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Scar is still spitting sand out of his mouth when he’s jumped from behind. He lets out a very undignified scream as an arm wraps around his chest and slams his head into the thing behind him. Whatever it is lets out a shout and releases him, stumbling backward. “Are you kidding me? I save your life and then you hit me?” Wait, he’s heard that voice before, it’s—
Sand whirling around him can’t breathe can’t see has to make sure Jellie’s okay where are his friends where did they go there's too much noise it's screaming in his ears it hurts to move sand is suffocating him curling tighter can't get out too much too much flash of wings hand in front of him wide dark eyes“grab my hand—”
“It’s you? You saved me?” He turns around and squints at the figure behind him who’s rubbing their jaw. A large, broad-rimmed hat covers their face from view. But he’d recognise those wings anywhere, what he assumes must usually be glorious red blue and yellow plumage is tarnished with dust and sand.
“Yeah, you’re welcome.” The person sighs and lifts their gaze to Scars. Dirty blonde strands of hair barely peek out from under the hat and dark brown eyes stare irritatedly at him. “Kind of resenting that headbutt, just so you know.”
“You scared me,” Scar says defensively, taking off his hat to shake the sand off it. “But uh, thanks for saving me from that sandstorm. That was scary, right Jellie?” He looks down at his cat with a fond smile; she’s all curled up in her carrier, sneezing as some sand blows into her face. “Thank you, Mr. uhhhh…” He trails off and looks expectantly at the stranger.
“Grian,” the avian huffs, wings ruffled behind him. “And you are?”
“Scar,” he says, holding out his hand to shake. Grian just stares at the hand like it’s going to bite him so Scar slowly pulls his hand back to pet Jellie. “And this is Jellie, my cat.”
“Great, right, wonderful.” Grian deadpans, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind clearing off, that would be great.”
“Mhm, yeah okay, no problem. Just one question,” Scar looks around at the vast expanse of sand and cacti and feels his stomach drop. “Where exactly should I clear off too? I can’t remember which way we came from now, and I appear to have lost my friends. Did you see where they went?”
“Actually, no I didn’t.” Grian sounds perplexed, his wings fanning out slightly. “What town were you headed to? I might be able to point you in the right direction.”
“We didn’t really have a destination, we were just wandering around the desert and planned to head back before sundown.” Grian groans and pulls his hat farther down his head, staring bleakly into the surrounding sand.
“So…you…right, you just wandered off into the desert without any plan?”
“Yep! Yeah, that just about sums it up.”
And you don’t know how to get back to where you came from?”
“Um,” Scar glances around again and tries to find any identifiable landmark. “Uh, no, no I don’t recognize anything.”
“Great, brilliant, absolutely brilliant.” Grian pulls his hat even farther down his head and flaps his wings once, stirring up a small cloud of dust. “Well, I don’t want to just leave you out here to die of heatstroke.”
“Well, what else are we gonna do?” Scar asks, scratching Jellie behind her ears in a way that makes her purr.
“I have a base,” Grian says slowly, sounding like every word is being dragged out of him at gunpoint. “It’s not far from here, but it’s a pretty obvious landmark. Maybe it’ll help you get your bearings.”
“Oh! Cool, desert base.” Scar’s smile fades a bit when Grian shoots a glare from under the brim of his hat. “And I will follow you there and not do anything else beyond that. I am simply following you, you are my guide.”
“Don’t overdo it,” Grian says, pushing past Scar and walking away. Scar jogs to catch up, holding his hat to keep it from flying away. He catches up to Grian and slows down to a leisurely walk, feeling the heat start to sink into his skin.
They make it about five metres before Scar clears his throat. “Soooo, you just live out here? In the desert? Alone?”
“I never said I was alone,” Grian says stiffly, his wings flapping once as if in indignation. Scar simply waits, peering down at the avian until Grian sighs and hunches his shoulders. “But yeah, I’m the only one who lives this far out here.”
