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Grian was getting worse. Something he didn't want to admit to himself, even when he felt his control slipping, and his desire to Watch grow.
For so long, he'd thought that he was safe from his deeper Watcher instincts; the desire to take care of those around him via constant surveillance were simply mindless impulses that he could squash with a mere thought.
But once, just after Third Life, he'd grown paranoid. And if people could permadeath there , then maybe they could permadeath on Hermitcraft.
Or that's what he told himself the first time he activated his Sight, just sneaking a glance at Scar, who was just working on his base.
That time was the calmest he'd been in ages, partially because Scar was safe, and partially because he was finally satisfying the itch that was far more prevalent than he'd ever say out loud.
After that, it had only gotten worse. His Watching became more frequent, until for most parts of the day, he was more focused on Scar's safety than his own.
And then he'd seen Mumbo's death, reminding him that Scar wasn't the only person he cared for fiercely. His Sight expanded, keeping a close eye on Mumbo as he peacefully tinkered with his redstone.
Watching was a relief. It scratched an itch that Grian didn’t know he had, and eased the roaring beast inside of him. And there was the added bonus of always knowing they were safe , they could never leave his side, and he would always be watching.
But there was the issue of Scar. No matter how many times Grian tried to Watch, tried to fix the code of the server to protect him, he somehow managed to get himself killed. Again. And again.
He flew over, extending his wings around him and marvelling at how beautiful they looked. Ever since he’d begun to Watch, they’d changed, lines of purple covering the edges like vines.
It didn’t take long for Grian to find Scars location using his Sight, and so he landed silently behind him, wings trailing on the floor as he walked towards him. Scar must’ve felt his presence, as he turned around, an unreadable expression on his face. “...Grian?” He took a step forward, “Are you ok? Your wings…”
“Beautiful, I know.” He flared them, giggling and twirling around.
“No, I…” Scar’s eyes weren’t on Grian’s at all. “When was the last time you took care of them?”
“You can take care of them. If you want. You just have to come with me.”
“I'm in the middle of building my base.” Scar pouted.
“You can build if you come with me.” Grian insisted, reaching forward and tugging on Scar's arm.
“Alright, alright.” Scar heaved a sigh. “Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere safe.” Was all Grian said, before he took off, watching Scar to make sure he followed. He led him into his base, then down the dark corridor that went to Grian's safe room. It had everything Scar needed; food, water, a bed, a bath, and all sorts of books for entertainment.
“What is this place?” Scar asked, jumping when the door slammed shut behind him.
“This is where you'll be safe, Scar.” Grian said with a grin.
“...Is this where you've been? How come Xisuma hasn't been able to detect you, we've been worried sick!”
Grian chuckled. “It's the safety. Nobody can hurt you here. Nobody will know where you are except for me.”
Scar's eyes widened in realisation. “You're not letting me out?”
“Nope!” Grian exclaimed cheerfully, sitting Scar down on a pile of cushions and blankets. Then he sat down in front of Scar, extending his wings.
“You want me to preen them?” Scar asked slowly.
“ You wanted to preen them.”
After that, it was all calm. Scar had stopped questioning Grian's decision, and Grian spent his time Watching Mumbo, feeling content with the fact that Scar's hands were deftly cleaning his feathers.
That was until Scar broke the silence, quietly. “Can I have Jellie?”
Grian frowned for a moment, turning around. Jellie had claws, and was a danger to Scar. A potential threat.
“I- I mean,” he added hurriedly, “if you don't want her here, she doesn't have to be.”
“Whatever makes you happy.” Grian responded with a smile. “If you asked for the moon, I'd give it.”
Scar chuckled, the sound making Grian's wings flutter. “Alright then. Can I go and get her?”
“No.” Said Grian gently. “No, no, no… It's far too dangerous for you out there.” He took Scar's face in his hands. “You'll be safe here, and I'll be back in no time.”
“Ok.” Scar said quietly.
“Don't be so worried.” Grian kissed Scar's forehead. “I'll keep an eye on you.”
Grian left the room, making sure the door was sealed tightly behind him, and running all of his checks to make sure Scar's location was hidden. The moment he left, his communicator was bombarded with all sorts of notifications and messages, which he immediately brushed off. While he was looking, he saw the list of members of the server, and Scar was classified as off-world. Perfect . Nobody could touch him in Grian's safe house.
He flew over to Scar's base, where he knew the cat would be. When he landed, she turned and hissed at him, before running away.
“Don't run from me.” He threatened. “I'm taking you to Scar, you ridiculous animal.”
But she wouldn't budge, so Grian teleported her into his arms, hoping that the code bypass used to make that possible would go unnoticed.
He scratched Jellie behind the ears, hoping to tame the agitated cat to no avail. So he just clung onto her tightly and flew off. She was tense the whole journey, and Grian could vaguely recollect Scar telling him that she hated air travel, but it was only five minutes. What would be the harm?
As Grian flew, he Watched Scar, saw him trying to open the door, to figure out an escape, and Grian tightened his grip, all hands and arms and tendrils reaching out through the very code of the world itself to keep him there , keep him safe , keep him somewhere nowhere could find him, where he’d stay under Grian’s watchful Eye until the day he died, except he wouldn’t die, he’d stay in that little room for all of eternity. Safe.
Before he knew it, he was home, and Jellie jumped out of his arms as soon as they entered the room, meowing frantically at Scar.
“What’s up, Jellie?” Scar asked with a much softer voice, stroking her head slowly. The cat meowed at him, staring at him with those big green eyes.
“She didn’t want to come with me.” Grian huffed, folding his arms. “You better be grateful for this.”
Scar lifted his head, giving Grian a look. “Thank you.” He said quietly.
