~The First Step~ a Hermitcraft AU

Chapter 1 (Grian)

t/w: implications of torture and trauma ig

wc: 681

enjoy!!

Grian woke at midnight, still shivering from the memory the nightmare had brought him. The mere thought of it still brought pinpricks of anger and grief in his heart. 

That day had arguably been the worst of his entire life; the Watchers had even forced Grian to see the evolutionists, allowed him to cry out to them, even though they couldn't hear or see him. All they knew were the blatant lies the Watchers told.

Throwing the bed covers aside, Grian slipped on his thick, oversized red sweater. He was almost always seen with an elytra and was known as the best flyer on the Hermitcraft server, and that fact had meaning.

Stepping towards the mirror, Grian couldn't help but wince at his reflection. His formerly brown eyes now shone violet; a mistake on his part, his disguise had somehow slipped in the middle of the nightmare. None of the hermits except for Xisuma and Stress knew their color, as he always used a glamor. 

But Grian still hated his eyes. He hated the shimmering wings that sprouted from his back, no matter how magnificent they seemed. Most of all, however, he hated the brand on his back. The Watcher symbol, engraved into his skin, bestowing upon him the magic that Grian so despised. 

The scar still stung whenever Grian prodded it with his finger, something that he still did now and then. Grian let out a long sigh, fitting on the elytra. It crushed his wings, which he had reluctantly grown a tiny fondness for, but he could deal with the pain as long as the others didn't find out what he was.

The sun wasn't up yet, but Grian didn't mind. He grabbed some fireworks, munched on a bit of bread, then took off to where his base was still unfinished. The beginnings of a tower had already been built.

In the early light of dawn, Grian gathered some concrete and terracotta and quickly went to work. A little ways through, however, his back ached from the weight of his elytra and wings. He looked around carefully, then removed the elytra and his sweater. Sure that no one would be up at the time except for Xisuma, who never slept, Grian went back to work.

However, as Grian fiddled with the curve of windows, a sharp pain sliced through his chest. He cried out and crouched over, clutching his stomach. His mind began to spin, and he gasped for air. Why couldn't he breathe? What was happening? Panic shot throughout Grian's system.

Ow, ow.... 

And then just as suddenly as it came, the pain and breathlessness went away. Confused and afraid, Grian pulled out his communicator and messaged the only person he knew would be awake at the time.

<Grian> X? u up?

<Xisuma> Yeah, what's wrong? 

<Grian> can i crash at ur place for a bit

<Xisuma> Sure

Grian pocketed the communicator and blasted off with a rocket before the pain would come back.

~time skip~

Xisuma's helmet was off, his eyes filled with concern. "Come on in, Grian. What's the matter?"

Grian shifted nervously. "I couldn't sleep so I went to work on my base. While I was building I really suddenly couldn't breathe, and 45 seconds later, it was gone and I was completely fine." He subconsciously rubbed his wrist, trying to distract himself.

"I think I know what this is about," Xisuma said after a moment.

Grian looked up, and when he saw the grave expression on X's face, he sighed. "Is it about..?"

X nodded. Grian groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I'm such an idiot. I knew this was going to happen-"

"Hey!" X interrupted. "Don't blame yourself. You couldn't help it." X turned around and rummaged through a few Shulker boxes and finally came up with what he needed. X handed Grian a strange looking potion. "This should help if it happens again. And if you ever need any help, shoot me a message."

"Thanks, X-I-sooma," Grian said, taking the potion and butchering X's name.

"No problem," X replied with a small smile. Grian said goodbye and flew back to his base, the smile that he'd given X fading quickly. If what X had said was true, then...

Grian shook the thought away and went back to his starter base as the sun began to rise.

the story's moving pretty fast, sorry!

I'm taking constructive criticism --->

Thanks so much for reading <3