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It was cold.
Now, it was always cold—they had made their walls out of packed snow blocks, after all—but it wasn’t that kind of cold. It wasn’t the kind of cold where you bundled yourself in blankets and sat in front of a fire, and then all was well. No, Bdubs is sure that even if he lived in the desert right now, everything would still feel cold and wrong.
Because something was wrong.
Etho left before the sun had risen. Bdubs knew this because he left the door of their base open, causing a cold draft to pass through. It had made its way right over to Bdubs’ bed, creeping beneath the comfort of his blankets, and waking him almost immediately.
He had rubbed his eyes, to the point of everything around him becoming a blur, and attempted to continue on with his usual routine—but soon realized that his clock read the wrong time of day, and a quick glance outside told him it was still dark outside. He put the pieces together eventually, with Etho not being in his bed (he was not a morning person, is what Bdubs had gathered over the past few weeks, so it was unusual for him to be up and around before the sun was up).
Bdubs had been a worried wreck since.
He was considered the worry wart of the server—though that was more so on Hermitcraft. So, he tried not to mother everyone and anyone he was around, but it’s not his fault everyone he partnered with was so reckless. Etho more so, really. The dude was smart, good with redstone and all, but he had not an ounce of common sense.
Nor self preservation. He’d spent that all on ego.
In an attempt not to bother anyone on Hermit craft once, Etho suffered a long, drawling two days of having a shoulder out of socket—not having any type of potions due to early game, and being unable to pop it back in on his own, he didn’t say a word. The idiot probably would have gone longer if Doc hadn’t noticed it as soon as he saw him.
Despite the long talking Bdubs had given him after that incident, he doubted Etho would come to him if something was wrong. He suffered through things alone, survived everything in the midst of silence.
But he didn’t have to live like that anymore. Whatever the dude had it like before, whatever lone wolf lifestyle he’d grown accustomed to, Bdubs just couldn’t knock it into his head that he could ask for help.
That’s what worried him most. That Etho didn’t quite understand that yet. At least others, or most of them, vaguely understood when something got to the point where they needed someone else's assistance, a hand with something—whether it was physical health, mental health, or any other silly thing that they just couldn’t do on their own. But, this was an incredibly confusing concept to Etho, apparently. Whenever he got burnt out, he figured that hopes, dreams, zero sleep, and solidity would get him through it.
All of this was the tie breaker on whether he should go look for him or not. The winning answer was yes.
He had given him time, really. Bdubs held himself back from immediately running out the door, just in case he was coming back. But it’d been hours now, and he couldn’t get a thing done while worrying about where he was—they always had a regular routine. They occasionally strayed away from it, yes, but not so drastically. They always gave note to each other when they were going somewhere.
So, he gathered up his stuff, even a Regen Potion or two, and headed off into a general direction.
Bdubs didn’t come across a lot of the other members while on his search, but that wasn’t very surprising. More people were red, so the greens of the server were less opt to adventure out. On top of this, he wasn’t really heading along any of the main, worn down paths—Bdubs was checking more wooded areas, random areas that he doubted people went to often.
The guy was like a skittish cat, really. Hiding in obscure areas you would never check, and you worry until you do.
It wasn’t till he did a whole roundabout of the server, even circling their base twice in his search, that he finally found something. He almost headed back home, worried that maybe he just missed Etho, and he was now at their base—but not too far from where he was, something in the distance made him do a double take.
A mess of white hair—usually something shiny, mesmerizing, in the moon or sunlight—was what caught his eye, though now it looked tangled and dull. Even from here, Bdubs could see long limbs shifting and clearly struggling to get comfortable.
Etho.
Panic made itself clearly known, stabbing Bdubs straight in the heart.
In seconds, he scrambled over to Etho. Tree branches whacked him in the face as he cut through, but he couldn’t bother caring about the bushes and roots he stumbled over. The only thing he could hear in his mind, the only thing pulsing in his veins, was Etho, Etho, Etho.
The racket Bdubs inevitably made didn’t seem to catch the guy's attention, not even a glance in his direction as he crossed the few steps in between them. It was increasingly worrying—Etho was always on high alert. If you breathe differently in his presence, there's a high chance that he’s going to silently notice.
“Etho,” He breathed out, eyes examining and darting around his body. Bdubs fell to his knees without even noticing, just to get closer. There weren’t any clear injuries, but he knew better.
