I do vore things

“Come on,” Ex called as they jumped off of the edge of the end island, using the elytra strapped to their back to glide down to a ledge on an adjacent island. Hels gritted her teeth, taking one last swipe at the attacking endermen, the resulting screams filling his ears as he jumped after Ex.

Hels’ jump was clumsy, and she reached out to grab the ledge, but her fingers barely brushed the endstone of the ledge Ex was standing on. They jumped to grab his hand, pulling her up onto the ledge with them, and they both collapsed to the ground. The enraged and agonized screams of the endermen still echoed through the Void behind them.

“You’re alright? You didn’t get hurt, right?” Ex asked, glancing over Hels as they drew him further from the edge.

“Yeah, fine,” the knight mumbled, her eyes never straying from the endermen gathering at the edge of the other island, staring after them both. He moved closer to the wall of stone that made up the main island, pulling Ex into a two-meter tall space that they nearly had to duck under to fit into.

“Hels, I’m serious,” Ex pressed, pulling her to the ground. She looked over at them as they ran their hands over her armor, checking for blood or any other sign that something had gotten under his armor. Their hands ended up on his face, red eyes meeting brown.

Ex took in a long breath, their hands falling to their lap. Hels took in their appearance; the bags underneath their eyes, the lightly glowing freckles splashed across their face. Their dirty white hair framed their face, while the same hair had fallen over their eyes just minutes before, something they had been irritated with.

They looked so much more tired than they had when they started their journey. The hands that Hels gathered into his own were stained black by the Void - something that Ex insisted was fine, but Hels was almost certain it was not.

“We should rest,” Hels broke the silence. Ex hesitated for a moment before they nodded.

“Yeah, we should. You okay with doing it here?” They asked.

“As long as you won’t fall off,” she answered, prompting a chuckle from Ex.

“I think I’ll be alright,” Ex replied, leaning back against the endstone wall. Hels moved to sit next to them, pulling them to her body. A while ago, Ex would’ve tried to murder him for that, but now they leaned into him, resting against her shoulder. Despite them being taller than her, their body felt small next to him.

Their body shook slightly in a way that it hadn’t before, a gentle tremor running through them every once in a while as they relaxed. Hels took their hands once again, ones that she remembered bending the Void to their will; the same Void that now stained them black and crept up their arms. Hels saw it every time Ex thought he wasn’t looking, every time they pulled down their tattered sleeve to run their fingers over the inky blackness.

“Do you think we’re in a server’s end?” Ex asked softly, pulling Hels out of his thoughts.

“One that we can stay in? Doubtful,” she muttered, her stomach twisting slightly as he glanced down at them again. “What if we tried anyway?” Hels could ask. Even if there wasn’t a server that would keep them long-term - two outcasts, exiled from their homes, one of them from Hell, of all places - Ex needed to get out of the Void.

Not like they would ever admit that, though. The Void was supposed to be their home, but this Void differed vastly from the Void they had grown up in. Cold, unforgiving, and something that you would never come back from unless you were within the range of a server. In that case, the only thing that they would be subjected to was a painful respawn.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Ex murmured, letting out a long sigh. “Only thing I need is right here, anyway. G’night, Hels.”

Their head ended up on his shoulder, and her grip tightened around them as she stared out into the Void, his mind running through everything that could go wrong.

He didn’t let himself sleep at first, but as Ex’s breath evened out, her head began to droop as well, and she was eventually dragged into sleep.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Hels was drawn back to consciousness by Ex shaking him awake, and she blinked up at them, exhaustion clouding his mind.

“About time. I’ve got breakfast,” Ex said, placing a chorus fruit into her hands as they took a bite of a half-eaten one they still had in their hand. Hels sat up, frowning as he looked from Ex, who had just teleported further away from her, then back to the chorus fruit.

“You went out by yourself?” He asked, and Ex frowned.

“And? You do it too,” they replied pointedly, taking another bite of the fruit.

“Yes, but-!” Hels cut herself off, narrowing her eyes at Ex. They knew why Hels was unhappy, but they wouldn't be the one to bring it up. “Fine. Sure. Go risking your life.”

“A little dramatic, but okay,” Ex responded dryly.

