Watching and Listening - An Empires SMP AU

Mother sun

           Gem woke up in Hermitopia as soon as the sun's rays began to glimmer and dance over the horizon. She smiled wanly at it. Perhaps that would be the last sunrise that she would ever see. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted. So she stood by the window and watched as the sun slowly climbed into the sky. 

           Behind her everyone else started waking up and then Sausage said something about making breakfast. Gem wasn't particularly hungry. The thought of fighting the Watchers that day made her lose her appetite. But doing anything on an empty stomach wasn't exactly advised. Still, she stayed by the window staring at the sun until someone told her that breakfast was ready. 

           She glanced to the side and started a little when she noticed Grian standing next to her, watching the sun as well. "Pretty sunrise." He mumbled. "You missed most of it." Gem pointed out. Grian shrugged and they went back to watching the sky. "You know," He said after a short pause, "'Grian' means sun. Did you know that?" 

           "No." Gem admitted. "That's a nice name." "Yeah..." Grian smiled softly. "Mom used to call me 'sunshine' before they divorced." Gem patted his shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry about your parents." She said. Grian hummed to himself. "I've gotten over it." He said, and he sounded sincere. He looked straight into Gem's brilliant green eyes. "I've got good friends who care about me now." 

            Gem smiled. "Yeah, me too." She said, inwardly thinking of her old adopted parents and her birth parents before that. The ones who abandoned her. She found she didn't mind their loss that much anymore. She had real friends this time. And she was going to protect her friends from the Watchers no matter what. 

          They went back to looking directly at the sun for a little while longer until Sausage banged on a tin can with a soup spoon and called out, "Breakfast is ready! Don't you dare ask what went in it!" Gem and Grian looked at each other. "What do you think the second part means?" Grian asked somewhat hesitantly. "I don't think we want to know." Gem grimaced. 

           So they ate a breakfast of some sort of pie that tasted sort of off. Gem just wondered when Sausage had the time to bake a pie. Did Hermitopia even have an oven? Or maybe Sausage used his teleporting powers. Who knew with that crazy yet lovable man? Gem hoped that he wouldn't die today. 

           After breakfast Gem approached Sausage to find him kneeling and praying in the corner by the window with the sun streaming its glorious light onto him. It had the weird effect of making him look angelic. But in what universe was the chaotic and mischievous Sausage an angel? Gem snorted at the thought. 

           "Madre de Girasoles, amen." Sausage finished, then he looked up and smiled at the sun for a good ten seconds before acknowledging Gem's presence. "Oh, good morning, Gem." "Good morning, Sausage." Gem said, sitting down next to him. "Who were you praying to ?" She asked. She idly remembered the days that some Watchers were worshipped in a world or two before they fell down onto their darker path. 

           "The Madre de Girasoles, the mother of sunflowers, Santa Perla!" Sausage said, beaming. "She's also the embodiment and deity and mother of the sun." "Isn't her name Pearl Moon?" Gem asked, thinking of her fellow soupervisor. "And Bdubs is the deity of the sun." "Only for your sun religion." Sausage said, shrugging. "Making him a deity for one little sun religion doesn't make him an actual god." 

           "Fair enough." Gem conceded. She and Sausage found themselves just zoning out and staring at the sun. "Sausage, what if we die today?" Gem asked. Sausage paused for a second, and Gem shot him a double take when she realized that he was actually frowning. Well, not really, but he didn't exactly have his usual boisterous, ear-to-ear smile that he wore 24/7 so that was something.