The Bull's Horns

Ch 2: Too Many Thoughts

The sun washing in through the windows badgered Mumbo awake, who groaned as the light blinded him. He rolled over and buried his face in a pillow to block it out, tempted to go back to sleep for just a little longer. But unfortunately, he had a to-do list to finish, like his builds and other projects, so he couldn't stay in bed all day. He sighed and grumbled for a moment before pushing the sheets back and getting up, yawning and stretching before getting ready for the day. He made sure to tuck away his ears and tail before he got dressed and headed out for another day of building.

He couldn't seem to get in the same rhythm he had yesterday when he was building. Instead, he simply sat on top of his incomplete vault and stared off into the horizon. The contemplative night he had never left him it seemed. Slowly zoning out as he let the thoughts from yesterday spill back to the forefront of his mind. The idea of how much Grian has inspired him and his plan that he had talked himself into. It had been a couple of seasons since the prankster avian had joined the hermit ranks. Making countless memories, adventures, and pranks with everyone including himself. From taking his mustache away to the prank wars then the mayoral race and Grumbot.

They had become close friends over the seasons, but this jealousy always sat low in his stomach. The envy he felt watching Grian be his avian self without worry or care. The other hybrids on the server made him a tad jealous too but Grian pulled this feeling forward the most. It made him feel guilty that this feeling was there in the first place, but he couldn't ignore it or quell it either. The way Grian and the other hybrid hermits were able to truly be themselves.

It had been so long since he joined Hermitcraft and left his old server behind. Yet sometimes he still felt just as nervous as when he first arrived thinking about his hybrid side. "It was to keep myself safe" he had convinced himself and told himself repeatedly, but did he need to keep holding on to that fear? After all these seasons he knew now that he was safe on Hermitcraft and in turn, the hermits were safe too. Yet, he still felt the need to protect himself. Even after being around for so long and getting comfortable with everyone. He still couldn't help but worry if they would accept him. Surely they would be mad that he lied to them all this time.

"Mumbo? Everything okay?" A voice softly pulled him from his thoughts to find Grian standing in front of him. The worry was prominent in his friend's eyes as Mumbo realized he had started trembling slightly at some point. He tried his best to stop shaking as he nodded and forced a small smile. Grian didn't seem convinced, frowning slightly at the obvious dismissal, before taking a seat next to Mumbo. "You looked really lost in thought. So I came to check on you," The avian added as Mumbo slowly let his smile drop. Grian had a knack for seeing straight through him, no fair.

Mumbo let out a slow breath and leaned on Grian, his voice out the metaphorical window as the other's presence helped ground him. The avian wrapped a wing around the redstoner's shoulders, the weight helped ground him further. The soft feathers tickled his neck and the slight weight helped dissipate his thoughts to a normal, quieter, level. "You don't have to talk about it, just wanted to make sure you're okay," Grian reassured as Mumbo nodded and let himself relax, closing his eyes and letting his other senses take over. While his ears were pinned he could still clearly hear the world around him. He could hear a farther distance than a normal person thanks to his hybrid status.

The soft rustle of the trees and faint hum of Grian's rift below stood out,

He took a deliberate breath through his nose, just like his hearing he could pick up scents more than a normal person. He could pick up the familiar smell of gunpowder that always seemed to cling to Grian. He could pick out every hermit by name just by their scent thanks to his heightened sense of smell. Each hermit has a unique smell to them that he would know any hermit in front of him blindfolded. Scar always smelled like wood no matter what theme he chose to go with for the season. Doc always smelled like a mix of redstone, smoke, and metal because of his hybrid and robotic makeup. Xisuma's scent was the hardest one to explain but he could tell it was the admin nonetheless, the smell of the End dimension's void was the only way he could coherently describe it. His twin, Evil X, was a bit trickier to pick out as he smelled very similar but had a spice-like undertone that subtly set the two apart. Beef's was the easiest one to explain as he smelled like a butchers shop