Chapter Text
Beef had no concept of time anymore.
All he knew was the endlessly burning sun fading into the ever-changing moon, back to the bright sun again. The oak planks of his boat were peeling with age, bags battered and discolored like old flags, what little belongings they had covered in muck. A good friend, worn down to a husk but still surviving. Familiar ghosts came and went from a distance, memories peaking on those lonely nights like a high fever.
Some days were hot, the ground itself burning beneath his hooves. Others were more pleasant, cooled by strong gusts of wind that reminded him of home. Some days were wet, raindrops dripping down his back as he trudged through the rain showers to some makeshift shelter. Others dry, with the warmth of the fire being the only witness to this Robinsonade.
Only Beef wasn’t alone.
Lizards crawled on the trees around them, studying with reptilian judgment. Insects bit at his face, causing him to bat them away with his ears. Fish swam between his legs in small wade pools and he fished them out with a makeshift spear. Seagulls played on the beach, calling to each other as Beef watched them fight over fish scraps under the light of the midday sun.
Etho left soon after Beef woke up, venturing off into the small forest in search of supplies. Food, fuel, company. The usual trifecta. Etho only came back with one of the first two, maybe both if he was lucky, but never the third.
Beef didn’t have that luck, either. Ever since the jungle burned down, it was only Beef, Etho, and that flimsy little boat that paddled them to safety but away from everything they had ever known.
The jungle? Burnt to a crisp.
nHo? Dead and buried.
Hermitcraft? Gone without a trace.
Home? Nonexistent.
The boat still rocked on the water, old and rickety. The shore still sprayed him with salty water and memories that were just as bitter. Sand still rubbed against his hooves, leaving every millimeter unbearably grainy as he stood up from his waiting spot on the beach. The only comfort he had was in the form of old blankets, one that hadn’t been swallowed by flames.
The more the days dragged on, the more Beef couldn’t stand the beach.
So, with stiff legs and a restless head, Beef headed into the forest. The wailing of seagulls and the lapping of waves against the sand got fainter, replaced with crispy leaves and fresh dirt. Bushes brushed against his leg as he trudged through the underbrush, noticing a sudden feeling touch him.
Beef wasn’t sure how to describe it, but he could feel a presence. Not too strange, but not too familiar. Not too animalistic, but weirdly human. Out of place, but strangely at home.
Just like whatever dwelled in the jungle.
Vile, seductive, evil. Wrapping its tendrils and fronds over his friends’ minds, tempting them with empty promises too appealing not to accept. Reprogramming the brain to stay in the jungle as they lost more and more parts of themselves.
But this wasn’t it.
Beef knew the difference. The jungle promised him things that Hermitcraft gave him. Friends, security, a place of belonging. The jungle knew this and it took everything away from him. Everything but Etho, the clothes off his back and the very few things they gathered before it all turned to ash.
It was strange, sure, but oddly comforting. It felt like a call to curiosity, not temptation. The only enticement Beef could feel was the wonder of the woods, calling his name through the gentle wind that blew through the trees.
Beef turned his head as he noticed something lingering in the bushes, shaking more aggressively than the wind did. Beef stopped in his tracks and watched the bush closely, noticing something white crawling about in the short branches.
A soft head popped out of the bush with a gentle meow. It was a cat, an elegant one at that, with a fluffy, handsome coat. He looked like a fuzzy white rabbit, complete with intense blue eyes and a patch of gray on his back. A black bandana was wrapped around his neck like a collar, a sign that it belonged to someone special. He looked healthy, save for a few small scars around his body brought on by misadventures from his past.
Not just a call to adventure like Beef thought, but a sign of civilization.
If Beef could find who it belonged to, maybe they could have a chance to escape. To go back to a server full of love, to make a new life that didn’t rely on fighting to survive. Or, at least, to find out that he wasn’t alone on this island.
Beef moved closer, but the cat noticed. Not with hissing or outstretched claws, but with a playful movement. He jumped out of the bushes, still meowing, before darting back into the dense undergrowth.
And Beef bolted.
He ran over toppled logs, overturned rocks, and small roots in the dirt. He tried to run after the cat, but the cat kept sprinting ahead. Sneaking under large roots, letting his paws get wet with puddles from the last rainstorm days before Beef arrived, not even stopping for a moment to rest.
By the time Beef stopped to take a breath, the cat jumped over some bush like an oversized rabbit. His fluffy white tail squirmed in the air, taunting him.
There was no way he was going to be outdone by a stupid cat.
Beef had plenty of experience with Jellie. Always lurking in the shadows, staring with her blinking emerald eyes. Scar’s eyes and ears on the server, a spy hiding in plain sight.
