Chapter Text
Mumbo was starting to realize how much he hated gardening. Not the functional part, with carrots, potatoes, and ingredients for potions, no. He hated the aesthetic part.
He couldn’t seem to figure out which wildflowers were which, and didn’t understand anything about how to make the grasses grow taller or shorter. No matter how much Scar tried to explain it to him, Mumbo just couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“How can you see differences between basically identi- identical potions, but you can’t see the difference between these seeds?” Scar asked playfully from the other side of the row of growing carrots. They were working in the community garden together, Mumbo focused on the practical crops, and Scar on the ‘way more fun’ ones.
They had decided this spring to expand the farm a bit, and Scar was in charge of planting all the flowers and fancy grasses he wanted to make a border for the already growing crops. Today was one of the first good days for planting since Ren got settled into camp a week ago.
Mumbo looked up from where he was crouched inspecting the leaf growth of his carrots, to see two small, black, oval seeds. He glanced up at Scar’s face, and back down at the seeds skeptically.
“My potions mostly have wildly different hues, actually! Some of the more similar ones, like yours and false’s are close, so I separate them, but if I focus there’s a difference. Your seeds, however, are all small, round, and black. How is anyone meant to be able to spot the miniscule differences in that?” Mumbo waved his arms around, exasperated.
“My seeds look so different, mister! This one is a lilac, you can tell by its weird shape-” He pointed to what Mumbo could only describe as the most typical seed he’s seen. “-and this one is going to be a poppy!”
Mumbo wiped the gathering sweat off his brow. The summer is going to be unbearable if this is what late spring feels like, I might need new clothes for the summer, not just suits. He thought to himself before responding.
“Those look the exact same, mate.”
“Not true! They are literally so different! Look!” Mumbo blinked as the seeds were suddenly thrust in between him and a carrot leaf. He squinted his eyes, looking at the two.
“Sorry, Scar, but I just don’t see the difference! Maybe it’s just a you thing!”
“No way, I’d know if it was only a me thing! There’s no way you can’t see the differences! They’re two different colors!” Scar said exasperated, turning back to his planting.
“They’re literally not, mate. I hate to break it to you, but they’re both small, practically the same shape, and color too. You sure it’s not like, what, and Elf thing?” Mumbo asked, looking up at Scar. Scar dropped the seeds into a small hole in the dirt, and carefully covered them, reaching for the nearby watering can.
“No, I tried showing Wels the other day and he didn’t know either. Maybe it’s because I’m a nature elf specifically, and he’s not?” He said, carefully pouring water onto the freshly planted seeds.
“You’re a nature elf?” Mumbo asked, making Scar look back up at him, confusion on his face.
“Yeah? Why?”
“Well that’s why you can tell which seeds are what!” Mumbo threw his hands up in mock frustration, smile peeking out from under his mustache.
“Really?”
“YES!”
“That… Makes a lot of sense, actually,” Scar said, turning back to his mound of freshly planted seeds.
“If you’d like, I have a book we can look over some time to find out what other traits come with being an elf hybrid?” Mumbo offered, moving over to inspect another carrot plant.
“Oh, I might actually need to do that, huh?” Scar asked, grabbing another handful of seeds from his ‘super magical seed pouch’.
Mumbo rolled his eyes, moving to the next plant. They worked in silence for another few minutes before Scar finally spoke up.
“So, if my seeds are because of me being nature-y, your potion stuff is because you’re a witch?”
“Hm? Oh- yeah, I suppose so.” Mumbo held his breath, hoping that would be the end of that conversation.
“That’s cool, I didn’t think witches had any weird vision things!” Scar said, not noticing how Mumbo froze at that.
Oh goodness me, the book never said anything about vision differences! I should’ve been more careful! Now probably someone at camp is onto me!
“Ah, well, you also didn’t realize your own traits weren’t typical for all elves!” Mumbo shakily tried to play off, praying that Scar didn’t pick up on the obvious unease in his voice.
Scar looked up from his dirt piles at that, and gave Mumbo a look he didn’t even want to decipher. Scar had just opened his mouth when a piercing shriek tore through the air, coming from above.
Mumbo and Scar immediately whipped their heads up, squinting against the sun to see what was going on.
