Oneshots! (Mostly Hermitcraft)

Crossbow quarrels (please spawn proof better) [Tango]

Febuwhump Day 3: "Bite down on this" ft. Human!Tango

Summary:
This raid farm is essential. They need the emeralds for their trading hall, the totems to stay alive, and the levels for enchantments. Tango, Grian, and Scar are finally ready to fire up the farm in the storm above their trading ship. Tango's fairly certain he built it correctly.

TW: injuries, death

"Alright boys! Let's test out this raid farm!" Tango calls, drifting down on his elytra and landing on one of the massive storage containers Scar had built on the ship housing their villager trading hall.

Grian whoops, punching the air with his fist. He turns to Scar, startling the man as he asks, "This is all spawn proof, right? Nothing will spawn here?"

Scar nods vigorously, barely containing his excitement. "I double and triple-checked," he says confidently. "There's no way anything will spawn on this ship while the farm's running!"

Grian shrugs. "Good enough for me. I'll block the villagers in, just in case."

"Sounds good," Tango confirms, stretching out. "I'll go get Bad Omen from the outpost while you do that. It shouldn't take long, so you need to be fast."

Grian and Scar salute him enthusiastically, gliding down into the heart of the ship and using stone to box up the villagers, hopefully to protect them from vexes if a raid happened to spawn there. It's unlikely, but better safe than sorry. Tango finishes his stretches, checks to make sure he has the right sword, then launches off in the direction of the pillager outpost to kill one of the patrol leaders.

He lands on the raid farm barely fifteen minutes later, radiating the Bad Omen effect. The farm kicks into gear as the first waves spawn, filling the farm with a cacophony of mobs. He swings his sword at the armour stand, the sweeping edge enchantment allowing him to slice through the whole chamber of baddies.

"Tango! Tango!" Grian screams, landing behind him. "Turn off the farm. We've got an emergency."

Tango grabs the bucket of milk from his inventory and downs it, putting the empty pail back into its slot before turning back to the raid, finishing it off as quickly as he can.

"What's up, G?" he asks urgently, pulling on his black fingerless gloves and adjusting his helmet. He scans his friend's panicked face, anxiety mounting as he rubs the hilt of his sword with his thumb.

"We missed a spot," he explains frantically. "Scar's down there with a bow, but the pillagers are getting real close to our villagers."

Tango pales, spreading his elytra and jumping into the air. He tilts downwards into a dive, squinting his eyes to see past the rushing air. He pulls up sharply just before hitting the deck of the ship, swinging his sword in a large arc through the vindicator in front of him. An arrow sprouts from its chest a second later and it falls over, dead, disintegrating into a pile of smoky ash.

Scar waves from his perch atop one of the storage bins before returning to his shooting. Tango waves back with his free hand, using his blade to parry the heavy blow of an axe, then lunging forward to thrust his sword through the mob's chest. A crossbow twangs behind him and a quarrel hits him square in the back, penetrating his armour and piercing his skin. Two arrows slam into the offending mob before it can reload, reducing it to another heap of grey dust.

To the side, Grian is fending off two pillagers, bravely duelling the two remaining mobs of the wave. Tango leaps forward and finishes off one of the mobs as Grian ends the other, both panting hard as the raid bar on their communicators refills.

Tango swaps his elytra for his chestplate as he takes stock of their injuries. Grian has a long cut on his forearm, but it's bleeding slowly, most likely just a superficial wound. Tango places his hand on his chest as the quarrel moves with his breaths, digging into his back. He can taste blood, but it doesn't seem too bad yet.