Writing Championships #6

Sapphire Simps

Song: Mother Mother - Wisdom

Out in the cold and tryin' to make fire 

 "No, Grian, you silly goose." Mumbo's mustache bristled when he laughed. "You don't do it like that. Here."

"Hurry up, mate, my fingers are cold!" Grian rubbed his hands together, shivering in the early spring day. It was not warm, but it wasn't quite cold. A perfect day for a picnic, they said. "How do you even operate that blasted thing?"

"You just rub it together Grian, it's not that hard." Mumbo chuckled goodnaturedly, and Grian watched as little sparks flew off of the tips, landing on the carefully arranged wood.

"There we go."

The fire spread across the little papers Mumbo had shoved into the center, and the middle ignited with tiny licking flames.

"Now we've gotta wait for the wood to catch. Here, put your hands over it like this. It'll keep you warm." Mumbo held his hands out in front of the growing fire, and Grian followed suit.

The fire made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside as he snuggled into the plaid blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders.

"Here, we've gotta keep feeding it little kindlings."

"What's kindling?" Grian looked up at Mumbo, his nose bright red from the cold.

"Tiny branches and pine needles, stuff like that." Mumbo fed the fire, and it ate it up quickly.

"Sorry, baby sticks." Grian whispered as he fed the little nubs into the fire. "You're being used for a great cause."

Mumbo just laughed.

The two friends fell into silence, staring into the fire. The sky started to darken as the sun started to settle down to sleep. Mumbo occasionally fed the fire, and it sparked and crackled like it was content.

"This is nice."

"It is."

Two sticks and stone 

"Tell me Mumbo, why did you leave us?" Grian turned towards his mustached friend that sat beside him.

"Uh, what?" Mambo tilted his head with a confused expression on his face "You're going to have to elaborate on that a bit further, Grian." 

"Why did you switch to HEP instead of staying with the Mycelium Resistance?" Grian asked again. Mumbo frowned, eyebrows drawn together in deep thought.

"I didn't officially join though, I mean from what I've heard I was supposedly the Mycelium Resistance's leader for a few days. Heck, I didn't even know there was a thing called the Mycelium Resistance until a week or so later!" Mumbo exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air for effect. Grian just chuckled after hearing his companion's account of what happened.

"Yeah, I suppose that's my fault for not telling you about that."

The quiet chuckles died down as the two stared at the blazing fire in front of them.

"But still, why did you choose the HEP over Mycelium Resistance?" Grian looked at Mumbo, eyes full of curiosity and a little hurt.

Still got no fire.

"Well, uh, you remember when you blew up that vault?" Grian slowly nodded."That was sorta.... My vault."

"I don't follow..." Mumbo ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I had stored the Diamond Throne inside it. For a Card Challenge." Mumbo sighed again as he met Grian's hazel brown eyes. "I couldn't stay with you guys after that, I'm sorry."

Grian stared into the fire, thinking through. Beats of silence passed between them.

"You know, even though we were on different sides, we're still friends right?"

Once I was shown, but I was inside then 

 Grian smiled. "Yeah, of course we're still friends. The war was all in good fun anyway," he said, nostalgia filling his wistful mind. It had been fun, although a bit intense. 

Mumbo smiled, and turned back to the campfire. They sat in contented silence for a while, waiting for something, although neither knew what that something was.

The warm hues danced as the flame flickered, and they just sat and watched the warmth. Sparks were occasionally spewed and the fire slowly died but they kept it going as they sat quietly.

"You know," Grian said suddenly, shattering the undisturbed peace. "You'll always be my friend. Even if we do split apart because of these wars sometimes, I still care, y'know?"

Mumbo's grin widened. "Yeah. Same for you."

The flames twirled higher, the two hermits washed in light as it illuminated them. They sat there, taking care of the fire when it grew feeble, and watching the vibrant colors of the hot flames.

As the sun slowly descended, tinting the skies pink and red, bringing the stars into view, the pair stood up to join the other hermits where they were chatting in a different area.

"Maybe no more wars. I like this, it's peaceful," Mumbo thought out loud as he walked.

"I'll try not to start any," Grian giggled. He enjoyed being close to his friends again as well.

And spit on that good advice

Score: 9