How did I get here? Who are you? Who am I? | You can call me Creek! | He/They | Asexual | 22 years old | SFW Vore | I like writing vore stories sometimes | mainly g/t | NSFW DNI
Hello, Hello. I am here to deliver on what I promised, which was indeed a vore fic. Hopefully the first to many, as this will have a second part and I've already written another scenario within this universe. Enjoy! :D
Content warnings: contains safe, soft vore
Jimmy's POV
It was just Jimmy's rotten luck this would happen to him. He went outside of the house for one minute. He simply wanted to enjoy the sun for a second while everyone settled into their temporary home for the harsh winter. He hadn't been paying attention when the blizzard struck so suddenly. The sun blotted out in an instant, the snow fell fast, and he wasn't near enough to the house to find it easily at all.
Now, Jimmy was stuck outside in a near blinding storm, with no sense of where he even was. The gales were so harsh he had to keep his wings tucked in close to his spine lest he get swept away by the wind and snow, and he held his arms close to his chest to conserve the body heat that was quickly being stolen from him. He had some hope in knowing the general direction of the town. He may have wandered far from the house his family was in, but he hadn't gone far from the town. He knew there was a house nearby. The only difficult part was the visibility and if any house had left their porch light on.
Jimmy trudged through the falling snow that began to quickly build around him making it difficult to traverse through. He was shivering and knew that if he didn't find somewhere safe soon, he'd likely freeze to death.
Then thew the falling snow he could see a light. He moved quickly towards it and wanted to cry in relief when he saw it was the porch light to a giant house. He quickly found a way inside, not really thinking much of the conveniently sized mousehole looking entrance next to the large door. Well, he may have found it odd, but he was too worried about not freezing to death.
He shook the snow off of himself and his feathers, and realized it was just as cold in here as it was outside. Jimmy was grateful to be out of the wind and snow but clearly the giant that lived here hadn't been prepared before hibernation took hold.
Jimmy considered that the occupant of the house may be awake with the kitchen light and a lamp in the living room on, but with how cold it was, it was more likely they had simply forgotten to turn it on. Then he noticed the large figure sitting slightly slumped over on the couch.
For a moment Jimmy thought the giant may be awake and his heart jumped before realizing the figures slumped posture and their head tilted to one side meant they were asleep. That cannot be a pleasant position to have fallen asleep in.
Jimmy breathed a sigh of relief. Grian would have told him how stupid he was for not being attentive enough and Joel would have fussed at him for even getting scared of the giant. Joel was always a little too proud for his small stature.
The giant had fire for hair which wasn't exactly common. Jimmy had heard of blazeborns, but had never really seen one before coming to this town. He had actually seen this specific giant before in the house his family had chosen to stay in while they scouted it out. He had been shocked to see a blazeborn as they were quite rare in the overworld from what he had heard.
He would never admit it to his brothers but he had felt a pull towards the blazeborn giant at the time. A pull he was always told to ignore; the want to be as close as possible to the giant. That safety and protection from anything and everything existed within that giant. He had to force himself to look away from the giant before his brothers could say anything to him for looking too long.
He had silently mourned when the blazeborn left, convinced that he may never again see what he was sure was his soulmate. Then he went outside when he wasn't supposed to and now he was in the house of that very same giant. Fate was funny in that way, wasn't it?
Although, Jimmy did note that the giants hair was now a shade of dark red when he was sure that before it was more of a yellow-orange.
Jimmy frowned. Sure, blazes were made of fire and must have higher body temperatures because of it, but with the house being as cold as it was Jimmy couldn't help but worry for the giant's wellbeing. He could already hear Joel and Grian fussing at him for even thinking about worrying for a giant. Giants weren't worth a tinies time, and they didn't care about tinies beyond what tinies could do for giants and blah blah blah.
Jimmy never understood why giants weren't worthy of his compassion, and his brothers weren't here to make fun of him for it.
Jimmy shivered, and remembered he should probably be worrying more about warming himself up than a giant who had a better chance at recovering from the cold then he. He made his way further into the house to get a better idea of the layout and saw a worrying lack of food laid out in the kitchen. Another anomaly as he was used to giants often laying out all of their food in an easy to grab space. There was an unopened box upon the kitchen counter. On the side of this box was written in black letters "For Tango." Jimmy was sure he had heard the giant be called something like that at the other house.
Jimmy looked back at the sleeping Tango with a confused look. What could have possibly been so much more important than preparing for hibernation? Typically while scouting, always a week or two before the cold set in, he would watch giants prep for winter. They would stock up on food that wouldn't go bad easily and gather firewood to keep as constant of a fire as possible for when they had brief moments of wakefulness.
Tango seemed to have a fair amount of firewood, he noted as he looked towards the unlit fireplace. At least he had firewood, although it didn't seem Tango had the forethought to light a fire before falling asleep.
Jimmy noticed a laptop in the lap of the sleeping giant, it wasn't something he considered imperative to take note of before now. Tango's hands laid upon the keys of the computer as if he simply fell asleep while typing something. The computer itself lay lifeless, either dead or simply in sleep mode.
He was curious as to what was so important to the giant that he felt the need to work on it until he was forced to fall asleep in such an unprepared manner.
Jimmy rubbed his arms to try to bring some warmth back to them and sighed when it didn't warm him up as much as he would have liked. His teeth chattered and he still wasn't any closer to possibly finding a way to warm up. The fireplace wasn't lit and Jimmy wouldn't know how to start even a tiny fire. Maybe if Tango woke up he would light a fire. Whenever that would be.
The only thing likely to warm him up was the giant blazeborn that sat motionless, and he was always taught never to even be seen by giants much less touch one. No one else was here to tell him it was a bad idea though, and despite everything he had been told every fiber of his being wanted to be close to the blazeborn.
Jimmy made his way over to the sleeping giant, desperate to feel some kind of safety and less alone in this situation. Jimmy was in the middle of the living room, with no way to easily get out of sight when a groan pervaded the silence of the room and as if Jimmy's presence had been sensed the previously still giant began to move.
Jimmy paused in his steps as Tango righted his head and brought a hand up to rub at a crick in his neck. Then his eyes opened and his red eyes landed upon Jimmy's small form.
Jimmy's heart pounded in his chest as Tango tried to register what Jimmy was. There was a brief moment of stillness between the two before Tango turned his head groggily to look out a nearby window. Panic plastered itself over the giant's previously sleepy expression as he saw the raging blizzard outside.
"Shit, I didn't-" he stood suddenly and the laptop fell from his lap with a clatter. Tango scrambled to pick it up, and set it calmly on the nearby coffee table.
"It's freezing! I forgot to- and I didn't open Skizz's- I hadn't even bought- why did winter have to come so early?!" Jimmy watched in confusion, and apprehension as Tango voiced his panicked thoughts.
Jimmy thought Tango may have forgotten he was there but then he looked back at Jimmy who hadn't even moved from his spot in the middle of the room, and he gave Jimmy an apologetic smile through his panic.
"One moment please," Tango said. He ran a hand through his hair, shivered from the cold, closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before walking to the fire place where he started a fire fairly quickly. The flood of warmth and light was a welcome relief but the fire didn't immediately chase the chill away that seemed to burrow itself beneath his skin.
Jimmy was sure that he should be looking for a place to hide with the opportunity he'd been given, his family wouldn't want him being seen, but he didn't want to hide from this giant. That feeling to just stay close to the giant overriding any previous warnings he'd been given.
Tango went into the kitchen next, where he opened the box on the counter and sighed with relief. "Skizz… you're a life saver," he muttered, as he began pulling out nonperishable snacks and meals to lay out on the counter.
With another deep breath, Tango turned around and his eyes landed on Jimmy once more.
"Did you come in from the storm?" Tango asked going back to the couch. Jimmy did take note of Tango choosing not to eat anything, finding it odd when in past experiences he'd seen giants wake to only eat during the winter. Jimmy nodded but Tango hadn't been looking at him, as he picked up the laptop and attempted to turn it on.
"Yes… I got seperated from my group," Jimmy answered, "they're in another house."
Tango looked disappointed when the computer didn't turn on, but he just closed it and set it to the side, returning his attention back to the Jimmy.
"That sucks… and I'm so sorry about the state of… well everything." Despite the fire now crackling and warming up the room slowly, Tango shivered again. His hair had stayed a dim red since waking. "and if I'm freezing, I can't even imagine how you must be feeling, especially if you just came in from the storm... goodness are you alright?"
Jimmy was a little taken aback by the demeanor of this giant. Everything he'd heard about them was how inconsiderate they were to tinies, that they either wanted nothing to do with tinies, viewed them as pests or as something to be used. This giant was actively apologizing to him for being unprepared for his own hibernation, and worrying about Jimmy's wellbeing.
"I feel like I've been frozen to the bone so I'm not feeling… awesome," Jimmy responded truthfully.
Tango frowned as he looked at the fireplace and then back to Jimmy's shivering form. "I don't think the fire will warm you up fast enough, would you like for me to try to warm you up? I'm probably more comfortable than the brick around the fireplace anyway. I'm Tango, by the way."
"I'm Jimmy, and yes, that sounds like a great idea," Jimmy said, trying to not seem desperate in his want to be close to Tango. He was sure Tango must be feeling some similar way, but Jimmy wasn't sure how exactly giants knew if they met their soulmate.
Jimmy flapped his wings and flew up to the couch where Tango allowed him to be in his lap. Jimmy sat on Tango's thigh and leaned against his abdomen to get as much warmth from the blazeborn as possible.
Tango wasn't warm enough. His clothes and skin still cold from sleeping in such an open space. The air was still too cold.
Jimmy was literally as close as physically possible to Tango and he still felt he wasn't close enough.
"What about you?" Jimmy said through chattering teeth as he tried to push himself closer to Tango and what little warmth he emitted.
"What about me?" Tango said. Jimmy could feel Tango shivering himself.
"Are you alright? You're also cold."
"I run warmer than most, so the cold doesn't really affect me the same way it does others."
"Yes… but your hair is quite a dark shade of red… shouldn't it be… I don't know… lighter?"
Tango was quiet for a second before muttering to himself, "How long was I out for…?"
Tango ran his fingers through his hair. Tango paused before taking in a sharp breath filled with anxiety.
"I should be fine…" Tango said with uncertainty, "I probably just need to eat…"
At the mention of eating, Jimmy could hear Tango's stomach grumble. Jimmy looked towards the kitchen at all the food he had laid out not too long ago, but Jimmy got the feeling Tango wasn't looking where he was.
"So… I'm sure you've also noticed the connection between us, right?"
"I have," Jimmy said, half guessing where this could be going.
"I'm pretty sure we're soulmates…" Tango said before becoming nervous, "and I wouldn't really mention this if this situation was better, but would it be alright if I… could swallow you?"
Jimmy was quiet for a moment as he thought it over. He didn't really like the idea of being swallowed by a being much bigger than him, but his instincts buzzed excitedly beneath his skin at the mention of being closer than he already was. His stress and worry was melting away at the idea that anything that wished him harm, including the cold, couldn't reach him. He couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere else.
"I say this as my hair being as red as it is means I may have gotten a little too cold and my inner flame is at risk of going out, which I'm sure you can imagine what that may mean for me… with you as my soulmate you'd provide me enough energy to be able to reignite it as I barely have enough energy to keep myself awake right now, and you would also be able to warm up much faster," Tango yawned at the mention of his own energy being low, "or… we can totally forget I mentioned it, I can just eat some of the food Skizz left me, and I'll just hope for the best… Skizz comes over sometimes to check on me, although I'm not sure when he will be able to with this storm…"
Tango's eyes fluttered closed as he began to fall asleep. Jimmy looked over at the fire Tango had started and then once again took in the color of Tango's hair. When that fire goes out both of them would be at the mercy of whatever temperature it was outside, and if Tango's inner fire goes out...
They had to do this fast if they were going to do this.
"Tango!" Jimmy yelled. Tango's eyes flew open with a gasp.
"What?" Tango said exhaustion in his voice.
"Yes, swallow me," Jimmy said, "I want you to."
Tango offered his hand to Jimmy and when he stepped on he was lifted up to be face level with Tango. Tango used his other hand to stifle another yawn before he gave Jimmy a loopy smile.
"Is it a bad time to admit I've never done this?" Tango joked.
"What? Swallowed a tiny?" Jimmy asked, confusion furrowing his brow as he tried to figure out why this was relevant, "I would hope it wouldn't be commonplace for giants."
"It's not," Tango shrugged, "I just realized how easy it could be to hurt you, and I don't think I've ever swallowed anything as big as you, you're kinda tall for a tiny."
Tango was definitely loopy after almost falling back into hibernation. He was on the verge of falling asleep. Although, after mentioning how easy it could be to hurt Jimmy, he could only imagine all the ways this could go wrong for him. Tango's teeth did look pretty sharp and if Tango wasn't fully aware of himself…
Jimmy didn't really have time to worry about that.
"I am a little bit taller than the average tiny but you're like ten times bigger than me."
"I don't think that exactly correlates to how easy it would be to swallow you."
"Why are we even having this discussion," Jimmy said with exasperation, "if you hadn't noticed, you're kinda actively falling asleep!"
"Hmm? Oh, that is true," Tango seemed to think for a second before bringing his hand with Jimmy on it up to his mouth. He opened his mouth allowing Jimmy to get a better look at his teeth and yep, those teeth were quite sharp looking. Tango fortunately was aware of that and stuck his tongue out covering his lower teeth and lip. Jimmy hesitated before deciding to just go for it. Not really time to consider the best way to go about this when Tango was actively fighting sleep.
He awkwardly crawled into Tango's mouth, keeping his wings tucked as flat as possible against his back and sides as to not nick them on any of Tango's upper teeth. Tango drew the rest of Jimmy into his mouth with his tongue when Jimmy couldn't pull himself in any further. Tango closed his mouth carefully around Jimmy, probably due to worrying about any of Jimmy's appendages being caught between his teeth.
Jimmy's bird instincts came alive as an anxiety came over him from being in an enclosed space. It also didn't help that what his brain perceived as a cage was alive and moving. The tongue he lay on moving ever so slightly, and warm damp breath washing over him. He tried his best to reassure himself that it would be alright. He couldn't spiral now, and certainly not because his bird brain won out over his human one.
Instead he focused on the instincts that wanted this and allowed that to override any anxieties. It was warm. It was safe. Everything would be okay. This was how things were meant to be.
A questioning but worried hum filled the space he was in.
"I'm fine," Jimmy said in response to Tango's hum, "Go ahead."
Jimmy tensed as his environment began to move. Everything tilted and Jimmy was sliding towards the back of the throat. Glk. Tango swallowed and Jimmy was sucked into the tight esophagus. It pulled and squeezed at Jimmy, attempting to drag him into the core of the blazeborn's body.
Tango made a small sound of discomfort before another gulp dragged Jimmy fully into the throat and out of Tango's mouth. Jimmy could feel the smaller swallows that undulated around him, pulling him further into Tango as an attempt to clear him from the windpipe quickly.
