~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 49

wc: 1671

Grian, partially on purpose, began to spend more and more time alone, either mumbling to himself as he jotted things down in a notebook or pounding away at a dummy in the training room. Stress kept approaching with tea or warm bowls of soup, urging him to rest. More often than not, she was politely turned down.

The day before the all-Listeners meeting, Grian sat with his back against the wall of the training room, eyelashes fluttering. A strange foggy mist settled on his mind.

The next battle with better trained troops could make or break this... quiet revolution, he thought, scenarios playing out in his mind. A few more skirmishes had happened around the kingdom, with small groups of Listeners engaging in fights with guards to escape, but nothing major had happened. The press, banned from reporting about a defiance of Elder authority, kept releasing papers about mundane topics. From an outside perspective, there were no signs of war, besides the long lines of winged Watchers trudging to work, to the market, to school. Grian let a ragged sigh fall from his lips.

Every other moment, prisoners are killed, and innocent people are dragged away. We have to do something soon. Grian's hand curled into a fist. I have to make up for what I did to Evo. He'd been pushing it away, but the grief Grian had so carefully tucked away was clawing at the walls of its prison.

He hadn't even noticed the tear that slipped out of his eye until it landed, cold yet smoldering, on his wrist. With a heavy sigh, he dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, just breathing.

There was a soft click as the door timidly swung open. Grian glanced up and saw X standing a bit awkwardly in the doorway, face scrunched with a bit of worry. He smoothed his face out, managing a wavering smile. "Hey, X."

"Hello Grian," X said carefully. "...you okay?"

Grian sighed, laughing humorlessly. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just, you know, thinking."

X sat down next to him, staring down at armored hands. "I was, er, talking to some of the hermits, and they're definitely not leaving." He nudged Grian's shoulder in an alien form of reassurance. "So you'll have us."

Grian shook his head. "No. X, you were right. You guys can't stay."

"What?" X looked up from his hands, glancing at him confusedly.

"It's- just-" Grian exhaled sharply, looking away. "I can't let anyone else get hurt because of me. I want you all to go back soon."

For a moment, they were both quiet. X finally spoke up, words quiet. "Xayla explained the full situation to us. I don't think any of them will be leaving willingly." After a moment, "And that goes for me too."

Grian's head snapped to the left to stare at him. "I'm agreeing with you, what are you doing?" he asked, stunned.

"I..." X sighed. "The Listeners are fighting for a good cause. And from what Xayla told us about... you, I also have a duty to protect you." His eyes stared straight into Grian's unfaltering. "And if my hermits are going to fight for you, then I'll do my best to protect and help them."

Grian lowered his head, his hand running through the dark streak in his hair. "Thanks, X," he said, exhaustion weighing heavy in his words. "But- I just- I don't know." He bumped his head back against the wall. "How am I meant to lead the entire revolution in fighting if I can't even get my own life together?"

X patted his arm. "We'll be here to help you, don't worry." It was a bit of a sad attempt to cheer him up, but Grian would take it. "The meeting's in ten. We should get going."

Grian sighed, rising to his feet. "I'm looking forward to it."

~~~

It was a bit strange to be talking to an audience you couldn't see.

Not that Scar would know, though, sitting against the wall and watching Grian stand in the middle of dozens of weird purple screens and lenses. The man looked a bit worn out, bags heavy under his eyes, but he donned a bright smile. Xerion and some others had talked about the current status of the revolution, according to Grian; it was all in a jumble of Galactic that Scar didn't understand at all.