“Why? I mean, I get that neighbours can be annoying but golly, to go all the way out here just to get some peace and quiet?”
There’s a stifled noise from Grian that sounds suspiciously like laughter before it’s muffled with a cough. “The neighbours were a factor, but that’s not the main reason I moved out here.”
“Oh, why then?”
“Do you ever stop talking?” Grian asks instead, but not before he looks up at the sky with tensed shoulders and worry in his eyes.
“Of course I do, I have to eat and drink sometimes don’t I?” There’s another fizzling noise from Grian before a cough covers it. Scar feels a cheeky grin curl his lips up. “You’re coughing a lot man, you need some water? I would hope you brought some with you, living in this place and all.” Grian wordlessly holds up a canteen and takes a short, pointed sip before shoving it back into his satchel. “Good, good. So uh, what do you do for fun around here?”
“Fun?” Grian asks like the word is foreign to him.
“Yeah, fun! Or have you become so in tune with the desert you’ve forgotten how to do everything but survive?” Scar adopts a mockery of a serious tone, struggling to keep his mouth from twitching up in a smile.
“You are the worst,” Grian bemoans, even as Scar can hear the bubbling laughter in the other’s voice. “I do get some traders here and there, just passing through. I like to steal their llamas.”
Scar bursts out laughing, picturing Grian swooping in from the skies and yanking a llama with him into the air. “You just snatch them right out from under those poor traders?”
“Hey! I have been scammed by my fair share of traders, this is just payback.” Grian’s face loses the do-not-smile battle and he cracks a bright grin. Scar smiles back and Grian’s flickers before disappearing, wariness replacing the mirth in his eyes. “But, yeah that’s just something I do now and then.” He mumbles, kicking up some sand. Scar frowns, opening his mouth to comment on the sudden change, but Grian beats him to it. “Annnnd, would you look at that! We’re at my base.” Scar’s eyes snap up to the sudden formation looming above him, easily taller than some trees he’s seen before. It’s made almost entirely out of sharpened stone, the spikes soaring towards the skies with cloth strung between them to act as cover.
“Woah! This is a cool base,” Scar whispers to himself, grinning from ear to ear while looking down at Jellie. “You see this place Jellie? Cool, right?” Jellie meows in agreement and Scar ruffles her fur. “Good girl, you hear that Grian? Your base is—” Scar trails off when he sees that Grian’s paused right by the entrance to his base, his wings tucked tightly behind him and his arms shaking. “Um, Grian? Hey, hey Grian!” Scar puts his hand on Grian’s shoulder and Grian jumps, wings snapping open as he lurches around to face Scar with his pistol raised. “Woah!” Scar yelps and scrambles backwards, clutching Jellie to his chest. “Uh, watch where you’re pointing that bud! Could’ve taken Jellie or me out.” He laughs but it’s strained, the sound tight in his throat. Grian’s eyes are wide, something bright and mad gleaming in their depths. The gun trembles in his hand, ragged breathing loud enough for Scar to hear even from a metre away. Grian’s wings are shaking too, now that Scar’s paying attention. His whole body is shaking. “Hey, uh, you okay there buddy?” Scar asks carefully, his hand resting near his holster. He doesn’t want to shoot the guy—kind of a bad way to repay someone for yanking you out of a sandstorm—but Jellie gets priority over a stranger.
Grian jerks, stumbling backward and mantling his wings around himself. His breathing picks up, one hand clutching his chest and the other holding the gun as far away from himself as possible. “Oh, oh, no. Oh no no no no,” Grian throws the weapon into the sand, digging his talons into his hat. “Scar, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for—'m sorry.” He sighs, his entire body rattling with the motion as he drags his hands down his face. “Sorry.”
“It’s all good man,” Scar smiles and slowly stands up from his crouched position, hand lowering from his holster. “Living in the middle of a wasteland for…well, however long you’ve been here is enough to make a guy jumpy.”