“Etho,” He repeated. “What happened?”
Bleary eyes opened, eyelids stuttering with clear effort. They stayed like that for a moment, and Bdubs was so relieved that all he could do was stare.
Bdubs only noticed that his mask had slipped down his face when Ethos' hands suddenly dragged themselves up to fix it—most likely because of the newfound presence. The movement was jerky, alarmed.
“Hey—hey, It's okay,” he assured, but it did no good. Etho continued in his attempts to cover the scar that began peeking out, risking some form of vulnerability. The action seemed to hurt, because a pained noise came out once he reached his face. Ethos’ hands halted in their tracks, dropping down to his lap and cradling a particular spot on his ribcage.
A small spark of recognition lit in his eyes, and he murmured, “‘dubs.”
Bdubs’ eyes hastily darted towards the spot, his reaction to moving too much a tell tale sign. There were a lot of those. Signs so acutely familiar to injuries of his own—because getting hurt wasn’t uncommon. It was too hard to remain uninjured in a world like this.
He could see the all too familiar pain in Ethos eyes from making even the smallest of movements, wincing at every breath. Bdubs could see how he bound himself up, curling in on himself to make up for any small twitches or movements he potentially made. He was more sure than anything that his ribs were messed up, but he also wasn’t stupid enough to take a deep breath of relief and assume that that was the only thing going on—Etho was strong. Adaptable. Something like a broken rib, though still painful, wouldn’t take the guy down like this.
Ethos eyes opened again, still not fully aware, but seemingly more here than he was minutes prior. His gaze was unfocused, dazed—but his eyes still managed to drag themselves towards Bdubs, moving sluggishly. Like it was an immense effort to focus his line of sight on something else—but ultimately, Etho still looked to Bdubs.
“What’s wrong—Etho? Jeez, what happened?” He asked, voice softer than usual. It was subconscious, but something in him knew that Etho would prefer his low tone.
He didn’t answer. Not that question in particular, anyway.
“‘dubs,” Etho repeated, more of a statement this time. The words (or, word, more accurately) sounded thick on his tongue, slurring together like he wasn’t entirely sure where to place the syllables. Bdubs was preoccupied, now running his fingers through his hair and along the back of Ethos head to check for injuries.
The pads of his fingers ran along a bump at the back of Ethos head, and he could feel the dried blood. It wasn’t a lot, which was good, but he was pretty sure that he was showing signs of a concussion. His pupils were blown, he was disoriented, and lacked general coordination. Very not-like-Etho.
(Suspected) broken ribs, and a concussion. This guy. What had he gotten himself into? That wasn’t even counting the injuries he couldn’t see. And injuries you couldn’t see, were very on brand for Etho.
Regen Potion, Bdubs suddenly remembered. He brought one when he’d gone out, since he suspected something had happened. He couldn’t give more than one to him at a time, especially when it would make the trek home much harder (Etho was already delirious, and he suspected that too many of the potions would make it worse. He could barely hold himself up without those as an added on factor), but one was better than nothing.
Leaning away from Etho, he dug through his inventory. Messy it may be at the moment, but he had what he needed. Once he had it, Bdubs carefully popped off the cap. Etho’s eyes were closed by the time he looked up again.
“Hey, hey, open your eyes,” He said, huffing as he almost spilled the contents in his hand. Etho blinked up at him, and then pointed his gaze towards the potion—he didn’t seem phased, barely even seeming to process the information his brain was given.
“Regen Potion,” Bdubs vaguely elaborated. One of his hands gently tilted Etho’s head back. “Drink.”
Once he had helped in the act of sliding Etho’s mask down his face, his attempts at resisting the potion weren’t very effective, seemingly only out of natural instinct. Once his eyes locked back onto Bdubs with another subtle look of recognition, Etho settled down. It was still a messy attempt at drinking a potion, dripping down the side of his face, but considering the current state of the guy, he couldn’t blame him.
After he, eventually, downed the potion, Bdubs tucked the empty bottle back into his inventory. Its effects would work quickly, and even if it didn’t entirely cover all of his injuries and mishaps, it would make the healing later on easier. It’d help his ribs and take the edge off of his inevitable head ache (which was likely an understatement. Splitting of the head, more so).