The tight tube let up sligtly as Jimmy slid into the chest where he could hear the beating of Tango's heart and wooshing of air into lungs much larger than his own. The muscles of the esophagus felt soothing, no longer as tight and massaging him downwards.
He noticed the heart began to slow to a calmer pace as peristalsis moved him through the chest. Tango must've fallen asleep as soon as Jimmy cleared his wind pipe.
The journey ended far sooner than Jimmy expected and he was squeezed into the stomach where he was welcomed by Tango's stomach gurgling satisfactorily, happy to have something in it. The space seemed slightly cramped but the walls fortunately had a lot of give Jimmy realized as he stretched his limbs out.
Jimmy didn't really know what to think of where he was right now. His instincts rewarded him as a wave of peace and calm fell over him at being in the core of his soulmate. Joel and Grian would kill him when they found out he'd found his soulmate and allowed himself to be a battery for one of their larger counterparts. It was awfully warm though. So much cozier than that blizzard despite the sliminess of it all, but even that wasn't exactly an uncomfortable element for Jimmy.
Jimmy felt the exact moment the transfer of his energy to Tango began. It felt like some invisible force was pulling at something from inside him. It was there and gone and then, probably for the first time in his entire life, Jimmy felt exhausted.
Tango gasped and the movement around Jimmy meant he probably managed to wake himself up after his brief nap.
"Jimmy, are you alright?" Tango asked in a low voice as if he was afraid to talk too loud. His voice vibrated through Jimmy and felt as if it came from all around.
"I'm exhausted…" Jimmy mumbled, not really able to think of much else to say.
"I guess I took a lot of your energy… I do feel quite energized, is this how tinies feel all the time?"
"Do you giants feel this tired all the time?" Jimmy retorted with a yawn.
"Probably," Jimmy could hear the smile in Tango voice, "Do you want out?"
"No!" Jimmy exclaimed, shooting up, then felt his face heat up at his sudden outburst, "I mean… I'm really tired, and it is quite warm in here compared to out there…"
Tango chuckled, "Alright, you can stay in there for as long as you'd like, I think I'm going to work on my game for a bit, I'm going to get up to find my charger but after that, I won't be moving around too much so you won't have to worry about being woken up, let me know when your ready to be let out, okay?"
"Okay…" Jimmy said allowing himself to finally give in to his exhaustion.
He began to drift off into the deepest sleep he's ever had as the space around shifted and began to rock in a comforting motion as Tango walked.
As his consciousness faded, Jimmy heard Tango mutter to himself, "I can't wait to tell Skizz and Impulse about this."
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Haiii! Hope you enjoyed! I do have plans for a part 2 told from Tango's POV and eventually, I plan on introducing other members of the lifeseries. This soulmate concept if you couldn't tell is very much based on double life, but I have decided due to personal choice that not every soulmate will line up with canon.
It's my AU and I choose the romantic and mainly platonic ships.
I may or may not have written a vore fic of my favorite ship because I needed to see them being cute (and one of them eating the other), but I never do anything in easy simply ways. So, I did a bit of world building just for this idea to work properly in my head and I wanted to post my notes for it before I post the first part of the fic.
Partly because I've been in the SFW vore space as a lurker for years and have never provided anything until today, so if anyone feels inspired and wants to use this concept for any of their works feel free too!
I do ask that if you do use this concept that you tag it "too little too much" or tag me so I can see it! I'm always craving content. (I don't have a pinned post yet, but pls don't tag me in anything sexual/fetish/hard vore/etc., I am asexual and enjoy vore for the comfort aspect and don't view it as something sexual.)
Anyway, without further ado concept under the cut!
———
There is an imbalance in this world. No one is normal sized, they're either too big or too little. The two groups identify themselves as giants and tinies respectively.
Tinies are often nomadic, travel in groups and are often untrusting of giants. Giants will stay in small communities, in one place, and more often then not feel they are above their smaller counterparts consequently resulting in the untrust of tinies. Despite the feelings towards each other, tinies and giants are bound together and must rely upon each other.
With Giants being too big they are unable to produce enough energy for themselves. Giants are forced to sleep more often in order to have enough energy to function properly. During the summer they will find themselves having more wakeful moments but once colder months come around, giants will go into a hibernation that results in brief moments of consciousness every day, lasting 30 minutes to an hour, just long enough to eat and drink before their lack of energy forces them back into unconsciousness. Giants often die in hibernation when they do not properly set up a way to stay warm or if they don't prepare enough food or water.
Then, with tinies being so small, they produce too much energy for themselves. Tinies are afflicted with insomnia, especially during warmer months. They are unable to sleep and this can have an affect on their psyche. During summer months if tinies don't stay active this energy may become too much for them, like how too much adrenaline can kill a person, so too can an accumulation of energy within a tiny. This is why tinies are nomadic and are constantly moving. During colder months tinies can manage more moments of sleep and will often move into the walls of a giant's homes. As tinies are much more susceptible to the cold and unable to travel through it. Giant homes are often kept warm and tinies are drawn to them due to the inherent connection between giant and tiny.
Once it begins to warm up and the snow melts, tinies will leave as soon as possible too avoid being seen by the giants.
It's a difficult life for both giant and tiny, but evolution had provided them a solution. Every giant and tiny has a soulmate or two of their opposing size. The soulmates energies are intrinsically intertwined, and if one is able to find their soulmate they can balance their energy levels. The giant can take the overwhelming energy a tiny produces, and the tiny can provide for the lack of energy giants produce, allowing the energy levels of both giant and tiny to be normalized.
Unfortunately, the only way for this to work is considered quite unsavory and only furthers the mistrust tinies have of giants. In order for the energy of a tiny to transfer to a giant, the tiny must be as close to the core of a giant as possible. In more technical terms, a giant must swallow their tiny soulmate and the transfer occurs whilst the tiny is in the giant's stomach. Giants have evolved to be unable to digest living breathing things. The only things giants "digest" from a tiny, is their energy.
This transfer can only occur between soulmates, so majority of giants don't make it common practice to just swallow any tiny they see. Especially, since consuming a tiny that is not a giant's soulmate can result in unpleasant side effects: nausea, stomachache, headache, dizziness, etc. Effects vary depending on giant and tiny. Tinies are relatively unaffected if swallowed by a giant that is not their soulmate.
There are quite obvious signs when one has met their soulmate. Both will have instinctual feelings towards their soultie.
The tiny feels a compulsion to be near and stay near their giant soulmate as they feel nowhere else can possibly be as safe or comfortable then with their soulmate. Sometimes simply being near them won't feel like enough and the tiny will want to be as close as possible to their giant soulmate, often times initiating the process to transfer energy themselves. This often occurs during summer months when more energy accumulates in the tiny and they wish for a way to be rid of it.
The giant feels the need to protect and care for their tiny soulmate. They also may feel a craving for the tiny, craving the energy that only they can provide to them similar to a way one would crave certain types of food when lacking in certain nutrients or water when dehydrated. This feeling is amplified during winter months when their energy is at its lowest.
Culturally in tiny communities, it is actually frowned upon to even want to stay with your soulmate if you do find them. Tinies view it as giving up who you are to act as an energy source for a giant. This is a common misconception as both tiny and giant do benefit from this exchange. Tinies often assume giants are selfish and do everything for their own gain, also a common misconception as only few giants are such.
The concept of soulmates isn't frowned upon in giant communities. Despite some giants being unkind or uncaring for tinies, there are communities that do treat tinies as equals and often try to be safe spaces for tinies that pass through for winter. Most giants look forward to the day they may meet their tiny soulmate(s).
Extra notes: I did forget to mention that the whole "soulmate" concept isn't really meant to be romantic in a lot instances, it really is just that their energies are tied together. I intend for it to be used in a lot of platonic instances as well.
Extra Extra notes: I also intend for my own personal Au to have poly relationships so it's possible for one individual to have more than one soulmate! This was decided after I had written all of this out and I edited it slightly to signify that, but I figured I'd point it out here.
Reminder: If you do choose to use this concept, I would love if you tagged it "Too little Too much" or tagged me in it!
I shall post the fic I have written later, so keep a look out for that, and I will eventually post more about my own au later.
Check tags to see what fandom it's for! The soulmate idea did come from a specific series... Can you guess what ship I intend for my fic?
It was a beautiful, sunny day on the Hermitcraft server. The sun was shining, the river trickled clearly around the mountain, and Grian pinky promised that he wasn’t going to get up to any mischief.
Well, no major mischief. At the very least he had nothing planned.
The only thing on his agenda for the day was a lovely resource grinding session with Scar. They had been running out of similar materials, and there were a few things that were always in high demand on the server, and they had decided to take the day to stock up on some much needed materials. The tedious work was always more bearable with someone to talk to, even if it did tend to slow them down quite a bit. Still, Grian was confident that once they got away from the distractions and temptations of the other hermits’ bases they would be able to make good time.
He knelt down and opened his ender chest, making sure once more that he had all the tools they could need for a full day of resource gathering, then stood up and breathed deeply in the early morning stillness.
A soft meow broke the tranquil silence, and Grian looked over with a grin to see a familiar gray cat loping toward him at a relaxed pace. He knelt to the grass as she got closer, presenting his hands for her to regally shove her face into. “Well hello there miss Jellie! Aren’t you a pretty kitty! Lovely to see you, as always.”
The cat languidly rubbed into the scritching of his careful claws and began purring like an engine, almost loud enough that he didn’t hear the small voice of the Zookeeper riding her back.
“Oh, I see how it is!” The tiny man rose to stand on Jellie’s shoulders, hands on top of her head as he glared up at the larger man who was still lavishing his cat with attention. “I come all the way over here, and not even a hello!”
Grian did his best to maintain his poker face, but the corners of his mouth pulled up at his friend’s false annoyance. Still, he didn’t make eye contact and continued lavishing Jellie with attention, keeping his eyes steadfastly locked onto the cat even as his wandering hands actually managed to pet the small man on her head. This seemed to be the breaking point for Scar, who huffed indignantly and began climbing up his sweater clad arm.
The avian kept his face straight as best as he could while enduring the ticklish feeling of his tiny friend scaling him like a jungle gym. Keeping that arm carefully still even as he continued to ignore the annoyed muttering aimed in his direction. Eventually, the tiny reached his destination, grabbing ahold of the larger man’s colorful head wing, and taking a deep breath.
“GRIAN!” Even expecting it, the sudden noise made him jump in place, forcing Scar to tighten his hold on the wing as it snapped in to cover Grian’s face in surprise. The giant dark eyes nearly went cross eyed trying to see the tiny man hanging on for dear life in front of his nose, but he managed to clock the giant grin on the landscaper’s face as he finally managed to make eye contact. “Well hello there!”
Grian finally decided that Scar had suffered enough, and brought his hands up underneath him as he let go of the colorful wing, trusting that the soft palms would be there to catch him, even as his larger friend giggled at his predicament.
“Ah, there you are Scar! You should have let me know you were here, it’s quite rude to climb people without permission you know.” He mock scolded the tiny in his hands, grinning at the way he suddenly puffed up in indignation. Cutting off what truly promised to be an epic lecture, he straightened up and raised the hand holding the tiny up to eye level. “Will Her Majesty be joining us today then?”
“No, she's hangin’ out with the kitties today. Finny and Bee are getting into all sorts of trouble lately, so she’s on kitten duty for a while.”
“And you think Jellie is going to keep them out of trouble?”
“No, but I trust her to stay in one spot until I come back if they get stuck somewhere.”
“Ahh, yeah that makes more sense. Alright, then you’re with me today?”
“Yep! Got everything I need, so we should be good to go!”
“Excellent! I should be set to go, so let’s get a move on.” He moved the hand containing his tiny friend over to his shoulder once more, where Scar climbed on and began setting himself up for a stable flight. He grabbed some of the avian’s blond hair and tucked himself tightly into the wedge where the head wing met the rest of his skull, slipping his hands underneath some of the outer feathers to get a better grip on the sturdier shafts.
It took real effort not to twitch and throw him off as Grian felt tiny hands dig into the sensitive feathers of his head wings, but eventually Scar settled into a stable hold and braced himself properly between said wing and the shoulder beneath him.
“All set to fly?” Grian carefully turned his head without dislodging his smaller friend, and received an enthusiastic thumbs up out of the corner of his eye.
“Ready to go, my good man!” He could hear the tiny much more clearly now that the man was literally laying up against his ear. A wide grin grew across his face as he spread his impressive wingspan behind him, flexing the colorful feathers in preparation for flight.
“Pesky Bird airlines would like to welcome you to the friendly skies! Please keep all arms, legs, and chicken eggs accounted for at all times.”
“Haha- whoa!” Takeoff was always faster and more intense when he was riding with one of the larger server members, but none of them were quite like flying with Grian. The avian’s natural wings made him faster and more maneuverable than anyone on the server, and he made full use of it navigating the tightly packed skyline around Cherry Mountain. In seconds they were above the orange cranes of the shipyard. Grian took a moment to float in the air, hovering in place as only he could do, and looked happily over the shipyard and the zoo beyond. He admired the way Scar’s massive redwoods scraped the clouds, and the way his wheat fields rolled golden into the distance. He could hear Scar let out a contented sigh at the view as well, and smiled happily, angling his wings slightly to get more speed as he pulled a tight turn, catching a thermal coming off the mountain and climbing rapidly.
A glimmer from across the river caught Scar’s eye and he tugged on the head wing with a devious smile on his face. Grian faltered slightly, but followed the direction of his tugging and a matching smile spread across his face as he angled into a sharp dive, racing across the river before spreading his wings abruptly, back beating them a few times before folding them tightly to his back and falling the last couple inches to the ground. The sudden movements made Scar yell in surprise and hang on for dear life, but he enjoyed every moment of it, and was still grinning widely when Grian plucked him off of his shoulder to sit comfortably in his hands once more.
“Hmmm, there’s an awful lot of lag on the server today, isn’t there Scar?”
“Why, I believe you may be right, my good man!” Scar smirked wickedly up at his co-conspirator as they walked through the creaking wooden structures of Gem’s base. “And as good neighbors, it’s only right of us to make sure that none of that lag is affecting our dear friend Gem’s storage room!”
“Why, you make an excellent point Scar! What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t at least check on Gem’s base? Not good ones, that's for certain!” They giggled to each other as they crept through the creepy halls of the Lovecraftian remains of Gem’s cute fishing village, noting the care and attention put into the fine details of the place with excitement.
Finally reaching the storage room, and fully confident that Gem was nowhere near her base at the moment, the two split up to check the chests on either side of the room. Scar flipped through a couple chests of stone and logs, almost tempted to take some of the dirt, but he knew they’d be getting plenty later on. Finally, he stumbled upon a few stacks of unoxidized copper and his eyes lit up with glee.
“Ahh, wonderful! I believe Gem is about to make a very generous donation to the Zoo!”