With the last bit of patience he had with that cat, Beef leapt in after him. He stumbled into the bush, only to fall face-first into the dirt with a pained bellow.
Beef couldn’t lie, it hurt.
Leaves in his beard? Totally harmless.
Scratches on his skin? They would heal.
His bruised ego? Yeah, that would take a little longer to fix.
At least no one else saw, right?
Beef looked up to find someone standing overtop of him. The figure was tall, with orange eyes and long strands of blonde hair. A black bandana held his hair back as a dark coat covered his shoulders. A small beard, not as large as Beef’s, speckled his chin.
The cat sat in his arms like a baby, blue eyes looking down at Beef as if he were some begging peasant. His tail moved once in a fluid motion, almost judgingly, before latching onto the man’s well-worn coat and crawling over his shoulders like a plumed boa. That cat’s tail flickered again, this time looking away from the stranger who chased him.
The peculiar man kneeled down to Beef’s level, studying him thoroughly. Not angry, not scared, just genuinely interested in this new person before him.
Beef should have been overwhelmed. With joy, with relief, with embarrassment, with anything.
Instead, it prickled like a bee’s sting. It left a noticeable twinge, but nothing more. It eased into his veins like a slow poison. Déjà vu, mixed with a tang of what he could only describe as… infatuation.
Beef would dare to call this feeling home.
The warm atmosphere of his parents’ farm. The innovation that Mindcrack brought before it all crumbled in pieces. The uniqueness that he found in Hermitcraft, a community unlike anything else he had seen before.
Xisuma’s authoritative levelheadedness, Joe’s unorthodox wisdom, the way Cleo laughed in the face of danger. Mumbo’s tender uncertainty, False’s endless bravery, the underlying ambition that united Tango and Impulse. The mischievous whisperings from Scar and Cub, Ren’s eager outgoingness, Zed’s morbid curiosity that kept him busy.
It felt like a lot of hermits, all at once. An unlikely fusion staring him right in the face.
Beef couldn’t help but focus on that face. He swore he had seen it before.
Those glistening eyes, that wispy golden hair, that awkward smile he wanted to see open just a bit more. It was a familiar ghost, one who haunted him pleasantly, not maliciously.
It was in that indecisive silence that the stranger spoke up, offering a gentle, gloved hand to him.
“Woah, are you alright there? That seemed like a pretty nasty fall.”
That voice. That gentle, sincere voice.
It still didn’t hit him, even as Beef offered his hand to this familiar stranger. Even with his thin, weasel-like form, he managed to lift Beef off the ground like he was nothing. As he staggered upright to look at his new ally, Beef noticed how small he was compared to him. Thin and tall, but not as much of a burly tank as Beef was.
Beef chuckled. “Yeah, thanks.”
The figure pulled away after a moment, not wanting to make eye contact as he brushed a strand of hair out from his face.
Beef couldn’t help but think about Etho. He wasn’t a big fan of making eye contact either. Even before his injury, he was very avoidant, hating the way all eyes were on him. No one said anything about it to their faces, but Beef had heard whispers. He was very quick to stomp out any rumors, but Beef could tell that Etho heard them too.
“I understand.” Beef nodded in sympathy. “You don’t have to look at me if you don’t want to. I just wanted to know what you’re doing here. Haven’t seen anyone else around.”
The tall figure didn’t speak but squinted. It looked as if a question was forming in his head.
“Say, you remind me of someone. Weren’t you looking for an… Ethan Stab a few years ago?”
Oh!
It was him!
The strange being who found him out in the woods, protecting him from a few pesky mobs that wouldn’t leave him alone in return for some minor medical care in the form of bandages and ointment. The stranger who knew where Etho was, who unintentionally led him straight to the quartet of Kingdomcraft survivors and later, onto the server where he would be reunited with his old friend.
No wonder why he felt so familiar!
A bright smile beamed in Beef’s beard. “Yeah, Ethoslab. My best friend.”
“Yeah, that guy.” The tall guy looked at him, the cat finally turning his attention towards the newcomer. “Did you ever find him?”
“Beefers!”
The leaves behind the stranger parted, a white-haired figure peering from the foliage. His fluffy white tail split the bushes more as it flapped happily, only for the wagging to slow down as he focused on the tall man before him.
“Oh…” Etho paused pensively. “You…”
Before the stranger could get a good look, Etho drew his headband over his good eye. As the stranger’s face went white with nerves, Etho glared through him as if he were made of glass.
Beef couldn’t understand why he was so upset. In fact, he hadn’t really seen Etho this upset since… well…
“Etho, you know him?”
