~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 36

it's a bird! it's a plane! it's a... double update?????

wc:1474

Grian had finally been deemed healed enough to start having magic treatments instead of traditional ones. A bit of searching in a spell book had provided them with a spell that placed an invisible weight on Grian's back. It wasn't nearly the same, but at least he could walk without a support.

In the time that Xayla allowed him to leave his room ("you sound like my dad," Grian had groaned to Xayla, who stood in front of his door with her arms crossed ), he'd secretly taken to scouring the library for healing books. He spent hours skimming the contents, searching for a hope that maybe he could touch the skies once more. He only returned to his room each night feeling more and more dejected.

On the fourth day of this routine, Xerion had approached him asking to help train the Listener soldiers. Next thing Grian knew, he was standing in front of a group of rather young Listeners, all of them gawking slightly. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, giving them a slightly lopsided smile.

"Uh, hello..?" He took a deep breath. "I'm Grian- I think you guys know that- uh... I'll be... training you guys today?" He glanced to the side looking for Xerion's reassurance and was dismayed to see that he had already left. Looking over the group of people, he was happy to see that a good portion of them were female. Considering that women weren't allowed to be soldiers in the Watcher armies, he was glad that that barrier had been broken.

Think of your own training, he whispered to himself, wincing when he thought of Xeluph. No, not about him- think of the Leader-

He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together, the authoritative side of his personality taking over. "The Watcher armies are very well trained. I don't know if any of you have ever had to fight any of them, but they are strong, and they are powerful. But," he held up a hand when someone started to ask something, "They are humans just like you. They feel fear and feel guilt. While the Elders and army generals try to take away that emotion, that's impossible."

He ran a finger over his arm, feeling the little bumps as it brushed over scars. "But if you're not on equal level, they won't even bother listening before they destroy you. So, ah, with that said, let's get to work!"

The dismayed yet awed expressions that met his made him wonder whether he should have rephrased the little pep talk, but that could wait until he was in the shower and regretting all of his life choices.

"Show me your stances," he said, and let himself slip into the role of a teacher, his other thoughts fading to the back of his mind.

~~~

"Do you know who Xelqua is?" Xayla asked the helmeted man. The faerie didn't seem to have too much knowledge of the Watcher world, so she didn't bother asking. The mustached human seemed too drained from his time in prison to participate in conversation.

"That was Grian's Watcher name, correct?" X replied, frowning a bit.

She nodded. "Well, yes, but it means much more to us citizens. The entire Watcher community." She gestured to the empty streets. "He was the first to defy the Leaders and the Elders and get away with it. He escaped our world, and made it to safety." A twitch of a smile pulled at her lips. "A symbol of hope. In the short time we managed to break him out, he spoke to people, was in general and strong and amazing person even though he went through terrible things," -A shudder- "And drove the Listeners. This whole rebellion- it needed a push. And Xelqua was the push."

They made the rest of the journey in silence, Xisuma seeming to contemplate Xayla's words while Scar didn't seem to be thinking much of anything, just looking around at the drab buildings with a slightly pitiful expression.

Eventually Xayla ducked into a small bookshop, the shelves lined with novels and tomes. Xisuma stepped up to read some of the titles, frowning.

"Most of the books are propaganda," she said, leading them to the back room. "Enforcers are usually satisfied with all of the pro-Elder stuff that they don't look too in depth. Over here." She gestured towards a box, moving it aside and tapping on the floor. There was a small purple spark, and the tile seemed to disintegrate, leading into a staircase. As they descended, the entrance was covered back up, and a flick of her finger allowed the box to slide back into place.

The staircase was rather long, but after a bit of walking, the group emerged back into the light in a nondescript cellar. At their looks of confusion, she explained, "This isn't the real base. It's just if someone found this place." She gestured to the careful arranged items and books. "These things are actually pretty valuable, so we just say we want to keep them safe. Some are family heirlooms." She did the tap again, this time on a slight divot in the wall, and it opened up just like the floor in the shop. The group once again descended into darkness.

This staircase was much shorter. They quickly emerged back into the light, and this time, Xayla heard their sharp and surprised inhales.

An architect and a small team of builders and worked painstakingly for months to create the base. The room they came into was very tall and circular, with platforms for Watchers to fly to and from. Each level had a different purpose; the first contained the library and offices, the second had training rooms and cafeterias, and the third had dormitories for those that either were unable to return to the surface or were, perhaps, hiding from the government.

Xayla lead them to the second floor through the stairs (since they obviously couldn't fly). Xisuma asked a few mundane questions about the base, but otherwise the trip was silent. The faerie seemed nervous while the mustache man seemed rather excited.

They reached the training room. Xayla could hear the muffled sounds of sparring and quiet critiques through the door.

She took a deep breath and opened it.

~~~

Xisuma blinked at what he saw. It was a rather large training room, with practice dummies shoved haphazardly to one corner and random equipment and boards lying in another. A giant mirror dominated one wall, and the floor was covered with mats. The Watchers inside were split off into pairs, some sitting against the wall to take breaks, given that the wings that everybody had took up almost double the space that normal people did.

In the center of it all was Grian. It was a relief to see him unmasked, wearing a long dark robe with a high collar and golden wrist cuffs. Always seeing him half swallowed up by a over sized sweater had made X forget that Grian was well trained, very much so; his hands were strong when he demonstrated a block and his feet steady as he sparred with the trainees. Soft advice floated in the air, and the huffs of effort and dull sound of fists hitting protective gloves was almost soothing. It was obvious that everyone respected Grian- the way that the resting trainees looked up at him in wonder, and how those he critiqued nodded diligently. The trainees were obviously no match for him, and there was little strain on his face compared to the sweat rolling down everyone else's.

X was startled when Grian's eyes landed on him, then Mumbo, and then Scar. Those eerie violet eyes shone with excitement, but then dulled with something that looked like... caution.

It might have just been in X's imagination, though, because a moment later Grian was bowling into him for a giant hug, nearly sending them both to the floor. Relief flooded X's entire body, and he both nearly laughed and cried.

"I'm sorry," Grian whispered into his shoulder.

"I don't blame you," X replied in a volume only Grian could hear.

Grian eventually detached himself, holding his arms out for Mumbo and Scar. They enveloped him, given how much shorter he was, and nearly lifted him up off the ground. Words were exchanged, too soft for X to hear, and then they were pulling away, faces flushed red with happiness. When Grian turned his face away to say something to Mumbo, a tear on his cheek glinted in the light.

X suddenly remembered the Watchers in the training room, turning to see. They all sat with wide eyes, and Xayla told them something before closing the door.

"Let's get caught up, shall we?" Grian said with a grin, before dragging them down the hall.

continued next chapter -->