When the Dawn Breaks [TBAU]

☆ Chapter 23 ☆

Apologies in advance for this chapter being over 8k words. lol.
— — — —

Mumbo huffed out an aggravated sigh as he juggled different snack bowls in his hands. He really wasn't fit for this hosting stuff. He silently cursed out Scar in his head, it was his fault he was stuck doing this.

To be fair, it had been quite some time since Mumbo had hosted a hermit get-together. But still, he was going to get the vex man back for this.

He started brainstorming payback prank ideas as he arranged the snack bowls all on a side table. He made sure each bowl was meticulously placed in the perfect spot, with taller ones in the back, and shorter ones in the front. The tablecloth was smoothed out perfectly too, and everything felt orderly. Mumbo took a step back, scanning the table up and down for any mistakes. He smiled to himself when none were found.

Mumbo spent a moment or so mindlessly admiring the table, before his brain caught up to him. The snack table should not be his biggest concern right now, there were still a thousand other things to do before the sleepover started! Mumbo grumbled to himself, worrying the tip of his mustache with his fingertips for a minute before hurrying off from the table.

There were far too many things needed to get ready for any kind of party, get-together, or gathering, things Mumbo did not enjoy. You had to clean and tidy and decorate and cook and tidy some more. And, quite frankly, it could get really annoying.

Mumbo hurried around his house, practically running because of how little time he had left before everything started. He wiped down this surface, and dusted off that one, and decluttered another.

Eventually, he was decently satisfied with most of his house, but he kept doubling back to the living room. It was the room that was most important for him to get right, considering it was where they'd all be sleeping and spending most of their time that night.

Now, one thing about the hermits and sleeping, was that they all tended to have different sleep preferences and habits, with there being so many different kinds of hybrid species and whatnot. So, Mumbo had made sure to deck out his living room with all the good stuff: a plentiful amount of nesting materials, tons of blankets in varying thicknesses, and all of his pillows and plushies, big and small. All of the stuff was spread across his living room floor in between the furniture, and almost obscuring the carpet below from view. Mumbo smiled, his hands on his hips. To put it simply, the room looked like heaven.

Maybe Mumbo's definition of heaven was similar to a little kid's ideal vision of a pillow fort, but that was fine. The other hermits were going to love this, perfect or not.

He glanced up at the clock quickly; it was about time for the hermits to start showing up now too.

Coincidentally, the doorbell rang right then, its singing tune interrupting Mumbo's thoughts, (and only giving him a tiny jumpscare). Mumbo took a deep breath, smiled, and opened the door. And the party began.

The first hermit to show up was Xisuma, ever punctual. Right behind him were Zedaph, Impulse, and Tango, who'd now officially dubbed themselves as 'team ZIT'. The trio's eyes simultaneously lit up at the sight of the sea of pillows Mumbo had created. With a whoop of glee, Tango took a running jump into the pile, the other two following him.

The three hermit gals arrived next, with a tub of cookies and matching sets of pajamas under their arms. After them it was Etho and Doc and Ren, then Joe and Bdubs, and more and more hermits.

All of the hermits were there in no time, though, sticking to tradition, Scar showed up fashionably late, but his bright smile was far too happy and upbeat for anyone to blame him.