Hels directed his glare towards the fruit in his hands. His stomach twisted slightly at the sight of it. Chorus fruit had been all they had eaten for so long, Hels wasn’t sure if she could stand it anymore. But she took slow, painstaking bites of it, withstanding each sudden tug of teleportation as the chorus fruit pulled him around.

Ex was waiting when she finished, bouncing on the balls of their feet and pulling him up.

“Let’s get going,” they urged, heading towards the edge once again, and they climbed up the side of the island, on a precarious, natural path. Hels followed them with little hesitation, watching their every step, all of her instincts on high alert. They both made it to the top of the island safely, however, and Hels readjusted the wings attached to his armor, stretching in a way that he couldn’t in the slightly cramped space they had taken refuge in.

Ex set off quickly, with Hels following them closely. She kept one hand on the hilt of her sword at her side at all times, keeping her eyes downcast.

Each jump to a different island was nerve-wracking, every moment over the Void a second that their scavenged elytra might fail, or the jump might be slightly too far. However, they quickly fell into a routine, each motion repetitive.

They were once again climbing up the side of an island after making a jump, when Hels came face-to-face with an enderman, the sight freezing him in place for just a moment, its glowing, bright purple eyes hypnotizing.

It was a moment too long, and the second that Hels got a grip on herself and reached for her sword, the enderman let out a shrill, enraged screech and swiped at him with its claws. Ex pulled Hels out of the way, making her stumble backwards, and before he could regain his footing, the enderman had swiped at Ex next.

They had attempted to dodge, but the blow connected with their shoulder, making them stumble. Hels jumped in, taking a swipe at the enderman, which opened up a deep gash across its back. Sickly green blood began to seep out of the wound, and the enderman let out a final screech before it collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Hels was just turning around to check for any more threats when she heard a cry from behind her and whipped around.

Another enderman had teleported to Ex, and this time the blow connected with their head. Two screams wrought the air this time; Hels’ and the enderman’s, both enraged yells.

Hels’ heart was pounding in his chest as he stabbed the enderman directly through the middle, letting go of the hilt as soon as it sank into the creature’s body. Instead, she dove towards Ex - who had fallen over the edge of the island when they were hit.

She watched them fall into empty Void, with nothing underneath to catch them to save them from an agonizing death. No.Damnit, this was his fault, he couldn’t just watch them fall away from her like this when there were two options; Ex either woke up alone or never woke up again.

So Hels pushed himself over the edge as well, closing her eyes against the darkness. The further he fell into it, the more he could feel it eating away at his very being, tearing her apart piece by piece.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

When Hels opened his eyes, he was blinded by the sun glaring down at him, and she closed them again. There was hard stone underneath her head, and it made him wince.

He pushed himself up quickly once the reality clicked in her brain, looking around frantically for Ex while he shaded his eyes so that he could at least somewhat see, pushing the dull ache still lingering from the respawn aside. But she couldn’t see them anywhere, which brought a frown to her face. They should be here, unless they had set a spawn or-

Or unless the admin had messed with them.

Hels’ hand went to the empty sheath at his side, and then balled in frustration. She would have to nab a sword from somewhere.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed that there were buildings fairly close to the place that she was. He bristled slightly, but then forced himself to relax. People to look out for, but also people to raid.

She took quick and silent steps to move to the nearest place, slipping inside as stealthily as possible. Ignoring everything else, he made his way through it until he found rows of chests, which he dove into, digging until he found a diamond sword. It didn’t look well enchanted, but that didn’t matter.

Hels left as quickly as he had come, this time a sword held tightly in his grip. She darted into the trees, making her way towards where she could see more buildings - a larger establishment.

It didn’t take him long to run into a person. They had white hair, like Ex, which was swept over their face. Hels took in their mask and thick jacket as they turned around to face her.

“Where’s your admin?” Hels asked lowly as she raised the sword to their face.

“Whoa, okay, buddy. I don’t want a fight,” the person said, raising their hands in surrender. Hels gritted his teeth at the answer. “What’s yo-”

“I said, where’s your admin,” Hels growled, taking another step closer to them, and pushing the tip of the sword to their neck.

“Hey, look. I’m not sure,” came the answer, and he continued hurriedly once Hels pressed the blade of the sword further against his neck. “But I can call him! If you’d like.”

“No pulling shit. You’re not calling for help. Just your admin,” Hels instructed.