Etho took a firm step between Beef and this new mysterious guy before daring to speak. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh…” The mysterious man threw his hand up in a wave, trying to act friendly through gritted teeth. “Hi, Etho… Is this your friend?”
Etho just ignored him, turning his attention to Beef in a neutral manner, blinking like an angry mother. His voice told a different story, half-teasing but still stern, slightly louder than a whisper.
“Didn’t know you had a new friend out here.”
“I know.” Beef just smiled obviously, wide enough for his mouth to ache. “He just follows me around like a shadow, you know? He’s quite charming, eh.”
“Quite charming?” Etho turned back towards the darkly clothed man. “More like hypnotizing.”
The taller man just laughed gleefully. “I can tell you’ve been hanging out with Joe too much if you’re making puns out of my name.”
“Hypno…tizing?” Beef repeated, his brain trying to make the connection.
“You still didn’t answer my question, Hypno.” Etho was blunt. “Why are you here?”
“You’re being quite direct, aren’t you?” The strange man grinned. “I don’t like your tone.”
Beef noticed the change in voice, unnatural and oddly alluring. Beef felt strangely drawn to it but didn’t focus on it too much. He had heard people use different tones before to keep others in line. Parents using their voices to strike fear into the hearts of their children, teachers using their voices to keep pupils in line, admins using their voices to direct their server mates.
This couldn’t have been any different, right?
“And I don’t like that voice,” Etho retorted, mouth twisting under his mask. “And I’m definitely not going to look at you.”
“Don’t try to act all tough.” Hypno sneered back, giving his cat a small pat on the head. “I think both of us know you’re as soft as a sweet little bunny.”
Etho just snorted.
Beef stepped in. “Wait, you know about him, too?”
“Of course I do.” If Etho had turned his head faster, he would have gotten whiplash. “He deserted the server, leaving some note and vanishing into the night like some stray animal.”
Now that Etho talked about it, he did remember a few pictures around the other hermits’ bases of figures he’d never met before. There was one that looked strangely like him, but he never really connected the dots. That is, until now.
“Come on, Etho.” Hypno batted his eyes at him. “You know better compliments about me than that. That I’m talented, that I’m intelligent, that I’m pretty…”
Etho turned to Beef with a snicker. “I’ve seen prettier in ConVex.”
Beef covered his mouth, trying to stifle a chuckle unsuccessfully. Hypno seemed to notice, looking confused for a moment before rolling his eyes tiredly.
“Whatever. I’m only here because I don’t have a server.”
“Correction, you had a server. You don’t have one anymore.”
“Neither do we.”
Etho hit Beef violently in the back of the head, enough for his vision to go all starry. “Oh, won’t you shut up?”
“You got kicked out?” Hypno smiled as he tilted his head, amused. “Again?”
“No, we just got lost.” Beef responded before Etho could butt in, rubbing his sore neck as he blinked the blurriness away. “We’re still searching for them.”
“So, they left you behind?” Hypno looked away maliciously for a moment to consult the cat around his shoulders, who was staring back with just as much epicaricacy. “That doesn’t seem like a very… hermitish thing to do.”
“It was…” Etho cleared his throat, almost as if the fire continued to blaze within him. “A situation beyond our control. I don’t think they meant to leave us behind.”
Hypno chuckled. “It’s more likely than you think.”
“You weren’t kicked out, Hypno,” Etho hissed, his voice like the simmering of a fire. “You left. Everyone knows that.”
Hypno didn’t respond, not at first. The tip of his thin, tufted tail seemed to flutter knowingly. One of his pointed ears twitched. A wide smile stretched from one ear to the other.
The cat seemed to launch himself off of Hypno’s shoulders, climbing down his back and sprinting over towards Beef as if he knew what was going on. He found his place between Beef’s legs, rubbing his face into his messy pants.
“Just because I haven’t been on the server lately doesn’t mean I’ve lost my powers.” Hypno stepped slowly around Etho, almost like a panther pacing in a cage, waiting to jump out at something. “In fact, being on my own has its benefits.”
Etho’s tail curled into his hands as he grabbed it tightly, grounding himself. He still concentrated on Hypno’s movements, ready to attack if he tried to pull anything sneaky. “And what would that be?”
“Oh, not much.” Hypno gave another flick of his tail, still staring Etho down. “Independence, individuality, the ability to grow without an admin or a ringleader breathing down your neck. Of course, you wouldn’t care. You’ve had life given to you on a silver platter. Most people aren’t that lucky.”
“My life hasn’t been as easy as you think it has been.” Etho forced himself to make eye contact with Hypno. “I’ve worked hard to get to this point.”
