#and then grian holding him tightly in his arm trying to comfort him being sorry for hurting him but telling him that it had to end like that

[sasmeo-bisaster]

@stabbythespaceroomba i think we need to talk cause you just can't leave that in the comments like that

GRIAN WANTED TO TRAP SCAR IN COWEB SO HE WOULDN'T HAVE TO KILL HIM ALONGSIDE JIMMY AND LIZZIE I'M SCREAMING

[lovesick-x-prince]

For Whumptober:

Number 20: Emotional Angst

Shoulder to Cry On | Giving Permission to Die | "It's not your fault."

Prompt: Emotional Angst / Shoulder to Cry On / Giving Permission to Die / “It’s not your fault” Fandom: Third Life Pairing: Desert Duo Notes: I made this one set in Nobody Feels Like You, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist the urge, lol. Half of these Whumptober prompts will probably be set in Nobody Feels Like You, but you can still read them without knowing what that is! Warning for injury, angst, and death.

-

Scar is dying.

Grian is used to it.

That doesn’t mean he stops fighting against it. Scar’s breath is wet and ragged against his neck as Grian pulls him forward another step. The way Scar’s breathing hitches in pain, sharp and agonized, is familiar now, since Grian has been trying to get Scar to safety and listening to those sounds for the past twenty minutes. “Just a little further,” Grian lies, as though they aren’t in the middle of the Sand Lands, nothing but desert all around.

Even if Grian can get Scar to Monopoly Mountain, how is he meant to get him to the top of the mountain, into the safety of their home? It’s not possible - Grian banishes the thought from his mind, and takes another step, and another. Each time, Scar’s breath hitches, his arm jerking where it rests around Grian’s back, his fingers shuddering on Grian’s shoulder. “Grian,” Scar says, five, maybe ten steps later. Grian takes another step. “Grian. Grian, stop, I need - I need to sit -” “We can’t stop now,” Grian snaps back, raising his voice. He swallows. Purposefully gentles his tone as guilt swells thick in his throat. “... We can’t stop now.” “Grian -” “Just hold on a bit longer, and I can -” “Grian. Please.” One step. Another. Scar’s head falls to rest against Grian’s shoulder. Grian is basically dragging him along now, Scar barely able to help him with the task. As Scar’s face rests against Grian’s neck, Grian can feel the dampness of his partner's tears. He stops. Swallows. Slowly lowers them to the ground, holding Scar close, keeping his partner's head rested against him. “Thank you,” Scar rasps out, gratitude spilling between them, “thank you. It’s… it’s okay, G. It’ll be okay.” “How can you be trying to comfort me now?” Grian questions. His voice breaks, embarrassingly, and he has to squeeze his eyes tightly shut for a long moment to keep from crying himself. He hates Tango. He hates Tango, and his stupid traps, and his stupid arrows, and of course Scar had to take the arrow for Grian, even when he was already injured and bleeding and burnt - “You’re thinking too loudly,” Scar sighs, leaning away from him so he can peer directly into Grian’s eyes. Grian examines the stark, bright red of Scar’s irises, and fails at his attempt not to cry. “You promised,” he says instead. It’s a childish thing to say, a childish thing to rely on. It was a childish thing to demand of Scar in the first place, but Grian hadn’t demanded, he’d only clutched at Scar so tightly, gasping from nightmares, and begged Scar not to leave him, not to die -

“I promise,” Scar said, like it was a promise he could keep. “I’ll stay with you.” “You promised,” Grian says again, childishly.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry, I… I’m trying, G.” He was trying. Scar could have succumbed to his wounds already. He should have, really, if Grian were being honest with himself. Grian forces himself to look at Scar, to really look at him.

Scar’s clothing was mostly destroyed in the explosion, revealing swaths of dark, shiny, blistered skin. In some areas, the damage was so bad that the skin was actually black, already dead. Beyond the burns, there were countless scrapes, bruises, and cuts of all sizes, bleeding sluggishly. Through Scar’s side, an arrow was pierced, the tatters of the clothing that had survived there now soaked with dark blood.

Grian had to look away, bile in his mouth as he tried to focus through the wash of dizziness that had overcome him.

