Trigger warnings: violence, abduction, sedation

Still day 105

"Hi X!" Grian exclaimed flying down the banister and landing next to the team leader. 

Just seeing his smiling face made Xisuma's stomach twist up. He nodded curtly in reply.

"I need you to go collect firewood" he said holding out an axe. "I wasn't expecting snow and we aren't prepared"

Grian looked confused but accepted it anyways. 

"Um... why me?"

"Is it too difficult a task for you?" 

"No!" Grian said, regretting his words. "I'm just not the... the strongest... but no worries it's fine! I'm sorry"

X put on a twisted expression that Grian couldn't read. 

"No I'm sorry. I... I just need you to do it because you are the fastest. Ok? We need dry wood, so go to the place near the cliff right next to the stream. The one with the overhang"

Grian offered him a small smile. 

"Got it! I'll be back soon"

He ran out the door, clutching the axe in both hands. 

Mumbo, Iskall, and Stress had congregated outside the front door. From the looks on their faces, Iskall and Stress appeared to be teasing Mumbo. 

Grian smirked. 

"What are you guys talking about?"

The three of them froze. Mumbo's face heated up at once, and Iskall looked as though he were trying not to laugh. 

"It's nothing" Stress said giggling. "We were just making fun of Mumbo"

"Oh my favorite activity!" Grian laughed, winking in the direction of the tall blushing mess in the corner. 

Iskall chuckled.

"Where are you going?" 

Grian held the axe out. 

"X said we aren't prepared for the snow and asked me to go collect fire wood!"

"By yourself?" Iskall said crinkling his eyebrows together. "That's a lot of work for one person. We can come with you!"

Stress and Mumbo nodded in agreement and Grian gave a sigh of relief. They all grabbed axes and the four set off across the snowy clearing. 

"We need to go this way" Grian called to Stress and Iskall, who had begun to turn down the wrong path. "X doesn't want the bark to be wet so we need to go to the place by the river that has the overhang"

Iskall and Stress changed their course, running ahead and throwing snow at each other as they laughed. 

Grian turned to Mumbo, who had a perturbed expression. 

"What's wrong?"

Mumbo took his time before responding. 

"I don't know yet" he said finally, looking pensively into the trees. 

Grian smiled. 

Classic Mumbo Jumbo. Always so anxious. 

"Don't worry" Grian said hooking his arm around Mumbo's elbow. "There is no reason to be jumpy"

Well now there is Mumbo thought as the warmth from Grian's arm radiated up his body and colored his face. 

They walked in silence for a while. Well, Mumbo walked in silence. Grian chewed his ear off nonstop, rambling on about random topics, such as the weather, different types of paint, birds, and the color red. 

Mumbo smiled and nodded along, but his mind was out of it. Truthfully, all he wanted was to confess. 

The secret of his affections for Grian felt like a knife in his stomach that twisted every moment he was hiding away how he felt. At this point, being rejected was the least of his concerns. He just couldn't stand the secret! Hiding a part of himself meant that he and Grian could never fully know each other. 

The snowy winding pathway through the forest seemed like the perfect place, and although Iskall and Stress were there, they seemed to be leaving the two of them alone. 

"-I don't know. What do you think?" Grian asked, finishing a long ramble that had begun somewhere along whether roses were better than violets, and had ended at why pineapple makes your mouth tingle. 

"Mm" Mumbo said in a way that could mean anything. 

"Oh I can see the overhang. We're almost there!" Grian said, removing his arm and beginning to speed up. 

"Wait!"

Mumbo grabbed Grian's wrist and turned him back so they were face to face. 

Grian looked surprised, but not scared. 

"What is it?"

Mumbo's tongue went dry and he felt the knot in his stomach tighten. 

"I... I need... oh god"

He put a hand on his abdomen. 

"I might throw up"

Grian put one hand on Mumbo's forehead and supported his arm with the other. 

"You're really warm. Are you sick?" 

"No... maybe... no!" Mumbo said. He stood up shakily and took Grian's hands.
"I... I need to tell you something"

Was it just him, or was there a slight tinge of pink rising in Grian's cheeks?

"Yes?"

Mumbo took a deep breath. 

"Grian, I-"

A shrill scream from up ahead cut him off. Both of them turned their heads sharply, their blood turning ice cold. 

Grian made eye contact with Mumbo and jerked his head as if to say, follow me, and be quiet. 

Axe in hand, they crept between the trees to the clearing up ahead. Although rather far away from the base, this was a common place for them to get wood. A strange unattractive cliff overhead shadowed the trees, several of which had been cut down long ago. 

Upon closer inspection, Mumbo noticed two axes on the ground, but Iskall and Stress were nowhere to be seen. Looking at Grian, it was clear he was thinking the same thing. 

Something is wrong.

"We won't see anything else from here" Mumbo whispered. "Let's go take a closer look"

Grian nodded and began to move out of the trees. 

Mumbo began to follow closely behind. 

However, as soon as he broke through the thicket he felt a thin chord wrap around his neck and he stopped in his tracks. 

He opened his mouth to yell but a hand was slapped over his face before he could make a sound. 

"Too little too late lover boy" someone hissed into his ear. "If you make any noise, I'll snap your neck"

Mumbo watched helplessly as Grian crept towards the center of the clearing, completely unaware of how much danger he was in, and how alone he was. 

Mumbo's mind raced. 

