Gifted: A Hermitcraft AU [ON HIATUS]

3: To save a life

Stress Monster wasn't doing anything particularly interesting when it all went down.

Nails in one hand and hammer in the other, she was hanging up a bulletin board in her base. One she could use for photos and notes of all varieties. A box of thumbtacks sat at her feet, alongside the fairly large board, which she carefully lifted to the spot she'd marked on the wall.

Maybe, she thought, this bulletin board would be helpful, problem solving even. Problem solving, solution making, task enabling. She could do so much with it! A little wall decoration won't solve your real issues though, her mind scoffed. Of course Stress knew that, she just wanted a bulletin board! She also wanted some respect maybe, not that the board could give it.

In a world full of powers, hers was fairly helpful, but the other hermits didn't seem to care. Healing could do sooo much. But In the whole scope of things, it didn't matter.

One nail in. One retched thought.

They don't need you.

Two nails in.

They have healing potions, golden apples, so many things better than you.

Three nails in.

You don't get their respect because you're an amateur.

Four.

I don't belong here.

Stress' gut wrenched and she dropped her hammer. The sound of it hitting the ground resonated in her ears as she stared blankly at her new bulletin board. Healing powers, her of all people. Why?

Healing was a Terrian power, basic and average, common too. But there weren't any other healers on Hermitcraft. There weren't enough of her. So they relied on potions and fancy foods to solve their problems instead of Stress. It didn't hurt necessarily, but she just felt useless.

Stress' life on Hermitcraft revolved around two conflicting thoughts. Self worth and self worthlessness. She knew logically that if someone were to get hurt badly, potions wouldn't do enough, and she'd have to heal them. But at the same time, nothing bad ever really happened. Hermitcraft was a safe place, where the only thing that ever got them injured was their own idiocy.

Stress sighed, picking her hammer back up. She didn't want to keep being ungrateful for her powers. Sure, everyone in the world had powers, but being ungrateful just didn't sit right in her stomach. She spun the hammer between her fingers, getting distracted for a good minute. It was better not to think a bout any of this. It wasn't like her powers were going to be needed any time soon—

*SLAM*

Stress whipped around, nearly flinging the hammer. A very out of breath Grian stood in her doorframe, hands gripping its frame tightly. His hair was frazzled, and if Stress had to guess, he'd just been flying, quite fast at that.

"Grian? What's going on?" She asked the shortest of the hermits, eyebrows furrowing in worry.

"Iskall told me *pant* to get you *pant* river! *gasp* emergency!" Grian made frantic hand movements. "Tango- in danger!"

"Grian, I'm sorry, what?"

"I don't know what *wheeze* happened *gasp* follow! Now!"

Before Stress could get in a "Slow down," or even a "Wait!", Grian was already turning on his heel and morphing into an owl. Stress threw down the hammer, not caring if it messed up the floor.

She darted after Grian, heart pounding in her chest. The panic and urgency in his voice had shocked her to the bone and she was running on autopilot, struggling to keep her eyes on Grian. The red speckled barn owl zipped through the jungle trees, barely visible in the afternoon sun.

A few close calls with tree roots later, Stress was starting to wonder if this was a prank on her, and was starting to loose sight of Grian.

But soon enough, the density of the forest made way to a small clearing, one Stress didn't know had been there. She skidded to a stop. Grian dived down and pulled up in the nick of time, so he wouldn't crash land. The clearing itself was almost like a fairy circle, a ring of trees, cut into by the river.

But on the bank of that river...

Sat there was a visibly shivering Iskall, who'd just finished dragging another waterlogged form into the grass. Their features were instantly recognizable.

Iskall whipped their head up and away from Tango. "Stress, help," They croaked, sucking in a shaky breath.

Stress was kneeled by Tango's side in less than a second, knocking Iskall out if the way. Her eyes were wider than Bdubs', but she focused on the situation at hand. It was well known that Tango, being a netherborn, could NOT swim, and look who'd decided to take a bath.

Stress looked for the rising and falling of his chest, only to find that it wasn't there. Tango wasn't breathing. Her panic increased tenfold, but a finger to his wrist revealed a weak and fragile pulse. Shaky, but there. That meant he wasn't gone, that meant she could save him.

Stress hovered her hand over his chest, palm nearly touching him. She outstretched her fingers, channeling her magic through them. She kept her eyes locked on Tango's unmoving face.

Deep breath in. Deep breath for Tango.

She imagined healthy lungs full of air and not water, oxygen and not H2O.

A tug of her hand, forcing the lungs to do their job. Forcing his heart to beat faster. Her fingers tensed and her energy was sapped, passing into Tango. Come on Tango, come on...

She pressed the fingers of her other hand to his wrist once more, feeling a steadily increasing pulse. A twitch of his hand, a twitch of his eyelashes.

And finally, the long awaited gasp.

————
(A/N)

Huzzah! Go Stress!

Important information that won't matter if you're from the future:

As you know, I've been labeling all of these chapter rewrites as new, and leaving the old ones. This is because the old chapters align to the plot points in chapter 5, and vice versa. Until I rewrite chapter five, they'll all be there so that five isn't confusing and weird. But once it's all said and done, I'll likely unpublish them.

Okay that's all.

Have a great day/night my guys, gals, non-binary pals, neo amigos, and genderfluid peeps!

<3 Soe Silver
And lily of the clockwork variety