#the coral trees might still be in flower but probably missed it now

[tadpal]

I have decided my ask will be questions. You do not need to answer all/any of them!

What is your favourite type of tree?

Do you have a favourite rock? I have some semi precious stones that I like, but I'm also very fond of some stones that I have just picked up from various beaches. Love a good palm sized rock. Feels nice.

If you grew wings what type of wings would you like? (Bat bird insect etc, and from your back or as part of your arms?) Would you want them all the time or able to unfurl or whatever?

hello!! i do love a question!!

my favourite tree is a south african coral tree! they have these beautiful orange flowers and they drop all their leaves when they bloom so it's pure orange and they grow in such tiers!! my childhood tireswing was on a coral tree here are some pictures!!

they're starting to go to flower now i think! the flowers will be a light green and unopened.

my favourite rock is ocean glass!! i like the texture of it in my hands

if i had wings id probably have bird wings? for the soft aspect

[succulentsunrise]

Where the Fire Lilies Grow

Content: SFW!

Time to see how far Tani gets in the Royal Knights Exam!! 

Also, a guest appearance of @thoughtfullyrainynightmare‘s Solara Equinox! She is so cool, I couldn’t help but have her here (with her permission, ofc!!) 🥰

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Chapter 4: The Trial

“You learn something valuable from all of the significant events and people, but you never touch your true potential until you challenge yourself to go beyond imposed limitations.” Roy T. Bennett

“They don’t seem to be taking the bait,” Tani remarked quietly.

The group had been holed up behind the remnants of a ruin for quite a while now, all slightly scattered in preparation for an ambush. The forest behind them provided some cover for them as well. They had chosen these further away ruins in anticipation of the other team advancing on them, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“Anyone have any detection abilities?” Adrastea asked, her eyes scanning the area.

Gamma shook his head decisively.

“If we were in a more fiery environment, perhaps,” he started, but shook his head again. “No, no.”

“I could try to locate them, but it would take a considerable chunk of my mana,” Tani offered hesitantly.

In such a large area, using the spell would drain most of her mana, probably. Unless one of the other group’s members used water magic while she was using hers, she’d have to go through the whole area slowly and carefully.

“Do it,” Adrastea snapped, her brow furrowed. “We are on a time limit.”

Tani gave her a glare, but dropped on her knees to the ground.

“You better protect the crystal then. This will take a while - and suppress your mana.”

She placed both of her hands on the ground and took a deep breath. Nature was her element, her home. She could do this.

“「The Thirst of the Cacti」,” Tani spoke, drawing on her mana to create a fat spine of a cactus. Its roots rumbled to the earth, vanishing from sight.

Still, she could feel them moving underground, seeking, being drawn onto mana signals. She was grateful for the silence and tension around her, as her teammates waited for results. Tani concentrated on the roots as they stretched beyond their natural limits in their thirst. They would only stop growing once they found what they were looking for. The more mana she poured into it, the longer the roots spread. Then - water. Yes, she could sense water.

“They are doing something to the east of us. In the forest on the other side of the battlefield, I believe,” Tani informed her team quickly. “One of them is a water mage. My roots picked up his magic. Gamma, can you throw that far?”

“Not in a million years,” the blonde boy answered, glancing towards the eastern parts.

“Let’s move forward, to the ruins in the middle,” Adrastea suggested, wrapping silken scarves around the crystal to both protect and move it.

“I should be able to hit them from there,” Gamma confirmed, also getting up.

Tani held a hand above her cactus, looking fondly at it. It would have to wither now without a source of mana, unfortunately. She moved to be behind Adrastea, protecting the rear while Gamma took the front. They moved quickly. They’d have to hope the other three hadn’t noticed anything, or otherwise Gamma’s projectiles wouldn’t be able to hit them. They duck behind another wall, this time all together.

“「Silken Embrace」,” Adrastea chanted, wrapping further layers of silk around the crystal.

It looked more like a cocoon than a crystal by now. Gamma lifted himself up to the wall of the ruins without much trouble. Tani quickly entwined her fingers and cast another spell: 「Ginseng Gaze」. From her fingers flew red, star-shaped petals of a ginseng flower, entwining together into a plant. She gave it to the blonde boy, who tucked it behind his ear.

“What’s--oh!” he started, but stopped as he seemed to realize its effects.

“It’s helping you work with your mana,” Tani still explained. “You should have better control over your abilities.”

At least she hoped it did. Icree went on and on about how she should learn about other types of magic so that her magic could support them better. Knowing is stronger than any amount of mana, Icree kept telling her. Tani had only ever augmented her friends’ abilities. It had been a little bit of trial-and-error-thing even then. A giant mass of hot magma suddenly appeared in Gamma’s hand, as the boy smiled widely. He stood on the wall now, a wave of heat pulsing from his magic. There was no doubt that he was a noble with an intense pool of mana. Gamma jumped onto another segment of the wall, at the same time twisting his body and throwing the blazing chunk of molten lava and rock towards the forest. The impact was devastating: trees fell from a large area where it hit, and Tani could swear the earth itself rumbled a little.

“I missed, but I can see them now,” Gamma commented cheerfully, hopping behind the wall again. “My attack’s still sloppy, the captain’s going to kill me if she sees it.”

“I’ll go--” Adrastea began, but the boy shook his head.

“I won’t miss next time,” he said confidently. “But I can’t promise I won’t hit you by accident.”

Tani peeked at the other group that was running back to the cover of the trees. They were protecting the crystal with water magic, clearly planning to counter the powerful fire-based magic that Gamma was using.

“Could you two work together? They are protecting the crystal with water now. If you could combo--”

“Absolutely not,” Adrastea scoffed, glaring at Gamma.

The boy simply jumped back on top of the wall and conjured another ball of magma. Tani could see that he was trying to shape it into something of a spear, but his control wasn’t good enough for it. With almost frustration and anger, Gamma threw the malformed chunk at the other party. It was rather terrifying, especially when Tani knew he didn’t have good control of it. That kind of a magic could easily kill. Another impact shook the ground beneath their feet. It was a small enough shake to make her wonder if she wasn’t just imagining it.

“Crystal destroyed!” a voice bellowed in the air - the announcement of their victory.

Gamma looked back at them proudly, not seemingly even tired after the two throws. He had easily pierced through whatever watery barricade had been erected before the crystal. Tani swept her face with her sleeve, drying the sweat that had formed there. She’d have to recharge before the next battle. She had very little mana left after all that. They returned to the platform together, the wind up there bringing a welcoming breeze to Tani’s face. She was worried. They would be going against Eric’s team next, that was for sure. Gamma and Adrastea were becoming more and more unwilling to work with each other, and their attributes were incompatible. Gamma’s magma could easily burn her flowers or Adrastea’s silk. Tani couldn’t help but feel like she shouldn’t be the one making strategies in this group. She wasn’t good at them.

“Good luck, Ben!” she heard Gamma wish someone.

A blonde, middle-aged man with quite fuzzy sideburns waved at them. He had a calm posture, smiling back at Gamma.

“Be careful who you wish good luck,” the man answered. “We might fight each other next.”

