Chapter Text
..
Scar awoke with a groan, his eyes fluttering to look up at the swirling sky. The deep greys had shifted to soft rolling violet, and he realised he had spent all night with his back pressed against cold cobblestone. Moving to get up, he groaned again when a sharp ache travelled up his spine to his neck. Bad idea. Yup. Okay, he'll just stay here for now.
Instead, he surveyed the empty land before him. The few mobs littering the destroyed land stalked around until the sunlight was too much, they burnt to ash. Eventually Scar's eyes fell upon the empty spine of what once was his task book. He wishes he would've kept it together. Maybe it would come in handy to spend his time. Unfortunately he vaguely remembers tearing the pages apart yesterday, after he had pressed the button too many times to count, hoping the outcome would change.
A couple more minutes passed before Scar decided his pain wasn't relieving. It would probably be best to get back to shelter, maybe he could fix up Trader Scars. After locating his cane that he carelessly abandoned the day before, he slowly lifted himself up. The purple clouds above his swirled, almost in reaction to his movement. It took him a while to get back past threatening walls surrounding what was left of his base. Fatigue settled in his bones the second he collapsed against stray planks of acacia and frayed woolen sheets creating a makeshift bed. He let the low hiss of creepers below him and the bright chirps of morning birds lull him to sleep.
And it wasn't much better than passing out against hard stone. But the way the sheets wrapped around him could almost let him pretend someone was with him, holding him as his eyes closed, protecting him when he was vunerable. He could've stayed there forever, if it weren't for the bang of an explosion followed by a screech that sounded too human for Scar's liking.
--
Instant regret flooded Grians senses as soon as he stopped screaming and a sharp ringing filled his ears. Shoot, that had been loud, loud enough to alert surrounding enemies of his position.
No, he reminded himself, pressing his back against soft pink wood and taking a deep breath. Think rationally, you watched the mobs burn in the sunrise and they are the only enemies around. He sighed, sliding down the wall on shaky knees. It was hard to rationalize with the fight or flight response he had learned during the games. And come one, how was he supposed to know there was tnt rigged behind the door to this. Sideways house?
He didn't know where he was, only that he woke up against solid ground, fingers gripping the damp soil and bloody wings cacooning his aching body. He had wanted to scream, maybe try throwing himself off a cliff again. But if it didn't work the first time.. Grian didn't know what to do at that point. So eventually he got up to explore whatever world he landed in because it certainly was not Third Life.
The first place that caught his attention was, of course, the seemingly abandoned group of,, strange houses to say the least. A completely sideways AND upside down house with an abstract tower built between them, a crumbling cobblestone wall wrapping around all three buildings. The build, as unique as it was, gave Grian a certain feel of familiarity and he got curious. And of course the first thing he did when he started checking them out was set off a bomb.
He's lucky he was more frightened than harmed, singed feathertips the extent of any damage. However, Grian begins to process that this place is not as safe as he originally thought and his guard is quickly set up again. A familiar tension returns to his shoulders as he carefully searches the rest of the one room house. Its fairly empty, he finds very little food left in the chest and a half broken shield hung against the wall but there isn't much useful materials other than that. He takes in account the bed shoved in the corner, the sheets are messy as if they'd been used but not for a long time. Someone had been here before, he already knew that, but where had they gone?
Grian rests against the soft cushions, his appetite catching up to him and his curiosity to explore suddenly dampened. He tears into the stale bread he found in the chest, grateful that it's still edible. He eats slowly, taking small bites until a muffled thunk rings through the doorless doorway. Instantly, Grians hands are on his shield and he's pressed back against the wooden walls again.
He peaks around the broken wall, through the blast hole and spots a dark hooded figure creeping around the odd shaped tower. The persons back is to him, luckily, and he surveys them for weapons. They have a shield gripped in one hand and a sharp sword in the other, with a bow and arrows strapped to their back. Ok, this place is definitly more dangerous than Grian first assumed.
They suddenly turned their head more towards his position, and he ducks behind the wall to avoid being seen. He isn't confident he was quick enough though, as he heard heavy footsteps and clinks of armor steadily grow closer to the sideways house. He lets them get closer until they are just about through the "doorway" when he swiftly turns the corner, using his shield to knock their hand holding their sword back. He ducks as they swing their shield at him in retaliation and kicks out his foot to take out their legs. It doesn't take long for them to collapse against the grass and Grian is on them in an instant.
He doesn't have a weapon, or a will to kill right now, so he just secures their now empty hands beside their head and pins their legs down with his knees. In their scuffle, the persons hood had fallen back and their dark brown locs are now splayed against the soil. They scrunched their eyes closed, as if waiting for Grian to strike. He still doesn't, instead analyzing their face covered in scars, the largest one running from their cheekbone and across their nosebridge. The air left Grians lungs when his brain caught up with him and he realized he recognized that scar.
--
Scar sensed the strangers hesitance to attack him so he let his eyes crack open and the tension drop from his shoulders slightly. Blinking the stars from his vision, his eyes locked with the intruder. Crimson red finally met a familiar deep brown and Scar felt his heart drop to his stomach as he realized this was no stranger.
".. Grian?!"