How lonely do you have to be...

They visibly flinched at the sudden crack of thunder, their eyes going wide as they looked towards the ceiling. Storms were never a good sign, but how-? They quickly shook their head, having to reorient themself by force. Calm down the subject - results will be compromised is they remain in a frantic state. First step. Arbour stepped out from behind their desk, crouching in front of Nova in an attempt to seem smaller. Less of a threat.

"I need you to take a deep breath, alright? You're not going to be sacrificed, you're not in danger in any way. I'll explain everything. But I need you to breathe first."

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#watchingthesigns

"That's easy for you to say! You're not restrained! You've never been restrained against your will unable to do anything but try to fight for your life against a horde of mobs while being abandoned by the people who raised you cause you were too different from them! You can't- You can't tell me to calm down! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME THAT!"

They shouted, their body trembling as the fear only grew stronger. The information that they let leak through explained why they were acting this way. It was a trauma response.

Another crack of lightning hit the building again as they shouted.

Arbour's ears perked up in alarm at the sudden distress, standing up from their seat and lifting their hands in a mock gesture of surrender. Just as they'd had to do so many times before.

"Hey hey hey, easy. You're not at any risk, Nova. You're safe here."

The being tried to keep their voice smooth, attempting some effort at comfort. Even if waking up to being tied to a chair is scary as hell, they could at least try and provide some semblance of ease.

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#watchingthesigns

"H-How do you know who I am?! Who are you?! W-What's going on here?! P-Please don't sacrifice me- I-I'll do anything-"

They were panicking even more. The fear hitting them like a brick as a loud thunder crack rain down closer than possible. Almost directly over top them on the roof. The sound causing Nova to flinch and recoil in fear, as they desperately tried to get out of their restraints.

Arbour had sat back down a bit after the new subject had been brought in, deciding to wait until the other was awake before running any simulations. Their ears perked at the broken mumble, looking up from the files they'd been sorting through with a low hum.

"Ah. You're awake. Welcome."

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#watchingthesigns

"Huh...?"

They tried to move, only finding themselves to be trapped. Locked into the chair. It waking them up only further as panic started to fill them.

"W-What's going on?! W-Where- Who are you?! What do you want with me?!"

The Federation had just gained a new player to experiment on. Their body stumbling as they walked having been heavily drugged when they were kidnapped from their server by them. Too dazed and out of it to even realize what was going on. They looked unlike any player Arbour had seen... faint galaxies swirled in their hair and although they were dozing in and out of awareness, their eyes although appearing closed weren't actually closed also had those faint galaxies in them.

The Federation worker took the new player into the Research and Development experimentation room... The very same one Arbour was in charge of since being forced to work there.

"Make sure you test everything on them. Need to know what affects them. So we can continue simulation research or hybrid research."

Was all the worker said as they finished securing the new player in the chair and leaving.

The being's tail slowly swayed behind them as they looked towards the worker from behind their, humming idly at the comment and nodding. "Same drill as usual. Got it." Arbour nodded, pushing to their feet and taking a file off of the shelves at their side. They set the item on the table and opened it, flipping through with the occasional loose glance at the subject.

They'd never wanted to come here - but since their revival, they didn't have much of a choice. The Federation had taken possession of them shortly after they came back - talking about how someone having been in limbo as long as they were posed a threat to the others. It'd all became idle work, leading to Arbour staying mostly tuned out, more often than not.

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#watchingthesigns

Their head lolled to the side against the chair they were in having been there for an hour or two, eyes opening a bit more as the drugs started to slowly flush out their system.

"Where..."

They began, their voice hoarse as they spoke. Disoriented as all hell.