“Bring it on!”

Tani would have loved to sit down somewhere, but everyone else was standing. She withdrew to her shell, not taking part in discussions and barely looking at the fights. Magic clashed against magic, the battlefield changed in front of her eyes, and the first match-up finished. She could feel her mana returning ever so slowly, trickling back. She wouldn’t have enough for the next fight. By now it was clear - they would face Eric’s team. That team also had Ben, Gamma’s squadmate. They’d know two attributes from the team, but that was no advantage. Eric and Ben knew their attributes as well. On the changed battlefield, another battle began. Tani was too dazed to concentrate on it. She only noticed Gamma leave from her side quietly to meet with the just returning young lord Vermillion. Leopold Vermillion was the younger brother of Fuegoleon and Mereleona Vermillion, a talented fire mage in his own right. He had the characteristic orange hair, as well as the red markings around his eyes - similar to the ones his siblings had. Gamma spoke with the young Lord for a brief moment, both serious and swift about it. The time between Tani’s first and next battle felt too short, even if the pause stretched further. With her captain’s battle quickly finished, Tani and her group were thrown back into the battlefield, off to face Ben, Eric and their third team member. Brad was a brown-haired member of the Coral Peacocks. He looked a bit more nervous than the calm Ben and confident Eric. As they separated to their respective places, Tani turned to her team once more.

“Eric uses sand magic,” she told them honestly, giving them a worried glance.

“Ben has very nice copper magic,” Gamma shared in turn. “He has excellent control over it. I can’t wait to fight him!”

Adrastea looked like she was fuming inside.

“I’m not going to stay on the sidelines this time!” she exclaimed suddenly. “I need to show that I am a capable Magic Knight, and I can’t do that if you two do all the work.”

Tani grimaced. That would mean fighting in close-quarters.

“I can protect the crystal, but I’m really--”

“Good!”

“Wait, I’m fine if you want to go for the crystal this time, but--”

No sooner than the announcer had begun the match, Adrastea disappeared in a glimpse of an eye, the light blue silks floating in the air.

“Sorry, that might be my fault,” Gamma apologized, looking at the battlefield.

“Nevermind that,” Tani answered, frustrated. “Let’s find a defensible spot.”

There was a small elevated platform not far from them, which seemed to have some kind of a small mining cavern. They retreated there, with Gamma creating a wall of magma behind which they hid their crystal. It wasn’t the best creation, and likely anyone who would find them would be able to figure out it was behind the molten rock wall - but it was the best they could do for the time being. There were two entrances to the small cavern: one that connected to another platform through a bridge, and another one that led to a small ledge. Each of them guarded one of the entrances, nervously glancing at each other. Minutes went by slowly and painfully. Almost a quarter had passed when Gamma spoke up.

“I could go scout around a bit.”

“I’m--well, sure,” Tani answered hesitantly, looking at the magma wall.

Surely it would stand, even if she herself had very little mana to speak of. She nodded to Gamma still once more, and retreated closer to the wall. The blonde boy moved to the ledge, and disappeared from sight. It didn’t take long for Tani to hear a sound of impact. Gamma had clearly met someone out there.

“「Ginseng Gaze」,” she muttered impatiently, growing the same red ginseng flower and attaching it to her belt.

“Did you sense me, or are you just being careful?” a voice suddenly asked.

Tani looked to the entrance that led to the bridge. Eric was standing there, the light brown hair being tousled by the wind.

“I think you might be hiding the crystal,” he continued. “Which is silly, considering everyone knows you can’t attack.”

“Just come at me already,” Tani answered, glancing to the other entrance.

She couldn’t sense her teammates anywhere closeby. She drew out her sword. Eric moved his hands to create a missile of sand, which she deftly dodged. It hit the magma wall with a dull impact sound. Then, a little crack.

“Not a very strong wall!” the brunette man exclaimed, starting to throw his magic more rapidly.

“「Ginkgo’s Embrace」,” Tani shouted over him, holding her hands in front of her as fists.

Strong branches with fan-like leaves appeared around the man, clutching onto him and pushing him down. Her hands were shaking as she was holding onto the last ripples of her mana. The pool was empty, and she could see the sand gathering around Eric. This spell was one of her newest ones, and she didn’t have proper hold of it yet. On top of that, she didn’t have the energy to uphold it. Every trash that Eric managed weakened the branches. It didn’t take long for him to break free and continue his barrage of sand missiles. Though Tani attempted to block them with her sword, the power of it sent her against the magma wall itself. No matter how much she struggled, she had no mana, and she had no teammates to come rescue her. The shattering noise behind her marked the shattering of her dreams and her resolve.

“Crystal destroyed!”

Eric held his hand to her in an uncharacteristically friendly fashion. Tani took it quietly, letting him help her to her feet.

“Good fight,” he said confidently.

“Yeah,” she answered flatly, trying to answer his smile.

They walked outside together, looking around for their team members. Gamma and Ben appeared quickly, laughing together. They were both a bit scorched. Seemingly they had had a good fight. Tani sighed, and began to approach the viewing platform again. The quick steps of the younger boy reached her quickly, as Gamma sped up to walk with her.

“Adrastea was super close to breaking the other crystal,” he complained cheerfully. “She wasn’t a good match for the other guy, though - I saw him use fire as well.”

“Did you try to go help her?”

Small shame rose to the boy’s cheeks.

“No, I was having too much fun fighting with Ben,” he confessed.

“Can’t you fight him outside of competitions?” Tani asked rather sharply.

“Not recently. He is heaps ahead of me. When the captain takes us to the hot springs, he is there in an instant!”

“What does that mean? What hot springs?”

“In the strong mana region, there’s this mountain trail,” Gamma explained eagerly. “It's a really hot area - the air burns your lungs and you sweat like a pig just by standing there. The top part spews continuously lava, but during night it turns into a sweet hot spring! Captain Mereleona takes us there to practise controlling our mana skin.”

“I see,” Tani answered thoughtfully, avoiding looking at the boy for a little while.

It could be a chance to meet the Captain, couldn’t it?

“You have trouble holding up your mana skin?” she inquired carefully.

“Yep!” Gamma nodded. “Because my control is so poor, it takes me forever to climb up the mountain, and it’s a hellish journey. If I had one of your flowers, I’m sure it’d be easier.”

“If your captain takes outsiders, I wouldn’t mind that type of training myself.”

Gamma, hearing this, clapped his hands together excitedly.

“That’s a great idea! You can train me, and I can train you!” he said happily. “Even if we wouldn’t get chosen this time, there’s always the next one!”

They had reached the top of the platform once again, and Gamma sprinted towards other members of the Crimson Lion Kings. She could see the young Vermillion lord there with someone else: a woman around her own age, with beautiful sun-kissed hair and forest green eyes. The woman had a warm smile on her lips as she spoke with Leopold Vermillion. Tani was certain she had not seen that person before, but that was true for many people of the Kingdom. She simply stood by as Gamma went to talk to them. Once more, it didn’t take long for the blonde boy to come back.

“Leo seems to think it would be fine,” he said in an overly casual manner. “I’ll still need to suggest it to Captain Mereoleona.”

