\o/ hello! If you have stumbled across this... noice. My friend @FreddieAndGeorgie22 is sick and Im writing a short story for her! But obviously the rest of you (if you exist) are welcome! Ok here are some stats for this oneshot (which im calling a short story because it might be on the longer side as far as oneshots go)

ALSO!!! APPAreNTLY PEOPLE ARE STEALING MY FICS AND PUTTING THEM ON OTHER STUFF. IF YOU ARE READING THIS ANYWHERE BUT WATTPAD, I DONT APPROVE. OTHER WEBSITES HAVE HORRIBLE INTERFACE

Ship: Desert Duo (scar and grian)

Type: comfort

Word Count: xxxxx

Takes Place: technically season six, but there are some differences base wise, also xisuma's just normal xisuma not turtlezuma and scar doesnt really have a clear skin in this fic... just pretend it makes sense

Date Started: Nov 26, 6:00 pm EXACTLY.

Ok! Enjoy!

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Scar's POV

Scar turned over in bed with the groan and clenched his communicator drowsily. It had been pinging nonstop the past 15 minutes.

<Xisuma> Hey Everyone! As you know we're welcoming a new member today. I'd like you to all meet me at spawn in 30 minutes! Be ON TIME ok guys?

Shoot. That was 15 minutes ago and Scar had just woken up. The cat-hybrid yawned, his hands subconsciously kneading the bed, before scrolling through the rest of the messages.

<Mumbo Jumbo> Alright!

<RenDog> Awesome Dude!

<DocM77> Do I have to? Im working on a really tricky bit of redstone and i don't think i can get away...

<Hypnotized> Alright!

<ImpulseSV> Ok!

<Ethoslab> Bdubs be careful, I know how you feel about large crowds considering, y'know, you might get stepped on.

<BdubsDoubleoh> SHUT UP!!!!

<Tango> LOL

<VintageBeef> xD

<iJevin> Noice

<Ethoslab> >:D

<FalseSymmetry> Cool!

<Welsknight> Cooler!

<FalseSymmetry> Coolest!

<Welsknight> Coolest times 100!

<FalseSymmetry> Coolest times gigaplex!

<Welsknight> Coolest times Infinity!

<FalseSymmetry> Coolest times infinity squared!

(My two brothers literally every day)

<CubFan135> SHUT UP

<Xisuma> Everyone... be quiet. I'm getting a migraine. Doc, you have to come. Cub, cool it. False, Wels... please.

<FalseSymmetry> Sorry Xisuma

<Welsknight> I'm SUPER sorry Xisuma

<FalseSymmetry> Im sorry times infinity-

<Xisuma> Guys. Pleaaase. Scar, remember, ON TIME. 

<Scar> I got it, I got it, don't you worry about me!

Scar put down his communicator (ok real talk for a second when did the community collectively decide to use the word communicator and not phone? Sorry im procrastinating) and rolled out of bed, landing with the grace of well... a cat. He went through his normal morning routine, remembering halfway through that he had somewhere to be. He checked the time anxiously. 11:55 and he hadn't even chose his outfit yet! After frantically clawing through his closet, he eventually found a simple outfit that wasn't covered in cat hair or ripped and dirty. It included a green shirt tucked stylishly into his belt which was holding up his loose-fitting jeans. Leather boots polished to an extreme completed the look. 

He got changed quickly, grabbed his favorite Elytra (aka the one that was the least broken) and zoomed over to spawn where... oh crap. Everyone was waiting for him. He landed a little too hard and stumbled, almost knocking into Xisuma and the man standing next to him. X was always hard to read, having a helmet, but his expression was more mixed than usual. Scar guessed it was a combination of disappointment and amusement.

"Sorry X! I lost track of time and..." Scar pushed his toe around in the well-trodden soil, pretending to be embarrassed. Xisuma sighed but waved his wrist in a dismissive gesture. 

"It's fine Scar. Be on time in the future!"

"Ok Xisuma!" Scar grinned and made his way towards his friend Cub, who smirked at him knowingly before returning his attention to the admin.

"Alright, now that everyone's here-" a slight pause followed by a faux-frusterated grin in Scar's direction- "we can begin introductions. Everyone, this is Grian. He'll be joining us this season! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?"

Scar's eyes shifted to the man standing slightly behind Xisuma. He had golden hair that swooped lazily across his forehead and the short, skinny physique of one who had been malnourished for years. He had a pale complexion and a nervous expression on his face. He was wearing an oversized red sweater that came down almost to his knees, paired with black jeans that fit nicely. He was also wearing an elytra, which seemed to be really bothering him. He kept squirming, as if he was trying to duck out from it. As he was cued to talk, he blanched as white as a lily of the valley. 

"I- geez this feels like being the new kid at school all over again!" The short man allowed himself a small smile before continuing in his crisp British accent. "My- my name's Grian and... that's all." Scar was bursting with questions but saw the look Xisuma gave them all, and he didn't dare ask any. "Grian" was blushing furiously and he stared at his toes anxiously. 

"Thanks Grian, tha'll be all for now!" Xisuma turned his attention to the rest of them. "Does anyone want to be his guide for the day?" There were a few mumbles of "I will," but no one was very enthusiastic. The hermits were very friendly, but no one liked being disrupted. (Aww but we do love hermits helping hermits dont we emmy 😞 trust the process i swear)

Scar, feeling bad for Grian and having no other plans shouted "I WILL!" As enthusiastically as he could muster, having just woken up. The red-sweatered man gave him a small smile, but then went back to looking at the ground. Xisuma gave Scar an "are you sure about this" look, before nodding in agreement.

