PearlescentMoon was killed by Grian using magic

There were a few minutes of silence before the realisation set in. Pearl was dead. Like dead dead. Her body despawned shortly after just to further prove she wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. Then the first sob push its way to the surface.No one knew who initially started but pretty soon they were all crying

Grian was the least vocal of the group. He just sat there while tears ran down his face, mixing with the blood that had had time to dry on him. He was still in shock and horrified at what he'd done. The words that had been etched onto Pearl's back were now echoing throughout his muddled mind

You will always fail to protect what you care for in the end.

It was something that was constantly drilled into his mind when he was with Them. Don't get him wrong. At first, they tried to present themselves as kind gods, but ever since Grian and a couple others found out the truth, they were quick to change their tune. They were the ones pushed further, to be the best. If they didn't prove their usefulness to their cause, they would become worthless, just a liability.

That was why he was so sorry to Pearl on the first night of the season. The destruction of Evo was an effort to break him enough for a mask to work on him. He had succeeded in saving himself but was this what they wanted? Was letting Pearl survive long enough to find just a ruse to get to him and hurt him more?

Grian sighed. His brain was not being his friend today.

He felt an arm pulling him into a warm body that held him gently. He didn't resist the comfort when it was offered, he needed it right now more than he cared to admit. He felt the person hugging him nuzzle their face into his hair.

"Come on," said X as he stood up. His expression remained unreadable through his helmet but they heard him sniffling and the rawness of his voice. "Let's get cleaned up. You don't mind if we use your base, right Grian?"

"Uhh huh, S-sure." Grian tried to stand up after him only to find himself detained by the arms sitting snuggly around his body. He looked up at Mumbo who still had his face buried in his hair. They looked at each other for a minute before coming to a silent agreement and standing up together.

Eventually they all got up and headed into Grian's starter house and washed the blood off their bodies. It was still dark out by the time they finished and no one was in the mood to spend the night alone in their big empty bases after what has just happened. So Grian brought down a bunch of pillows and blankets from his nest for them to sleep on. Then he disappeared into the folds of his nest, which was mounted to the wall just above eye level, so he could watch them without being seen. No one stopped him.

"I'll, uh, I'll make some tea?" Scar offered, having been the farthest from the girl when it happened, his view had been obstructed, thus leading to him being the least traumatized of the group. Still bad, just not as much as having held her in her last moments.

The others lay close to each other while they waited for Scar to return. Not quite sure what to do now. Silence settled over them like fog.

"So..." The attempt at conversation fizzled out quicking in the deafening silence filling the house. Mumbo remembered his earlier thought about Grian's wings and how messed up they were. He didn't think Grian fixed them yet.

The moustached man stood up and scratched at the side of the nest the avian was hiding in. Beady blue orbs met his reddish-brown ones. He asked him if his wings were alright and if he needed any medical attention since he was pretty banged up earlier.

"My wings..." The smaller trailed off but the short conversation had notified the others of Mumbo's concern.

"You wanna come down here?" Impulse offered, Grian was tempted to agree but was gonna have to say no. He didn't deserve comfort after he let Pearl die. Even as touch-starved and comfort craving as he was, he knew he had to earn that privilege. He didn't realise he spaced out until he was being lifted out of the safety of his nest.

Mumbo placed him down so his head rested on Xisuma's thigh and his body in his lap. A gloved hand balanced atop his shoulder and he could help but lean into it. Okay, maybe just a little relaxation, Grian compromised to his own head. He felt hands smoothing down his feathers as they were still all ruffled.

Someone asked if they could preen his wings and he nodded in response. His brain had already started to shut down. Two back-to-back flights and then an epic battle were a lot for one day. Not to mention the energy he was putting into ignoring his emotions that were threatening to bubble over. If he didn't think about it then it didn't happen. This was just one big crazy nightmare.

Yeah. Alova was just trying to fuck with him. There was no other explanation for it. He would wake up soon and Pearl would be there waiting for him.

Denial was a strong thing though. Denial was the first stage of grief.