The A Team

Chapter Nine

Hello! I am so so sorry it's been a week since I added a chapter. I was taking a break for a bit and lost track of time.
During that break, I hit 1K reads and I cannot thank you guys enough for that! It really means the world to me that so many people even want to read what I write. I hope I can continue to make it worth it (:

Day 91

Grian stood on his toes, trying to make himself as tall as possible. The cold wind blew around him, billowing through his clothes, but he didn't care. Half a lifetime of flying had gotten him used to such a sensation.
He checked his watch. 6:23 am. For this time of year, that meant the sun would peak over the mountains any minute.
This was exactly what Grian awaited every morning. Crawling out through his window and flying up to the rounded roof, he stood, letting the quiet of the early morning press down on his eardrums as he waited for the glimpse of yellow-pink light to burn at his retinas.
He didn't dare fly. As much as he adored his wings, simply standing up so high, he felt as though the entire world was at his fingertips. It was something he had discovered shortly after arriving.
Grian had always been a poor sleeper, and awoke early every morning regardless of when he had fallen asleep. Being alone for so long made his heart ache, and the next best thing to human contact was the feeling he got watching the sun rise every morning over the horizon.
He longed to share it with someone, but no one woke this early. The fact that he did just put him in charge of waking up the rest of the team every morning, a task Grian was more than willing to do.
Suddenly the light broke over the snowy peaks in the distance, and he felt his chest swell as his face was warmed. He flapped his wings and soared upwards with the sun, feeling a rush of joy before the clouds billowed around him, blocking the light and swallowing the mountain with it.
Softly he lowered himself back down and sat. His morning routine continued by allowing the birds in the area to flock to him. He always brought them whatever grains and nuts he could find, and stroked their feathers gently, whistling along to the tunes they sang just for him.
He waited until they had had their fill before standing slowly, brushing the crumbs off of his clothes, and taking one last look at the stillness of the morning forest before returning to his solemn room.
It's not that he wasn't grateful. His room had high ceilings, multiple windows, and his very own bed. He had even been allowed to paint the walls with his favorite colors. Although the gold and red patterns he had drawn were pleasing to the eye, he still felt as though they could be improved.
He flopped back on his bed and sighed. The biggest problem was that he was alone.
He hated being alone. He had been for so much of his childhood that he clung to any bit of attention he received even now as an adult, which he knew wasn't normal. Ren had helped explain to him why such actions drove people away, and thus Grian worked hard to appear friendly, yet indifferent. Welcoming, but not clingy. He knew he still came off as annoying sometimes, but so far it had been working for him, and he adored the relationships he had.
He sat up suddenly, a grin stretching across his face. Before he had even organized his thoughts, he was already grabbing his paint and fluttering up to the wall of his room.

