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“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mumbo groaned, rattling the glowing book clutched between his hands.
[Mumbo Jumbo’s Secret Task:]
[Prevent Scar from losing more than 3 hearts this session.]
“Impossible,” Mumbo sighed, unceremoniously slamming the book shut, shaking his head. “Impossible! I might as well go hit the fail button now, that’s just how impossible this one is.”
With a forlorn glance to his lopsided base, Mumbo gripped the strap of his book bag slung over his shoulder, and started on the wayward venture to find his target.
They hadn’t really seen too much of each other this season, Mumbo realized. It had been a long time since Mumbo was a part of these death games, but even back during last life, he remembered Scar living alone.
Then again, Mumbo didn’t have a choice that season. Grian tangled a deal into his words, and off Mumbo was carted off to the southernmost point on the map without a good enough reason to turn away.
“One fish, for your unwavering loyalty.” What a stupid deal. He already had too many fish to begin with.
This time around, Mumbo chose his alliances. As silly (and dangerous) as his sideways house might be, it was worth it to be neighbors with his equally silly (and dangerous) allies.
Mumbo never had to worry about having friends— both times now, it’s felt as though people wanted him to stay.
But as his trek for Scar dragged on, it dawned on him that the same couldn’t be said for their residential salesman. Maybe it was different in the other seasons, the ones that had left his friends with greater wounds on their souls than his own, but as far as he could tell, Scar was a solo act.
He wasn’t sure if Scar was aware.
Scar generally wasn’t aware of most things, but then again, isn’t that what xe wanted everyone to think? With xir silly traveling sales pitch, trading away stained glass xe wanted to pawn off as magical crystals, promised xir precious, valuable, excess lives for deals and contracts written in what seemed to be invisible ink, looking back.
Scar wanted Mumbo to be there with xem for it. With xir silly purple cloak and hood that was so oversized it drooped over xir eyes, sitting on a horse, with all the light in the world in xir sharp, green eyes.
There was safety in those eyes, Mumbo knew that. He knew it in the way that Scar reached for his hand, palm up, waiting for what, to xem, must have seemed like an obvious ‘yes’.
But Grian already had both hands wrapped around Mumbo’s arm, and there was no changing Grian’s mind, when he’d already sunk his talons in.
(In hindsight, maybe he should’ve known going with Grian to the south was a bad idea. Maybe that’s why he steered clear of the man this go around— his bright red sweater made his true nature almost ironically obvious.)
All of these thoughts were starting to make Mumbo feel dizzy, but luckily, Scar was about to knock all of those worries out of his head, with a brand spanking new one.
Mumbo heard the wince-worthy thud of Scar’s ankles, and then rear end, unexpectedly meeting the ground, and the tail end of xir complaining. “...Already took another chunk of hearts, oh Mumbo!”
Yup. Good old Scar, doing xir famous bit of constantly being hurt.
Mumbo wanted to throw his stupid task book right into the secret keeper’s ugly maw, but he wasn’t sure if the spawn protection would just lob the book right back at him. It was a fifty-fifty chance, and at this rate, he was becoming increasingly tempted.
His anger was interrupted by Scar quietly wincing, holding one of xir knees between xir hands.
Both of xir knees were guarded by sturdy braces, built for functionality and to keep xir joints from dislocating as they so often did. They were not built with comfort in mind, only practicality.
Mumbo sat down next to Scar in the grass, wordlessly letting Scar lean against his shoulder while xe fiddled with the damaged brace.
His fingers itched to fix it himself, but much like xir wheelchair, if Mumbo even dared inch too close with a screwdriver in hand, that same tool would probably end up shoved somewhere the sun didn’t shine.
And that wasn’t to say Scar didn’t know what xe was doing; with the clink of a loose bolt tightened again, xe stretched his leg out with a satisfied look. “Still going strong, five seasons in,” Scar boasted.
Mumbo frowned slightly, glancing up from the brace to meet Scar’s eyes. “You haven’t replaced them this whole time?”
Scar shrugged, reaching for xir cane a short reach away. Xe dusted himself off as xe stood, using the singed remains of Grian’s base to hoist xirself up. “Too much of a hassle,” xe said, knocking out one of the torches by xir feet.
“So, Mumbo,” Scar said, putting out torches left and right, “care to tell me what your task is?”
Mumbo shot Scar a look as he tried to replace the torches xe seemed determined to be rid of. “You know I can’t do that, Scar. On a completely unrelated note, how many hearts would you say you lost just now?”
Scar hummed, lightly smacking Mumbo’s shin when he replaced another torch. “I would say, about a heart and a half?”
Okay, so all was not lost. Maybe, just maybe, this task was salvageable.
