~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 52

wc: 2063

Etho knocked twice on the door and didn't wait for answer to walk in.

He was met with Grian absolutely shredding a training dummy (newly made, by the way, seeing as Grian had also destroyed all of the other ones) with blazing fire in his eyes. With a small wince, Etho approached.

"Grian?" he called hesitantly, suddenly wishing he'd let Bdubs come instead.

Grian didn't reply, the golden rings in his eyes sending shivers down Etho's spine. His teeth were bared, giving an almost animalistic expression, and if Etho didn't know any better, he would probably try to restrain him somehow.

Etho hesitated, then reached out and tapped Grian on the shoulder.

Immediately, Etho's entire body seemed to tense with bad idea ringing down his spine and echoing in his bones. Grian whirled, fist clenched, and full on tackled Etho to the ground; with a grunt of surprise, Etho braced his arm against Grian's chest.

"Grian!" he snarled, reaching up and trying to tap on Grian's forehead. The man's face was... blank, now, with his eyes cloudy looking and jaw tense.

They wrestled there for a few moments longer, though Etho really couldn't do anything to stop it- Since when was Grian so strong? Etho wondered dazedly as he attempted to block Grian from grabbing his neck. While the other man was strong, his movements were strangely erratic, and Etho honed in on that.

And then... there. Etho braced himself, reached into the opening, and-

There was a strange moment of vertigo before Grian's back was slamming into the floor, Etho with his hands braced on his shoulders. Etho tensed, waiting for some kind of response, but instead, Grian's back arched and he hissed through his teeth.

For the third time, Etho said, "Grian?"

In response, Grian just sagged against the floor, all the fight seemingly leaving him in a rush. Slowly, carefully, Etho let go of his shoulders and rolled off, trying to slow his breathing.

From the floor next to him, Grian made a small grunt of pain and lifted a hand to cover his face. His breathing was erratic but light, and Etho worried for a moment that he wasn't getting enough oxygen. They sat there for a few moments, the only sounds being Etho's deep breaths and Grian's heaves and wheezes.

"Are you okay?" Etho asked, probably unhelpfully, moving to try and support Grian into a sitting position. His entire brain screamed awkward please escape social situation get bdubs, but he gritted his teeth and reached.

The moment Etho's hand brushed Grian's back, Grian yelped, flinching away. Etho snapped his hand back, wide eyed.

"Oh, snappers- Are you hurt? Is it your back? I can-"

"It's fine, Etho," Grian rasped, saying his first words since Etho had arrived. He draped himself across his knees, taking deep breaths. "The- my back muscles were trying to, uh, fly or something, earlier. Just a bit sore." He looked away, and Etho pretended he didn't see the tears brimming. What's it like to lose your wings? Etho wondered, and thought, probably like losing a part of your soul.

"Grian-"

Grian seemed to sink closer in on himself. "I just- I thought you were- them, and I-"

"It's okay, breathe," Etho reassured, still feeling a bit out of his depth. He placed a careful hand on Grian's shoulder. Grian twitched but didn't protest. "I don't blame you, and you didn't hurt me. We can, uh, talk to Stress, or something-"

Grian seemed to shudder at that and shook his head. "I don't think it actually- hurts, it's just- like- my brain."

Etho made a face, adjusting his mask. "That's equally concerning, dude."