“Thank you, Gamma,” Tani said quietly, glancing at the other group again. “Who is that person with him?”

“Oh, her? She’s Solara,” Gamma told her happily. “A good friend of the captain.”

Tani nodded, stealing another glance at the strawberry blonde woman. She seemed like a gentle person. If Tani was any braver and not already tired from the day of fighting, she’d go introduce herself. Today, however, she had no energy. She could barely follow the rest of the battles. When Adrastea came to them and apologized for her behaviour, Tani had no mental energy to even try to advise her for the future. She watched Adrastea and Gamma make amends, though there was still tension between them. At least the knight of the Blue Rose seemed to realize that her leaving them alone had caused some trouble. As soon as the battle ended, Tani promised to be in touch with the other two, and walked home. Not just the dorms of the Azure Deer, but home.

The simple house was on the outskirts of Kikka, with a small garden on its side. No one was home when Tani stepped in - both of her parents and sister worked in the mines near Kikka, and they worked long days. She herself had worked in those mines before she had passed the entrance exam and became a Knight. She walked the small corridor to the spacious living room, and fell to the sofa. She was tired and she was sad. The only hope she held on now was that someone had noticed her efforts, or that at least she’d get to know the mysterious Mereoleona Vermillion as a consequence. She felt a bang of guilt - was she simply using Gamma to get to know his captain? No, she’d make sure that she would help the young boy too. Tani lifted her arm over her eyes and welcomed the darkness it brought to her. Sleep did not come instantly, but slowly.

Now all that was left to do was wait for the results.

[casualcatte]

RP Journal: 08/18/2020

I went on the hunt with Loksia Grimheart this afternoon. I don’t know what it is about Kugane that I can’t seem to escape; every time I think I’ve left for the last time, something inevitably calls me back. Is Fate trying to tell me something? Is there something I yet need to do in the East? Maybe I’m just looking into things a bit too deeply. 

This crab hunt she’d picked out seemed like a fairly benign job, but I’ve been around the Hunt for long enough to know better. No hunt is ever tame. As we formulated our plan, we decided it would be best to play to our strengths: Loksia would keep the thing busy with sword and shield while I got up onto its back to collect our bounty. Simple enough, eh?

(courtesy cut for length)

Yeah… about that… I told Lorrendor that it’s rare to escape a hunt unscathed and this one was no exception.  I leapt onto the thing’s back, straddling one of the coral spines as Loksia harried it from the front. The damn thing was moving around so much, though, that it was hard to keep a grip. It was worse than a chocobo-breaking day in Tailfeather! I cut my hand on the coral trying to hang on, but the blasted thing threw me anyway. Good thing this catte always lands on her feet!

As I rebounded for a second try at gathering the coral, I saw the crab send Loksia bowling over sideways so I tried to hasten things along. Filling the sack she’d given me with coral, I leapt down and harried the crab so it would chase after me and not her.  Sure enough, it turned and gave chase, so I lured it onward enough that Loksia could escape.  Once I was certain she was clear, I ran to the edge of the coral shelf and leapt off it into the ocean!

It wasn’t a super-challenging hunt, but it was fun!  Lor will probably fuss that I cut my hand. Edgard will probably laugh and ask why I didn’t invite him. 

I didn’t remain in Kugane, instead taking an airship to Ishgard after leaving the vouchers for the inn rooms for Loksia at the Bokairo. I had much to do over the next few days, idling around in Kugane -- even if the hot springs were sorely tempting -- would get me no closer to the goals I was working on. After a brief stop in the Forgotten Knight to grab my coat, I decided to walk the city. I don’t appreciate Ishgard nearly as much as I probably should. For the longest time it was a place where nobles looked down their long noses at anyone not of the proper lineage. 

In my wanderings, I came across an elezen man in a handsome coat, standing in the center of the Hoplon. HIs face seemed serene, refined in a chiseled way as if crafted by an artisan from the finest alabaster. The snow was but a pale reflection of the frost-toned tresses that tousled gently in the wind. There was a regalness to him, a quiet beauty. For a moment, I was held transfixed in admiration.  I drew closer…

… to find Edgard Beaumont standing there. For a moment, I had no idea what to say. I was breathless.

Still, I finally intruded on his thoughts by complimenting how nice he looked in his splendid coat. I’d never seen him so well-dressed and, if I’m at all honest, it suited him. I asked him why he was brooding all the way up on the Hoplon in the snow or was he waiting for someone?  He countered that he was waiting for his date, but now that she’d arrived we could go. That made no sense at all, since I’d wandered the city at random. What if I hadn’t come this way?  Or come back to Ishgard at all?  Would he have stood in that spot all night?

He said perhaps. That he liked the silence the snow brought, that it helped him to think clearly when he’s the only soul for malms.  For a moment, I wondered if I’d done the right thing, intruding upon his peace here. He went on to compliment me on the new coat that Arcmantle had crafted for me. It isn’t often I get sincere compliments from Edgard, so when they happen they’re always delightfully surprising. He made the jest about preferring something more licentious, to which I told him that he had to be careful. I might keep this softer, more sincere Edgard and ship the devil-may-care ladies’ man back to Ul’dah. 

Godsdammit if he didn’t turn right around and bring up the hot springs and my damn ears again.  I swear, I’m going to start stuffing them in hats if he doesn’t stop reading them. In fact, I made it a point to cover my ears with my hands after that just so he couldn’t!

I told him it was kind of nice when Sincere Edgard showed up on occasion, that I might say I actually /miss/ that version of him.  Not that his flattery and flirtations are unwelcome or undeserved, but we both know they’re meaningless. He could be reciting rote poetry about the weather or the trees to the same effect.  No, there are these moments when Sincere Edgard shows up and there’s a brief glimpse of the man that hides behind the womanizing veneer.

I’d asked if this was a date, shouldn’t we be doing date-y things, but neither of us really had much idea what that entailed. Sure, there was dinner, but like Edgard said that was /boring./ I would’ve made some suggestions, but a commotion broke out behind us in the form of Edmond Beaumont, his identical twin. 

Edmond -- whom I had not seen since that day in Ul’dah when he said that he was leaving, never to return. The day I’d already been so angry with the callousness I’d been treated with when Edgard had said he was tired of me. The day I told him that I never wanted to see him or his brother again. The day I threw the flower he’d given me back in his face, because he dared to claim that no one cared for him, not me, not even his brother.  Go, then, I’d told him, if he believed no one cared.  He left without another word.

Gods, that world seems miles away by now. In the interim, it’s been Edgard who came across the sea to find me and it’s been Edgard at my side when I needed someone most. There was once that I would have expected it to be Edmond, maybe even wanted it to be. That seems so long ago, though it’s only been a moon?  Maybe a little more or maybe a little less.  Life had moved on apace, as it often does, those memories left behind and traded for better.  I found I wanted nothing to do with him, not out of spite or hate, but out of a simple desire to not be taken back to a world I’d left behind.