“And so have I.” Hypno finished his slow, dizzying loop around Etho, standing right back where he started. “I've been living on my own as a street magician for a reason. I’ve been polishing my skills, the same ones I’ve been honing since birth. I didn’t have to deal with rules or regulations. I could just be myself, not an obedient clone of someone else.”
Hypno grabbed Etho’s chin, pulling it towards his intense gaze, staring deep into Etho’s available eye. Etho’s head sagged to one side, eye fluttering with resistance before slipping half-shut. The bitter tension in his joints seemed to ease, his defensive fists dissolving into hands that hung limply on either side of him.
“Wouldn’t you agree, Etho? Doesn’t that sound like something you would like?”
Beef watched from the background, the white cat rubbing his face all over Beef’s legs without a care in the world. He was mesmerized, but in an entirely different way. Not entranced, but intrigued.
“Certainly so, master.” Etho responded in a dull tone.
“Excellent.” Hypno gave Etho a pat on the head, but he didn't even flinch. “That’s my good boy.”
Ignoring the cat leaning on his legs, Beef moved closer to Etho’s still form with hesitant steps as Hypno stepped back to appreciate his work, smiling proudly as if it were his magnum opus. Beef waved a hand in front of Etho’s face, but he didn’t react.
“What did you do with him?” Beef asked, prodding at Etho’s unblinking glass eye. “He’s like… in a trance or something.”
“That’s because he is.”
Beef turned to face Hypno, a worried glance on his face. “What?”
Hypno just smiled sinisterly with a short, mocking laugh. “Oh, just a little trick I know. Nothing too fancy.”
“Well, you certainly have Beef amazed. I’ll give you that.”
Hypno’s face went a shade paler as he heard Etho’s voice, bouncy and alive. He turned to look at Etho, who was adjusting the headband, feeling slightly stunned and swindled. Hypno should have known that something was up with the eye on the burnt side of his face.
“As I was saying…” Etho continued to look at Hypno, showing him who was superior. “I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve as well. You’re not the only one.”
In a moment of shock, Etho stepped forward, stomping on Hypno’s tail. Hypno screamed in pain as he drew the tail back towards his body, holding it like an injured friend as he fell to his knees. The cat made his way over to Hypno, purring as he rubbed against his bandana like nothing ever happened.
Finally looking away to let Hypno wallow in his misery, Etho grabbed Beef by the horn and pulled him into the bushes. Etho waited until they were fully covered in the leaves before he spoke, but Beef was still confused.
“Etho, what is up with you?”
Etho grabbed Beef by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. “Didn’t you see what he was trying to do to me, Beefers?”
“Oh, that magic stuff?” Beef scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It’s just a bunch of smoke and mirrors. You heard him. He’s a simple street magician. He’s probably not out there trying to brainwash people like you think.”
“Beef, his name is literally Hypnotizd. Have you not heard of him before?”
“Uhhh… not really, no.” Beef tilted his head, still confused. “Should I?”
“Beefers, I don’t think you understand.” Etho tried to keep his voice down, but he was much too frantic to be completely silent. “There’s a reason why we don’t talk about him. He’s dangerous. I’ve heard rumors that—”
“Rumors?” Beef interrupted, not amused. “They were just rumors, nothing more. I don’t think he’s as bad as you’re making him out to be.”
Beef looked back over at Hypno through the leaves. He could see him still grabbing his injured tail, watching as it moved in his hands. He still winced in pain, the cat purring next to him as if he tried to help. Hypno leaned down to pick him up, holding his soft body in his arms.
“He doesn’t look evil. Maybe you’re mistaken.”
“Most people don’t look evil until—”
Before Etho could stop him, Beef pulled away from Etho’s nonsensical grasp and returned to where Hypno stood with his cat purring in his arms. His tail looked normal, if not a little bent and sore. It gave a little wag to show he was fine.
“Just ignore my friend, eh.” Beef spoke nonchalantly, gesturing in a casual, friendly manner. “He probably just drank too much seawater. He’s usually not this weird.”
Hypno teased along with a small, cordial chuckle. “Yeah, happens to the best of us.”
Etho stared angrily from the bushes, keeping a close watch on the two former hermits. He could hear their careless laughter, with no hint of fear or timidness. Only Beef’s loud voice and Hypno passively humming along.
It made Etho sick to his stomach.
~~~~~
By some miracle, Beef was able to get Etho and Hypno together around the warm fire.
It wasn’t impossible, per se. All three of them were squeezed together on a tiny plot of land surrounded by water. It’s not like they could just walk away.
There was a potluck, if any of the old hermits involved could call it that. Etho gathered fish from the sea. Hypno gathered berries from the forest. It was a perfect dinner, if anyone could call it that.
