You know, my mental image of how tall Grian is keeps fluctuating. Pretty sure he used to be shorter when I started writing this book... Ah well, it's my first book, and there's bound to be a learning curve somewhere.
~~~
Welp, looks like there's no putting this off any longer. He has a spot where he doesn't have to worry about being seen, and he really does need to show Tango what he actually looks like.
He already sent Tango and Scar a message asking them to meet him at his base, so they should arrive any minute now.
Why Scar? To hopefully keep Tango a bit calmer than he might otherwise be. For some reason the bubbly Hermit had little to no fear of him the few times he's seen him at full size, so he's hoping his mentality is contagious.
The sound of fireworks reaches his ears, and he listens carefully for a moment before stepping to the side, cleanly dodging an arrow from the overenthusiastic Scar. He'd been getting 'HotGuy'd' pretty regularly as of late, with the infamous bow making an appearance whenever he gets too lost in his thoughts.
Plans foiled, Scar landed and trotted over, unsure what he'd been called for since Grian hadn't told him. Before he can ask though, more fireworks sound off, and Tango soars into view, circling around the big rock once before coming in for a landing. This Hermit is definitely a lot more nervous than Scar, which makes sense since he was actually told what was going on.
Suppressing a sigh of reluctance, Grian asked, "Anything you wanna ask before we head down? I don't want to catch you off guard with anything, so feel free to speak your mind on things."
"I... I think I just want to get it over with. My imagination will make up worse things the longer I don't know, so let's just get this over with."
"Alright, then follow me."
Scar's definitely realized what's going on by now, if his sudden burst of energy says anything about it. He follows along as Grian walks up to the hole the beacon's beam emerges from, looking around for a door or a staircase.
"I haven't made an actual way down yet, but it's on the agenda. For now... Just try not to hit the ground, that tends to be a fast way to respawn."
With those comforting words, he dropped into the hole, letting himself freefall until he felt the sides of the hole drop away. His wings snapped out to stop his fall, and he wheeled around for a second so he could place a bucket of water on top of the beacon. Tango should manage to activate his elytra in time, but if he knows Scar-
Sploosh
Yup. That's Scar alright.
Picking the bucket of water back up, he held out a hand to help Scar to his feet, unable to resist a grin. If there's one thing that hasn't changed, it's Scar's tendency to take fall damage whenever possible.
"So, is this it?"
"Ah, no, I just haven't figured out how I want to do the entrance yet. This is still just normal Minecraft stuff. The spot we're heading to is a bit more hidden." Heading over to beside the Rift, he ran his hand over the unmarred stone, and it pulled away, revealing a hallway and a door. "I don't want people just walking in on me without being invited, hence the door being hidden."
The further they go, the more nervous Tango is getting, but it's not too bad just yet. Anticipation is just a nightmare on your nerves, especially when it's about a secret like this. Pushing open the door at the other end, he steps to the side to let the two of them take in the room.
Tango looked up, eyes trailing along the basic patterns on the ceiling. "Oh wow, it's... it's really big." Grian snorted, amusement audible. "I mean, I know that the place you showed us back on the main plane was big too, but that doesn't mean this is any smaller."
"Yeah, I guess it does look pretty big at this size. I'm kinda hoping others might come hang out sometimes, if only to get used to what I actually look like."
Tango was silent for a moment, looking down without really focusing on anything. "You know... I don't think it's really registered that you're not... you know, that. An avian. I know that you're saying you're a Watcher, but..."
He sighed. That's why he built this place. On some level, most of the Hermits who know he's a Watcher have this disconnect between the two versions of him, despite the only real difference being form. "I get it, don't worry. If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure Scar is the only one who actually doesn't care. The first question he asked when he first saw what I actually looked like was 'So you aren't short?'"
The disbelief dissipated most of the tension, and Tango regarded Scar with confusion. Confusion is definitely better than most of the other things he could be feeling, so he should strike while the iron is hot and get this over with.
Nodding over towards the large mattress on the other side of the room, he said, "I'm gonna go sit over there to give you some space, is that okay?"
Confused again, Tango asked, "All the way over there? How much space do you need?"
"I'm really not that small, you know. But apart from that, most of it is there to maintain what should hopefully be a comfortable distance for you. It'll make more sense in a minute."
Scar playfully pushed him towards the other end of the room, excitedly demanding, "Just go big already! He's only gonna get more nervous the longer you wait."
Unfortunately, that's a fair point. Flitting over to the mattress, he sits down cross-legged and hesitates, then closes his eyes before releasing his transformation. The mostly ignorable discomfort the transformation leaves him with disappeared as it unraveled, and he resisted the urge to stretch his wings out. Until he's sure Tango won't freak out, he should stay still.
To lessen the unfamiliarity, instead of swapping to the standard violet cloak he used to wear, he stuck with his red sweater and black pants. It definitely feels a bit weird not having the cloak's edge sweep around his ankles, but it's not a bad weird. Just different.
A quiet intake of breath reaches his ears, and he just breathes slowly while waiting to see if anything is said. Unless Tango takes the initiative to approach, he'll just sit here and wait. No point in making him more nervous than he already is.
