Grian was going to find a parrot if it killed him. He was going to find it no matter what because according to Xisuma they danced when he played music and he wanted a dancing Pesky Bird.

He was flying over a beach because according to Xisuma, the nearest Jungle Biome was a couple of thousand blocks in that direction, and parrots spawned there.

Plus Grian wanted to try some cookies.

That would be a bonus. 

He frowned when he noticed a cabin, which was odd as none of the Hermits would come out this far. The only reason most people would come out would be for the jungle wood, and they'd gathered enough saplings at the start of the season a couple of months ago. It might've just been an abandoned starter base, or maybe just a small cabin someone had built to spend the night. Assuming it was abandoned, he landed on the surprisingly soft sand, stepping closer to the house, knocking on the door, unsurprisingly with no response.

Grian pushed the door open, deciding he might as well find out who it belonged to. He found a few necessities such as diamonds and food, but he frowned when he saw a map on the wall, as it seemed fairly updated. He pushed open the door into the bedroom, noticing that the bed seemed recent, and it also seemed more developed than a starter base.

Suddenly Grian hears a sword unsheathing, confused as to how he didn't hear the footsteps or the door open. His hand twitching towards his obsidian sword before pulling it out and turning around, slightly thrown off by the familiarity he felt despite not recognising them. He barely managed to dodge the first strike but wasn't so lucky with the others, and while his enhanced senses gave him a slight advantage, it wasn't any good knowing when he was about to attack if Grian couldn't dodge them.

He rolled away to avoid a direct hit to the heart, stumbling back up only to be almost immediately disarmed, his sword clattering to the ground. A droplet of blood trickled down his neck, as the cold metal pressed against him as the figure glared through their mask. He furrowed his eyebrows as they stared at the sword, looking back up at Grian, his face emotionless as they picked it up.

"Where did you get this?"

"I- um- Summoned it. In a different world. Then brought it here. I was turned into a watcher and then summoned it and transferred it across worlds," Grian stuttered, and the figure furrowed his eyebrows, likely not expecting that answer.

"The watchers- What do you mean the watchers? They're a fairy story, a myth," he said harshly, pushing the sword further towards his throat as he winced, pulling it away and putting it back away.

"They're nothing," Grian stuttered, realising he'd messed up by mentioning them.

"Liar," they said, gritting his teeth angrily. Grian froze, his chest constricting as he found it harder to breathe, his eyes widening as he sunk back against the wall, panicking like mad, his vision unfocused as he stared at the opposite wall, not noticing as the figure moved away. Grian knew he should use this opportunity to run, to get away, or something, but his panic froze him and prevented him from being able to do that simple thing.

He froze completely when the figure walked back in, shaking slightly as he placed a plate of cookies next to him, squatting down and tilting his head. They offered Grian one, and slowly Grian raised his hand, taking it and cautiously taking a bite.

It tasted absolutely brilliant. Grian slowly finished it off, slightly more relaxed, as he looked up at the figure and smiled.

"These are good," he grunted, and Grian noticed he sounded slightly like Xisuma, and he frowned.

"Did you bake these yourself?" he asked, and the Xisuma-look-alike nodded.

"Yeah, what of it?" Grian shrugged.

"They're really nice - you're a really good cook." He just grunted, shifting positions. 

"What's your name?" Grian asked, seeing his shoulders slump slightly as he answered.

"Evil Xisuma, he/they," they stated bitterly, as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth, presumably glaring at him through the mask.

"Well that's not a very nice name and I think it's misleading," Grian stated, starting to stand up. "Is there anything else you go by?"

"Um, well when I was younger people called me Xeno..." he said, his voice softening slightly and seeming less detached.

"That's a good name. I'm Grian, he/him," he offered, holding out a hand which Xeno slowly took, shaking it and smiling.

"You're new, aren't you?" They asked, and Grian nodded, smiling warmly at him.

"Yeah, joined a couple months ago. You?"

"I dunno, I followed Xisuma here at the start of Season 1, but I guess I first was actually acknowledged to exist by some of the Hermits at some point in Season 3. I dunno, it all kinda blurs together at this point."

"This is a complete subject change but these cookies are really good!" Grian exclaimed, a smile on his face as he took another bite, only for Xeno to shrug.

"They're not that great," he deadpanned, rolling his eyes behind his mask.

"Could you teach me the recipe or something?" Grian asked, back to his usual hyper self for the first time since Evo, and Xeno shrugged.

"Maybe in a week or so, because it's hard to get my hands on the ingredients," Xeno stated.

"I can help you-"

"No, it's fine, I'd prefer to get them myself."

"Oh- Okay. Should I drop round in about a week or something?"

"Yeah, OK." Grian smiled supportively, smiling and standing up, opening the door and preparing to fly back home.

He never did end up getting that parrot.