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After he got back from a life season, he always felt cold.
Third Life had been hard- harder than Grian had thought possible. Some seasons were better than others, but each left a cold grip around Grian’s heart. He would lay in bed late at night without being able to sleep, his mind would constantly feel foggy, and he always felt as if he were lagging behind, some part of him left in the games.
It was especially bad after Secret Life.
He rose in the morning and always paused, waiting for a shimmer of light and to have a new task appear in front of him. It got so bad, sometimes, that Grian forced himself to pretend that he had a task to try and make himself feel normal.
Usually, this strange feeling disappeared within a month or two of the game ending, the lingering feeling only appearing when he was alone in the middle of the night. But this time was different- maybe it was the fact that he had a real alliance, a family , or maybe it was the pressure from all of the rest of the games building up. All Grian knew was that it refused to leave him alone.
It had gotten to the point where even Scar was worried. He was working on a build with the man when he mentioned it.
“Hey, G?”
Grian hummed, motioning for the man to continue as he placed more blocks.
“I know sometimes the games can mess with you and stuff, but are you okay? You’ve seemed really… rough? lately, and I just don’t want you to accidentally fall off your base and die or something like that.”
Grian paused his building for a moment to think. He knew deep down that there was something wrong, something that was meant to heal but wasn’t doing it right. But what was there to say to Scar? The man was worried enough. He knew more than anyone what the aftereffects were, but still.
“Yeah, I’m alright. Just still kind of freezing after everything. It’ll be gone in a week.” He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself rather than Scar.
Scar simply nodded, knowing he couldn’t get anything more out of him. “Just let me know if you need anything. Or any of the hermits, really. We understand.”
Or any of the hermits.
An idea appeared to him- a stupid one, for sure, but those were most of his ideas anyway. Most of the game players were from Hermitcraft. And he hadn’t spoken to the two of them since they were revived…
“Thanks, Scar. I appreciate it.”
Grian spent the rest of the day building with Scar until eventually they called it quits. Scar went back to his base, and Grian hesitated before going to his.
He could light a fire. He could take a warm shower and have a bowl of soup and snuggle up in some blankets, but he already knew that it would make no difference. He could just check, just see if they felt the same thing-
What was he thinking? What happens in the games stays in the games. Some people even forget bits and pieces once they get back. It’s not like he talked to them outside of Secret Life very often. It would probably freak them out to randomly get a message from him. Not only that, but if he did it and they didn’t share the chill in their gut, he would have embarrassed himself for nothing.
Memories rang in his head, above the sounds of the encroaching night. Memories of a hot desert in the sun and a cold one in the night, of a bridge high in the sky, of a castle on a mountain. When he remembers these, he can only think of the warm bodies inside, of the rest gained and the pleasant comfort he had felt.
It was enough to push aside his doubt and pull out his communicator.
Grian: Etho, are you busy?
Ethoslab: uhh i dont think so
Grian: I’m omw
Grian: Cleo, meet at Etho’s base?
ZombieCleo: Omw
Grian took a deep breath and tried to calm his breathing. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, these were his friends- but the cold always found him, somehow, and it was trying its hardest not to let him go.
*
When Grian got to Etho’s base, the first thing he noticed was his outfit.
For someone always living in a jungle, he wore heavy winter clothing. Grian knew he was known for an army-like jacket, but never before had he seen the man so layered. Even with the hood on, he could see his tall form shivering.
“Hey, Grian,” Etho nodded a greeting, motioning him inside. “What’s up?”
Grian settled himself down on a pillow. “Well, uh, it’s kind of hard to-”
There was a knock at the door, and Etho walked over and opened it to find Cleo. She, too, was wearing something more than her usual outfit, although it didn’t seem like she was struggling as much as Etho. She waved to both of them before joining Grian, and Etho sat down next to them.
“So,” Cleo joined her hands together, looking between the other two. “What brings all three of us here?”
“Grian,” Etho answered simply.
“Okay, yeah. So- oh, this is going to sound so weird, bare with me- I don’t know if you guys have felt it, but, for me at least, the weird cold has felt a lot worse after Secret Life-”
“Oh, thank god you brought that up. I haven’t been able to stop shaking!” Cleo held up a hand, showing it to them both as it jumbled up and down. “I’ve spent the past month freaking out thinking I was the only one.” Etho was nodding as she spoke, pulling his jacket closer to himself.
“Exactly! It’s summer here and I’m freezing half to death.” Grian continued. “But yeah, I noticed it was a lot worse and I was talking to Scar and it made me think of you guys since, you know, everything at the castle and all that…”
Cleo and Etho looked at him, urging him to continue.
“And I realized I kind of missed being around you guys and everything and I was wondering if you guys wanted to do something or something? You can decline, it really doesn’t bother me, but my fireplace hasn’t helped any and when I think about the days in that castle I feel warmer and I just thought-” He spoke quickly, trying to get all of the words out in one go.
To his surprise, though, the other two were already nodding in agreement. Etho stood up quickly, motioning for Cleo and Grian to follow him.
“I don’t say this often but- ah, yeah, I missed you guys, too.” He spoke as he walked through the base, eventually making it to the kitchen. “I’ve got some hot chocolate, and I can light the fireplace?”
“I can grab some movies or something, I think I have extra blankets back at my base. It’ll be a fast trip,” Cleo added, already grabbing some rockets from her pocket.
“I’ll go home and grab some snacks and see what blankets I can find. Meet back here, yeah?” Grian was thinking through his base, mentally searching for any blankets and snacks he had lying around.
“Yup yup,” Etho agreed, and they all set off on their ways.
*
When Cleo and Grian got back to Etho’s base, they smelt warm chocolate and found that the fireplace had been lit. The three took the pile of blankets near the fire, forming a circular shape similar to the makeshift nest that they had made all those months ago. Etho propped up his communicator and entered one of the movie discs Cleo had brought, and the trio bunched close together with their hot chocolate to watch.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Grian felt warm. The chilling feeling was still there (he got the feeling it always would be), but it was bearable. It was strange how easier things could be managed when around those who care about you. Everything felt lighter, and the daze that he had been living in seemed to drift away from him.
As he lay there with his family- he knew he could call them that, now- he could feel himself begin to fall asleep. He had gone a long time without proper rest, he knew, and it all finally seemed to catch up to him. He allowed himself to lean against the side of Cleo, who was on his left. She let out a quiet chuckle and seemed to try and show Etho, and he instead copied his movement.
There was a sigh of exasperation from her, although it was only full of fondness. The three adjusted, cuddling closer together and soaking up the warmth. It wasn’t often that Hermitcraft had moments like this, where it was simply quiet; there was usually some kind of chaos happening at all times, so they wanted to make the most of it.
It didn’t take long before all three of them were peacefully asleep. There were no nightmares of bloodshed, no fears about the future- only the comfortable feeling of the three of them together again. Things might not be perfect, but Grian got the feeling it would be a lot easier with his family by his side.