Hey everyone,

I took a bit of a small hiatus. I was dealing with hobby burnout coupled with family-related stuff and work stress all at once which... yeah. That was an ugly monster. I think ultimately there will be slower updates going forward, not wanting myself to get burnt out so bad again. 

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The next morning, everyone was up before the crack of dawn. For the most part, they had already been packed and ready the night before, but a few Hermits still scrambled to grab the few things they had forgotten. But as a golden edge began to show in the sky, the group stood ready, the admin carrying a single ender chest. (It was common when changing worlds to bring nothing but sentimental items; to truly start from scratch.)

Standing on the crest of a hill, the Hermits all were overlooking the community area. One last look at the world they had called home for over a year, almost two, before they followed one by one into the large bedrock portal leading to the Main Hub. Without even realizing, the nervous little avian had grabbed ahold of Mumbo's hand.

Thankfully for him, though, he didn't even have to step outside of the inter-most firewall. The admin had prepared the new portal sometime before this, and stood side by side with the old one. That, at least, made Grian feel a little better.

"It's time for a new world." X declared, taking a step out of the way. As much as he was a leader, the eager faces in the crowd told him that there were many that wanted to be the very first one to step foot in their new home. In fact, it wasn't just the faces. The way in which a certain sheep hybrid and another were, quite literally, butting heads as they yelled was evidence enough.

He could only chuckle as he rolled his eyes, pushing through the crowd before pulling the two of them apart. "Come on, come on... do we really have to fight about this every single time?" He asked, trying to sound like it was a bigger deal than it actually was to him.

"No!" The fiery Tango called from the front of the portal. Chuckling, the hybrid leaned back, letting himself be swallowed by the portal as his distorted voice carried, "Suckers!!"

"Hey, no fair!" Impulse exclaimed, chasing after the other. He too vanished into the portal. Zed escaped from X's hold by giving him a nice headbutt before rushing in right behind. Everyone scrambled to get in, and within a few seconds, only the ones that didn't remained: a trampled X, a Grian hiding behind his wings and the handholding Mumbo Jumbo. Though, the sight of the admin was enough for the man to let go and rush over to help the void.

"Xeezoomuh! Are you alright?" He asked, helping him to his feet. He was sure to hold on tight, watching how much the player wobbled.

"I— yeah..." he mumbled, his head spinning. He chuckled lightly. Shame on him for thinking he ever had control over a group such as this. He let go of Mumbo's hand to brush himself off. "Well, are you two ready as well?"

"I..." The angel trailed off, beholding the portal. Would the world beyond it truly be what he could call home? His heart swelled at the thought. It made him excited, and yet so deeply afraid that it wasn't what it was promised, or that he'd find a way to ruin it. These people seemed to have a paradise constructed, he didn't want to ruin it. He gave a slight nod, trying to brush away the thoughts. "I think so."

"Wonderful, mate." The tall human replied, once again finding his hand. "Let's go then." And before Grian realized, the two of them were walking through the purple swirling mystery that was the portal.

✧✰✧

A bright, almost blinding sky met them. Grian had to blink a few times to adjust his eyes as he re-found his footing, seeing as the portal had messed with his senses.

"Welcome home to season 6, Grian!" A blonde woman exclaimed, holding her hands to her mouth as if to make a megaphone. It seemed that everyone had formed a circle around the portal in the minute that the three lagged behind. Everyone called out their welcomes, or simply clapping. A moment later, the portal swished before it spit out the helmeted man.

"We're like great big psychotic, dysfunctional family!" An older man called. His exclamation made a lot of hermits laugh.

"That's, about right, yeah." Mumbo chuckled, squeezing Grian's hand. All the ruckus only made the admin shake his head. Not in a way that he was mad, rather that he couldn't help but he endeared by his friends.

"Well I don't know about psychotic... but yeah." He supposed. He took a breath to regain a calm and professional manner. He rested a hand on the short man's shoulder. "And now, Grian, you're a part of it. Welcome home." He stepped back, feeling everyone's eyes. "This is a blank slate. We've already marked out the districts ahead of time. You are now free to do as you wish. Tomorrow at dusk we will meet here again. You know what to bring." With cheers from the crowd, everyone seemed to take that as a cue to begin running off in all sorts of directions. All aside from Grian, who looked up to Mumbo.

"What-" he began to ask, but Mumbo shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, mate." He only chuckled as his hand slipped away. A few moments later, he was pelted by a blob of wet dripping sand by a cackling one eyed man.

"Come on, Slow-mo Jumbo!" He called. 

It was enough for Mumbo's attention to be stolen based on the way he ran off to chase his friend, yelling, "You did not just do that! Get back here!!" And Grian watched as everyone went and did their own thing, close friends pairing up with each other. And he, he stood and stared at the fading raven-haired buffoon who was now splashing his semi-robotic companion as they too ran off.