The flames danced as their illumination reflected off Beef’s face. He was no stranger to fire. The way it crackled, blossoming into flickering light, searing everything it touched. He grabbed his shoulder to ground himself, charred and dry like burnt meat on a grill.
The wild didn’t provide them with tableware. Just sticks, leaves, and an old pan Beef managed to hold onto. Even with their bountiful harvest, the tension lingered in the air like a bad odor, dense and suffocating.
Etho sat on one side of Beef, eyeing Hypno with his bright-colored glass eye, occasionally with his natural one when Hypno wasn’t looking. He ate around the plants Hypno gathered, avoiding them like poison.
Hypno did the same with Etho, watching intently and only turning away when Etho glanced over at him. He wrapped his tail around his cat, protecting him like a mother bear would do with her cubs. He avoided Etho’s fish at all costs, feeding it to his cat instead of taking any for himself.
Beef didn’t like the silence. Maybe a simple question could spark something. A fresh start, a new connection.
“So, where did you come from?”
“Oh?” Hypno responded with a voice like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to respond. “I… came from a traveling… entertainment group, if you could call it that.”
“That’s funny,” Etho snorted. “You obviously came from a circus, you clown.”
“Excuse me, I was not a clown.” Hypno sounded insulted, shaking his tail furiously. “I was a magician. There’s a clear difference between the two.”
“Wow, that’s so interesting.” Beef’s ears rotated with fascination. “For which one?”
“Maximus Travelling Fair,” Hypno announced proudly. “Magus and Madam Mesmer? The one with the emblem of the elephant and the sun behind it?”
“So, you're related to them, eh? That’s neat.”
“Well, it wasn’t that easy.” Hypno stretched out his tall arms, reaching out as he let his back arch like a cat doing yoga. “But moving from place to place, seeing the sights, all that was enjoyable while it lasted.”
Etho didn’t even bat an eye as he commented. “You’re still doing it.”
“Yeah, but it’s not fun by yourself.” Hypno looked longingly out into the water, watching the waves beat against the sand. “You can go to the same places over and over again, but what’s the point of making memories there if you’re all by yourself?”
He had a point.
“So, what did you do there?”
“Helped, mostly. Didn’t get to perform much until I was around thirteen years old.”
“Oh, cool.” Beef’s ears perked up, a sign he was about to get chatty again. “I came from a farm. We never really got to do cool things like that there.”
“You didn’t?”
Etho looked confused. Beef had told him plenty of fascinating stories from his past. Any of them would have been better than hearing Hypno talk.
“Well, a snake did bite me once.” Beef talked endlessly, pulled into another rambling story. “Just grabbed onto my arm and refused to let me go until I shook him off. Hit him against a wall and he just slithered off. Parents nearly had a heart attack when they heard me screaming by the woodpile. It had to happen during a big get-together, too. Just my luck.”
Beef rolled up one of his arms, showing a small scar. A ragged line, jagged like a lightning bolt.
“Oh, interesting.”
“Yeah, it was… I wouldn’t say it was pleasant, but it was surely interesting. Their worrying bothered me more than the snakebite did. I’m quite sure it was just a dry bite, but they insisted that doping me up on whiskey and digging into it with a knife was the only way to save me.”
“Yikes, that doesn’t sound fun.” Hypno recoiled, wincing at the thought.
“Probably more fun for them.” Beef smirked through the memories of honey-soaked torture. “They just gossiped with each other until I passed out, so I guess they were entertained.”
Hypno snorted as if he understood. “Yeah, that’ll do it.”
Beef nodded along before another story struck him. “Oh, and I also got struck by lightning once.”
“No, you didn’t. You were next to a tree that just so happened to get struck by lightning. It never even touched you. There’s a difference.”
“Yes, it did.” Beef stayed stubborn, ears flicking with annoyance. “Almost gave my parents a heart attack when they found me like that. Probably not the best time for one of our dogs to get out, but hey, we managed to find her in the end. Brought her home safe and sound. Got a good story out of it as well.”
“You’re usually one for worrying your parents, aren’t you?”
“Eh, they have plenty of stories of their own. I’ve worried plenty of other people as well. Teachers, friends, admins. They just don’t know what to do with me, you know?”
“I understand.” Hypno looked away. “My admins didn’t care. They never did.”
The campfire got quiet. Beef looked at both of his companions, turning away from each other. Hypno just continued eating quietly. Etho did not.
“You know, it’ll be a while until we interact with other players, if we ever do.” Beef suggested, hoping to mend the fractured relationship between his old and new friends. “Maybe we could be a group. You know, look after each other, maybe travel around a bit more. Maybe we can start a new server somewhere.”