“No, I—well, you’re right. It’s certainly no lovely stroll through the deserts.” Grian snorts, some of the tension easing from his body even as his eyes flick around nervously. “Look, you should probably go and find your friends. It’ll be dark soon and no one wants to travel the desert at night.”
“I mean, you’re right,” Scar says slowly, something twisting in his chest at the thought of having to leave so soon. Odd. “All kinds of mobs can spawn out here and just creep up on you. Even with Jellie as a lookout, right girl?” Scar smiles down at his cat affectionately only to realise a heartbeat later she’s missing. “Uh, Jellie?” He calls, turning around and scanning the sandy dunes. “Where’d you go girl?”
“Scar—”
“Not now Grian, I’m looking for Jellie.” Scar interrupts absentmindedly, beginning to wander off in the direction they came from. “She’s really good at just disappearing randomly, getting into things she’s not supposed to get into. Especially boxes, you wouldn’t happen to have any boxes laying around would you?”
“ Scar —”
“Nevermind, stupid question. You wouldn’t have boxes just lying around if you live in a desert, where would you even get the boxes?”
“ Scar !” Grian cuts Scar off mid-rant, annoyance pitching his voice higher. “Jellie is over here. Right next to me.”
“Huh?” Scar turns around and finds Grian standing very awkwardly next to his hut with Jellie enthusiastically rubbing up against his legs with a loud purr. “Awww, look at that, Jellie likes you.” Scar feels a warm smile split his face, watching as Jellie lets out a soft noise of agreement. “Well, now I can’t leave tonight,” Scar continues with far too much enthusiasm, an idea springing to life in his mind. “Jellie would be too upset to even keep watch, I’d end up just getting killed by a wandering creeper.”
“No, please, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Grian’s face crumples into something like horror and despair, a pleading tone to his voice. “Just, bring a lot of torches and you’ll be able to see just fine, yeah?”
“Nope, almost got killed with that method once. It doesn’t work nearly as well as it should.” Scar says brightly, eliciting a worried and confused glance from Grian. “I’ll just spend the night here and move out in the morning.”
“Can’t you just, like, make a shelter for yourself in one of the dunes over there?” Grian asks hopelessly, gesturing to the surrounding mounds. “I’m sure you don’t need to stay directly in or near my base .”
“Your base has the most protection and I lost most of my stuff in the storm, it’s just the most practical solution.” Scar chirps, choosing to ignore how Grian looks more and more resigned with every word that comes out of his mouth. The guy just needs some good food and company. You know, considering it has probably been years since he last saw another person. “Tell you what: I make a mean soup, and you need some good food. I’ve got all the ingredients still in my bag, so I’ll make our food and you can keep Jellie entertained. Sound good?”
“What? I haven’t even agreed to let you…” Grian trails off as Jellie jumps up to bat at his dusty primaries. He pauses, eyes flickering with something. Then he flexes his wings so that they lift slightly higher off the ground and Jellie swipes at the retreating feathers. She jumps again, her soft paws brushing against the feathers as she purrs in delight. Grian slowly lowers himself to a crouch, his feathers brushing the ground as Jellie grabs a few in her paws and tugs at them playfully. Grian lets out a soft coo, one of his taloned hands resting in Jellie’s fur as he starts to pet her gently. Jellie’s purring grows even louder as she arches her back into the touch, nuzzling at Grian’s leg. “Good kitty,” Grian murmurs, a kind smile softening his weather-beaten features.
“Told you she likes you,” Scar says, the tinies bit smug as he snags a pot from his bag and starts making a fire.
Grian turns an indignant frown in Scar’s direction even as he continues petting Jellie. “I like cats,” he says defensively, feathers ruffled.
“Hey, that’s always a good sign in a person. Especially if you like Jellie, but no one could ever not like her.”
“Only the most despicable of people would dislike this cat,” Grian says sagely, trying to hold his serious expression even as Jellie hops on his knee and curls up against his chest. He loses the battle in two seconds, his expression melting into pure childish delight and wonder. “Awww, look at the little kitty,” Grian whispers, his smile stretching from ear to ear.
