Lilies of the Valley {Grumbo}

Chapter 3 : Visit

Grian wiped the sweat off his brow and looked at all the terraforming he had done around him as well as the beginning of his manor. He was fairly pleased at how well it was turning out, and so far this season had been really productive and the story telling he got into with Scar was always a blast. It had to have been early evening at this point and he'd been up since the crack of dawn; despite going to bed late the night before. The day was a success, and he just wanted to get back to his hobbit hole in the ground.

It wasn't long before he walked near his property that he heard the alarm system, meaning his friend had messaged him... maybe. There was always a chance it would be trapped, but he could always hope that was not the case. He sprinted in and disabled the alarm immediately; bringing immediate relief to his ears. He smiled as he opened the chest and realized that the note was indeed from Mumbo. However he must have sent it in the morning considering he was talking about being, "awake now." Unless he woke up in the afternoon, which is unlike Mumbo.

The blonde's brows furrowed in concentration, before he came up with an idea. He grabbed a clean pair of clothes to put in his shulker, quickly put his other items away, and prepared a box with some golden carrots and other goodies in it. He took off towards the hermits base, hoping to pay Mumbo a surprise visit.

He arrived rather shortly and noticed the darkness of the hobbit hole, Mumbo obviously wasn't there, which baffled Grian. It was the other hermits day off which he normally took to stay inside and plan. But in a nearby radius he heard soft music playing from a radio. It had a little bit of an upbeat to it, which made Grian crack a smile. He slowly started approaching the noise and saw Mumbo in some casual clothing working away on his base.

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars

Mumbo sang softly to the tune as he placed block after block. He was feeling a lot better than earlier, and the music was definitely lifting some spirits. He heard a small crunch behind him and his head immediately snapped around.

The blonde let out a soft chuckle, "Hey Man!"

Mumbo was shocked to see him there but smiled at the sight, "Hey dude what's got you here?"

"Well I've been up like all day working on my base and I just got done and saw your message, so here I am... seeing you around."

Mumbo moved towards the double chests situated near his mega base and started placing his tools and extra materials into them, "Oh yeah, well. I mean, nothing interesting is going on here, just working on my base as well."

The other nodded, "I thought it was your day off, but I should've known you were here regardless. You always work yourself to death."

"You're one to talk."

He let out a small laugh, "I know, I know buuut... I was thinking we could just set up a campfire by the river, cook some food and just hangout for the rest of the evening."

Mumbo looked at the other hermit as his eyes almost seem to sparkle, and then he felt it, the scratching in his throat. He let out a quick cough into his elbow, "Ahh, yes! That sounds fantastic."

Grian barely even seemed to notice the cough and just motioned his head in the direction, "Alright sweet! Come on then!"

Grian raced towards the river front outside of his house. The tall hermit shook his head and smiled, shortly flying after his friend. At the bank of the river the blonde had started to set up a campfire. The sun was starting to set and it would be just them and the crackling of the campfire. After there was quite a flame going, he placed some fish on the sides and watched as they cooked through, the raven haired man watched him intently. The light of the fire made his elegant features glow, he was so fragile even though he was a pbuilder. It really made him wonder how-

"So how's it been for you Mumbo?" It cut through his thoughts like a sharp blade.

"Uh, well, I've been working on that thing," he said as he gestured to his base, "Other than that not a lot has really gone on.. a lot of grinding really."

"Yeah, tell me about it dude. Dark prismarine is like a rarity here, I swear every time Impulse stocks his shop it's getting bought out, either by another hermit or myself."

Grian removed the fully cooked fish from the campfire, and handed one to Mumbo as he took a big bite of his own. They ate in silence for a while before the small hermit stood up and stretched.

"Well I don't know about you BUT I'm gonna take a dip in the river"

Mumbo panicked a bit unsure if the other hermit meant he would take his shirt off. Putting in too much thought he just sputtered a response, "Uh huh, yeah, sure"

Grian smiled and turned around, and as expected he pulled his shirt off over his head. The raven haired hermit studied his back and soft frame, he looked so... beautiful with the moonlight bathing his tiny frame. His lungs hurt worse than he had ever experienced as he shuddered. He turned to the side, and Grian jumped, or more like cannon balled into the water. He coughed until he felt relief, and opened his eyes to see several white flower petals laying on the ground. The blonde rose back to the surface of the water and Mumbo snapped around.

"Well are you gonna join me?"

"I don't think I'm feeling too well, so I'm going to pass." Mumbo laughed nervously.

Grian's brows furrowed almost looking sad, "Are you okay?"

Mumbo felt his stomach lurch and started to walk away, "Oh yes, I just physically I feel a little ill. No worries, it's probably the stuff I ate earlier."

"Wait Mumbo!"

But it was already too late. Mumbo was in his starter house, hacking into another barrel, he felt his head spin and the floral smell once again clouded all of his senses. He lifted his head up and wiped his mouth on the back of his hands, and that's when he noticed the blood.

He needed help, but that could wait until morning.

A/N song mentioned is "Fly me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra