Entry 35

Entry 35

Day 228

Scott.

The same Scott who was supposed to no longer be here. The same Scott who had gone missing in our G.U.I.D.E.- The same Scott who had dark blonde hair the last time I saw him. Somebody who didn't have blue-tinted skin and an icy stare.

Somebody who didn't have ANTLERS of all things.

All I could do was stare. That was all I did. I just took in the face of the man who... that was my best friend. But it's been ten years. By the Watchers, I wish I knew what happened to him.

"You are not supposed to be here, Martyn."

His voice had changed too. Rougher. More defensive.

"And you are supposed to be in the G.U.I.D.E, but here you are. You're changed. You're not..."

"Not what? Not normal? Not that stupid, aloof boy who ran around the G.U.I.D.E with my head so far up in the clouds I couldn't tell reality from fiction?"

A sigh had escaped my lips back then. I wish it didn't. "You were never aloof, Scott. You were incredibly smart and witty and could do so many wonderful things- But then you left. You vanished in the middle of the night. You left the G.U.I.D.E! You left the people you were supposed to help- You left... You left me!"

"NOT WILLINGLY!" His hands slammed against his chest. "Look at me, Martyn! Does it look like I left willingly?! Those damned Watchers, feeding your brain- I bet you still believe everything they told you too!" The world around us had gotten quiet. People were looking.

And the "Jimmy" guy finally stepped in between us.

"Scott- Scott, hey, you don't need to tell him anything." He was definitely trying his best to keep the peace. But I've been told that I'm one stubborn bastard.

"No, actually, I think you do!" Jimmy's wing -Golden and soft and organic- stopped me in my path. "Scott, you left the night of your birthday! You left after freaking- You KISSED me, damnit! And then left! I thought you had died!"

"I WAS TAKEN YOU DUMBASS!" His hands got more blue with... With ice. Ice that he should have never had.

"Scott, you really don't need to do this, you know it makes you upset-"

"OH REALLY?! WERE YOU?! THAT SOUNDS LIKE A HELL OF A LOT OF BULLSHIT TO ME!" I shouldn't have yelled back then. Especially with Brian cawing the way he was.

"I WAS! THE WATCHERS ARE NOTHING BUT AN EVIL GROUP THAT JUST WANTED TO TORMENT US!" He was crying now. I, ME, I made him cry. Over ten years and I made him cry. But my anger was still speaking for me.

"And why would they want to hurt us, Scott?! They gave us everything!"

"They took away everything from us, what do you mean?!"

"ENOUGH!" Pearl's voice. I was pushed back from Scott while Jimmy stood in front of Scott like he was something that needed to be protected.

Needed to be protected from ME.

I should have been the one to protect him. I shouldn't have made him scared, but I did.

"Both of you are acting childish- You both are taking this out of my Emporium. Now!"

And that was how we got kicked out. And yet Jimmy was still protecting Scott.

Even when we left the Emporium and were finally in a quiet place... I still let myself be dumb. I wish Brian poked my head more often for my dumbass-ery at that moment.

"I thought you were dead."

"I'm not."

"They told me you left- That you hated the G.U.I.D.E and wanted to let yourself die in the wastelands. I... Didn't want to believe them."

"You did. Didn't you?"

My silence was the wrong answer.

"Martyn. You're a dumbass. You're a stubborn dumbass who never thinks things through. Why the hell would you even come out here?"

I held my arm up for him. His stunned expression... I wish it hadn't been with tears in his eyes. "A year after you left, a virus ran rampant. Killed everyone. Took my arm. I had to slice it off before it destroyed me." Scott's and Jimmy's shared silence let me continue. "Had to make a prosthetic. It was absolutely dog water. Held up for a while though. A couple of years. But then I had to make another one. And another... And another. It was okay for a while! Wish you had been there, Scott, would have been really nice to have my best friend with me to keep me sane but hey! Shit happens.

