"You can't stay in that room for the rest of your life, you know."

Impulse jumped at the sudden voice outside his room in the lodge, recognizing it as Xisuma and blurting out a quick response. "Yes I can!"

Outside the door, Xisuma let out an annoyed sigh, like that of a parent dealing with an unruly child. "No, you can't. You'd run out of food and die, you know."

"Technically speaking, that would be the rest of my life though," Impulse argued back. Though X made a good point, the only food he had left in here was– he did a quick mental tally – two apples, a box of crackers, and some water. Definitely not enough to keep him alive for an extended period of time.

" Impulse... " Xisuma groaned, words trailing off into a dull thud that sounded suspiciously like him hitting his head against the door. With a small grimace, Impulse caught on to the desperation in his tone. "'M sorry," he muttered, a bit timidly, "I just don't know what to do , okay?"

"I know, I do, but if you just..." Xisuma cut himself off, seeming to lose his words for a moment. "Why don't I come in and we can talk about it?" he finally settled on.

Impulse instinctively nodded, before realizing that, in fact, X was not able to see him nod. "Yeah, that'd be fine," he said, running a hand through his hair nervously. He didn't look to see the mayor step inside and shut the door behind him, taking in the room. Impulse sat at his desk, fiddling with some redstone components. He turned his chair so that he could face Xisuma, still holding a small lever.

Xisuma took a small breath before getting straight to the point. "You've gotta tell them something soon, Impulse."

Sucking in a shaky breath through his teeth, Impulse flicked his lever around and didn't give Xisuma an answer. His clock contraption on the table didn't respond to the wireless lever like it should have, so he gazed at that instead of meeting Xisuma's eyes. Xisuma fidgeted with the hems of his gloves, waiting for Impulse to say something even though he'd chosen to ignore the endborne. Impulse was going to tell them about being a demon and everything, he was!

He just didn't know when. Or how.

Eventually, Xisuma gave up waiting and took a step over to poke at the redstone contraption. "This an Etho Hopper Clock?" he asked, genuinely curious. Impulse nodded, a verbal answer seemingly dying in his throat. "This piston's a little off," X leaned over and nudged one of the pistons into place, "...there, try it now."

Impulse did, flicking the lever back into the on position. The contraption worked, pistons pushing back and forth, items moving around and making it tick like a metronome. Satisfied with the machine, Impulse smiled, turning it back off and placing the lever onto the table again.

He shifted to face Xisuma, realizing X had probably only fixed his machine to get his attention back on the more pressing matter. But X was good at hiding his emotions and intentions behind that mask of his, so Impulse couldn't really tell.

"I'm not going to push you to tell them if you really don't want to," Xisuma remarked with an apologetic tone. He sat down on the edge of Impulse's bed and crossed his legs underneath him, tipping his head into his hand and keeping eye contact. "But, I can't control what the others do, and the hermits can get," he forced back a wince, " quite curious. Just a warning."

Impulse hummed a response, chewing at his lip. He still couldn't seem to look up at X, and instead trained his eyes on his lap, where he was picking at his fingernails.

"I'm just saying, they're going to figure it out at some point or another, and it's easier if you tell them before they do. Plus, Scar might explode if he has to keep a secret for too much longer– his words, not mine." Xisuma added, voice giving away his amusement. Impulse didn't share it, a shudder running through him instead as the truth to those words lodged itself in his mind.

And the truth was that things would be a lot less messy if he just told them now and got it over with, so that they could kick him out already .

"I know, I know I have to tell them soon," Impulse admitted, features tightening. "I'm just... just..." he choked on his words and trailed off, but Xisuma finished for him. "...scared?"

"It's okay to be nervous," Xisuma stretched out his hand like a peace offering and Impulse took it. "I know it's hard, these things just are. I was a lot like this before I told people about my species too." Impulse looked up curiously, finally finding it in him to meet Xisuma's eyes, however shaky his gaze was.

