Edit: I made a fatal mistake here! Fixed now :)
Woo! New POV!
Quick note! I'm going to be using the punching trees thing, and my reasoning behind it is that the trees are just a lot less tough than they seem. However, when you craft them into planks, they become harder. I have no clue, just go with it.
I have no idea what else to put here (again) so I'm just going to move on!
WC: ~925
Enjoy!
Mumbo didn't trust Grian.
Or did he?
Grian just seemed so trustworthy... like he wouldn't hurt a soul. But he was a Watcher. Watchers were never nice. But... then there was Grian.
He's just messing with us, Mumbo told himself firmly. He doesn't actually want to be here. Just act nice. He might not kill you if you're nice.
Might.
"Mumbo!" said male turned around to a pair of excited violet eyes. Grian's eyes were a whole other deal. They glittered like galaxies, shone like stars, and were an astounding shade of purple. "Look at this!" Why is he talking to me as if he's known me his entire life?
"Erm, what?" Mumbo asked, following Grian over to a floating tree. Grian had obviously taken out a middle block, leaving the rest floating.
"It's floating," Grian breathed.
"Ye-es?" Mumbo was confused. And then he realized...
"Oh! Chorus trees, they break! They don't float!" Grian raised an eyebrow at Mumbo.
"Well, of course they do!" Grian said with a laugh. "This... this isn't normal, is it?"
"Hate to break it to ya," Mumbo muttered, shaking his head dramatically. "But this is just about as normal as you can get." Grian gawked at the tree, then at him. Mumbo chuckled.
"I suppose you've never been to the overworld?" he guessed, taking down the rest of the tree. Grian froze.
"I... I have been to the Overworld once," Grian said cautiously. That's a really big voice change for such a small question. Is he not supposed to talk about it? Should I ask him about it?
"I didn't know Watchers were allowed to go to the Overworld," Mumbo said instead.
"Erm, we're not," Grian said with a chuckle. "I... escaped. For a while."
"How did you do that?" Mumbo gasped. "We've heard a lot about the Watchers. Xisumavoid, the one with the helmet, told us all about them."
"Helmet... with the purple visor?" Grian asked. Mumbo nodded. "I thought that was 'X'."
"No, that's just what we call him," Mumbo laughed. "Full name is Xisumavoid. We call him either Xisuma or X." Grian nodded.
"Ex-eye-zooma?" he tried. Mumbo smirked.
"It'll do," the redstoner said dismissively. "No one really says it right. Shishwammy. Seesuma. Ishyewma. There are quite a few variations."
"Why doesn't he just ask everyone to say his name right?" Grian wondered. He had picked up two flowers; a red one and a blue one.
"He doesn't mind it," Mumbo replied with a shrug. "He's nice. Most of the Hermits are, actually." Grian raised an eyebrow. "Well... they're nice when you get to know them."
"They seem to have quite a few prejudices," Grian grumbled.
"We haven't had the best experience with Watchers, okay?" Mumbo said defensively. Grian sighed, plucking out the petals from his red flower. The blue flower was lying in the grass, Grian having lost interest in it.
"I'm sure you haven't," Grian said with a second sigh. "It just... kinda sucks to be judged for what you are, instead of who." Mumbo blinked at Grian in surprise. Maybe he really is different.
"Well, they just haven't gotten to know you," Mumbo responded cheerfully, handing Grian a set of stone tools. "Some of them will take longer than others. Ren, Iskall, Stress, they shouldn't take too long. I think. Doc, False, maybe Tango and Cleo, they could take longer."
"That's a lot of names," Grian pointed out. Mumbo grinned.
"That's only a few of them. There's also Cub, Impulse, Jevin, Joe, Scar, Wels, and Zed."
"I'm never going to be able to remember them all," Grian groaned. Mumbo winced, though Grian didn't notice.
I don't think you'll be here long enough to need to know them.
"Tell me about your time in the Overworld instead!" Mumbo suggested. Surely that would bring back some nice memories? Grian picked up the blue flower he had left on the ground, then, to Mumbo's horror, promptly ripped it up.
"That sums it up," Grian said. His tone wasn't angry, but rather... sad? "Something beautiful ripped away. It died right after it grew."
"I- Can I ask what happened?" Mumbo mumbled, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Sure. About a year... no less... less than a year ago, I left the End. I found a portal. And I left. It was an adventure. A mission. I hated the Watchers. I always have. In the Overworld, I met many people. I'm not going to name them all, but fewer than there are here. One of them... was named Taurtis. Taurtis and I became really good friends. I thought I would be able to stay there forever. I thought the Watchers wouldn't be able to find me."
"I was wrong. So very wrong. And it cost me everything. All of them..." Grian shuddered violently. "Their souls ripped from their bodies. Taurtis too. I was returned to the End. They all died because of me." Grian sighed, an old pain in his violet eyes.
"I'm... I'm so sorry," Mumbo mumbled, sitting down next to Grian. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Grian asked. "What could you possibly do with the information? It's not like my 'tragic backstory' is much of a secret." Grian made air quotes as he said the words.
"Well, I guess," Mumbo agreed. "It's getting dark. Let's just... settle in a dirt hut for the night." Grian nodded his agreement, and the two of them got up and walked off.
Leaving a petalless red flower and a torn blue flower in their wake.
I was listening to "Hurts Like Hell" by Fleurie while writing some of this, and I realized how FITTING it is.
"I loved and I loved and I lost you." Grian talking about Taurtis. I'd love to analyze the rest, but that'd take forever. Good day!
-Storm