He had with him two young people (Emlyn Starweaver and Elize Aria), however, who were desperately wounded. I paid little heed to the healing, though no doubt Rae-Hann would admonish me for not watching as it went on, since I aimed to learn Astromancy. My attention was instead occupied with the miqo’te girl among the two. I felt an almost immediate kinship with her, a familiarity I couldn’t put my finger on. 

In her fevered dreams, she thought me her mother, so I let her live that pleasant fiction as Edmond carried her to the Athenaeum Astrologicum to be tended to by the Astrologians. I ignored all else but the girl’s plight, keeping her calm and soothed until she could be properly seen to. Eventually, Edmond sought to approach me, to apologize of all things in the midst of this travesty, knowing it was neither the time nor the place. I couldn’t have agreed with him more. I had no interest in hearing his plaintive apologies now, not when the children still needed tending. 

Edgard left not long after the children were delivered, healing was not his strong suit, nor was it mine.  I stayed for only a few moments to gather my equilibrium. I don’t know what it was about my time spent with Elize that felt emotionally draining, like being on the very edge of someone’s anger, feeling it washing over you, filling you with anxiety until it’s a nigh palpable thing. I don’t know, I’ve never felt anything like that before. I started to make my exit when Edmond said we needed to talk.

No, I told him.  We don’t.

Then it was my turn to leave.

Mentions @therpperson​ for Edgard Beaumont And a whole lot of other people I don’t know the Tumblrs for!

[skyflicker]

precious (amasai week day five)

written for @amasaiweek2020 hosted by @storyflight and @toxicisnotapineapple and for some reason tags aren't working but,,,

anyways i'm back with more angst yay and this isn't as good as the others imo bc it's very very very rushed but i still hope y'all enjoy it!

-

Mornings in Switzerland are always so serene.

Shuichi likes standing on the porch of the small wooden cottage he’s currently staying in in the mornings, and watching the country wake up. It starts with the rays of golden light shooting across the horizon and bathing the entire town in a soft sheen of delicate coral, and from where he stands, he can see the small boats start moving across the lake, creating ripples in the perfectly still mirror, and the shops start opening gradually, turning on their lights one by one. The soft morning sunlight dances upon the meadows dotted around Interlaken, twirling on every flower, leaping from leaf to leaf, encircling around the stems, and as the Swiss people start pouring out onto the street, he can see them stop every other second to greet their neighbours. Even the sun seems to beam at the small town, at its friendliness and politeness, as it sends its soft sunbeams to warm the cardinal rooftops and brighten the alabaster walls of the small houses lining the cobblestone pavements. It’s quiet, and wholesome, and very new to Shuichi, who’s almost lived in the city all his life.

Interlaken was one of Rantaro’s favourite places to travel to when he was alive. He’d only taken Shuichi here once, but there was a certain lightness about him when he was here. There’s just a certain tranquility about this place that makes people feel relaxed, a sort of… thoughtful quietness that makes it really appealing and wonderful. If it weren’t for the fact that Rantaro had lost a sister here, Shuichi thinks to himself, laughing a little, the guy would’ve probably adored this place so much he’d have moved here after graduation. The place was just completely impossible to hate.

His laugh is cut short, though, as he realizes that Rantaro never actually made it through to graduation, that he never even made it out to the world he so deserved a place in. Shuichi smiles bitterly as he’s struck with longing, and slight grief- even six years after Rantaro’s death back when they were both seventeen, he’s still not really over his first love, but the pain has dulled over time. He’s accepted it, in a way, and he’s moving on, but he’s not ready to let go. His hands automatically fly to the necklace he still wears around his neck at all times, smiling faintly in relief as his fingers find the cool, smooth surface of the sea glass, and swipes at his eyes as he feels the tears come to his eyes. He misses his best friend so much, misses him every single day, but at least, now he knows his friend will always be with him even in death. The constant coolness of the sea glass’ surface almost feels like the green haired boy’s ghostly touch, and Shuichi looks towards the horizon, where the sun continues to paint its canvas with soft creamy watercolours, brushing thin layers of yellows and pinks and lilacs across a world of fluffy cloud pillows rimmed with silvery light, where he sees his friend smiling at him in encouragement in his mind.

“Shuichi-kun?” The man turns around, and standing at the door of the cottage is a familiar girl, dressed in casual t-shirt and jeans, and dragging her backpack behind her. Her long navy locks are swept into a braid, and a daisy is woven into her hair, and Shuichi can’t help but think of how Rantaro used to braid Rina’s hair in the exact same intricate way.

“Amaka,” he greets his best friend’s eldest sister, as she makes her way over to him. Amaka isn’t that much younger than he or the late Rantaro- only a month or two younger, actually- and she seems to act like a responsible, protective mother to Rantaro’s sisters (the ones who have been found, at least. Shuichi’s spent three years looking, sometimes accompanied by Rina, and he’s found five of them for Rantaro, but he won’t stop looking, won’t rest or pause, not until he finds all of them and brings them to their brother, the brother who longed to reunite all of them for his entire life). “You’re up early today.”

Amaka stares outside, but not at the town- she’s looking at the forest, the forest that is their destination every day. It leads right into the Alps, and Shuichi and Amaka have been here for a month, searching every inch of the forest and the mountains beyond it, hoping desperately for a single clue, a single shred of evidence that might, just might, lead them to the treasure they’re looking for. “Thought we could start earlier today. Might have more of a chance of finding Naoko.”

They’re here to find her, the girl Rantaro always described as someone who laughed so much he knew no one else who could match her in laughter, to bring her home, and Shuichi vows not to go anywhere until they’ve found her.

Shuichi finds himself in these trips, finds purpose as he searches and brings home the Amami siblings, tries to finish his friend, his lover’s last wish. He isn’t as resilient as Rantaro, isn’t even half as talented at adventuring as the boy is, but he’s determined to finish this mission no matter what.

He just hopes he finds all of them in time.

    Rantaro follows the trail steadily as if he’s walked the path a million different times before. Shuichi watches as the lemongrass eyes travel over the countless trees, the piles of fallen autumn leaves littered all over the forest floor. His eyes miss nothing, not even the smallest detail, and it’s mesmerizing to Shuichi. Rantaro’s in his element when he searches and adventures, and it’s clear in the way he concentrates and focuses, with eagerness in his eyes, and despite the fact that they’re searching for a lost sister of his, for someone he loved very much that was lost long ago, there’s a faint smile hanging on Rantaro’s face.

He stops, though, at one point, deep into the woods, and he stares at the area as his expression completely changes, with a wistfulness that breaks Shuichi’s heart. Rantaro looks back at him, and he can tell, as their eyes meet, the utter misery in Rantaro’s eyes as tears threaten to fall from them. He almost gives in to his compulsiveness and goes to hug him, but restrains himself, knowing that Rantaro may not want the other boy touching him.

“This is where we realized Naoko wasn’t with us,” Rantaro says, and swipes at his eyes as he fails to stop the tears from falling down, but his lower lip is quivering slightly, and Shuichi knows he’s definitely going to cry. “We looked, and looked, but we just, we never found her.”

