Awakened

Time Goes On

((I'M BACK, BITCHES.
But for how long?))

Work was very slow. Blue had gone around letting everyone know he was alive again- as alive as he could be when already undead- and had to deal with a lot of tears. It was surprisingly draining. No one really left him alone after that.

Cross and Epic only returned a full day later, running at top speed with Horror barely holding onto Carrot- who thankfully was a little better. The pigs joined the number of not leaving Blue alone. The cat was going to need regular tiny meals of easily palatable food, which turned out to not be fish for some reason. Strips of cooked chicken, however, were apparently good.

And another huge relief was that all three withers were okay, and apparently could just.. shed their stars every once in a while. Like skins of some sort.
Fresh had squeezed Blue hard enough to crack a rib in a hug, and he had to find a snack to deal with the problem inconspicuously about an hour later. No need to make the poor wither more guilty.

But finally, Blue had been able to wash off, getting the stains out of his clothes in a moment of respite while studying his scars. There was a big one on his spine, between his ribcage and floating ribs. There were a few other healed breaks in his ribs, most likely from the top of the chestplate smashing into them. The cushioning wasn't enough, apparently. Or maybe it was just too heavy. He'd probably need to add some lightweight engravings to all layers of the next one, see how that worked.
Hopefully he wouldn't need the next one.

Blue inevitably returned to work, content to let the others help however they could since they weren't going anywhere. He needed to expand the village, making room for all the new villagers. Oddly enough, there were already beds stuffed in the preexisting houses, though nobody knew who built them.

So they moved on, planning on moving them into the new buildings. Cross and Epic eventually continued to work on their own place, though regularly would check in on Blue just to check on the progress.
He knew what they were doing, but never said anything about it.

They even managed to fix Bob- though damnit, the name was sticking. Killer was smug about the fact, riding on its shoulders as it patrolled the newly added expansion.
Another strange fact was that random farmer would be found outside of the fence, often in Horror's fields.
None of the gates were damaged either. The farmer could just open them.
At least they were never out at night.
Still a conundrum, though.

At least, it was until Blue spotted them in the grove of spruce chopping down trees. With an iron axe. He was briefly startled while working on a roof, but quickly regained his composure and pretended to see nothing. If they could speak, they eventually would do so.

The new bridge over the river practically appeared overnight, made of cobblestone, spruce and dark oak. Everyone was questioning who made it, but Blue connected the dots quickly enough.
He wanted to ask, but knew no one would leave him alone long enough to do so without revealing them.
So.. Blue decided to let Horror in on the secret, walking in together to work on an interior to tell him.

“I know.” Was all the zombie said at first, arranging a table before adding. “He helped me spread new seeds. Think he's scared of us a little.”
“Why?” Blue was confused. At this point, all of the new villagers were starting to understand they weren't like the other creatures of the night.

“I think it's ‘cause we talk. Maybe he's not used to it.” Horror shrugged, leaning on said table.
Blue hesitated, glancing out the newly installed window.
“Do.. you want to ask him if he needs help?” He asked. “I would do it myself, but I don't want to reveal his secret to everyone watching.”