Chapter Text
Something about Season 6 was… different.
While Xisuma couldn’t say what the reason was for certain, he definitely at least had an inkling.
And said inkling was walking out of the makeshift dressing area dried off and picking up his items: Grian, “Woo, what a productive day, huh? We got a lot of stuff out of that.”
Xisuma nodded, holding out Grian’s axe for him to take when he noticed, “That we did, my friend.”
For a while, X was worried he did something to overstep the newest Hermit’s boundaries. The first few weeks involved awkward avoidance unless the Admin sought him out personally, but today that assumption was proven false. Xisuma tried bringing an apology shukler of sorts over to Grian, and the shorter Hermit vehemently denied the gift.
“No no no, that’s- you didn’t do anything!” Grian exclaimed once Xisuma explained why he was visiting. “You don’t have to apologize, I swear, it’s just… Admins and I don’t exactly weld together nicely. Then I was worried you were secretly not exactly the happiest with my presence-”
Xisuma titled an eyebrow at that, “Really? In that case, I’m still sorry. I never want to give the newest Hermits the impression that I don’t want them here.”
Grian, however, still shook his head, “No, it’s- ugh.” Grian facepalmed for a second before turning back up with a more collected expression, “You’ve been good, like, really good, and especially if you had to relent to letting me on after everyone begged you to.”
There was something about Grian that made Xisuma’s insides twitch, and not in a happy way, “Grian, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, everyone wanted you here. If someone joins, it’s because everyone wants that person here, including myself.”
Grian shook his head playfully, but there was something deeper to it hidden inside, “Really? Everyone? You know one hundred percents don’t really exist, Ex-eye-zooma-sumavoid.”
X simply grinned, which thankfully, did a good job at wiping that self-deprecating smile off Grian’s face, “I know, but if us Hermits are known for anything, it’s pushing the boundaries of what’s considered ‘improbable’. Believe me, even the grouchy ones like Doc and False were secretly happy for the extra spice you added.”
Grian cleared his throat, his fingers fidgeting with nervous energy he suddenly had, “Ah, well, that’s good to know.”
There, the serious stuff was out of the way, now it was time to lighten the mood, “Also, how did you just say my name?”
Grian let out a few panicked noises, “Uuhhh, Xisuma.”
“Mmmmm if you’re sure, I could have sworn I heard something different,” X said with a wink. “Now then, would you like to swim a little with me? I need to hunt some guardians, and it’s always good to have backup.”
“Where is- Ah! There it is,” Grian questioned before looking at X’s hands. He grabbed the weapon and gave his Admin a cheeky grin, “Thanks again for inviting me on this trip, I was in desperate need of some of this stuff.”
Xisuma blinked back into reality and out of his thoughts, “Of course. Thank you for joining me in the first place.”
Grian shoved all of his stuff into his inventory and fanned his wings to get ready for flying, “See you around, X.”
And with that, Grian was off back to his base. X watched him the entire time until he was just a tiny speck in the sky, slowly becoming empty air. While doing so, the Admin got deep in thought once more, but not about past things. Instead, the endless possibilities of the future began to fill his mind. Xisuma figured- no, he knew that Grian was going to drastically change how everything worked around here.
He just did.