It’s so much weight, Shuichi thinks bitterly, for a fourteen-year-old boy to carry- so much grief and pain forced onto Rantaro, for him to carry. Rantaro is strong, strong in a way Shuichi could never be, in carrying the pain and loss of his sisters around with him, and still is able to smile at other people and comfort them so well, is able to manage the pain so well that no one notices until he tells them, is strong enough to be able to face the trauma and confide in other people, expose his weaknesses to people he trusts, which is never easy.

He looks back at the trail behind him, and sees in his mind, the broken family travelling along the path, smiling despite all that they’ve lost. He sees them panic as they realize one of them is missing, watches as Rantaro’s mother (Naoko is one of his biological sisters, even if they don’t share the same green hair colour) wails in distress and his father head over to comfort her, watches as Rantaro and Amaka share a glance and instantly run back along the trail they came from, only to return after a while with gloomy and pained expressions.

Shuichi walks over, putting a hand tentatively on Rantaro’s shoulder, and when the latter boy doesn’t flinch from his touch, Shuichi takes his hands. “We’ll find her,” he reassures the younger boy quietly, “we’ll find Naoko, and everyone else. One day, you’ll see your family together again. I promise.”

    Golden light filters through the gaps in the trees overhead and projects onto the forest floor, fading in and out through the light mist that shrouds the forest, small sparks of gold fluttering in the hazy light. The sunlight slants down the sides of the trees, wrapping and entwining around the tree trunks, giving the trunks that weaved in and out of the ground a rosy sheen. A thick carpet of viridescent grass spreads across the forest floor, and small white blossoms are splayed around the clearing, the randomness bringing out how completely natural the landscape is.

There isn’t a marked pathway through the forest, but Amaka, who was there when Naoko was lost and is unable to erase the traumatizing memories from her mind, remembers the exact way the family had woven through the thick mass of greenery all those years ago, and Shuichi had followed her through the thicket for so many days, he’d memorized the route by now, knows the way back on track even if he wanders off to take a look at something, knows exactly the path out of the forest.

So, when they reach the woods, Shuichi doesn’t hesitate to suggest that they search individually and meet up back at their rented cottage when it gets dark, and Amaka doesn’t hesitate to agree, immediately diverging into another trail and disappearing into the fog. He watches until her shadow vanishes into the woods, and then heads down another pathway through the forest.

He can’t help but remember the first time he’d come here. Rantaro, not Amaka, had led the way then, taking Shuichi around the forest, searching relentlessly. Rantaro had broken down when they reached the point where they’d lost Naoko, and Shuichi had promised they’d find her no matter what. They hadn’t found the girl that time, but Shuichi is determined this time, he will find Naoko, and bring her home.

Even though it’s summer, not autumn this time, Shuichi would never mistake this forest, this trail, for another. Despite the colour change, it still looks almost exactly the same, just that emerald has substituted for the oranges and browns that painted the forest nine years ago. Everywhere he looks, he can see Rantaro, bending over to look at footprints he found in the ground, or inspecting things he noticed around, or even just turning back at Shuichi and smiling faintly in encouragement despite Rantaro’s own distress. God, he misses his best friend so much.

But what happens next is not something he expects. One second, he is alone on the path, and the next moment, he’s being grabbed by someone, and he cries out as he’s forced onto his knees as another person near him yells out and more people swarm out from behind the trees. Kidnappers.

“Amaka!” he calls out desperately, hoping his companion would hear him, but there’s no response, and he calls again, louder this time, but something is stuffed in his mouth and someone puts a sack over his head and his backpack is snatched from his back, and he tries to scream, but to no avail.

He wonders briefly if this is what happened to Naoko. Maybe she dragged behind to look at something, and got kidnapped just like this. He wonders how Amaka will react when she finds out that her travel companion, her late brother’s best friend, is nowhere to be found. They’d grown quite close over the course of looking for Naoko, and he dreads the thought of her being distraught over his disappearance. He thinks of Rantaro, of what he’ll think of this whole ordeal. He hopes, even prays, like Rantaro once told him Inori did, that he wouldn’t be too worried over Shuichi.

He can’t see anything, can’t understand anything the people carrying him are saying- he doesn’t speak German or French or Italian. He struggles, and he feels the necklace still around his neck, the gem cool over his heart, and feels a little relieved that his treasure, his most precious belonging, is still with him.

That is, until something hits him in the gut, and everything goes black.

    When he comes to his senses, he is in a small white room, tied up against the wall, his hands bound together. The chamber has no windows, no openings. He feels the fear and worry pounding in his heart, feels the dread settle in his stomach.

In front of him are five people- five strangers. Four are bulky, armed men, in camouflage clothes, seemingly very strong and armed- if Shuichi were to guess an occupation had he met them elsewhere, he would have thought they were arm wrestlers- one of them is guarding the door while two are sitting in front of him, the last one next to him. A younger girl stands to the side of the room, in normal T-shirt and jeans, not unlike the attire Amaka picked out this morning. The girl’s upper face is covered by a white mask, but Shuichi can see that she has fair skin, with light chestnut brown hair tied into a ponytail (he’s reminded of an upperclassmen of his and Rantaro’s back in high school, Makoto Naegi. He had the exact same shade of hair colour).

One of the men in front of him says something in what Shuichi assumes is German. Not knowing what to do, he splutters in english, “I- I don’t speak German-?”

The men all look confused for a second and start to argue, until the girl speaks. Her voice is quiet, but it’s melodic, and Shuichi thinks to himself that her laugh would sound absolutely beautiful- if she laughed at all, that is. Her expression seems so stoic.

Just thinking about laughter leads his train of thought to Naoko. He prays to whatever deity is out there, that Amaka would find her sister, even if he’s not there to share in the burden, and can take Naoko home. He’s never met Naoko- he’s only ever met Shiori, Sora, Riku and Rina before Rantaro’s untimely demise, but he’s seen enough pictures of the girl to know her on sight.

The masked girl first says something Shuichi doesn’t understand to the men, then turns to Shuichi. “I’m sorry,” she says in perfect English, to his shock., “we didn’t realize you didn’t speak the language. Where are you from and why were you in our territory?”

He hesitates for a bit, then says, in halting English (Rantaro was always the better one at languages out of the two of them), “I’m Shuichi Saihara. I, uh, come from Japan. I’m looking for my best friend’s sister, who was lost long ago..”

The girl’s eyes widen, and she switches languages again, this time speaking Japanese fluently, with a perfect Japanese accent. “I apologize, I didn’t realize you were from Japan, Saihara-kun.” Shuichi’s jaw almost drops in surprise- he’s reluctantly impressed by the girl’s language abilities. She must be here to act asn translator. “We’re from Italy, and whoever strays across our territory belongs to us. That, unfortunately, includes you.”

Shuichi’s eyes narrow. “You’re kidnappers. Slavers.”

The girl shrugs nonchalantly. “We need to make a living, too, Saihara-kun. The only question I have to ask you is this: are you hiding any money or precious objects we don’t know about? We’d hate to have to search you.”

Shuichi grits his teeth in disgust. “Why should i cooperate with a gang of kidnappers? Besides, everything I own is in my backpack, which you took.”

The girl smiles grimly. “These people aren’t afraid to kill. You’ll lose your life if you even try to rebel.”