"It took me so long just to be able to say the words 'I'm an endborne'," X continued. "But now it's nothing but a part of who I am. Being a demon is part of who you are. And I know you're worried the rest of us won't accept you for it, but please, if I were going to kick you out I already would have. I'm not doing that."

And there it was. Again. That blind acceptance. That blind trust. Did Xisuma not understand? Did he not understand that by simply being in the same room as Impulse, his very life could be in danger? Did he not understand that Impulse couldn't be trusted, that he was a liar and a fraud?

Xisuma smiled at him sympathetically. He didn't deserve that.

Impulse's hope was drowned in disbelief. How was any of this possible? "I guess, part of me just can't believe it," he stuttered a little, eyes narrowing. "Believe that you're not going to..."

(Flames licked across the back of his neck and along the feathers of his wings. He let out a cry of pain and ran faster, heels pounding against cobbled streets. He'd long given up pleading to the angry mob, and had begun fleeing from their torches and pitchforks instead.

He was tired and he was cold, and all he'd wanted was some damn bread and a place to sleep for the night, but no. Of course he'd been an idiot and hadn't thought to put on a human disguise.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, and he didn't waste energy wiping them away. He stifled sobs that were stealing his breath, and tried to run faster. He was sweating and shaking, and his wings were pulled in tight, bleeding from where some dumb kids had yanked out his primaries so that he couldn't fly off. And all he wanted to do was get away.

Why did they all hate him?

Why didn't anyone care?

Why did no one think of him as anything but a monster?)

"...Going to... get rid of me." Impulse finished quietly, trying to blink away the flashback that had seared itself into his mind. It was a returning one, a nightmare to remind him of how much he wasn't wanted when people knew who he was. The hermits kept telling him the opposite of what his memories did. That he was important no matter what.

It didn't make sense.

Xisuma shivered, and held Impulse's hand a little tighter. " No , of course I wouldn't do that, I won't, Impulse, I promise you."

Impulse swallowed thickly, trying to push down a growing nausea and the nagging voice that kept telling him that X was lying. If Xisuma had been lying, he'd've already kicked him out, he reasoned, X said it himself. The mayor really didn't care, did he?

"The hermits won't either," X continued, "I know they can be a bit much sometimes, but really, they understand."

Two voices filled Impulse's head simultaneously. One was Tango's, whining about how demons couldn't possibly be good creatures, it just didn't make sense. The other was Mumbo's, saying that whatever species Impulse was, he would be fine with it, even if that species happened to be a 'hellish daemonic entity'. None of it made any sense.

"But what if they don't?" Impulse blurted, the words not feeling his own. "I don't get it . How can you just blindly accept me? What if I was dangerous ? I'm a demon, X, you're not safe if I'm here." Words spilled out like bile, and he wasn't sure where they'd come from. "You should've kicked me out already, with your flaming torches and sharp weapons- the whole shebang– I don't get it, I don't get it."

With his free hand, Impulse motioned to the room around him. "You gave me this- You gave human me this sanctuary, but- but I'm not... I'm not who you thought I was. And yet, you still let me stay... I mean, thank you, gods, thank you. But there has to be a catch right?" he felt a strange giggle building in his throat. "It must be a trick or some kind of ruse, right? Because no one- no one offers shelter to a demon–"

"Impulse," Xisuma interrupted him, a pained expression filling his eyes, which were glossed with tears. "Can you look at me?"

Movements tense, Impulse looked back at X, their eyes meeting once more.

"You're not dangerous," he started after a careful pause. "Your species does not, and never did dictate your actions, you hear me? I haven't known you for a while, but it's been long enough for me to know that you're a kind soul, Impulse. Hermit Village was made for people like you, and it will be safe for any and all species, for as long as it stands."

Xisuma paused, taking a long breath. "I will never stop telling you that you belong here, okay? Because you do."

The two shared a moment of silence so quiet you could've heard a pin drop. Xisuma didn't let go of Impulse's hand, holding it tightly as if it would disappear if he dropped it. Impulse felt a strange sensation pass through his chest, his heart thrumming warmly.

