Grian didn't know exactly what to do with Joel for the time being. It wasn't like they could really do much whilst he can't hear anything. Caving was too dangerous for Joel since he wouldn't be able to hear the mobs, and Grian couldn't communicate well whilst chopping trees if they decided to just gather a bunch of wood. But they couldn't just sit around the whole time, especially during the early game. It was important to get started and keep up with the other Hermits. Although... it felt a little impossible at the moment.

Grian guessed that he could just do whatever with Joel tagging along, just as long as they stayed away from mob spawners like caves or dense forests. Maybe Joel could figure out how to busy himself on his own. Or he could just hang out. Whatever he wanted to do worked, Grian supposed.

He stopped walking to message Joel what the plan was.

<Grian> joel i'm gonna get some wood and stuff
<Grian> you can hang around and i'll make sure you don't die to any mobs that might sneak up on you

Grian looked up to see how Joel was taking the idea, only to see Joel wasn't reading the messages at all. Instead, he was already getting to work on chopping trees several blocks away. And he already had stone tools!

Grian wanted to smack himself when he realised that Joel had just dug down to get stone instead of going into a cave. In fact, he could've probably just strip-mined the whole time.

He felt a buzz on his wrist and looked down at his communicator.

<Smallishbeans> what are you talking about
<Smallishbeans> i'm deaf, not paralysed

Grian chuckled a little bit. He should've known that Joel was too stubborn to just sit around anyway. Joel wasn't really the kind of person to let something like this stop him from doing things.

Sighing, Grian decided to get to work. He would still keep an eye out for Joel considering he wouldn't be able to hear mobs whether he was trying to keep things normal or not.

The time went by pretty fast. Luckily Bdubs had already gotten a bed and was sleeping, so they didn't have to worry about the mobs at night.

Joel was doing pretty well at holding his own, though, even though they still hadn't gone caving. He hadn't died at all and he was doing good on resources. He also hadn't messaged Grian in a while, the last one he sent asking if Grian had a furnace he could borrow. If Grian was honest, he felt a little bad for underestimating how Joel would perform without being able to hear. Though he couldn't help but wonder what it was life for him. He couldn't imagine going about life with no auditory stimulation, but maybe it was more peaceful than anything else. If Grian knew anything about Joel it's that he's very easily overstimulated, especially by noise. Perhaps this was a bit of relief.

A sudden shout from behind Grian had him whirling around with a sword, ready to attack... something. He expected to see Joel being attacked by a mob or something, but instead Joel was just pouting as Etho laughed.

"Sorry," Etho said as he signed the word sorry in ASL. Grian was a little shocked that Etho could sign, too.

Joel spelled out the word dick, then pointed aggressively at Etho, which only made him laugh more.

"What happened?" Grian asked with a smile, walking over to them.

Etho sighed, wiping a tear from his eye as he finally stopped laughing. "I was just trying to say hi, but I guess I startled him when I tapped him on the shoulder."

Grian giggled. "Well it kind of doesn't help that he can't hear you," he said. "How's it going?"

"Pretty good," Etho said, stretching his arms over his head. "I've just done some caving with some people. Ren did this weird communism thing and, uh..." He snickered. "Nobody really got much out of all of that, but it was kinda fun."

Grian blinked. "I'm not gonna question the communism thing," he said, then turned to Joel, who was digging some gravel. "I haven't gotten too much done yet. I've got a bit of iron from strip-mining, but I've mostly been keeping an eye on Joel this whole time."

Etho nodded. "Well, have fun with that," he said, waving as he started to walk away. "I'm gonna go find somewhere to settle down."

Grian smiled brightly at him, waving in return. "See ya!" He waited until Etho was just barely out of sight before he turned back to Joel, who was looking pretty frustrated as he was still digging up gravel.

<Grian> what are you doing

Joel didn't even look at his communicator, just continuing to dig.

<Grian> joel??

Finally, Joel stopped and huffed, stomping his foot before turning on his communicator.

<Smallishbeans> I'M TRYING TO FIND SOME BLOODY FLINT FOR A FLINT AND STEEL GRIAN BUT IT'S TAKING FOR FUCKING EVER.

Grian snorted after reading the message. He signed the letters PG and Joel rolled his eyes.

<Grian> do you want some help?
<Smallishbeans> sure

Grian pulled out his shovel and started to dig, getting two pieces of flint right away. He pursed his lips and turned to Joel with the flint in his hand, then tapped on the shoulder.

Joel stared at the flint for a moment before punching Grian in the arm and taking both pieces.

<Smallishbeans> you suck