Scar was hurting. He was suffering so badly, only clinging on because of Grian’s selfish demand.

“... Come here,” Grian whispered, voice soft. When he looked back at Scar, his partner was already leaning towards him, like a sunflower trying to get closer to the sun.

Gently, Grian drew his partner into his arms, to lay across his lap. Any energy left in Scar seemed to vanish as soon as he was laying there - Scar went practically boneless, his face pushing into Grian’s hand when Grian brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. His eyelids were fluttering desperately, as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

Grian could taste his tears in his mouth, wet and salty. He could see them, as they dripped cold off his chin, and down onto Scar, soaking into his shirt alongside the blood and the sweat and the dirt.

He placed a hand over Scar’s eyes, giving him blessed darkness.

“... Just a moment,” Scar said. His words were slurring, quiet. “Just… need a mo… then we can… continue.”

Grian shook his head, even though Scar couldn’t see him. He glanced up, and squinted into the sun, waiting a second before he responded, to make sure his voice would be steady.

“... It’s okay, Scar. You can go.”

“... Go where?”

“... You can go,” Grian said again. His voice broke again this time, despite his attempts to steady it.

Scar shifted in his lap, barely. Normally, he would be throwing himself up - searching for what it was that upset Grian, smattering out reassurances. Of course I’m not going anywhere, he would say, pouting, eyes wide, abandon our monopoly? Never. “... I’m… re-, really sorry.”

Grian shook his head. “It’s not your fault. I… I shouldn’t have… made you promise.”

Scar didn’t respond.

It was fine.

Grian would just have to try again.

[arts-and-drafts]

Minecraft Championships

(Another fic for my Hermit Tommy AU, set when Tommy finally joins MCC again! Enjoy :)c)

-

Tommy stared at the white portal buzzing in front of him. It was time for Minecraft Championships, an event he hadn't attended since before his exile.

Familiar fear tingled in the back of his mind. He almost certainly would run into the old members of the Dream SMP on the other side of the portal. He spent so long trying to heal from the scars the SMP ripped into him, both physically and mentally. He didn't want to dig up old memories after he tried so hard to move past them.

But his hand was clenched over his compass, something he'd only recently felt safe enough to carry with him outside of his ender chest.

Tubbo could be on the other side. His Tubbo.

But if he was, what would Tommy say? What would he do? Tubbo threw him out, but he was still the most important person in the universe to Tommy. That was one thing from his past he refused to leave behind.

Did Tubbo even feel the same? Would he be glad to see him again?

Did he even care?

Grian's hand touching his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts.

"...You don't have to go if you don't want to." Grian offered, a knowing but gentle look in his eyes. Tommy took a breath.

"No, I--it's okay. I'll come." Tommy replied, tucking his compass back under his shirt. "You all suck without me anyway." He grinned at Grian, who glared mockingly in response. "Oh, I'm sure you bring so much to the table." He commented dryly.

"MCC is my bitch." Tommy declared confidently, dodging Grian's swipe at him with a high pitched laugh. "Watch it, or I'll tell Scar to make you restock Scara again." Grian smiled.

The hermit offered his hand, and Tommy took it. They stepped through the white portal together.

-

Tommy downed his glass bottle of water in one big swig, wiping his forehead with his other arm. They were halfway through MCC, and finally got a chance to break and reconvene with their teams.

Grian, Ren, Tommy and False were chosen to represent Hermitcraft in MCC, and they were killing it, scoring 2nd place as a team so far in the games. On top of that, Tommy hadn't seen anyone from the SMP. He was just having a good time, winning a championship with his friends.

Tommy listened to the hypnotizing chatter of the hundreds of contestants in the lobby, his group having fanned out during the break. Grian had left to socialize with a multitude of outer-server friends, while Ren and False were talking with a green skinned player on another team that Tommy didn't recognize.

Tommy quickly averted his eyes. That guy looked too much like-

Without warning, something grabbed Tommy's arm and violently pulled him off the bench he was resting at, his yell of surprise quickly drowned out by the crowd. Tommy tried to swing at his assailant, but went rigid as soon as he looked up.