He was safe? He belonged? It was so unreal, it was like living in a dream. And fuuuuck, it felt good.

"And there's no catch?" Impulse found himself asking. He felt like he shouldn't believe it, but he wanted to so badly.

"There's no catch." Xisuma nodded. "Not a string attached."

Impulse felt his emotions bubbling up suddenly, shoulders shaking and tears pricking at his eyes. He smiled something genuine, and Xisuma invited him into a hug, arms spread wide. Impulse accepted, leaning over and burying himself into X's arms. The endborne's arms wrapped around him securely, and he smelled like soap and pine wood, soft, yet strong and stable.

Impulse could've stayed there forever. But he eventually pulled away, smiling as Xisuma held him at arm's length.

"I think I should tell them," he said, holding himself high. His mind was racing excitedly, and his blood rushed through his veins like he was on top of the world.

Under his mask, Xisuma seemed to grin. He nodded enthusiastically, pulling his hands away from Impulse. "Do it however you want, take the time you need."

Impulse nodded back, letting out a long breath. He rubbed gently at his arms, shuddering from the sudden onslaught of emotion, and smiled again. It felt nice to smile.

"And for step one," Xisuma started after a healthy break from speaking, "Is getting you out of this room."

Impulse gave a jokingly annoyed sigh, "Yes yes, dad. "

"That's like, the seventh time I've been called 'dad' this week." Xisuma responded, voice a little higher in a confused pitch. "Sorry, anyways, I've got some stuff I need to send to Bdubs, so you can be my errand boy, yeah?"

"Yeah, I can- I can do that," Impulse agreed, stuffing down the immediate aversion that said oh no, not the outside...! This quest would require leaving the house and maybe even touching some grass, a thing that he could definitely do.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone for a bit to get the shulker for him ready." Xisuma slid off the edge of the bed into a standing position. "Come one downstairs whenever you're ready." The mayor took a step over and placed his hand on the door handle, and he and Impulse exchanged a nod of confirmation.

Xisuma left, door shutting softly, leaving Impulse to sit and ponder over his new revelations for a while.

Things were gonna be okay.

. . .

Impulse hopped down the lodge stairs, looking around for Xisuma when he reached the landing. He spotted the man next to the front door, checking over a shulker box. He gave X a friendly wave which he returned, walking over.

"Impulse Siv, reporting for duty Xisuma sir!" he said with a joking salute. Xisuma laughed, giving him a gentle shove in response.

"Hello," X straightened his stance, chuckles dying out. "One shulker, to be delivered to Bdubs, on the double." he patted the top of the shulker box and opened the door, stepping outside and waving for Impulse to as well.

Impulse stepped out, hit by a wave of fresh air and warm sunlight. Wow, maybe taking a moment to go outside was really good for him.

"Tell him he doesn't owe me anything for it, it was all excess stuff anyways. I'll see you in a bit." Xisuma cheerily handed him the shulker, it was a soft green color. He didn't wait for an answer, turning around and heading back inside, shutting the door behind him. Impulse took a deep breath and hugged the box close to his chest. He gazed over what he could see of the village from here, the wind tugging at his hair as he hopped down the front steps and headed out.

He kept his head down as he walked, as if it would keep anyone from seeing him. He hadn't figured out how he wanted to reveal everything to the hermits yet, and he knew they were still gossiping about him because of what had happened at the sleepover. Maybe, with some luck, he wouldn't run into any hermits at all, though. Of course, that was completely wishful thinking. In order to get to Bdubs' from the lodge, he had to pass through the main courtyard, and Hermit Village was far from a ghost town on pleasant summery days like these.

Impulse could see shadows of people as he approached the courtyard, could hear them chattering and bustling about. He didn't glance up as he entered, clinging to the edge of the circle and pretending it was only him who was there.

There were eyes on the back of his neck. Someone's conversation dropped into a hushed whisper.

