Watcher's Admins

Chapter Nine

Xisuma opened the door to Grian’s base to see everyone awake now. “What took you two so long?” Pearl asked, crossing her arms tapping her foot hard like an angry rabbit. Scar beside her with a frown.
“Sorry. That was my fault…” Grian muttered, leaning against Xisuma, who had been holding him up by around the waist. “I didn’t know where he was and then I got lost.” He looked ill, tired. 
“Grian you look worse! You stupid man.” Zedaph ran to take him from Xisuma and sat him on the couch. “You idiot.” Doc shook his head and grabbed him something warm to drink along with a regeneration potion. 
Grian tried to tell them to leave him be, but he got smacked in the head by Zed a few times. As that went on, Xisuma  looked at Pearl and the others and waved for them to follow. They walked to the other room out of earshot.
“What really happened?” Pearl asked, looking at him. “Did he really get lost?”
“Yeah. then when we left something….happened. We were talking about him needing to rest, then he was silent. I looked at him and they were inhabiting him. They couldn't find him, not knowing where they were. According to them, they used his candle to scry and just ended up in his body. They could only puppet him and speak through him, not use their power one bit.”
“What?” Pearl gasped and looked towards her brother. 
“The weirdest part was that they didn’t have an ounce of any dangerous intent. They were just curious. They even said Grian replaced his candle in the Academy to a red one like he did in the institute. They sounded so…I don’t know. Curious. As if they were talking about a loved family member, not a pawn or just a mere high ranked student. That scares me more than they do.” 
“We need to be more careful. We don’t know if they’re trying to lull us into a sense of false security…or if they’re telling the truth. We can’t tell, but it is weird that they spoke of him like that.” Hypno tapped his fingers on his arms, sighing. 
“It seems that their power is still limited so we can hope that this won't happen again. At least not so soon.” XB nodded and rubbed his eyes. “I’m thinking the same thing.” Xisuma agreed and stretched.
“We should just keep an eye, but also try and bring back some normalcy before-” Scar was cut off by Zed coughing and saying, “You really want to? So soon?”
The group returned to the room as Grian was cooking breakfast for everyone at the house. It seemed he just needed to sit for a bit and have something warm in his system. “I’m sure. After what happened, everyone deserves to know. I can’t protect everyone here without them knowing. I don’t know why the Watchers are like this but I don’t want the other hermits to deal with them with no inkling about them.” Grian nodded. 
“Very well Xelqua.  Then let’s make a plan.” Xisuma smiled while walking to him, clapping his hand on his shoulder. “But only if you are 100% certain you're okay with telling them.”
“Yeah, you gotta be sure man.” Jimmy nodded. Martyn agreed, bapping him on his head. Grian chuckled and nodded. “Okay. now eat up everyone.” He smiled motioning to the food on the plates. “How did you cook so much in a short amount of time?” Jimmy snorted and shook his head. They all sat down and started eating, talking about what they needed to talk about with the others, how to drop a bombshell like that. It was good, having friends like these to talk stuff with. 
They talked and joked after talking about what was going to happen. He rubbed his eyes, wiping tears from laughing hard at Martyn and Jimmy talking about their other shenanigans. 
Grian soon paused and rubbed his eyes. “After we clean up, you guys should head out and explore.” He told Jimmy and Martyn before looking at everyone else. “You guys should head out and just relax. I’m going to nap for a bit.” He yawned and got up looking at them all. 
“You sure?” Scar asked, arching a brow. He and the others cleaned up after they ate, before Grian shoved everyone out of his house chuckling. He waited for them to fly off before going upstairs, deciding to nap for a little bit. He needed it. When he did wake up, about two hours had passed and he just decided to sit in the center of his room with his legs crossed and closed his eyes. 
If they’re so weak and able to enter my mind, I really need to get a better grasp on my abilities. He thought and put his finger tips together, resting his arms on his lap. He sat there silently, listening to the clock in the room and the slightest sounds around him. Steadying his heart beat and his breathing, he felt a familiar and unnerving tingle go through his arms into his fingertips. He slowly pulled away his hands and opened his eyes seeing the sickening purple magic wrapping around his hands like glowing tendrils. 
