1: HUGS for short
It was early evening on the farm. Hannah watched her brother place the last block, finally completing the newest addition to the estate. A stout, cobblestone building trimmed with spruce logs brought from the nearby woods. Uriah jumped down from the roof, coming to stand beside her. He sighed, rubbing the sweat from his brow. It had been a long day of work.
"Oh, thanks Uri!" Hannah says to him, a childish spark glinting in her eyes. "It's wonderful!"
"I can't believe the things I do for you, sis." He replies, shaking his head. "I still don't understand how you dragged me into all this in the first place."
Hannah smiled sweetly, "Because you're my big strong brother and I need someone to help me with all this hard work!"
"Yeah, yeah. Because you're so frail and delicate."
"Exactly." She turned and whistled, calling, "Come on, everybody!"
Urish stepped back as a small army of spiders gathered at his sister's feet. She marched them into the building, looking like a proud mother hen leading her chicks. This had always disturbed Uriah to some extent, her passion for mobs. Hannah had always been an animal person. Uriah understood that, and he didn't mind farm life. The Cows, Chickens and Sheep were all fine by him. A Mooshroom here or there wasn't a problem. Some dogs and a few cats were tolerable.
But when Hannah brought home an Enderman out of the rain one night, Uriah suddenly knew that her passion extended far beyond farm animals alone.
Their organization, Hannah and Uriah's home for Gifted and neglected MobS (or HUGS, for short) was technically illegal. Housing hostile mobs without a permit was a level six offense against the Citadel. But Hannah had insisted that they were far enough from the city to go on unnoticed. And they had. For the past three years since she brought that Enderman home.
Speaking of, said Enderman appeared behind them in a small explosion of purple sparks. Echo was about four heads taller than Uriah. Covered head to toe in thick, leathery black skin. His bright, almond-shaped eyes glittered violet in the evening light as he studied the spider house with interest.
"Wonderful craftsmanship, Master Uriah." He comments. "They will be much more comfortable here, I am sure."
Uriah nodded, keeping his gaze safely averted. Echo was now a permanent resident of HUGS, (so stated the mark on his shoulder) and had become accustomed to life with humans. He was completely harmless, though he still couldn't stand being stared at.
Once the last scuttling arachnid had disappeared into the building, Hannah quietly crept out. Without a sound, she shut the door, looking lovingly through the window.
"They're already settling in." She smiled, turning back to Uriah. "Thanks again, Uri."
"No problem." Uriah told her. Then, sighing tiredly, he added, "I'm going to bed now. And I'd better not find another Creeper there."
Hannah rolls her eyes. "You know how they like to cuddle."
"Yeah, in a life-threatening, scratchy sort of way."
In reality, Uriah didn't mind the mobs around. As long as they didn't cause them any trouble with the Citadel. There were hundreds of other Min
Craftians who housed hostiles. Some were famous for it. The Fandom obsessed over the idea of having a mob as a pet or friend. Even a romantic partner. But, of course, they all had permits. HUGS, however, did not. What unsettled Uriah was not only did they not have a permit, but every season, HUGS steadily grew. The residents would become cramped. Fights would break out. The harvest wouldn't always be enough. Expansions had to be made to reduce stress in overcrowded areas. For example, the new spider house. More and more crops had to be planted in order to sustain the steadily climbing resident population. Someone was bound to notice sooner or later what was going on.
But Uriah kept quiet about his uncertainty. Hannah loved the mobs, every single one. From the smallest slime to the fiercest Enderman to the timid cattle in the pastures. She herself had named the ones that did not already have a name. Treating each one as if it were her own child.
Hannah had lost her best friend. Her name was Mitzi-Katt02511. An energetic and feisty girl with a taste for sparring and swordfights. That's what got her killed. Ever since Mitzi's death, Hannah had shut herself out of society. Uriah couldn't blame her. He would have done the same. In fact, it had been his idea to bring her out into the middle of nowhere. He built the house, she decorated. He built pastures and corrals, she filled them. He built mob houses.
Hannah was clearly much happier here. She loved the mobs, and they loved her. It was a strange and special relationship. Uriah had promised himself that he would put up with it. Having the mobs around kept Hannah from losing her mind. It gave her something to do other than mope. Uriah had also promised his parents, their parents, that he would take care of his little sister. It was his number one priority to take care of her, both physically and emotionally.
Even if that meant having a frightful amount of mobs around.