"You shouldn't have run." Dream hissed, dragging Tommy to his feet by the arm. Tommy's blood turned to ice as he was suddenly flung back to Logstedshire, to exile, to bitter loneliness, turning out his pitiful supply of resources to his warden for fear of being killed.

Tommy couldn't do anything to defend himself as Dream started to pull him to the portal back to the SMP.

"They don't need you. I've told you I'm your only friend. I'm the only one that cares." Dream growled, his voice dangerously low with fury. "Friends don't abandon friends. I thought Tubbo already taught you that."

Tommy flinched. His breath was trapped in his lungs, paralyzed as Dream dragged him closer and closer to the past he tried so hard to escape.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been looking?!" Dream continued, his tone scalding. "A YEAR, Tommy!! You ran away for a fucking YEAR!!"

Dream's voice had a layer of desperation lying underneath. It was then that Tommy clicked.

Dream needed him.

He needed Tommy to be broken, to be hateful, to be ostracized and abandoned by everyone he loved. Dream needed the conflict, the chaos, the malice.

But Tommy did not need him. Tommy was not alone like Dream was.

"HELP!!" Tommy's cry exploded from his chest, fueled by all the fear and resentment he'd kept pent up for so long. "GRIAN!! HELP ME!!"

Dream halted his unwavering path to his SMP to snap back to Tommy, instantly clapping his gloved hand over the boy's mouth before he could scream anything else, but the damage was already done. Tommy struggled against Dream's arms, punching and kicking and squirming to escape, continuing to scream despite Dream's hand muffling his voice.

For the first time since L'manburg, Tommy fought back with the same ferocity that burned inside him all those years ago.

Tommy saw a flash of enchanted blue, and suddenly Dream's grip on his arm and face was released. He was immediately pulled into the arms of Ren with a gasp, safe and warm and secure. Tommy clung to the hermit for dear life, daring to open his eyes to see what had become of Dream.

Dream was on the ground, carefully still. His mask lay sliced clean in half beside him, a razor-thin cut bleeding down the middle of his face. Tommy's eyes widened.

False and Grian stood between Dream and Tommy, False with her diamond sword poised to Dream's throat with deadly accuracy. Grian's wings were extended to their full wingspan, an intimidating wall of gray feathers trembling with fury.

"Get out." False ordered, low and dangerous. A violent expression crossed Dream's face, Tommy could see his face, he could see the look in his eyes, but he said nothing. False flicked her sword up, wordlessly repeating her demand.

Dream slowly got to his feet, his eyes moving to the crowd of people who were now silent, watching. Dream pulled his hood tighter around his head in a pitiful attempt to hide his naked face as he backed up to the SMP portal.

Dream locked eyes with Tommy before he stepped through, and Tommy was turned to stone by the sheer amount of hatred that was visible in his former captor's expression.

The connection was broken by Grian storming towards Dream, his fists balled so tightly that Tommy could see his white knuckles. For the first time in Tommy's life, he saw real terror in Dream's eyes.

Dream stepped through the portal quicker than he'd ever moved before right as Grian cleared the distance.

"DON'T COME BACK!" Grian roared, reeling back his fist to bring it clean through the portal.

The doorway shattered on impact, breaking the SMP's connection to the MCC lobby with the force of a ghast's fireball. Stunned silence followed, broken only by Grian's heaving breaths as he tried to calm himself.

Tommy didn't realize how tightly he was holding Ren until the werewolf shifted uncomfortably under his grip. He quickly released his friend's shirt.

Then Grian and False turned back to Tommy, their anger dissipating into concern as quickly as it came. They ran to him and pulled each other into a shaking embrace, Tommy at the center of his three saviors.

"Gods, oh Tommy--" Grian stammered, squeezing Tommy tighter and burying his face into his hair. "I'm so sorry, we didn't know he would--"

"Are you okay?" False asked feverishly, her fingers flitting nervously over the arm where Dream grabbed him. "Did he hurt you? Do you need a medic?"

"No, no--" Tommy tried to say, but he was interrupted by Ren. "What did he want from you? Is he dangerous?"

"Guys," Tommy said, raising his voice to silence their questions. "I'm--I'm okay now. Thank you for saving me," he assured, his voice catching on the last word. He tried to wipe away tears that he just noticed were flowing down his face.

