Featherweight - Hermitcraft AU

The Smell of Rain

Jrum woke up the next morning. He opened his eyes and looked down at his arms. His father was tiny, and Jrumbot was holding him. He smiled and picked his dad up in his hands. He held the sleeping birdie up in the air and giggled.

Grian woke up from this. He rubbed his tired eyes and smiled at his baby. "Good morning, Jrum." He said in a quiet voice.

Jrum brought Grian close to his face. "Good mowning!"

Grum was still asleep next to them.

"Gwum and I shouwd pwobabwee get back home." The little bot told the bird.

"Yeah...I don't think Mumbo would like you talking to me, based on what I've heard." Grian sighed sadly. Jrum gave Grian a kiss on his tiny head.

"Don't wowwy Daddy! Me and Gwum wiww tawk to Papa."

"Thanks, kiddo." Grian kissed the bot on the nose and motioned to be set down. Jrum obeyed and put the bird down on his chest. Grian fluttered up into the air and over to Grum.

"Wake up, Grum." Grian told the older robot softly. Grum opened his eyes.

"I wasn't asleep." Grum sat up, cupping the bird in his hands. "Man, I wish I was like you."

Grian looked down at his chest. There were more feathers. "You...want to be a fluffy bird man?"

"Well, kinda? I wanna be human...I wanna have cool powers like you...I wanna be able to go into the rain without being afraid that I'll rust, or that my waterproofing won't work. I wanna eat food. I wanna...I wanna bleed, cuz that means I'm alive and not just...powered on..."

"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you, sweetie?" Grian made himself slightly bigger, now the size of a puffle. He had recently learned that he could shift to really any size in between his 3 main forms. He sat in Grum's soft hands, amazed at how human he felt. But Grian knew that even though Grum felt like a human, he didn't feel like a human.

Grum nodded and stood up, Grian still in his hands.

"Maybe there's something I can do to help you with that...Well, not me specifically, but I have an idea in mind."

Grum smiled. "You're a good dad. One of the best I've ever had."

Grian chuckled. "I'm glad."

Jrumbot jumped out of the bed and ran over to the other side of it where the pile of items still lay. He was still holding the picture of Grian and Mumbo, but he reached into the pile and pulled out the Mumbo for Mayor shirt. Jrum rubbed his face against the soft fabric.

"Daddy, can I keep dis?" He held up the picture and the shirt. Grian turned around in Grum's hands to look down at Jrum. He smiled at his baby boy.

"Of course, cutie."

Jrum pulled the shirt on over the shirt he was already wearing. He kissed the glass of the picture frame and hugged it close.

Grian flew out of Grum's hands and grew to his hero size. "I'm guessing you boys need a ride back-...back home?"

Grum nodded and glanced out the window. It was quite overcast outside. The rain had once again stopped, but it was obvious that this would only be a brief break in the storm. It seemed to be around 7 AM.

"That would be great."

Grian scooped Grum up in his big arms. He knelt down for Jrumbot to jump into them. The baby hopped into his older brother's arms. Grum held onto Jrum as Grian exited the room and flew downstairs from the bannister to his front door. He opened the door with his free hand and stepped outside.