Freeze or Fall

Chapter 14: Homesick

Grian sat on a stray chest, watching as Npg and Ex talked about the looming threat on Hermitcraft. A lot was on his mind, with ET out there, the strange sickness at home, and on top of it all: Npg's comment.

The android had been right. Grian had lost his passion for building rustic houses when he'd brought him to life. Grian couldn't remember the last time he'd actually built one. Sure, his house in Hermitville had the same palette, but the shape and overall style was a bit different. And now, glancing around to see the vast expanse of near-perfect houses, he wasn't sure what to feel. Nostalgia? Regret?

But he did know he was proud of Npg. Even though Grian didn't know how to fix hi,, even though Grian had left him all alone, Npg had worked to be better. When faced with the challenge of his body effectively breaking down, he'd stood up again, becoming stronger.

It almost made Grian wonder if his resilience really was trapped inside Npg.

"Anxiety is only prominent if you let it be. You can't push it away, but you can find healthy distractions, such as taking a walk, or finding something to look forward to. As long as you take some time to say 'I am here, and I am okay', you'll find yourself happier."

Joe's words flashed through his head, reassuring him that he was healing in his own way. No reason to fret over this.

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"Black and goopy?" Taurtis asked, looking a little pale.

Ex nodded. "Yeah. Doesn't narrow it down much."

"Well, it might not narrow it down, but it does explain a lot."

Grian sat up. "What do you mean?"

Taurtis shuffled his feet. "Shortly before ET popped up as an evil alter, I think I came into contact with the same substance that's infected Hermitcraft."

"So you think ET's in the same position as Wels, Ren, and Scar?" Ex asked. "That does make sense. Despite everything, us evil alters still have a strong connection to our hosts. Even after I've transitioned into a player, I'm still connected to Xisuma."

"Then the simplest solution is to find a cure. And that just puts us back at square one." Grian stated.

Ex shrugged. "If the virus is specifically affecting alters, then it's not gonna be easy to just 'cure'. To my knowledge, alters aren't technically players. But that raises the question: What even are we?"

Npg lanced up from where he was sorting a chest. "Well, Ex and I are host-less so we probably can't answer that question."

Taurtis tapped his chin. "I don't have any alters, so I'm not of any help. Grian?"

"Well uh..." Grian laughed sheepishly. "I do have like twenty others I could ask. Most of them require a costume change to channel though. I could try Hippie Grian, but he's fairly new."

"Try Ariana." Npg suggested, not really paying attention. "She's one of your oldest."

Grian frowned a little. "I'm actually unsure if she needs a costume change or not."

"Or you could bring out Sherlock." Npg added.

"Well I'd need a costume fo-"

Npg interrupted him, closing the chest "Ex's got a black cloak lying around, and I can finger-knit a scarf up real quick."

"You can finger-knit?" Taurtis asked.

Npg opened another chest, digging around and retrieving the earlier mentioned cloak. "Yeah, no clue where the heck I learned it. I was just fiddling with some yarn one day, and figured it out."

Grian tapped his chin. "The cloak and the scarf will have to do. How long until you'll finish the scarf?"

"An hour, give or take." Npg answered, handing Grian the cloak. "So I should start as soon as possible."

"I'll tell Xisuma our plan." Ex pulled out his communicator. "You know, the Hermits all really miss you Grian. Xisuma grieved for a long time."

Grian smiled sadly, putting on the cloak. "Hopefully, once this is all over, I'll be able to go back to them. I'm just... homesick. Do you know how that feels?"

"Yeah." Ex looked over to Npg with a smile of his own. "I do."