“No funny business,” the person confirmed, pulling out his communicator slowly. Hels watched him carefully, catching sight of part of the message. The communicator was slowly put away again, and the two stood in silence. Every time the person would move, the more tense Hels got, his grip getting tighter on the hilt of the sword.

It didn’t take them long to gain a crowd, which only made Hels more desperate. He grabbed the person from behind, the blade for the sword pressed against his neck, which would get closer anytime one of the curious and anxious faces got closer.

One face stood out to her, though, and when she caught sight of it, she pulled the sword so close against the person’s neck that they finally made a noise.

Wels’ hand drifted to the sword at his hip, though he never quite touched it. His gaze locked onto Hels’, and it was filled with a mix of anger and protectiveness. He was here, meaning this was Hermitcraft, and the admin would be Xisuma.

That fact only made Hels want to tear his head off even more.

Hels recognized the figure from Ex’s descriptions immediately, when he landed. Dressed completely in green armor, mirroring Ex’s own in all but color, with purple visor that Hels couldn’t see through.

“What’s going on here?” He asked calmly, his voice distorted slightly by the helmet.

“Where are they?” Hels spat, glaring at the armored figure.

“Where is who?” Xisuma returned.

“Ex, you fucking-!” She bit her tongue, taking a moment to hold back the words before continuing, his voice icy and forcibly level. “They weren’t at spawn. They only died a minute before me, you did something to them. What did you do to them.”

“Look, um, Hels?” He seemed to glance at Wels, taking in his reaction before continuing. “Hels. I’ll explain everything, if you come with me. Let Etho go.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Hels shot back.

“Look, I’m- you can have my sword,” Xisuma offered, pulling the sword out of its sheath and offering it to Hels. Wels automatically took a step towards Xisuma, but he was waved away. “You can have a sword to my back the entire time. Just let go of Etho, come with me.” His voice was reassuring, like he was trying to soothe a wild animal. And maybe he was.

Hels moved slowly at first, then all at once, snatching the sword from Xisuma and pressing it against his armored frame. The other sword fell to the ground, discarded.

“Walk,” she muttered, and Xisuma obeyed. He walked slowly, heading through the maze of buildings to a Nether portal. The portal opened into a hub, which the admin navigated with ease. He approached one portal in particular, and when they stepped through it, Hels realized that it must’ve been Xisuma’s base.

“Explain,” she demanded, never once moving the sword.

“Can I ask something first?” Xisuma requested, but continued before Hels replied. “Did you two possibly die in the Void?”

“Yes, we’ve been there ever since-” Hels bit back the words, letting them die on his tongue. The moon.

“Right, well,” Xisuma started, not trying to turn to look at Hels. “Sometimes, when players die in the Void, it kind of- well. There’s a chance they end up in me. I’ve been trying to figure out who this is for a little while, but now…”

Hels went through a variety of emotions in a split second, finally settling back on anger. “Then let them out,” she spat.

Xisuma hesitated. “I’m… not sure that’s the best idea. We don’t know what state they’re in, and moving them could do more harm than good.”

“Oh, fucking wonderful,” Hels growled. “So I’m just supposed to leave them with you?! You can check on them, so do it,” he demanded.

“I, hm. I don’t like messing around in player’s code,” Xisuma tried.

“And I’m just supposed to leave them with you,” she repeated, her voice laced with thick disdain.

“You can stay and watch me,” Xisuma offered. “I don’t wanna fight,” he attempted to reassure Hels.

Hels hatedit, but how the hell could he fight Xisuma? He had the power right now, he had Ex, and Hels might as well be there to make sure that Xisuma did nothing wrong.

“…very well,” he muttered, sheathing Xisuma’s sword, watching him closely as he turned around. “I’m watching you.”

So that was how Hels ended up curled against one of the people that she wanted dead the most, every nerve in her body screaming at her, itching to reach for the knife that she had grabbed from his kitchen.

He was asleep now, his breathing slow. He had taken his armor off hours ago, mostly under instruction from Hels. He could kill Xisuma right here and now, and only the thought of Ex held him back.

Hels couldn’t bring herself to look at Xisuma’s face, though half of it was obscured by a mask. He looked too much like Ex for Hels’ liking.

Joel winced as Doc poked at his shoulder injury, and Doc gave him an unimpressed look.

