The Hermit's Retreat

Chapter 1

Xisuma sighed as he walked out the doors of the airport, relieved to finally be in America after months of planning. It was hard to find a place to stay in a central location that met all of the other requirements, and eventually he had settled on a place near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He'd flown into Nashville, where Joe would pick him up and drive them both to the house where they'd be staying for the next month. Not all the hermits could make it due to various things, but the ones that could would be joining them in the next few days. Xisuma was snapped out of his thoughts by Joe yelling and waving his hands. Xisuma blinked.

"Are you ready?" Asked Joe.

"Yup." He replied.

They loaded all the bags into the car, and Xisuma flinched when Joe turned onto the right side of the road.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." He said.

They talked about plans for the retreat, who would be there, and generally how everything would go. Occasionally the conversation would be interrupted when Joe had to cuss at someone who cut them off, but everything quieted down when they were out of the city.

"Remind me who all's coming again?" Joe asked.

"Other than us, there's Grian, Mumbo, Scar, Cleo, Cub, Stress, Doc, Iskall, Ren, TFC, and um.. False."

Joe raised his eyebrows at the slight stumble. "What's wrong with False?"

"Nothing," Xisuma huffed, "that's the problem."

"Oh my god, you like her don't you?"

"Yeah, maybe. Shut up."

"Oh, it'll be fine. You know, I had a crush one time, and then I got married."

Xisuma ignored Joe's statement. "Maybe if I stay in my room the whole time, it won't be awkward."

"It's only awkward if you make it like that, you know."

"Yeah, I know, you can stop with your logic now."

"Anyways... When is she flying in?"

"The day after tomorrow."

Joe nodded, and the rest of the four hour drive passed in relative quiet, with Xisuma navigating as best as he could. Finally they pulled off of the road they'd been on and up a dirt driveway.

"Is this it?" Joe asked.

"Yup." Said Xisuma.

The house was large and made of dark wood, surrounded by trees. When he had booked it, Xisuma had made sure there were enough rooms for everyone, wheelchair access for Scar, and that it had good internet. Looking at it in person, it was nicer than he thought. Partway through unloading their stuff, TFC and Scar arrived.

After the four hermits claimed their rooms and got everything mostly unpacked, Xisuma checked his phone to find two texts. One was from Iskall saying that he was waiting for his flight to board. The other was from Mumbo, which was a picture of himself holding a ticket and smiling grimly. It was four in the afternoon, which meant they'd be getting to the house the next morning.

Xisuma checked the list of all the hermits who hadn't come in yet. Grian would be arriving sometime that evening, with Iskall and Mumbo landing the next morning, and Doc, Ren, and Cub arriving sometime later that day. The girls would all fly in the day after. False- he stopped himself, deciding instead to go downstairs and properly have a look around the house. Despite the size of the house, it was still cozy, with handmade furniture and paintings on the walls. There was a pond in the backyard, but it wasn't warm enough weather to be able to swim. There was also a game room with a pool table and table football.

They had a lot of work to do. A few brave souls would have to venture out to the grocery store to find enough food for thirteen people, and they would all have to get unpacked and set up before the start of season seven in a week. But for now all Xisuma could do was wait for the others to show up.