…Nevermind the fact that the session only just started, and Scar only had a heart and a half left to spare. Totally feasible. God.
There were two options Mumbo had right now: attempt to trail after Scar for the whole session, trying to prevent any potential damage xe could take, and probably take damage himself as a result, or go reroll for a hard task, and risk losing ten hearts from whatever absurd, dangerous task he was given.
Surely, there had to be a better option.
While Mumbo was busy thinking, Scar had already removed all of the nearby torches, cloaking them in darkness.
Scar started to casually stroll away from the growing swarm of mobs spawning, and the sound of a skeleton rattling shocked Mumbo back to reality. As he scampered after him down the birch wood path, an idea clicked into his brain.
“Hey, Scar,” Mumbo called after xem, doing a light jog until they were side-by-side. “Do you remember back in last life, when you asked me to live with you and I couldn’t?”
A sour expression flickered across Scar’s face, it seemed as though the memory was still fresh in xir mind. It was quickly smoothed over with a more neutral look, and xe hummed, as if trying to recall it. “We were supposed to rise and grind together, but you seemed to have more fun kicking around in the Southlands.”
There was audible disdain in Scar’s voice when xe uttered the name of Mumbo’s former alliance. Xe made no effort to mask his bitterness that time.
It made Mumbo hesitate, but he pressed on. “Ah, well, yes, but I’ve been thinking… I haven’t been in this series for a while, and I thought, well, I never did give you a fair chance, did I?”
Mumbo could see Scar deciding whether this conversation was worth xir time, digging a hole into the soft earth with the tip of xir cane. “Who’s to say?” Scar murmured.
Fingers picking at the binding of his task book, Mumbo cleared his throat. “I, I was just hoping that, maybe, I could make that up to you today.”
Scar squinted at him, the ghost of a smile twitching at the corner of xir mouth. “This doesn’t have to do with your task now, does it Mumbo?”
Mumbo’s ears started to burn, and he shook his head quickly, denying that obvious truth over and over again. “No, no not at all! I just, you know, I thought—”
A purple cloak. An outstretched hand, palms up. A warm, crooked smile.
“I just thought… we could spend the day together,” Mumbo said quietly. “Goodness knows how many we have left, and, you know, I feel like I owe you one, from all those lifetimes ago.”
Scar didn’t react. Xe didn’t move, xe didn’t smile, xe only stared, considering Mumbo’s words with a vacant expression.
As the silence dragged on, Mumbo’s anxiety started to boil over, and even more promises fell out of his mouth. “And, I mean, anything you want to do, I’m game for! If it’s kicking it around in the nether, or, or or— or driving you around on that death camel loops and loops around the server, or, I mean— I just want you to be happy. And, ideally, not get hurt, that too.
“Please?” Mumbo knew he was begging Scar at this point, but what other choice did he have? All of his cards were on the table now.
Scar reached out xir hand, brushing Mumbo’s cheek. He tensed up for a moment, before relaxing within the same breath; Scar always knew how to ease his worries. (Even if Scar was the source of those worries in the first place.)
“I don’t see why we can’t have a fun day together,” Scar said softly, tracing over an old, faded scar running down his jowl that bloomed across Mumbo’s neck, the result of an poorly timed end crystal.
Their lives really had gotten away from them.
“But!” Scar added, before Mumbo could celebrate prematurely, “that means you can’t question anything I do today, alright? I’ve still got my task to finish after all,” xe reminded him.
“And, if you would be okay with it,” Scar said, gentler this time, “you know me, I can be a bit touchy…?”
Mumbo leaned his cheek Scar’s hand, a fond look in his eyes. “I’ve never minded your physical affection, you know that.”
“I know, I know, I just don’t want you to think I’m coming onto you again,” Scar clarified, xir smile coming back in earnest this time. “We’re going to have a wonderful time today, I’m sure of it.”
Mumbo smiled right back, his nerves finally settling down, for now.
It was hard to say if he would be able to complete his task, in all honesty it felt just as impossible now as it had at the very start of the session.
But right now, Scar was trying to bite back a grin, and Mumbo knew that meant xe wanted something. He sighed with playful candor, his own smile widening when Scar quietly laughed.
“Something you need, Scar?” Mumbo hummed.
Scar’s thumb brushed the corner of Mumbo’s lips. “I could do with a kiss. Or a heart, whichever you have to spare.”
Mumbo kissed xem first, long and warm and only a little flustered being so openly affectionate in public. “Kisses come free, but my heart isn’t so easy, you know that,” he snickered.
Scar rolled xir eyes, stealing another kiss after Mumbo spoke. “It was worth a shot,” xe murmured, and Mumbo couldn’t help but agree.
It was always worth it for Scar.