“Seriously, Joel? Putting yourself in a dangerous situation, alone, no less?” Doc scolded, turning away and grabbing bandages and gauze from a cabinet nearby before returning to Joel’s side. “You’re lucky I know how to dress wounds.”

Joel bit his tongue as Doc applied gauze to the wound, turning his head away and closing his eyes.

“Relax,” Doc instructed, and Joel forced the tension out of his limbs. It only worked for about a minute, until Doc jostled the injury, and Joel let out a pained hiss. “All done,” Doc declared as he stepped back, giving Joel another once-over.

“Now that that’s settled, should I even ask how you ended up in that situation?” Doc asked, his tone unimpressed.

“Just a stupid mansion raid, they swarmed me,” Joel muttered, frowning.

“Wonderful. And, I suppose, your first lesson on the Hermitcraft server is; Don’t go into woodland mansions alone,” Doc commented dryly.

“Yeah, thanks,” Joel muttered, wincing as his hand drifted to his shoulder once again. He grabbed his bloodied shirt, that was laying next to him on the cot, his face scrunching up at the thought of putting it back on.

“Here, take this,” Doc called, throwing him a white shirt that he had grabbed from the closet. “And don’t even think about moving, you’re gonna be staying here tonight.”

“What?!” Joel exclaimed, a dismayed look crossing his face as he turned back to Doc.

“You thought we were letting you go? You just tangled with a vindicator, we’ve gotta make sure you haven’t got magic poisoning. Cub will be checking up on you, he’s much better with magic sickness than most Hermits.”

Joel let out a melodramatic groan as he fell back onto the cot, staring at the ceiling of the carefully-constructed medical bay. The thought of staying in the sterile, white building made him nauseous.

Wait, no, that was from the Admin inside him, moving.

Joel listened as Doc closed the door to the room behind him. He pulled the shirt on after a few seconds of silence, and he let out a frustrated sigh. These hermits and their worry. He was fine! Probably. Though it didn’t matter if he was or not, Xisuma was less okay than he was, but he needed a chance to let him out. If he did it now, before Cub got here, could he say that Xisuma had come in here and he had found him? Would they believe it? Better question, would they push it?

“Smallbeans?” came a soft murmur, followed by a hand pressing against his stomach lining, which drew him out of his thoughts.

“Hey, Xisuma,” he answered, resting a hand on his stomach. “Welcome back. Ready to come out now?”

“Where are we? Is it okay to?” He still sounded out of it. Was it safe to let him out? Joel didn't know what his mental state could be. Maybe he shouldn’t.

“Joel?” That wasn’t Xisuma. Joel sat straight up, the movement throwing Xisuma against the lining of his stomach. Joel looked over to the door as Cub came in. He was dressed in his usual open lab coat, but in this setting, it made him look like a doctor. “Ah, you are still here,” Cub noted, “heard you had a bit of an incident in a mansion.”

“You could call it that,” Joel muttered.

“I’m sure,” Cub chuckled, walking over to Joel and looking him over. “Feeling weird? Numbness or tickling in your extremities, buzzing in your head, warping feelings, headaches, unexplained pain?” He rapid-fired, not letting Joel get a word in.

“No,” Joel answered weakly after Cub fell silent. “None of that. I’m fine, why won’t you people believe me?”

“Yeah, well, I’ve heard that before. Besides, it could have delayed effects,” Cub answered, turning away.

“Smallbeans?” Joel heard again, and he froze. Dammit, Xisuma! Not the time!

“Hm?” Cub hummed, turning back to Joel. “Did you say something?”

“Nope!” Joel exclaimed a little too loudly, and he winced internally. He was so caught.

“Smallbeans? What’s going on? You okay?” He listened to the words coming from his stomach. They weren’t too loud, but for Cub and his unnaturally sharp hearing, he could probably hear them as clear as day.

“Where’s that coming from?” Cub asked, looking around, for show. His sentence may have been phrased like a question, but there was no query in his tone.

“Where’s what coming from? I don’t hear anything,” Joel insisted, his voice a bit too shrill.

“Really?” Cub pressed, stepping closer to Joel, his movements smooth. He looked Joel up and down before he spoke again. “Give it up, Joel. What’s going on?”

Joel was caught between two possibilities at that moment. So, in his panic, he chose the latter.