“Oh?” Grian looked up from where he had been stealing a few of Gem’s spare blankets for his nest to see Scar’s mischievous face reflected in a pile of copper that was quickly disappearing into a shulker box. Hmmm. That was some very shiny copper. And if Gem was already being so generous today…
“I can see it now, I’ll put up a dedicated bench in commemoration of this very neighborly donation she’s making. Yeah, that feels like a good idea! Gem will love it.” Scar turned to see Grian shoveling more copper into his own shulker box across the room, and wandered over curiously. Partially to see if there was more copper in these chests, but also to inquire what his fellow builder might want all this copper for. It wasn’t a color he was currently using in any of his builds, and as far as he knew there hadn’t been any new buildings started in the shipyard in a while, so…
When he finally saw Grian’s face, he instantly understood the issue, and had to cover his mouth to hold back the giggles. Grian’s eyes were so dilated that there was barely any of his purple iris left, just giant black voids from which no shiny sparkly object could escape. The avian was clearly being influenced by his instincts since he had started gathering nesting materials. Pffft… bird brain go brrrr
It took a few minutes for the two to finish up, and another few to leave a few diamonds in the chests and a sign for Gem thanking her for her generous contribution to the Zoo, but they were soon on their way again, determined to actually make some progress this time.
And they almost made it.
Soaring around the mountain, Grian spotted something moving out of the corner of his eye, and was struck with inspiration once more. “Oh! Scar, while we’re here, have you seen Mumbo’s fans?”
“His fans?”
“Yes! Let’s have a look, shall we?”
Swooping gracefully around Mumbo’s shockingly detailed shopping center base, Scar could see that, indeed, the quirky redstone genius had once again created something strange and unique. There were moving approximations of fans everywhere, large ones, small ones, one that took up the entire side of a building. But most importantly they were all moving, all seemingly spinning in place as the trapdoors opened and closed in a spiral pattern. It was incredibly fascinating to watch, and Scar immediately knew he wanted to add one to the train somewhere, but that would have to wait for another day.
Their meandering path had brought them to one of Mumbo’s spare storage rooms. Grian gently tapped down on the stone floor and quickly set Scar down on one of the chests that decorated the walls of the building. Making direct eye contact with the tiny he grinned, “Gosh, I think there might be a lag spike around here as well!”
A mirror image smirked up at him and chuckled in agreement, bending to begin shuffling through the chests on that side of the room. Grian’s wandering hands brought him through a few chests filled with standard materials, gravel, concrete powder, growth potions, when he finally reached a familiarly smelling chest, which he threw open with a dramatic gasp. “Well now! I guess there really has been a lot of lag on the server lately!” Scar couldn’t help but laugh when he saw that the chest was full of salmon and cod, no doubt pilfered from Grian’s fishing dock while he had been distracted. He continued to laugh as the fisherman floundered in indignance, until a mischievous glint took over his eye.
“Well if Mumbo likes my fish so much, it’s only the neighborly thing to do to give him some!”
“I couldn’t agree more, my good man!”
Together it only took a short time to get a dispenser rigged up in a panel in the ceiling. Ideally, the next time Mumbo opened the chest full of stolen fish, the panel would pull back and the dispenser would drop said fish onto his head. Funny, harmless, and easy to rig up, at least in theory. However, with their combined redstone expertise it definitely took four or five times longer than it should have, and by the time they were sure it would work, Mambo could be coming back to his base any minute. Quickly, Scar hurried into the wall, blocking the area behind him to finish checking the last bits of wiring, and make sure nothing had gone astray in their efforts to be speedy. Just in time as well, as just as he slipped into the wall, they could hear the distant whine of rockets announcing the redstoner’s return to his base, and no doubt he would see them hanging around and come to greet them.
“Grian!” A jovial British voice, only slightly louder than the whine of firework rockets popped up behind him and the avian let out a shrill chirp! in surprise, spinning around to face the incoming redstoner. He managed to flip the lid off of a different chest at the last moment, and spread his wings out slightly as Mumbo himself came around the corner. Not enough to look strange, but enough that the brightly colored feathers would provide Scar a bit more cover.
“Mumbo!” He greeted in reply, resisting the urge to move over to his friend and take up all of his personal space as he liked to do. It wouldn’t do to be discovered right away after all.
“Hey bud! What’re you doing here? I didn’t think we had anything planned until Thursday.” The hermit had turned to begin emptying items into the intake of his item sorter, but suddenly froze, turning to face Grian with a stricken expression “Wait is it Thursday already? Did I miss it? Oh no, I had plans with Impulse on Tuesday afternoon, and then Tango on Wednesday, I’ve missed them both! I’ll have to apologize, oh I’m such a spoon!”
The tall man dissolved into an increasingly frustrated chain of muttering as he searched his pockets for his communicator, and Grian finally felt like it was time to stop laughing and intervene. “Mumbo! It’s still Tuesday, don’t worry. I’m just waiting for Scar to show up for our grinding session, and I thought I’d come over and have a look at these lovely fans of yours.” Grain grinned, “I’m a big fan of your fans Mumbo! You could even say I’m your fan’s fan. A fan fanboy. A-“
“Okay! Okay I get it!” Mumbo laughed, cutting off the stream of puns before it became infectious. “You’re a big fan.”
“I think you’ll find the big fan is actually over there.” Grian pointed at the factory wall as Mumbo groaned and dropped his head into his hands at having set up yet another pun. Suddenly something seemed to occur to him as he looked around the room.
“Hmmm. Interesting. See, the thing about my storage room, G, is that there aren’t any fans in here.”
A suspicious look cut into him from above a fabulously groomed mustache, and Grian knew he would have to play this part perfectly. He let his eyes flick briefly towards the chest he had flipped open, and almost inconspicuously ran his fingers through the feathers of his left wings, as if nervous about being caught. His friend’s head immediately snapped in the direction of the open chest and Grian had to hold in a smirk. Hook, line, and sinker.
The redstoner raised an eyebrow at him and slowly walked over to the chest. “So I suppose I just left this open then, did I?”
“Hmm, I suppose you must have!” Looking anywhere but at Mumbo, the avian could barely hold back a laugh at the skeptical look his friend was shooting him.
“Surprising, considering that I definitely remember shutting all of my chests before I left for my industrial district. Any idea how this one might have gotten opened G?”
Excellent. “Oh, that chest? Ahh, I suppose I got hungry whilst admiring your many wonderful fans. Just grabbing some...” Grian quickly thought about what he had seen growing in the small farm outside the building “carrots and such.”
Mumbo gave him such a deadpan look that Grian almost gave it up right there. “Just grabbing some carrots out of this chest full of growth potions?”
Rats!
“Yeah, well, it was just the first one I opened before you came over. If I were you, that’s where I would’ve put my carrots, so that’s just where I started” it was weak and a little awkward, but it was the best he could come up with on short notice. Luckily, Mumbo just chuckled and shut the chest, moving to the opposite wall and opening a seemingly random chest.
“See mate, this is why I keep telling you to get a proper storage system. You might actually be able to find something every once in a while.” The mustached man tossed him a stack of carrots and he caught it with a disgruntled look.
“My storage system works fine thank you!” He bit into a carrot defiantly.
“Your storage system relies entirely on vibes.”
“Yes, well, at least I don’t store my carrots in with my gravel.”
“Okay first off, neither do I? And secondly, you absolutely do! I’ve seen you do it!”
“I’m a dynamic man Mumbo! I can’t be constrained to your rigid item sorting ways! Besides, it’d take too much time to build one at this point”
“Time you lose anyway opening every shulker box in your base every time you need a bit of string.”
“Okay, okay, that’s besides the point! I came here to see your fans, not get a lecture on my incredible and dynamic storage system.” Grian pulled himself back together, relaxing his wings which were beginning to puff up in false agitation as the argument continued.
Mumbo laughed, storing a handful of redstone that Grian hadn’t noticed back into his inventory, as if he’d been intending to build the system right then and there, just to show Grian how ‘easy’ and ‘efficient’ it would be. The avian honestly wouldn’t have put it past him to try. “Alright bud, come with me, I’ve been dying to show these off!”
Grian almost followed him out of the storage room, genuinely interested in learning about the fans, when a small grunt of frustration froze him in place, and he snapped back into position. He had nearly forgotten the whole point of the ruse! “Ah, no!”
Mumbo froze, looking back at him confusedly, and he scrambled to cover up once again, “Uh, I don’t have a whole lot of time before Scar gets to my base you know? I was thinking you could try and explain it here?” Mumbo looked at him oddly. It wasn’t unusual for Grian to ask Mumbo to explain redstone to him, but he usually insisted on a demonstration. Actively refusing one was suspicious at best.
However, as far as Mumbo knew, he had already uncovered the mischief the avian had gotten up to. There was no reason to be suspicious, and, truthfully, he'd been dying to talk about his fans. The mustached man wasted no time leaping into his explanation, quickly dissolving into nearly incomprehensible muttering about timing and the particular placement of trapdoors.
Grian hoped desperately that Mumbo was too deep into his redstone explanation to notice how his ear wings twitched as he tracked the subtle sounds of Scar brushing the last line of redstone dust into place. While he was interested in the explanation (he wanted one of those on his base immediately) right now his biggest priority was getting out without getting caught, and he could tell Scar was wrapping up fast. Small tapping noises heralded the Vex hybrid’s return, suddenly speeding up as they got closer. Grian only had a moment to wonder what was happening before a small weight hit the back of his right wing and he had to keep himself from hissing in pain as the feathers were suddenly pulled.
Scar had finished the redstone lines and was now lying in wait for an opportunity to sneak out of the wall before the owner noticed and caught them. Finally, the meandering explanation caused the mustached man to turn around, and Scar spotted his opportunity. He sprinted up the piece of string he’d hung on the back of the chest, and across the lid, launching himself into the wall of multicolored feathers hiding him from sight. He hit the wing hard, and grabbed onto some of the pointed shafts before he could slip down the smooth surface entirely. He could feel the wing tense under the unexpected force, but Grian quickly caught onto his plan, and folded his wings into an almost heart shaped V, cupping his palms behind his back to catch Scar as he slid down the slope where the feathers met his sweater. The tiny fought hard not to giggle, riding the high of a successful prank as he was inconspicuously slipped into the collar of his co-conspirator’s sweater, laying flat to avoid detection.
As soon as Scar was tucked out of sight, Gruan reached into his pocket and activated the alert tone on his communicator, pulling it out and pretending to read a message quickly. “Ah, sorry Mumbo, Scar’s at my base and he’s wondering where I am. Do you think we could pick this back up later?”
Mambo jumped at the interruption, but quickly agreed, shooing the pesky bird out of his storage building with a promise of meeting up later and a warning that he better not find any more of his ties missing. Grian gave him a cheeky grin before taking off, mindful of Scar’s unstable position in his collar. He flew towards his base until he was out of sight, before quickly turning and landing on the mountain, pulling the giggling tiny out of his hiding spot.
It took a long minute for them to stop laughing, Grian carefully holding his friend close to his chest as he doubled over in laughter, feeling the small form convulse in hysterics against his palms.
It was a long moment before either one of them could recover their composure. Every time they began to calm down the image of a wet fish flopping down onto an unsuspecting Mumbo jumped to mind and set them off again. By the time they were able to gather themselves and clean up a bit the sun was peaking high in the sky.
“Ahhh, that was great! But we seriously need to get a move on if we want to get any progress done today. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t bring a whole lot of torches with me.” Scar said, checking his inventory as he brushed the last bits of grass out of his hair.
Grian was in a similar state, shaking out his feathers to let all the dry grass and leaves fall to the ground, then bending to pick up his smaller companion. “Yeah, alright, that seems like enough pranking for one day.”
“Oh ho! I didn’t think we’d see the day those words would come out of your mouth!”
“Oh hush you.” Grian tucked Scar back into his spot behind his head wing and let him get settled for a moment before leaping back into the air.
They soared over the landscape, looking for a dark oak biome, or perhaps a desert or gravel pit, whichever came first. The Hermits didn’t tend to build out this way, so it was unexplored but also ripe with unmixed resources, and that’s what they were after for today.
They finally touched down in a Dark Oak Forest and immediately got to work, Scar carefully harvesting saplings and apples in the canopy while Grian chopped down tree after tree until they each had a whole shulker filled with logs each. Deeming this satisfactory, they split the other goodies evenly and shoved the shulker boxes into their inventories, quickly making their way to the next destination.
Scar spotted a strip of yellow on the horizon to their left and tugged Grian’s head wing towards it, immediately turning him towards the desert. Once again they efficiently gathered the sand, building up a quick beacon and going nuts with their enchanted shovels. There was a brief moment of concern when Scar was buried under a pile of sand, but he was able to dig his way out easily, and insisted he was fine, so they kept going.
Finally they took off again, taking a bird’s eye view of the ground as they searched for some gravel. The grainy gray texture could be difficult to spot from so high up so they both had to be focused on the ground as much as possible. Eventually, Grian spotted something, shouting over the wind. “Scar! Hey, look down there, does that look like gravel to you?”
The tiny pointed at the gray patch in question, and sure enough it had that signature pebbling pattern of loose rocks over stone, a hallmark of a gravel deposit. He bent over the colorful head wing to yell directly into the avian’s ear. “Yeah! Looks good to me! That dark spot might even be a cave!”
“Okay then I’m taking us down!”
Grian shifted his wings into a glide and took them on a slow circular path down to the ground, finally jogging to a smooth stop. He retrieved the tiny from his ear and held him cupped in both hands so he could see. The gravel pit was small enough that they didn’t bother with the beacon and only retrieved a few stacks of gravel each, although Grian managed to trade some of his flint for more gravel since Scar needed arrows as well. Unfortunately, neither of them managed to fill even half a shulker box apiece.
“Well that was disappointing. Want to try looking for another one?” Grian looked over at Scar as he packed away his tools and shulkers.
The tiny shook his head as he finished packing up his own inventory, already placing down an elder chest to retrieve some different tools. “Nah, we might as well check out that cave we saw from the air. It’s only a few blocks into the trees and we both still need lapis.”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Grian picked out a good pick and a few stacks of torches, putting everything else away. “Alright, let's head out. I think it was this way?”
The cave ended up being more of a ravine, but it slanted deeply and there was always the chance it opened up later on, so the two decided to forge ahead anyway. Sure enough, after about five minutes of walking through a dizzying tunnel system the cave opened up into a large cavern with a few underground waterfalls that they could hear. The two quickly got to work lighting up the area before they could be overrun by mobs, and in the light of the torches they could see that the cave was actually only the first part of a system of pockets that seemed to lead deeper into the earth.
“Oh excellent! Alright that works out perfectly then!”
One of the waterfalls echoed more than the others, and, after peeking down into the hole it was apparent that it led into a vertical crevice several dozen blocks deep. They finished mining the surface level deposits of iron, redstone, and lapis in the cave and then jumped into the waterfall, traveling slowly along the stream to the bottom where it hollowed out into a small open area.
“What do you think Scar? Here look good?” Grian hefted his pickaxe onto the shoulder that didn’t contain his tiny friend and sized up the space in front of him.
“Works for me.”
“Onwards and downwards then!”
The monotony of breaking deep slate and placing torches continued for several minutes, interrupted only by the sounds of pleasant conversation and the occasional ominous bubbling of a lava pocket.
Tink. Tink. Down.
