Hello, and welcome back to Watched!

Not too much else to say...

Merry Almost-Christmas?

Woo!

I don't celebrate though.

WHATEVER!

WC: ~780 (short chapter, I'm sorry)

Enjoy!

Grian hated the way everyone looked at him.

Mumbo looked at him as if he were looking at a rabid animal. Like he just had to tread carefully, and then everything would be fine. Like he was prone to lash out at any moment. Like he was emotionally unstable and dangerous. 

Xisuma looked at Grian in a way that was both hopeful and suppressed. Like he wanted to trust Grian, and expected something from the Watcher, but was constantly reminding himself that he couldn't trust him. 

Iskall looked at Grian like he genuinely liked Grian, but was forbidden to. By his own mind. Iskall just looked like he was being pulled in a thousand directions.

Stress looked at Grian as if a small part of her wanted to trust him, but the rest of her was just pure hatred. She seemed like the trusting type, and she seemed to want to stick to that, but Grian was just someone she couldn't wrap her head around.

Turns out, trust was the stupidest thing ever.

So when Iskall and Xisuma told Grian that he was supposed to go into the ice mountain with Stress, alone, he had his doubts.

What can one energy-drained player do to me? Grian told himself dismissively before entering the room. 

"You're Grian, yeah?" was the first thing that Stress said. Grian fidgeted nervously with his fingers and nodded. Argh, I can't do it. They'll kill me.

"And you're Stress?" Grian asked. Stress nodded. I CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER LIKE THIS-

"Can I boost you?" Grian blurted, then slapped his hands over his mouth. 

"Boost... what?" Stress sounded confused.

"Erm, nevermind," Grian mumbled, embarrassed. "It's a... thing. To get you back to full strength." Stress raised an eyebrow.

"Try it," The words weren't a command, but rather a challenge. Grian pressed his lips together into a tight line, then snapped his fingers.

A small ball of energy formed at his fingertips. It glowed softly and cast its purple light onto Grian's shirt. He flicked his wrist, sending the ball at Stress. The energy swirled around Stress, then merged with her, causing her to glow purple for a moment, then return to normal. 

"Wow," Stress murmured. "That's amazin'." Grian couldn't help but smile. It was nice to have his powers be of use. "You aren't like the other Watchers." 

"I'm not," Grian agreed. "May I ask what happened with the 'other Watchers'?" Stress winced.

"They attacked our server," she explained. "Xisuma was barely able to hold them off. He kept up the code wall, or tried to. Some of them got through. Bless him, those things are nasty. The ones that got through attacked the rest of us. It was pretty bad. Most of us survived. Lots of us have scars. It was not a pretty time." Stress shuddered at the memory. 

"Most?" Grian's voice was no more than a whisper. 

"There was one death," Stress's voice was strained. "He sacrificed himself for us all. Well, he might be dead. We're not sure. He was taken, that's all we know." Grian hesitated, realization washing over him.

They thought it would happen again.

"I- I'm sorry," Grian mumbled. "But I really wouldn't do that, I swear." It was Stress's turn to press her lips into a tight line.

"Alright," she replied. Neither were really sure what else to say, until Stress finally asked, "So, what brought you three here?" Grian gave a small smile.

"Honestly? I'm not completely sure," Grian explained with a nervous laugh. "I told Iskall and Xisuma that my wing was broken, and they brought me here. Are you a healer of some sort?" Stress nodded.

"Let me see," she requested, standing up. Grian turned around and spread his wings out. Stress gently traced the bones, sending shivers up Grian's spine. 

"I know how to fix it," Stress offered. "I just don't have the materials. Sorry, luv." Grian shook his head.

"It's fine," the Watcher tucked his wings in. "Let's go see Xisuma and Iskall." The two of them walked out.

"Why are you standing?" Iskall's worried voice was the first thing that they heard.

"Energy boost," Grian explained. "Watcher... thing..." He trailed off, realizing how suspicious that sounded. Xisuma and Iskall didn't seem bothered though.

They really trust me.

Why?

Stress's story...

Why should they trust me?

Mumbo was right, they are nice people.

I don't know how to feel about that.

"What's an energy boost?" Iskall asked. Grian snapped his fingers, letting a purple orb come to his hand. Iskall, Xisuma, and Stress instinctively took a step back.

Whizzzzzzzz.

That wasn't the sound of magic.

Grian whipped around to see an arrow.

Flying at his chest.

An arrow ready to kill.

An arrow that would kill.

Perfectly aligned.

This is gonna hurt.

Cliffhanger? You know it! :D

-Storm