The next few days went by in a blur. Grian never left Scar’s side for longer than a few minutes, and most of Grian’s time was spent cuddling him and just relaxing. Scar slept a lot, too, feeling safe in the comfort of Grian’s arms. It was times like that where Grian would tenderly stroke his head and give him small kisses, murmuring words of sweet affection whilst Jellie paced around the room.
After a short while of this routine, with Grian taking loving care of Scar, Grian was lying down on the blankets, running his hands through Scar's hair, as his head was in his lap. His Eyes were focused on Mumbo, making sure that he was safe, and he'd never felt more content.
The beast inside of him purred at the knowledge that the two most important people in his life were under his protective watch.
That was until a creeper snuck up behind Mumbo, and Grian barely had any time to react, to try to save him, before he died.
He felt his wings puff up, and the hand that was so lovingly caressing Scar's hair tightened to the point of him releasing a gasp of pain. It was then that Grian realised that, like Scar, he’d have to bring Mumbo to the safe room in order to truly keep him safe.
“Stay here.” He ordered. “I’ll be right back.”
Grian made his way over to Mumbo's location - his latest redstone project. He surveyed it as he walked through the maze of circuitry, trying to get to his exact location. However, his focus switched the moment he saw a block of TnT. That was dangerous. So Grian diverted his path and equipped his axe, ready to destroy the block, until he heard a voice exclaim.
“No, no, no, don't!”
Grian stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the source of the voice, relief flooding his system as he realised that it was Mumbo. He titles his head curiously, waiting for an answer.
“Grian.” Mumbo said firmly, taking a slow step forward. “Destroy that, and the whole system goes boom. Alright?” Mumbo stepped forward, and Grian put his shovel away. He didn't want Mumbo to die. He wanted him safe.
“Grian, where have you been?” He asked softly, taking Grian's hands in his own. Mumbo was always so kind, so understanding.
“Safe. With Scar.” Grian responded, and he saw Mumbo's body relax at the knowledge that he and Scar were alright. “You haven't been worried, have you?”
“I-” He hesitated. “Yes. I have. We all have. You two have just vanished , and, after Third Life, we've all been worried that you were somewhere like that again.”
“No, no. I wouldn't want to send anyone back there unless I had to.” Grian responded earnestly, giving Mumbo's hands a squeeze. “Mumbo, can you come with me? I want to show you something.”
Mumbo nodded, then typed something onto his communicator. “I'm just telling Xisuma not to worry about us.”
“Alright. Because he doesn’t have to worry. And neither do you.”
“I’m not worried.” Mumbo said in a voice that was slightly too high-pitched. Grian could practically hear his heart racing, but he didn’t press the issue further. He would understand anyway.
They took off, Grian making sure that Mumbo was closely following, and not running away.
“Where are we going?” Mumbo asked, about halfway through.
“To my base. I have a safe room, with so much protection. They won't even know you're there.”
Mumbo frowned. “... who's they , Grian?”
“Anyone!” He exclaimed joyfully. “Noone will find you there.”
“I see.” He said quietly.
They didn't talk after that, and Grian revelled in the comfortable silence, loving the way the wind blew between his wings, and feeling overly excited about the fact that the two most important people in his life would be safe .
They arrived at the safe house, with Grian opening the door, and Mumbo following behind him anxiously. Scar was sleeping in the corner, Jellie pacing around him protectively.
“Don’t be so worried!” Grian said to Mumbo reassuringly, taking his hand and guiding him next to Scar, then sitting on the floor opposite them. Both of them were in his sight now, and he’d never let them out.
“Is he ok?” Mumbo said, looking at Scar with a frown. In sleep, Scar always looked sad, but that didn’t reflect his actual feelings. If anything, Grian thought he looked peaceful.
“He’s fine.” Grian responded with a dismissive wave of his hand.
“But, Jellie-” Mumbo tried to protest. The cat hadn’t stopped pacing, meowing at Mumbo when she heard her name.
“He’s fine .” Grian insisted, voice a bit sharp. Couldn’t Mumbo understand? Scar understood. He wished Scar was awake.
Then, almost like magic, Scar began to stir, sitting up slowly. “Gri?” He asked slowly.
Grian placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling sweetly. “It’s alright, Scar. Can you tell Mumbo that you’re fine?”
“Hm?” He asked, blinking slowly. “Yeah. I’m fine. I like it here.”
Mumbo’s frown intensified. “Do you? It’s a bit… Dark. Isn’t it?”
“It’s mood lighting.” Scar said simply, and Grian felt his grin grow. Scar really did love it here.
“See? You’ll grow to love it too, don’t worry.”
“I- uh-” Mumbo’s unease didn’t fade. “Sure.” He pulled out his communicator, and started typing.
“You won’t be needing that.” Grian took it from him. “You can’t message anyone here anyway. And noone can message you.”
There was a brief moment of silence, until Mumbo asked. “Grian? How did you do…” He gestured vaguely to his surroundings. “This?”
Grian chuckled. “I don’t actually know. I just wanted to keep the two most important people in my life safe . And now you are!”
“And you're not going to let us out?”
Grian frowned in confusion. “Why would you want to be let out? No, no, no, you're far safer here. And you'll be happier, with time.”
It took a while for Mumbo to get used to the life that Grian had gifted him after that. But with time, and effort, he became more accepting of the lifestyle that mostly consisted of staying near Grian.
Mumbo utilised the books Grian had brought, reading them to give his mind something to do, and every time Grian saw him with his nose in a book, his heart swelled. Because that meant that Mumbo really cared about Grian, that he liked the things that Grian had supplied for him, and it showed he was happy.
As Grian sat down, Scar next to him, Mumbo in the corner reading, he felt content. He felt safe. And as he felt his eyelids close, he thought that he would like to stay in that room with them forever.