Scar's POV-

Scar hopped out the broken window to Gr- Sherlock Grian's house. Opening his elytra, he soared up into the sky. While he had been planning to do other things this week, Scar supposed he had time for a bit of detective work. As he glided over the shopping district, he fondly remembered the prior season, where he had been evading the detective with the Jangler's shenanigans. The Hermit looked forward to being on the other side this time. But, if he was going to do some investigating, he would need a boost. A magic boost.

In a minute, he arrived where he was heading: His old magic village. He hadn't been here in awhile; working on his massive drill was quite the project and he rarely found time to come back to the serenity of his village. As he came across the jungle, a large grin formed on his face. There waiting for him was Larry the giant snail. The large creature gave a 'brrr!' of delight as the wizard returned. "Hi, Larry," Scar greeted the snail as he smiled up at it.

Magic had its uses.

Giving a nod to his snail, Scar climbed into the snail's shell. As he stepped in, he blinked hard, as he found Jellie resting inside. He sputtered for a moment. Why was she there? Surely the cat knew by now that Scar practically lived at the drill at that point. In fact, he hadn't even visited his village in a good few months. Had she simply been here the entire time when she ran off? Scar felt a pang of guilt at the thought. He could have sworn that Jellie didn't think he still lived in the village.

Awakening the cat, he scooped her up into his arms and tickled her belly a bit. 'Mrrow?' The gray tabby blinked her eyes open. They shined a brilliant amber, like sunsets. Scar smiled down at her for a moment, then blinked. Something felt... off about the cat. Wait- Jellie's eyes... weren't they green?

He ran memories of her through his mind. Of course, he could never focus on her eyes in any of them. He must never have payed that much attention. After all, it's not often you question your cat's eye color. He continued his pets as the kitten snuggled up against him, falling back asleep. He stared down at her for just a moment more before shaking his head and turning his attention away from Jellie's eyes. He must simply be tired.

As if on cue, a yawn escaped the Hermit. He definitely was not as well-rested as he should be, though Scar supposed that not sleeping for longer than three hours each night for a week will do that to you. But, what with his project, how could he? At least the phantoms, the creatures of the lack of nightmares, wouldn't be after his skin. He glanced outside. The sun was still high in the sky, casting a bright glow over the jungle. The twitter of birds filled the empty silence that came with solitude, creating a gleeful and happy atmosphere, in stark contrast to the moment of murky confusion Scar had felt just a moment ago.

So perhaps it wasn't time for bed yet. Scar could probably find something to do until- Oh! Scar had completely forgotten about the entire reason he was even back here. Shifting the still-asleep Jellie to one arm, he climbed down the ladder to the next floor, where a chest sat in the middle. Opening it up, the Hermit was glad to see it was undisturbed. Inside lay three objects: A clear shard of crystal, a notebook that had obviously seen better days, and an oversized chocolate chip cookie. He took all three out, placing them temporarily into his bag.

It was time to do some wizardry.

---

Enchanting crystals is difficult, as Scar had found. Especially for one not as adept with the practice of magic yet-- he had only begun a half-year prior, after all-- the Hermit was not all-too-great at his craft. It took a lot of energy, and the slightest mispronunciation could result in catastrophe... Scar had experienced that first-hand far too many times.

However, after a series of trial and errors, Scar finally got his desired crystal effect. This one was for sight; it would boost its holder's keenness and observation. Or it would, Scar thought bitterly. If anyone were to actually believe in it. 

Magic is a fickle thing. It bends, it curves, it fluctuates. What might seem as stable one moment could throw you through a loop the next. Just as soon as you get the hang of it, there is a new rule that wasn't there before. It is also, as Scar had found out long ago, unique to each person. What worked for him, might not work for someone else. Why? Purely because magic thrives on belief. If one were to disbelieve, of course they wouldn't reap it's benefits.

Why would something that doesn't exist help you?