I made a fourth one when these... Bandits broke in. Took everything in there. I had to leave. I've been out here for almost a whole year now. Trying to find the Doctor. Give me an arm that will actually last." When I looked at Scott, his eyes were so... Empty. Void of anything. "When you left, everything changed. I became the Admin of the G.U.I.D.E. I got to read so many books- Things that I wanted to share with you!"

"I never said you had to be Admin, Martyn! I never even hinted at it!"

"I did it for you, Scott! Damnit, I did it so you and I could have been happy together! Unlimited access to everything, keep the G.U.I.D.E healthy and strong- We wanted that!"

"YOU wanted that, Martyn!" His hands collided with my chest. Gods I wish I wasn't so angry. I wish I had held his hands. I wished I hadn't gotten so headstrong. "Those were your dreams! I just wanted to be happy with you! That's why the Watchers took me away!"

More tears. His face turned an ugly shade of purple and ice crawled along my torso. I still have frost burn on my chest from it.

"That's... That can't be why. Why would they take you away just because you made me happy? That's stupid! That's absolutely stupid to even suggest-"

"Because you're too dumb to realize what they were getting at! We were just players in a game for them, Martyn!"

Jimmy stepped in. Again. And this time I didn't get a chance to speak. Not with a feathered wing shoved in my mouth.

"Scott. Enough. You don't owe this guy anything. Come on. Let's get home."

Two pairs of eyes glared at me as they walked away. One pair that I wish I'd been more calm with. I wish that I had just pushed down that rush of anger- Goodness-

His pen hit the paper with a loud shout. "GOD DAMNIT!" He held his head in his hands as he stared at the unfinished entry. "God damnit. I fucked up. I... Fucked up so much." A caw. "Yeah, I know. Big time."

Martyn didn't even bother to sign the entry. He shut the leather journey and tucked it away in his backpack. "I don't think I'll ever see him again either. He'll never forgive me. By the Watchers... What did he mean by that? Taken?? Nobody gets taken for making somebody else happy! That's just ludicrous!"

Another unamused caw.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Stupid." He collapsed onto the incredibly hard bed and let out a groan. "Ow... Forget these things are practically concrete..."

A cawing-like laughter from the bird.

"Oh ha ha. Very funny Brian."

Martyn rolled onto his stomach and stared at the comm. The reflection disgusted him. That reflection was him. "I need to find him again. I... I need to apologize to him, Brian. It's been almost fourteen years. I need to make things right by him. I need to hear him out, find out what happened to him. I made it sound like it was HIS fault for the G.U.I.D.E collapsing."

Another caw. Much louder.

"I know. Pretty shit of me. He's... He looks like he's been through a lot as well. He didn't have those antlers. Didn't have blue skin. He's... I've messed up so much."

Another quiet caw, followed by a trill. Martyn didn't bother to move as a weight made itself comfortable against Martyn's side.

"Didn't know you'd be a cuddly fella." His hand traced the bird's head while a quiet coo escaped its metallic beak. "Warning, I might move a lot in my sleep. Don't peck me if I end up rolling over."

Another caw and an unamused look.

"Just a warning, little fella." A yawn escaped his lips. "G'night, Brian. Sleep well."

Martyn was out before the bird could chirp again.

(@hermitadaymay )

Entry 35

Day 228

After I spent a few hours walking the streets of the revived city, my attention had been drawn to an odd store.

"Pearl's Imperium Of Endless Knick-Knacks"

I like knick-knacks. And I was sure at the time Brian would like something shiny as well. (Birds do like shiny things after all with how often they crash into glass to get said shiny thing.) So I went inside!

And oh. Oh my goodness. The way I could write a whole novel about this place. It's just... Breathtaking. Walls that seem to never end, filled with all sorts of items that one couldn't find just wandering about. No, these items had to be discovered through intensive searching and scavenging. Hell, there was a whole section dedicated to books BEFORE the Crash!

(Even as I'm making this entry it still shocks me. How did they even manage to save those books?? From what the G.U.I.D.Es had to say, most were destroyed from the Meteor!)

Brian and I spent a decent hour just getting lost in the place. Could you blame us? The place was never ending! I even snagged a few items for myself (and Brian, by demand of loud caws and angry pokes.)

