'Shots and Shit Like That

Always watching

Bdubs curled up in his bed. Soft, comforting. The stars fell around him as he dreamt. Of a world free of fear. He dreamed of sunny skies and beautiful castles and horses and fields of flowers. He dreamed of the light. Of seeing his friends applaud him. Complimenting his marvels. Then he stopped dreaming. And delved into a sweet dreamless sleep. 

The next morning, there was much to do. He gathered supplies for his majestic castle. He tested a new horse. Assisted Mayor Scar. The day passed by much like the night. Blissful. Peaceful. Happy. But he feared so much. His elytra stuttering midflight. Losing resources. Scar's moods. The resistance. Mobs. Drowning. Dying. He did his best to stabilize everything. He fought with the fear. Day after day after day. His castle finished. The war almost over. Lights strung in every nook and cranny. Everything was drawing to a close. The year waned. The new year waxed. He was almost as free of fear in daytime as in his dreams. He flew over the ocean. The water sparkled at him as he ran a hand in it. It was delightfully cool. 

His back to the sun, he soared over on to the shopping district. But— his mind started to fuzz. Pins and needles pricked over his cold skin. Almost numb. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He was alone, with only the feeling of forward motion telling him he was still in the air. His stomach lurched. Then, he realized he could no longer feel the inertia that was propelling him forward

Did his elytra break? And all at once he felt a presence— familiar to be sure, but seemingly different from anything he'd ever experienced. 

"Hello?" His voice sounded... off to him. Like something was distorting the sound before sending it back to his ears. The presence zeroed in on him. Even though he was still as blind as he was a few seconds ago, he could feel its manic playfulness. There was a power in this person's bones. He realized how this person was familiar to him. He felt like—

"Grian?!" The word distorted more. The being so much like Grian chuckled. Or, at least it shook with laughter. Amusement exuded in the air around him. He felt incredibly uneasy..

"⍑ᒷꖎꖎ𝙹."  He could hear the voice in his mind. Accentless and cloying. That's how he'd describe it. Then it spoke again. 

" ||𝙹⚍'∷ᒷ ᔑꖎ∴ᔑ||ᓭ ᓭ𝙹 ᓭᓵᔑ∷ᒷ↸ 𝙹⎓ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ∴𝙹∷ꖎ↸ ᔑ∷𝙹⚍リ↸ ||𝙹⚍. ꖎᒷℸ ̣ ᒲᒷ ⍑ᒷꖎ!¡ ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑℸ ̣." He didn't know what was happening to him. He envisioned a mask. He ached to hold it, to wear it. But all of a sudden, it

stopped. 

He felt nothing. The world had come to a standstill. 

"ℸ ̣ ⍑╎ᓭ 𝙹リᒷ ∴╎ꖎꖎ ᒲᔑꖌᒷ ᔑ ʖᒷℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ᒷ∷ ∴ᔑℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ᒷ∷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᔑリ ̇/ᒷꖎᑑ⚍ᔑ ᒷ⍊ᒷ∷ ᓵ𝙹⚍ꖎ↸'⍊ᒷ ʖᒷᒷリ."