Tink. Tink. Down.
Tink. Tink. Down. Thock.
Tink. Tink. Down.
Tink. Tink. Down.
Tink. Tink. Down. Thock.
Tink. Tink. Down.
Tink. Tink. Down. Chitter.
“Wait, hold up.” Grian suddenly came to a stop, pick pausing mid swing. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Scar knocked carefully on the left wall and the strange chittering echoed through the tunnel once more. “Yeah there’s definitely an ancient city somewhere around here.
“Any point in heading over there today?”
“Nah, we’re not really outfitted to hold off a Warden, and I don’t think I’m using any skulk at the moment, are you?”
“Not at the moment, no. Alright, perhaps another day. Let’s get out of range of that sensor before it becomes a problem then.”
They mined a little ways to the right until the sensor stopped chittering with warnings, and continued on downwards until Grian’s pickaxe hit a pocket of air instead of stone. He turned to look at Scar on his shoulder before mining out another block so they could get a better look into the cave. In the darkness pockets of ore gleamed in the torchlight, but more than that, the eyes of dozens of mobs turned towards them.
In the darkness they could see the ominous purple rippling of enchanted bows. The thick twang of an arrow being released in the blackness jumpstarted them out of their stunned silence and the two shrieked in alarm, blocking up the hole just before another arrow could snipe at them through the opening. They leaned against the newly placed cobble and breathed heavily in the shock.
“Why are there so many?!” Grian wailed melodramatically.
“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh so many creatures of darkness! So many creepy crawlies!” Scar panicked in agreement.
“They must have been spawning there the whole time we’ve been in this area. Ughhh and that cave was such a good one too!” The avian lamented, snapping Scar out of his dramatic mumbling.
“Well hold on now, who said we’re just giving up on it?”
Grian took the tiny into his hands once again to better fix him with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, you did? Remember, we’re not equipped for any kind of raid today.”
“My good sir! You dare suggest that two innovative, brave, and extremely handsome Hermits such as ourselves should turn back, simply because the path ahead is blocked by, what, fifty or so zombies? There are treasures afoot Grian! Many many shiny treasures!” Scar had completely switched gears at this point and his salesman’s grin was in full force as he visibly saw the idea of shiny trinkets break down Grian’s defenses.
“Scar, that's not fair, I’m a weak weak man. You know this.”
“You? No! You’re a big, strong man who certainly isn’t afraid of the creatures of the night! Especially not with HotGuy at your side!” Scar pulled out his signature bow, enchantments glowing brightly in the darkness, and Grian laughed, caving immediately in the face of his friend’s confidence.
“Alright, but we need a plan. We’re gonna tunnel a bit to the side and drop in a lava bucket to take care of that big clump, then you take high, I’ll go low?
“Ah, ever the strategist my good man, I knew I could count on you! Sounds like a plan to me, now let's go!”
They tunneled another few blocks to the side, knocking out a block three above ground level that revealed the darkness of the cave beyond. Grian held Scar up and he quickly placed the bucket of lava and let it flow into the hole before he could be targeted by any arrows or the reaching hands of the mobs beyond. The molten slag dripped into the darkened hollow, audibly eliminating a huge chunk of the mobs that had seen them and gathered close. The two glanced at each other and smirked, returning to their original space and mining through the wall. The lava still oozing from the wall of the cave provided enough light to see that a majority of the mobs had been decimated, but it also highlighted the eyes glowing in the darker parts of the cave. The two readied their weapons in response.
Grian immediately got to work, hacking and slashing through a squadron of skeletons. His netherite blade made quick work of the undead crowded around him and he swung wide to create space. Another zombie fell as he leapt over a dripstone point, its reflexes too slow to dodge the shining arc of his blade in the lava light. The extra space gave him ample room to breathe, throw down some more torches and plan his next move. He raised his shield to catch an arrow and his eyes darted over to a creeper that had escaped the initial lava downpour. It was slowly stalking in his direction, hissing out a low note that would have had his hair standing on end in any other situation. At the moment, though, it was exactly what he wanted to hear.
The avian skirted the edges of the cave, pausing only to dodge a stray arrow or leap over a crag in the rock. He moved quickly enough to avoid being caught by the horde, but slow enough that they never lost interest in him. Circling the edges of the cave, he made eye contact with Scar from where he had been thinning the herd with his bow from his perch on a high ledge. The tiny was high enough to be out of reach of the mobs and was raining flaming arrows down on the hoard with unerring accuracy. They made eye contact, and Grian could tell that he had caught onto his plan by the way he smirked and began to make his way around the ledge towards the far side of the cave that Grian was slowly picking his way towards.
Together they brought nearly every mob in the cave into one large clump in a slightly brighter area of the cave. Grian made eye contact with his ally and received a nod in return. He leapt out from behind a boulder and charged directly at the festering mob of creatures in front of him. A zombie and a skeleton fell dead to the ground in front of them, each sporting a tiny flaming arrow to the head, but he didn’t slow his stride for even a second. Carefully, quickly, he punched the creeper on the nearest side of the cluster to him, then continued sprinting straight through to the other side as the beast hissed and swelled. There was another of the creatures on the other side, and Grian nearly laughed at his good luck as he gave it a good smack too.
He kept running until he heard the first deafening boom. The sound was overwhelming in the harsh underground walls of the cave, and was almost immediately followed by a second boom, adding an artificial echo to the already unbearable noise. The avian was thankful that he had folded his head wings over his delicate ears before the first Creeper had gone off, and he hoped that Scar had had the foresight to do so as well. He looked back over his shoulder to check and was glad to see that the tiny had managed to stay perched on his ledge overlooking the now smoking craters where the mob cluster had been. The tiny zookeeper looked a bit disoriented, but was still standing and was visibly gathering his bearings as the seconds crawled on and the ringing began to fade from their ears.
Then the Shriek came.
The sound was so intense it could barely even be called noise anymore, just a wall of pure force ripping through obstacles and people alike.The cave rattled and dripstone fell from the ceiling, but Grian didn’t even have the presence of mind to notice it. He couldn’t stand, he couldn't see, he couldn't even think. The echoing of the cave tossed the air into a riot, the sound echoing into eternity as his brain seemingly tried to melt out of his ears. Out of the corner of his eye he could see an already damaged skeleton die to the force of the noise.
Faintly, he was able to recall the Ancient City from earlier, and noticed that the side of the cave he was on would have been the closest to it. The creeper explosions must have woken the Warden, and it had shrieked its displeasure at them through the solid underground walls. He barely had the presence of mind to be grateful that it hadn’t managed to get into the cave with them.
The disorientation faded slowly, and the ringing felt as if it would never end, but he was soon able to turn his head enough to see Scar’s perch up on the high ledge. It was more protected and further from the wall the Shriek had come through, but Scar was so much smaller than he was, it would have hurt him a lot more. Sure enough, the tiny appeared to be entirely unconscious, draped over the edge of the ledge with one arm hanging down limply. However, as Grian watched, Scar began to stir, his arm retracting above the lip of the ledge. His vision spun slightly but he could see Scar sitting up. Holding his head, but alright, safe and uninjured.
And slowly…slowly….he began to tilt.
Gria watched in horror as the tiny slowly tipped to the side, clearly off balance and unaware from the shriek. He rocked back and forth slightly, but inevitably he lost what little balance he had and began to roll over the side of the ledge.
The avian barely registered what he was doing, wings snapping out faster than thought as he cleared the cave in two wingbeats. He didn’t even have enough presence of mind to watch his flight path, legs scraping clumsily over dripstone and boulders as he raced against time and gravity to get to his tiny friend before he could hit the ground. He barely even registered the distance, eyes glued to the small form as it finally lost its battle against gravity and topped over the edge.
The fall seemed to wake the tiny just in time, senses coming back to him just enough that he screamed on the way down, flailing desperately for solid ground that was closing in far too fast. The sound, barely audible over the still intense ringing in his ears, was just enough to propel Grian the last few feet to catch the falling tiny. The breath left his lungs in one huge gasp as the tiny body thudded into soft palms instead of unforgiving stone.
Scar’s eyes were closed against the terror of the fall, but as he slowly realized that he was no longer falling to his death, he slowly cracked them to see what had happened. The light in the cave was sparse and dim, but he was able to make out Grian’s pale, worried face having in over him like the moon. Relief flooded his veins as he realized he was no longer in danger of falling to his doom, and he let himself relax into the warm palms cradling his body.
The groaning of a zombie behind him was barely audible over the fading ringing in his ears, but hearing it out of nowhere still threw him into a state of tense panic, his body instinctively throwing itself to the side to dodge a blow that wasn’t there. A second hand shot out to keep him from once again plummeting to the ground, but the sudden movement still made his head spin so badly he couldn’t keep his eyes open.
He stayed like that for a long moment, breathing in deep gulps of cool air as the sounds of the remaining mobs drew closer. He forced himself not to react to them, trusting Grian to protect him as he recovered, even as he could feel the heartbeat underneath him pick up in nervousness. Suddenly, the hand under him moved, knocking him off balance and disorienting his already damaged sense of direction. He could tell he was moving, but not where or why, he just had to trust that his friend wouldn’t hurt him. He managed to crack his eyes open to get a better look at what was going on.
All he saw were teeth.
He was dropped onto a wet surface, hands and knees slipping in the pool of saliva as he fought to orient himself. The instinctive panic of being suddenly stuck in such a large mouth gripped him and dumped adrenaline into his veins once more, but he managed to relax almost instantly. The mouth wasn’t freezing and rank like a zombie’s, the teeth that surrounded him weren’t sharp and needle-like like an enderman’s, the flesh wasn’t the foreboding gray of a pillager’s. There was only one person who could have him right now, and he was more than ready to trust Grian with his life, as he had so many times before.
The ground underneath him rose up to wrap him in a wet embrace, thoroughly licking him all over to coat him in a thick layer of saliva. Scar futilely tried to wipe it out of his face, but gave up and left his eyes closed when he realized that he was only spreading more of it around. The small cavern was blissfully warm, verging on too hot after the chill of being underground, but he found it impossible to relax into the heat as he was tossed around almost frantically. The tongue beneath him rose up suddenly, pinning him to the roof of the mouth just in time for the entire space to thump heavily, and he knew Grian must be on the move.
The avian must have decided that that was enough prep time, because he paused in his ministrations, leaving Scar soaked and winded sitting on the back of his tongue. The cavern tilted back slightly, but didn’t move for a long moment. The tiny took a moment to catch his breath before patting the tongue underneath him in a signal that it was alright to continue. Grian’s mouth immediately jumped back to life, scooping him towards the dark cavern at the back of the mouth. A loud gulp and he was being gently but efficiently massaged down the tunnel, drawn ever closer to the safety of his friend’s stomach.
Grian took a quick moment to trace the lump traveling down his throat, guiding his friend ever further into his chest. He had done this a couple of times before, but it never ceased to amaze him. However, this time he didn’t have luxury of basking in the amazement of being able to hold his friends so close. He was trapped deep underground with no weapons, broken tools, and limited food. The wind generated by the shriek had blown out the majority of the torches, and he could hear the noises of the undead getting louder as they spawned from the darkened corners of the cave. The ore could wait for another day, right now he had to escape.
Grian’s wings pumped hard, shooting up above the dripstone maze of the cave and out through the slanted entrance of their tunnel without even slowing down. He took turns with a speed and agility that he never would have exercised with one of his smaller friends if they were on the outside, clinging to his hair or feathers, for fear that they’d be shaken loose or dropped at altitude. But now, Scar was safely contained inside his crop, with no fear of falling or getting lost. Grian could feel him rolling and sliding around as the sharp turns threw him from side to side, but didn’t dare slow down even a bit. He may have gotten away from the horde, but his instincts were alight with panic, insistent that danger lay around every stalagmite and drop off. Scar would be dizzy, but he would also be safe just as soon as they escaped from this thrice-cursed cave!
The tight turns gave him no room to think, twisting and rolling in split second maneuvers, he blindly navigated through pure reflex. There was no sense of time or distance or direction, only the next obstacle and the easiest way to get around it as fast as possible. His surroundings blurred together into a smear of gray and green, stretching on and on until he finally burst into the cold night sky, lungs burning as they desperately gulped down a few deep breaths of fresh air. He kept climbing, pumping higher and higher into the clear sky, until the trees looked like fuzzy dots on the ground below. Only there, out of reach of any mob or player that could want to do them harm, did he stop his desperate flight and slow to a halt.
“Scar?” Grian’s throat was rough from the heavy breathing, but he still managed to croak out the name. His hand sought his crop, pressing into his chest as if he could feel that Scar was alright through touch alone.
“I’m here!” Scar threw himself against the pressure, pressing deep into the organ lining as if he could make himself one with the larger man. He knew it was a silly thing to say, especially since Grian could feel him shifting around inside him, and definitely knew exactly where he was, but it seemed to make the tense muscles around him relax slightly anyway.
“Are you okay? You aren’t hurt are you? I didn’t bite you or twist your limbs wrong or-“
“Grian! I’m fine, you didn’t hurt me at all, and you got me away before anything else got the chance. In fact, I should be asking you that! Are you okay? Did you get away safely, did they hurt your wings at all?” Scar knew how delicate and sensitive the limbs were and he had definitely seen more than a few of the bright red and blue feathers scattered on the floor of the cave before he’d been knocked off that ledge.
“I’m fine! All bits and bobs accounted for!”
With the confirmation that they were both okay, the adrenaline began to fade and both of them felt exhaustion drop on them like a ton of bricks. Grian’s flight wobbled for a moment as his tired wings finally felt the strain of all those high speed maneuvers, and Scar tucked himself further into the ridges of the wall and began shaking. The avian could feel him trembling and immediately angled himself into a slow and steady glide headed for his base. The only solution to this situation now was time and cuddles, and the best place for both was in the safety of the nest.
The long flight back to base was mostly silent, save for the sound of the whistling wind and a few scattered check-ins from one or the other. Scar felt himself slowly calm down and relax as the warmth of the crop soaked into his tired muscles, the elastic walls and floor cradling him better than any hammock. He was almost tempted to fall asleep on the flight home, but he didn’t want to leave Grian alone to set up his nest, even if he wouldn’t be of much help.
Eventually he heard the tell-tale tapping of an avian landing on a stone floor, and felt the sway of the camber change from the up-down motion of an occasional wing beat to the side-to-side sway of a walking gait. He let the movements further calm him as the crop adjusted around him, compensating for the movement and keeping him safe and comfortable inside of his friend.
Grian placed a hand over his chest, savoring the feeling of the tiny hiding under his skin for a moment before speaking gently into the silence of the night, “Hey, Scar I’ve got to lean over to fix up the nest, you all right?”
“Yeah I’m good G, go ahead.”
Warning thus given, Grian got right to work. He let his subconscious guide him in shaping the nest of blankets and pillows, expanding and reshaping the walls to include some new articles of clothing from his flock, and setting up a space big enough for several people in the center. Something told him he wouldn’t be spending the night alone.