It was right around there when an arm threw itself around my shoulder and yanked me down.

"Jimmy! You shoulda told me you were comin' early! I would've been down here a lot sooner! Goodness you've gone and grown a couple inches! And befriending Brian, that's one skilled move right there-"

"Uhm... I'm not. I'm not Jimmy."

That poor woman jumped away from me like she had just touched acid. And I had gotten a look at her. She was... Definitely something I'd yet to see (Not all that shocking these days. May as well see somebody new every other day!)

The entire left side of her face was covered by a large, moon-shaped panel that had a bright red eye. The other side of her face was more human, tanned skin with freckles and a natural blue eye. Something odd yet... Not the oddest I've seen. Her outfit was also something nostalgic. An old postman's shirt, dirt stained overalls (-At least I hoped it was dirt as of writing this. Maybe not-) covered in hand-stitched sunflowers and a hooded cloak that seemed to be made up of a few different fabrics. Definitely... Odd. But somewhat refreshing to see.

"Sorry! You look a lot like my friend! Really sorry about that!" Her face was a comical shade of red when she extended her arm out to me. "Let's try this again, shall we mate? I'm Pearl! Pearlescent Moon! Proud owner of this Imperium you see before your very eyes! I hope you're enjoyin' it!"

She was a very cheerful spirit. And even I can admit now that her smile was infectious. "67." Her hand was rather cold when I shook it. "I'm enjoying it." A peck. "We. We are enjoying it. Lots of stuff to be found in such a huge place like this. I mean, three floors of just different items? Goodness!"

"Well isn't that an odd name for yourself? 67? Naming yourself after a number. New one on me... But yes! Either that or the CPCs bring all sorts of goodies for me to stock the shelves with!"

Another term I was rather unfamiliar with. "CPC?"

"Canaries, Parrots and Crows! You really do know nothing about the Crashlands do ya?"

"I-I would beg to differ." Did I stick out like a sore thumb back then? Yes. Do I still stick out like a sore thumb as of now? Yep. But to admit that in front of this Pearl woman? Nope. Not gonna happen.

"Uh huh. Anyways, I should get going and leave you be! I have a friend I'm waiting on!"

"Jimmy, I assume?"

Another nod tossed my way. "Jimmy. He's the Canary of the CPC. Lives here a lot with his body guard!"

That caught my interest back then. I look back at it now and wish I'd never even asked. "Who's his bodyguard? Are they hiring, perhaps?"

"Well his body guard is unofficial- We just call-"

"PEAAARL!"

A flash of yellow feathers and blue cloth whizzed past me. It tackled Pearl into the ground and only then did it click. "Ohhh. That's Jimmy."

"Yep-"

"You two were talking about me?!" His voice was much higher pitched than my own (I can still hear it now, screaming in my ears.) as he ranted on about how "I've told you that I've been busy..." Or something along those lines. I was a bit too busy staring at the person standing in the midst of the chaos.

Somebody I thought was dead.

The same man that I shared my first kiss with.

The same, freckled faced, blue haired male that used to make a fuss over my hair looking somewhat decent in the morning.

Scott.

pearl and [cowboy] bigb!!!!

Day 11: Pearl

more sparkles! spirit of public service

taking this next bonus day off so see yalls on monday :]

Hermit-A-Day #12: Lizzie!

(Today’s prompt was “Friends of Hermitcraft,” so I choose Lizzie! I’ve never drawn her before so it was fun figuring out her design)

This is part 12 of this drawing challenge and fundraiser, be sure to check it out!

Hermit-a-Day May #12 - Friends of Hermitcraft, PauseUnpause

HE! PAUSE! I keep giving this man cool outfits, and he gets to have a cool jean jacket because as far as I'm concerned he made half of those patches we keep drawing Etho with. Like, they made a team design together, and Pause turned it into a patch, and that turned into a whole thing of Team Canada each choosing an item of clothing to absolutely COVER in patches. It is a bonding experience.

. . .

I might have too many ideas about Team Canada.