Etho the Rivalsduo's mentor

they were all happy, until the universe said "no"

they left, they left. 

it kept ringing in his head, that they left. 

he doesn't even know where they went. 

the locals didn't see them leaving. 

he felt weak, he felt vulnerable. 

He messed up badly. 

--

It was 3:20 AM, the trio all sneaked out of the town. 

they were supposed to go to the city near the town in the morning, but they really didn't want to ruin their mood by having to interact with them. 

they felt uncomfortable by the energy during the whole ordeal, Grian especially. 

the bird hybrid couldn't sleep at all, everytime he did, the nightmares got increasingly worse. 

he didn't want to think about it though, instead thinking about the fun he was going to have when he finally reach the city. 

He hopes it goes well. 

--

After non stop walking they reached the gate, it was 4:50, so not many people were awake. 

Etho had already pulled out a piece of paper with a written address on it, gesturing to the winged duo to follow him to this mysterious home. 

with some turns, they can see a very lovely building. 

The flowers were assorted neatly, with a small vegetable garden into the front of the home. 

and after a few knocks on the door, the door opened revealing the owner of this lively house. 

Wait, Doc?!. 

Grian's eyes widened at the surprise. 

Doc chuckled at the surprised looks and let them in.

the inside was nothing like how it looks on the outside. 

Lab coats scattered around, test tubes and experiments were everywhere. It looked like a laboratory. 

"Sorry for the mess, I didn't expect you all would arrive so suddenly. " Doc said, while cleaning up some of the spills. 

"It's fine, we just need a place to sleep. ", Doc nodded. 

The scientist led them upstairs into the guest rooms and told them some house rules before disappearing downstairs. 

The trio settled into their respective rooms, getting some needed sleep after the long journey.

--

In the morning they could smell the sweet aroma of pancakes and homemade jam. 

The trio went down into the kitchen to fill their appetite, being greeted by a wolf hybrid. 

"Hey dudes! I hope y'all don't mind me tagging along for today. ", the trio hummed in acknowledgement to the hybrid in front of them, who's name is Ren, and sat down at the dinner table where he was seated. 

Grian chowed down the sweet breakfast quite quickly, seemingly interested in some small chit chat with Ren. 

" So how have you been? Did the reunion go smoothly?. " the bird hybrid asked, which Ren immediately perked up to. 

"yeah it did! Hmama and Fruity b were awesome! including Falsie too of course-. " he giggled, "we went to get some coffee before we parted ways, and there was this whole accident and-"

an explosion could be heard. 

The Hermits, minus Doc, immediately went to the laboratory looking room when they first came here and saw a huge mess. 

smashed and cracked glass vials were spread across the room, the liquids they were storing are now spilled all over the tables, the said messy lab coats they saw scattered are now burned. 

They, except Etho who knew this would happen, all looked at Doc, who was just casually laughing, with a judgmental look. 

"Man, don't scare us like that!. " Ren yelped when he almost stepped on the broken glass. 

"Sorry!. ".

yeah, the morning was already chaotic. 

--

after cleaning up, and saying their goodbyes to Doc, they set out to go do something fun. 

"Ren, you know this place better than I do, how about you show us around?. "

"oh yeah sure! lots of things to do around here. " he replied to the masked male. 

the hybrid then proceeds to show them around the beautiful town, being particularly enthusiastic at certain times

--

they all enjoyed looking at the pretty buildings, and gardens (there were a lot of gardens). 

they also had fun playing the games there, even if that meant getting their clothes soaked in the process, but either way it went very well! and plus they also got some cool plushies and toys they got from playing. 

A mishap that did happen was when Etho and Scar tricked the game masters into giving them more prizes, and with no one to scold them on why not to do that, Grian and Ren let it slide and even joined in. 

all and all, it was a day well spent, with the finishing touch of a sunset view from the little modern homely cafe near the house they are taking hospitality in. 

Grian would even say the day was perfect, besides one thing. 

they all went back to Doc's house, and said their goodbyes to Ren, who had some other stuff to deal with. 

the trip was greeted with Doc cooking dinner, vegetable chicken soup, with a hint of spice. 

"wow Doc, can't believe you're going to take us ou-" " oh shush Etho".

they waited as Doc gave some finishing touches to the soup before he served it, being satisfied with replies that his cooking had received. 

--

after dinner, they all cleaned up after themselves and settled back into their guest rooms once again. 

they slept soundly with nothing to ruin it, 

until a scream from Grian's room could be heard. 

all of them immediately woke up and ran straight into the bird hybrid's room, being horrified at what they saw. 

"||𝙹⚍∷ ℸ ̣ ∷╎ᔑꖎ ⍑ᔑᓭ ᒷリ↸ᒷ↸,  ̇/ᒷꖎᑑ⚍ᔑ".