemed to disappoint it. Not wanting to deal with a pouting portal on top of everything else, Grian shrugged and went about demolishing the rest of his present. The shulker was quick to go and then he immediately halted at mining the block. He had presumed that it was just some glazed terracotta. But as soon as his pickaxe hit it the sound it made was off. It also didn't quite feel like it. Glazed terracotta was brittle and smooth. It only took a few hits to break.

This block made an odd bell sound when he had tried to mine it and it was soft somehow as well as solid. Putting away the pickaxe for the moment, Grian stepped closer to investigate. Touching was, of course, the first impulse that Grian indulged in full heartedly.

It felt like glazed terracotta, at least superficially. Grian's brows furrowed as he stroked the odd block, intrigued by the tingles the action sent through his fingertips. He knelt in front of it and sniffed. It smelt like a fresh ocean breeze and of cookies and something sharp. Unconsciously he leaned forward at the smell of home and ended up rubbing his cheek against the surface.

More tiny sparks of something against his cheek and Grian finally understood as the magic within him pulsed with joy. This was something like the amethyst Scar had made for Xisuma. It had been an ordinary block of glazed terracotta once. But now it had been altered, soaked in the combined magics of both Cub and Scar.

Their lingering aura curled around him and let the bond he had with the two light up, making it unable to ignore. Grian swallowed against a lump in his throat at the precious gift. It wasn't a good luck crystal. Grian knew without further checks that there was no intent behind the magic other than just oozing Vex magic. A way to mark territory.

Grian let out a warbled chime as he rubbed his nose along the edge of the block. This too he didn't know how to feel about. They were reaching out to him on the most basic level. Their affection unmistakable in the way their leftover magic caressed him back when he touched the block. But they also had the audacity to try and overpower the Rift's magic. They definitely needed to be pranked now.

Well... Scar needed to be pranked. Cub... Grian didn't know how to deal with Cub, yet.

Pushing down the urge to lick the piece of Vex magic, Grian pushed himself to his feet again and made quick work of the block. After some thought he plopped down his enderchest to store it there, right next to the shard Xisuma had given him.

Warmth flooded his chest at the sight. Now he actually had a piece of Vex magic that belonged to him.

The banner took him a while to take down as well. It was a pretty design that Grian wanted to admire for a bit longer. Than he got curious if the banner smelled like the Vex magic block. And once he'd touched the softer than expected fabric he ended up wrapping himself into the thing and had a hard time untangling himself from it.

In the end he carefully separated the fabric from the wooden stand so he could drape it around his shoulders like a blanket and put the leftover sticks into his inventory. Or he tried to. It seemed like his space pocket was full. Damn it.

Well he would just need to shove some stuff into his chests in his main rock. Grian started skipping along the bridge, occasionally halting to bury his nose into the banner. He nearly broke his nose against his palm when he stepped in front of the glistening white building and a horrid scream broke the ground underneath him.

Flinching hard, wings flaring out behind him ready to take him away to safety he'd pretty much smacked himself in the face before he could calm himself down. For a moment he stood there like an idiot, caught between flight or fight. But when nothing else happened he relaxed again and shrugged. Might have been the wind or something. Who knew what the Rift was dragging in.

He shuffled forward and as soon as he moved, another loud screech filled the air and made him wince. "Wait a minute. I know that sound!"

His pickaxe appeared in his hand with a flash and he gave it a little twirl before hacking at the ground beneath his feet. The rock and moss wailed as though it was being murdered. Grian's ears were ringing when he got to the sculk sensor and shriekers. And he had a splitting headache after mining them down.

Despite the pain Grian was grinning from ear to ear. Someone had pranked him! And without being provoked! He had been included in some Hermit's shenanigans just because, without any event or prior interaction leading up to it as far as Grian could tell.

Because he doubted that the shriekers came from the Vex or Doc. Cub and Scar had already left something else and Doc's retributions were more complex than merely putting a few shriekers down for a scare.

