Cub: By chance does anyone have any spare sugar cane?

Mumbo: How much you looking for?

Cub: 3 shulker boxes?

Mumbo: 😬

Grian: why on earth do you need that much sugar cane ???

Cub: My farm is going towards making cakes, but I need a lot of books at the moment.

Zedaph: I got you! Meet u by Hermity?

Cub: Sounds good.

Cub glided to a stop at the base of the statue, spotting Zed already leaning in the entrance. "Hey, thank you so much!"

Zed stood up, pulling out a green shulker box. "No problem! My pyramid base makes waaay more sugar cane than I can use."

"Well thank you nonetheless." Cub accepted the box gratefully. "What have you been up to lately? I feel like I never see you anymore!"

Zedaph laughed. "I know, right? I've been spending a lot of time in Hermitville working on my Duck game, but I just finished it this week! It's weird not having anything to work on, so I'm just hangin out I guess."

"Ive been busy with a new villager trading and enchanting building in ConCorp, so haven't played Duck yet!" Cub paused for a second. "Would you like to spend the day with me? Scar's busy with Doc, so I'd appreciate an extra set of hands at ConCorp."

Zed lit up like a Christmas tree. "I'd love to! Let's go!"

They returned to ConCorp, and Cub threw the doors open to the new building he was working on. "This is going to be the library, complete with librarians, enchanting tables and level farms." Cub gestured widely to the currently-empty room, a light sparking in his eyes. "I need your help to make books and hire workers while I work on the redstone, alright?"

Zed saluted with a grin. "Aye aye! Give me some leads and let's get started!"

For the first half an hour, Zed worked tirelessly to convince villagers to move into the new building, but they weren't having it. He bargained, bribed, pushed and pulled, but the ornery villagers hardly budged an inch. With his generous patience wearing thin, Zedaph returned to the building and plopped down on the floor, beginning to make some bookshelves to fill the room. The monotonous task was less frustrating, although it ended in far more smashed fingers and splinters.

Nearly three hours passed, and Zed took a step back to admire his handiwork. With the shelves lined up in small box-like arrangements, it almost looked like a room full of enchanting cubicles. With a deep sigh, Zedaph stretched his legs and sat down to begin making the books to fill the shelves. Not long after, Cub threw himself down next to Zed, helping assemble the books silently.

The pair fell into rhythm, shuffling pages and binding covers wordlessly. Zed knew he loved all the hermits equally, but noted that he had never spent any time alone with Cub. The realization made Zed smile, appreciating the silence even more. Cub may not be the chattiest hermit, but he had a confident yet comfortable air about him, which Zed leaned into happily.

As the sun began to set, Zedaph realized how long they had been tirelessly working. He glanced around, pleasantly surprised by the amount of bookshelves that were steadily filling up. He stretched his spine, wincing at the stiffness. Carefully, he stepped around Cub and the mess of papers they had made across the floor, heading back to the villager center.

This late in the evening, most of the villagers were in bed already, making Zedaph's job that much easier. He cornered a couple librarians, dragging the drowsy villagers into the facility. "Got some workers!"

Cub's head snapped up, and he rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his lab coat quickly. "Excellent, thank you. They can wait in that pen until the rest of the room is done." Cub waved vaguely to a shabby fenced-off corner, which Zedaph herded the villagers into gently.

As Zed returned to Cub's side, he noticed his red eyes, and the way he refused to make eye contact now. With any other hermit it may have just been the lack of sleep catching up with them, but not Cub. He had these piercing blue eyes that never seemed to leave you as you spoke. They bored into your soul like lasers in the best way possible.

"Hey, you feeling alright man? Do you need to lay down? We can finish in the morning if you want," Zed offered, rubbing Cub's back gently.

Cub shook his head nearly imperceptibly. "I'll be fine. Let's finish up real quick."

Zed sat down slowly, pushing stray papers aside. "Are you sure? It's okay if you're not feeling well, we've got all the time in the world."

This time Cub shook his head violently, snatching up a stack of papers. "I'm fine. Let's work."

Zedaph complied, silently returning to work. He was growing concerned for Cub now, but he supposed this was just how Cub was during projects. He was known for the insane hours he would put into his work, disregarding basic human needs until it was done. Zedaph has never witnessed this in person, so he could only assume this attitude coming out was the sleep deprivation kicking in. At least this was a fairly short project, he mused. They could be done by tomorrow afternoon, maybe even morning if they hurried. Zed picked up his pace.

It was nearly three in the morning when Cub spoke up out of nowhere, startling Zed. "Where do you think you came from before Hermitcraft?"

The question shocked Zedaph into silence for a moment. "Well, I'm not really sure. I've always imagined- or maybe hoped- that I came from a loving family, with lots of friends... maybe even a wife and kids. I bet I was a performer of some kind, hosting a television show or a circus or something. I dunno, I feel like I have an entertaining streak in me." Zed shrugged.

He acted like he hadn't thought about it every day of his life. Like he didn't long for a wife and kids to love, even if that meant he had to say goodbye to them when he joined Hermitcraft. Like he didn't lay in bed every night, wondering why he was here in the first place. Most people didn't remember their past lives when they're brought to a new server; the only ones on Hermitcraft were Xisuma and Joe, and Xisuma hardly counted since Admin always remember. Joe however, he was an interesting case. He technically wasn't an admin, but there were rumors that he might've gotten hold of certain administrative powers in his home world, which complicated things when he switched servers. Joe and Xisuma didn't talk about their pasts very often- too stressful, for obvious reasons. "What about you, Cub?"

Cub let out a long breath. "I imagine I might have worked in a scientific facility; likely in redstone. What I really wonder is if I knew Scar before we came to Hermitcraft. Is that feasible? I've never heard of that happening, but we don't have many scientific logs on the issue. I just feel like I've known Scar my whole life, you know?" Cub's voice wavered as he rambled.

"Of course. I think you guys definitely did- I've seen the way you practically read each other's minds! Sometimes I think I knew Tango in a past life; he reminds me of someone, but I don't know who."

Cub nodded. "Exactly. I don't know what I would do without Scar, honestly. He's like my other half, and always has been."

Zedaph smiled. "I'm glad you have someone like that in your life."

Cub muttered under his breath as he swiped at the tear that was making its way down his face.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Not like I have anyone like that right now, do I? Scar sure isn't here helping me with our villager project, hm?" Cub's voice was even and composed, but tears poured down his cheeks.

Zed didn't know how to respond to that, so they fell into a tense silence. Zed mulled over what Cub said with a pained heart. He didn't know where Scar was, or what he was doing today, but apparently it made Cub pretty upset. Zedaph knew how that felt, because he'd said the same things about Tango countless times. Tango always seemed to have a big redstone project in the works, and that frequently meant Zed took a back seat. As much as Zedaph griped about it, he was never truly mad; he could never be mad at Tango, and he was sure Cub felt the same way about Scar.

"...hey Cub? I love you, okay? Even if we don't know where we came from, I'm glad I'm here with you right now."

Cub sniffled, collapsing against Zedaph's shoulder. "Thank you Zed. For everything today."

Zed smiled, rubbing Cub's back. "Thank you Cub, for being a good friend."

Cub's hiccups faded as his breathing evened out, deepening into long sighs, which made Zed yawn. He leaned back against the wall, being sure not to disturb the sleeping Cub on his shoulder. They slept like that until noon the next morning, soft greyish light filling the room as the sound of rain filled the comforting silence.

Love you, my little stars!
-RaeTheStar