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Etho looked down at the now respawned much smaller-SmallishBeans. How was he supposed to explain this…
Debatably, this was somewhat normal for Etho. Someone respawning smaller than normal was a thing that definitely happened. Though the hermits had left that in the past, right? With Evil Xisuma.
That was over. There were no more feral hermit-kids running all around.
But here he was, with yet another instance of respawn messing up. And what was he supposed to do? The poor kid was sitting below him, just freaking out with no experience with weird respawns at all.
And despite all experience with kids in this… field… this was new territory for Etho. He’d taken care of many different hermits, but he knew them. He didn’t really know Joel, only properly having a conversation with him for about a week. It was one thing to babysit your best friend, it was another to pick your new soulmate now-tiny-kid off the ground, trying to explain to him why he’s around the age of a five year old.
On top of all that, it was getting later and they were exposed to mobs in a forest. Their gear would despawn get stolen if they didn’t gather them up soon.
But even with that motivation to do something, Etho didn’t explain anything to Joel and he didn’t light up the place and he didn’t run back to their place of death. Instead he sent a message, which was hardly productive in comparison.
<Etho>: Grian, there’s a glitch in the respawn. Joel’s a kid
His comm buzzed repeatedly from everyone’s varied responses. He silenced it for the moment, finding it too distracting.
But now that he let Grian know of the problem, a part of the weight of this situation was lifted. At least the glitch could be resolved, assuming Grian could figure out what Xisuma couldn’t in season 8. But whether or not Grian knew there was a child in the lands of the Double Life didn’t change the fact that Joel was curled up, face right against a tree. Who knew what he was thinking and who knew how Etho could explain clearly what was happening.
If nothing else though, he had to try. “Hey, I know this sounds weird, but I’ve seen this… glitch before.” Admittedly, it was the best way he knew how to put it. There wasn’t much to be said to make Joel feel better about being a kid. “It’s uh– we’ll get through it. If it’s what I think it is, you should be back to normal soon.”
Joel didn’t look at him. He stayed absolutely quiet, the only sound made being his heavy breathing. It was… concerning. Joel never got near this quiet.
“Last season, on Hermitcraft, anytime somebody died, respawns and relogs would bring them back as a kid. …I’ve had my fair share of it.” The world must’ve thought that “fair share” wasn’t enough, if it came back. Out of all places to ruin respawn mechanics though...
A murder game.
Fantastic, really.
“Hey, Joel, I need you to help me out here.” Etho nudged him gently. He'd only use force if necessary. “I don’t think there’s time for us to build a house before mobs find us.”
Joel stayed quiet and Etho decided to give him a moment to process. They didn’t have all the time in the world, but if Joel needed a minute, Etho could wait. He could just… punch a couple trees in the meantime.
“...why aren’t you little too?” Joel asked, having gotten up from that spot within that minute.
“I’m not too sure. We’ll have to ask Grian on that one. For now though, we’re going back to Bdubs and Impulse’s place for the night. I’ll either need you to run or let me carry you.”
He hoped letting Joel work with options would help a bit. Kids liked independence (everybody did, but with the glitch, making decisions yourself was important).
“No.” But apparently the ability to decide wasn’t appreciated, and Joel would much rather deny all options and pitch a fit than keep their other two lives.
“Well, we’ve got to get over there somehow, and I know it’s weird but it’s how it’s got to be.”
Joel crossed his arms, firm in his standing to this spot.
“You could ride on my back. That way you don’t have to get tired running and it wouldn’t feel like I’m carrying you. It’d probably be more fun too.”
His stance softened just a bit, but he didn’t answer.
“There’s going to be monsters in a minute and I don’t think you want to get caught with them.”
Joel nodded slowly. Given circumstances, he was accepting the issue pretty easily. “Piggy back ride,” he said with a few seconds of consideration.
“Thank you,” Etho said, stopping down for Joel to climb up. Despite tiny size, he was still fairly heavy. At one point, this might’ve been easier, after getting used to carrying around kids every few days. But since the end of the season 8, Etho had kept to himself, meaning there were no tiny hermits to tote around.
“Hold tight. We’re going fast,” he warned, letting Joel wrap himself around him tightly before sprinting.
The forest was a little bit difficult to navigate. He had to keep Joel from getting stuck on low-hanging tree limbs and had to stay alert for monsters hidden in the darkness. Thankfully the distance wasn’t as long as he remembered, it only taking five to ten minutes to get back.
And everything seemed to be in a chest, waiting patiently for the two’s return.
“Hey! There you guys are!” Bdubs called, over by the chest and newly lit area. “You took too long. I think somebody stole some of your stuff.”
After a few glares at the group around them, everyone returned most if not all of the lost items.
With everyone around the area, Joel decided to get off his ride, opting to stand in Etho’s shadow instead of in view of everyone very obviously older than him.
“Does anyone know if Tango and Jimmy were screwed up by respawn too?” Etho asked when action had died down around the group.
“Yeah. They’re staying with me and Impulse.” Bdubs led the way back over to the house, shooing away the small crowd that had gathered. “Jimmy was freaking out when he came over, but I think he’s got a handle on it now. He's not here right now though. Pretty sure he’s looking for a plot of land to call home. Impulse was pretty happy to stick with Tango.”
Bdubs quietly opened the door, whispering into the dimly lit room, “Impulse, we’ve got more visitors.”
Impulse got up from the bed Tango was sleeping on, ready to greet the next homeless (so to speak) people who came through. “Oh. Hi!” He tried to keep his voice low as well, but his friendly energy came out more as he tried to talk to Joel.
Joel didn’t show himself, hugging onto Etho’s leg during the whole interaction.
“Come on. Impulse and Bdubs know all about this too. And Tango’s in the same boat as you are, see?” Etho barely pried Joel off.
“You two want dinner? I think there’s some leftover soup.” Impulse didn’t wait for an answer, already dishing out a couple bowls.
Joel still wouldn’t stay by himself. It was a harsh contrast to before, when he wouldn’t look at Etho at all. Etho stopped trying to fight it though, letting Joel stay by his side (or on his lap) as long as needed.
They all kept their volume down, either for Tango’s sake or for nothing important to say. With all the quiet, Joel started wearing down quickly, nearly falling asleep on his food.
“Come on. Let’s get you to bed, buddy.” Impulse picked Joel up without Joel putting up a fight. “Bdubs, we’ll need at least one more bed if Jimmy doesn’t come back.”
“On it.”
The two made quick work to accommodate for added guests, whether it was making beds, fixing dinners, or any house cleaning. In some ways, it showed how behind the rest of the server was. As far as Etho was aware, nobody else had started setting up shop, and he and Joel wouldn’t be thinking about it until they were in better shape.
“You’re going to take in the entire server before this week’s over,” Etho commented.
“Nothing wrong with that,” Impulse told him as he finished tucking Joel in. Of course Impulse would take this in stride better than anyone. “I enjoy it.”
“More the merrier,” Bdubs added.
Most definitely they’d take in the entire server. And they might have to, if everyone was constantly dying.