Hm, but it was Grian's style. Something light and simple. Perfect for someone as oblivious as Scar. He needed to test a few things first, however. And he needed to scout out Scar's main base.

Dropping Cub's and Scar's gift into his enderchest and emptying out his inventory into the next best shulker, Grian hurried back to the unearthed shriekers and sculk sensor before they could vanish.

He then produced his own collection of sculk stuff from the shulker boxes he had taken with him on his trip with Mumbo. Grian smiled at the amount of things he had amassed while goofing off with his best friend. He'd grabbed so many things he thought he would never need just to draw things out. And he had harvested everything Mumbo had been interested in so he could experiment with the things once he got back home.

His hoarding was coming in handy now as he ruffled through it all to collect as many shriekers as he could. He wanted to test how loud he could make the scream before it turned lethal.

Eagerly he stacked them up in his home, wings - now back to their original size - buzzing behind him to keep his feet barely hovering above the ground. He was trying very hard to keep himself from humming so he wouldn't set off the shrieker tower by accident.

He'd placed a neat square on the floor with a sensor in the middle before he realized that he might want to start a bit smaller first. He wanted to figure out where the line was, after all. If there was one. Maybe at one point it just wouldn't get any louder.

He dropped down to test the volume and immediately the shriekers fired off a loud screech. Hm, it was louder than only having one or two. It was enough for a simple jumpscare. But his ears weren't bleeding and his head hadn't exploded yet. And Scar deserved a bit more for causing him so much grief in the Life Game.

So Grian added another layer, careful not to set them off while he worked. Then once he was done he knocked on the contraption and reeled back with a grin. Ouch. Okay he was getting somewhere!

Grian repeated the process and this time the world literally warped around him as the unearthly sound pierced reality. This! This was what he had hoped for. It was perfect! Any more and surely he would accidently create a vortex or something.

