The Watchers' Call

Chapter 11

I really hope I didn't butcher Stress's accent in this.
(If you've read many hermitcraft books, you know she calls everyone "luv." It's not a ship.)

It's definitely weird that I can read this in their voices, right? I can hear Stress saying these lines. That's not weird, right?

----| Grian's POV (Timeskip: About 3-4 days since the last chapter) |----

Grian awoke, as usual, to pain.

He heard voices but didn't bother listening to what they were saying, instead laying limply waiting for more torture.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he realized that he wasn't moving. No one was hurting him. No magic was nearby.

He opened his eyes to blinding white.

"He's awake!" Grian heard someone yell.

Was he back in the real world? Or was this just a hallucination? Was this real? Was he dreaming? Was he sick again?

Grian waited. Someone came near him.

"Grian?" That was Xisuma. Or was it? Maybe it was all just a dream. Or a trick of the Watchers. Grian didn't move.

"Stress? Can he talk? How is he healing?" Xisuma said.

"Well, he should be able ta talk, he just isn't. Luv, it's alright, we won't hurt ya," Stress replied. 

Grian didn't believe her. She couldn't be real. Not after all of this. No, this was fake. Or it was real but he'd just be dragged back to the Watchers soon.

So he closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

----| Xisuma's POV |----

"Oh, what have they done? Why isn't he getting better?" Xisuma said.

"He's doin' alright physically, healin' well an' all, besides his wings, but he doesn't wanna interact wi' us. I think he doesn't believe we're real," she replied.

"Oh my days," Xisuma replied. "Poor Grian..."

"Just gotta wait for 'im to 'eal," she said.

"Thank you, Stress, I'll be off now," Xisuma said, exiting the small quartz hospital building that had been erected in the Shopping District.

I'll go check on Mumbo, he decided. The redstoner had been tortured by the Watchers, but nowhere near as badly as Grian had been. He had a few cuts and bruises on him, but that was nothing compared to how horribly Grian had been hurt.

Landing on top of one of the giant stone pillars that made up Mumbo's octagonal jungle temple, he saw Mumbo sitting with his back to the giant altar in the center. Xisuma glided down to him.

"Hey Mumbo, how are you?" Xisuma asked as he landed.

"I'm doing alright," Mumbo replied. "Mainly worried about Grian."

"How are you healing?" Xisuma questioned.

"So many questions!" Mumbo said.

"I asked you two perfectly reasonable questions," Xisuma responded.

"I'm fine now. I was a bit sore for a few days, but I'm pretty much back to normal," Mumbo answered.

"That's good. Grian's not doing too well-" Mumbo jolted upright- "but he's not going to die, Mumbo, don't worry. He's at almost no risk of dying. He's safer than he would be normally, even." Xisuma reassured the tall man.

"Oh. Okay. So, how's he not doing well then?" Mumbo asked.

"His wings are still broken, a few of the cuts will scar, he's taking a long time to heal, he's still way too thin, even for him, and he doesn't want to wake up," Xisuma listed, deciding not to tell Mumbo about how Grian's wings were still stained red, even after attempting to wash them out several times. It was horrifying to think how they'd gotten so bad...

"I'm trying to keep myself busy so I don't think about him. I know there's nothing I can do," Mumbo said sadly.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Mumbo. It's not your fault, and you were really brave to give yourself up like that for him," Xisuma reassured him.

"Alright... I think I'm gonna go build another farm or vault or something," Mumbo decided.

"Try not to crash the server, will you?" Xisuma teased.

"I hardly ever crash the server, I usually just cause unbearable lag!" Mumbo joked before flying off.

Well, at least Mumbo seemed to be doing okay for now.

(Timeskip, brought to you by the author throwing fluff out the window in favor of angst)

----| Grian's POV |----

One day, Grian finally decided that maybe this was real. It had been so long since the Watchers had come... Or maybe he'd just gone insane! Either way, he decided he might as well explore him dream/insanity/hallucination/reality/torture. 

He sat up.

"Luv! You're awake!" Stress exclaimed.

"S-s-stres-s-s?" He found his voice still sore.

"Aw, luv, you're alright. I'm here," she said kindly.

"S-s-so- w-wha-at i-is thi-is?" Grian asked.

"Whadaya mean by tha', luv?" was her reply.

"I-is this a-a d-d-drea-am? O-or a ha-haluci-in-ination?" he stuttered.

Her eyes softened, as if it was possible for them to soften further.

"Oh, luv, it's alright, I'm here. It's me, I'm really here," she told him.

----| Stress's POV (what am i doing) |----

He paused to consider her answer. She could tell he was thinking about what she'd said.

"N-no, i-it ca-an't b-be re-eal," he stammered.

Stress let a tear run down her cheek. The Watchers had only had him for two weeks, but whatever they'd done had been so bad, he didn't even know what was real anymore. Stress wasn't usually very violent, leaving that to her fellow female hermits, False and Cleo, but seeing Grian, she wanted to destroy the Watchers who had gotten him into this state.

Stress moved closer to Grian and tried to put her arm around him. He froze, then went limp in her arms. She caught him. He was still fully conscious, but he didn't move, simply waiting for something- then she realized.

The Watchers had probably dragged him around or hurt him whenever they touched him. In disbelief that any of this was real, thinking this was all just a hallucination or a fever dream, he thought they were coming to drag him away again. Thinking that fighting back was useless, he let them drag him off to torture him. Now he thought she was a Watcher and all of this was fake.

Stress gently picked him up and carried him outside. Setting him down against one of the remaining diamond trees outside the town hall, she moved away, out of his sight, to a place where he couldn't see her but she could see him.

Alone, Grian simply sat against the tree. The only movement he made was to pull his knees close to his chest and hug them. He still let his wings lay limp and barely moved.

Sadly, Stress went back over to him. As she approached, he went limp. She picked him up and took him back inside, where he quickly fell back asleep.

-----

A filler chapter, except instead of fluff it's angst. yeah.

what have i done.