Chapter Text
Grian glided along the winds of Hermitcraft. The sweet aroma of pies wafted in from below as the avian glided along the drafts.
Everything was steady.
Everything was stable.
Everything was safe.
Until it wasn't.
Kill them.
He faltered in his flight, nearly falling out of the sky before steadying himself.
Quickly looking around to see who could have said that, his confusion doubled as he didn’t see anybody who might’ve spoken.
Thinking back on it, the voice didn’t sound like any of the hermits…
Just to be sure, he shakily called out, “Hello?”
No answer except for the wind whistling by his ears.
Even more confused, Grian landed on the ground, glancing around again. He was near the shopping district.
Nobody seemed to be nearby. Was this some sort of prank another hermit was pulling on him?
Deciding to call out one more time, he asked, louder this time, “Hello?”
No answer. He could’ve sworn he had heard something, but maybe he was imagining it?
That’s probably what had happened. He must have imagined it.
“Hey, Grian!" He heard somebody ask.
Turning around, he saw Pearl waving at him as she flew over.
“Hi, Pearl!” Grian said.
"You alright?" she asked, landing softly beside him.
"Yeah, I'm okay,” Grian tried to assure her.
She didn’t seem to buy it.
“You sure? You looked kind of freaked out for a second there,” Pearl said with a concerned look.
“I just… thought I heard something,” Grian shrugged, “I think I imagined it. There’s nobody nearby.”
“That’s weird. Maybe your mind’s playing tricks on you?” Pearl suggested.
“Probably,” Grian admitted.
“I hate that I’m asking this, but have you slept recently?” Pearl asked.
Grian gasped in mock offense, putting a hand to his heart. “How dare you suggest that I haven’t! I actually have been keeping up a fairly regular sleep schedule, thank you very much!”
“Just making sure. I need to get going, but take care of yourself, okay?” Pearl hummed, glaring at the small bird.
“Yeah, yeah, I will. See you around, Pearl,” Grian said, rolling his eyes.
“See you around, Grian,” Pearl said, waving as she flew away.
Grian smiled and waved until he was out of Pearl's line of sight. His smile fell as he shook his wings before taking off again. Even if he had imagined the voice, it had still put him on edge. Why was he imagining a voice telling him to kill someone?
Even so, he headed back towards his base. Maybe he could get his mind off of what had happened with some building…
↞《✧》↠
He managed to get through the rest of the day without thinking about what had happened too much. Building, talking with the other hermits, and even grinding some materials to sell at the entity helped him keep his mind off of the strange voice.
Even so, there was something in the back of his mind telling him that something was wrong. Very wrong.
A few of the other hermits had noticed how on edge he seemed, asking if he was okay. He shrugged them off, claiming that he was fine and that they didn’t need to worry about him.
He had to pretend he didn’t see the concerned looks the hermits were shooting one another once he turned his back.
Everything was fine. He was fine! They didn’t need to worry about him because nothing was wrong.
He silently wondered how long he had to lie to himself before he began to believe it as well.
He was able to keep himself distracted until it happened again.
↞《✧》↠
“Am I the only one who’s starting to get worried about Grian?” Scar asked as Grian flew off after acting jumpy and nervous during a conversation with him, Scar, Impulse, and Pearl.
“I’m worried, too,” Impulse said, watching as Grian went off farther and farther into the distance.
“He was weird during a conversation with me earlier, too,” Pearl said, “He said he thought he heard something?”
“That’s weird… like a noise?” Scar asked.
“I’m not sure… I was flying by and saw him land really quickly. He looked freaked out. I could tell he was trying to act normal as we were talking, but he was shaking. I don’t know what freaked him out that much,” Pearl said, “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so nervous about nothing before. Something has to be going on.”
“He’d come to us if he needed us, right?” Impulse asked nervously, “He came to us whenever he needed help during boatem… would he still do it now?”
“I- I don’t know,” Scar muttered.
“Grian tends to… internalize his problems. I’m sure we didn’t know half the stuff that happened during boatem,” Pearl admitted, “He doesn’t like being a burden. He thinks that if he just suffers in silence, we’ll all be better off.”
“Of course we wouldn’t be!” Impulse exclaimed, “Does he actually think that?”
“Full-heartedly,” Pearl sighed, “We need to keep an eye on him. He might come to us for help, but he probably won’t. Once it seems to get bad, we’ll interfere and try to help him out.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Scar nodded.
“Let’s hope he comes to us,” Impulse said, “He always seems freaked out whenever we have to confront him.”
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst,” Pearl said, “If things seem to get really bad, we’ll get Xisuma involved.”
“Got it,” Scar said as Impulse nodded.
“See you guys later,” Impulse said as he straightened out his elytra.
“Bye,” Pearl said.
“See you later,” Scar confirmed.
The three went their separate ways, an agreement made.
They all hoped they wouldn’t have to get Xisuma to talk to Grian. Though they knew he’d probably be able to get the information out of him, they knew Grian would see it as a confrontation, a threat.
Even so, they knew they could get Xisuma if needed, they knew how to talk to Grian to keep him from panicking, and they knew how to get Grian to talk. They were prepared for every possibility.
Or so they hoped.