Finally settling back into the recently created nest, Grian turned his attention inwards once more. He stared down at his sweater. It didn’t even have a bump in it, nothing to give away that he was protecting a whole other person inside himself. It got to him every time he did this, how small his friends were and how easily they disappeared from the world within him, as if they were not each incredible and memorable people who had made their own amazing mark on the world. Now they didn’t even create a bump under his sweater. A part of him was sickened at that thought, but mostly he was glad that if he really needed to protect one of his tiny friends, not only would no one be able to get to them, no one would even know they were there. It was the perfect protection, and it made his instincts hum in contentment as he felt Scar shift slightly inside him, trying to get a bit more comfortable.
He had already made up his mind that he wasn’t going to let Scar go until he asked to be let out. Normally, he would do so after only a few hours, or perhaps even overnight in some cases, such as when Mumbo managed to work himself into exhaustion and his growth potion wore off. Grian was always happy to provide a safe place for his exhausted friends to stay the night, and usually had no trouble letting them go in the morning. But this time he knew he wasn’t going to be able to let go so easily. He wouldn’t go against Scar’s wishes, but he certainly wasn’t going to give him up unprompted. Not after what they had been put through in that cave.
He knew better than to underestimate the tiny, knew that Scar was a capable and formidable Player on any given day. He was driven and capable of creating incredible masterpieces from transforming entire landscapes to building towering and intricate structures. He was also very much a menace to rival Grian himself when properly motivated, and the avian couldn’t help but wonder if he might be seeing a dose of that mischief himself after this overprotective episode.
Still, despite being aware of this, he knew he couldn’t convince himself to let the smaller out until he was explicitly asked to. After the scare in the cave his instincts were rattled, and he wanted nothing more than to keep his friend close and safe for as long as possible. He winced, remembering the stories his tiny friends had told him about preds with good intentions keeping their tiny friends trapped against their will and never letting them go. He’d never do that, of course. The second Scar asked to be released he would be free. But still, he could see the appeal of keeping his more delicate friends safe and close forever. He wondered what that said about him, what that meant if he was able to understand those villains so easily. The more he thought about it the tenser he got, until a sudden burst of activity from his crop pulled him out of his reverie.
Scar had been relaxing and calming down from his near death experiences, and there was no better place to do that than in one of his favorite places and favorite people in the world. The darkness was similar enough to the cave to be disconcerting, but the soothing sound of the enormous heart and lungs above him reminded him of where he was and he was slowly calming back down to normal. He slid to the side slightly as he felt Grian shifting in the nest. It always amazed him how every small movement the avian made was so apparent to him in here. Truly there was no way to be closer or more connected with his friend, and he cherished it every time he was invited in.
Running a hand along the walls, Scar frowned as he felt the tension under his fingers. He hadn’t noticed it before, and now that he was looking for it, the heart beat above him was picking up pace as well. Grian must have been working himself back up, but why? Was something happening outside? He couldn’t hear anything, and Grian wasn’t moving to protect the nest like he would have if there were some sort of intruder, so what could be wrong?
Unless there was no outside threat? Grian was working himself into a panic, but Scar couldn’t tell why. He was glad for his position all over again, as the avian was incredibly closed off about any serious discomfort or fear he was feeling, and he knew that had he not been literally sitting an inch from his beating heart, he would never have known there was anything wrong.
Well he knew now. As far as he was aware, there wasn’t an outside source of danger, which meant that the most likely cause of this was an adrenaline drop sending the avian’s finicky brain into a downward spiral, and he was quickly working himself back into a panic. Luckily, he and Mumbo had become something like experts at bringing Grian down from this kind of state over the past few years, and he was certain he could help his friend through this.
“Hey Grian, you know what I’ve been thinking?”
Grian startled a bit out of his reverie, placing a hand over his chest to acknowledge Scar. “Hmmm?”
“We never would have been in that situation if we’d had one of my patented good luck crystals on us.”
“Crystals? You mean those chunks of glass you were selling back in Season Seven?”
“Why yes my good sir!” Scar made an enthusiastic flourish with his arms, draping out the sleeves of an imaginary wizard’s robe with a practiced gesture. He ignored that his only companion was unable to see it, after all, a good showman doesn’t need any audience but himself. “One need never fear the terrors of the night with the power of good luck on your side!”
Grian laughed, jostling Scar with the sudden shaking of his diaphragm, and the tiny grinned at the success of his plan to cheer his friend out of that dour mood.
“But Scar, you’re not a wizard anymore! Wouldn’t the ‘crystals’ have lost their power by now?” Scar could practically hear the patronizing air quotes in that statement, but simply moved past it like the mature and gracious person that he was.
He pouted at the walls around him, playing up his disgruntlement so that the avian could feel it in his movements, “Of course they wouldn’t! Such powerful magic would never fade, especially from such a well manufactured and reasonably priced crystal!” He nodded decisively in the face of more laughter. “But of course, thanks to a certain Pesky Bird throwing a portion of my inventory into the Void, as well as some… shipping complications,” He winced at the memory of the full shulker box of shattered glass that he had had to throw away, unwilling to even open it and risk a mountain of glass shards spilling out “We no longer have such items for sale.”
Grian was caught in a full blown fit of laughter by now, no doubt remembering the same incident that Scar himself was. He was doubled over, arms wrapped around his stomach and full-bellied chuckles shaking his frame. Scar, more cramped but not uncomfortable, smiled at the other man’s reaction, and resisted the urge to tickle him from the inside. That much movement without a distraction would only send him spiraling into his instincts, and he wasn’t quite done with their current conversation.
“Instead! You may peruse the many and varied hats that Swaggon Inc. has to offer! Each one a powerful mob deterrent, and every one more fashionable than the last! Truly the Swaggon employs only the most powerful and reputable methods of hat-based mob protection, and no hermit should be caught going into a cave without one. That was our true folly Grian, We were going in there like knights without armor, like turtles without shells, like Disney without lawyers! Completely unprotected, shame on us.” Scar nodded decisively like he had just sealed an argument.
A hand pressed in on him, and he switched his spot over to lean against it, taking comfort in the acknowledgement. The laughter had trickled off, but when Grian spoke again, the tone in his voice was much lighter, and Scar knew that his silly nonsense argument had done the trick in cheering up his friend.
Grian chuckled again, beginning to massage into the spot where he could feel Scar’s small form pressing into his hand. He felt the tiny briefly press against him deliberately, returning the acknowledgement, before he relaxed against the wall of his crop and laid down, trusting Grian entirely to take care of him. The thought made the avian’s brain a bit fuzzy but he got his instincts under control quickly, determined to be present and aware for as long as he could.
“But Scar, I already have the conductor’s hat from Swaggon Inc., and I honestly don’t think it’s ever warded off a single mob. In fact, I might have died more while I was wearing it.”
“Well of course it hasn’t!” Scar let his salesman’s smirk take over his face even as he laid down further and relaxed into the heat “All Swaggon creations are special and unique, each with their own purpose and fail- I mean, flair! If you haven’t yet found a hat that suits your needs, all you need to do is buy another hat!”
“Oh, buying more hats is the solution here, is it?”
“Indubitably my good sir!”
The pair chuckled softly as the conversation petered out, both content to sit in comfortable silence for the moment and just bask in each other’s presence. Grian smiled softly to himself, still rubbing at his crop in a soothing motion. He knew Scar had been cheering him up on purpose, and he truly appreciated the lengths his friends always seemed willing to go to for him. His eyes began to dilate as he basked in the love he had for each of his flock mates and the feeling of Scar being so close and protected inside of him. A quiet purr began to trickle out of his syrinx, mimicking the sound of a happy Jellie as his instincts began to take over. He simply relaxed into the nest and let them guide him into a fuzzy haze.
Scar ran a hand along the slimy walls, hearing the contented purring increase in volume, and giggled at the thought of how dilated the avian’s eyes must be. He laid down fully and relaxed into the soothing heat of the crop. He hadn’t yet told Grian, but the softness and comfortable warmth was incredibly soothing for his legs, and sometimes on bad days, he wanted nothing more than to return to this soothing darkness. Today he was feeling alright, but the heat soothed the ever present ache in his legs after the amount of exertion and adrenaline he had been through today, and he was thankful for the relief. The darkness was just so soothing, and Grian was such a good friend, surely he wouldn’t mind if Scar closed his eyes, just for a little bit…
Grian wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but it had surely been at least an hour before he heard the sound of rockets guiding someone to his nest. He immediately puffed out his feathers, dangerous claws out of their usual sheaths, and his eyes reduced to slits as he prepared to maul the intruder in defense of his nest.
“Griaaann! Are you in here?” The avian could barely register the new voice beyond the fact that another member of his flock had shown up, and he immediately relaxed. His feathers fell back into place, claws returned to harmless fingers and nails, and his eyes dilated back to enormous circles alight with joy. Flock! More Flock! Grian increased his volume, syrinx vibrating in a loud purr as he beckoned her into the nest with a silly grin.
“Grian? I can hear you in there, did you take my spare blankets agai-” Gem cut herself off as she rounded the corner into the nest room, a look of startlement falling into an awed grin as she observed the gooey pile of avian collapsed in his nest. It was the big one, the one meant to expand enough for the entire flock, and he was currently burrowed into one corner, mimicking Jellie’s purrs in an unmistakable invitation. “Awww, hey there birb! You want a cuddle?” The purring got markedly louder. “Yep, that’s a cuddly bird right there. I think it's been too long since we all had a sleepover don't you? I’ll see if the others can get over here, hold on while I text Skizz to bring some of his blankets over.”
She settled into the warm nest beside Grian, and something in her melted as he immediately turned to give her access to his wings, wordlessly asking for her help preening them. She knew that it was a very important bonding activity for avians, and as much as she joked about them being like siblings, it still made something in her warm to see that he trusted her so much.
As she ran her fingers through the long feathers, carefully straightening each one, she kept an eye on her communicator. It lit up periodically with responses from the rest of the Magic Mountain crew, each one enthusiastically agreeing to the sleepover and agreeing to bring over more nesting material for their resident bird boy. After a few minutes everyone had responded in the affirmative except for Scar, who had only sent a winky face emoji to the group chat, a far cry from his usual enthusiastic response to the offer of cuddles and flock time. She frowned in confusion, and sent him a question mark in their private chat.
Grian curled further in on himself and began humming contentedly as her communicator dinged once more. Scar had sent her a selfie of him leaning against an obviously organic wall, stroking across it with one hand and a big smile on his face. Gem looked over at where Grian was still laying in the nest, curled into himself with his recently preened wings around his shoulders, and crawled awkwardly over his legs to face his front. From there she could see his massively dilated eyes and goofy grin as she laid her hand over his chest, where she knew his crop to be located. Gem pressed in gently, feeling the tiniest indentations of pressure against her finger appear in a responding rub. She smiled and went to press in again, but made the mistake of getting too close to the nesting bird.
Her world was a bright blur of red and yellow for a few seconds as she was quickly manhandled into a new position, and before she knew it she was tucked into a cocoon of colorful feathers. An arm wrapped around her stomach tucking her into the wing cupped protectively around her shoulders. The feathers shielded her from the dim light of the room, and between that and the warmth and comfort of the nest, she was nearly tempted to drop off immediately, until the whine of rockets alerted them to more arrivals. The wing went momentarily tense, hiding her even further from view, until the echo of footstemps finally reached the nest room and it fully relaxed from around her.
In the doorway stood Skizz, laden with blankets and a few of his signature torn suit jackets, looking absolutely thrilled to be joining the nest pile. He hurried into the room, but stopped at the edge of the nest, not entirely sure whether he was allowed in without an invite. This was solved seconds later when a colorful wing stretched towards him, beckoning him closer, and he enthusiastically stepped over the lip of the nest, walking carefully over to where the other two hermits were cuddled up.
“Hey G!, ‘Sup Gem! You guys are looking awfully cozy over there.” Skizz sat back on his heels as he finally reached the back of the nest, awww-ing over his younger friends looking so comfy. A warm feeling spread in his chest as Grian grabbed the blankets with his scent on them, briefly releasing Gem to better integrate them into the walls of the nest. He efficiently rebuilt the structure, confidently weaving everything together in a manner that was both comfortable and stable, and Skizz could only sit in awe once again at the wonderful things his builder friends could create. He said as much to the pair, and was treated to a happy look from Gem for only a moment before he was blinded by feathers. “Whoa! Careful G!” He too was efficiently manhandled into place by the surprisingly strong builder, tucked firmly against the wall of the nest, in a slight divot that seemed specifically made for him. Before he could even register this fully, a strong wing was draped against his side, and he instinctively wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the avian trying to cuddle into him.
From the other side of the wing, once again tucked into Grian’s side, Gem giggled at his stunned face. “Yeah, he can get really pushy when it comes to arranging his flock. Just go with it, it always turns out really comfy in the end.”
Skizz recovered himself, pushing a hand through the iridescent hair of the avian who had once again returned to purring loudly, and laughed. “Dang G, where’ve you been hiding those guns buddy?” He playfully tousled the hair under his palm and was rewarded with a big grin and heavily dilated eyes from the avian. Skizz could admit, the nest was more comfortable than any bed he’d ever been in, and having some of his flock here, literally wrapped in his arms, was starting to satisfy some of his own protective angelic instincts. He may not have wings to wrap his flockmates in like Grian did, but his arms were plenty big enough to scoop them up and hold them tight, and that’s exactly what he did. He could feel his own eyes start to dilate and let himself sink into that fuzzy, half-aware state that indicated that his instincts were in full force.
They laid there for a while, just sitting in that half aware state of contentment, until another rocket sounded outside the room, and another presence approached the nest. This time Grian didn’t even bother to bristle his feathers and Skizz’s aura visibly brightened as he sensed his best friend approaching. The demon entered the room with a low chuckle, not willing to break the calm atmosphere as he approached the nest. Like Skizz, he paused momentarily at the boundary before stepping into the cup of the nest proper. Impulse had long been integrated into the group nest, and quickly moved into position, finding a spot behind Grian’s other wing with his arm stretched across the avian’s shoulders on top of Skizz’s. The cuddled up hermits sighed in happiness at the added warmth that the demon added to the pile, as if they had snuggled up to a living furnace. Impulse grinned at this response, but fought not to sink into his instincts as he opened his balled up hand, revealing a tiny Mumbo nearly sleeping in the center of his palm, his growth potion having worn off hours ago. He carefully poked the tiny awake with his thumb, rousing him from a gentle doze.
“Hey buddy, we made it.” He murmured to the drowsy tiny, still processing his surroundings in the dim light. The little redstoner let out a huge yawn, rolling onto all fours in Impulse’s palm and attempting to stand up, before thinking better of it and sitting back down.
“Hmmm, yeah seems like we’re almost all here, huh? Where’s Scar, is he joining us?” The demon checked the little zookeeper’s usual place on Grian’s chest before looking to the others for answers when he wasn’t there.
“Scar’s here, Grian’s just got him tucked away for the moment, don’t you big bird?” Gem placed her hand back over Grian’s crop where Scar was almost definitely trying to sleep if the annoyed pushing against her fingers was any indication. “If you want to join him Mumbo, I’m sure Grian would be more than happy to have you.”