“Do you see that?” Scar asked, terror clear in his voice, pointing up near the forest’s edge.
There was an avian with bright red, yellow, and blue wings flying towards them, the colors vibrant in the sun, and they were holding onto someone by their arms, making for a very awkward flight.
It looked like they were trying to escape from something.
“I think they’re about to crash!” Mumbo said, jumping up. The airborne two had lost a lot of altitude in the seconds that Scar and Mumbo had been watching, and they were heading right for the clearing.
“What do we do?” Scar asked, jumping up too, and grabbing his cane.
“Uhh, that’s a great question actually!” Mumbo said, not taking his eyes off the pair in the sky.
Just then, another loud shriek pierced the air, but this time, it was one of pain, as the avian’s wing spasmed, then went limp in the air.
Mumbo heard Scar gasp as the two fell, landing in the trees. Mumbo immediately ran towards the treeline, with Scar following close behind.
“Hey, wait up a second.” Scar said when they got into the forest. The elf paused behind Mumbo, cane sinking down into the dirt. Mumbo looked back, slowing down too.
“What’s the matter?” Mumbo asked, watching as Scar focused on his cane. Shoot, is he hurt? How did his cane sink that deep into the dirt? He’s never done that before-
“Shh!” Scar said, eyes closed and head slightly bowed now. Mumbo was about to start heading to where he thought the two hybrids would be when Scar spoke again.
“That way!” He pulled his cane out of the ground, and started running, leaving Mumbo to trail after, confused.
“What was that?” Mumbo asked, catching up to Scar.
“I used the dirt to tell me where movement was!” Scar replied, still rushing forward.
“Ah, of course! Another Nature Elf thing?”
“I guess?”
The two ran around a particularly large trunk, and stopped when they saw one of the hybrids on a lower branch.
“Well, hello there! My name-” Scar started, planting his cane finally with a flourish.
“Mumbo?” The man interrupted. He was staring right at Mumbo, eyes wide. Those larger than life eyes, that voice. Is it?
“Keralis! No way, mate!” Mumbo said, eyes lighting up. “Here, let’s get you down from there-”
Mumbo looked around for things to cushion his fall, but there were none. Keralis, upon making the same observation, simply flung himself out of the tree, leaving Mumbo and Scar to rush forward to catch him.
“Woah- Keralis! Goodness me- right, are you hurt?” Mumbo asked, now looking down at the man who was in his and Scar’s arms.
“I think I twisted my ankle or something a few days ago. It hurts too bad to stand on it.” Keralis said, rolling his left ankle.
“Ah. Right, let’s just set you down then,” Mumbo said, and they put Keralis down, back against the large tree trunk.
“Uhm- so, Scar, this is Keralis, he left camp a while ago to- ehm-” Mumbo awkwardly tried to do introductions, before he got cut him off.
“Hey, I’m Keralis, or Papa K, I lived at the camp a while ago but left to hang out with my family.” He stuck out his hand for a handshake.
“Hello there Keralis! My name is Scar, I just moved in a bit ago! Lovely to meet you!” Scar accepted the handshake, smiling.
“Keralis? Where’d the avian you were with go?” Mumbo asked, looking up. He couldn’t see much through the thick foliage.
“Oh, I think he’s still near the top? I fell farther than he did.” Keralis said, looking at a slowly bleeding scrape on his arm.
“Right, ehm- Scar, can you hurry back to camp and get two general health and two avian, please? Oh, and send anyone you see this way as well?” Mumbo asked Scar as he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. He wasn’t wearing his suit jacket already, because he didn’t want to soil it gardening.
Scar gave a mock salute, and hurried off to camp. Mumbo then turned his attention back to Keralis.
“You don’t seem to be that badly injured, nothing the potions can’t fix. Sorry, you’ll have to use my general ones. We can figure out your formula later- oh goodness me, I hope my avian pots are universal to all avian specieses!” Mumbo worries to himself, looking Keralis up and down.
The man doesn’t have anything worse than a slightly swollen ankle and scratches on his arms and legs. Good. He doesn’t seem to have a concussion or anything either.
“Do you- do you know your avian friend’s name?”
“Oh, yeah! His name’s Grian,” Keralis said, messing with a scrape on his forearm.