“What? I’m not hiding anything.”

Cub sighed, brushing his hair out of his face and revealing his dark blue eyes entirely. They were a remnant of his sculk infection from when he was on Empires, or so Joel was told, and they drove an uneasy feeling into him. “Come on, Joel. One more chance.”

“Okay, okay!” Joel exclaimed; and the resignation drew a subtly satisfied look to Cub’s face. “Xisuma came with me and got shrunk by a vindicator!”

The content look on Cub’s face fell into a frown. “Interesting. And how he ended up…”

“If I hadn’t, I would’ve died. Or Xisuma would still be in there. SO don’t say a word,” Joel threatened.

“Alright,” Cub agreed, looking unbothered by the threat. “Can we take him out? If he’s shrunk, we’ll have to have a look at him.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Joel muttered, pulling his legs onto the cot and crossing them.

Cub raised an eyebrow at him. “Joel, we can’t use magic, he’s been hit by too much already today. Get him out yourself, or I’ll get you something that can help you.”

Joel groaned, frowning at Cub. “Fine. Get me something if you don’t want your damn sheets dirty.”

Cub shrugged, opening one of the cabinets and producing a metal bowl that he handed to Joel. He returned the annoyed look that Joel gave him, with a slight undertone of ‘this is what you asked for.’

In a practiced move, Joel forced Xisuma upwards, letting him - and the stomach fluids he was covered in - fall into the bowl. (He would’ve felt bad about it if he hadn’t learned years ago that his ascent into godhood meant that people could be semi-comfortable inside him and not digested.) The clanging sound from Xisuma’s armour hitting the bowl was startling, but it didn’t take long for Joel to recover and hold the bowl out to Cub.

Cub took it from him, looking into the bowl at Xisuma. Once it was out of his hands, Joel laid down, turning away from the two and closing his eyes, letting himself drift into a state of limbo, ignoring the noises surrounding him.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Bright lights blinded Xisuma as he laid on his back, the back of his head throbbing from how hard it hit the inside of his helmet. He looked up at the ceiling through tinted purple, and he watched a face come into view. Who was that? Cub?

He was lifted up, held safely in Cub’s grip, and he was placed down onto another surface. He placed his hand on the surface, though he couldn’t feel it through his gloves. A small noise escaped him as he was suddenly enveloped in darkness once again, his body suddenly being rubbed against. Cub’s hands? They pressed against him from every side, and he felt himself being picked up again as the material was taken off him.

Xisuma blinked up at Cub blearily, the latter looking down at him with a soft expression.

“Hey, you," Cub said softly, “feeling okay?”

“Hmm, sleepy,” Xisuma murmured.

“Yeah? Okay,” Cub sighed, setting Xisuma back down on the counter. Xisuma watched Cub pull his communicator out of his pocket and turn away from Xisuma. Despite how he craned his neck and tried to see what was on the screen, he wasn’t able to catch a glimpse. He tried to stand up, but his legs were too shaky, and he had to sit back down before he fell.

He watched Cub intently until he turned back around, looking down at Xisuma once again.

“Your armour is gonna be hellish to clean, isn’t it? That’s a later problem, I guess,” Cub muttered to himself. “Okay… come on, let’s get you fixed up, hmm?”

Xisuma nodded numbly at his words. Getting fixed up sounded nice. Cub lifted him off the towel, moving him across the room and setting him down on the counter. He watched Cub grab some colored vials from the cupboard above him, and he set them down on the counter beside him. Xisuma looked at them curiously, and he reached out to touch them before Cub put his hand between Xisuma and the vials. Xisuma sighed and sat back down, leaning into Cub’s hand.

“Oh, Xisuma. That really messed you up, huh?” Cub sighed.

“Did it?” A new voice asked, and Xisuma sat up again, looking around for the source. His eyes found Zedaph, moving towards them quickly from across the room.

“You got here quickly,” Cub noted, to which Zed shrugged.

“And? I’m here, aren’t I?” Zed replied, scooping Xisuma up from off the counter. Xisuma let out a small squeak, looking up at Zed. “Hi there, I heard you got a little mixed up,” Zed cooed.

“Yeah, and how do we fix him?” Cub asked.

