hermitcraft, sad edition

scarred heart. part two

"do you want to know what happened, joe?"

joe glanced up at the tattered man, surprise in his face. "i mean... if you're comfortable talking about it. i just want you to feel safe."

scar nodded, watching as joe worked the needle within himself, slightly marveled at the fact that he couldn't feel a thing.

"well, it started when we were in the desert. the one by the mining mesa. cub and i..." scar gulped, still torn up about his friend. "cub and i were finished with gathering resources for adding on to the country club. cub forgot his elytra, so it was kinda all on me to bring back all this sand and stone back to the portal." the man chuckled at the banter he and cub had while trekking back to where they had started. he shook his head while joe continued with his stitches.

"anyway, uh... it was getting dark, but cub and i had set up a shack where we set up shop. we were confident that we would get back in time. we were... seriously stupid since we forgot all of our food at the country club. we just figured that it wouldn't take long, but then days went by and we realized how dumb we were." a sad smile crossed scar's face while joe looked up at him. there were tear tracks staining his cheeks, with fresh ones threatening to come.

joe set down his needle and sat back. "i'm going to take a break now, okay? just take a breath," the man advised, resting a hand on scar's hand.

scar nodded, using his free hand to wipe his face. "sorry, joe," he said softly. "this is just... hard. i've had a week to recover, and i'm still not over it."

"don't apologize, scar. it's normal." joe smiled back as a reply, prompting scar to nod. "do you want me to continue?" joe gestured to the barely finished stitches lining scar's chest. scar nodded once more. the blue shirted man picked back up his needle to continue.

as the needle went back in, scar winced in pain due to a shooting sting of pain. he hissed out softly. "i- i need more anesthesia, joe," he mumbled, and his friend nodded, injected some more numbing medicine into his chest.

scar watched as that part of his skin went pale, and joe continued with the sutures. "well, we were still lost. we had a compass and we were even using our communicators to find out way back, but nothing was working. so, uh, it became night. we were able to fight off most of the mobs, but that night there were phantoms and way too many husks to count. cub was in charge of fighting, while i was in charge of protecting the two of us from any rogue creepers and skeletons, since i was just... in so much pain from walking..." scar let out a gentle laugh. "anyway, he was fine and it was almost day, but then a husk crept up on us. he just... grabbed me and threw me aside like i was a broken toy. he grabbed cub and just began wailing on him. i managed to get the husk off of him and kill it, but the damage... it was too much." scar shook his head and looked down to watch the repetitive motion of joe's stitches; in, out, tie, repeat. entranced, the two sat there for a minute before scar remembered what he was talking about.

"oh, uh... after that, the affects of the husk hurting him didn't set in for a while. his hunger was severely low, but we managed as best we could. we continued walking for another day until i could barely support him. i wanted to fly so bad, but i had no rockets. cub was in... a horrible state. he was hungry, starving, and had no way of healing well, because, y'know... sand got into his cuts." scar fiddled with a small piece of fabric that came off of his shirt while in the desert. "i tried to keep him hydrated, but with a lack of water, that's also really hard. he had a horrible fever and he just wasn't getting better. it sucked, and i... i just... i just watched him... die." scar spat out that last word, venom dripping from his sentence. "i couldn't do anything. i was a worthless friend, and if i'm being honest, it should have been me." joe gasped and set down his needle once again.

joe crossed his arms and sat back, while scar looked at him in confusion. "what? it's kinda true. i'm physically unable of walking long distances, it takes a horrible toll on my body."

"scar, do not say that. you tried your best out there, and yeah, it happens. stuff like this happens, scar." joe pulled up his chair closer to the bedside. "it was not your fault. the universe just so happened to pick cub and not you. don't go about blaming yourself for every single mistake that could or could not have been prevented."

scar let out a dry chuckle. "you're not my dad, joe."

joe leaned back and rubbed his forehead. "but it's true. scar, things happen. just because it happened to you doesn't mean it was entirely your fault."

silence filled the room, broken occasionally by soft sniffs from scar.

"i know. i feel like i could have done something better," scar mumbled. "can you finish my stitches so i can cry and hug you?"

joe nodded. he worked calmly while scar stared out the window, watching birds and butterflies fly by. that time frame soon became an hour's worth of work, but to joe, it was totally worth it.

he tied off the last suture and grabbed the flat bandage. joe carefully placed it over the large area and taped the sides with medical tape. with his work now done, he packed up the medical kit and stood to move it. joe felt and heard his knees, back, and wrist crack as he rose, causing him and scar to cringe.

joe replaced the medicinal kit and returned to his spot next to scar, preparing himself for the onslaught of tears and sadness that were bound to happen.

"alright, scar, let it out."

with those simple words, the brave, terraforming god of minecraft that sat in front of him broke down into a blubbering, distraught mess. the only thing joe could do was just hug him and gently rub his back while his friend was in hysterics.

the pair sat like that for a while, for about 20 minutes. scar began to calm down, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. "hey, joe? can i have some water? and some tissues?" he asked weakly, rubbing his eyes once more.

joe nodded and silently handed him what he asked for. the two sat for another minute until joe gave him a tight squeeze.

"hey, scar, i'm gonna give you some time alone, alright?" joe said softly, and scar nodded silently, sipping on his water. "message me if you need anything." joe rose and started to make his way to the door, until he was interrupted by a hoarse, 'hey', from behind him. the man turned and saw a weak smile on the scarred face of his friend.

"thank you, joe."

—

scar hadn't sleep at all that week when he returned, but after he was all stitched up and had a good cry with joe, he slept for two days straight. it was unhealthy, in hindsight, but everyone agreed it was for the best.

everyone on hermit island had gathered in grian's rickety house, while joe and scar stayed in joe's little house. the group had meetings every three nights, mainly about scar's improving condition.

that night, it was a meeting like no others, just without joe. he was committed on helping scar off of bedrest and back into civilization.

"so... the funeral for cub will be in a few days, right?" mumbo asked xisuma, and x nodded.

"yes. it will be soon, and i just need to finish some preparations. i'll send out the coordinates when we get closer to the date," x confirmed.

there was silence.

however, that silence was broken by the door to grian's house squeaking open. joe crouched underneath the slab, and in wheeled scar, still weak from his adventures in the desert. he had an iv in his arm still, and he was wearing an old shirt of joe's since his was torn up. scar raised his hand and smiled to the group of hermits who all had varying degrees of joy on their faces.

"hey, guys."

—

word count: 1453

wow i did not expect this to be so... long, i guess.

i'm planning on a part three, but as like... a bonus chapter.

(alsocubisntexactlydead... because permakill doesn't exist in my world, he's just on a different dimensional plane than the others)

alright, see y'all in the next chapter of depression!!!!!

-grey