The smile he put on fell, his expression shifting, the blunt words from the other catching him off guard. They were... observant. He raised a hand to shake theirs, pilling back after he spoke. "That's alright, no need for full names. My name is Grian. Really, you can go by whatever you like here, no one will judge, and no one will use it to hurt you." He mentioned that, trying to make the other- Nova- understand that people weren't out to get them here. Sure, Grian was wary, he had reasons to be, but Nova hadn't attacked anyone, they were scared. So while he was cautious he wasn't going to hurt them. He listened on only to once again freeze at their last words. No... No it couldn't be. How was this kid a Watcher? They didn't even seem to know anything about them? He had to keep his panic pushed down, stay rational. a few years ago he probably would have attacked, ask questions later. But he had learned a lot and grown with his time as a Hermit. Right now, Nova wasn't a threat, and again, they were scared. The hybrid took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Look, I- I'm sorry. This is all a lot of information. You may not believe me, and I think I understand why but, you are not at anybody's mercy, and certainly not mine. This place, we don't have limited lives here. I.. I think we should still be cautious at the moment but Xisuma can make sure you have unlimited lives like us while you're here. You have a choice here, to come to Xisuma, or have him come to us, if you're more comfortable with that. "

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#listcners #listcners;grian

They say you can tell a lot about how their hands feel. Nova held Grian's in a shakey yet sweaty and tense grip. Their hand feeling soft with bits of scars and callouses on it. They took this time to read what they could about Grian's. How tense the other is. How Calloused and soft yet well kept his hands were.

"... It's a stressful situation, I know... But I'll do anything you tell me to do... I... I'm an invader in your home- I... can't... can't make this decision..."

"Every time I make a decision I end up messing up.. and making bad choices so I... I can't make a choice. Cause I might make the wrong one and then- I'll be... I'll be sacrificed or locked away again."

Their voice trailed off as they spoke. Their hand shaking more at the thought of it. Although the weather around them was clear, a bolt of lightning hit the ground causing Nova to flinch, taking their hand from Grian to cover their ears from the loud sound. Still not quite being able to control their watcher abilities.

"I-I'm sorry- I... I didn't mean to do that- I'll fix any damage it caused- I-I swear-"

Again with the apologies... Nor could this kid make a decision for themselves out of pure fear of messing up? This Kid was similar and different for sure, but what could of possibility caused this to them.

'Those watcher things'

It felt like he had been the one to be dunked in the ice cold river when those words were spoken, wings rustling as a shudder ran down his spine. His whole body tensed, flight or fight mentality kicking up in his mind, though he leaned towards fight most of the time. They knew of the Watchers? He tried to keep his expression unchanged, listening to the younger, his mind still racing. Even if it didn't sound like they knew all that much.

Normal people, players- they didn't know of the Watchers. No, those who did were like him, like the players of EVO, his friends. Where the Watchers had taken action to reach out to them, make them aware of their presence. Which as far as he experienced only lead to disaster.

His thoughts only became more... distressed when they mentioned knowing someone who called themselves a Watcher. And someone who took control of a Watcher? That was unheard of. That was dangerous. He was too stuck in his own thoughts and their voice was so quiet he didn't catch their last comment.

"Right, sorry. You probably haven't left your own home before huh?" He tried to play it off giving a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I.. dunno about what, Watchers? But an Admin, they help take care of this world, make sure everyone living here is safe, that nothing goes wrong." He lied of course, but he wouldn't show his hand now. Most of his friends here didn't even know of his Watcher status, or know what the Watchers were. Those involved in the life series couldn't remember. And besides, the Watchers hadn't ever announced their presence in the games.

"I think we should visit Xisuma. He's a nice guy, he can help you with your inventory, and help you find a way home too." He paused for a moment, frown pulling at his lips.

"Or... he could come to us. There's a lot of people who live here, they're always excited to meet new people but um, it might be a lot. " while that was true, he also didn't want to bring them around just yet in case things went wrong he could put the Hermits his family in danger.

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#listcners;grian #listcners #{{You're fine lol}}

They couldn't help but notice the way Grian moved, their own body tensing. There was something he wasn't telling them. They could tell.

"... Nova. I'm not giving you my full name for safety but everyone calls me Nova back home... Now what's your name... Also... i can tell your smile isn't hitting your eyes... You're tense..."

They only began to mutter before extending a hand towards him to shake. Pushing aside their own emotions and fears to help the other... Something they were known to do even if they didn't want to. People Pleasing... and or Fawning. A natural trauma response unfortunately.

"Truthfully... I'm at your mercy right now. I can't make decisions... I'm... I'm not back home where I was able to make an infinite life saver... so... I... This is my last life so I have... I have to trust you not to hurt or kill me which- which is hard... But you know this place and you could definitely be leading me to a trap where I'll lose my last life.. But I just.. I have to hope you're not..."