A single firework goes off, and he cracks an eye open to see Scar taking to the air and gliding over towards him. What is this fearless optimist doing now?
For a moment it looks like he's trying to run into his face, but then he angles slightly to the side to land on his shoulder. Turning his head just enough to regard Scar out of the corner of his eye, he asks, "What are you doing now?"
"Getting a better vantage point." Scar shades his eyes with one hand, looking out over the rest of the room. "Huh, it looks a lot less spacious from up here, no wonder you left so much room."
He inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Yeah, I don't wanna break things by leaving no floor space." Better to leave a weirdly empty swath of floor down the middle of the room than to risk stepping on something and breaking it. Talk about a waste of furniture.
Scar is showing no inclination to get down from his shoulder on his own, so he rolls his shoulder forward, dropping Scar down into his hands. He promptly sets him down on the ground, smiling slightly at the disgruntled expression worn by his fearless friend.
His eyes flick over to Tango when the distant Hermit speaks. "So your voice does that echo thing when you're like... this?" Questions are good. Questions mean he's not too afraid to draw attention to himself.
Keeping to mostly minimalistic movements, he inclines his head again and responds. "Yes, it does. Quite a distinctive sound, isn't it?"
"I guess that's one way to describe it." Sarcasm, even better! Even if Tango doesn't want to get close, the fact that he's willing to joke around despite him looking like this is a good sign.
Scar is back in the air again, aiming for his other shoulder this time. Not sure why he seems to have decided that the best place to sit is on top of him, but it's a little silly. There are so many other places to sit, so why?
Rolling his shoulder forward again, he catches Scar and sets him on the ground. For someone who regularly dies to fall damage, Scar is showing very little fear of heights. Part of it might be trust that he'll catch him, but he's genuinely not showing any fear for some reason, and now he's back in the air again.
Oh, this time he's not aiming for his shoulder? Not sure how well trying to stand on his wing will work when it's not lying flat, but Scar seems to think it's worth a shot. He doesn't even need to move this time, as Scar struggles to find steady footing on the feathers and ends up falling off. Angling his wing slightly, he turns the fall into a steep slide instead.
Fireworks go off again, and Scar is back in the air. He doesn't move, just watching as the Hermit decides that the best landing spot is on top of his head. Honestly, this is starting to make him feel more than a little silly. It feels like he's being treated like a jungle gym.
Leaning his head forward, Scar ends up swinging in front of his face while holding onto some of his hair. He chuckled, remarking, "I'm going to go cross eyed if you keep this up."
This time when Scar drops down he glides back over to Tango, who is looking a bit less tense than before Scar started with these antics. Despite that, when Scar tried to drag him over closer, he dug his heels in. "N-no thanks, I think I'm fine staying over here."
"Aw, but why? He's not that scary!"
Grian sighed. "Scar, leave him be. Not everyone can be as comfortable around me as you are, and there's no point trying to force the issue."
"But how is anyone supposed to realize you aren't scary if they don't go near you?"
"Time, and small steps. To be honest, I'm just glad he's willing to stay in the room right now. It's one thing to be told that I'm a Watcher, but it's another thing entirely to be faced with the reality of what that means."
Weaving his transformation back around himself, he stretched and hopped off the mattress, gliding over to the two of them. A fair bit of the tension he could see in Tango faded when he went back to his avian disguise, and a lack of flinching or shying away is a win in his book. Hopefully putting up with Scar's antics helped with that, not that he found it annoying.
"Consider yourself welcome to come and go from here as you please, but just be aware that I won't always look like" he gestures to himself, "this, while in here."
"Is that why the room's so big?"
"Yep! I'll mostly stay over on that side of the room when big, but most of the stuff I'll be doing is editing videos and maybe enchanting a few things."
"Sounds like enchanting was more than just a little hobby."
"I wouldn't really call it a job, since most of the stuff I made just got hoarded in one of the storage rooms, but I get why the word 'hobby' might feel a bit inadequate. I'll try not to go overboard with making stuff though, and apart from the things I put as the puzzle rewards I'll keep them in here."
"I see..."
Opening the door, Grian led the way back out. When the hidden outer door closed, he pointed out the spot that worked as the trigger. "If you ever want to get in, just put your hand right there. I'm gonna key in everyone who knows my secret, so don't worry if someone sees you coming in. They'll just look silly trying to open it."
"Like the cube?"
He grinned. Watching them try to figure out that particular puzzle was hilarious. "Exactly. With no keys required, they won't be able to steal one, and I can also set up a couple things to keep people from sneaking in with invisibility potions."
It looks like Scar kinda wants to go back in, but he doesn't really feel like playing jungle gym again today. "I think I'm gonna go mining for a while." Directing a playfully challenging look towards Scar, he said, "Someone's diamond ore pile is a couple blocks higher than mine, and I think it's about time to rectify that."
Scar crossed his arms smugly. "Oh really? Well maybe I should go mining myself!"
Tango just shakes his head, pulling out his fireworks while walking over towards the beacon. "You two have fun with that, I'm gonna be taking a nap and thinking about a couple things."
Grian waved as he flew up through the hole and disappeared from sight, presumably heading back to his base. Hopefully he won't be too offput after having seen what Grian actually looks like.
~~~