“...G- Grian?” Mumbo asked, immediately looking up towards the treetops. There’s no way. There’s actually no way. He thought to himself, trying to lower his hopes.
“Grian, like a short, scarlet macaw?” Mumbo looked back down at Keralis, who nodded hesitantly.
“You know him?”
“We grew up together! Oh goodness me- I never thought I’d ever see him again- I-” Mumbo felt his eyes grow watery, and he frantically wiped them dry again, focusing back up on the skies.
“Really? That’s cool!” Keralis said, now also searching for Grian. “I don’t know how he was back then, but he’s really skittish now.”
“Yeah, he was like that when we were growing up, too.” Mumbo thought back to the countless nights they spent, ducking in between shadows, trying to not be seen by anyone.
Avians were seen as dangerous in Mumbo’s village, as well as the neighboring one where Grian lived. They’d spend most of their time in the woods, high in trees and away from sight. Grian was always keeping an eye out for anyone, sometimes abruptly cutting Mumbo off to shush him if someone was near.
“Hey! I’m back!” Scar said, running through the trees. Mumbo turned to look, and saw Xisuma as well, helping Scar carry the potions. As soon as Xisuma saw Keralis, though, he ran ahead of Scar and crouched right next to the man, setting the potions he was holding aside.
“Shashwammy!” Keralis said, trying to push himself up from where he was sitting, stopping with a grimace when he moved his foot. Xisuma gently pushed him back down, and hugged him.
Mumbo grabbed a general health potion from Scar, nodding in thanks as the Elf tried to catch his breath, leaning heavily on his cane with his free hand. Mumbo shot him a concerned look, but Scar waved his now free other hand dismissively, before resting it also on his cane.
“Right, Keralis? Can- Do you mind drinking this quickly?” Mumbo asked, awkwardly stood behind Xisuma.
Keralis looked up from his reunion, eyeing the potion with curiosity, before pulling out of the hug with Xisuma.
“Sure, Bumbo!” He grabbed the potion, taking a swig.
“It should fix your ankle, but I- you might need to take another one before it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’ll also drain your energy, though.” Mumbo listed off, watching as Keralis took another swig, nodding.
Why does he trust me so much? We barely met when I first was at camp, and that was ages ago! Does he just trust me because he trusts Xisuma? Mumbo thought to himself, watching as Keralis drained the rest of the potion.
“Keralis, Scar said that you were being carried by an Avian? Why wouldn’t you two wait for a bit for you to heal before traveling?” Xisuma asked, and yeah, Mumbo was wondering that too. From what he remembers, Grian knows when to push, and when not to push himself. And, if he felt the need to fly while carrying someone else for void knows how long…
“Oh, he insisted we keep moving. He never… We flew for an hour or so, but it was the fastest way we could keep going.” Keralis carefully rolled his ankle, looking at it.
“You two wanted to- are you being tailed by humans?” Xisuma asked, panicked. I should’ve thought of that, what if we’re about to be under attack again!
“No, no, I… I met Grian when I was helping raid a hybrid prison. One of the larger ones. But I got injured in the raid, so he took me and we flew away. After the first day of flying I was sure we’d have lost them, but Grian… He was there for a long time, I think. He was still really worried, and so we kept going for an hour or two every day.” Keralis said, looking between up in the trees, Mumbo, and Xisuma.
“How- how long were you two on the run?” Mumbo asked. He had hoped that Grian was safe for all these years, but knew he probably wasn’t. But hearing that he was in a bad prison…
“For a couple weeks now. I’m surprised he was able to make it as long as he did, that was one of the most brutal prisons I’ve seen.” Mumbo thought he was going to be sick as his mind presented him with the worst case scenarios, which apparently weren’t far off from what happened.
“I- Xisuma, can you monitor? I need- Grian- he’s- I need to find him.” Mumbo grabbed one of the avian specific health potions from the ground.
“I can monitor, yeah. Do you need me to do anything else?” Xisuma nodded, now looking up in the trees for the avian. For Grian.
“Uh- if Keralis isn’t fully healed in a few minutes give him the other potion? Also, could you keep an eye out in case Grian shows up down here?” Xisuma nods, and Mumbo moves to a nearby tree trunk.