At the implication that he might get to keep more of his flock so closely Grian turned enormous eyes onto his best friend, a questioning croon interrupting the constant background noise of content purring. Mumbo considered it for a long moment before deciding to take them up on the offer. Even with all this company, without his heated blanket draped over him in his smaller form the night air would get cold, and he was admittedly tempted by the idea of being so close to his flockmates.
The demon nodded his assent, and shuffled slightly out of place to better reach around the wing draped over him. He carefully deposited the tiny into his avian friend’s waiting hands, chuckling as they quickly cupped him and brought him closer for inspection. Grian rubbed his cheek along Mumbo’s tiny form, much to the mustached man’s dismay, and crooned loudly in delight at being given another member of his flock.
“Alright alright that’s quite enough of that! Let me in you big sap!” Mumbo laughed, trying to push the giant face out of his personal space. A warm tongue slid up the side of his body in retaliation, sticking his normally slicked back hair nearly vertical with the thick slime. “Ugh!”
The rest of the hermits giggled at his predicament, and he took a monet to glare at them before the mouth in front of him opened, and he was carefully lifted over the sharp white teeth onto the warm tongue beyond. The slick muscle cupped downward to accept him, then surged upwards to press him against the roof of the mouth, almost as if the avian was still trying to cuddle him even now. He grunted and pushed against the hard palate, only succeeding in coating his hands and arms in saliva before they slipped and he was once more pressed tightly between a tongue and a hard place. Luckily, that seemed to give Grian the hint he needed, and he got on with the process of covering the tiny in saliva, licking him thoroughly to ensure a smooth ride down to his crop.
After a moment of wet and confusing frenzy, Mumbo was thoroughly drenched and the tongue suddenly backed off, falling into stillness below him. A questioning hum echoed up from the throat beyond, and the entire chamber tilted slightly, asking if he was ready. Mumbo softly rubbed the wet muscle below him before sharply tapping on it twice in an affirmative signal. In response, the chamber tilted to gently slide him into the waiting throat beyond.
The muscular walls hugged him tightly as he slowly fell below the avian’s calm heart and felt the movement of his huge lungs only inches away. It once again struck him how precious this was, how incredible it was to trust someone to be so close to you that they could feel your very heart pounding against their skin, protected only by thin membranes and muscle.
By the time he reached the chamber below, Mumbo was thoroughly relaxed and ready to take a well deserved sleep inside his friend. The brief drop woke him up slightly, but not enough to notice the chamber’s other occupant, who awoke with a startled shout as the other tiny landed almost directly on top of him.
Scar grumbled as he was jolted out of his cozy state by the a lanky form dropping directly on top of him. He wasn’t impressed by the lack of warning, and smacked the nearest wall in retaliation, but when that only resulted in louder purring, he gave up on retribution and grabbed Mumbo’s arm to pull him over.
“Scar?” The taller man was confused, but didn’t protest his action, willingly allowing his long limbs to be arranged into the best position for optimal snuggles.
“Shhhh, no talking, it’s sleepy time.” Scar mumbled as he collapsed into the waiting arms of his friend. The redstoner obligingly tucked the zookeeper’s head under his chin and relaxed, listening to Scar’s breathing evening out into the easy rhythm of sleep once more.
“Hmmm if you say so…” He trailed off as sleep claimed him as well. He gave one final rub to the warm walls of Grian’s crop before his eyelids lost their fight with gravity and he succumbed to the warmth and comfort around him.
Gem smiled as she felt the activity still under her hand and heard Grian’s rumbling pick up in response. He was no longer just imitating a happy cat, but all manner of pleased animal noises, as if he couldn’t restrict himself to just one expression of joy anymore. He had his flock close by and the nest was safe, and best of all, two of his most vulnerable flock mates felt safe enough inside him to fall asleep. His instincts couldn’t have been more satisfied.
“You did a good job, big bird. Look at you all strong and safe for your flock. You’ve done so well.” Gem grinned as Grian beamed at the praise, folding his wing further around her to pull her closer. “Here let’s take a selfie for Joel, we can make him jealous that he missed nest time.”
Impulse pulled out his phone and obligingly snapped a picture of them all cuddled up in the nest, arms and legs and wings all tangled together in a warm pile. He grinned and sent it to the group chat, which dinged on all of their comms simultaneously. Joel almost immediately sent back a selfie of himself in a similar situation, curled up with his wife and a few of their friends with Jimmy resting on top of his chest. The demon grinned as he pinned it with a thumbs up, sending their selfie to the larger Hermit chat before tucking his com away for the night. He shuffled closer to the group, wrapping a sturdy arm around the builder’s torso with Gem’s, while the other was tangled with his best friend’s arm across the avian’s back. His own instincts were glowing with contentment at having his pack so close at hand, warmed by his fire and safe from any harm. The contentment made his eyes begin to drift shut and he could see he wasn’t the only one.
Grian was slightly more coherent at this point, but he was only trading the instinct driven haze for a sleepy one. His flock was close, his friends were safe, and all was right with the world. He relaxed and let the even breathing surrounding him guide him to sleep.
Have you ever drawn Tango before? I'd love to see him in your art style as he's my favorite guy! /no pressure
Maybe with a tiny Jimmy?
I love the concept that Tango (in my headcanon) is a rather short guy but in comparison to tiny Jimmy he is feeling tall for once lol
In my head I can totally see him enjoying having just his little buddy with him as he works on some redstone. Carrying him around on his head or in a breast pocket (are they called that? Shirt pocket? English isn't my first language shdjsaka) and Jimmy getting a bit huffy if he doesn't take enough breaks.
Sorry if this got a bit rambly, I just found your blog and I didn't know mcyt even had a community like this I'm still super super new to this. Anyway, love your Blog and gonna browse for a bit now! Thank you for making such wonderful art
I in fact have drawn tango :) many times (he is one of my favorite guys too) but no reason I can't draw him again
I am truly a sucker for ranchers they have my heart, especially with tiny jimmy-- peak dynamic they are so pure together
This pupper works for the foundation as a member of the security team; they dont let him leave the facility just like, whenever, since he could be encouraged to make a run for it if left unsupervised (he wouldnt, all his friends are in there and he likes his job) he can turn into a really big wolf at will except on full moons where he follows werewolf logic and has to spend the whole night holed up in his room or in a containment space because he gets a bit weird and stops following directions. Sometimes he hangs out with one of the other hermits and just naps until the night is over. Hes very friendly with them even if hes technically supposed to be guarding the space and not cozying up with anomalies.
Ive decided his wolf uniform doubles as a saddle and people can ride around on him during field work (or just for fun;hes very soft; everyone loves him)
ok so i dont have designs for everyone yet and i dont really know who should be scientists vs not but i do know that etho is a bug because he deserves it.
boi needs four arms and buggy hands and too many eyes and a weird sort of carapace because hes a freak and deserves to be visually just as fucked up/affectionate
i think he and bdubs share an enclosure because they are more cooperative when around eachother and the facility likes that it doesn't have to waste space on an extra container. they're pretty closely monitored tho, just in case, although its generally accepted that etho would never hurt his cellmate.
although, there have been a few incidents where bdubs has mysteriously disappeared from containment despite none of the security being tampered with- he always seems to vanish just when no one is watching the cameras, but by the time a security team is alerted and reaches the cell, bdubs is right back where they left him. no one can figure out how he keeps vanishing, and the tapes cant find anything strange either. //although the moss thing is suspiciously more... damp.. when he reappears//
am i implying something? maybe/// you have no proof tho-
Ao3 Link
Word Count: 1.1k
Character(s): Wels, Hypno
Summary: Wels and Hypno had decided to go on an adventure together, just exploring. However, this stretch of mountains was larger than they thought, and Hypno isn’t build for cold weather
Check tags for more information
“Are we there yet?” Hypno asked, his small, fragile wings fluttering behind him to keep him off the ground.
“Not yet,” Wels replied, glancing down at the little bee hybrid as he shivered in the cold. The sun was shining down on them, but the snow coating the surrounding landscape was brighter, and Wels had to squint if he wanted to look further than a few paces ahead of himself.
"Really?" Hypno complained, a small pout crossing his face as he hugged himself, his bare hands digging into his heavy jacket. “But... it's so cold... we’ve been walking for so long...”
“You haven't even been walking,” Wels pointed out, pulling his shoulders up to his ears as slight shivers ran through his body. He pressed his hands over his ears in an attempt to warm them up, but now that his hands were away from his body, they were getting colder, and his ears weren’t much warmer than before.
“Yeah, but... I can’t touch the ground,” Hypno muttered, and Wels' expression softened as he watched Hypno's body trembling in the cold. Wels pulled his hands back against his body, feeling them getting even colder against his freezing armor.
“Fair point,” Wels answered, keeping a close eye on Hypno as the shivering only got worse. There was only so much his small body could handle, not to mention that neither of them were even close to being dressed for the weather. It wasn’t like they had planned to walk through the snow, but they couldn’t find a way through the mountains.
"Cold..." Hypno murmured, slowly sinking towards the ground as his wings fluttered, attempting to lift him back up into the air. Wels' eyes widened, and he reached out, taking Hypno in his hands, making sure to be gentle. Hypno didn’t protest, instead settling into his grip with a soft, incomprehensible murmur. Wels stopped walking for a moment as he focused on the still-shivering form in his cupped palms.
Hypno curled up in his hands, shivers wracking his body violently. His wings settled, and when Wels took a closer look at them, he saw they were slightly off color, and seemed more veiny than they were before?
The realization hit him like a brick wall a moment later. There was ice forming over his wings.
Wels let out a low hiss, and he picked up his pace, pulling Hypno closer to his body. Hypno let out a grumble of complaint as Wels' hand closed around him, and Wels quickly loosened his grip, worry that he had accidentally hurt the other shooting through him.
“Are you okay?!” He asked hurriedly, uncurling his hands and looking down at Hypno.
“Cold,” Hypno replied tiredly, before mumbling something Wels couldn't hear under his breath. The response wasn't any different from what Wels had gotten just before, but he was panicking now. If Hypno stayed in the cold any longer, his wings could be damaged - or worse, and Wels couldn't warm him up.
“Sorry for taking the scenic route,” Wels apologized weakly. It was his fault that they hadn’t brought their elytra - he wanted to spend a little time adventuring with Hypno.
“Mm?” Hypno mumbled, an eye cracking open to look up at Wels. “Tired,” he commented after a moment, his eyes closing again. No, no, damnit! He wasn't this weak five minutes ago, he went downhill so fast-
Calm down. You're the only one who can help him right now, Wels reminded himself, taking a deep breath. There was still one option he hadn't tried.
Wels murmured a soft, “Sorry,” before he placed Hypno gently in his mouth. He could hear Hypno make a soft, confused sound, but Wels wasted no more time in swallowing Hypno. Wels was tense as he felt Hypno slip down his throat, but he relaxed slightly when he felt Hypno's weight settle just under the left side of his ribcage. He hadn't messed up. Hypno was fine. Wels took in another slow breath, and started walking again, taking extra care of where he stepped as the ground started to slope down beneath his feet.
Hypno had stopped protesting fairly quickly, which made Wels' life much easier; he was more able to focus on where he was going.
Wels wasn't sure how far he walked, but he made his way to a spot where the snow had melted, and in another couple hundred metres, he stumbled into a sparse forest. Beams of sunlight shone through the leaves, patterning the ground with small spots. Wels let out a sigh of relief, and, on now-shaky legs, he found a large tree and collapsed at the base. His armor pressed into his back, his clothes thankfully shielding him from the freezing metal, but the ridges along it were uncomfortable. He reached up to his ears and shivered as he ran his fingers along the slightly pointed tips. They were numb; he just had to hope that he hadn't gotten frostbite.
Wels felt a light stirring from inside him - probably because he had sat down.
“Sorry,” he apologized softly, crossing his arms over his midsection, but he was careful to not press against Hypno resting in his brood pouch.
Wels could've sworn that he heard a soft mumble of "warm,” from Hypno, but he definitely felt a pair of hands press against the wall of his pouch, which caused Wels to let out a soft sound of surprise.
“Warm, hm?" Wels asked, "You feeling okay?"
“M-hm. Warm,” Hypno repeated, louder and more insistently.
Wels felt the hands press harder into him, and he let out a quiet squeak, “What are you doing?”
“Feels nice,” Hypno answered simply, and Wels could feel him starting to work his fingers into the walls of his pouch, causing Wels to let out a slightly flustered noise. “You okay?" Hypno asked when Wels didn't say anything more, too caught off-guard at the feeling to form words.
“Tired. Still cold, but okay,” Wels answered after a moment, biting his lip as he felt Hypno pressing his hands into him a little harder as he kneaded the wall closest to him, but an involuntary purr still escaped him. Hypno must've heard it, because he started pressing even more firmly. God, that felt good.
“Hypno! You- ugh…” Wels protested weakly, but he curled up at the base of the tree, the side of his helmeted head resting against the bark, letting low, contented purrs escape him as Hypno basically massaged his insides. Wels wanted to say something more, but his mind was too fuzzy to form the words, so he let his mind drift as he sat there, the feeling of the calming rubbing of Hypno’s hands fillling him. Hypno was alright, they were warm and safe.
You have your normal tw for soft, safe vore/extreme cuddling.
Grian had left the island with Tango on a raft he’d been building. It wasn't much, but he could sit stand, and walk in a circle on it. The raft itself was mer-powered, for the most part at least.
Mer-powered, as in it was mostly pulled around by the mers, but it still gave Grian the freedom of not being shoved in the muscle prison any time he wanted to leave the island.
The raft was very simple considering there was no sail and that Grian never learned how to use one. He didn’t want to be blown off to sea, hence the lack. It was mostly logs and sticks tied together giving Grian enough space to walk around a little, and to lay on.
This was a second run of it, Grian wanted to test it before the storm came in. So it was stripped bare, nothing comfortable besides a small perch the avian could sit on and keep an eye out.
Tango was with him, as mentioned. Right now the eel was the Mer power as the rope was a comfortable length for him.
Everyone knew Scar wanted to do it, but he was a bit big, yet Grian also feared the mer would just swallow him into his crop when away from the others.
The avian knew tango enough that he trusted the mer wouldn't store him without good reason.
Grian reached into the water and stroked the eel’s back, it was weird, mucus coated under his hands made sense, being an eel they hid in rock crevices the mucus protected their skin from infections and cuts.
The mer was watching him, likely a bit confused by the petting, but he definitely liked it.
Grian smiled, keeping it up. He looked up at the clouds, still far enough away, only ever able to make out the rain sheet yet.
The rain didn't help his already messed-up wings. Although waterproof, winds could be horrible, knocking him around.
They'd throw the boat around just as much.
That's part of the reason why Grian didn't want to make a sail yet.
He'd have to eventually. He knew that the mers might not always be around, and if he had to go offshore himself, it was the safest option.
At least until his wings recovered.
That might not happen for a few years though.
Until then it was, for the most part, random kidnappings and crops he'd be put in.
Thankfully it seemed Impulse was keeping an eye out for him.