So, Scar didn't bother to create another matching crystal for Grian. After all, this whole endeavor-- going through the work of enchanting the crystal-- was to further the progression of the investigation, to make it go just that much quicker. But if Grian wouldn't even attempt to listen to Scar, if he wouldn't believe that the magic is real, the wizard would just stop trying to get him to. With a shudder, he remembered how casual the brit was when he threw the two crystals that Scar had given to him right into the void. That had been a solid hour's worth of work.

Scar decided not to give Grian another crystal after that.

The cookie was very important in this process. When dealing with magic, one requires sustenance. And, as it turns out, cookies provide exactly what is needed for a wizard to do his job. Scar nibbled on his as he sat upon Larry's shell, staring off at the lake. His newly-enchanted crystal hung from his neck by a string, glowing yellow, the same hue as the star dangling from his hat. With Jellie napping inside, Scar had some alone time to just sit down and enjoy the rest of the day.

The sun was beginning its descent, creeping back towards the horizon. With his magically enhanced vision he could see small details that would otherwise be missed. A small flock of parrots on the other side of the lake, chattering amongst themselves. Little salmon swimming underneath the surface of the water, weaving and twirling. It was beautiful. The wizard wondered why he didn't make one of these sooner.

Not that he'd be able to enjoy the scenery for long, as within a matter of minutes Scar felt a droplet of rainwater fall onto his lap. Then another. And another. Soon, the sky was dark and gray with clouds and he was getting absolutely soaked. Usually that wouldn't bother him, but the wizard wasn't entirely sure how his crystals reacted to rain-- for all he knew the magic could become reversed and give a negative effect instead-- and he definitely wasn't itching to find out. So, he hopped off the top of his snail and popped back inside to wait out the storm. 

A huge crack of thunder resounded in Scar's ears as he sat inside of Larry's shell, glancing through his notebook of spells. He jumped a bit at the sudden noise. He had a sudden thought and crawled down the ladder inside his snail. Jellie, who had been resting on his chest, had always been afraid of the thunder, the poor thing. Scar himself didn't like it too much either, so he couldn't exactly blame her.

However, much to his surprise, Jellie was not huddled in fear, quaking, underneath a table or in a corner. In fact, she didn't seem bothered by the thunder at all; she was still curled up on the chest. She looked up when Scar came down, greeting him with a 'mew'. This was all so unlike her. She was disappearing for hours on end, she was acting different, heck, she looked different. A sudden thought struck him. Was this even his cat?

He felt so stupid. How could this be Jellie? This cat was so different. But... It wasn't too different. It still looked-- almost-- the same, it still responded to 'Jellie,' it was resting on Larry's shell, Jellie's old home. How could it be another cat? Scar knew that there was only one way to be sure, however. "Jellie," he started, getting her attention. He then performed a series of whistles.

This was something he had devised a long time ago after a close call with a creeper. Jellie would, should she hear the whistle, come to Scar and circle around his legs until he whistled again. Not only did it ward off any creepers, but Jellie seemed to enjoy it as well.

When Scar whistled, the cat who was now undoubtedly Jellie immediately hopped off the chest and did as she was supposed to. It was so confusing. She acts like a completely different cat, but then is the same old Jellie when needed. He really was tired, wasn't he? He quickly whistled again to signal the cat to stop. Jellie tubbed up against his legs contentedly, purring. Another boom of thunder shook the snail, but, again, Jellie had no response.

Shaking his head, Scar sat down on the chest to wait the storm out. Letting out a mew of surprise that her post had moved and resting spot had been taken, Jellie hopped onto Scar's lap instead for some more pets. The Hermit smiled down at her. At the end of the day, she was still Jellie, no matter how off she seemed.

But he just couldn't shake the firey glimmer of her eyes as she stared up at him.

-(Author's Rambling)-

Ha. I told you it wouldn't all be in Grian's perspective. It's quite a bit shorter than the last one, but ah well.

Hope you enjoyed, and, as always, thanks for coming and see you in the next one, my little readers!