The Bull's Horns

Ch 3: Small Steps

Mumbo woke up to the soft rustle of blankets and sleepily blinked his eyes open to look around. Scar was already awake and petting Jellie who sat on his lap. The elf noticed he was awake and smiled, "Good morning."

"Good morning," Mumbo grumbled back before glancing at the nest next to his, finding Grian was still fast asleep. Mumbo lazily watched him for a moment before turning back to Scar and Jellie. The cat was purring up a storm as she butted her head against Scar's hand, demanding pets that Scar was happy to provide.

The more he let himself wake up the more he realized his ears duly hurt. He realized he had left his ears pinned all night and had to resist rubbing at them or unpinning them. Scar noticed the slight pinch in Mumbo's face and looked like he was going to ask something, but then Grian stirred awake. The avian blinked his eyes open and stretched before he yawned. "Morning," He said sleepily as Scar and Mumbo echoed it back, Jellie even chiming in and meowing her own good morning. "Morning to you too Jellie," Grian chuckled as the feline's purrs filled the room. She looked very happy with all the undivided attention as they laid around and watched her. None of them bothered to get up or move from their spots, opting to laze around for a bit longer. Scar's question seemed to have been forgotten as the three relaxed and slowly woke up.

Mumbo's thoughts wandered as he watched Jellie, they were more controlled and less chaotic than the day before. The lazy movie day with the two hermits was just what he needed, he felt better being about to just relax. It was typical of the hermits to get stressed out with their grand plans and Mumbo was no different. His head felt clearer and his thoughts less jumbled and frantic. With a calmer headspace, he felt he could clearly decide if he was going to go forward with letting his horns grow out.

It would be a little rocky, but he would try. So, starting today he would let his horns grow, he was going to stop filing them down and get his feet wet so to speak with his horns. It would take a couple of months, but he had plenty of builds and things to keep himself busy in the meantime. Speaking of builds, the reading day didn't only help him decide on his horns but also gave him some new building ideas. A renewed passion in him gave him some hopefully good ideas for his vault, along with some redstone plans.

After a little while of lazing around, Grian was the first to stand and get ready for the day. He combed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to smooth and untangle it. Mumbo and Scar followed Grian's lead and started to get ready for the day too. They all helped to clean up the movie room and pack away their blankets, folding up Scar's and stacking them in a neat pile.

They all filled their shulkers back up with their respective stuff and popped them into their inventories. Once the room had been picked up, they all said their goodbyes to each other, having plans with other hermits or build plans waiting on them. Scar threw out that they should have another sleepover sometime soon and the other two were quick to agree. The sleepover was the best sleep he had gotten in a while. He wasn't sure why but sleeping alone always felt a little off to him and made him a bit restless. But when he had his fellow hermits nearby he always seemed to sleep better.

Grian headed off to the shopping district while Mumbo flew back home to his unfinished vault. As soon as he was inside the safety of his base he immediately let his ears out and tried to rub the pain away. His tail wasn't as bothered as his ears were, but he still pulled out an old pair of shorts that had a tail slot, he swished it happily at the freedom. Today's building plans would have to be strictly inside while his features were out.

What better time than now to get some interior work done and finish up some rooms he needed. He was finally able to make a proper bedroom and decided to make a proper nest for himself. It always took him a while to make a proper best for himself every season. Usually, he waited until his mega build was coming along before making one. But after making nests for many seasons he had never managed to make a nest he felt satisfied with, his instinct was always unhappy with something. The one he made this season was no different it seemed. While it was a very nice nest with soft blankets and pillows it still felt off. It wasn't too different from the nest he made at Scar's base. What was the difference?