#skizz between

The poor man is always so fretful, flitting here and there as he works on his base. This isn't unusual behavior, Skizz figures- it doesn't seem to disturb any of the other- hermits?

Yeah. Hermits.

No one seems worried about Mumbo's constant back and forth, how he tweaks one thing and then another, takes down whole parts of builds only to put them back up with a single block changed. He always looks at it from the same spot next to what is swiftly becoming a very beautiful shopping district.

"You know," Skizz says to the man in the flannel shirt, who is stroking his mustache as he contemplates the mountainside he's just terrained, "I can't build for squat, dude. That looks pretty awesome to me."

A pause. "Except for beacons." Skizz says with a lopsided smile. "Fastest beacon builder north of Quire. I think. Pretty sure this is north of Quire, anyway."

It starts to rain. Skizz stretches one huge wing out over Mumbo, but it doesn't matter- the rain falls through him.

"Right," Mumbo says, and stands, head momentarily inside of Skizz's wing before the angel draws it back in. He equips an elytra- only a few fliers in this bunch- and heads over the gorge to fuss with yet another boulder.

Skizz watches him for a bit, then looks to the left. Mumbo's started to make an impression in the grass- dirt shifted, plants broken.

Skizz quietly gets up and leaves, headed for the large nether portal that these Hermits have so thoughtfully put smack-dab at the front of their shopping district. It'll be a bit of a trek back home but he has time.

No one will miss him when he's gone.

-

"Grian?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you do this?"

Grian examines the little chair, set up exactly where Mumbo tends to stand as he's contemplating his base. "No, but it's neat. Mangrove. Who's working with mangrove? Tango?"

"I've seen X with some," Mumbo says. "You figure it's for me?"

"It's in your spot, dude."

"True, true. Well, I'll ask them about it, I guess."

He doesn't understand what's happening- some kind of...game? Inside a mountain? A mountain the blaze demon who is currently a vampire BUILT? There's a lot of redstone. Skizz always gets a vicious little thrill when he sees redstone and this contraption is downright visionary, whatever the fuck it is.

Skizz follows along behind the demon, listening as he mutters. Tango, his name is- Tango Tek.

"I like you," Skizz says to Tango. "You talk funny. Like me."

He steps carefully over one of the blocks meant to trip up players, eyes the new river with trepidation. "I wasn't allowed to talk funny back home, or out on assignment," he says as he leans over Tango's shoulder, examining the inside of his redstone shulker. It's very organized. So many of these hermits are organized. "None of my little noises or nicknames. I couldn't tell you why I make the noises- it's not like I do it on purpose! I liked nicknames. I miss giving them." He looks Tango over, backing away as the vampire-demon straightens up. It won't matter if Tango runs into him- he'll pass right through- but it's the principle of the thing.

"Tango's already such a good name, though," Skizz says. "Did you get to pick it yourself?" "Lay the minecart over here so it'll pick up signal," Tango mutters, "but don't forget the glass.." "I didn't get to pick my first name. I had it when I woke up. We were all like that. I don't know about now- She's dead. Maybe the ones waking up now get to pick their own names. I don't use my first name anymore. It kinda sucks." A pause. "...no. That's not true. It's a perfectly decent name, it just- it meant a lot of bad things to a lot of people." Skizz settles down on a blackstone slab at the edge of the build, watching Tango work. "and it started to hurt. Hearing it. So I got a new one! Impulse gave it to me. Well he suggested it, anyway. Are you a naming demon? He is. Do you know his whole name? It's SO LONG. I bet it's even longer now." Tango lays down a test switch, tries it, cheers. Skizz cheers with him.

"Do you know where redstone comes from, Tango?" Skizz asks as Tango moves on to the next section of his work. "It's the ashes of a god. Well. He sure thought he was a god. And he was everywhere so I guess he sort of was."

A shrug that lifts and drops all six wings, stirring up dust that Tango is too far away to see.

"Doesn't matter. He died easy enough. Only I don't think he's actually dead? Like. Trust me I have KILLED killed some big dudes, and it wasn't just me, it was a LOT of us, but I still think sometimes, if enough redstone was kinda glued together again..?" Tango smears another mark on the stone and Skizz chuckles. "but that won't happen. If it hasn't happened yet it won't."

He snaps his fingers. "Tango Top!" he says. "Because you're the top! Do you like it?"

Tango packs up his shulker.

"I like it," Skizz says to himself. "Tango Top. I gotta remember that one. Nootch." He stands up. "I'll see you tomorrow, 'Top. Maybe I'll remember to take the dirt down this time."

He won't, he knows, but the hole he's been using is so far out of render from this part of the game map that it doesn't even matter. Maybe he'll leave a block of calcite near it.