Watcher's Apprentice

It Was Meant to Be

Wilbur watched as the Hermits created machines. He watched from a distance, though they always invited him for tea or for coffee, he refused, and when he couldn't, he waited until they drank theirs before daring to sip his.

Today, he watched Grian's mustached friend create a machine. He wasn't sure what it was for, but it was cool to watch regardless. He hadn't even noticed himself stepping closer and taking a look at the wiring, hands ever so slightly touching the spaces so he could lean a little closer.

"What'cha doin there?" Mumbo asked, startling the brunette and causing him to fall over, unfortunately messing up a portion of the machine. Panic filled his eyes as he looked towards Mumbo, expecting the other to draw his sword, or to yell, but nothing.

"Are you okay?"

What?

Wilbur looked frazzled at the man's hand, outreached towards him, covered in red dust and callouses from the work.

"You're... not mad..?" Wilbur asked, voice as quiet as a mouse, and Mumbo brushed it off as he helped him up. "Nah, of course not mate. It was an accident. Besides, its not that hard to fix." He said, chuckling lightly.

Wilbur let his fingertips fidget as he looked at the ruined portion. Mumbo notices his glance, and smiles. "How about you help me fix it?" He suggests, and Wilbur looks back at him, curiosity evident in his cautious gaze.

"Can I..? What if I break it again?" What if its a trap?

"I'll be here to watch this time, and I'll even teach you how it works." He explained, before taking out a shulker box and placing it beside them. "Here, lets start with the redstone."

Wilbur is surprised with Mumbo's patience. The last person to treat him so patiently was his father when he was little. No yelling, no arguing, just calm, patient instruction and explanation. He wasn't the best, but he understood the basics. From what he got, this machine was used to automatically turn concrete powder into concrete in a faster and more efficient way.

"Alright, now just press the button here while I place the concrete powder." Mumbo instructed, and Wilbur nodded, excitement in his veins. He pressed the button, and the machine began to move. Pistons fired, sending concrete forward and into a line and--

Tnt fell from the sky-

He watched with horror as the explosive landed on the line of concrete, exploding with a loud sound. He covered his ears in panic, eyes closed shut, expecting everything to break but-

"Hey? Bud, you okay?" Mumbo called out. Wilbur looked up, confused, before seeing that the tnt broke the line of concrete perfectly without breaking anything. How could that be? TNT was a destructive force...

"How.. does that work?" Wilbur asked, voice shakier than he thought it was. "Hmm? Oh, the TNT? Well, once you figure out how it works, you can modify the area so that the TNT only destroys the concrete, and nothing else." The older man explained. "Its only really destructive if its not properly taken care of."

Wilbur thought about that statement, for much longer than he realized. He remembers the people describing him akin to the explosives he used to destroy his own nation. He remembers the smell of gunpowder followed by horror. But here, it was more than that. More than a threat. More than a weapon. It was a tool, to destroy still, but it was useful, and wanted, and it was called Efficiency and it was called controlled. And somehow, he found the explosives here beautiful, useful.

Maybe, he could be too.