Chapter Text
(Format pretty broken, chapter 2 is rewritten/fixed!)
Grian was happy, he was warm and comfy, nothing else really mattered. He was situated in X-i-soomas lap and he wanted nothing more than to stay here forever. There were people talking around him, probably the other hermits, it was one of their weekly meetings.
He’d only recently allowed himself to go bird brain around others, the dazed haze of it brought a sense of vulnerability that he didn’t want the wrong people to know about, he still only goes bird-brain around certain people- it wasn’t because he didn’t trust the other hermits, he was just around other people more.
A gloved hand threaded through his feathers and he could feel himself physically melt even more into Xisuma’s embrace. He felt more than he heard the soft chuckle from Xisuma at his actions, the subtle up and down of Xisuma’s breathing and the background chatter was calming and he was half asleep at this point.
Grian was happy, one hand threading through his feathers and the other playing with his hair, this is the most comfortable he has been in a while. Although nothing ends well for Grian.
Xisuma flinched, flinched hard, and normally this wouldn’t be a problem but Grian was in full bird-brain and his bird-brain decided that it did not like it. One second Grian was peaceful and happy, the next he was thrown into a flashback.
He was so cold and hungry, he had to find his flock! His flock would help! He recognised that tree, he was playing with his sisters nearby. Rounding around the tree he spotted bright red in his peripheral, it was his mama!
He ran, stumbled a bit and wrapped his arms around his mama in a hug, he was expecting her to return his hug only she threw him off. Did he do something wrong?
“Mama?” tears filling his black, beady eyes.
She didn’t respond, a slight flinch to signify she heard him, only opened her crimson wings and took off. Why did she leave him?
Later on he learned that what his mother did was merciful, apparently others would normally sell, or worse kill their chicks. He got off easy, well as easy as it was to be abandoned as a fledgling.
Everyone had assumed that because of Grians parrot wings he was some sort of parrot hybrid, so they deduced that he would be clingy and affectionate, and they have been right from observation. Grian would be interacting with at least a hermit a day at minimum, and it was obvious he was particularly fond of Scar and Mumbo (mainly Mumbo since they’ve been friends longer).
Xisuma was in awe, he was unaware that Grian trusted him this much. He was laying, curled up in his lap, with that dazed expression that normally meant he was deep in instinct’s. He tried to continue the meeting like normal but the precious goop of feathers was distracting, especially with the occasional chirps and coos that melted his heart further.
Now how did he end up in this adorable situation, may you ask?
He doesn’t know, one moment he was leading the meeting as normal and the next he had a small bird in his lap. It was adorable how Grian fit into his lap, hand lightly clutching his suit and one of his wings splayed over him along with one of his ear wings hiding his face from the others.
With the meeting, the hermits have thankfully decided to carry on by just talking about what they’ve recently added and future ideas, obviously seeing the hesitation and awe that had consumed Xisuma’s headspace.
Xisuma decided to run his hands through Grian’s feathers and the action caused Grian to melt into his embrace even more, even nuzzling X’s suit, and Xisuma absolutely died. He continued to pet the wings in a mock way of preening, Grian obviously not taking care of them as much as he says he does.
One of the hermits next to him made a quick motion, causing him to flinch, he would have thought nothing of it but Grian started to freak out, throwing himself out of his arms and onto the floor, eyes pinpoint. Within a second he was out the door, flying away, leaving the hermits and Xisuma confused.
A couple of minutes later and Xisuma found himself still sitting at the meeting table, most of the hermits had left to their bases, some grouped up, he decided to stay. Maybe Grian would come back, he didn’t understand what happened, why did Grian freak out so much.
At first he thought it might have been an avian thing but he doesn’t remember ever learning about anything like that, he always makes sure to read up about the different hybrids when a new member joins presenting traits.
So it must be some background trauma, Grian doesn't talk about his past, only ever leaving hints. Although from what he has seen of Grian’s behaviour, especially at the start of season 6, he was shy and timid around new people, which is a massive difference to his enthusiasm and chaotic personality.
Look, it’s not that he cares about Grian, he was just… curious. EX decided to do his own research, he had this gut feeling that it was something to do with Grian’s hybrid traits. He was sure that there was something, but he couldn't remember it, not even a single word.
Firstly he decided to figure out what hybrid Grian really was, obviously he was a parrot, but what breed of parrot. Using his limited admin privileges he looked at Grian’s profile, every player had one, it was what made transporting through worlds and going on the main hub easier.
“Eclectus Parrot” EX saw written under the Hybrid category. Nothing came to mind so he decided to go to the library, where better to get information than a building filled with it.
“Cockatoos, Senegal Parrot, Cockatiel, Eclectus… Budgeri- Eclectus!” Sliding the book off the shelf, he walked over to a simple leather couch in a corner. The couch was placed upon a burgundy red rug, next to an arched window that was showing off the light dusk of the sky as the sun set.
Ex already knew he was going to be here for a while, the setting sun only mocked him for not getting ready to go to bed, getting a proper night's sleep wouldn't be happening.
[AN: Information from wikipedia, i changed it a bit so that it matches minecraft theme]
The eclectus parrots are the most sexually dimorphic of all the parrot species. The contrast between the brilliant emerald green plumage of the male and the deep red/purple plumage of the female is so marked that the birds were, until the early Evolution server, considered to be different species.
“Now that’s interesting, but not what I need. Maybe I'll have a proper read through later…” Ex skipped a few pages, despite the fact it was a book on one hybrid species it was still a decently large book.
Ex flipped a few pages until he landed on a “Behaviour” Title.
Eclectus parrots have a varied range of calls, from a loud, high-pitched squawk to whistles and screeches. They have also been observed to make a chime-like call when a male returns to the nest with food, in what seems to be a show of gratitude or an acknowledgement of return.
