Awakened

Unsettling Defenders, Unnerving Servants

((Wardens are creepy things.))

There were weird noises coming from the hole under Cross's porch. Intrigued, he crept closer. A lot of.. snuffling? A bunch of almost mournful groans, alongside an unnervingly familiar chitter-trilling.

Killer finally peered into the hole and down the stairs made of deepslate brick. It was pretty dark at the bottom, but he could see glimpses of two levels through the faint sunlight that barely reached part of the first and the weird flashes of cyan coming from both floors.

“...Hello?” He immediately regretted calling out when a bunch of echoing trills answered him and the darkness fell silent. Something, no, multiple somethings just heard him.
Then the weird piglin popped out of the darkness, standing out sharply with his white fur.
“Hi! Didn't hear you there!”

“The fuck are you doing in there?” Killer demanded. He was actually a little concerned, those noises were.. just wrong. Ink didn't seem that bothered, glancing back into the dark like he could see it. Killer could hear something heavy moving around.

“Cross let me help him make a basement. I thought I'd do it fast. Uh.. you don't have any energy stealing or death touch powers, right?”
“No?? I just explode, the fuck kinda question is that?”
The sculk piglin laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just thought I'd check. Last time I used one of these around one of you guys your friend sort of.. freaked out.”

Killer straightened at that. “And you're using it again?”
“Well yeah, I can put them away if he comes around.”
“What if he accidentally snuck up on you?” Killer pointed out.
“He wouldn't, I'm paying attention for him!”
“I snuck up on you!”
“Well I'm not paying attention for you, am I?”
“The fuck does that even mean?”

Ink groaned dramatically, slumping against the wall on one side of the stairs. “I literally just badly explained this. Basically.. I can feel people coming around and every one of you feels different. I'm paying attention for Blue's vibe, not yours. Make any sense?”
Killer leaned back at that, automatically drawing his legs together just to be closer to the small piglin.
“...I guess it kinda does.”

At that, Ink threw up his arms in triumph, bouncing in place before launching himself sideways into the darkness. Killer stumbled down a few steps in bewilderment before a hulking figure forced him back in sheer surprise.
“Wwhaaaat is that?!”

“They're basically my little helpers!” Ink declared brightly from the thing's shoulders.
“Well, maybe not little. They're kinda like that golem of yours except sculk, y'know? They're sometimes called wardens.”
“That is fucked up.” Killer stated flatly, staring at the gaping orifice that made up most of its face. Ink was casually holding on to the weird fleshy horns. The tentacles behind his head then curled up, mimicking said horns. Killer stared at the pulsing shape in the middle of its partly hollow chest, bones almost resembling ribs curling around it.
“That is literally so fucked up.”

“Oh don't worry about it, they're harmless right now!” Ink smiled reassuringly.
Killer wasn't reassured.
“Right now?”
The smile grew strained, then Ink slumped forward, pressing his forehead to the back of the thing's massive head.
“...I did say they're like sculk golems.” He muttered.

Killer thought about that for a minute, then pointed a leg. “So they protect the sculk?”
“Yeah!”
“...The fuck does it need protecting from? Nothing even attacks it.”
Ink's cringe didn't help his concerns at all.
“So uh.. y'know.. before the sculk really understood anything.. it kinda assumed like all sounds were a threat. Literally everything freaked it out. So wardens would defend it. Aaaannnnd they're pretty good at it. Took out pretty much the last of the Builders.”