Ironically for his name, he seemed the least impulsive of the bunch.
False told Grian Scar's energy was from hormones, causing his- impulsive crop storing.
Oh yeah, she said something about those-, they aren't crops, baby pouches, or something.
Why would a baby pouch be internal, though?
He'd need to ask False to translate someone for him so he could ask about it.
He looked down at the eel mer again watching his tail go side to side, the spots creating a hypnotic movement.
Grian leaned closer to it. If he were any normal bird, he might have tried something stupid, thinking it was a small school of fish.
I wonder if that was just normal avian instincts or his fish-hunting instincts.
The eel must have seen him staring, honestly, grian didn't even realize Tango had stopped the boat till he heard a teasing “Hmm?”
Grian blinked a couple of times before looking up at the toothy, playful smile.
Grian turned away, face red with embarrassment.
“I know I'm hot but-.”
Grian splashed, making the mer laugh.
“Your tail h- messed with my brain.”
“You wanna feel it?”
“Shut!” Grian said, embarrassed.
Tango thankfully changed the subject. “Anyways, topic change, but I know with this storm you likely won't get anything to eat, so- Do you want me to go down and get something?”
Grian paused. “I -er that- it sounds nice.”
Tango smiled. “Alright, ‘be back in a bit, then.” Grian watched as the yellow tail vanished down into the dark water.
The avian sighed, he looked back at the clouds, he had maybe half an hour before it hit him.
That thought changed quickly as he could feel the waves rocking a bit, he also just realized he might have been moving, was it waves? Maybe a current?
He stuck his hands in the water, he could feel the pull, yeah a current, Tango was likely using it to swim faster, then didn’t think about Grian’s raft.
So now he was being dragged towards the storm, giving him maybe 5-10 minutes less time before the storm would be on him.
That wasn’t great.
What made it worse was that when Tango would be back up, he’d likely be unable to find Grian, the mer was smart, but how long would it take him to realize Grian was down current? Would he swim back to the other mers then realize?
Would something else find him?
Grian heard murmurs of the two sharks, Doc and Ren, who had been stalking the island, looking for him, not sure if that was the old one or the one he was at currently.
Maybe he could convince them, but when it comes to the waves, yeah, he wouldn’t be able to talk them out of killing him.
The avian let out distressed peeps.
Wait, maybe he could try and get to tango, water did carry noise a lot better, but he’d be shocked still if Tango surfaced.
“TANGOOOOO!” Grian yelled.
He paused, he knew if the mer heard him he wouldn’t be coming up yet but just to make sure. “TANGO HELP I THINK I’M CAUGHT IN A CURRENT!”
After a couple of minutes nothing, the avian got nervous, but not surprised.
And something worse is he made out the fin of a shark, and something perhaps pale.
Please don’t be, please don’t-
He saw a head and surface, but it didn’t seem to have seen him yet, it was the smaller shark. He was looking around, maybe for his pal, he seemed slightly nervous.
In about 30 seconds, he spotted Grian, the perking of the dogfish’s ear fins being obvious.
He went under some and started towards Grian. The kingfisher himself let out loud panicked noises, the shark becoming invisible under the darkness of incoming cloud cover.
He could make out the paleness just before the shark broke the surface, fingers sitting on Grian’s raft, the mer seemed a lot less nervous now.
Grian on the other hand was not, his feathers came up, his trimmed wings too, poofing out as he tried to look bigger.
“Awww aren’t you cuteee.” Ren teased
“Leave me alone.” Grian, well he wasn’t sure if he was begging, or commanding, what he did though was his voice was shaky.
The shark seemed confused. “I dunno about that bud, I don’t think you’ll survive this storm, it’s not pretty.”
Maybe the mer didn’t remember him, he thought he’d be angry.
The shark's expression seemed to shift as he could make out Grian’s body shaking.
“Ah, I-.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Alright, look, I’m guessing you don’t like us chasing you around, but I’d rather you not die in the storm.” He definitely remembered.
“I- I have a mer friend, H-he's near, h-he’ll be back for me soon.”
“You mean Scar?”
Grian almost said no, but then nodded yes, Scar was big, they might not test it.
“Riiiiight, your expression says it all.” Ren said sarcastically, making Grian swallow and shrink some, walking backward on the raft.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be harmed, not unless you do something stupid.”
“Please Don’t,” Grian begged, but he didn’t move, besides his shaking body, when Ren’s hands came up.
“Oh, bud.” Ren cooed softly, his finger Gently brushing Grian’s body. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise.”
The avian’s voice shook as nervous peeps slid out. Ren gently put a hand under Grian's feet and lifted him up.
The avian's breathing and heart sped up, when tens mouth opened he tried to go back but his wings bumped the mers hand making him freeze.
“Please don't eat me,” Grian begged one last time.
Ren paused, his open mouth closing into a frown. “I'm not gonna-.” Ren was cut off by something that threw himself at the shark mer.
Ren dropped Grian who let out a small gasp. Hands were quickly around Grian before he could comprehend anything. At first, the Avian squirmed thinking it was the bigger shark.
“Hey Grian, I got you, it's okay.”
That was Tango’s voice. Looking up the avian saw the eel over him, but the mer’s attention shifted to Ren as he recovered.
“Ow! Jeez man- what was that for?”
“For trying to grab our Grian.”
The avian smiled at that, their Grian, he liked the sound of it.
Ren sighed. “Well then careful with him, he was nearly caught in the storm, where were you?”
“Fishing, I wanted to make sure he ate, and something interesting, but I'll take him back, thanks.”
“I mean you can try.”
All 3 heads turned to Doc, and Grian let out a verbal gulp.
“I’d like my bird please.”
Grian started shaking again, but Tango pressed him to his, soaked, chest.
“No, he’s not yours.”
“He isn’t yours either.”
“He likes us, so I’d say yes, he is ours.”
Doc huffed and turned to the shaking bird, he met Grian’s eyes and the avian puffed up again.
The larger shark mer chuckled. “So cutee.”
Tango lowered his head towards Grian. “Hold on tight, okay?” The eel whispered before putting him on the perch. Grian did as told and felt a yank as Tango started swimming upstream, he could see how hard the mer’s body was fighting it, and the angry yells that came from the two- or well, more like just Doc.
Grian watched behind them carefully, Ren seemed to be trying to stop Doc but the larger dove under. “I- I think Doc’s chasing.”
Tango’s ears flicked, and he heard Grian. Looking at the direction the mer was heading he could see a lot of rocks that stuck up above the water. The mer was gonna try and lose the bigger mers in it probably.
Grian was yanked to the side, he yelped but held, barely. He looked back and saw a snarling Doc, upset he missed.
Tango still aimed sharply towards the rocks.
The larger shark mer must have seen as he tried to move and cut tango off.
He would have too if it wasn't for Ren.
The smaller shark mer stopped Doc, saying something not understandable to Grian.
It worked for a bit as just after Tango was in the area he could see the shark mer dive in, aiming at the two runners.
Once around a couple of rocks Tango surfaced. He did a finger over his lips, which Grian wouldn’t argue against, then took his hands up.
It was the trust signal they showed Grian a while back.
Grian’s breath held. He turned towards where he heard Doc’s angry shouting, then swiftly turned back and put his hands on Tango’s fingers.
The mer, much quicker than he’d ever been cupped his hands around Grian’s feet and back before shoving the avian in his mouth, nearly deepthroating him.
The kingfisher pulled his legs up, one foot grasping it gently around one of Tango’s teeth, the other trying to use the tongue to pull himself up quicker.
Tango swallowed, it was strong, crushing the avian, unlike all those from the other mers. Grian wasn’t fighting it, he’d rather be in Tango’s pouch than Doc’s stomach.
The eel let out weak coughs, and Grian could feel the walls shift, and push up a bit, but once fixed there was another swallow.
The coughing came again, a hand came up and scratched at Grian’s back.
What was? Oh, Grian’s wings, the feathers must be itchy.
The avian tucked them closer to his body, and the itching changed to a rubbing, thanking Grian silently, before another swallow.
The body shifted to a bit of a stiffer area, being moved mostly out of Tango’s throat, and under his chest. The muscles around him moved less from the breathing, the sound of the mer’s heartbeat was there, not loud, but he could make out the distinct sound.
He remembered it from Impulse. This was a bit louder, though, and a lot quicker, too. It made sense, as the mer was likely stressed.
The avian moved a shaky arm out in front of him, putting a hand gently against the throat walls he rubbed a bit.
Tango’s hand, or what he thinks it was, gently pressed in on him. “I’m okay,” Grian said softly.
The mer responded with another swallow, another after a bit, Grian could feel it getting tighter, and after a 3rd swallow, even more.
The avian squirmed a bit, but then with a 4th push, he gasped and pushed into a slightly more open area, tango’s pouch.
Slightly became very cramped. Grian’s hands pushed at opposite walls, it felt more compressed than Tango’s throat, and he hated it.
One thing he could tell is that, when pushing at the muscles, they were tense, very tense, likely the reason Grian felt so cramped.
The avian tried pushing more but his hands just slipped and got stuck.
The kingfisher squirmed, he hated the tight feeling, he hated it so much, he wanted out, he
wanted out-
“Stop!” Tango hissed. Grian’s thoughts and body stilled.
It felt like the world paused
It felt so still
Everything unmoving
For just so long nothing
Not a word, not a shift in the muscles, the avian could barely recognize his own body moving from breathing.
It took Grian so long to realize Tango’s chest wasn’t even moving much, if at all from breathing.
~~ pov change woooooo ~~
Tango put his hands up, asking Grian silently if he trusted him. The avian looked nervous but after hearing some yelling he nearly shoved himself into tango’s head when leaning over and accepting.
Tango picked up Grian’s feet in his hand and put the avian hybrid’s head in his mouth. Grian tasted amazing, but they didn’t have the time for that.
The eel mer pushed the avian in even more, as far as he could before he needed to swallow. He didn’t at first, as he felt the king Grian’s feet pull up, but after a bit understood Grian was just attempting to pull himself in.
So Tango swallowed, It was a strong swallow, something he could feel the avian didn’t enjoy, but Grian didn’t fight, so Tango went again.
He coughed, as quietly as he could, as the avian’s feathers brushed up against his throat. Tango didn’t think that his feathers would be so itchy, it was odd, considering how soft they felt in his hands.
He forced another swallow, more coughing, but then more swallowing. Grian was doing well, but Tango hadn’t noticed they weren’t struggling until the avian got near his brood pouch entrance, it was tighter there so he supposed that made sense.
He swallowed Grian into his pouch. He could feel the avian, every part of him, he could make out his wings, his heart beating ever so swiftly, the small patch of warmth as a breath escaped Grian. And hands pushing out, at first he thought it was Grian trying to rub, maybe get comfy
, but it never lessened, and maybe got worse, using stronger pushes.
Tango hissed at the avian, and Grian stopped, but Tango had to go, he left the raft, the avian could rebuild another, and it would just give him away.
The Eel mer used the rocks as a way to hide, soon hearing Doc finding the raft and breaking it.
He was glad he left it now. The thing is he has to try and swim back without being spotted. The major problem was he was slow compared to the shark's more sleek build, his best chance was to hope a mer from the group saw the storm and came after them.
Once noticing that Doc was distracted again he went for it.
He had gotten halfway to another rock when he turned his head and saw Ren.
The smaller shark mer stayed quiet but was still staring.
“What are you looking at? Ohhh there he iss.”
Tango ‘dashed’ well not really, as his back was slammed into a rock making him let out a gasp of breath.
“Where is he?” Doc growled.
Tango panted, looking the large shark mer in the eyes. ‘Where you can’t reach him.”
“Let me have him.”
“Why?” Tango asked seeming defensive now. “Why do you need him so bad? What has he DONE to you that you feel the need to scare the living daylights out of him every damn second.”
Doc didn’t have a response for a little.
“He spends hours staring at the ocean terrified, he thinks you’ll just show up and eat him!”
“I’m not going to eat him.”
“He doesn't know that!” He felt Grian shivering, every part of the avian’s body was shaking. Tango put a hand on his chest letting the avian know he was there.
“I told him so, back when we first met, besides, he bested me once-.”
“So this is all a dumb challenge to you? He’s so terrified, god he didn’t even understand us for so long, do you know how long it took Scar to calm him down the first time he did that? He only managed to swallow him because he didn’t eat for 3 days beforehand!”
Doc stayed silent, but he looked pretty pissed.
Tango opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. He ended up saying nothing, not wanting to anger Doc more.
The hand pressed harder and he gasped, his own hands pulling at Docs.
“Then why is he in you?”
“BECAUSE HE TRUSTS ME! He knows NOTHING about you, besides you ate the whole crew, and went after him! What is he supposed to think?”
Doc lessened his grip, Tango and the larger shark turned to Ren who was pulling Doc’s arm back.
“He was, he was scared of me too when I first saw him. He thought I was going to eat him then too, brute force won’t solve this one.”
Tango could feel Grian calm down some at that.
“Besides, the storm is coming, just let them go, it isn’t worth it right now.”
“But- I- he’s RIGHT here Ren, I can’t just let him go!”
“If you do anything to him or me, you’ll have a lot worse to deal with!” Tango well it was a threat, but also a truth.
Doc growled. “Or maybe I’ll just scare you into silence.” Tango felt his stomach compressing in on itself a little, not realizing the same was happening with his storge.
Grian squirmed a little.
“Aww he looks nervous now~.”
Tango growled, then he saw a flash of black and white before Doc and Ren were shoved, not far but Tango looked up and saw Gem.
Gem was Orca mer, one of the 3 that lived nearby the island, never really interacted with Grian though.
“Well well well! Look who’s here.” She said smiling threateningly, teeth showing purposefully.
Doc growled. “We just want the damn bird.”
“He’s not JUST a BIRD!” Tango growled.
The large shark growled again.
Gem turned to Tango, her gaze more neutral but still intimidating. Her arms came out, pulling the eel closer to his face.
When her mouth opened Doc dashed at them, but Joel, another Orca, came from out behind the rock and shoved harshly into Doc, earning a grunt.
Gem shoved Tango’s head and shoulders into her mouth. Tango could feel the taste buds against his tongue, the muscle moving a little with her breathing.
He knew she wouldn’t kill him, but Tango’s breathing stuttered.
He watched the tongue lower, showing off Gem’s throat for a bit before it came up for a swallow.
He could make out the sounds of arguing, mostly Doc shouting, but Joel shouting even louder, much more aggressively.
Once Tango’s belly was swallowed into the orca’s throat he looked back at his chest, thinking about Grian.
The avain had been very quiet, though the silence, and body movements spoke volumes.
Tango only now realized how nervous both himself and Grian had been.
“Grian?” he asked softly. The avian’s shaking lessened, but no verbal response. “G?” tango asked again, still no response, so maneuvering a hand, he pressed it to his pouch.
He could feel a lot of tense muscle, was it Grian or his own? He smushed or tried to smush his chest, but he realized it was likely his own.
Impulse’s words hit Tango like a brick. ‘They like their wing space. Without it avians feel trapped, weak.’ Those words were told to him by Impulse, the day he teased Grian, the first day they met.