"I-I want to go. Please." Tommy begged, his voice very small. The crowd of contestants watching them were now suffocating instead of comfortable.

Tommy expected his friends to hesitate, but he was surprised by how quickly they unanimously nodded. "Of course, no problem." Ren affirmed, helping Tommy to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

"But--" Tommy tried to oppose, looking at the scoreboard.

"Don't worry about MCC." False cut him off. "There's always next year."

Tommy's words lodged in his throat, gratitude and relief swelling in his soul. He let himself be guided back to the portal to Hermitcraft, his bandaged hands gripping Ren and False's arms like a lifeline as Grian's wing laid a comforting weight on his back.

As the group disappeared into the white tear in reality, a figure watches in silent shock from the other side of the lobby, a finally still compass gripped in shaking hands.

END.

[votederpycausemufins]

another chapter for Summoning family (now that it has an official name) and this time i’m remembering to ping @petrichormeraki!

 stayed near Grian as he cried on the bench while Tommy, Techno and Phil yelled at each other. Jellie had moved from their lap and into Grian’s arms, not caring how tightly they were hugged by the distraught avian. 

He listened as Grian mumbled sadly, trying not to listen too much and hear something that he didn’t want to be shared. However Tubbo was still able to make some things out. It sounded like they hadn’t even been around for a year yet. Sure they were programmed and built older, but they weren’t even a year old. There was also something about a box and virtual reality which Tubbo wasn’t completely sure about. Perhaps they had just started as programs in some sort of computer before getting bodies.

Carefully, Tubbo put a hand on Grian’s shoulder. The avian jolted slightly, but otherwise didn’t react.

After a bit more waiting, there was a shout from Mumbo as he arrived. Grian immediately sat up, hoping for good news. “Please. Please tell me y-“ He didn’t need to finish the sentence, the redstoner looking like as much of a mess as Grian currently was. “No. No no no no no. Please th-they can’t. N-not again please.”

Jellie jumped off of Grian’s lap when Mumbo sat down on the bench. He hugged Grian as the builder continued to cry. “I- Xisuma said that he couldn’t force a respawn. As far as the world is concerned, they did respawn, but that they also aren’t in this world. I… I already checked their old bodies, and they’re not there. X also found the world we went to to rebuild them, but they’re not there either.”

Grian nodded as he pressed his face into Mumbo’s shoulder, letting the jacket absorb his tears. “If you think of anything else, I’m sure we can get someone to look into it, but, until then I could-“

“N-No. pl-please don’t r-replace them. I-if we find them… a-and they come home to that…”

“Alright, I won’t.”

Tubbo watched as Grian continued to cry before getting up and walking over to Tommy and the other two. “Can you three please stop arguing! I’m pretty sure that’s just going to make it worse. Instead we could try to help figure out what exactly happened to those kids.”

“Tubbo, you heard what Grian said. They didn’t respawn.” Tommy replied, crossing his arms, still upset at Techno.

“And Mumbo said that it was more an error with the respawn. From what they can tell, they respawned, just not here.”

Tommy’s brows furrowed at that. “So they could be somewhere else?”

“Yeah, they’re not sure where though.”

“G’s a Watcher, so he could try looking, but at the same time he’s already been a mess the past few days.”

“So we’ll need to try and do that on our own.” Phil piped up. “Where have they tried looking already?”

“They said something about the world where the two of them were built, but they weren’t there. Other than that, I think they’ve only looked here.”

Phil nodded. “I’m not sure what worlds Mumbo had been in, but I’ve heard a little about where Grian’s been. There’s a chance they could be in one of those worlds.”

“Also the chance they could be back at the old castle.” Techno huffed, reluctantly willing to help.

“Alright then. Let’s get to it.”

“So we are going... where now?” Grumbot piped up as he continued to follow behind Ghostbur, carrying Jrumbot who was holding what seemed to be a special type of blue dye.

“We’re going to Sam. I’m sure he’d be happy to help you!”

“And who exactly is that?” The robot spoke apprehensively, though he was pretty sure it was a different Sam.

“Someone who’s going to help!”