Their voice was soft as they tried to give out that information. They felt they needed to so... Grian could make a more informed decision.

"I'm not... going to elaborate on anything I said.. but I'm sorry... if mentioning Watchers scared you... I... don't know much about them. Even if... I am one? I mean it explains why i was so different in my youth at least..."

Wait what?

His face paled at the first question. Control? Who could control someone with just a name? His wings bristled against his back, but he tried to keep a calm expression, staying low and keeping his distance. In a weird way, they reminded him oh himself when he was younger. But.. Where this person cowards an apologized, Grian lashed out at the world. but the fear... the fear was the same. The distrust was the same. It was the same as when he was running from his past, server hopping on a much grander, more powerful scale once he had become a Watcher. He let them talk, not moving for fear that they would try to run again, though they probably wouldn't get too far with how weak they were. "Okay, I'm just going to stay here, alright? I won't get any closer, and I'll try to answer your questions. You're not in trouble" He stated slowly, watching them careful. "You landed in the Hermitcraft Server, I'm not sure how, but it looks like it was an accident yeah?" He started. It had to be an accident, as he and Xisuma had put so many extra precautions in so no one would be able to hack into the server, or it would be very hard to get through by other means. "I don't have control over anyone's inventory here, I'm just a player. But our admin, Xisuma wouldn't mess with anyone's inventory. We have.. a lot of protections over this server, maybe something went wrong when you got here? I'm sure he'd like to meet you, and we could get things figured out." He offered, though, there wasn't much of an option, with someone new on the server, welcomed or not he would want to see them. And he was more equipped to help.

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#listcners;grian #listcners

"P...Player? Admin...? What... What are those?? And Hermitcraft Server??"

Their voice was filled with confusion, having never heard these terms before. No... They never really ventured out of their own, and no one around them really spoke or said these terms before.

"Is.. Is this like those Watcher things? I-I mean- I... don't... i don't really know what it means but-"

They moved their arms ever so slightly down. They still kept their distance.

"But I know A mentioned them- before he... before she took full control over him. I know he called himself a Watcher- Dad was very very angry with him... And now- now he's under her control... I... I was trying to find a way to get to my dad to get help but-"

"He was sent to make sure I'm safe... That's all I know though about that... And also that I'm apparently a Watcher myself but I don't know what that even means really...."

Though the mumbled the last part under their breath it was clear they didn't know the terminology of basic minecraft things... like Servers, Players, Admins, all of that. Meaning they grew up in a cut off server that didn't have access to the other servers from the Hub in general.

But they did know about their inventory, so there's something.

@fxllengod cont. from Here

Grian was poised, ready to strike if he was attacked, not wanting to take any chances. He didn’t know what he was up against, but this was not what he expected of any Watchers. But, he hadn’t attacked first so why was this person taking damage? It didn’t make sense, and the ‘bird hybrid’ was torn between rushing forward to see what was happening and helping and staying back on the defensive. But before he could do anything, the damage ticks stopped. As quick as he could Grian brought his com typing out a rough message. I don’t think it’s them. No code red. He looked back up to see the other staring up at them and it hit Grian how young they were. Before he could say anything they were stammering out apologies and Grian’s posture softened if only slightly, wings falling back down to his back. “Woah hey- just breathe, alright?” He tried to calm them, a hand coming out as he spoke, trying to show he wasn’t going to do anything. He noticed the way they flinched away from the water- and Enderian? But.. They didn’t look like one, and the galaxy in their hair was something he had never seen before. They locked eyes once again, and seeing the far in their eyes Grian's fight diminished, now worried for the other. But he couldn’t do anything before they were up on their feet- or tried to at least. The sudden movement made them jump, wings splaying out again in surprise rather than intimidation, and he stepped forward thinking they were going to take off. But It was only a few steps before both of them stopped, Grian not wanting to get close when they started cowering. But he did pull his wings in and crouched low, getting to their level as a way to show he wasn’t dangerous. “Hey, hey. You’re okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” He spoke calmly, though he could feel his heart in his throat, all of this happening so quickly had him on edge. “Can you tell me your name?”

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#listcners #listcners;grian

"A...Are you going to use it to control me like she did..?"

