The hermits knocked on the makeshift door, waking up the slumbering grian.
"Xanthus, why are you even knocking..." He muttered as he opened the door.
His hazed eyes cleared in an instant, "w..what are you guys!" He took a step back and looked around.
"I'm still in, so why-!" He was too stunned to speak.
The hermits smiled as they quickly went in to hug the short hermit.
"Don't leave us again, idiot." Grian heard mumbo mumble in a sniffling tone. It was too late for grian to notice that some of the hermits were crying silently.
...
"So, how were you?" Tfc had decided to calm the hermits down and ask this crucial question first.
"I'm great actually, I had Xanthus with me." Grian replied with a smile, it seems that they didn't hate him.
"Xanthus? Who's that, an imaginary friend!?" Scar gasped.
Cleo smacked his shoulder, "scar!" She laughed.
"Pff, no. I'll call Xanthus, you guys wait." Grian stood up slowly, this alerted some of the hermits.
"..why don't we come along?" Mumbo immediately offered, followed by iskall and ren.
"He's on the next room, probably cooking dinner, chill." He giggled.
The hermits eyes followed grians figure until he was out of sight. After a minute or so, he went back with a tall figure, about xisuma's height.
This alarmed some hermits, they had thought xisuma had found grian. "This is Xanthus or EX as some of you may call." Grian nudged xanthus, clearly there was an inside joke going on.
"Evil X?" Mumbo took a step back. He didn't attack anyone and was quite in guard with grian. "Yes, hello. I'm Ex or Xanthus...I'm this little guys guard."
"Guard?" False quickly asked, it was quite a surprise to her. "Yes, xelqua or...grian is needed to be protected by all cost." Or else the other grian might come out and reprehend him, he thought.
"Oh." Doc had quickly realized what he meant.
"What..!" Stress was about to retort, feeling lightly offended, The others too felt quite offended but silently watched.
Tfc covered her mouth.
"Oh grian, I forgot to get your cookies when you suddenly dragged me here, can you please get it for me?"
Xanthus wouldn't do such a thing like give orders so grian took this as a sign to skidaddle. "You guys want some too? I'll get in a mo'" he walked back to the kitchen, smiling brightly.
Everyone turned to xanthus, wanting an explanation. "Grian and xelqua are a complete separate being."
Although grian had been trying to embrace xelqua, he still couldn't grasp on some areas.
This included PvP and redstone.
As a watcher, he needed to be perfect with everything. So xelqua did everything to be perfect.
"I'm not getting it?" Impulse raised his hand like a student as he asked.
"Grian...is well, grian. That tiny lovable gremlin you all seem to know well." A few hermits nodded for him to continue.
"Xelqua...xelqua is...a cold blooded watcher, he was meant to watch. Wait I take it back, he wasn't really that seriously cold blooded but if he would've come out and talked to you, you'd feel his cold pressure. This xelqua isn't to be messed with, you all should be glad grian is grian."
The hermits understood what Xanthus was saying in his messed up speech. Xanthus kept on fiddling, like something was hearing every word he had just spoken.
Grian came out of the kitchen and served everyone cookies, "there you go. Rest for a while." He smiled.
The hermits thanked him, quickly sitting down and munching on the pastry.
Grian went back to his seat, briefly looking at Xanthus.
Xanthus avoided eye contact, feeling the dormant xelqua glaring right at him.
He seemed to be dissatisfied with how he was portrayed.
...
"Grian, come home with us." Tango had just finished eating and he had offered his crumb filled hand to grian.
Cub second the offer, "Don't worry about xisuma." He'll surely figure out a way to talk and not fight with the void walker.
Grian looked at his guardian.
Xanthus looked at his boss.
Xelqua sighed at the two.
...
"The shopping district looks weird." Grian looked around, feeling the air and atmosphere.
"Well yeah you—!" Cleo was about to retort jokingly when false had immediately grabbed her from behind.
"You don't go out often." Xanthus nodded.
Grian also nodded, "grian two really doesn't let me though." His mind went back to grian two being stingy whenever he goes out.
"That's because you pull pranks left and right." Xanthus scolded, making several hermits nod.
Grian snorted, whipping his head to the side.
"Oh sizzle reel, Joe hills!" An unknown hermit yelled, immediately alerting everyone.
Xanthus raised his arms to grian, protecting him.
Joe landed in a hurry, passing xanthus and into grian.
He embraced the gremlin.
"Grian, oh god!" Grian two slowly let grian take the wheel, relaxing onto Joe's arms.
"I've been working night and day!" He's been working night and day distracting xisuma because he knew the other hermits were already searching for him.
Xanthus nodded in thanks, getting Joe's hidden meaning.
...
"How do we face X now?" Cleo asked out loud, staring at stress' calendar that was randomly hung on grians infinity room.
Xanthus spoke up, "I'll talk to him." He said.
"He'll kill you." Grian two retorted.
The other hermits noticed his reply wasn't quite 'grian' so they stared in wonder.