Hypno’s ears perked up at the mention of it but faded after a few seconds as if something reminded him that servers were something to be avoided. “A server?”
“Well, yeah!” Beef replied enthusiastically, not going back on his word. “We can start our own. I could be the admin and you two can be my fellow members.”
Hypno hummed, showing concern. He opened his mouth to speak, but Etho cut in instead.
“Yeah, fat chance. Like I would be on a server with him.” Etho scoffed, wrapping his tail around him as if it were a bubble around his body. “I’d resign.”
“Nope, too late.” Beef chuckled back. “You’re on my server now.”
Etho sighed. “Dammit.”
~~~~~
The night wound down after dinner, but Hypno and Etho still avoided each other.
Etho lay down and fell asleep soon after dinner, stating that he was tired and that his stomach didn’t feel right. As much as Etho blamed Hypno and his choice of berries, Beef assumed it was just an excuse, possibly just some typical cramps he got from time to time. Beef didn’t feel sick, and if Hypno was unsure about them being safe, he wouldn’t have eaten them as well.
The fire still blazed into the night, contained by a small hole surrounded with rocks. The wind ebbed and flowed with the flames, carrying away small flecks of ember that the breeze smothered.
Beef turned to Hypno, who was now petting his small cat on the head. The cat purred, lying with his limbs folded inwards like a fluffy loaf of bread. It was enough to say he was interested.
Beef had plenty of cats growing up. They all lived outside, protecting the barn from pests. They were pleasant creatures to be around. None of them tended to bond with him as much as donkeys or dogs did, but they were sweet animals that didn’t mean any harm.
“Say, what’s with the cat?”
“Oh, Max?” Hypno looked up at Beef. “I found him about a year ago when he was a little kitten. He’s been by my side ever since.”
Etho would have probably scoffed, saying that Hypno stole him instead, but Beef believed him. Why would he lie about saving a kitten?
“He means a lot to you?”
“He means everything. I saved him. He saved me. More than he would ever know.”
Beef noticed a small mark just above his shoulder, faded and crescent-shaped, almost like a pearly pink moon. Beef reached out to touch it, but Max hissed at him, showing his teeth.
“Careful, it’s still pretty tender.” Hypno warned, petting his tail to get his attention. “He got bitten by a cave spider a few days ago. Wasn’t sure he was going to pull through for a while.”
“Oh.” Beef backed away sorrowfully. “Sorry, kitty.”
Max turned his back on Beef and faced Hypno, his fluffy tail swishing as if he didn’t forgive. He seemed sour, almost dramatically so.
“Don’t worry about him.” Hypno ran his fingers through Max’s fur. “He’s a little diva sometimes, but he’s the sweetest little guy once you get to know him.”
“Yeah, I know people like that.”
Etho was still asleep, tail stiff as it flopped beside his body like a pillow. A protective quilt covered his shoulders, old and worn but still complete. Out of everyone on the island, Etho was the most comfortable. Dead to the world, but content with it.
The sand rubbed against Beef’s hooves oddly as he threw himself onto the ground from his sitting position, letting out a tired huff. It was a feeling he had gotten used to after what seemed like years of hopping from island to island, trying to find a true home.
Everyone on the island knew that feeling.
The stars above didn’t give him any answers. They just blinked from a distance, sparkling with ignorance. Beef put an arm over his eyes, unable to deal with it anymore as he let out a sad groan.
“You alright there, Beef?”
Beef exhaled, his large chest falling as he absorbed his name in Hypno’s mouth. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s just… we’re so far from home.”
“Home? What do you mean ‘home’?”
Beef didn’t know the answer. How could he solve the very question he posed?
“Like… shelter, food, warmth, family…”
Hypno tilted his head, aiming his gaze toward him as if he could read his thoughts.
“Hermitcraft?”
Bullseye.
Beef swallowed contemplatively. “Yeah, them.”
Silence passed between them, as heavy as gold.
“I miss them, too.”
Beef gave a quick nod over to him, attention caught like a fish on a hook. Hypno’s tail swooped over to his side as Max batted it with his paws, playing with it like a toy.
“More than you would ever know.”
Nature spoke for them when words could not. The waves hummed lullabies like sirens against the sand, effortlessly concealing peril in their notes. A chorus of crickets chanted behind them, all chirping in the same key. The wind gave a large howl, a yodel in slow motion. Max let out a solo, caterwauling along.
Beef joined in, letting out a gentle yawn.
“Tired?”
“Yeah…”
Beef knew it was a mistake to let his guard down about his exhaustion around Hypno, but he didn’t care. They were both exhausted, bodies worn out from the heavy-duty nature of their travels.