Their voice was quiet as they spoke, keeping their position. Their body was shaking as they held it. Fear... They were scared and not trusting of the individual.

"W...Why can't I access my inventory- Did... Did you do something?"

They stared at Grian through the holes their arms created. Vivid purple hues staring with distrust, fear... and... remorse?

"I-I appreciate you for saving me- b-but but I can't trust your intentions to be pure- I-I don't know where I am and... And I can't trust you... to... to not try and harm me- I... am sorry for it- for being distrustful- But I hope you... you can understand Sir."

They tried to keep their voice even but it was proving difficult from the fear they felt and the chill for the air around them on their damp body. They couldn't access their inventory though, which could prove a problem in the future...

They cast their eyes towards the ground, watching the other's feet. Watching for any movement.

"I'm... sorry... for... for falling and coming here again. I..I truly didn't mean to..."

Why were they always apologizing? That... isn't normal.

[S̵̤͠p̶̦̋o̷͇̚o̸͉͠k̶̳̔ÿ̶͕́h̸̼͌ọ̴̅l̵͂͜e̴̜̅g̶̠̒ä̶͈m̵͍̒i̴̡͆n̸͎̂g̵͎͌ has joined the Server!]

Nova didn't know what to expect when they had fallen into the void of the respawn room of the SMP they were in but it ended up with them glitching into the usual closed off server known as Hermitcraft. A server known to persecute the hackers who tried to get in.

A more unfortunate circumstance was that they spawned in the air and were falling straight for the water. They let out a short scream before they fell straight into the water, desperately trying to swim out before they lost their hearts. Their instinct for survival was the most prevalent thing.

They could only hope to pray that someone heard them. (To Grian if that's ok lol)

Grian had been in the middle of messaging a few of the other Hermits when the notification came up in the messenger system and Grian froze. He waited for a moment but no Hermit seemed to comment on it- Until the message from Xisuma. Did you see that Yeah I did Doesn’t look like anyone else did though. There was a pit forming in his stomach as he finished his messages to the other hermits letting them know he was busy and would reply later. He switched back over to the private messages with the server admin, hurrying out his base, armored up, taking to the skies. He wasn’t just going to sit around. If there was a threat, If It was someone coming for him? He was going to do something about it. He would not put his friends in danger Someone coming through usually is announced to everyone on the server right? Of course, and You know we announce any guests to the server well in advance, at the meetings. I’m going to check it out, can you see where this person landed? I need coords. G, are you sure? You know what it could be. Coords X, Please. I’m not sitting around waiting to see what happens. You’ve got my back right? And Pearl and Mumbo know my situation too. I trust you, and I trust them. It was a second before the coords popped up and Grian Picked up speed, heading that way. Be safe Grian, 10 minutes you check in or the server is going into code red. Okay The coords were not all that far from where most hermits were living, but far enough that not many people traveled out there with any purpose. When he got close he swooped down low, scouting the area. He was expecting to be attacked, struck out of the sky. Hell when the message came in he was expecting more chaos than this if it was the watchers getting though. What he didn’t expect to find was a body flailing in the river below. Was it a trap? It was a pretty odd one if it was. Even if he was on guard, even if he was scared All of the kindness and compassion that had rubbed off on him from his fellow Hermits seemed to kick in and he was flying down over the person grabbing them and pulling up, struggling with the flailing weight long enough to get them to the shore and stumble as he landed too, colorful parrot wings spread wide in a act of intimidation, just waiting for an attack.

#the fallen star ; ic ;#a jump through the servers ; v: traveling ;#listcners #listcners;grian #{{SORRY IT WAS LONG-}}

As soon as they got out of the water, they coughed, appearing to be taking damage despite... nothing was actively attacking the two of them. But it started to subside if only after a bit. Their breathing was labored, especially after the coughing attack. Gripping their purple clad pants as they took in their breaths.

They didn't look like anyone on Hermitcraft, no... They also didn't look no more than 16-18 years old. Their hair a light pink with what seemed like galaxies to be swirling in it, but despite all of that their body seemed to have scars on it from where their clothes were suppose to cover up.

After a bit they opened their purple eyes looking at Grian, taking notice of the other's attempt to look bigger. Subconsciously they knew to not be combative. Even if this person rescued them... No they could just throw them and leave them to die... They gripped the blue crystal they wore around their neck, before scooting away from the other, and away from the water, wincing when touching a small puddle left by them in the process but trying to hide it from the other.

