Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Grian wakes up.

His blankets are tangled around him, sweat damp against his bangs. With a swift, desperate movement he rips off the covers, tossing them to the ground. Breathing heavily, he looks around.

The room is…brighter than he was expecting.

He blinks a few times, trying to make sure he’s actually awake. It’s definitely his room—chests scattered haphazardly, a single bookshelf in the corner, closet on the opposite side.

Maybe I accidentally left a torch or lantern around?

Nope. No light source in sight.

…I guess it really is my magic acting up again. He stares at the wall, letting his vision zone out, and in the distance, thousands of blocks away, he Sees a small spruce village, with one spruce house in particular towering into the sky, matched by three equally tall buildings around it. He Sees Villager Grian wandering around the bottom floor of his house idly, and a stray zombie getting killed by iron golems.

When his vision returns to his room, it’s dark again.

He sighs. His magic has acted up a few times ever since Xisuma tried to restore his memory, although with the excitement of the Grian Head Hunt, then the entire Civil War, then the Architects and Sahara, he was able to ignore it. But ever since the 1.14 update, his magic has been flaring up more and more, forcing him to do something to dispel it. Sometimes, he could get away with just a little shapeshifting, or even conjuring up a few blocks of bedrock in caves, but Watcher magic specializes in…well, watching. So when he’s alone like this, he lets himself Watch, usually focusing on random events in the distance. It gets rid of his excess magic well enough, even if he feels horribly intrusive every time he uses it.

His conversation with Xisuma echoes in his mind.

“If you ever do change your mind, though, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Maybe he really should try and fix this. So far, it doesn’t seem like the Watchers can sense him using magic, but it doesn’t put him any less on edge.

Before he can think twice, he pulls out his communicator, tapping out a private message.

To his surprise, his communicator buzzes not a minute later.

A quick glance at the device shows that it’s 4:24 AM. Oh, it’s today, not tomorrow. X should understand it anyway. Although…why is X awake?

Grian decides not to judge—he’s not much better right now either.

Then he opens a different private thread.

“Memory spells?” Scar frowns.

They’re in the same room that branches off from the meeting room, the room that hides all magic. Grian still hasn’t asked exactly how it worked, but right now doesn’t seem like the time. He’s moving extra chairs into the room as X talks to Scar.

“Vex magic has stronger entity properties,” Xisuma says. “I know you and Cub don’t use your Vex powers often, but—”

“No no, it’s not that." Scar shakes his head. “I can definitely try. But Cub would probably be better at this than me. I’m better at converting objects to entities and back. Changing the properties of entities is more Cub’s thing than mine. Of course, I could try and use my crystals too, but those are more for storing magic. And messing up memory magic is uh…not something I want to do." He looks at Grian. “I’m sorry, but are you okay with Cub doing it instead?”

Grian honestly hasn’t really talked to Cub much, besides their initial introductions at the beginning of the season. But he’s already spent so much time getting the courage to ask in the first place; it would be a waste to refuse now. “Yeah, that’s—that’s fine.”

Xisuma gives him a concerned look, and Grian returns what he hopes is a reassuring nod as Scar pulls out his communicator and contacts Cub.

The man comes over a few minutes later. “What’s going on? Scar said something about Vex magic.”

“We were wondering if you could undo a memory spell,” Xisuma gives him a brief summary of the situation, Grian shuffling nervously in place as he does so. He gave X permission to explain to the others, not trusting himself to elaborate clearly, but it’s still a bit uncomfortable just waiting for a reaction.

“I told them you were better at this kind of stuff than me,” Scar says, when Cub looks equally hesitant. “Your style is much more delicate than mine.”

“That’s true, but it’s still pretty volatile,” Cub refutes. “The last thing I’d want to do is accidentally erase your memory instead.”

“I…don’t think that’ll happen,” Grian says slowly. “It’s—it’s more of a feeling than anything, but I think the worst that can happen is nothing changes. The magic that sealed my memories…is the type to remain in place until something overpowers it. I trust you,” he adds at the end. He may not know Cub too well, but the fact that the man is worried says enough.

“…Alright,” Cub finally concedes. “One more warning, though. There’s a chance I’ll be able to see the memories when I unseal them. Are you okay with that?”

Grian swallows and nods. He wishes otherwise, but he was expecting that to be the case anyway. “Do you need me to close my eyes or something?”

“If you want. It doesn’t matter, just try not to move too much." Cub drags over a chair in front of the bed Grian is sitting on. He lifts his hand, and Vex magic dances in his palm, thin wisps flickering in and out. As Grian watches, they wrap around his head, and the magic seems to settle inside , not quite painful but definitely intrusive.

He doesn’t notice how tense he is until Scar grasps his hand. When Grian’s eyes dart in his direction, he squeezes reassuringly, offering a smile. Grian exhales shakily.