No one was looking at him. Nothing to see here folks. They're not looking.

He walked a little faster. Looked up slightly. The end of the courtyard was just ahead, he was home free. The relief that came with the sight lasted almost a whole two seconds before dropping away. Two hermits stood on the path he needed to go down, having a conversation that was quickly escalating into a loud argument.

Sticking himself to the edge of the path, he continued on. Maybe if he stayed here, they wouldn't see him, and he could pass by easily. Okay, think invisible thoughts... invisible thoughts...

Impulse continued down the path quickly, but not too quickly that it was noticeable, and curiosity made him eavesdrop on the argument going on next to him. It was, unsurprisingly, between False and Wels. They argued all the time about the most meaningless things, so it didn't seem that big a deal. Well, it didn't seem that big a deal until he heard his own name.

"False, chill out , Impulse isn't the devil ! Jeez."

He couldn't help but flick his head over to the two of them as he heard that. Wels, the one who'd spoken, stood angrily over False, who seemed defensive, and had her arms crossed. They were both glaring at one another. False didn't respond to what Wels had said other than scowling at him better than he ever could.

Wels gave an annoyed humph, stepping away from False and making a point in stomping his way over to... Impulse? When Wels reached him, Impulse slowed to a confused stop. Wels waved his arms around in the air angrily, False still staring him down.

"Look at me! I'm in his general proximity and I'm not getting murdered! Wow!" he said sarcastically, making an astonished expression with his hands on his cheeks and his jaw dropped. Impulse recoiled away a little, concerned. They thought he was a murderer? What? He wasn't a murderer?

False scoffed and rolled her eyes, still not responding. She tossed her hair back, and looked away from the two of them.

"Sorry man," Wels turned to face Impulse, placing a hand on his shoulder apologetically. Impulse's features scrunched in confusion, and his mouth slowly fell into a gape. "You're cool," Wels smiled, patting his shoulder twice and then hurrying back to where False stood, knight armour clanking with his steps.

Impulse stood in place, staring at the two for a moment. They stared back. This was an incredibly confusing interaction, and it was probably for the best if he just left.

"I'm... gonna go now," he mumbled under his breath, before turning on his heel and hurrying away. He kept up his quick pace until he rounded a corner on the path, and Wels and False wouldn't be able to see him any more.

Thoroughly confused, Impulse noted the interaction and pushed it to the back of his mind to think about later. Bdubs' house was coming up just on his right, and he had a delivery to make right now.

Impulse beelined towards Bdubs' front door, tucking the shulker box under one arm so that he had a hand free to knock. But, just as he was about to, he noticed Bdubs milling about in the expansive horse stables that were just next to his house. Impulse hurried that way, waving Bdubs down. The glare hybrid turned away from the chocolate colored stallion he'd been feeding carrots too, waving back to Impulse.

"Bdubs! Hi! I've got a delivery from Xisuma." Impulse held out the green shulker like an offering, leaning over the railing of the horse stall Bdubs was in.

"Impy! Oh, sweet!" Bdubs smiled, heading for the stall gate to take the box. Before he could reach it, the stallion he'd been feeding nipped at his sleeve, trying to gently tug him back. Bdubs huffed out a small laugh. "This one's needy, isn't he? You can come in with it."

Bdubs turned back to the horse, and Impulse unlatched the gate, heading into the stall carefully, making sure to close the gate back behind him. There were a few horses in this pen, and a couple in the one bordering it. Impulse placed the shulker on the ground, and Bdubs knelt next to it, keeping one hand on the stallion's muzzle.

"Nice! He got me more moss!" Bdubs said, opening the shulker. He took out a few blocks, grinning at them cheerily before putting them back. "What do I owe him?"

"Nothing, it's completely free." Impulse told him, motioning around with one hand. Bdubs eyes lit up at his words. "Free!? Awesome! Tell him thank you for me!" He placed the lid back on the shulker, and stood up to pet the mane of his horse. "I'll put it away in a little bit."

