MCYT Oneshots

Moss and Moonlight - Ethubs AU

This is part of a much larger AU that I haven't completed yet, nor touched in a while, but I was rereading through my drafts and saw this, so... _:D

It's out of order with the other sections, but the other sections haven't yet been posted, so I think it's fine :3

Fanart by beethubs on Tumblr! It's v cute, I love it <3

- - - 

"This is stupid," Bdubs grumbled to himself, tugging his moss cloak tighter, more out of comfort than chill. Not that it wasn't chilly, it was, it was quite chilly with no sun in the sky, but Bdubs' cloak was doing an excellent job of warding off the cold, thank you very much. "Urgh, I coulda been sleeping right now but nooooo, I had to open my big mouth and insult the boss. And now I'm stuck on freaking night watch! What the heck, man!!" The Moss Man continued, complaining to nobody, but the chilly night air. It was dark, clouds obscured the only light source, and it was cold, and Bdubs was grumpy. All in all, it was shaping up to be a terrible night.

Then, something shifted. A cloud moved. No, it disappeared entirely. The blanket of clouds that coated the sky vanished, and soft, silver light poured down from the heavens. The oppressive gloom faded at the light's gentle touch, and everything took on a mystical, silver hue. The light bounced off everything, lighting the darkest corners and gently, ever so gently, coaxing moonflowers to raise their heavy heads, tempting bats to raise their wings, and encouraging the nightlife to wake. Bdubs was already in awe, but something else happened. The light writhed, merging and condensing, and finally consolidated into a human-like form. Silvery gray hair flopped over a pale face, before being restrained by a black headband decorated with intricate gray swirls. Two gray-furred wolf ears sprouted from the hair, twin tufts of softer, pure white fur puffing inside the ears. A black mask stretched into being before even the face, hiding something that didn't even exist yet. Hovering just above the mask were two eyes, mismatched, one a deep brown that was reminiscent of dark oak and the other a bright red. The red eye had a scar running through it, puckered orangey-pink against waxy pale. A gray-green vest covered a slim torso, and inky black pants shrouded thin, lanky legs. A long, elegantly bushy, silvery-gray tail grew from his rear. Put all together, the being was ethereal. Beautiful. Bdubs' complaints died on his lips and, for the first time in known memory, he found himself speechless.

The breathtaking being stood for a moment, mismatched eyes blinking as they breathed in crisp, night air. Once they'd gotten accustomed to their human form, they knelt, a long, pale finger tenderly ghosting over a moonflower's bloom. Their asymmetrical eyes crinkled as if they were smiling under the mask, their wolf-like ears drooped calmly, and their free hand drifted upwards, long fingers closing loosely around the rim of their mask, tugging it down slightly. Bdubs shifted, standing and walking forward to reveal himself, but he tripped over a root hidden in shadow and crashed hard to the ground, muttering a muffled curse. The noisy commotion was enough to perk up the ears of the being, who immediately snapped to their feet in alarm, the hand that was previously pulling down the mask fixing it back into place with tight, clipped movements of barely concealed panic. Bdubs was oblivious to it all, only focusing on struggling to his feet, brushing dirt off his mussed-up clothing, and fixing his hair, which was tangled with twigs and leaves. "Freaking root, tripping me up for no reason! I was just walkin', is it a crime to walk?!" Bdubs grumbled at the root, which was looking far too pleased with itself to be innocent. Bdubs harrumphed at it before turning his back on it sharply, his cloak swirling very satisfyingly, before stopping short. The being was standing completely still, both eyes trained unblinkingly on Bdubs. The Moss Man felt like those eyes were peeling back all the many layers and staring right into his soul. It was a very unsettling feeling. So, Bdubs did what Bdubs does best when he's feeling uncomfortable. Break the tension by talking.

"Oh. Wow. Hi there. I'm Bdubs." The Moss Man greeted, waving at the beautiful being. They stayed frozen for a beat, waiting for something (what, Bdubs didn't know), then inclined their head ever so slightly. "Etho." Their voice was, like the light they were bathed in, silvery and unweighted. Etho. Bdubs turned the name over and over in his head. It suited the being. "Etho. Heh. Pretty name for a pretty face." Bdubs said, a cheeky grin adorning his face. The small amount of skin that he could see of Etho's pale face suddenly flushed a brilliant red, and those captivating eyes crinkled at the edges. "Why thank you." They fell silent, their left ear twitching, and it stayed like that for a bit until the being spoke again: "You have twigs in your hair." Bdubs laughed good-naturedly, reaching and tugging a few out. "Yeah, I do. Tripped on a stupid root. Freaking thing was too dark to see." Etho's eyes sparkled humorously. "I'm aware. You were grumbling very loudly about it." Bdubs chuckled sheepishly, still attempting to tug the twigs out of his hair, but Etho held up a hand. "Leave them, they're... uh... they're cute." They said, managing to sound only a little bit shy. Bdubs' eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open a little bit as color rose to his cheeks. "S-sorry?" He stammered, used to doing the flirting and flustering, but very new to being on the receiving end. This was not lost on the beautiful stranger, who grew slightly more confident and laughed softly, the sound like bells. "Oh, snappers. You're worse than Mumbo at taking compliments." Bdubs snapped his mouth shut, cheeks flushing darker. "Stop it. You're too pretty to compliment others." He grumbled half-heartedly. Etho chuckled, a hand rising to brush his bangs out of his eyes. "I can still try, can't I?"

The two chatted a bit, the previous tension now reasonably dissolved enough to converse comfortably. It was shared that Etho was the patron deity of moonlight, hence his likeness to wolves, who adored the silvery substance, and his comfort in it. It was also shared that Bdubs hated the dark, even though he tried hard to cover it up and even though he was the official keeper of the caves, where it was almost constantly dark. But, as he so insistently explained to the ever-so-patient listener Etho, his favorite place was the lush cave, which was littered with glowberries and was not, in fact, dark at all. Etho agreed vehemently with the sentiment of disliking the dark, although the moonlight host's dislike also extended to small spaces. He liked bright, open air, Etho explained, which was why his very being exuded light. They shared stories of their respective clans, their friends, and their families. Ethos laughed over Bdubs' uproarious tales of how Tango once accidentally burned Scar and Gem's forests, and how Impulse had mudslided Shelby as a joke. Bdubs was enthralled by Etho's story of the great quarrel between Scott and Pearl, and how Martyn had had to step in before they murdered each other, and everyone around them. Then, they got to the love stories. Bdubs shared in whispers how Scar, the Guardian of Nature, was meeting the Sun, Grian, and Etho murmured a rumor that Katherine, the Night Hostess, had taken a fancy to Shelby, the Swamp Keeper. This brought about a short little dispute over who was fond of whom, and which lady had fallen first, as Bdubs had heard the rumor being the other way 'round, with Shelby taking the fancy to Katherine. Either way, they gossiped and giggled and generally had a lovely time. In a few short hours, it was like they'd known each other forever. 

- - - 

I'm obsessed with pretty Etho <3 I'm well aware he's more skrunkly that pretty, but hey, I can dream xD

Also, been recently hyperfixated on drawing Hermits in dresses :3 Dunno why, it's just fun giving them the princess treatment <3

Might post them, if y'all are interested?

Love ya, drink water, don't die <3 I appreciate you guys a hella lot, you have no idea x,D

- Vee <3

Word Count: 1410 words