As they walked along what Ghostbur was calling the prime path, someone else showed up, coming from the other way. “Oh! Puffy! Hello! It’s me Ghostbur!”

“Hi Ghostbur. Who are these two following you along?”

“I’m not sure! They’re new and needed some help so I was looking for you, but you weren’t home so I was going to Sam next.”

“Well, now I’m here so I can help out.”

“Thank you Puffy!”

Grumbot took that as a chance to speak up. “I suppose now we will be returning to your house?”

The sheep hybrid nodded and Grumbot followed behind her now, though Ghostbur gave Jrum some more of the blue dye before he left. “So, I haven’t seen you two around, so I’m guessing you’re new here.”

Grum nodded. “Indeed. My brother and I arrived today on accident. We wish to go home as soon as possible.”

Before Puffy could ask for clarification, Jrumbot started with another bout of crying, clinging tighter to his brother. Grumbot patted his brother’s back before moving his hand higher and quickly pressing the power button at the nape of his neck, forcing the younger robot into sleep mode.

“Is he alright?” Puffy asked, a bit concerned about the sudden silence.

“Yes. He is simply sleeping for now. He should be better once he wakes up again.”

“So he’s your little brother I assume?”

Grum nodded. “Correct. He was built eleven days after I was. That being said, his programming and mine make us seem older and have a larger age gap.”

Puffy nodded as she opened the door to her home, letting Grum and Jrum inside. “Sorry if it’s not the best in there. Wasn’t really expecting to have anyone staying over any time soon.”

“That is alright. We were not aware that we would need to stay someplace other than home for the night. May I ask what you have in terms of redstone.”

“I’ll have to check.”

“I see. If you do not have an adequate amount, my brother and I can take shifts gathering some more.”

“Might not be the best idea. You only just got here, so you will need to get gear first before anything like redstone.”

“Redstone is extremely important for us.” Grum replied. “We are powered by it after all.”

“Well… alright then.” Puffy said after some slight hesitation before searching through her chests. “This is all I have right now.”

Grum took the redstone and put it into his inventory. “Jrum is the one who has the blueprints for what we will need, but I believe I recall what items we need, so I will begin to craft those.”

Puffy tried to make more conversation, but Grum brushed her off and began to work. He did want to talk with the sheep hybrid, but he knew that it would take more energy. As he began to craft, he glanced at his readings. Full health, almost full hunger, battery at 73 percent. He was glad they had been charged well before going to the shopping district. He glanced over at where Puffy had taken Jrum. Though Grum knew he technically had the better brains, Jrum had inherited their daddy’s knowledge of redstone. If push came to shove, Jrum would be more important than him to have full charge, so he was prepared to transfer power if needed.

“I have crafted all that I can. Are there any important questions for me before I put myself into sleep mode?”

“Well I messaged the admin here and he’s coming over to greet you.”

Grumbot nodded. “I see. How long will it take before he arrives?”

“Not too long. Even with everything he does, he still finds time to greet new members to this place.”

Grum nodded again before moving to sit next to where Jrum was sleeping. “I believe that will be important enough for my brother to be awake.” And he gently shook his brother, the screen on his face lighting up with a loading bar before his face reappeared.

“Nggh… I wanna keep sleeping.” Jrum grumbled a little.

Grumbot shook him again. “You will need to be awake soon. The admin of this world will be arriving shortly to meet with us.”

“Xisuma?” Jrum asked before sitting up. “Oh… right…”

“He may be able to assist us with getting home, so you should not feel too down.”

Jrum nodded before scooting closer to Grum. He then pulled out what looked like a diamond block and hugged it, making Puffy’s eyes go wide. “I thought you just got onto the server. Did you get that from Ghostbur?”

Grum looked between Puffy and the block before realizing the issue. “Oh no. That is not a diamond block. It just appears to be one. It is something from our home. Jrum, can you allow her to inspect it?”

Jrum looked nervous, but Puffy gave him a kind look and he reluctantly gave it up. The hybrid looked it over quickly before handing it back, Jrum hugging it tighter than he had a number of moments ago. “Huh, it does look like one, but it is smaller as well as lighter than a block of that size would be. Where did you get it?”