The closer he looked at it, he noticed that it wasn’t just one shade of purple. There were dozens. He didn’t realize this before. Quite frankly he never paid enough attention to its enchanting hue. 
He sat there staring at it quietly before blinking as it spread up his arms and he slowly got to his feet. He watched as the flame-like tendrils crept up his arms. He looked around, knowing what was going on and he threw his hand out and dragged it over his head to the other side of the room, pulling a ward to block his magic from the others. Especially Scar and Xisuma. 
If they realize what I'm doing, I’m going to be scolded so hard. He thought and turned his attention back to the hues that covered his attire with his Watcher’s robes.  His red sweater and gray jeans hidden by his dark gray robe with light purple hems that reached the floor. 
He slowly put a hand to his face as he felt the smooth opaline mask covered his eyes. He pulled it off and held it gingerly. He thought he would be shaking or thrown into those horrible memories, but it brought…comfort seeing it. Being in the regalia that brought him nightmares not even a month ago. 
He looked at the mask, tracing the charoite symbol with his fingers sighing. He shook his head and put it on before clapping his hands together and pulling them apart, focusing his magic into a point between them, watching the growing orb get bigger and bigger the further he pulled his hands apart. 
“ᓭᓵ∷||....!¡ᒷᔑ∷ꖎᒷᓭᓵᒷリℸ ̣ ᒲ𝙹𝙹リ .” He uttered once the orb was as big as his chat window and watched it flatten and still. He focused on Pearl and waited for a moment, before he smiled seeing a hazy image showing Pearl. She was by her base, terraforming the hills which curved behind her house. “She must be so worried. She has to stop before she gets gray hairs.” He chuckled softly and pushed the hazy screen to one side before opening his chat. 
He thought for a moment, debating whether he should message her or not. He shook his head and returned his hands to above and under the screen. “I wonder what the listener is doing…” He thought smiling.
“ᓭᓵ∷||....╎リℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷꖎ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ꖎᒷ∴𝙹𝙹↸ .” He said thinkin of the blond bumbling idiot. He watched the image change from his sister to both Martyn and Jimmy walking around the shopping district. He couldn’t pick up on what they were saying entirely,  but saw they clearly enjoying their vacation on the server. He watched Martyn suddenly pause and look around, before looking right at where Grian’s point of view was. He blinked, and Martyn smiled. 
“Hello mate.” Grian murmured with a chuckle, and Martyn gave a small nod once realizing it was him. He then went back to walking and chatting with jimmy. 
Grian slowly closed his hands, back together and went to close the screen, before thinking about Scar. He wanted to see if Scar noticed it. “ᓭᓵ∷||....⊣𝙹𝙹↸ℸ ̣ ╎ᒲᒷ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ᓭᓵᔑ∷” 
The image faded before it became clear again and he looked at Scar sitting outside…his house. Or at least across from it where his pond is. As the image focused, Scar seemed to tense up, but only for a moment. Grian closed his hands quickly and  the magic soon dissipated. The feeling again crept up and down his body as he saw the tendrils coalesce in the center of his chest and the robes disappeared once again. He watched his ward break into pieces and then melt away.
“Why is he outside my house?” He asked himself and hopped downstairs and opened the door leaning out looking towards the pond. Sure enough he saw Scar there watching the tropical fish in the pond. He sighed clicking his tongue and walked over to him, leaning against the bench standing behind him. 
“Scar. I told you to go home. Why are you sitting here?” He asked, causing the other to jump and turn his head to look at him with a pout. 
 “I just got here.  I wanted to update you on everyone but decided to wait thinking you were still asleep.” He said as Grian sat beside him. “I felt an odd chill behind me before you showed up. Was that you?” 
“Maybe…I thought I might have to use the scrying they had taught me and other useful abilities if they’re looking for me.” Grian admitted after a while of thinking if he should. 
