The Bull's Horns

Ch 9: You've Got Mail

He couldn't have asked for a better herd. After Scar had joked about having a proper sleepover, they decided to schedule one. Give them a break from their builds and projects to hang out again, this time without scaring Mumbo half to death.

They had stayed up late chatting about anything and everything that night. Then opted to sleep in until it was almost noon the following day, happily dozing and enjoying each other's comfort and warmth.

Scar and X were the first to wake out of the group. X opted to lie cuddled up a little longer while Scar got up to make breakfast for the group. The smell of wonderfully cooked eggs and pork wafted through the base, waking up the rest of the group by smell alone.

Grian pulled his wing off the cuddle pile and tucked it away, making Mumbo shiver as the warmth left. The avian nudged the remaining hybrids before leaving the nest, "Come on. Scar made breakfast and I'm going to eat it all if you guys don't get up," He teased sleepily as X lightly grumbled.

"Alright, alright," Mumbo huffed and sat up, rubbing his eyes and taking a moment to fully wake up. "Come on X," He encouraged softly and reached down to shake the admin's shoulder. Grian gently woke up Doc next as he had slept in a separate nest, as X and Mumbo got up and slowly made their way to the kitchen. Scar had already set the table and was placing a plate of food down for each of them.

"This smells divine Scar, thank you," X beamed as a bashful smile covered Scar's face.

"Yeah, thanks Scar," Mumbo added as they took a seat, having to wait a bit for Doc and Grian before eating. Doc still looked half asleep as Grian pulled him into the room and urged him into a chair. The avian quickly took his own seat after Doc was safely seated. More 'Thank you Scar' echoed the table as they began to eat in a relaxed quiet, the soft clank of silverware being the only conversation.

After everyone had their fill, they gathered the dishes and helped clean up. They urged Scar to stay sat at the table while the rest of them cleaned and put away dishes and pans. Mumbo got drying duty as Grian passed him freshly cleaned plates. It had been really nice to hang out under better circumstances. But what X had said about him coming from an anarchy server seemed to stick with him. Would he even classify his last server as an anarchy server?

"Something on your mind Mumbo? You have that look on your face," Grian spoke up as he passed a dish to be dried.

"Just thinking about the last time we were all together. I feel like I owe you guys an explanation." Mumbo avoided Grian's gaze in favor of drying the dish he was handed.

"You don't, actually," The avian spoke bluntly.

"I know but..." Mumbo started and placed the dish on the pile of clean dishes.

"Can I ask something?" Grian cut him off, his voice unsure as Mumbo turned to the avian and nodded, "What made you want to grow out your horns in the first place?" He asked hesitantly, making an embarrassed blush spread over Mumbo's face. He wasn't expecting that question and felt a bit nervous to answer.

"You... You weren't shy about being yourself. Took a couple of seasons but I decided I wanted to be myself too," He confessed, a tad embarrassed to admit this.

"Really? Me?" Grian asked breathlessly and looked at Mumbo with genuine shock.

"Yes..." Mumbo uttered quietly and nodded, it had all started with the avian and he silently thanked him for that. Grian's eyes sparkled as he smiled at Mumbo, who couldn't help but smile back at him.

Doc and Mumbo's communicator seemed to go off at the same time, making Mumbo jolt. He didn't bother looking at his device as Doc pulled out his. "It's Zedaph, he's wondering if you're ok since he hasn't heard from you lately," Doc said before putting his communicator away. Mumbo had forgotten to reply to them in a while and guilt twisted in his stomach. He had forgotten to message them back!