"S..Sorry- about- about having you save me- I... I would of lost-.... I'm thankful you did it though... But.. I- didn't... mean.. to- I'm sorry-"

Their voice was quiet, feeling themselves to be a bother. They tried to open their inventory just to check their status of how many hearts but.. Found they couldn't.

And with that came an intense fear. Not knowing that by their accident of glitching into the Hermitcraft server they had damaged their code. A quick fear filled glance was all Grian saw before they tried to get up, to run- Thinking the other could of done this- But... They couldn't run- their stamina must of been depleted from the struggling to swim.. something they were never taught cause they couldn't enter the water.

They stumbled as they fell to the ground again, using their arms to try and protect themselves from any further damage. Almost like a cornered animal. Knowing they couldn't do anything but try and protect themselves. The immediate distrust after so everything they've endured on their own server. The blue crystal around their neck looking nothing of this world, nor that of the watcher realm.

awesamdude-w

[Ŝ̵̡̨̡̢͚͓̣̟͙͎̯̤́̈̊̔̐̾̑̓͗̎̓̔͝ͅp̶̢̧̡̛͉͍̞̀̾̆̂͑̾̍̒̓̕̚̕͜͠͝ò̵̳͇̥͒̂͌̓̔͂̾͌̓̚ő̷̯̪͖̱̬̤͇̗͔̰͚̓̌̆͑̉̈́̕͝k̸̗͚͈̆ÿ̴̧̧̱͎̪̠͈͎̥͎̱̝͙͈̲͐͑̂̎͂͊̄̋͌͋͝͝͝͠ͅH̶̛̖̯̬̰̲̗̾̌͐͆̽̕͜ͅơ̵̡̡͔͓̯͉̬͕͙͎̗̒͋̊͊͂̎̄̍̌̒͠l̴̨͖̟̖̯͆̐̔̄͋̈́̾͒̌͝͝ȩ̴̧̖͚͖͔̲͙̼̋̄̿͗͊̽̐̾͛̀̏̕G̵̜̼͓̺̪̮̠̓̈́̑̄͗a̸̟̰͇͆͌̈́́͒͒̈́̀̔̐̍͌̀́̾̑́m̴̨͈͎̣̯̝̪͇̤̯͈̤̝̻̣͛̇̒̓̿̆̒̾͂̅͛̚͜͠ͅi̸̳̺̱̐̐͑̃̊̑̇̓͘͘͠n̸̛̝̳͍̙̪̲̜̫̗̼͕̭̙̋̎̈́̏͑̕͝͠ͅg̶̛̦͕͓͓̭̿̄̎͋̓͋ has joined the Server]

They seemed of of materialized out of nowhere, high above the prison. They didn't even mean to materialize there! They didn't even mean to glitch into another server! With a scream they saw what their options of landing were, and which ones would be the safest. While they attempted to moved from hitting the prison they ended up hitting their head, their body went limp but they ended up falling into the water, their blood pooling from their wound as they physically could be seen taking damage as they were in the water, unconscious... But they just fell in there- there's no way they would start drowning now right?!

The Warden was at his desk, working on some paperwork invloving Las Nevadas. He heard the thud on top of the prison roof, raising his head with confusion. Did a bird just bump into the prison? No, surely it wouldve seen it.. What if someone was trying to break in? He had to check to make sure.

He stood up and lit up the portal to the entrance, going through it then back in to get out of the prison. He walked outside and started heading towards where he heard the noise, his eyes catching on the red in the water. He gasped in suprise, moving a bit faster until he saw the figure slowly sinking at the bottom. He jumped in the water and held the unknown person under the arm with one of his own before swimming back up, placing them down on the grass before kneeling infront of them. He shook himself off, water flying everywhere.

"What the heck.."

He noticed the injury on their head, placing a hand under it to gently lift it. He took out a splash healing potion from his inventory and threw it right next to their head, watching as it slowly closed up. He then bandaged it up gently for good measure.

Sam made the person sit up with his hand to make sure they didnt have any water left in their lungs, tapping gently on their back.

Who the hell was this person and how did they manage to hit themselves on the roof?