Grian stood up, transformed himself in his much rather clothing and bowed as he introduced himself, "I am who they call Xelqua, pleasure to meet all of you." He smiled arrogantly.
Xanthus sighed.
The hermits mouths gaped. There was indeed a blizzard that seemed to pass by when xelqua had talked.
Xelqua's eyes were that of a predator, "Xanthus, talk with me." he stared at every hermit.
They all took a step back, excluding Xanthus.
Xanthus and grian— sorry xelqua talked for 5 minutes before xanthus flew away.
"Since grian is still afk, does anyone wish to question me anything?" Xelqua sat crossed leg.
"Uhm, yes..sir." Joe bravely stepped forward.
He felt the chill that crept everywhere when he had started to converse with xelqua.
"Are you—sorry, is sir mad at us for..." Joe couldn't help but trip on his words. He had wanted to come across as direct and respectful but it all fell down when xelqua focused his eyes on him.
Xelqua, the magic being, knew what Joe was leading him on. "Yes, yes I was."
His reply was direct and curt.
"But it doesn't matter much anymore, grian was very moved when you've all come and brought him...home."
Xelqua didn't associate home with anything, so referring here as 'home' didn't really roll of well with his tongue.
Xelqua could feel everyone not-really-secret sigh. He silently smiled to himself, feeling proud of his descendant.
...
Xisuma and xanthus faced eachother silently.
"Xisuma."
"Xanthus."
Xisuma stepped forward, "you're alive." He chocked out.
Xanthus sneered, "I very well am."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to send you to the end— I was going to let you come back after you've calmed down but!" Xanthus slapped the incoming arm xisuma had out.
"Don't touch me. Xisuma, I'm just here for one thing. That thing is about the being who saved me, so...I beg you." Xanthus didn't stare at his brother, "let him join hermitcraft again and I'll leave..." He whispered.
Xisuma's eyes widen, and without Xanthus prepared, he jumped and hugged his brother. "You fucking fool, you and grian can both stay."
Words that Xisuma had bottled up for the past 6 months came out in a cuss. He was just both so mad and happy at the two.
The two then discussed what lot they've both missed with eachother for several hours.
"So uhh, I guess we should tell the others the good news eh?" Xanthus coughed, feeling flustered.
Xisuma coughed as well, "we should" it barely sounded like a reply.
...
"Did you really do that!?" Scar asked xelqua coupled with ren and doc.
"Is it that strange?" Xelqua held a cookie.
"Grian absolutely destroys redstone!" Mumbo squiggled his arms around.
The redstone people huddled in one corner, drawing circles.
"So, are you the redstone guy and grian as the builder or-?" Even though there was a chill, it felt like an air-condition now. "We're both. Grian's just always... bamboozling you."
"What!?" The redstone gang had another arrow shot at their bodies.
"Hah. Of course, he's a watcher by blood, he's bound to get everything by watching." So of course he's learned advance redstone, he got it from you guys.
Xelqua had quietly praised the hermits.
"Then...How's there two of you— DID???" stress gasped.
"No, no." Xelqua shook his head, "we're one. I just need him to properly adjust." His head ornaments shook.
"Then where do you l—" tfc's question got cut off as a heavily injured xisuma and xanthus entered the room.
"What in the world is this?" Xelqua turned to xanthus and came in quick strides beside him.
Gold particles flew and both bothers' injury automatically healed, "Regen' magic." Xelqua poofed.
"Thanks sir." Xanthus smiled, he quickly elbowed xisuma.
"Ah, yes. T..thank you." Xisuma bowed.
"Let's talk shall we.." he said in a cluster.
"Let's talk here, the weathers nice." Xelqua sat in comfortably.
"Ho." Xanthus gaped at this powerful beings arrogance.
Xelqua reminded him of dragons, extremely selfish, high and mighty, arrogant, and wealthy. The only difference was xelqua is extremely selfless.
"Grians staying." Xelqua didn't ask.
"Okay." Xisuma quickly agreed.
"I knew you would disagree so in conclusion— you..." Xelqua stopped being causal.
"You heard me, the three of you are staying." Xisuma knew he was dealing with a powerful being but he was an admin.
Xelqua quickly let go of control, startling all of them. Xanthus immediately caught grians limp body.
...
Inside.
"They— they agreed." He excitingly told grian.
"They did!?" Grian in doubt questioned.
"Yeah! Guess they were impressed by my redstone." He laughed.
Grian also laughed, "change your password once in a while." He punched grian two's shoulder.
"..you should wake up now." Grian two smiled, "they're waiting." He said.
"I'll come back quickly!" He waved, leaving the room and into the steering wheel.
"Goodbye." Xelqua smiled.
The author has something to say: uhm, this is uncomfy but I just got...inappropriated.
It was extremely speechless inducing but that gave me the push to work in multiple so I can go out of this town. Begging for sum spare change ain't working lul, so expect the next update here to slow just like this chapter and uh ig I'll still post often in the g-angst. Sum drafts go in there actually lmfao.