“Dad bought it for me when we found a trader selling it.” Jrum meekly answered. “Since he gave us more than one I have more at home… but this one I always keep with me.”

“Well you might want to be a little careful with that. Someone might think it’s the real deal and there are a few people who might want to take it.” Puffy didn’t want to scare the kid, but it was better he knew just to be safe. The reasoning still didn’t help the tugging at her heartstrings when the young robot hugged the toy block ever tighter, the slightly plush material warping slightly from the pressure.

Grum pat his brother’s head to give some comfort. “I am sure that as long as we reside in Puffy’s care it will be safe.”

Jrum nodded a little but stayed quiet as they waited, but they didn’t have to wait long as a man in green wearing a white mask entered Puffy’s home. “Hi Dream. These are the two kids who showed up.” Puffy greeted the admin and led him to the bots.

“Hello. I am Grum and this is my brother Jrum.”

“Well it is nice to meet you. I didn’t expect anyone more to be joining us so soon.”

“Well, we did not expect to end up here ourselves. I believe the last thing that happened before we ended up here was us dying and our respawn brought us here instead of where we likely would have appeared.”

Puffy took a step closer to ask a question. “What do you mean ‘likely’?”

“Oh, my brother and I have kept safe since our creation so we have not needed to respawn before today.”

“Well.” Dream spoke up, getting the attention of the bots again. “I’m sure those here would be glad to accommodate you as you get started here. It shouldn’t take too long for you to get settled especially with Puffy’s help.”

Grumbot frowned. “Settled? I am sorry, but we would like to get home as soon as possible. Our parents and family will likely be worried about us.”

“I see. Well I’m sure we can do something about that, but there’s no telling how long that might take. So it’s probably best if you prepare for the worst case scenario. But I’ll try my best to help with getting you home.”

Grumbot tried to ignore the feeling that this admin wasn’t telling the entire truth. But at the same time, Grum knew not every server was perfect and he and his brother were brand new. There was also the fact that they likely weren’t supposed to be here and the admin was wary, like Xisuma was when Tommy first showed up as well as when he briefly met with Tubbo and Philza. Even if this admin was wary of them, Puffy would likely give them more answers if he asked, so there was little worry.

“I supposed that is a valid argument. Though may I ask, do you have someone here that is proficient with redstone? We may need to meet with them with a concern of ours.”

Dream nodded. “Yeah, there’s Sam. He’s pretty good at that stuff and I’ve commissioned him for some work. He’s likely your best option.”

Grum nodded. “That name was mentioned by Ghostbur as he was planning to take us to him when we originally could not locate Puffy.”

“Well then, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble there. Now I need to go back to other things.” Dream said before leaving. Grum frowned as the feeling of worry returned. The tone of the admin’s voice sounded off there. It wasn’t anything too prominent, but Grum had caught it nonetheless.

“Well, I guess we should go visit Sam if that’s what you two are worried about.” Puffy suggested and Grum gave a small nod while Jrum started nodding furiously to his side.

“Yeah! Here! I think I can print out the blueprints for what we need! They’re probably going to have to be a little different because when daddy made them, it was in a place with kinda different redstone mechanics, but it wasn’t too bad and I can help out too!” And Jrum started printing out some schematics for a new redstone charger for him and his brother.

“Until then, I think I will need to conserve power.” Grum spoke up. “Jrum, how are you doing?” Jrum immediately looked down to the ground and twiddled his fingers. Grum sighed and pulled a cord out from himself. “I’m sure you need the charge more than myself.” And he plugged the other end of the cord into Jrum’s side before putting himself into sleep mode.

“We’ve checked all the worlds we have access to. And the admin from the other worlds haven’t seen anything?” Phil half grumbled as he sat in a chair at the table where Tommy and Mumbo were looking through some documents.

Mumbo shook his head. “No. I got a message from Ilmango just before you returned. He was the last one we were waiting on. I mean, technically there’s still one place we haven’t checked but… no they wouldn’t be there.”

Tommy looked up from what he was doing. “What are you talking about? What could possibly be left?”

Mumbo looked like he regretted saying anything, but Phil did what he could to get the redstoner to answer. “I… There… Hermitcraft has a sort of… parallel world. It’s not a different dimension, but the two are loosely connected. I’m sure if they somehow ended up there, Xisuma would have noticed, but…”

“But what?”