"Alright Grian! You'll be going with Scar for a server tour, or you can just pick out your spot and get to work. Whatever you want! The rest of you can all go back to your day as usual, though it might be nice to introduce yourselves." With that, Xisuma powered up his rocket-boots and took off.

The hermits came by and greeted Grian one by one, and the shorter man seemed very overwhelmed, ducking behind Scar at times. Eventually, most everyone had introduced themselves, and Scar led Grian out of the clearing in the trees that marked spawn. 

"So... Grian? As you might remember, my name's Scar. As you can see I'm a cat hybrid," (Scar noticed a barely perceivable flinch from the shorter man) "-and I love terraforming. So... do you wan't to go on a tour or should I lead you to where you'll be setting up base?" 

Grian fidgeted with his elytra and shrugged, mumbling something that might have been "I want to go home." 

"You want to go home?" Scar queried, his ear's pricked. Grian looked surprised that Scar heard him. "Cat hearing. It comes in handy once in a while." Scar winked one of his famous winks and wrapped and arm over Grian's shoulder, leading him deeper into the forest. Scar didn't notice, but he jostled Grian's elytra slightly, causing the shorter one to flinch and nearly cry out. Scar was too busy explaining how the server worked to notice.

TIIIIIIIIME SKIYUP!

Grian's POV

After about 12 minutes of walking, Grian began to smell a salty tang caught in the breeze. Scar seemed to notice it too, and he wrinkled his nose cutely. Grian liked Scar, who, though animated, was actually very quiet. "I don't like loud noises," he explained, gesturing to his ears. 

Cat ears. Grian shuddered. He hadn't once met a cat he liked. It wasn't that he had something against the cats, but the other way around. Grian shuddered, remembering what happened last time he encountered a stray feline. The involuntary motion caused the elytra to rub against his back, more specifically... his wings. Scar seemed nice now... if he or any of the others knew Grian's secret, they wouldn't be so quick to accept him. After all, no one trusted the watchers. And to be a fallen watcher was the biggest disgrace of all. Grian knew that Xisuma wouldn't even have let him into Hermitcraft, one of the last remaining watcher-safe zones. If the admin knew what Grian truly was.

"Ah, here we are! The ocean. I hope you don't mind getting wet, because this is where you're going to be building! Your closest neighbor is Mumbo Jumbo, you'll love him. Do you want me to help you get started? There's a small island over there where you can rest and set up temporarily." Scar waved his hand in a vague direction, Grian following his gaze. On the horizon he spotted a speck of land, waves lapping up onto its sandy shores.

"My base is over thataway if you ever want any help! We can be base buddies! that would be aMOIzing. But for know... I'll let you settle in! You do know how to use that elytra, right?"

Grian chuckled nervously, but nodded. He was too embarrassed to ask for instructions on how to fly with rockets, and it would look weird. A full grown man, not knowing how to use an elytra? If only they knew that he'd grown up flying in a totally different way. He tightened his grips on the rockets, his knuckles turning white. 

"Umm... you can go now? I'll just be getting myself settled- chopping trees, going mining, all that good stuff." Grian stared down at himself nervously, picking at his sweater in the almost frantic way of an age old, unbreakable habit. Scar laughed and apologized for overstaying his keep, starting to say goodbye, but Grian's avian instincts told him that behind the goofy demeanor he was hiding feelings of guilt and rejection. He almost called out, but he couldn't find the courage to look up until he heard the tell-tale sound of rockets launching.

Another TIIIIIIIME SKIYUP! (Thats the Joe Hills Difference :P)

As soon as Scar left Grian hastily began gathering supplies. He worked for days, collecting, building, practicing with the dreaded Elytra, and generally avoiding hermits. He had even started work on his mega base. Scar made a point of visiting him once in a while, but Grian always shut down any attempts to socialize. It had been maybe a week since Grian had joined and not once had all the hermits been asleep at the same time. Grian anxiously checked the tab list for what seemed to be the thousandth time in the past half hour. Almost everyone was offline now, but Tango and Pearl were still awake. And it was three am. Grian groaned inwardly. He had to wait until everyone was asleep until he could stretch his wings. As Grian anxiously checked tab for what seemed to be the 100th time, and as he watched he saw the circles next to their names turn from green to gray, one after the other.

A/N just gonna mention, them being "offline" is basically them being asleep. Cuz like, they live in the computer? Dont question it. Ive written three sentences in the past hour. Cheesus Cracker (my stand-in for using the lord's name in vain don't mind me)

Grian almost lept for joy, throwing off his elytra and rejoicing in the feeling of his wings spreading. He face planted on the sand with glee, making a sand-angel facedown. His wings went into autopilot, shaking and flapping slowly, thrilled to be uncramped. All of a sudden, his back felt like it ripped in half. He threw himself into the air, twirling deliriously as he realized the amount of pain he was in. Oh VOID that hurt. Grian anxiously looked behind him, checking the state of his wings. To his horror, they were bent and seemed to be sticking out at odd angles, and feathers were turned this way and that. He reeled at the sight, nearly vomiting. He didn't notice the circle next to a specific name that illuminated green.

Grian dragged himself towards the small shack he had built as a temporary base, wheezing with pain. His final desperate glance found him sinking onto the wooden floor, blood slowly seeping out of him. 

OK I was gonna release this at the same time as part two, but like, this has taken forever cuz i've had a busy (and stressful) couple of weeks and Emmy is 100% not sick anymore lol. So I guess.... CLIFF HANGER!!! (you love those don't you Emmy >:])

Stay cool! 

-Shade