He stamped down the urge to hop up and down with glee and quickly squirreled away his prank material. Now he only needed to scout out Scar's base to find the perfect spot!

~~~

Waiting for Grian to react to their gift was agony. Scar had taken up checking his communicator as a hobby, hoping beyond hope that their little Allay would finally give them some sort of sign. It had been three days since Cub and him had argued about what kind of message they wanted to leave for Grian. And so far he hadn't seen even a glimpse of Grian's famous red sweater.

Maybe he should have included cookies as a gift after all. If he'd had some more time to set everything up he could have rigged one of his elven kisses with Vex magic so it would have teleported Grian directly to him if he ate it.

Cub had been against the idea and had reminded him that Grian probably had enough trauma randomly teleporting around half the universe. And yes, Scar gave him that. It was very logical to think so. But Scar heavily doubted that Grian would have been terrified in the least. Oh Scar had fallen into the same mental trap once! Back at the very start when Grian had been new and those huge eyes had watched their every move with shyness and wonder.

He'd thought, back then, that Grian could actually be afraid of them. Would be put off by their Vex-ness and try and get off the planet as soon as possible should Scar make even one mistake. The fool he was! He now knew that nothing truly rattled their precious Allay. No horror of the deep was too terrifying for him not to poke it with unbridled curiousity.

It had always been Cub and Scar holding themselves back, Scar mused. Their lingering issues with their tranformation. Their scars, untouched and unspoke about. They'd tried to heal in their own right, of course. But neither had been good at addressing their various insecurities and traumas. Instead they had repressed their by now true nature and had shied away from everything that had to do with their past Allay heritage.

They'd been pushing down their instincts until they violently resurfaced in one way or another, be it as the Convex, ConCorp or in magical crystals brimming with leftover Vex magic.

Grian's arrival had shaken up the status quo. He had held a mirror in front of their faces without even knowing it. And both Cub and Scar had reacted poorly. Cub by painting Grian as a scapegoat at first and still seeing him as a legitimate threat later. Scar by putting Grian on a pedestal of sorts and self-flagellating himself in front of his idol.

And when they'd come to their senses and realized that Grian was not defined by his hybrid status and thus neither were they the damage had already been done. They'd fallen in love and alienated their third in the process because they had been unable to get those stupid prejudices out of their head. As though the Hermits hadn't spent years teaching them that appearances, powers and instincts didn't matter as long as they all played by the lax gentleman rules of their group and respected each others' hard boundaries.

Point was that Scar had not been sold on the teleportation idea being a bad one. He would not underestimate Grian's resilience again just because he looked cute. Grian hadn't been in any distress when the Rift had pulled him through half the known universe. Why would a little hop and jump across one planet be worse?

Then Cub pointed out how atrocious they both had been in talking with Grian and how the little Allay had gone out of his way to avoid a conversation with them. And that had given Scar pause. Which gave Cub the opportunity to sweet talk his partner into leaving Grian a message that would rile him up instead, but not enough to make him even more angry at them. They wanted the Allay to engage with them again out of his own free will, not get sucked into another death loop.

Scar was slowly starting to regret letting Cub's analytical mind take the lead. He was getting increasingly disheartened and impatient. What if Grian never retaliated? What if he had destroyed their gift? What if someone else had found it first and taken something?

The last question spoke volumes about Scar's fragile state of mind. Or it could have been that he was still a bit paranoid after the Life Game. None of the Hermits would plunder a gift so obviously not for them.

And yet Scar nearly flew into a tree thinking about it. He cursed and corrected his flight path, only grazing the leaves of the old oak with his artificial wings. They creaked as he adjusted them and fired off another rocket to gain back some altitude. A sure tell that they would break any moment now from overuse.

Scar didn't pay his struggling wings any mind. Like hunger and minor injuries, they were easy to forget about. What he did notice upon arriving at his mega base was the little parrot that sat in his centre flowerbed that would eventually decorate the entrance area of his park.

Heart in his throat he dived for the bird and only just managed to break his fall enough not to splat on the ground. He still thought for a moment that he had died. Because upon landing the world around him errupted into an ear splitting cacophony of sound that froze and warped the air around him. As though reality had gotten overwhelmed and had to restart before it could function properly again. It looked a bit like getting stuck in an iced over soap bubble.

Scar blinked the stars from his eyes and swayed on the spot with his right hand clutching his chest. Distantly he realized that he had his mouth open and had probably screamed, though no sound could have had been heard over the infernal racket his landing had caused.

The bird did not seem perturbed at all but for the slight ruffle of its feathers. It stared calmly back at him with deep black eyes. It was the red and blue variant that always reminded him of Grian. Beneath the bird was a sign that Scar struggled to read.

When he had finally deciphered the message he threw his head back and laughed. This bird is breaking reality, indeed! He took a step back not to overbalance and the slight movement set off the shrieking once again. The bird looked at him with judgemental eyes, puffing up some more to show its displeasure. But all Scar could do was continue to laugh and grin and whoop.

Spreading the wings of his elytra, he blasted off into the air again, heart lurching at the third chorus of screeches. Landing a safe distance away from the reality breaking noise machine, Scar fumbled for his communicator. His head felt like a sledgehammer had bashed it in, his body shook with the leftover force of the shockwave the shriekers had created and he still couldn't hear anything. But that didn't matter!

Because this was it. This was screaming Grian all over. This was his answer! He had been pranked! Oh and what a beautiful prank their little pesky bird had made for him. Scar would cherish that parrot forever and ever.

His ears were still ringing when Cub picked up the call, but it didn't matter that Scar barely heard what Cub had said in greeting or what Scar himself was babbling at him in his excitement. Grian was ready to interact with them again!

Notes:

I finally managed to finish another chapter! Will I ever decide whether I capitalize the block and creature names or not? Probably not. I also apologize for any base inconsistencies. I have no clue how far along Scar has been at this point of the season and with only Grian's POV it's hard for me to remember everyones base progress.

Also good news: I got a new job! Which also unfortunately means that I'll be incredibly busy for the forseeable future. So I will continue to have no updating schedule at all and just post whenever I have something done. Yes I'm still procrastinating on actually finishing the outline of this story.

Thank you again for all the comments, kudos and support! You guys are awesome!