Oneshots! (Mostly Hermitcraft)

Black as the Void [Pearl]

TW: blood, implied death?

𝒰𝓈𝑒 𝓂𝑒.

The insidious whisper crept in one ear and out the other. I shuddered and renewed my sorting. Everything was organized perfectly, I knew, but the mess in my mind was a monster I was unwilling to tackle. I told it off firmly, shoved it to the back of my brain, and cut it off from the present. It kept telling me it was still there, but I ignored it and kept putting it away.

𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜. 𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒! 𝒢𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎-𝒹𝑒𝒻𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔... 𝒮𝓊𝒷𝓏𝑒𝓇𝑜 𝓉𝑒𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓉𝓊𝓇𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒾𝓃 𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝓉... 𝑀𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝒻𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝒻𝒶𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔... 𝐼𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇!

I shake my head. I don't need superpowers to be loved. I should've told myself that years ago. I should've stopped before losing all I had and more. That's why I'm hiding this curse. I don't need it and, until I find out how to get rid of it, I'll pretend it doesn't exist. It doesn't exist outside of my past and mind.

And it'll be gone from my mind as soon as I figure out how.

I don't notice the freezing temperature until I register the cloud of frost in front of my face. No. No. No, no, nononono. This isn't real. They're not part of me anymore. Go back, please. Go back into whatever energy I took you out of.

𝒪𝒽, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝓈𝑜 𝓃𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒!

"Pearl!"

Every superhero has an alternate identity, I try, offering the thought to the curse. It accepts, retreating and returning the basement to its regular temperature. I grab the shulker boxes and run upstairs, tripping at the top as the person outside begins to flick the trapdoors around. I stuff the boxes in my satchel and jump on the ladder, climbing the rungs two at a time. By now, any sign of frost has been erased from the environment.

"Pearl!"

I arrive upstairs to find Grian stuck between the slats of the door.

"Did you flap them too hard or something?"

"Only 'cuz you're late to the Boatem meeting!"

"Oh."

Grian grabs my hand and drags me into the Boatem Hole. Impulse and Scar are already present, standing in their obsidian corners. An end crystal floats behind each of them, an explosive jewel ready to detonate the moment you caress its rotating facets. Mumbo, as usual, was absent, his space occupied by the mustached billboard Grian had built during the first meeting. I dump my belongings into a chest, set my spawn, and take my place, pocketing a few eggs I can use to condemn bad ideas. It's a shared feeling that blowing up the other Boatem members is more fun than the actual meeting.

Despite the fun, I can feel myself panicking. This is the first time my abilities have surfaced in months. I couldn't risk them jeopardizing the friendships I had just made. This curse has always forced people to feel like I'm a freak, an anomaly that doesn't fit with society. Once they find out, it seems like suddenly everybody is walking on eggshells, and I am a square trying to fit through a round hole.

"Pearl?" Grian waves his hand in front of my face. "Earth to Pearl. This is Houston. Earth to Pearl," he says, copying a film we watched the other night.