“That’s freaky Grian.” Scar snorted and smiled looking at him before back at the pond. 
“Yeah, but this is a large family of freaks.” Grian laughed and leaned back stretching his wings until they tensed, relieving tension in the arches, before he relaxed them again, resting one around Scar. 
“You  really want to tell them tomorrow?” Scar asked, looking at him, leaning into the soft plumage. 
“I gotta….the sooner the better and I don’t want to have them in harm’s way without an inkling of what I am and what they are.” he nodded rubbing his eyes. He looked at the sky thinking for a moment. “Scar… Did you knick one of my fish?” 
Scar looked at him before the pond. He snickered but shook his head. “Nooo” Grian looked at him before knocking him off the bench with a flick of his wing. “Ow. Well, I didn’t do it.” He scrambled to his feet and huffed.
Grian sighed chuckling and opened his communicator humming.
<Grian> Okay, who nicked jimithy?
<GeminiTay> Your fish? No clue mate
<Keralis> *-* I didn’t
Grian looked at Scar who was reading the messages and the two started laughing. “He did it.” They agreed and smiled. 
<GoodTimeWithScar> Keralis you’re lying man
<Grian> I’m gonna get you XD
<StressMonster101> You better hide mate
<XisumaVoid> why’d you take Jimithy keralis
<Keralis> uhhhh i didn’t do it
<Grian> better run XD
Grian closed his communicator and took off. “Let’s have some fun.” He looked at Scar and held his hand out. Scar took it and he pulled him up letting him have an easier time firing rockets for take off. 
“Let’s hope we don’t get lost in his maze of a base.” Scar laughed as they flew off, Grian letting Scar pick the pace to not leave him in the dust. As they flew, they talked about what would happen when they would have to explain to the others. Grian was scared of how his friends would react. Scar told him that he had a few already on his side so he wouldn’t need to worry. In Scar’s words: ‘we have Pearl for pete’s sake’.
When they got to Keralis’ base, they spent about three hours searching. Looping around and searching through every nook and cranny. They did find him in the end though and Jimithy was returned. After being pelted by snowballs by the pesky bird and the vex.
When the sun started to set, Grian got an idea. 
<Grian> everyone up for a camping in the gardens?
<ZombieCleo> party?
<Grian> why not. Grab beds and food!
<Grian> tim, Martyn, come to my place to help grab stuffs
“Lets go.” he said to Scar and Keralis before the three of them flew  off. They met Jimmy and Martyn before grabbing  things they needed and flew off to the community gardens and everyone started setting up. 
Impromptu tents, picnic blankets, picnic tables, some beds in the grass as sleeping bags and the food n drink all laid out all nice in shulkers or barrels. Pearl pulled out her telescope for them to all stargaze, Grian started a bonfire, and Xisuma had cooked up some suspicious stew just for fun. 
Once everyone had set things up and had a few laughs, Stress skipped up to Grian and grabbed him by the wing. “Stress?” he yelped and almost knocked her over before looking at her. “What?”
“You still have some pin feathers, idiot. How can you not feel them?” Stress chortled and he just arched a brow confused. Zed jumped down from one of the trees he had been lounging in and looked over Stress’ shoulder and looked at the spot she held. “You do. How did we not notice?” He chuckled and Stress flicked Zed. “You were too focused on checking for injuries ditz.”
Stress had Grian sit on the bench and she dealt with the pin feathers as he grumbled under his breath. Pearl sat beside him and elbowed him once Stress was done and gave him a suspicious stew.  “Let me guess. Xisuma forgot which one was which?” He asked, eyeing the bowl in his hands.
“No I didn’t-” Xisuma started all matter of factly, holding a finger up, before slowly closing his hand and clearing his throat. “Maybe I did.” 
Grian snickered before drinking the contents. In an instant he was blinded. “Oi. Can’t see anything now…at least not for 8 seconds.” He huffed with a cough and put the bowl down. His friend’s started cackling.