Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Angsty explanations

           Grian was in a mess of tangled thoughts as he watched Jimena fly away. Could he trust her? What was her goal in all this? Was anything she'd just said to him true? Or were they all lies to get him on her side? But no matter the answer, the hermit was determined to not fall into her trap. He wondered what he'd thought about her before she regained at least some of her memories. Once a Watcher, always a Watcher.

            Jimena's words rang through his head unbidden. You're a Watcher too... "I'm not a Watcher,"  Grian said aloud. "I left them and I'm never going back!" With that, he spread his wings and flew after Jimena. He needed to keep an eye on her now that she remembered what she truly was. Evil.

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           Jimena thought about her encounter with Grian. It certainly hadn't gone very well. He'd practically sealed himself away from her as soon as she revealed that she'd recovered some of her memories. I wonder why he hates them so much. Us, I mean. The Watchers. I know he left, but why did he leave?

           <Xelqua's reasons for deserting us is none of your business.> Qiron said, startling Jimena somewhat. At least she didn't crash. Qiron! Is there a way to block you from my mind?! She asked wryly, slightly annoyed. <Yes,> Qiron said. Then, as of he'd realized what that meant, he quickly added, <But I'm not telling you how.>

           Jimena rolled her eyes. You know, she said, You don't really seem like the kind of person to keep out of other people's business. So why are you telling me to keep out of Grian's? <His name is Xelqua.> That's not an answer, Jimena thought, noting how he avoided her question. For some reason, Qiron didn't want her to know. But why would he keep it a secret?

           Jimena realized she was near Tumble Town so she decided to pay the sheriff a visit. "Sheriff Jimmy!" She called, landing by the saloon. "Hello?" She called again when no one answered. "By the railway!" Jimmy's voice dimly cut through the silence. Jimena flew to where she heard his voice coming from and was met with an unexpected sight.

           Jimmy and a hermit with a scarred face were picking up what looked like their stuff from the ground, which had a huge crater in it where the unfinished railroad used to be. Jimmy looked like he was silently fuming and the hermit, who Jimena thought she should remember the name of but couldn't, was attempting to put the whole thing back together but was of course failing to do so due to lack of tools.

           "What happened here?" Jimena asked in surprise, staring at the still-smoking crater. "Grian happened," The hermit said casually, like he was used to this. "Hello, Jimena," "Uh, hello to you too." Jimena said. She tacked her memory for his name. "You're Scab, right?" The hermit started to laugh and so did Jimmy. "Scab!" The hermit shouted, spasming in laughter.

           Jimena felt quite embarrassed and started to pull their emotions away to stop them laughing at her. "Okay, so what's your name?" She asked. The hermit straightened up and pointed to the scar on his face. "Scar," He said with a grin. Jimena must've made an odd face because Scar started to laugh again and said, "Yeah, I know, I know, really fitting name, right?"

           Somehow Jimena found herself laughing along. "Yeah, it really fits you well." She glanced at Jimmy, who was still stewing in anger about his destroyed railway. So she started feeding on his anger to lessen its grip on him and make him feel better. It also tasted quite nice to her.

           "Do you need help rebuilding the railway?" She asked kindly. Jimmy shook his head. "No, I'll just do it myself." "You're not doing it yourself," Jimena and Scar said at the same time. They stared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter again. Jimmy started chuckling too and soon all three of them were on the ground in uncontrollable contagious laughter.