Scar grins but chooses to hold his tongue, he knows he’s not much better when it comes to his Jellie. He instead focuses on preparing the ingredients for their meal, bantering back and forth with Grian the whole time. For someone who seems sure he doesn’t need anyone, Grian loves talking with Scar about anything and everything. He spends maybe five minutes alone trying to explain how to grow crops underground in case of emergencies. Scar occasionally jumps in with theories or quips, most of which will either make Grian roll his eyes or break out in peals of laughter. It was always satisfying to see Grian’s hard exterior give way to scrunched-up eyes and a burst of loud cackling laughter that sounds outright insane. Where Scar initially believed there to be some sort of dead-serious loner who hates everyone actually turns out to be a gremlin that is the embodiment of chaos.
“And that’s how you scam an entire village into giving you all their diamonds,” Grian finishes with a flourish, having moved to sit across from Scar with Jellie still resting in his lap.
“You are a menace to society,” Scar deadpans, a grin splitting his face.
“Hey, someone’s gotta make sure that chaos still comes into people’s lives every now and then,” Grian smiles, scratching Jellie behind her ears. Jellie purrs sleepily, her eyes half-lidded in contentment.
There’s something in the air then, a feeling that makes the hairs on the back of Scar’s neck stand upright with a shudder. A rippling appears in the air around them and Grian stiffens, wings flaring behind him. Jellie jumps to her feet with a snarl, planting her paws firmly in Grian’s lap while glaring up at the sky. The strange feeling intensifies, making Scar’s hands shake as something’s gaze burns into the back of his neck. He gasps, jerking around to look behind him with his pistol raised—
There’s nothing there. Scar blinks, panting and trembling as the feeling disappears. He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand, trying to shake off the strangeness of the feeling and he slowly reholsters his gun. “That was weird,” he whispers, rubbing his eyes to clear them as he turns back around to face Grian. “Hey Grian, did you feel tha—?” He cuts off with a shout and falls backward, barely catching himself with his hands as he locks his gaze with Grian.
Or rather, gazes .
Two sets of eyes have opened under Grian’s already existing pair, their colour a bright purple that shimmers in the heat. Jellie makes a distressed noise and races across the sand to Scar who wraps his arms around her instinctively. He can only stare at Grian, the very air seeming to warp around the avian. A flickering light appears above Grian’s head, creating something like a halo, white light and technicolour weeping from the new eyes. Grian cocks his head, all of his eyes half-lidded and mouth parted slightly. His arms drop limply to his sides and his hat casts a shadow on his face. His head snaps up suddenly with a terrifying force and his eyes wide open with a snarl twisting his features.
“ Go away ,” Grian’s voice shakes the ground, wings spreading wide and casting a large shadow over Scar and Jellie.
“Yeah, yeah okay. You got it,” Scar rasps, beginning to scramble back on his hands and knees.
“ No, wait… Scar wait , ” Grian’s voice shifts, something pleading creeping into the booming echo that makes Scar stop. Grian’s wings flap once, twice, neck twisting unnaturally with a cracking sound and the rippling air smooths back out. The halo flickers before disappearing altogether, the glowing light suddenly gone. Grian keeps his head bowed, his hat covering his face so Scar can’t see his expression. “Please wait,” Grian whispers, his voice normal. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t exactly have…that thing comes around every once and a while and I don’t have control over it. And, and I don’t know why it happens and I don’t like it but—”
“H-hey, it’s alright man,” Scar says, his voice trembling bad enough he almost can’t get the words out. “You uh, you kinda scared me back there but it’s alright. Everyone’s got skeletons in their closet,” Scar absentmindedly runs his hands over the scars on his chest before clearing his throat, “or in your case some freaky entity floating above your head.” Grian lets out a choked laugh, lifting his head and Scar’s relieved to only see two eyes on his face. “But you saved my life, and you’re fun to talk to, and weird stuff happens every day. I’d be a bit of a hypocrite to judge you for it.”
