The Scientist

GR3-47-3

Zedaph pov:

After breakfast, things were kind of up in the air. We managed to get Grian started on the antibiotics he desperately needed, but after that, there wasn't a clear plan. I found myself pacing around the room, unsure of the next steps, so I decided to call Mumbo again. I had to find a way to get him down here, to see what I was seeing, to understand the situation firsthand.

The conversation was interrupted almost constantly. Grian and Tango were like excited children, each of them eager to show me something new or to pull my attention back to them. Grian kept tugging on my sleeve, trying to show me a particularly shiny feather he had found, while Tango was persistently wrapping his tail around my arm, pointing out things that only seemed to make sense to him.

“Hold on a second,” I mumbled into the phone, trying to juggle the conversation and the two lively creatures vying for my attention.

“Zeddy, look at this!” Grian exclaimed, his eyes wide with excitement as he held up the feather. It was impossible to ignore the enthusiasm in his voice, and despite my efforts to stay focused on the call, I couldn’t help but smile.

“I see it, Grian, it’s beautiful,” I said, glancing at the feather before trying to return to the conversation with Mumbo. “Sorry about that, where were we?”

But before Mumbo could respond, Tango tugged on my arm, practically bouncing on his feet. “Look, look! It’s sparking!” he exclaimed, pointing to a small ember that had flared up from his hand. His enthusiasm was infectious, even though I was desperately trying to keep the conversation going without them figuring out who I was talking to.

“Yeah, that’s great, Tango. Just give me a sec, okay?” I said, my voice a mix of amusement and mild frustration. I could hear Mumbo chuckling on the other end, clearly entertained by the chaos.

“What’s going on over there?” Mumbo asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“Oh, you know… just trying to keep these two occupied,” I replied, attempting to be vague. But they were relentless, and the more I tried to keep them in the dark about who I was talking to, the more insistent they became.

“Who are you talking to?” Grian asked, leaning closer to the phone, his eyes narrowing as if he could somehow figure it out just by staring at the device.

“Yeah, who is it?” Tango added, his tail tightening slightly around my arm as he tried to peer over my shoulder. The suspicion in their voices was almost comical, and I had to stifle a laugh.

“It’s just… a work call,” I said, trying to sound casual, but the two of them were not buying it. Grian’s eyes were practically boring into the phone now, and Tango looked like he was about to snatch it out of my hand.

“Come on, tell us!” Grian insisted, his voice taking on a pleading tone as he reached for the phone.

“Yeah, we just wanna know!” Tango echoed, both of them getting closer, their curiosity now fully piqued.

Just as Grian was about to snatch the phone, I quickly hung up, my heart racing slightly from the sudden burst of energy in the room. They both stared at me, wide-eyed and clearly not satisfied with the abrupt end to their investigation.

“I’m sorry, but that’s a surprise,” I said, trying to keep my tone light while suppressing a grin. “You’ll find out soon enough, okay?”

Grian pouted, crossing his arms in a way that would have been intimidating if it weren’t so endearing, while Tango just gave me a knowing look, as if he was already figuring out what I was up to. I couldn’t help but chuckle at their reactions.