While Etho’s eyelids weren’t visibly fluttering, he wanted to get him up and going. It'd be considerably easier if he was aware, at least for the first few minutes of the walk home.
Bdubs hefted him up—and other than the occasional tipping to the side, which was actually more frequent, rather than occasional—it didn’t take too much work to get going. Etho didn’t weigh the most, even as mostly dead weight, but that was something he’d have to take up with him later.
Subtle noises of pain came from Etho almost every time they took a step, and Bdubs winced in sympathy. Still, he tried to take it slower, taking careful, tentative steps, as to not make any of his injuries worse.
“Wher’ we goin’?” Etho heavily leaned against him, loose, messy hair brushing against Bdubs’ face every now and then. Light he may be, but it was like he had an arm wrapped around the Statue of Liberty, here. He huffed a subtle grunt of effort. Stupid.
“To our base, we’re gonna get you all fixed up—healin’ potions and everything. A good dinner.” Bdubs adjusted his hold on him, slowing down their pace a bit as Etho became more of a struggle to heft along. “You’ll be okay.”
Etho’s state was getting more visibly foggy, his head lolling forward as he dragged his feet along the dirt. “Etho,” Bdubs said, nudging him along. The movement erupted a pained noise from him, shying away from the touch. Bdubs whispered a hasty apology. It was unusual to hear so much from the guy, at least when it was from pain.
Eventually, it got difficult to bear his weight, with how many times he’s lost his balance. Etho swayed, and paired with the height difference between the two, it made the way he carried him along increasingly more of an awkward position. At some point, Ethos' knees buckled beneath him, and he didn’t react quickly enough to hold him up.
“Etho!” Bdubs said.
They crumpled to the ground, and Bdubs, though taken by surprise, attempted to take the brunt of the fall. Trying to lower him to the ground, instead of the initial, unplanned act of face planting. They landed in a heap, sitting in the thick layer of snow alongside the trekked pathway. The shock from the cold snow, bound to soak their clothes, made him grateful for his moss cloak—and despite their own lack of elegance, the moss followed with something of its own. It slowly, carefully draped over him and Etho’s lilting form.
Etho shifted, uncoordinated hands going to his head with an uncomfortable whine. Every time a slight shift changed their position, a wince came from him. “You’re okay, it’s okay,” Bdubs assured.
To him, the poor guy, it probably felt like they were still falling. Bdubs could see how visibly dazed and disoriented he was—eyes darting around as he made an attempt at gaining his bearings, but not exactly being able to focus on anywhere in particular. Like the world around him itself, was spinning.
“I’ve got you.” Bdubs tucked in the fluffy moss where it had fallen off of Ethos shoulder, shifting at the movement. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.”
He had no idea what to do.
Bdubs’ eyes darted to his clock, and he was sure that every time he looked away from it, time moved quicker. The moment he took a second to think, the sun seemed to set with haste.
Their base—while not far away if you were at a steady pace and uninjured—just seemed increasingly further the more the situation escalated. They were moving at a snail's pace, and before he knew it, it would be dark. Mobs were not something he wanted added into the mix right now.
Knowing this, as comfortable as it was beneath the moss cloak with Etho, body heat gathering between them and warming Bdubs in such a way he didn’t know was possible, they had to move. Etho looked like he was settling down, leaning heavily against him. His eyes were closed, expression temporarily clear of discomfort, but they had to move.
It would be a long trek home.
It was, surprising to no one, dark by the time they made it to their base. It went surprisingly well, just sticking to the (poorly, really) lit up pathway that they all used to get from place to place. Where there weren't already torches spammed out in an area, Bdubs frantically placed them to keep the mobs from spawning. He’d usually do this anyway, not being the biggest fan of the dark, but the precious cargo he was currently carrying only made it more critical.
Stepping foot onto the soul sand, he jammed the door shut behind him with his foot. A mess the place currently was, of course—but the white walls around him made him feel more at home than ever. Obviously, Etho didn’t need to know of this.
With the long journey they’d—or more so he’d, Etho didn’t do donkey crap—already taken, long and, at the time, never ending, the way to their beds only seemed like they were a few steps away.
