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Grian took in the scent of nature. The view of the server on top of the mansion was beautiful. You could see the tops of the dark oak trees and the different types of mushrooms. Mountains surrounded the building, people on top and probably making alliances. Grian allied with Joel and Jimmy, effectively calling themselves “The Bad Boys”. In Grian’s personal opinion, he felt like he was seven years old with a name like that but if it were what Jimmy and Joel wanted, he would put up with it.
Grian set his sword in the nest he was sitting on and grabbed the mug of tea Joel had made. He sipped it carefully and smiled to himself. It felt amazing to be paired with a few different people than his usual choices. He loved Scar and all but sometimes Scar scared him. Whether it was losing his lives or almost making Grian lose one of his own lives. Scar was his best friend, his platonic mate. He shook his head and sipped his tea once more. Enough thinking about Scar.
His wings flexed, white feathers tipped with rust and light brown. His avian status changed every time he joined a new server; a cactus wren for 3rd Life, a waxwing for Last Life, and a mockingbird for Double Life. This time, a sandhill crane. He couldn’t figure out why he was a sandhill crane, there seemed to be no answer. Thanks to the Watchers, his admin/player code was screwed up and he was a different type of bird with every server he joined. Sometimes it was a curse, sometimes it was a blessing. His tail feathers spread out against the bottom of the nest as if he was getting ready to take flight and he sipped his tea once more.
The avian shifted so his legs weren’t crisscrossed but splayed out in front of him. He was alone on the rooftop as Joel and Jimmy went to forge for supplies. Grian was in charge of the farm on the rooftop they called home, making sure wheat was turned into bread and that the carrots were stored properly. Sometimes he would make treats and full-fledged meals if he had the time. Today wasn’t one of those times.
The sun began to set when Joel and Jimmy returned, obviously worn out and had full inventories. He got up from his spot in the nest and helped Joel unload his inventory while Jimmy dropped into the nest from sheer exhaustion. Grian grabbed some food he made earlier and handed it to Jimmy. He gladly ate it. Joel ate some food too while Grian took the items out of their inventories and began to organize everything into chests and furnaces.
The avian felt Joel begin to slightly preen his wings and rest his head on his shoulder. Grian cooed as he took out some iron from the furnace and placed it into a chest. Joel pinched the keratin coating off some pin feathers and fluffed them out, then heard Jimmy coo as well (probably to answer his adoptive father).
Joel moved from pin feathers to gently swipe the dirt out of Grians flight feathers. It was practically musical memory from preening his actual wife’s feathers on Empires. Jimmy chirped and Grian chirped back. Joel knew those were chirps of reassurances and promises, Lizzie used them on him back in their CrazyCraft SMP so long ago. Joel stopped his preening causing Grian to let out a small, upsetting chirp, and moved to preen Jimmy’s feathers.
Grian softly smiled at the duo and knew that the season would turn out fine with the two people he allied with. He finished off the inventory organization and sat with his platonic husband and son. Yeah, this season would turn out fine…
Grian woke up to arguing at the bottom of the mansion, probably on the forest floor. He got up and stretched his wings, realizing his son or his platonic husband wasn’t there. He tilted his head and walked around. He opened a chest and grabbed a piece of bread to eat. He called out for Joel and Jimmy, only to hear the arguing at the bottom of the mansion stop. It was quiet for a few seconds before he saw Jimmy fly up and softly land on the roof. “Hey G,” he smiled. “You were knocked out last night..”
“Timmy, what’s going on?” he studied the canary’s face. The smile was fake, which didn’t ease his worries. Something was going on. “Stop trying to distract me.”
“Don’t worry about it, pops is– pop’s taking care of it,” he tried to reassure him. Grian raised a brow and let out a warning chirp. Jimmy grimaced, obviously trying to not reply to the chirp. “Dad, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Tim,” Grian blinked. “What’s going on.” Jimmy bit his lip.
“There are some people here for you but Joel doesn’t want them to see you,” he stumbled out.
“Who?” Jimmy grabbed his arm and looked away from Grian.
“Scar…”
Grian froze. Scar? Jimmy walked toward the older and touched his shoulders. It seemed to snap Grian out of his shocked state. “Let me see him,” he whispered and Jimmy sighed. He led the sandhill crane to the bottom of the mansion.
Grian saw Joel’s back first, then Cleo, then BDubs, then the person in front of Cleo and BDubs. Scar, in all his glory, was arguing with Joel and looked pretty heated. Grian froze up once again and felt a wing cover his back. Jimmy cleared his throat while intertwining his fingers with his father"s. Joel whipped around and sighed. Jimmy shook his head towards the older and Joel slightly sheltered the sandhill crane.
“G–” Scar started but Joel shot him a look. “I’m not going to hurt him.” There was silence and Grian wouldn’t budge.
There were so many thoughts running through his mind, but memories took front and center. Scar’s first death in 3rd Life, then his last death. His deaths on Last and Double Life. Him cheating on Scar in Double life, and with Big B. The Jellies and the Enchanter.
Scar, to Grian, was the sun and moon, platonic soulmates with Mumbo until the end. Scar was there through the ups and downs of his first season of HermitCraft. He was there for the nightmares and flashbacks, the PTSD panic attacks. The code glitching and late nights with Xisuma. Sunlight and moonlight, someone once called them.
“Hey Sunlight,” Scar whispered. Grian started to shake.
Sunlight and Moonlight Pearl once called them. Grian’s the sun while Scar’s the moon. Scar called him that, realizing that Grian never saw the sun when he was in the Watcher’s possession. There was something so serene about the nickname that Grian liked, so, in return, Grian called Scar moonlight. They were the sun and moon. A knight and his king. A knight and his king.
A memory flashed through his mind, the end of season one; the end of 3rd Life. Grian had won, beating Scar with his bare fists. He had held him, his life force slowing leaving his body. “Carry me slowly, Sunlight,” he had whispered as Grian set him next to the grave of Pizza, the llama they loved oh so dearly. Grian shook more and Jimmy squeezed his hand in reassurance.
“Grian?” Joel whispered, obviously concerned for his partner.
“Go away Scar,” Grian whispered, looking away from him. “I’m allied with Joel and Timmy.”
“Oh,” Scar whispered and his head fell low. “Okay… If you need anything–”
“We won’t,” Jimmy cut in.
“Tim,” Grian shot a look at his son. Jimmy apologetically looked at his father.
“I’ll– I’ll go,” Scar told them. Cleo and BDubs looked at Grian with apologetic looks. They were obviously and understandably upset but they didn’t know what happened last season, nor do they get to know. The three left and when they were fully out of ear and eyeshot, Grian collapsed. He had tears rolling down his eyes and before he could choke out a sob, Joel wiped the tears away.
“We got you, we got you,” Jimmy whispered. “Let"s get you back up to the rooftop dad and get you something to eat.” Joel hummed and helped Jimmy get Grian on the rooftop. They set him down in the nest and let him be. Jimmy set a water bottle and a small plate of food in case Grian needed it. Grian didn’t move from the nest at all for the rest of day, memories of previous seasons replaying in his mind.