If Shuichi didn’t know better, he would’ve classified the emotion that flashes across her eyes in the blink of an eye as fear.

She continues after Shuichi remains silent. “I’m assuming we have all your belongings, since you aren’t saying anything. I’ll convey the message to the others, then.”

She speaks to the men for a while, and they converse loudly for a bit, until the girl turns to him again, this time with her eyes full of wariness. “Saihara-kun, they say you’ve got a necklace. You shouldn’t lie to us.”

Shuichi’s eyes widen as his hands fly to his neck, and sure enough, the sea glass necklace from Rantaro is still there. He grabs it desperately. “It’s priceless! It’s only a treasure to me, please, don’t take it!”

The girl frowns as she translates, and the man closest to him growls, and leans forward. Shuichi tries to turn away, but he’s hit in the stomach again and he cries out as the necklace is snatched off him, and for the first time in three years, Shuichi feels completely alone and vulnerable. He struggles against his restraints, trying to reach out to get the sea glass back in vain. He feels the tears come to his eyes and fall down his face, and this time Rantaro’s voice isn’t there to comfort him, isn’t there with him, and he feels so empty inside.

The necklace is passed around by the man, dangling from their fingers as they laugh gleefully, and the girl tenses as she sees the necklace. More unidentifiable emotions flash across her face, but the mask covers most of it, and Shuichi is too caught up in his mind to tell.

At last, the girl turns to him again after conversing with the men. Her attitude, Shuichi notices with a start, seems to have completely changed- she seems to have let her guard down. “Saihara-kun, we’ll be taking you to Italy tomorrow. We’ll see you then. I’ll come by at night to guard the door, and bring you food.”

With that, they all leave, leaving Shuichi alone, alone without the one thing that anchors him to life, the one person that guides him to the light, and with the memories of Rantaro fresh in his mind, he cries.

    He’s woken up in the middle of the night by someone shaking him harshly.

He opens his eyes to see the girl from the afternoon, her expression completely guarded as she shakes him awake. She wordlessly slices through the ropes securing him to the door, and yanks him by the arm. “Come on,” she whispers.

“Where are you taking me?” he can’t trust this girl, not after she indirectly caused him to lose his one most important possession, not when she’s so directly affiliated with a gang of kidnappers.

The girl’s jade green eyes flash, and she pulls him out into the moonlight. Shuichi can’t struggle, can’t lash out against the girl, not when his hands are tied and she has the upper hand. She leads him across roads and parts of the forest Shuichi had never seen before, until they reach the edge of the woods and emerge out into the open.

There’s not a single person or building in sight. The night casts a deep sapphire sheen over the grass, but the moon illuminates the clearing a little, shining on the flowers and the tips of the grass. It shines on him, shines on the road before him. But he cannot run.

At last, she turns to face him, and her ivory mask seems to glow in the bright moonlight. “What’s your relationship to my brother?” her voice is soft, and desperate, as she asks him.

Shuichi’s eyes widen. “Your brother?”

The girl holds up a necklace- his necklace, with the sea glass on it, smooth with its aqua colours swirling like a whirlpool, seemingly untouched. “This necklace. It was my brother’s.”

Wait, but this belonged to Rantaro, and had belonged to Rantaro since I knew him. That could only mean- but no! The girl doesn’t even smile, let alone laugh… “Who are you?” he asks her instead.

The girl doesn’t answer him. “You said you were looking for your best friend’s sister,” she says quietly, and Shuichi can hear hurt and pain in her voice. “What’s your best friend’s name?”

Shuichi hesitates, then replies. “Rantaro Amami,” he says, taking his chances, and he knows, by the girl’s reactions, that his guess is correct. Her eyes widen, and her jaw drops, and Shuichi can see concern and worry and relief in her eyes. “You’re Naoko, aren’t you?”

The girl takes off her mask, and Shuichi recognizes her straight away. Her features are just like Rantaro’s, the same bone structure, and the same shape of their eyes. Her chestnut brown hair and jade green eyes bathe in the glow of the moon, and tears stream down her face, glistening in an ethereal light. She is unmistakably Naoko, the girl he’s here to look for, and she confirms it by nodding. “Where is my brother?” she whispers.

Shuichi feels his own tears swimming in his eyes as he tells Naoko of all her sisters missing, of how Rantaro died, how he’d gotten the necklace, of the three years he’d spent locked away and the three years he’d spent relentlessly searching for Rantaro’s siblings. His heart breaks as Naoko starts to sob, burying her head in her hands. He feels so sorry for her- she’d lost her brother for years and years, and thought she’d finally find him again when she saw Rantaro’s necklace, only to be told that her brother had been dead for six years.

At last, she looks up, and wordlessly hands him back the necklace. “I’m sorry for taking it,” she murmurs, “thank you for coming to look for me. But I’m past the point of no return now, I can’t come home with you. I’m sorry.”

Shuichi grabs her hands, “Naoko- just leave, leave the gang, come home with us. We can book the flight now, and leave tomorrow. They’ll never find you again.”

Naoko’s eyes are full of terror as she shakes her head fervently. “I can’t! When I was taken, so many years ago, I made a bargain to avoid getting sold. They took the life out of me, took the laughter and joy and all the things I used to feel out of me, see? They own me, don’t you understand?” her voice is desperate, and the fear and guilt in her eyes is too much to bear. “I can’t come with you, they’d kill you all, and then me! I, I can’t let Taro’s best friend die, I can’t let his memory die. You must leave without me.”

She unslings the backpack from her back- his backpack, Shuichi realizes. She offers it to him, and he takes it with shaking hands. “I’ll take you to where you’re staying, out of this mess of a forest. You must leave, and you must never come back for me, understand?”

Shuichi shakes his head. “I can’t leave you. I promised your brother I would bring you all home.”

A tear runs down Naoko’s cheek, and she brushes it away. “Saihara-kun, if in another life where I’d just gotten lost and not kidnapped, I would willingly come with you a thousand times over, pay my respects to the brother who loved me so much. I would go home, honour his memory. But now… I can’t leave and put you all in danger. That’s not what Rantaro would have wanted.”

“You can!” Shuichi insists, “I have friends in the police force, friends who have influence worldwide. We can protect you, if you come with me.”

Naoko looks away from him, “Come on, I’ll take you back to where you’re staying.” He can hear her voice shaking and breaking as she speaks, struggling to put her mask back on. “The wooden cottages, right? That’s where we stayed when I was taken.”

Shuichi nods, and opens his mouth to speak and try to convince Naoko, again, but she’s already started across the meadow.

Rantaro, if i was truly meant to do this, then- why is this so hard?

    They arrive soon, at the doorstep of the cottage Shuichi is staying in. Naoko, still not looking at him, knocks at the door, and Shuichi opens his mouth to warn her of his companion, but it’s too late.

The door opens, and Amaka peeks out, her hair still braided and clothes still the ones she’d worn the previous day- she must be trying to call her sisters, or her friends in Japan. Naoko freezes in shock at the sight of her sister, while Amaka’s gaze lands on Shuichi first.