Bdubs wanted nothing more than to wrap a blanket around him, kick his shoes off at the end of the bed, and conk out. He almost went for it, really, a faint glance at his bed was a big factor in that—but the poor, unusual sight that was Etho before him, made him ultimately decide against it. Not like he really would have done it, anyway.
He was sure that when he lowered Etho onto his bed, the guy was going to fall asleep almost immediately. His eyes weren’t even entirely open on the way here, so he deemed it inevitable—Bdubs was more jealous than anything, at this fact.
Though, when he came back from snatching a Regen Potion from their chest, Etho was staring. He hadn’t moved from where he’d put him, but his eyes were open and, seemingly, aware. Jeez. You could have been staring at the ground we were walking on earlier instead of being a limp knucklehead. Bdubs kept the thoughts to himself, considering that Etho had likely been through enough, already—but the act of keeping his mouth shut became increasingly more difficult when he saw the crinkle of Etho's eyes, the slight change in his face, though covered, that indicated a smile.
“Oh, what?” Etho only looked more amused at his words, blinking slowly. Still delirious, but somehow not delirious enough to keep from silently making fun of him at all times.
Some sort of weird, muffled and unearthly noise came from Etho, muffled by the thin blankets—though, he’s not sure it would have been audible, anyway.
Afterwards, he tried to sit up, the attempt something unsuccessful and uncoordinated. His movements were shaky, and Etho didn’t seem prepared enough to hold himself up when he got to the position desired. Bdubs interrupted by stepping towards him, hands held out. “Idiot—“ He murmured under his breath, voice full of worry despite his words, “Don’t do that.” He urged him back into a laying position, how he previously was and how he needed to be, with a hand on his chest. There was no further protest, only a content look in Etho’s eyes.
There was a long, stray strand of hair in his face, and Bdubs pushed it away. A shorter piece still stubbornly fell and laid on his temple, just short enough not to be tucked behind his ear. Ethos eyes, confused, followed the movements of his hand, unfocusing occasionally. Once Etho had settled, hair laying messily on his pillow and comfy in his bed, Bdubs averted his gaze and took a step back from him. The only thing stopping him from completely finishing this action, was a tug on his shirt. Gentle, but firm. Etho still didn’t lift his head to speak, but it was more legible than prior attempts
“Wher’ you goin’?” He asked, subtly furrowing his brows.
Bdubs glanced up. “Nowhere, you oaf,” He said, redirecting his focus onto the Regen Potion in his hand.
His hands went to carefully pull down his mask, without a second thought. It used to be a tentative, vulnerable thing, but over the years, it’s become less and less weird seeing his face. Etho took it off willingly now. He isn’t sure who else has seen him without his mask on more than a few times, but that wasn’t a thing for him to worry about. “You’re gonna drink this, and then you’re gonna go to sleep.”
Bdubs didn’t wait for a response, sitting on the edge of the bed and carefully sitting the guy up. Etho tried to grab the bottle from him, now insistent on doing it himself, apparently, but he only batted his hands away as he tilted the potion into his mouth. “Hush up, you big baby.”
Once the bottle was empty enough, he tossed it aside into his inventory, leaning away from him. He scanned Etho, looking for any more signs of injury or any twists of pain in his face. “How you feelin’?” Bdubs asked, subconsciously prodding at the back of his head, gently dabbing at the dried blood and making sure the wound had already started its steady process in healing with the help of the potions.
Taking a second to determine his answer, Etho subtly scrunched his nose up. “M’ head hurts.”
He huffed a laugh. “I’m sure it does.” He wanted to ask Etho what had happened, but he figured he could save the stern talking to and mother henning till morning. It’d be better to scold him for whatever had happened while he was coherent, anyway. He looked over, and Etho’s eyes were closing again, seemingly content. “I’ll be here when you wake up, ‘kay?”
He wasn’t expecting a response, but nonetheless, he got one.
“Thank you, ‘dubs.” Etho slurred. His words were quiet, sounding like he was on the edge of sleep.
Bdubs got settled at the foot of the bed, back against the wall and knees up to his chest. He didn’t bother heading to his own. Laying his cloak across them, the moss gathered the warmth and bundled him up in it.
Minutes later, once he had finally dragged his worried gaze away from Etho, he took a second to look through a window and see how late it was. He blinked the blurriness out of his eyes, and the moon glared at him from the outside of their base, shining brightly and fully in the sky.
Bdubs glared back.