Impulse almost turned to leave, but Bdubs spoke up again.

"How are ya holdin' up by the way, Imp'? After everything at the party?" He was casual with the question, grabbing a brush that was sitting on the fence and starting grooming his horse with it.

Not expecting the question, Impulse took a moment to gather his words to answer. "I'm- I'm doing okay, I think. It was a lot to handle at first, but I think it'll be fine. I'm gonna tell them all, I'm just figuring out how I want to do it. And when." He fidgeted with his hands a bit when he spoke, but wore a confident smile.

"You are?!" Bdubs said with a gasp, turning away from the horse a bit so that Impulse saw his eyes widen in excitement.

"Mhmm!" Impulse nodded furiously. Bdubs cheered a little, and bounced on the balls of his feet, nearly dropping his brush.

"Maybe you could tell them at the next meeting," Bdubs suggested. "It's coming up pretty soon so you won't have to stress about it for too long."

Impulse mulled it over in his mind for a moment. "That's a good idea!" he hummed. The meeting would be perfect, because they'd all be in one place, and organized. "I still have to figure out how I wanna do it, but next meeting will be perfect!"

"Yeah, you can do this, Impulse." Bdubs gave him a pat on the back, and Impulse relished in his reassurance.

"Yeah!– oof –" Impulse was cut off abruptly by a horse heatbutting him from the next pen over. He barely managed to keep himself from falling, and spun around to face the horse as Bdubs laughed behind him. The white mare that had hit him had her neck stretched over the fence that separated the pens and a grumpy look in her expressive eyes.

"Haha! Adequate! That is not how we say hello!" Bdubs exclaimed, stepping away from his other horse. "Tango did not train her very well," he remarked, holding the back of his hand up to his mouth like it was a secret, even though there was no one else around to hear. Impulse laughed in response, and held his hand out for the mare to sniff.

"She wants to be brushed too," Bdubs noted, grabbing another brush. "Wanna help me brush the horses?" he asked, waggling the brush in Impulse's direction.

"Sure!" Impulse huffed out a laugh as Adequate licked at his hand. "Sounds like fun."

Bdubs tossed him the brush, and he caught it effortlessly, definitely not fumbling or dropping it into the mud at all.

The two spent the rest of the day with the horses, and Impulse spent most of it with a grin on his face and mud all over his clothes. It was amazing.

And he knew now that he belonged here.

. . .

The town meeting crept up on Impulse with alarming speed, yet, as he stood on the steps up to town hall, hermits bustling into the building around him, he was barely afraid. Today was the day he would tell them, no if, ands, or buts.

There was something so surreal about it, about the fact that he was going to reveal to all of the hermits that he was a demon. That he was going to tell them and that they would let him stay . Surely he should've realized that they wouldn't make him leave, after Bdubs, Scar, and Xisuma himself agreed that he should be allowed to stay, regardless of whether he was a demon or not. But the part of him that hadn't realized was putting two and two together now, and void above, it felt incredible.

There was, however, still the matter that he hadn't actually told the hermits yet, and they were staring. Impulse could only imagine how much, in the week since the sleepover, that the rumours had spread through the town. Everyone knew something was up with him. They were going to get an answer.

He could do this, he said to himself, hopping up the front steps. The building was crowded and noisy when he entered, and no one seemed to give him too long of a side eye, or maybe he was just ignoring the people that did. He spotted Xisuma near the front, the mayor preparing to go through the usual meeting business, and headed towards him.

"I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna tell them," Impulse breathed out as he approached, smiling in an attempt to calm his quickening heartbeat. He'd already broached the idea of revealing his demon side at the town meeting to X a while ago, so the endborne knew what he meant.

Xisuma's eyes seemed to light up behind his mask. "You're sure?" he asked, only slightly concerned. Impulse nodded. "Yep," he said with as much confidence as he could muster. The look X gave him back was positively proud, and relief seemed to be coming off of him in waves.