“Shuichi-kun!” she exclaims in relief, and runs forward to hug him. “I was so worried! Where have you-” she breaks off as she notices the other girl next to him, and her face is taken over by shock.

“Naoko-” she whispers.

“Hello, Amaka,” the girl in question says as her voice trembles, but before she finishes, Amaka runs forward, and captures her sister in a tight embrace. Naoko starts crying, and despite the tears running down Amaka’s face, she still comforts the younger girl, holding her close as Naoko sobs into her shoulder and buries her face in her shirt. Naoko starts talking, telling her sister about what had happened to her as she cries and cries, and Amaka listens quietly, holding on tight to her sister as if she’d lose her again any second.

Hopefully, Amaka will be able to convince Naoko to come with them, back to Japan. It’s where she belongs.

Shuichi looks up to the sky as his hands instinctively go to touch the necklace, and the sea glass is cool as ever. He sees Rantaro in the night, smiling and wiping away tears of his own as he watches his sisters hug, and Shuichi smiles, relieved.

For Shuichi knows, that the memory of Rantaro is his most precious treasure of all, and as long as he has that by his side, he’s completely and utterly content.

[zallano]

The HereAfter, Chapter 9

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, read on AO3!

Entire chapter undercut

-

Shortly after the event that took place in the outskirts of the shopping district, all the hermits returned home. Mumbo began his journey across the ocean in heavy rain and Grian flew back quite swiftly. The rest of the day was quiet and gloomy. No one talked in the chat or did much at all. Everyone waited for the sun to set and hoped that the next day would be better than the last.

When Mumbo arrived back at his island he didn’t feel motivated to do much. He dropped down into his bunker and sat there for a while, thinking about what to do next. His base was empty and plain. He leaned against a stone wall and sat there as his clock ticked annoyingly. Frustrated at the clock but more so at himself for being unproductive, he pushed himself up and opened a chest, and took out an iron pickaxe. He might as well try and find some diamonds while he waited out the night.

-

Grian didn’t sleep at all that night. He spent his time pacing back and forth next to his farms, not paying attention at all where he was going, and tripping over more shulker boxes than he would like to admit.

He had to get the clock back from Xisuma.

He had to figure out how it worked- he had to understand the clock. If he did, maybe there was a way to bring Tango back- if he had even gone to another time at all. Maybe there was a way he could get back to his world. A way to get everything back to normal.

“No,” he whispered to himself and slumped against the glass of his attempt at an automatic farm. He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. His clock taunted him with its ticking. It made fun of him. It laughed at him for even thinking such a stupid idea. There was no way out of where it put you.

That didn’t stop Grian from wanting the blue clock anyway though.

He stared at his floor in defeat. His homesickness was getting to him. As much as he loved hermitcraft and all the friends it brought- it wasn’t where he belonged. He belonged at his somewhat small apartment complex with his best friends. He missed roaming the hundreds of new biomes and temples in his world. He missed building with all the different blocks his world provided him. He missed his world, and he belonged there.

Grian sighed. He needed fresh air. Possibly restocking his shop would be best. He stood up and walked over to his various shulker boxes. He rummaged around for a few minutes looking for his supply of quartz, gravel, and sand before taking off towards the shopping district.

He landed outside his cart and checked to see if he had made any diamonds. Unfortunately, he did not. Although that was because he hadn’t restocked the shop in weeks, possibly even months. He dumped the various items into the chests in the cart and stepped back.

“Hey, Grian!” A familiar voice called for him. Grian turned around. Ren was walking down the street making his way over. He waved. “Hey mannn,” Ren said in a dragged out tone as if he wasn’t entirely here but rather daydreaming. Grian smiled slightly. “Hey Ren,” he greeted. Ren stared at him offended. “Ren? I don’t know a Ren, man.” He laughed. Grian took a moment to realize Ren’s outfit. He was wearing a typical hippy outfit. “Ooh, right, hi Renbob, my bad,” he rolled his eyes jokingly.

Renbob smiled smugly. “I was looking for you, man. You got any eggs I can have or buy off you, man?” He asked. “And why would I have any eggs?” Grian asked. ”You should ask the man in the chicken costume!” He laughed. Renbob laughed with him. “I would, I would, but it’s difficult getting ahold of Poultryman these days, man,” he explained.

Grian nodded. “Ah, I see. Well, unfortunately, I don’t have any left. I gave my remaining eggs to Mumbo,” He quickly checked his inventory to see if he had a random egg. Though, for once, he didn’t. Ren shook his head. “Awh shame. Why’d you give the new guy eggs? I would’ve bought them off you,” his voice shifted back to his regular tone and he showed a diamond that was in his hand. Grian chuckled. “We kinda turned most of them into chickens so I don’t think I’m getting any back. Plus, it was a gift for him for taking the spot as a new hermit and replacing me. Why you need eggs anyway?”

“I’m making some cakes but I realized I don’t have any eggs. I figured you would have some though. Also- giving eggs as a gift? Well I mean-” Ren tutted jokingly. “Mumbo wears torn up clothes all the time and- well, unless it’s his style, I think you should do to him what you did to me, minus the flower crowns,” he gestured to his outfit. “And then, once you do that, I can get some eggs,” he winked.

“Next time I get my hands on some eggs, I’ll be sure to bring them straight over to you, Ren.” Grian laughed. “And yeah- I suppose I can do that. I am a talented fashion designer after all.” He grinned. “Hey- and speaking of eggs and cakes- They don’t seem very vegan, Renbob,” He smiled slyly. Ren pondered for a moment before switching over to his Renbob voice. “Mann, I’m not vegan anymore, I’m a vegetarian, man!” He took a massive bite out of a golden carrot and saluted before backing away out of the scene, leaving Grian standing outside his cart not really understanding what had just happened.

“Ow, my teeth!” He heard Ren shout from behind the dead coral shop. “Golden carrots are tough, man!”

Grian shook his head, laughing. Ren always managed to lighten the mood and make things seem better in times where it wasn’t. Grian smiled faintly and took off toward the direction of his base. Hermitcraft was his home, and as much as he missed his old world, he was okay with where he was now.

-

Mumbo had been mining for hours. He wasn’t able to find any diamonds anywhere. He had expanded his base out a decent amount. Though all he found was coal, iron, and the occasional redstone or gold. Mumbo figured that he would have to go down deeper in order to find diamonds.

He checked his chests for any ladders though he found none. He didn’t have enough wood for sticks either. There weren’t many trees on his island so he couldn’t make more. However, his treehouse did have a few ladders. Mumbo grabbed a few wooden slabs to replace the ladders and climbed up to the surface. He retrieved the ladders that hung against the tree trunk and made a spiraling staircase. He had to admit, the staircase was probably one of the coolest things he’s built so far- not including redstone- and frankly, he was proud of it.

He didn’t stay on the surface for long though. He dropped down the hole of ladders and began to mine deeper, placing the ladders he had as he went. He didn’t have to go far until he found himself in a strange two block high tunnel. There were torches running along the sides and the tunnels branched off into several different directions. “What in the world-“ He muttered, looking around.

