A Rift Through Worlds (A Dream SMP x Hermitcraft AU)

Talked into a corner

Xisuma had only planned to leave for a few hours when he stepped out of the Hermitcraft server. He had left Evil X in his place, having briefed his evil clone about the server rules and strictly telling him to not build any traps. Especially if they were destined for the hermits. The admin was hesitant about leaving Evil X alone, fearing that the other wouldn't listen to him (not after turning the man into a bee variant of the princess of Swan Lake) but he had no other choice. Who was he to leave in his place? The hermits weren't trained admins, and Evil X possessed most of Xisuma's knowledge on the matter.

It was a big risk for sure, seeing as his clone had killed and wounded past hermits before, but sadly, it was a necessary one.

In contrast, the reason he had left was a simple one. For about two weeks, he had been moderating the damage dealt to the server barrier by outside factors. For about a week, he had been noticing a widening diamond pattern of breaks and several, rather small, fragments of the border actually pixelating. Most wouldn't notice it; after all, who on their right mind would travel to the Farlands on a regular basis to do a routine check-up? The cracks were getting worse, the pixels were growing brighter. So Xisuma had decided to face the issue head-on.

He knew what was causing those cracks thanks to Tommy and Iskall. It was the admin of the Dream SMP himself, Xisuma was sure of it. And he had heard that Dream was one of the younger admins to exist, an expert when it came to loopholes, a great warrior, a fast runner, as well as a friendly guy. Well, the"friendly" depended on who you asked. Xisuma had asked Tommy once, and the feedback contained all adjectives and adverbs except for that. Connor hadn't told him the best of things either that one time he had gone digging.

Perhaps he could talk some sense into Dream; request that he stop harassing the server altogether and leave them alone for as long as Tommy wanted to stay. Sure, the admin was young in comparison to Xisuma and many others but everyone of their title had grown to be mature, so maybe he would listen to an adult.

Xisuma's wings buzzed in agitation as he exited Hermitraft, the winding halls of server portals of the Main Hub surrounding him. At first, he had been planning on going to the Dream SMP himself, find the admin and have a little talk. It would've showed good will to talk in his territory, as well as confidence (or stupidity, as Tommy would say). But it seemed like Dream had sensed his intentions.

As soon as he had taken a few steps into the hallway, a masked man turned the corner.

They stood at a standstill, holding a notional staring competition. The first thing Xisuma noticed was the mask; white porcelain kept clean of impurities, and the void that were the painted, black smile and the black orbs that were the eyes. The man gave off a mysterious and dangerous vibe that had Xisuma on his toes already. Had he not been there for a certain reason, he would've turned the other way to not run the scenario of bumping into him. He had to push the urge to punch Dream down too- along with Tommy's terrified, apprehensive voice begging him not to return him to the green-man which he had to shut out.

Nothing could be resolved with violence, and Xisuma had to remind himself that as he took a step forward.

Dream flinched back slightly, and if Xisuma did not have the eyesight of a bee, he would've missed it completely. It was such a small action, that it could easily seem pointless. Normally, it would mean that the person was scared, ready to turn tail and run the other way. Normally. Dream did not seem intimidated; just surprised. Xisuma was pleasantly surprised by that fact; he'd rather not have to chase someone through the portal halls and get lost in the process.