“That explains the noises” he thinks with a smirk before he continues.
Eclectus are also unusual in that they can bias the sex of their offspring, such that they can manipulate whether their offspring are male or female. It is thought that this behaviour occurs as a result of the scarcity of their nesting hollows. As such, females will only have male offspring when resources are plentiful, a good nesting hollow is secured, and many males are around to feed her and her offspring, as male offspring are more energetically expensive to raise as compared to females.
Female Eclectus chicks are easier to rear than males, and fledge as much as a week earlier than their brothers. Apparently, time is of the essence during very rainy years, or in particularly vulnerable nests, because females will abandon or even kill the more “costly” male chicks when certain conditions are met.
He sat up with interest, perhaps this is why he freaked out, he should probably inform Xisuma. His clone (*cough* brother *cough*) likes to know about his members.
Taking a peek out the window, EX noticed the sky getting lighter, morning already? Xisuma had a rough sleep schedule so there was no knowing whether he was awake or not.
Finally exiting the library, a cold breeze from the previous night swept over him, extending his elytra he jumped off the nearest edge, setting off a firework and flew off towards Xisuma’s base.
“Shishwam! How many times do i have to tell you, you need your sleep, I doubt the server will set on fire if you took a quick nap!” Keralis’s voice echoed through his head like a reminder, a fond memory.
“I just need to finish this” or some other half-hearted excuse would normally be his reply.
It’s not like Xisuma is messing with his sleep schedule on purpose, he was just… determined to fulfil his job as an admin.
His door opening shook him out of the memory, cold tea in a mug and admin screens hovering just out of reach, how long was he daydreaming? The sunlight peeking through the curtains told him enough.
Anyway, who was in his base? Getting out of the chair he could feel his bones ache from staying in the same position for hours. Dismissing his admin screens he started heading towards his kitchen - normally if a hermit came around they’d come knocking to his room or waiting in the kitchen - Seeing as no one is knocking, they must be in the kitchen.
“EX?” Xisuma questioned, honestly, with the disaster of a meeting and now his brother willingly not doing anything mischievous, he’s noticed how mentally exhausted he is.
Evil X is not who he was expecting, sitting at a countertop seemingly reading a… book? EX prides himself on his “Evilness” so seeing him reading a book is very unexpected. He looked ignorant of the world, as if he never committed anything remotely wrong, innocent even.
“Xisuma” Evil X copied “I found something I think could help with your… situation or at least be useful.”
Now Xisuma was awake, his brother wanting to show him something, the previous exhaustion was quickly overpowered by his curiosity, normally he wouldn’t be so intrigued by random information, but this was coming from his brother, Evil Xisuma.
“However there is a small price” Xisuma wasn’t surprised, obviously EX would want something in return for whatever he has.
“What type of price?” X wasn’t going to gamble with his brother. EX always goes overboard with his deals, it was always something as ridiculous as a slice of bread in exchange for control of the server.
“Also, what even is this ‘something’ you want to show me?” X asked while bending 2 of his gloved fingers in a quotation motion to the word something.
“I found some information on a certain member, nothing invasive.” EX spoke with a hint of satisfaction. “Although the price, well, I believe this would be useful. Knowledge is expensive.”
Xisuma could feel the grin coming from his brother even while he was wearing a mask. What could his brother potentially find that would create this reaction?
“I'm not giving you any control over the server” The fact he had to clarify this was tiring, the curiosity was running dry, he was less interested in this already.
“This information might bring you the answers to what happened at that last disastrous meeting of yours…” Xisuma could hear the playful tilt in Ex’s voice. “ What about a personal IOU?”
“Fine” It’s not like EX can use an IOU for anything too drastic and he can always just refuse. Grabbing the nearest piece of paper he can find, he scribbles down his signature and passes over the IOU. “Now what is this information that you're so excited to tell me?”
Despite EX being, well, “Evil” Xisuma, everyone could tell that he wasn’t really all that bad. Like now, Xisuma could see the giddiness radiating off of Ex after he succeeded in whatever scam he was doing.
Ex was acting like a little kid who finally got the treat they wanted.
“It’s in this book, somewhere near the back, i didn’t note down the page number” Nevermind, Xisuma was taking everything back, his brother was a horrible being. “It talks about bias and parents and such…”
With a sigh, Xisuma turned around and started heading to his room. From the book's size he could tell he would be reading for a while. Thankfully Ex didn’t see worth in performing his evil today, he could hear him leaving through the door and a rocket whooshing away.
Xisuma had his doubts about the book the moment he saw its title, especially with the book coming from EX. However, finding out that Grian’s parents potentially tried to kill him? He was already back at the meeting area, a few hermits already arrived and he was torn between hoping Grian would show up or not. Should he even tell the rest of the hermits about this, technically it was personal.
“Xisuma? Why’d you call us here?” a voice spoke out from the crowd, when did everyone get here?
“Uhh, it’s already been a few minutes, we’re just missing Grian.” He didn't realise this was getting to him this much, he just spoke out loud on accident.
“Is everything alright Shishwam?” Keralis, of course it’s Keralis, he’s always the one to notice anything off.
“Has anyone seen Grian since the last meeting?” Xisuma questioned the group in front of him, everyone was sitting in their own positions, the chair and perch made for Grian abnormally empty and quiet.
“I saw him near his mansion, I assumed he just went back to building.” Mumbo responded. At the very least somebody’s seen him. “Although he was a little bit wobbly from what I saw, took off the moment he saw me” The worry was noticeable in his tone.
“Maybe he’s caught something? I can bake him some cookies and I'm sure Jellie would happily provide comfort as well!” Scar considered
“Actually, I think that Grians actions are related to the incident we had in our meeting.”