“There’s a chance True could have done something with EX’s help, so they still could be there without anyone knowing.”

“True?” Tommy asked. “Who the fuck is that? Is she their admin? Cause if so, that sounds like something Dream would try doing if he thought of it.”

“No, EX is the admin. It’s just that they had a sort of…” Mumbo waved his hand as he tried to think of what to say. “They had an election of their own and to them, she’s about as highly powered as an admin.”

“Alright, that doesn’t sound too horrible. If we’re just checking on the place we shouldn’t have to deal with all that. What is this place?”

Mumbo fidgeted, not wanting to answer, but Tommy did his best to convince him. “O-Okay. Um, It’s called Helscraft. I believe they’re on their fifth world as opposed to our seven.”

“Why does that matter?” Tommy asked.

“Because Helscraft is home to the Helsmits. They’re sort of like… our evil copies. We haven’t interacted with many of them, but the few we have met haven’t been the best. There’s EX who’s the admin. We’re not completely sure he’s really a Helsmit, but again, we don’t know that much. Helsknight is the first one we really met. After that was True and Bad Times.”

“So that’s… X, Wels, False and Scar?” Tommy asked, making sure he was following along, to which Mumbo nodded. “Yeah, Dealing with an evil False does not sound fun. But I still think we should try. I mean, We have Philza Minecraft and The Blade on our side. If anyone can deal with these guys, it’s them!”

Mumbo sighed. “Alright, but we’ll still need to check in with Xisuma before we try anything.”

“Alright, deal.”

[xxxgrianeatsendermitesxxx]

Not quite human

"Grian? Dude you're drooling."

[[More]]

Grian flushed and wiped the drool from his mouth, giving a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I didn't notice...hey does anyone fancy a barbeque?" Iskall chuckled, resting his elbow on Mumbo's shoulder. The mustached fellow was almost attempting to submerge himself in the water, he also nodded. Iskall grinned at him, raising an eyebrow. "Always thinking about food aren't you?" The blonde pouted in response to this, whining. "I'm just huuunngryyyyy..." This sent the swede into a fit of chuckling, miming wiping his eyes, keeping them shut tight. Mumbo was also chuckling lightly, staring up at the stars in the sky. Grian beamed at them and went to speak. "But really, we should get something to eat soon. I'm a little pec-" But he was cut off by a blood curdling scream as Mumbo leaped out of the hot tub in abject horror and disgust. He stared at the tub itself like it had just insulted his entire bloodline. Iskall quickly turned around and opened his eyes, looking at Mumbo with mounting concern. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Mumbo shuddered and looked back to Iskall, staring him in the eyes as he uttered. "Something just touched my leg..." Iskalls eyes widened and he grimaced, that didn't seem good. Grian quietly cleared his throat, the other two turned to look at him. His ears where suddenly a lot longer and he had a tooth or two sticking out of his mouth. He sheepishly smiled and raised a tail out of the water, long with light fuz and a big waft of fur on the tip. "That...may have been me, I relaxed too much and my disguise slipped." They stared at him for a few moments, looking over these new features on their friend. When grian realized why they where looking at him like that, his ears drooped and coward at the side of the hot tub. He stared back in pure fear, shaking. Iskall raised an eyebrow at him after looking him over. "So what even are you?"

Grian was surprised that they didn't both already know, he took a deep breath and did his best. "I'm...I'm a Venandi in silva..." He stared down at the water, shaking in pure fear. If they hadn't wanted to hurt him before then they would now, there was nothing worse then his kind. Mumbo stared blankly at him, not understanding what that meant. He still didn't know what Grian was and he didn't like seeing his friend so scared, he reached out to comfort him but Iskall grabbed his wrist and forced his hand down. Iskall knew exactly what Grian was and he had to say he wasn't happy about it, Venandi in silva were monsters. Not doubt about it, they were all feral man-eating beasts. But even though Iskall had previously had a run in with one it didn't sit right that Grian was the same, it must be possible that there were good ones too. There would be no other way to explain Grian, Iskall was sure of it. He went to speak but saw that Grian has raised his head to look at them, uttering a question in the meekest voice possible. "Wh...why haven't you hurt me yet..?" This shocked both boys, Mumbo because he couldn't imagine why they'd ever hurt him and Iskall because he could imagine exactly the kind of abuse someone of his kind would suffer. Even if he was friendly, people just wouldn't understand that. So Iskall was the one who approached him, Iskall was the one who hugged him and Iskall was the one who swallowed his pride and assured Grian that neither of them would ever dream of hurting him.