Tango almost did the same thing as Doc that day.
No wonder Grian preferred Impulse over everyone, the mer left it up to Grian, never forcing it on him, not like Doc, or Scar would.
Tango wanted to throw up.
He heard Grian now- or well felt Grian, he was pushing gently, feeling trapped by the tense muscles.
The Eel got more nervous, wanting to calm Grian down.
“G-gem I uh- how- I need to calm down how-.”
“Tango- Tango.” She said softly, tongue brushing his tail. “Breathe, breathe, deep breaths, in 3 out 5.”
The smaller mer nodded. He took in a deep shaky break for 3 seconds, held for one, and then breathed out.
After 3 of these, his breathing became more normal,
after 10 Tango realized he couldn’t feel Grian as well,
after 15 the avian moved slowly, seeming to test the mer,
After 20 tango apologized. “G, I- I’m sorry, I’m sorry for before-, and even before that.”
He felt hands press on his pouch, rubbing it. Tango could feel his tenseness when Grian did that, but the avian’s petting helped.
“I’m sorry for Scaring you- like when we first really met-.” He was stopped as Gem swallowed.
“And uh, for yelling earlier-.”
Grian finally spoke, “It’s okay- we were both stressed out I could- really tell-.” Tango guessed his tense stomach told Grian, never mind the hiss Tango let out earlier.
“Do you have my raft?”
“No, I left it tied up to hide, but Doc destroyed it- sorry.”
“It’s fine, I have other things I want to try anyway.”
Tango rubbed at Grian, helping both the avian and himself, also because he had no idea what else to say.
Gem purred gently around them. “Grian- that name familiar.’ She hummed
“He's uh- he's the avian that we’ve been talking to on the island?”
“OHHHH! Hi! Nice to meet you finally, er- I wish it could have been better than this?”
Grian laughed. “It’s okay, I uh, can I ask your name and uh species?”
“Names Gem, I’m one of the 3 in the pod that has territory around your island.”
“Wait I’ve had Orca mers near my island this whole time?”
Gem laughed this time. “Has no one told you?”
Grian “N-no- not really? I suppose I never left the island though, at least not without being in someone, today was supposed to be like that, but uh-.”
Gem “That's fair, you guys might be in me till the storm passes though, is that alright?”
“I’m fine with that,” Tango said. “I-er Grian what do you want?”
“I’d un- I guess? I- I mean I’d-.” the avian went quiet, not wanting to sound commanding.
Tango rubbed at the avian. “What is it?”
“I’d like more wing space.” He said quietly.
Tango nodded and did his best to relax, but being in someone else's tight throat, he also pushed back at the eel, likely not helping Grian’s case.
“Gem can you- er, continue please?”
Gem hummed confused for a second. “Oh yeah!” She continued to swallow, Gem’s hand feeling his lump from the outside.
Gem was gentle yet effective. Tango’s biology made him easier to get down, being a bit of a slimy creature himself.
It wasn’t long till he was in the orca’s pouch, it was odd, Gem’s multi-colors, like on her tongue, seemed to carry down all her body. Tango could pretty much feel Grian’s relief as the space expanded.
What sucked for the avain though is it still was hugging him, but the kingfisher wasn’t complaining. It occurred to Tango that he could just have been nervous to say, Grian was nervous to ask before, but the fisher wasn’t tense, or fighting it, more relaxed.
“Would you be okay with some rubbing?”
“Me?” Gem asked.
“I- I meant Grian, but I could pet you too if you want.” Gem’s belly flushed with embarrassment.
“I-I yeah- please.”
“I uh- I guess?” Grian responded after the other two quieted down.
Tango took one hand to both of them, his tail curling around his chest, protective of the bird. Grian was still somewhat tense himself Tango could feel that as he rubbed. It was fair, the poor guy was scared he was about to get eaten, was in a smaller space, and still wasn’t totally used to mer’s swallowing him.
Grian himself started rubbing back as well after calming down enough for it.
“How are you feeling G?”
The avian stopped his rubbing. “Nervous- I- not because of you-.”
Tango chuckled. “It’s okay G, You’ve been through a lot in these what- last 15 or so minutes?”
Grian nodded, Tango could feel it. Soon after that, the avian was readjusting himself, the eel’s tail twitched happily at the feeling. The avian ended up lying on his belly, one arm was used to raise the roof a little, the other pushing the wall out a little.
The eel wasn’t sure when, be he had started purring, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was from when Grian was shifting around.
The avian’s hands did some mix of kneading and rubbing, Tango purred more, and his head moved to be laying on his tail. Poor Gem missed out on the petting, but the smaller mer could pretty much hear her teasing, smile.
“Don’t. Say. Anything.” He threatened Gem as if he could do anything.
“And if I do?”
Tango growled, she was right, there wasn’t much, butttttt… “No belly rubs for you then.”
Gem gasped. “Okay okay, I won't I won't.”
Tango “Aww, good girl.”
“Shush, I'll make you into sushi.”
“Not in front of Grian,” he said slightly seriously.
“Yeah, I’ll squeeze him out of you first, then turn you into sushi.”
“I’m about to get Geminislayed.”
“Rip,” Grian said jokingly making Tango burst out laughing. Gem joining him soon after
After the laughter died down there was some silence, mostly because everyone's lungs hurt.
“What’s your favorite fish?” Grian asked Gem. “Like to eat.”
“Ooooooo.” She hummed “Good question uhh, I mean- do sharks count? I like eating the predatory fish a lot, sharks being one of my faves.”
“Any shark in particular?”
“Not really, I’ve had uhh a couple of each, I can’t say I’ve had them in time to know what the difference is, I just like sharks.”
“Have you had whale? Like those whale bodies?”
“Oh yeah, I think it's kinda common, More so than most think. We only go for those who died on the shore, if we can help it, we get them back in if alive.”
“Oh wow.” Grian paused for a bit. “What's your option on Humans?”
“Oh uh, mean, annoying, but we ignore them, unlike the two sharks that attacked you. I think Doc was attacked by humans though, which is why they turned to eating the small boats of them that come through.”
“Oh, is that where that scar came from?”
“Yeah.”
The avian hummed, feeling bad likely for the mer.
Tango was a bit shocked by that, surprised Grian would feel bad for the thing hunting him down.
“Oh Gem, uh- question, can you drop me off at the reef- the one near the old human island?”
“Oh yeah sure, after the storm or now?”
‘Now please.”
“Can do.” She whistles something to her Pod before swimming off.
“How big is the pod?”
“3 strong, with surprisingly different personalities.”
“You say it like it's bad.”
“I didn’t mean it to be.”
Gem chuckled
“How does it work, being an orca mer.”
“Well, we have territories, but only against mer’s that eat the same diet. We, like Orcas, have separate diets. We have a pod that crosses territory with us, but their pod eats mostly fish.” She paused for a bit. “But our territory doesn't allow anyone with a similar diet to cross.”
“Orcas also eat seals, do you have a pod that does that?”
“No, we’re a bit too far out at sea, not many walruses or Seal are out here.”
“Ah, now that you mention that I suppose I haven’t seen any of them.”
“There’s a pod that lives a bit passed your island, passed the reef too, they dive for deeper prey than us, and they have scars from the squid that they tackle, they’re pretty cool dudes.”
“Oh, so almost like- taking over some whale's jobs?”
“Yeah, they eat bigger and deeper stuff normally, but there haven't been many sperm whales in the area so they just ended up taking over the Job. They used to be more like us, a couple of generations ago. But our waters don’t go deep enough for that type of diet, hence the lack of overlapping boundaries. If you get lucky you might find one at the reef getting a clean, we don’t mind them here as they don’t attack anything in our land.”
“Does anything else have territory?”
“I've heard some Mer sharks and whales do. But most go with the flow”
“Whale mers do?”
“Yeah, mostly Sperm whale mers, they eat more than an average sperm whale as they have a warmer body temp, but they tend to be in groups of 5 or more.”
“Are they sisters and daughters like your pod?”
“Maybe? But I’m with two bachelors.”
“OH- sorry, I didn’t mean to assume.”
“Nah you’re fine, It's actually what we normally do, but I used to just wonder with Pearl, ended up settling with them here, but never was interested in many babies, not yet at least.”
“That's fair, but were you kicked from your pod?”
“Nah, but the group was a bit big, I was young, and so decided to go with the guys when they left, split away when I met Pearl, we were moving around together, and as mentioned, found this spot.”
“Pearl said she knew you too, when you were younger right?” Tango asked Grian.
“Yeah! She was teaching me sea speak, but when the hybrid hunting boats came in her pod forced her to leave, it's why I knew so little.”
“Ohhhh, yeah okay, that makes sense.”
“How did you recognize her when she showed back up?”
“She recognized me, and she had a nickname for me, one word I did know.”
“Gabba?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“OHH that's you, I’ve heard her call you Gabba, so when ‘Grian’ showed up I wondered if you were like- twin siblings.”
Grian snickered. “Awww man that would be a good prank to pull on someone.”
Tango laughed. “How’d you do that?”
“Dunno, I'll think of something.”
“How would that work on Skizz? -if I pretended to be someone else.”
“He’d believe you, Zed would figure it out, Impulse might too, but sometimes he just believes it, so I could be wrong.”
Grian chuckled.
“What's it like, down deep?’
“Dark, big things, the mers down there eat whatever is smaller than them, that includes any mers.”
Grian swallowed nervously at that.
Tango seemed casual, it was a bedtime story used to keep mers from going down too far, as pressure was a thing.
“Do you know anyone who’s been eaten by one?” Grian asked, voice shaky.
“No, and rumor is they lack storages too.”
Grian peeped nervously.
“Andd that's enough of that!” Tango said pretty loudly. Gem was a bit startled by it but seemed to understand.
“Do avian’s have storages?”
“Kinda, we have crops.”
“Huh, what do those do?”
“Store food, it's in our throats rather than our chest, and- if I swallow whatever is in there is going down.”
Tango let out an understanding “Oooooooo. That's why you get scared with skizz in there yeah?”
“Yeah, because I eat fish his size.”
“It's a good fear,” Gem said softly. “I know I was worried when it first came to swallowing myself.”
“Can I ask where you came from?”
“Main-land, on the coast, I ate both salty, estuary, and freshwater fish, I had an avian village, we lived in the trees.”
“Did you get caught in a storm?”
“No, watcher boat got me, was going to be sold. Then the boat was attacked by the two sharks that attacked us today.”
“Oh, the boat raiders huh, did they take you to Tango and them?”
“No, they tried to eat me, I got to an island, Scar found me, stored me, took me here.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah, wasn’t fun- no offense, I just couldn’t speak like anything, and- er- he just- almost ate me in my eyes?”
“Ohhhh Oh wow, yeah that- sorry that that happened.”
“It’s okay, I know you- it’s natural for you- not for us?”
“That’s fair.” Gem said softly, putting a protective hand on Tango’s back.”
There was some silent, calming swimming for a bit, the silence broken by Gem.“I’m nearly there, want out, Tango?”
“Yes please.”
The orca mer moved downwards, laying in the center she was approached by fish but the mer’s head aimed down, and the noises started.
Gem started pushing Tango up, the body pressed into him and pushed. He was used to it, but he could tell it startled Grian as he moved around some.
“It’s okay G, I’m just getting out of Gem.” Tango cooed, petting the bird as best he could.
He heard Grian let out nervous peeps, it made his heart pang a little, poor guy.
Thankfully Gem was fast, and the eel slid out of her mouth casually, like any eel would if it was coming out of some rocks.
“Thanks for saving us- helping me return in one piece.”
Gem laughed at that, the other two were lying down and being cleaned. “You’re welcome
Tango slowly made his way towards the rocky outcrops, he gently traced the sand with his puffed-out belly.
He looked down and could make out well even feel where Grian was. The avian’s movements were slow, the darkness making the kingfisher tired.
Impulse spotted him first, and dashed over “Tango! Where’s G-?” Tango smiled softly and pressed a hand to his belly.
The shark mer cooed in excitement and lay down, looking at Tango’s pouch as if he were a father.
“How’d that happen?”
The eel looks to the side nervous. “Not the best situation, Doc and Ren showed up while we were out, his uh- his raft was smashed by Doc too.”
“Awww, poor G he was so happy with that raft.”
“I’d rather it than me.” The avian piped up.
Impulse flushed in embarrassment, not expecting Grian to have heard them. “How are you feeling?’
“Tired… comfy.”
Tango purred.
“Can I lay down, G?”
“Yeah.” The avian said softly, Tango swore he could hear a yawn soon after, but he wasn’t sure.
The eel looked up at the surface, it was dark, still stormy. “Want to head back to the reef?”
“Yeah, be careful with Skizz, he’d want in with G.”
Tango snickered. “I had a feeling, not a great idea I don’t think, poor G barely has enough space for himself.”
Impulse nodded in agreement.
The two chatted, swimming slowly towards the reef. While chatting Grian was moving around in him, the eel mer didn’t pay too much attention, it wasn't an upset struggle, more of a finding a comfy position.
“Tango! you’re back!” Zed said happily interrupting their thoughts.
Impulse- “With a Grian in him too.”
“Wait really? Oh my gosh, how’d you do that?”
Tango chuckled nervously. “Mutual agreement and stress.”
“Ah, yeah I suppose Scar harasses Grian into Impulse all the time, I could see that happening with someone else.”
“Not Scar but close enough.” he looked around. “Where’s Skizz?”
“Helping someone, he’ll be gone for a bit.”
Tango nodded and lay down.
Impulse got out part of a fish, offering it to tango.
Tango hummed. “I- kinda feel full but- G you hungry?”
The avian said nothing.
“G?” Tango tried again.
Still nothing, so Tango pressed a hand gently before his eyes widened. “G-guys- I- I think he’s sleeping.” The eel whispered-shouted.
Impulse’s face lit up, Zed looked excited and they both came close, listening in to the sleepy chirps and breathing.
“Seems like it,” Zed whispered.
“It's soooo cute.” Impulse cooed quietly. “I’m glad he can relax during this.”
“More like adrenaline dying down, and the darkness, but I do agree.”
“Yeah, that's fair.”
So the 3 chatted quietly, letting the bird sleep, he needed it.
By any chance do you have any more ranchers vore headcanons or scenarios because the art you made of them was just SO CUTE and I can’t stop thinking about it
I’ve always liked the idea that blazes are cat-like and therefore love how avian creatures taste and that Tango will always try to find silly ways to protect Jimmy but I want to hear what else you have to say about them I love them so much-
I love the ranchers!!! They are some of my favorite idiots to draw and I think about them so much-
I’m not sure how closely related blazes and cats would be, but I feel like tango reflects a lot of cat body language in how he moves/how his tail flicks/general noises he makes. That also means he gets the urge to chase jimmy when he runs, even if he doesn’t really realize it. Theres probably been a few times that jim has sprinted past and ended up pinned down under one of tangos hands or wrapped up in his tail while tango teases him. Both of them find it silly and a lot of times tango will store him after it because, i mean, hes already right there…
