Chapter Text
It was a beautiful star filled night in the hermitcraft server, well, kinda, most of the sky was taken by the approaching moon, doesn't make it any less beautiful though, now does it? but that's not the point. Under this pretty night sky there was a long field of just grass, flowing on waves with whatever wind there was, and on the grass we find ourselves one of the hermits, Grian to be precise.
He was just walking along the field, enjoying the view, walking had been the only thing that could keep him awake (and a lot of coffee) after he had joined the mooners. He never really believed in the moon as a deity but still, watching it grow bigger by the night, it was something that made him wonder about gods, knowing perfectly well that the closest resemblance there is to one causes nothing but pain under the word of "keeping the world spinning in order".
- Hypocrites... - he mumbled to himself, there was no point in being silent when all there is around you is grass and the occasional patch of clovers, right? yet he never spoke in a higher note, never feeling safe of the stares, even after all these years.
- Everything's okay G, they're not here, X promised he wouldn't ever let any beings like that be on this server, it's okay - Grian took a deep breath, the smell of nothingness was surprisingly comforting, at least it was for a second. Sudden pain shot through his back, stumbling where he stood, it felt as if he was just stabbed with multiple knifes that were also put on the oven so that they were hot. Before he could even get his balance back, an inmense weight took place for the pain.
Feeling his purple wings being pushed to the sides to make space for whatever was the cause of all of this, he fell to his knees, catching from the corner of his eye as a halo, with a way too well known symbol, started appearing over his head, giving a faint glow, he hated this, despised it, remembering he had felt this before, just once.
- T-That means the weight is... - before Grian could even finish his sentence, he subconsciously opened the massive wings for a display of their might, with a white underside and a dark gray for the feathers on top, and to add to his horror, almost, if not all, of the underside of the wings was covered in those... those eyes that only one being could possess without their body turning into a gory mess, a watcher.
- No... no, this isn't fair... NO! - his hands went from the ground to try and reach for the wings, but as he tried the huge wings folded on his back, bringing all the weight upon him again, almost knocking the hermit to the ground. It hurt to stay on just his knees, it really did, but he knew that if he brought himself down any further he wouldn't be able to get up again, and he's so far away from everyone, that he might as well just starve to death waiting for someone, anyone, to find him.
No matter what he did, he couldn't get up, he tried so hard, not having slept well in a while really didn't help either, then, he tried remembering how he used them at another point in his life, realizing that he never did, rather he just carried them on his back 24/7 pretending it was okay when he was near the point of exhaustion every second of his life. Defeated, Grian stared at his hands, at his wrists, that were decorated with some blue and red bands that he kept from even before the watchers first took him.
The silent wasn't as comfortable anymore, if anything, it just gave him a sense of despair, there was nothing left to do but wait and hope that they go away like they should, that didn't stop the tears that slowly drifted across his face though, even those gave off a purple hue that ever so faintly created light, and even with no one there, he could feel the stare of the eyes on his... well, the watcher wings, so he covered his face, hoping that he wouldn't fall over for not leaning on the floor for so long.
After a while he had forgotten what was actually going on, why you may ask? he had fallen asleep, the only thing protecting him from the cold being the new found wings, that he used so naturally like if he had them for his whole life already, that covered his body, turns out crying was what broke the hermit from his sleepless record, he was tired, too tired.
Eventually he did fall over, he passed the whole night right there, laying in the field, being eventually woken up by the axolotl himself, apparently some hermits had been looking for him after seeing his shop without stock, and X decided to help with that.
- Hey there bud! next time try sleeping at your base will you? everyone was worried about you!... and you need to stock up your train - X's laugh accompanied the last part of the sentence, Grian just looked up, then a wave of memories hit him, making him panic and instantly look at his back, but... they weren't there.
- Earth to G? Earth to G! you okay? maybe you need more sleep! - the axolotl looked worried about the sudden shift.
- I- yeah, I'm okay, just... I think I had a nightmare or something - Grian stood up, looking behind him every few seconds, stretching since, clearly, the position he slept in wasn't ideal.
- Alrighty then! c'mon, let's go back, you can tell me about this nightmare on our way back if you want to - Xisuma just waved for him to follow and started walking to wherever they were going, Grian couldn't help but look at the grass one last time, this time, his heart skipping a beat. There was a single black and white feather just laying there, it could mean anything to anyone else, but to him, it meant his fear was real, that the nightmare was nothing else than reality itself, that he was becoming a wat-
- G! dude c'mon! you're gonna end up lost again! - he heard the shout, grabbed the feather and hid it in one of his pockets, running towards the voice, repeating a single sentence over and over on his brain.
"Maybe it's a one time thing"