Hypno didn’t budge. He didn’t take the chance to lure him in with gentle words or his captivating gaze. He did ask just once for consent, but nothing more.
“I could help if you want me to.”
Beef just shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”
The night dragged on like treacle dripping from a spoon. Sweet and slow, soothing the soul and calming the mind, but it left him yearning for something different.
Beef breathed out, trying to focus on a sleep that never came.
A strong gust of wind swept through the beach. Beef shivered slightly, pretending like it didn’t affect him. He was the strong one, always brave, never buckling until everyone was safe and accounted for. Even then, his mind wouldn’t let him rest. Sleepless nights were just part of the job.
The sky was still dark, stars still shimmering. A cloud or two waltzed past like shoppers near a store window, gazing for a moment before briskly floating away with wispy dresses. A brief flash or two would blink from the forest, ominous but somewhat welcoming.
Something warm touched Beef, curling up to his side and never letting go.
He turned his head to see Hypno lying right next to him, shivering as well. His coat was thick and dark, well-loved but still of excellent quality. He wrapped an arm around him, pulling himself closer. His thin tail waved once or twice, an attempt to hide his excitement.
Beef puffed out his chest stoically. “What are you doing?”
“You looked cold.”
“I’m not cold.”
Ironically, the lie only made Beef feel colder.
“You’re shivering.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Warm people don’t shiver.”
He could feel something rising inside of him like the atmosphere of a slaughterhouse. Squeals and bellows turning to sizzles and crackles. The shrieks of millions of futures in a closed space, screaming for air. A place where life gave way to death, only to return to life once more.
Beef could sense the unease. He could still feel the cold ground beneath him like a death sentence, but something tingled within him. It felt like a bigger force was at play, forcing him into place like a girl playing with dolls.
“Besides, you looked pretty lonely.”
Something jolted into his head, his thoughts dropping in cavernous echoes like dead weight. He seemed to go still, muscles protectively going rigid before releasing with some form of acceptance. The world passed him for a moment, dreamlike and hazy.
A rueful laugh escaped his lips as he tried to throw off this unfamiliar feeling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I know you don’t like being alone with your thoughts either.”
He could feel Hypno’s words cut through him like a knife through the jugular. Sudden, sharp and suffocating.
Blood rushed in places where blood shouldn’t have been rushing. His giddy thoughts, his thumping heart, his fingers that jerked like futile resistance. He let himself dangle in the infinite nothingness, swinging between feeling too much and not feeling at all.
Max took Beef’s silence as an invitation. His little paws were sheathed, the pads feeling like little cushions as he stepped over Beef’s stomach. He curled up on Beef’s lap, already forgiving him for his accidental offense.
It took a moment for the shock to settle in his bones. Love had left him senseless, exsanguinated, and limp. Yet, he didn’t mind it. These new friends had already claimed him for their own. There was no way he could get away now.
He let the unknown swallow him up, thankful for another chance to start again.
~~~~~
The full moon was the only light Hypno needed to find his way out.
The water rippled as the oars pounded against the surface, distorting the world above. He felt the fragile boat rock him like a cradle, gentle and familiar. The waves were calm, not wild and turbulent like they were when he first settled on that fated island.
He wasn’t going to stay there. He needed to find his way back to civilization, back to a place where his talents would do him good without the demons of his past finding him.
They had hands, teeth, claws. Instruments to tear him apart, limb by limb.
Lines of dialogue repeated in his head like a record he couldn’t stop. It was the same old song and dance, same verses and notes, same damn tempo. Hypno took himself out of the routine years ago, but the infestation of earworms never went away.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. He’s just a stupid carnie with more bark than bite. Besides, what harm could he actually do?”
“If I wanted a creature to follow me around, I would have adopted a dog, not a bootlicker like you.”
“This is my server, Hypno. Don’t forget who’s in charge.”
Max was ignorant of his owner’s suffering. He stuck his head out of the boat, staring at his reflection as if it was some big epiphany. To him, it probably was.
Hypno envied him. No ghosts, no haunting memories, no marks of shame. Just a cat, born in a harsh world, rescued at the right time.
“Careful, there.” Hypno gently moved Max back into his lap, blinking slowly. “Don’t need you going overboard.”
Max didn’t complain. He just curled into a ball, accepting his place. The warmth was palpable there, a stark contrast to the frigid air that screamed persistently. There must have been a storm on the horizon, spoken only through the call of windswept spirits.
Hypno breathed out, his hair fluttering in the breeze like a flag. His arms moved fluidly, rowing in a rhythmic pattern. It still didn’t stop his thoughts, the way they repeated over and over.