If I make noise, I die. If I don't, he gets caught. Even if I alert him, how could he get away?

Grian was now picking up one of the axes from the ground. Suddenly, with the snap of a branch overhead, something began to fall towards Grian. Not even looking at what it was, the avian took off and barely avoided the large heavy net that fell where he had been standing less than a second ago. The edges of the net had large metal balls attached to it, assumingly to make it impossible to be lifted up once you were trapped under it. 

Grian, now floating just above the trees, scanned the ground wildly. 

"Mumbo! Iskall! Stress!"

His voice wavered as he shouted, and he held up his axe. 

"Don't hide like cowards! Come out and give me back my friends!"

The bushes at the far end of the clearing rustled and out stepped a tall man dressed all in black. His clothes looked like a military uniform, and he carried a long sword on his belt. 

The most terrifying thing about him was his face, or lack thereof. The man wore a grey and black mask, built to look like some kind of demonic vex. The vex was smiling and the eyebrows were arched in a way that made Mumbo's hair stand on end. 

The man snapped his fingers, and the person binding Mumbo pushed him out in the open, still holding the wire around his neck. Stress and Iskall emerged as well in the same predicament. Iskall's face was red with anger, and Stress had silent tears running down her cheeks. 

The men holding them also wore masks, but they were plain and black, only having slits for the eyes.

"Let them go!" Grian yelled from above, holding his axe as if he was going to throw it at the man in the mask. 

The man chuckled. 

"I don't believe you're in any situation to bargain, do you?"

Grian's eyes were wild and he was silent for a second before he dropped his weapon to his side. 

"It's me you want right?" His voice no longer wavered. "Let them go... and you can take me"

"NO!" Mumbo and Iskall shouted as Stress choked out a sob. All three felt the chord around their necks tighten and they gasped. 

"Stop!" Grian yelled. "If you hurt them then there's no deal! Clearly seeing how your net failed, I'm faster than you thought. If I fly away now, you will never catch me!"

The man in the mask stared up at the avian for a moment before he chuckled again. 

"You were supposed to come here alone. Why are they with you? Where is the rest of your team?"

"What?" Grian looked confused. "They came to help me! How is that important right now? No one else is here!"

The man studied him for another minute before he ultimately decided the avian's words were genuine. 

"Don't trust him!" Stress yelled suddenly, choking on her words as the string was pulled tighter. 

The man in the mask turned to look at her and waved his hand. The person holding Stress loosened the grip around her neck. 

"You're a pretty one" the man in the mask said walking over slowly. He looked down at her clothes and saw her healers pin. "And a doctor too, no?"

He reached out a hand and grabbed her chin gently. 

"Don't touch her!" Iskall yelled, struggling against his binds. 

"Hey!" Grian yelled from up above. "Do we have a deal or not?"

The man dropped his hand from Stress's face and turned back to the avian. 

Although they couldn't be sure, his voice oozed with smugness and he seemed to be smiling under his mask. 

"Very well half breed" he said. "Come with us willingly, and I won't hurt your friends"

Grian did not descend.

"Let them go first"

"Come down first"

Grian locked eyes with Mumbo, who shook his head violently. 

Grian gave him a look that said what else can I do?

He lowered his head and dropped his axe to the ground before letting himself fall. 

"Very good" the masked man said snapping his fingers. 

Instantly, more soldiers came out of the trees and grabbed onto Grian's arms, forcing the golden boy on his knees. 

The masked man snapped his fingers again. One of the soldiers took out his sword and hit the avian over the head with the hilt. Grian collapsed in the snow. 

"He said he'd go willingly!" Mumbo growled, struggling to breath as the string was tightened. 

"Just playing it safe" the masked man said calmly. He then turned and pointed at Stress. "Take her too"

"What?!" She screamed, struggling violently. A soldier near her raised his sword, assumingly to hit her too, but the masked man held up a hand. 

"We treat our guests with kindness" he said, his voice dripping with malevolence. "I am a man of my word"

He walked up to Stress and removed the string around her neck. He then cocked his head at her and wiped a tear from her cheek. 

"Your half breed and I made a deal and therefor I will not harm you. But I will not give up the opportunity to gain a new healer"

Stress screamed, kicked, and cried but she could not escape the hands that held her. Eventually she exhausted herself and hung limply, tears still falling from her eyes. 

Iskall looked as if he could explode, but the string around his neck was already cutting into his skin, and he dared not struggle more.

The masked man clapped his hands twice, and the soldiers holding Grian and Stress dragged them into the trees.

"Do you think we're just going to let this go?" Mumbo snarled. 

"I don't think you have much choice" the man said. 

He picked up Grian's dropped axe and looked at his reflection in the steel. 

"There is far more going on than you know, and this is but a small bump in the road for me"

He flung the axe to the ground and began to stride away. Right before disappearing into the trees, he snapped his fingers. 

Mumbo felt a pinch on the back of his neck, and he was released. His hand flew to the injury and he pulled a small needle out of his skin. 

Swaying and stumbling, he and Iskall tried to walk but only made it a few steps before tripping over their own feet and crashing to the ground. Mumbo looked up at the cloudy sky, the world spinning above him. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

"Grian..." he muttered before a wave of sleep pushed his eyelids closed.

Sooooo, I know this is kind of dark, but this is how the story goes, so expect some more of this in the coming chapters. As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please leave a like, and leave a comment if you have any feedback. I love hearing what you guys think!