Chapter Text
Xisuma was worried. He had been keeping tabs on the server, making sure the code was running properly when something caught his attention. The icon indicating where Scar’s communicator was hadn’t moved in a few hours. Normally that wouldn’t be concerning, but it was the location it was in that caused some confusion. Grian’s base. Xisuma looked at the time. 19:30 (7:30 PM). The sun had gone down. He knew Grian and Scar wouldn’t be working on a project or anything, unless they were down in Grian’s basement. He decided to ignore it for now, opting to continue his checking of the server code.
Xisuma still had the display up, showing that Scar’s location hadn’t changed. Unless, of course, the elf forgot his communicator in Grian’s base, but that was unlikely. X continued to absently check it while he worked, unaware of time slipping by. Xisuma spotted Stress’ location change to Grian’s base as well and he raised a brow under his helmet. “Why would she be going to his base in the middle of the night? It’s like… 7 in the morning?!” Xisuma yelped, looking at the clock.
He got up from his desk and looked outside, wincing at the light of the sun. He had accidentally pulled an all-nighter. He sighed, running a hand down the glass front of his helmet. If he took a nap now he would destroy his circadian rhythm even more than it already was. Oh well, he was awake now, time to start the day.
A little while later Xisuma noticed as Scar and Stress’ location dots left Grian’s base. Xisuma thought back to what he and Stress had talked about a few days ago, about her needing to give Grian a checkup. Xisuma paused. This probably had something to do with that.
Stress was in the shopping district. That gave X the perfect opportunity to talk to her. He walked out of his base, the sun shining down. His helmet tinted the glass, making it easier for him to see. He heard a small click as his elytra were released, the protective cover folding away. A mechanical whirring noise filled his ears as the wings unfolded, extending out. He jumped up, feeling the rocket thrusters of his boots kick in, lifting him off the ground. He took off in the direction of the shopping district.
Unfortunately by the time he got there, Stress had already gone back to Grian’s base. The admin huffed, looking at the map. Mumbo was at Grian’s base now as well. X decided to wait a bit before asking Stress a question, wait to see if she left Grian’s base again. For now, he might as well stock up on some build supplies.
It had been almost an hour and Stress was still there. X chose to ask a question. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Stress asked him.
“You have been at Grian’s base all day. Is something wrong? Does this have to do with the exam you gave him?” Xisuma typed.
His message went un answered for a moment. Then, a simple one word response followed. “Yes.”
“What’s wrong with Grian?” The admin asked.
Again there was a long delay between his question and an answer. The response made Xisuma freeze. “He is severely underweight. He’s had food issues since high school.” Stress responded.
X just stood there, reading the message again. When Grian told them he had been forced to eat plastic the admin figured it would cause some food related trauma. He just wasn’t expecting it to cause an eating disorder. His communicator dinged and he looked at the new message from Stress. “Scar and Mumbo are with him right now. I’m trying to figure out a way to make sure he eats enough without giving him too much at once. His digestive system isn’t as fast as it should be.”
“He might need smaller, more frequent meals.” Xisuma suggested as he began to walk to the Nether portal.
“That’s a great idea actually. Thank you.” Stress typed.
“You're welcome. Do you need me to come over and help?” He asked, already pulling up the coordinates for Grian’s portal just in case.
“I think if too many people are here it will overwhelm him.” Stress said.
“I understand. Message me if you need anything.” Xisuma typed.
“Will do.” Stress replied. Xisuma sighed and turned off his communicator, slipping it into his utility belt. How did none of them notice Grian had eating issues? Grian was very good at keeping it hidden. That was probably something he learned from his time in Japan. From Sam. If Xisuma ever met that man, someone would have to restrain him.
Grian was sitting in his base, Jellie purring on his lap. He was wearing looser light gray lounge pants. They were much more comfortable than jeans. It had been a few hours and his stomach had relaxed, no longer sending painful aches through him. For the first time, in a very long while, his hands weren’t trembling slightly, low blood sugar nagging him. His vision wasn’t too bright randomly. He felt, even. Calm.
Mumbo walked into the room, talking animatedly about something with Scar. The elf simply shook his head, rolling his wheelchair into the room. “I’m telling you mate, running redstone through feathers WONT WORK!” Mumbo cried.
“Just because you don't think it will, doesn’t mean it wont.” Scar said, looking at the vampire.
Mumbo groaned, dragging his hands down his face, messing up his mustache. “What are you two even talking about?” Grian asked, interested in what was giving Mumbo an aneurysm.
“Scar is convinced he can run redstone power through feathers to illuminate lights on the end of them.” Mumbo explained.
“Because he can…? Didn’t you know feathers are hollow?” Grian asked the vampire, wings tucking in behind him.
Mumbo blinked, staring at Grian. Grian raised a brow in confusion. “What…?” Mumbo asked.
“Feathers are hollow Mumbo.” Grian said once more. “As long as you are careful, redstone could be run through the hollow trunk.”
“HAHA! I WAS RIGHT!” Scar yelled, pointing at Mumbo, a grin on his face.
“What are you yelling about?” Stress asked, poking her head into the room.
“I just proved that Scar’s plan would work.” Grian said, leaning over so she could see him past Mumbo.
“Ah…Anyway, how are you feeling Grian?” She asked, walking into the room.
“A lot better actually. My hands aren’t shaking, so that's an improvement.” Grian said, lifting his hand to show her.
She smiled, walking over. She sat down on the couch next to him. “X suggested something.” She said.
Grian turned his head to look at her, a confused chirp leaving him. Jellie was still purring in his lap. “You might do better with smaller meals. Snacking throughout the day until your body gets used to eating more food.” Stress told him, pulling a small pack of dried fruit out of her bag.
Grian eyed the pack. It was a much smaller portion size. Each fruit was cut into small pieces, making it easier to eat. It was way less daunting than eating a whole meal. The avian smiled, taking the bag of fruit from Stress’ hand. The woman smiled at him. “If you're not up to eating it right now that's ok. Take all the time you need, Grian.” She said, holding his hand in hers.
He felt the couch dip on his other side and turned, spotting Mumbo. The vampire gave him a soft smile, gently rubbing Grian’s shoulder. “Remember Grian, healing isn’t linear. Sometimes there are setbacks. And that's ok. Sometimes it may feel like you aren’t making progress but remember how far you have come. We are so proud of you, and we’ll be there the whole time, supporting you in any way we can.” Scar said, hand on Grian’s knee, an honest smile on his face.
Grian felt tears welling up in his eyes. Stress gently rubbed her thumb over his cheek, swiping away any falling tears. He let out a shaky breath, a watery smile on his face. “Thank you…” He mumbled, voice failing him.
The three of them hugged him, supporting his weight as he leaned on them. Things would be tough, but he could do it. He could get through this. He had his friends to lean on for support when he needed them. They were there for him. Forever and always.