Chapter Text
The boy’s frame shivered violently with each breath. Soot covered his visor. He’s huddled back into a corner, limbs folded close to himself protectively. The sight nearly broke Generik’s heart.
“Hey.” He tried to keep his voice calm and gentle, the boy startled nonetheless. “You’re alright now. I won’t hurt you.”
He didn’t get a response. At a loss, the older man looked for details that might help him make some progress. He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat. There was a small metallic plate fastened to the front of the dark green chest-plate. It’s dented and caked in dirt like the rest of the shaking form sat before him.
“Xi- Xisu...?” He stutters, struggling to make out the letters. Finally he puts it together. ” Xisuma?”
This time, he gets a reaction.
“Xisuma? Is that your name?” The helmeted head nods quickly. Generik’s expression softens.
“It’s nice to meet you, Xisuma. My name is GenerikB but my friends call me Genny.” The boy’s breathing was starting to even out. “I’m here to help you, alright?”
Another nod.
Generik offers his hand. Hesitantly, the boy’s own gloved hand takes hold. The older man grips on, standing from his crouched position and pulling up with as much strength as he can muster.
Surprisingly, the boy isn’t really all that small. He only seemed that way tucked away in the corner. He was nearly as tall as Genny, possibly even stronger- though that could be an illusion of the armor. He isn’t heavy by any means, Generik is able to support him with ease as he gets his balance together.
Taking one last look at the crumbling surroundings, another wince of sadness plucks as his heart. The Deep End wasn’t safe enough for the pair to stay much longer. Generik decides he should bring the boy back to HermitCraft- introduce him to the others he'd given a place to call home.
“Why don’t you come home with me? I’ll help clean you up and get you some food. Does that sound okay?”
Xisuma nods one more time.
Xisuma has been living here for a few weeks now. He scraped all of the dirt from the joints of his armor, scrubbed at his visor till he could see his own broken reflection in it. He still feels disgusting- even after scrubbing his skin raw and nearly pulling his hair out trying to remove the sweat and oil built up in it.
Generik visits him every day. Dropping off food and droning on about what the other Hermits were getting up to. Sometimes he’d teach Xisuma about the world’s coding and talk about his admin duties. The stability was comforting.
Slowly he started to join in more. His voice was still rough, carrying little emotion behind words. Despite this, he made friends. Keralis was one of the first to worm their way into Xisuma’s life. The man’s excitement was contagious. Xisuma even found himself smiling beneath his helmet on occasion. He was touchy and lacked a filter, but the brunet didn’t mind. He could count on Keralis being there at the drop of a hat. Being there to rub calming circles on his back at 3am after a nightmare wakes him. Run his fingers through Xisuma’s hair as his head rests in Keralis’ lap, waiting for the boy to fall asleep again before drifting off himself. Keralis even gave him a nickname; Shaswammy. He isn’t entirely sure where it came from, but he loves it anyway.
Sadly, that stability didn’t last forever. It wasn't long after Xisuma arrived that people began to leave. Even Generik left in the end. He’d approached Xisuma, entrusting the world and the remaining Hermits to him, handing over his admin abilities. Xisuma felt utterly lost for the first time in a while.
Keralis placed a hand on Xisuma’s shoulder and squeezed.
“I won’t leave you, Shashwammy.” He reassures.
Xisuma could only hope he was telling the truth.