Two hours later, his watch chimed, telling him it was time to wake the others. Wiping his brow with a paint covered sleeve, Grian fluttered to the ground. He tossed his paint supplies in an open chest, wiping his hands on his shirt and walked out to the top of the stairs.
The first door was Mumbo's, whose room was only ten steps down from Grian's.
Grian knocked on the door, and counted to five. Exactly on five, the door swung open and Mumbo stood before him, his bashful smile plastered on his face as he hastily straitened his already straight tie.
Grian smiled. Mumbo was always up and dressed before Grian ever knocked on his door, yet still acted as though he had gotten up in a hurry. Grian doubted this, as he never heard any steps approach the door before it opened, making him suspect that Mumbo waited every morning for him to knock, counted to five, and opened the door. He didn't mind though. Seeing Mumbo smile was worth it.
"Good morning Grian" Mumbo said properly. He would seem very high class and sophisticated if it weren't for the faint blush creeping up his neck, and the slight stammer in his voice.
Grian bowed his head slightly, reflecting Mumbo's traditional manner. They did this every morning. Mumbo would always act as polite and civilized as if they were meeting for the first time, and Grian couldn't help but tease him for it.
"And a good morning to you Mr. Mumbo Jumbo" Grian replied, pretending to tip an invisible top hat. Mumbo's cheeks flushed pink, but he smiled happily, enjoying the game he and Grian played every morning.
Grian winked at him and continued down the stairs, leaving Mumbo to lean against his doorway and watch the golden boy descend.
The next room down was Stress's. Grian tapped lightly on the door and stepped back, preparing for the chill that came along with Stress's room. Stress had been raised in a frigid icy climate and thusly kept her room only slightly above freezing. Although she was quite comfortable in such a temperature, anyone else that stepped in would need a few extra layers to continue.
After a minute or so, Stress emerged wearing her baby blue and pink pajamas. Cold air blew at Grian's face and he tucked his wings around his shoulders.
Eyes drowsy, yet smiling, Stress yawned and gave Grian a quick good morning hug before skipping down the stairs to make breakfast.
Grian quickly leaned forward to close her door, waiting for the goosebumps on his arms to satiate. He looked back up at Mumbo who stared down at him with a distracted look on his face.
"I can't believe she can stand that cold"
"Hm" Mumbo grunted in a way that could mean anything.
The next three people, Doc, False, and Iskall never came to their doors when knocked on, always taking their time getting out of bed, so Grian knocked on each quickly as he continued his descent.
At Ren's he used all his arm strength to bang on the heavy oak as hard as possible.
"GET UP DOG" he yelled. Unlike Grian, Ren was an extremely deep sleeper, even sleeping through fire alarms and thunder storms. Grian knew that if he didn't wake him up fully, he would never get out of bed.
When no one came to the door, Grian rolled his eyes and walked in himself. Ren lay sideways on his mattress, the blankets twisted around his legs and body as though they were trying to tie him to the bed. As Grian approached, Ren let out a loud snore.
"You asked for it" Grian said with a smile and lept on top of the sleeping wolf.
Ren woke with a start as Grian's knee was plunged into his stomach.
"OOF! Grian what the hell!"
Grian laughed and continued to press his leg into Ren's abdomen while simultaneously letting his wings flop on his face.
"Pfff pft pft" Ren spat out golden feathers. "Alright I get it I'm up!"
He rose suddenly and Grian was thrown onto the ground, banging his head on the floor.
"Ow!"
"Serves you right" Ren huffed, a smile hinting at his lips.
Grian felt hands under his arms and he was pulled off the ground immediately.
"Mumbo?"
The dark haired man, having heard the commotion, had rushed in to help him. Grian, still in Mumbo's arms, clasped his hands together and pretended to swoon.
"My hero!"
Ren snorted and Mumbo threw him a dirty look over the top of Grian's head.
"You shouldn't throw him around like that! What if he got hurt?"
Ren was startled to hear Mumbo speak so forcefully but shook it off quickly.
"We were just messing around. He's not a child"
"Yeah!" Grian turned to Mumbo and smoothed out his white button up. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me so much"
With a fleeting look into Mumbo's eyes, he gave a shy smile and walked out of the room.
Ren crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
Mumbo fiddled with his cuff.
"What"
"Overprotective much?"
Mumbo averted his gaze as his face grew hot.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about"
"Mm hmmm" Ren smiled. "If this is you asking for my blessing, don't worry. You have it"
Mumbo looked up, his heart rate quickening.
"I!... You!..."
Unable to string together enough words to make a sentence, he turned on his heel and speed walked out of the room, Ren's laughter echoing in his ears.

Finally at the last door, Grian took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the mahogany.
"Xisuma! Time to wake up!"
He heard shuffling inside the room but no sign that the team leader had heard him.
"X?"
The feet on the other side of the door stopped pacing suddenly and Grian heard faint whispering.
Curiosity gripping him, Grian slowly turned the handle. He was met with the sight of Xisuma, alone in his room muttering under his breath. Envelopes and folded up papers littered the floor. The light wasn't even on.
"... X?"
Grian flipped the light switch and X flinched. He finally looked at Grian as though he hadn't realized he was there. He had bags under his eyes and made a face at Grian that looked like a mix between fear, anger, and hopelessness.
"Xisuma what's wrong?"
"What? Nothing. What? Nothing"
X brushed past him and Grian followed quickly.
"Wait!" He grabbed X's shoulder. "Something is clearly wrong just tell me!"
X shook him off roughly, refusing to look at his face.
"I'm fine" he snapped and rushed off in the direction of the mail room.
Grian stood dumbfounded.
"What was that?" Mumbo said walking up behind him, looking in the direction X had gone.
Grian shook his head.
"I don't know. He's been acting weird around me the last week or so. I think I made him mad, but he won't tell me what I did"
Mumbo furrowed his brow.
"I... I can't imagine why he'd be angry with you"
Grian shrugged.
"Well people do say they find me annoying sometimes. Maybe he just needs a break from me"
"You're not annoying" Mumbo said, sharpness in his voice as though just hearing Grian say such a thing upset him.
Grian smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around Mumbo's waist, giving him a sideways hug.
"You always stand up for me"
He felt Mumbo stumble away from him awkwardly.
"I... of course! Uh... Anytime!"
"Sorry, sorry" Grian said smiling at the stuttering man. "I forgot physical contact makes you nervous. I won't do that anymore"
Mumbo watched him walk away sadly.
That's not it. That's not it at all.

I know this was kind of a bittersweet chapter, and I hope you don't mind, that's just kind of the mood I'm in.
As always I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please leave a like and comment if you have any feedback or suggestions.
New chapter will be up soon!