Mumbo quickly joined the two and made sure Grian knew that he seconded Iskalls sentiment. Grian clung to his friend, tear droplettes hit the water and drowned away as did Grians fears. He believed every word his friends told him, at least, he hoped he believed them. He wanted to believe them, he trusted them after all. He leaped out of the hot tub, his deer-like legs propelling him to a great height before he landed gracefully on the ground. He beamed at them, happy to show them what he could do now he was sure they trusted him. "Now about that barbeque..." The hair on the back of Iskalls neck stood on end at that, he'd been witness to a feeding of these creatures and it wasn't pretty. But he kept his smile and nodded, Mumbo did the same but the mustached man wasn't concerned at all. "Yeah, I'm up for it." "Completely." Grian grinned happily, clapping excitedly. "What food shall we have? I'll fetch it!" Mumbo hummed in thought, he really didn't know what he wanted. He glanced at Iskall who was clearly also thinking, Mumbo then has an idea. "Oh how about pork? We could have sausages, bacon...pork chops..." Grians face lit up and he clapped his hands together in delight and ran off. "I'll go get some!!"

This left Iskall and Mumbo alone at the back of Sahara, they got back into the hot tub and relaxed for a few moments before Iskall spoke up. "I was reluctant you know..." Mumbo looked at him in confusion, a little bit worried. "Reluctant to accept him..." Iskall sighed, hoping Mumbo didn't think him too cruel but the ravenette simply nodded along slowly. "See...I had a run in with one of his kind before...with Doc, Ren and Stress..." He took another deep breath, shaking slightly at the horrific memory. "If it wasn't for Doc's metal arm then I wouldn't be talking to you right now..." Mumbo's eyes widened in realisation of what Iskall meant, suddenly understanding why Iskall seemed so hesitant with everything Grian said. He pulled Iskall into a tight hug. "It's ok, Grian isn't like that. You know this, we can talk to him about it when he gets back if you want?" Iskall shook his head but kept clinging to Mumbo tightly, shaking as his tall friend rubbed circles on his back.

After a while of the two sitting there in silence together, a loud noise could be hear crashing towards them. The turned to see Grian bounding towards them holding two entire pigs in his arms, a huge smile on his face. He dropped the swines in front of them and stood proudly, beaming at them with his long tail whiping back and forth behind him. The duo smiled back at him, Mumbo shaking his head in amusement. "How did you manage to get two whole pig??" Grian beamed proudly. "My kind are expert hunters Mumbo, we can do things that humans just can't." Mumbo glanced at Iskall who mouthed 'I'm fine' before congratulating Grian on his hunting prowess. The blonde beamed proudly as he tried to set up a small fire but his long wagging tail kept putting the flame out, he sighed and held it down. He got the fire started with one hand and a little help from Mumbo, they cooked the pork over the fire then climbed down and lay on a small patch of sand. Grian stared up at the stars, he was so glad his friends accepted him for what he truly was. He'd never felt happier and his tail sure showed that. Mumbo counted out some of the stars, glancing at Iskall every know and again. He was proud of the swede for understanding that not everyone of the same species is the same and for opening up to him about his concerns. Mumbo was also proud of Grian for actually having the guts to tell them what he is and not being afraid to show of once sure they'd never hurt him, he was unbelievably proud of both his friends. Iskall was still a little bit worried, the things he'd seem made it impossible for him to ever truly trust on of Grian's kind. But he was trying, he knew that Grian would never hurt him nor Mumbo and trusted him on that but he couldn't help but feel super uncomfortable when Grian grinned with all his razor sharp teeth on display or tore at the meal they'd just had. That was what set him on edge, but it was fine, he truest his friend. All was well.