Mumbo began walking through the tunnel he fell in. It looked like it went on for ages. Even squinting he couldn’t see the end. He couldn’t figure out if these were man-made tunnels or something that appeared in the future. He wanted to see how long these tunnels went on for, so he continued to walk.

For the most part, the tunnels were boring. They would occasionally run into caves but it appeared that the caves were already explored. Mumbo soon lost interest and the number of tunnels that went off in random directions made him overwhelmed. He wished that he had never stepped foot in these tunnels. Although, soon enough, Mumbo came across another ladder. The tunnels still went on from where the ladder was. Though the ladder was far more interesting, so he climbed.

The ladder went into a small room that appeared to be under construction or blocked off entirely. It had a white ceiling of the block that Mumbo recognized was concrete and the rest of the room looked like a cave that had been sectioned off. Mumbo walked over to a small area of the room where he could touch the ceiling. He took out his pickaxe and carefully mined a block of concrete and pillared up to the next room. He immediately recognized the place to the bottom floor of Grian’s base.

He quickly replaced the block, slightly worrying that he may have ruined it, and covered it by standing on it. Grian had to be somewhere around here unless he had gone out.

As if right on time, Mumbo heard Grian’s voice. “Why hello there, Mumbo Jumbo, I see you’ve found yourself in my base!” Mumbo looked up to see Grian on the edge of the second floor, peering over to look at him. He appeared to be wearing a different outfit to what he normally wore. Mumbo awkwardly waved. “Oh- Sorry- I found these weird tunnel things and I followed them here.” He explained.

“My strip mines?” Grian asked and fluttered down to the bottom floor with the help of his elytra. “Oh yeah, I guess they would connect to your base,” he pondered. “But what a coincidence you came here! I didn’t have to drag you over,” he laughed and played with some sort of long yellow measuring tape that hung around his neck and shoulders. “I’ve got something for you,” he walked over to a grey shulker box that sat in the middle of the room away from the others.

Mumbo raised an eyebrow. “Another gift? You’re sure making it so that I owe you something in the future, huh?” He asked, and took a step forward. Although, before he was able to walk over, Grian shooed him away and opened the shulker box. “Ehh, I’ve seen the redstone you somehow managed to make after Iskall taught you how it worked once. I could never do that. Maybe you can fix my broken farm,” he gestured over to a large pillar-like structure that was made of glass and had many layers of crops. Mumbo shrugged. “Haven’t gotten that advanced yet but I can try,”

Grian shook his head and hushed him. “It’s okay, but you see, Mr. Mumbo Jumbo,” he readjusted the cuffs of his outfit. “I’m the most talented tailor of all of hermitcraft, and I couldn’t help but notice how- well- for lack of a better word- plain your outfit is,” he said, obviously joking around. Mumbo chuckled. “We nearly always wear the same outfit! Just change the colors up a bit and give me a jac-“ he was hushed once again by his friend.

“No, no no, don’t worry about it. I’ll have you looking snazzy in no time,” he reached into the shulker box and grabbed a pile of red and blue clothes. He tossed them over to Mumbo. “There you go-“ he walked back and began placing trapdoors between the two of them as some sort of divider. “Try those on and I’m sure you'll love it!”

“Right now??” Mumbo asked. Grian nodded before realized that the other couldn’t see him. “Uh- yeah! You came here, so right now seems to be the best time.” He chuckled. Mumbo shook his head ‘oh, of course, we’re doing this right now’ he thought and quickly changed into the clothes. He tossed his own clothes over the top of the trapdoors.

“Uhh- Grian.” Mumbo laughed, walking out from behind the divider. He wore the outfit Grian would normally wear. A red jumper and jeans. The sweater was way too small on him and the jeans didn’t even go down to his ankles. 

“These clothes don’t even fit me-“ he laughed at how ridiculous he must’ve looked. Grian nearly fell to the floor at the sight of his tall friend. “I don’t understand- those clothes look all right! You can keep them, I have about fifty replicas anyway!” He covered his mouth, hiding his smile.

“Grian, why would you have fifty replicas of the same clothes?” Mumbo asked and the other shrugged. “Why don’t you?” He retorted. “Because why would I need fifty red shirts and fifty jeans??” He laughed, walking back behind the divider to get changed back into his clothes... “Oh no you don’t, come back here,” Grian unraveled the measuring tape from around his neck.

“I guess, if I must, I should get you some clothes that actually fit you.” He said and walked over. Grian held the measurer upside down and measured useless things about Mumbo. “Ever wonder how long your mustache is?” He asked, bringing the measuring tape close to Mumbo’s face. “Or maybe how far your ears are away from your eyes-“ he wrapped the tape around the other’s head. “Or maybe-“ he was cut off. “Do you even know how to measure a person properly?” Mumbo asked. Grian shook his head. “Nope!”

After a few more moments of Grian messing around and the two nearly dying of laughter, Grian stepped back. He reached into his dyed grey shulker box and looked through various different clothes for a few seconds before taking out what appeared to be a white dress shirt, a red tie, and some black pants. “Okay, got it!” He handed the new clothes over.

Mumbo stared at them for a few moments. “H-“ he shook his head. “Okay, fine, I’ll put these on,” he pushed Grian away from the divider so that he could get dressed. Grian walked away, looking quite pleased with himself and the outfit he got Mumbo.

“How did you manage to find an outfit that fits me perfectly- just by measuring my face??” Mumbo asked, walking out from behind the trapdoors. Grian turned around to face him and grinned. “A magician never reveals his tricks-“ he said. “But I thought you were a tailor-? Y’know what- never mind-“ he quickly tied his tie and admired his clothes. He felt a lot better wearing new clothes- rather than clothes he was given from the moment he began existing. He wore a fairly simple outfit. A white shirt and black pants with a tie that matched his eyes fairly well. However, he felt like he was missing something.

Mumbo reached for his old clothes and grabbed his jacket. Once he put it on and buttoned it up, he looked complete. Strangely enough, he felt like himself. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. This outfit was familiar though he couldn’t understand why. He couldn’t remember why.

He suppressed his other emotions and looked over at Grian and smiled. “And I can keep this outfit too, no charge?” He asked. The other nodded happily. Mumbo glanced down at himself. “Thank you..” he spoke quietly while he adjusted his tie to fit his jacket. “I appreciate it, really,”

Grian shook his head. “Oh no, it’s no problem.” He rewrapped the measuring tape around his neck. “Just doing my job,” he smiled.

Grian began to take down the trapdoors and Mumbo’s eyes drifted to his own clock. He picked it up. What was he forgetting- what couldn’t he remember-?

-

Thousands upon thousands of blocks away in HermitVille. She was wandering near a river searching for foxes and berry bushes. As she was walking, there was a shimmer in the corner of her eye. It twinkled as the sun reflected off of its surface. She didn’t know what it was- though, it was fascinating. She reached for it, trying to see what was partially sticking out of the dirt. Though, before she got too close, the shimmer exploded, much like a Creeper. She pulled her hand back in alarm and stared at what was in the middle of the hole. It was a clock attached to a string. She picked it up and wore it around her neck like a trophy. The clock ticked quietly and sparkled.

It was like no clock she had ever seen before.