“You mean that?” Grian asks, something flickering in his eyes. “You’re not scared of me?”
“Oh no, whatever that was wasn’t scary. It was terrifying ,” he gets a startled cackle from Grian at that, and it makes his lingering terror slip away. “But whatever that was, it wasn’t you. So no, I’m not scared of you. I could never be scared of my friend.”
Grian falls still at that, his eyes widening and lips parting in a small ‘o’. “Friends?” He asks, his lips curling up in a half-smile.
“Yeah! Friends, because friends are the people you go through creepy stuff with.” Scar says confidently and Jellie walks back over to Grian, twining around his legs.
“And friends are the people who pull you out of sandstorms?” Grian asks wryly, reaching down to pet Jellie.
“Oh, definitely,” Scar grins, remembering a bit belatedly that he’s supposed to be making them soup. He quickly checks the pot and finds it boiling, the tasty aroma wafting from the soup making his stomach growl. “Soup’s ready!” He cheers, dishing it up into two cracked bowls and passing one over to Grian who murmurs something in thanks.
Grian lifts the bowl to his lips and takes a sip before pausing and chewing it thoughtfully. “It’s not terrible,” he says slowly, taking another gulp.
“Told you I make a good soup,” Scar grins, lifting his own bowl to his lips. They settle back into casual conversation, both of them a bit more halting than before, both a little cautious. But it soon becomes something comfortable, something easy. They talk well into the night until the fire burns itself into coals and the moon is high in the sky. Scar inevitably starts to nod off, Jellie having long since returned to his pack to sleep. He tries to cover a yawn when he hears Grian snort accompanied by the rustle of feathers.
“Right, that’s enough chit-chat for you. Get some sleep, and we’ll look for your friends in the morning.” Grian grabs Scar by his shoulder and leads him all the way back to his sleeping roll before the words click in his head.
“‘We’? Y’mean yer comin’ with me?” Scar asks sleepily, settling down with his head resting on his makeshift pillow.
“Duh, can’t risk you getting blown away by another sandstorm.” Grian’s tone is dry, but there’s an undercurrent of kindness to it. “Now come on, to bed with you.”
“Heard you the first time,” Scar grins up at Grian before pulling his hat over his eyes and crossing his arms. “Night, Grian.”
“Good night, Scar,” Grian hums and Scar hears his footsteps retreating as the avian presumably heads back to his hut to sleep. It doesn’t take long before Scar falls into a blissful, deep sleep.
Grian waits until Scar’s chest is rising and falling evenly in the rhythm of sleep before he finally puts out the fire and heads to his hut. He can feel Their eyes watching him throughout it all, but They don’t bother saying anything until he’s standing in front of his cot.
You have become attached.
“Oh, now you decide you want a conversation?” Grian asks, glaring at the purple flickering eyes in the sky. “Right as I’m about to sleep, really?”
You are meant to observe. Not to interact.
“I made a friend , relax. Plus, he’s nice, and his cat is cute. I might stick with him for a while. Been meaning to leave this biome anyways, go exploring.” Grian tilts his head, frowning up at the eyes. “And he doesn’t mind you lot coming in and trying to order me to do things when I don’t want to. Which, rude, by the way.”
He is afraid.
“Not everyone has some supernatural ghosts hanging over their heads, yeah? Plus, you look creepy when that happens, and I look creepy when that happens. It’s normal to be freaked out at first.”
You think he can befriend someone like you?
“Yeah,” Grian keeps his answer curt, hands fisting at his sides as he stares Them down. “I do, and I think I can trust him. Now, if you wouldn’t mind clearing off, this is my home after all.” There’s a beat of silence, magic and power hanging heavy in the air before They disappear completely. He sighs, wings drooping behind him as he takes off his hat and places it next to his cot. “Today really was something.” Grian sighs, smiling to himself. “And I can’t wait to see what happens next.”