“Well, it’s vindicator magic, shrinking… okay, I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never heard of this happening before,” Zed admitted, his gaze landing on the vials on the counter. “Oh, good idea!” He exclaimed, placing Xisuma back on the counter. Zed grabbed the nearest vial, containing a shimmering blue liquid, and uncorked it.

“Be careful,” Cub tried. Zed nodded as he tipped the vial over Xisuma’s head, letting a few drops slip out and land on the admin’s helmet.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Joel rolled over as he woke up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He yawned, sitting up as yesterday’s events clicked back into place. He looked to his left to see Cub and Zed curled up on a cot together, Cub at the head of it and Zed at the foot. He looked to the left, and his eyes locked onto a mop of messy brown hair, covered by sheets on the cot next to him.

Joel stood up quickly, moving around the end of the cot, and he crouched down in front of the person’s face, frowning as he looked up at him. There was a mask on his face, which looked like a gas mask, covering his nose and mouth with tubes sticking out of it. They were see-through, and he could see something black in the tubes, though he couldn’t tell if it was moving or stationary.

“You’re up! Morning!” Zed exclaimed, the sudden noise making Joel jump. His head snapped over to Zed, who was now standing at the end of the cot.

“I thought you were asleep!” Joel blurted out, his eyes still wide with shock.

“What? No, just resting,” Zed replied, “Anyway, glad you’re awake. Cub said you might have magic poisoning, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Joel muttered, annoyed that this was brought up again.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Zed shrugged, stepping around Joel and standing next to the person. “Hey, Xisuma,” his voice was softer now, "can you get up?” Zed gently shook Xisuma, trying to wake him up. It took about a minute of him trying for Xisuma to open his eyes and look up at Zed.

“Hey! How are you feeling?” Zed asked gently, the tone uncharacteristic for the mad scientist.

“Zed? Um… better, I think,” Xisuma replied, pushing himself up.

“Joel,” came a voice, pulling Joel away from the interaction. He turned to see Cub, looking a little disheveled, gesturing to him. “Come over here, I’ve gotta change your bandages.”

Joel frowned, but he headed over to his cot and sat down, knowing in the back of his mind that he’d never win against Cub. Cub had bandages and gauze already laid out on the cot, and he started to peel away bandages on Joel’s shoulder. Joel was fixated on watching Xisuma and Zed conversing softly, though he couldn’t hear them.

“Hey-” Cub spoke up, causing Joel to look back at him. He discovered Cub had taken the bandages off entirely, revealing only a faint scar where the wound had been before Joel had rested. “What?”

“God genes,” Joel flashed him a grin, and Cub sighed.

“You’re- okay,” Cub muttered, gathering up the dirty and clean bandages, walking away to the other side of the room. Joel looked back over to Xisuma and Zed, to see Zed pulling away from Xisuma and walking away. He tracked Zed’s path as he met Cub, and they started talking lowly together.

Joel got up and walked back over to Xisuma’s bed, moving around to the other side and sitting down. Xisuma looked over at him, but didn’t say anything, and an awkward silence fell between them.

“…so-h…” Joel tried. “Do we agree to never talk about that again?”

Xisuma chuckled softly, his eyes crinkling up at the edges, “if you want. I don’t remember a ton, so it might be easy.”

“Great, wonderful,” Joel replied, letting out a sigh. “Have they determined that you’re okay?”

“They say no concussion and I’m not tired or dizzy anymore. I think that constitutes ‘okay,’” Xisuma answered.

“That’s great,” Joel murmured, opening his mouth to say something more, before he bit his lip and they both fell into silence again.

“Look,” Xisuma sighed, “it’s fine, okay? We would’ve both been in for a painful respawn if you hadn’t, and that magic may have gotten even more messed up with it. It’s fine,” he repeated.

“It’s fine,” Joel echoed, nodding slowly, “of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be?” He added, his words bolder than they had a moment before.

“Just promise me that you’ll raid another mansion with me that’ll hopefully go crisis-free, yeah, Smallbeans?” Xisuma joked, the edges of his eyes crinkling up again.

“We’ll see,” Joel returned, “let the dust settle though, yes?"

“Of course,” Xisuma chuckled, “maybe after I’m not monitored twenty-four-seven.”

“Maybe. And it’s Joel, alright? Joel’s fine,” Joel replied.

“Joel,” Xisuma confirmed.

“Yeah," he nodded.