When he looks back at Cub, the man’s eyes are glowing white, magic much more prominent. Jagged Vex wings shine on his back, and the former wisps are now clear strings, digging into his head. A calm haze settles around him, and it almost feels like he’s floating, drifting in a gray fog.

Then Cub clenches his fists and pulls .

Pain explodes in Grian’s head.

A scream tears itself from his throat. His wings lash out on instinct, and he flings himself back as far as he can, slamming into the shelves behind him. The breath is knocked out of him, and when his vision finally clears and his head stops throbbing, he looks up.

Scar seems to have tumbled off the bed. And Cub…

Cub is bleeding .

Blood drips from his arm, staining his white clothes underneath. He winces, pressing it tightly against his shirt, as Xisuma rapidly sets down a brewing stand and starts tossing ingredients in.

Why is Cub…?

Grian’s wings flutter involuntarily on their own. In his peripheral vision, he sees red splattered across tawny brown. Did I…? His horror-stricken gaze meets Cub’s surprisingly calm one.

“Don’t worry about it,” Cub says, taking the healing potion from Xisuma. “I’ve had worse. It’s my fault anyway for not paying attention. I didn’t know feathers could be so sharp.”

“I’m—I’m so sorry ." Grian gasps out, turning to stare at his wings. Since…since when could they cut skin —

For a moment, he sees his feathers shift, the shafts growing stiff and pointed, the vanes glinting metallic in the light. He yanks out a flight feather, ignoring the swift sting of pain and the surrounding shouts of surprise.

It’s no longer soft. When he runs his finger along the edge, the feather is no different from a knife.

“Grian!" X jerks his hand away. “Be careful." He uncorks another potion, letting a few drops drip over the small wound. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“But I—” Grian whirls around to look at Scar, who has gotten off the ground. “Did I also—”

“Nah, you’re good. Just knocked me off the bed,” Scar waves dismissively. “Surprised me, but no harm done.”

The small flash of relief does little to override his overwhelming guilt. He still hurt Cub. And just because Scar wasn’t hurt this time doesn’t negate the fact that Grian could have hurt him.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes again. “This—this was a horrible idea, I shouldn’t have—”

“Grian, it’s okay,” Cub interrupts. “Really." He waves his arm around; the wound is already healed. “I tried to remove the seal by force, since that’s usually the best way. But this one might be better removed little by little." He lifts his arm again, magic gathering once more.

Before he realizes it, Grian’s wings are spread threateningly, tawny brown suddenly bronze. He tries to fold them, only for them to remain open and stiff. “Close,” he hisses. The others stare at him oddly. Cub takes a hesitant step forward, and Grian yelps as his wings propel him backward, shielding him at the same time. Frustrated, he tries to pull them shut on his own, gripping the edge and pushing. They refuse to budge.

“Don’t strain yourself." Suddenly, X is in front of him, one hand reaching out and hovering just over his wings. “Can I touch you?”

Grian doesn’t know if he trusts himself to stay still, but he finds himself nodding. X’s hand rests gently on one wing, and Grian sags in place, suddenly hit with a rush of exhaustion. Vaguely, he can see dark purple magic emanating from X’s gloves, seeping into the air around him.

“Let’s try this again,” X says to the others, and Grian wants to protest— it’s too dangerous —but X runs a hand over his wings, and they fold in, resting against his back once more. “Grian, if you’ll allow us—we can brew up slowness and weakness potions for you. It might keep your magic calmer.”

“Scar, I think you should perform the magic this time,” Cub adds. “It’s best to start with someone new since he had such an adverse reaction last time.”

“Are you sure…?”

“I’ll instruct you. We can run through it a few times right now. You got the potions, X?”

“Yeah, I can do that." Xisuma moves back towards the brewing stand, the tranquil magic fading away, leaving Grian to shift awkwardly on the bed, fists clenching and unclenching around the sheets.

It doesn’t take long before they’re set up again, this time with Scar sitting in front of him. Xisuma hands him a weakness and turtle master potion.

“Can you…use that magic again?” Grian requests. When X looks confused, he elaborates, “the one you just used to get my wings to calm down.”

“Oh,” X frowns slightly. “Are you sure? That’s usually a spell used for neutralizing Voidkind. I only cast a weak one to soothe you. I don’t want you to feel trapped.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Grian says staunchly.

“Well…alright. It shouldn’t get in the way of the Vex magic." The latter part is directed towards Scar and Cub. “Drink the potions first.”

Grian complies, drinking the weakness potion first, then turtle master. The effects are instant, lethargy sinking into every inch of him, weighing his limbs down. When X lifts his hands and casts the spell, he finds his eyes closing on their own, body falling limp, supported solely by X. Distantly, he can recognize Cub’s voice instructing Scar, though he can’t make out the words themselves. Vex magic settles around and in him again, and the panic that he might have felt is successfully tapered down by the multitude of effects on him. The haze that accompanies the magic this time feels even stronger than before, pulling him down, down—

“X, I think he’s about to—"

The rest of the sentence cuts out.