“Heard he sold his soul to the devil. No wonder why he’s so… eerie.”
“I don’t hate him, Xisuma. I just… can’t trust him. Not after what he did to us.”
“Don’t get too close to him, Mumbo. You don’t know what he’s capable of.“
His heart ached the more he looked at the sea. Anyone else would have scoffed it off as just a body of water. But to him, it was a second chance. Sometimes a third one. More chances than he should have gotten.
Blue slime. Webbed claws.
Bad jokes. Soft speech.
Nice builds. Good aim.
They wouldn’t want him back. Not after—
His thoughts were once again cut off by something white in his vision, whisking back and forth. Max meowed softly, standing up and pacing around the boat like a jungle gym. Hypno let go of the oars and pulled the cat back into his grasp when he noticed something in the distance.
A lump floating in the water like a small knoll. A lengthy stick reaching out to touch the sky.
Land.
Hypno seized the oars again and rowed as fast as he could toward it. Max stood on the bow like a sailor who just explored a new world, eager to check it out for the very first time.
By the time they landed and got everything settled, the sky was glowing red. Red like the fire in his heart, red for the blood he couldn’t wash off his hands, red like the wine-dark sea that led him there.
It was perfect isolation.
A place to ruminate on his past, to punish himself for his wrongdoings, to stay and rest a while until he was ready to travel again.
If they ever found him.
His street magician gimmick did him well. There was nothing like traveling from place to place, using the skills he learned from his childhood to entertain the masses. He had everything he needed right in his coat. Playing cards, balls for juggling, a rope of bandanas linked together. He had everything.
…except shelter, money, and companionship, but he had his ways to get around that.
As the sun rose over the new land, Hypno climbed up into the thick, swaying branches of the lonely tree. Settling on a stable spot, he relaxed against the trunk, letting out a sigh he had been holding back for hours. Max laid down on another branch beside him, letting his tail hang off the edge as he clung with unsheathed claws.
The view from up there was gorgeous. The way the water rippled by the coast, the leap of a dolphin in the distance, seabirds scattering in the sky like little specks. Even in the thick shelter of the leaves, he could feel the sun embrace him with warmth. There was truly nothing like it.
Still, his mind wandered back to that old island, the one inhabited by a pair of friends with a bond stronger than steel.
Hypno left everything as it should have been. The old boat rocking by the shoreline, the tools they used to make dinner, the friendship he rudely barged in on. He vanished like a phantom, leaving only traces that the tide would eventually erase.
But that face still kept him hostage.
That bushy beard, soft to the touch. Those blue eyes, deep enough to flood his lungs like a rogue wave. Those fearsome hybrid features, sharp horns and wagging tails he had encountered all his life.
For a split second, Hypno wasn’t sure if he was talking about Beef or another ghost from his past, slipping away like a fish small enough to weasel his way out of a net.
Beef had fallen asleep in his grasp. Naturally, like Max did when he was a kitten in the pockets of his coat. Comfortable with his presence, too trusting with strangers to think twice. No hypnotic influence, no sleight of hand, no magic tricks. Just love, the purest kind.
It was ironic, actually. Love was a trance of its own. Slow, powerful, easing.
At first, it was nothing. A comfortably dark room, an overly imaginative mind, a warm couch to rest on. All it took was a small command, a golden watch swinging in the right direction. Back and forth, the causal fluid motion of life.
Ever so softly, something would shift. The couch became softer. Eyelids could no longer stay open and fixed on the object before him. Every thought pulled with the dominant voice, all too persuasive not to follow along. Going deeper and deeper, a downward spiral into a swirling haze he never wanted to leave.
Then, with a snap of fingers, it was over. Awareness jolted back into him, sending him back into the gravity of the real world. That tangible dream had turned to dust, nothing but a fantasy he could no longer grasp.
Nothing changed. He was still the same person under that spell. Just pulling at impulses, stuck in the Goldilocks of consciousness. Not too aware, not too stupefied, but just right.
The memories with love were nothing more than an infected wound. At first, the wound looked normal. Not decayed, but normal flesh. Then came the rolls of fever, the red streaks of pain, the stench of abandonment. Even if the wound wasn’t fatal, the scar from it would never fade.
He was testing the waters with Max. He didn’t need to try again with someone just as human as he was.
Hypno’s tail curled against the branch, holding it tightly. The tip of it flickered peacefully, a new sense of fear taking hold. If these hermits could find him out in the wild, they could drag him back there, back to his unfair sentence, back to that admin.
He couldn’t face him. Not now, not ever.
Exhaustion was a strong force, tugging at him with a certain fever. He closed his eyes, pulling his bandana over his lids, and fell asleep.