Hermitcraft AUs, Oneshots, and Jazz

(M)Unlikely 4: Sunset

9/29/20

In which I finally can release this poetry energy that has been trapped within meeeeee
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Joe Hills was someone who enjoyed the simple things in life. He was one of the few hermits that still did. He wasn't caught up in megabases and redstone projects or wrapped up trying to comprehend the hermit drama that was happening 24/7, and that was perfectly okay with him; sometimes, the simpler things are the most beautiful.

Joe sat upon the roof of his winery, looking out over lush berry fields framed perfectly by the wild greenery and wooded area surrounding it. The waves from the Strait of Joebralter washed ashore, not a care in the world as the light blue turned into a foamy white.

The sun, which would be setting in an hour or so, cast a peaceful glow on the smooth water, which rippled ever so slightly from the occasional breeze that graced the slightly cool land. The current sent the natural smells of sweet berries and other earthy herbs wafting to Joe's nose. He inhaled the scents in the fresh air, relishing the aroma that one simply could not get from automatically farmed berries and crops.

The view was enough to inspire the most inobservant artists and authors alike, Joe being one of them. A subconscious smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as his legs swung down from the rooftop. He didn't have his notebook with him for jotting down his thoughts, and while that probably meant he would forget the verses running through his mind, he didn't mind; he was glad he could enjoy this rare moment while it lasted.

The past few days had been hectic. Joe always appreciated chaos where it was needed, but sometimes chaos piled onto work and stress; it was enough to make anyone exhausted. This, of course, was evident in Joe's voice; whenever he became more stressed or agitated, which wasn't often, he was known to use more eloquent and complex words.

Though none of that mattered now, right now was the time to relax, listen to the ocean, and enjoy the view.

Joe took off his glasses to clean, though when he finished, he closed his eyes and decided to sit blindly for a minute or two, merely listening to the sounds of nature.

The chirping of birds wasn't too loud, nor too quiet; the pleasant whistle of the songbirds resonated through the berry fields as each bird bade their partners' good night, now that faint shades of orange began to blend carefully with the serene blues of the day.

The wind began to pick up ever so slightly, which resulted in the tree's rustling in response as if greeting the wind with a wave.

The occasional bark of the dogs from the large dog park, named Joerrasic Bark, after the dogcatchers namesake, fit in seamlessly. If anything, it made the land feel more alive with natural life, rather than artificial human-made technology and farms.

Not even the frantic sound of rockets reverberating along the walls of the winery, followed by a slight thud, disturbed the melody of life.

Wait.

Joe opened his eyes once again, returning his spectacles to his face as he turned around to see who might've come to his abode of all places. Not many people tended to visit, other than Cleo perhaps. Not that it was a bad thing, the peace and quiet were nice; plus, other hermits tended not to enjoy getting pricked by the thorns that donned the sweet berry bushes making up the majority of his many acres of lawn.

Standing on the other end of the roof, looking dazed and slightly damaged, was a certain prankster in a red sweater that Joe couldn't recall talking to since just before the Civil War of season six when he had dumped lava on his multi-tiered class cake of a base.

Once Grian had regained his bearings, he looked around to see where he was, before seeing Joe sitting on the edge of the roof nearby.

"Hey, Joe," Grian gave Joe a sheepish grin, realizing that the dogcatcher had probably seen his fumble.

Joe took a moment to process what was happening. "Howdy, Grian, what brings you to my place of accommodation? If I recall, the jungle you reside in is on the opposite of the ocean, is it not?"

Grian let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, I was actually on my way to Bdub's place to ask him about something completely unrelated to mycelium in any way, shape, or form. I was in the mood for the scenic route, which I guess was a bad idea because I got lost and my elytra just broke." He rubbed the back of his neck. Sure enough, the faintly glowing silver beetle wings upon his back were riddled with cracks and holes.

Joe raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "No matter, if you need, I have a few XP bottles in my storage for your elytra. After all, I presume you don't intend on walking the vast distance from here back to your abode, nether or not."

"Oh, yeah, thanks" Grian's mouth formed a thin line as the two fell into an awkward silence.

It wasn't like Joe and Grian didn't get along; it's just that neither had talked all that much and when they did, it wasn't during the best circumstances. The only time they had truly spoken was during the prank war. One doesn't exactly have time to become the bestest of friends when you are busy trying to make a good enough base to prevent unnecessary loss of life during a battle, even if they could respawn.

Joe nodded before turning back to the sunset. The sun had partially gone behind a few clouds, which now had a golden lining around the edges as the sun emit ruby red and bright orange rays beautifully through the sky; it looked like a fire, though it still had a peaceful air to it. The sun had now brilliantly taken on the shade similar to that of honey, with the clouds that were farther away from the sun becoming a light shade of pink.

The silence became more comfortable after that, just two hermits who equally appreciated the sunset.

Grian wasn't exactly known for appreciating the simpler things. He was usually involved in whatever drama was happening in the server or creating it himself. He was a prankster who liked to live life on the edge, speeding around on his elytra before inevitably falling to his death because he'd forgotten to check his durability.

Though something that was little known about him was that every evening, at the same time, he would sit at the highest point of his base and watch the sunset, it was the one constant in the chaos, even if most of the disorder was intentional, it was still good to have a break. The sunset brought back memories of good times. Not many people knew of his appreciation for the phenomenon, usually because it never came up.

Grian came up to the edge of the roof, still not quite next to Joe, and sat down, letting his legs dangle over the edge. He leaned back on his hands and smiled, his chocolate brown eyes entranced with the perfect view.

Joe glanced towards the dirty-blonde haired hermit, grinning slightly before returning his gaze to the sunset.

They sat in silence for another hour and a half as they watched the sun slowly lower itself below the horizon, leaving the sky pink and purple in its wake. The clouds were now colored periwinkle as the sky straight above them turned into a dark blue, a couple of twinkling stars already visible.

The songbirds had long gone to bed by then, their happy whistling replaced instead with the occasional chirping of a cricket, setting the tone for the quiet night. The waves continued to pass over the shores, the moonlight casting a reflection as it rose behind the two hermits. The wind blew over the field, visibly rustling each blade of grass and sweet berry bush. The faint call of cicadas nearly silenced by the two men's distance from the trees.

They may not be talking, pranking each other, nor working on any project, but this was still quite nice, and they both knew that they enjoyed it.

These were the simpler things in life.

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1370 words

Writing this was actually really relaxing, I'd been putting it off because I didn't know how to start it, but I'm glad I finally got around to writing it.

Is there any other kind of stuff y'all want to see? Any specific hermits perhaps?

Bye, you beautiful biscottis!