Chapter Text
Grian tore through the code in a panic. He could feel the watchers’ eyes on him as he dove through code. The servers he passed by were too close and too weak for him to slip into the code without the watchers immediately following. Grian needed a server big enough for him to hide in, one that had a firewall big enough to keep hostiles out. “You can’t hide from us, Xelqua~”
Grian felt fear crawl up his spine and along his dull violet wings. He noticed a spark in one of the servers he passed and dove for it. The brighter the server, the stronger the protective firewall, and the safer he would be from the cruel deities that kept him from his brother and sister for 30 years. “We see you, Xelqua…”
Grian ripped through the code of the server as fast as he could. He felt bad for the admin who would have to fix the patch, but right now, he couldn’t worry about how messy he was with the code, right now he just needed to get away from the eyes that watched him and the hands that tugged at his feathers and hair.
Grian’s eyes glowed lavender, watcher symbols burning into his eyes as he forced his way into the server. The last thing he heard before entering the server was the watchers whispering angrily in his feathered ear. “We will find you."
When Grian crashed into spawn, loud shouts of surprise and shock overwhelmed his senses. “Oh my gods!”
“Is he ok!”
“Did he create that tear?”
Grian’s hands jumped to his ears as the sudden loud noises overwhelmed him after being in the void for so long. A softer voice caused Grian to open his charcoal eyes to see bright amber ones. “Are you ok? My name is Aviana, you’re in Hypixel right now, are you hurt?”
Grian was a little dazed by all of the information that was shoved in his face but he shook his head. “I’m not hurt.”
Aviana reached out her hand and Grian hesitated before taking it. “You took quite the fall, for a normal spawn in.”
Grian winced as his eyes swept up to where there was a hole in the server’s sky. “I won’t try guess as to what caused you to enter so roughly, but we should get you out of the center of the hub.”
Grian didn’t protest as the strange woman led him away. What was her name again?
Grian couldn’t help but look at everything around him. After being in the watcher’s realm for years and then the void for weeks while trying to escape, everything felt so colorful and full of life. He couldn’t help looking the the trees and banners that lined the shops. Even the sidewalk and pathways seemed so bright; he could see the shades of blue in the gray stone. “You alright? You look like you’ve never seen the world before.”
Grian jumped at the voice of the woman and scolded himself silently for being so obviously not normal. He didn’t respond to her and she shrugged when she noticed he wasn’t going to talk. “Suit yourself.”
She led him to a shop on the corner that had a jungle sign above the door that read, ‘Aviana’s avian products of care’. That must’ve been her name because she produced a key from her pocket and unlocked the door. “You’re lucky you crashed in during early morning, not many people are up at this hour.” the wo- Aviana said.
Inside the store was a sea of brushes, bags, and what looked like soft blankets and plush pillows. Were those nesting fabrics? The thought of those soft fabrics curling around him made him want to warble. “Why did you bring me here?” Grian managed to choke out past the overwhelming sense of home the familiar items gave him.
“Well, I couldn’t help but notice your torn robes and your mangled feathers. I figured you need some new clothes and someone to help you preen-” She cut herself off when she realized that she had just offered to help with something extremely personal. “-or you can just lay low here and preen yourself, ” Aviana finished, nervously fidgeting with the feathers on her ears.
“I’ll preen myself, thanks,” Grian said flatly. It felt weird that she had offered, but maybe avian customs had changed in the last 30 years. Aviana flushed in embarrassment and agreed quickly. “Right, of course, do you want a change of clothes at least? I have a few that people abandoned here.”
Grian nodded. He needed to get out of his watcher robes before someone recognized them and called the admins. Aviana stepped into the back and came back out with torn jeans and a ripped and dusty sweater. His eyes were drawn to the vibrant red of the sweater. It looked so...normal. He took the clothes from her and she showed him where the bathroom was. The sweater was soft despite having seen better days. Its red color practically glowed in the sunlight, and the best part of it all was the small holes and tears in the clothing from use. Someone used to wear it, it smelled like it had once been lived in. Nothing like the sterile watcher robes he had been forced to wear for so long.
When he stepped out of the bathroom he had never felt more like himself. His wings were pinned to his back uncomfortably, the sweater pulled over his wings. Grian knew that they would cause too much attention on the street. Aviana glanced in his direction as he stepped out, her eyes drawn to the small feathers on his ears that were visible now that he had cleaned himself up. “Do you need help cutting holes into the sweater?” Aviana asked gently.
Grian shook his head “I’d prefer not to.”
Aviana didn’t seem to fully understand why but accepted the answer. “You have somewhere to go?”
“Yeah, I have family a few servers over,” Grian lied through his teeth. Despite the kindness Aviana had shown him so far, Grian knew by now that if someone helped you they want something and if they say they trust you they’ll stab you in the back.
As Grian left the store he noticed the mob of people that had witnessed his fall into the server had dispersed to continue shopping or talking with their friends. Grian let his feet feel the cold cobblestone and graveled pathway that lined the roads of the server. He really needed to figure out the name of this place so he could ask someone how to get out of here. When he tried to ignite some of his magic he could feel it rebel against his code. When he ripped into the code of this server it must have drained his magic reserves to close to nothing. Meaning he couldn’t portal out of here without some sort of catalyst or admin approval.
Grian pulled himself into an alleyway and checked his inventory to see if anything made it into the server with him but it didn’t yield much. He had what might as well have been lint in his pockets. Not a single diamond for him to buy anything as simple as food. Not that the watchers ever used diamonds or any type of currency because they just took what they wanted to. Of course he wouldn’t have any diamonds on him, what was he thinking? His head snapped up when he heard the heavy pounding of boots on stone. Players in deep reds and gold rushed by the alley he was hiding in.
“How did someone get into Hypixel without going through the hub!?” Grian heard a deep voice that sounded older, probably an older man.
“Look at the tear they left in the code! This is gonna take forever to fix!” A higher voice shouted, probably a younger male.
“you don’t think it’s...” A soft young voice asked quietly.
“No.” The older man replied. “let’s not assume the worst yet. But in case it is one of them, I’ll send for Xisuma.”
Grian swore under his breath. He’d been here for a total of 20 minutes and he already was on the radar of the admins. He was grateful that he had changed his clothes and gotten out of sight quickly. His only problem now was staying out of sight of the admins until he could get out of here. Grian didn’t know who Xisuma was but he could bet they were powerful if this many admins wanted to send for him at the sign of a Watcher breaking into their server. Anyone with that power never asked questions; they acted purely on instinct and that would not bode well for him. He needed to move.
Grian glanced at where the admins were in the center of the hub and then down the alleyway. It looked far too clean - the cobblestone wasn’t stained and the walls even had clothes lines in between the stores to hang clothes. It looked like something out of a Disney movie and for some reason, it rubbed him the wrong way. His wings shifted uncomfortably under his sweater. They were starting to cramp. He fidgeted with the feathers on his head nervously as he moved between the alleyways.
By the time the sun had set, Grian had found an overhang at the edge of the server hub that was filled with cardboard boxes and old bottles. This must be where they threw away their recycling until it could be taken to the multiversal server hub to be made into new things to be sold in the market. Upon closer inspection, he saw an old newspaper that was damp. Its lettering was faded, but it was better then nothing. Grian settled down against one of the mostly dry boxes and pulled the newspaper up to his chest. He fell asleep to frogs croaking in the dark forest beyond the hub.