"Okay, wait until I'm done with this week's announcements, and then go for it." Xisuma confirmed, giving him a double thumbs up. Impulse shot back an incredibly cheesy grin, before Xisuma moved up to the front of the room, and he turned away to find a seat.

He ended up finding a spot right between Scar and Bdubs on the edge of the table at the front. Scar gave him a friendly nudge as he sat down, and Bdubs leant over to whisper into his ear. "Are you gonna do it?" he asked, way too excited.

Impulse held back a laugh at Bdubs' tone, and nodded enthusiastically. Scar gasped softly and shook his shoulder, grinning like a madman. "Yessss, you got this!" he encouraged.

Impulse whispered back a quick "Thank you," just before Xisuma clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. They all quieted down, and the remaining hermits each found a seat so that the meeting could begin.

Once Xisuma had gotten started, the meeting ran just like all the typical ones always did. He gave town updates– this week's were that the new orchard was beginning to produce plenty of apples and that a few new redstone mini games had opened up in the town's recreation district, among a few other things –and points were brought up for discussion and debate.

Xisuma finished up with "Alright, does anyone else have announcements or updates to share?" He gazed over the crowd, looking for any raised hands. "I believe Impulse had something he wanted to discuss," he continued when no one stepped forward with anything to say. The endborne glanced pointedly in his direction, waving a hand for him to stand up and take the stage.

"I did have something, yeah," Impulse rose from his chair, and on either side of him, Scar and Bdubs gave him encouraging nods and smiles, bouncing in their seats. A few hushed murmurs came from the other hermits, and they all turned to stare curiously. Impulse took a deep, slow breath, doing his best to tame the swell of anxiety that had risen with all the eyes on him. He could do it. He just had to do this one thing, and then it'd be okay.

Impulse took a step away from Bdubs and Scar, and towards Xisuma, so that he was sort of at the front of the room, facing all of the hermits. "I'm sure by now, you've all heard the rumors going around about me since the party last week," he started, his words carefully rehearsed. "The rumors that I'm not human."

The murmurs sharply increased, before dropping away again, the hermit's eager stares fixed intently on him.

"I've been here a while already– two months! Gosh, that time flew, huh," Impulse put on a smile, his heart beating excitedly. "And it's time I owe you the truth," he sighed.

Standing up here was somehow nerve wracking and elating at the same time. His hands shook, and his still-cloaked tail flicked around in wild excitement.

"I'm not human." Movement erupted amongst the hermits at his words, shoulders were shaken and jaws were dropped. Impulse squeezed his hands together tightly, swallowing back the last of his worry. "So, I guess, even though I've been here long enough, it's time I redo this introduction thing."

Impulse glanced briefly to Xisuma, whose gaze was encouraging him onwards, and then back to the crowd. He was a hermit, just like the rest of them. And he was finally safe .

"Hi, everyone. My name is Impulse." He blinked quickly, puffing out another slow breath. He was really doing it!

"I hail from the Siv clan, in the third ring of the Nether. And I..."

He dropped his cloak, the spell for it circling around his body in dark wisps. The human disguise fell away in an instant. Stubby horns grew from his scalp, tips pushing through his messy hair. His ears tapered and drooped down, his teeth grew sharper and his fingers stretched into long, gruesome claws. Wings burst through pre-slit holes in his shirt, loose raven-black feathers showering down, and a wiry tail slipped from his belt, its pointed tip like a knife. His eyes brightened into a saturated yellow glow.

Impulse sucked in a deep breath, and, at last, he spoke those four dreaded words of freedom.

"I am a demon."

~ end chapter twenty four ~

A/N: WOOO! The boi, he did it!!!! it was THE MOMENT we've ALL been waiting for!!!!

Also, sorry, meant for this chapter to be out a bit sooner, but stuffs happened! :O Next chapter should be out in a week or so ish, that is if I actually finish writing it lol. And sorry of Wels was a little out of character, I've only watched him like once before, so yeah. 

See y'all again soon! <3 <3 <3