He couldn't be upset. As much as he liked the man, he obviously needed to be with his friends too. Friends... this group promised to be not only his friends, but his family as well. He wasn't so sure he could believe that, however. He wasn't so sure why his legs wouldn't move, why he didn't join one of the groups, but... he didn't. He stayed there. And perhaps distracted by the others, they didn't seem to notice, either.

He waited until everyone was almost out of sight before he forced himself to move. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to be in a brand new world, to have nothing but needing to survive. It almost felt surreal, going to that first tree, to cut it down with his fist. He hadn't done that since...

His throat tightened, and he had to blink away the memory. Both that time and the time that proceeded it proved to be painful memories and instinctively, he tried to shove them away out of his mind. It seemed to work just a little as he focused on his next task: creating a crafting table. From there, he used some of the remaining wood to create a few basic tools. It helped that his hands, which had been away from the work of a player, worked as though he had never stopped, nearly moving in their own.

First step, was of course, gathering basic materials. He'd let himself go mining for awhile before setting out to where he planned to settle down. Since he had decided to live right on the water by Mumbo, he supposed he could repair a shipwreck for a starter base. He knew it wasn't futuristic, but he hoped that'd be alright anyway.

With his mind elsewhere, he found that the day went by quickly. Various Hermits popped in on him every now and then, checking in his progress and bartering supplies, but for the most part he was alone. Not that he minded. In the temple, despite all the eyes swarming him, he often found himself alone. Besides, being alone and unmonitored meant the random leak of emotion that came in the form of tears would go unnoticed. Why he found himself nearly crying, he wasn't sure. He had no valid reason to cry. He was just doing basic tasks after all. But yet, they came, even as he fought to push them down.

But regardless, the third time he overcame these leaks, he decided that it was time for him to return to the surface from the mines. He made himself a staircase and when he got out, he found that he would have a few more hours of daylight before monsters would begin to spawn. He could work with that.

He headed out to the water's edge, knowing that his new home would be somewhere in the ocean he faced. Now all he had to do was find a ship wreck. His wings behind him began to unfurl themselves, knowing the easiest way to accomplish a lot of ground and fast. And yet, even though they were merely wishing to fly, he batted at them, forcing them to close.

He looked back at his bandages. Could he really not pull them any tighter? Could he really never be human any more? He gave them one more tug, trying to rid himself of any sign being a Watcher.

He didn't want to fly. Humans didn't fly, they walked. Watchers flew, and some of them were incredibly good at it. Miesall was good at it, better than any of the others by far. His own wings reminded him of pain, not just from the memory of losing his humanity, but losing his one true friend.

To his dismay, no amount of pulling on his bandages would get rid of his last pair of wings. Shrink then a bit, but only if he pulled so tight he thought he might just cut off his arm from the sheer pressure applied. Like it or not, he was stuck this way. So for now, he decided to pretend like they didn't exist.

He placed down a boat and began the adventure of finding his new home on this new hidden sever.

✧✰✧

"How was your first day on the server, mate?" Mumbo asked Grian. It was well past dark now, and Grian had found himself in the human's treehouse starter base. It wasn't very safe, but it was better a platform on the ocean in which drowned threw tridents everywhere. Now, the two sat side by side in their beds, staring up at the vast array of stars above them.

"It... wasn't bad." Grian replied, honest as ever. He heard the man beside him shuffle in his bed to look over at him.

"Not bad?"

"I mean... I think I still can't believe this is... home."

"Oh." Jumbo Mumbo moved again to look back up at the stars. "Right... I was a nervous wreck my first day too. Thought I'd get kicked for something, or I'd be too weird to fit in. Well, turns out weirdness is how you fit in here! Well— I'm sure if you were boring too you'd fit in too! Wait, boring? That is offensive isn't it? Oh gosh I offended him— " the man began to spiral. Grian found that he broke it off with a chuckle. Maybe they were both just mess ups, maybe all the Hermits were. That surely would make him fit right in.

"I get what you mean, don't worry." He assured, finding himself reaching over to grab his hand, much like Mumbo had done to him when he needed to be comforted. It was nice feeling hand on hand. Physical contact was a rarity among the romance-repulsed Watchers, who feared even a simple friendship like this one would ruin them.

"Oh thank gosh, he doesn't hate me..."

Friendship... was this a friendship? The thought made Grian look over at him. "Hey Mumbo?" He asked, deciding to pretend the man wasn't rambling to himself yet again. "Are we... we know, friends?"

Mumbo turned, his deep black eyes meeting Grian's own. He had such a wide, happy smile. Such a genuine one at that. "Yes! Yes of course." He couldn't help but wonder what kind of background that this small Brit had that he had needed to ask such a question. "And you're a Hermit now... do you remember what that means?" He took the silence to mean that he hadn't. "It means that we're family, too."

"We... are?" Grian found himself squeaking. He wasn't sure why that only seemed to sink in now, or why that brought tears to his eyes. He was greeted with a hug, Mumbo moving to support the Brit's head against his chest.

"Yes, yes we are... brother. But— by brother I don't mean literal biological brothers! That'd be, quite something if it were..."

"I know Mumbo," Grian assured. "I know."