So a bit of a fun fact. Mumbo Jumbo used to be a two person channel. It was run by Mumbo (spoon) and Jumbo respectively, but at some point Jumbo left. From there, Mumbo slowly absorbed both names, becoming known as the one and only Mumbo Jumbo. That is how I got the idea of Mumbo's backstory. ... even if I don't really know what happened to Jumbo yet-

An additional fun fact: I played with the idea that Mumbo knew even less of his name. His father would call him anything that ended with "umbo" so like, put any letter in front of that. Bumbo, Cumbo, Dumbo, Fumbo, Gumbo... you get the idea.

Also, finally, I edited this in a long car ride. I was going to double check a few things from other chapters and hermit history to ensure I got it right, but if you're reading this part I got tired and/or forgot (I give myself a 50/50 chance)

Also my motivated died-
✧✰✧

Graves. That's all there was surrounding Grian. They spread out as far as he could see, each one decorating a different name. Each name he knew, each one was a friend lost. In the graveyard, not even the trees were alive. The only living thing was Grian himself, forced to wander, to be alone.

Such was another nightmare.

✧✰✧

The next afternoon, Grian found himself sitting down outside in Mumbo's base. The spoon himself had fetched him a chair so he could sit comfortably. With each day, he had grown stronger bit by bit, physically at least. He had spent most of the day yesterday awake, and as he cranned his face towards the sun, he wondered if he this might be the first day without a nap since... well, he didn't like thinking about where he was less than a week ago (not that stopped his mind from going there, but still).

He tried to enjoy it, the gentle warmth that kissed his face. The feeling of the wind shuffling through his short hair and tickling the back of his bare neck. The slight scent of salt in the air from the ocean. The sight of deep blue ocean around the base, vast and empty. The silence of it all.

But despite his best efforts, he simply couldn't. Embarrassing as it was, he was still shaken up by his nightmare the night prior. He had woken up crying yet again, having to be comforted for about a half hour. He couldn't bring himself to tell Mumbo about it, but the human stayed regardless. Him and his sweet hugs, his tender and sweet reminders that things were different here. He had stayed well after the tears dried, until Grian told him that he didn't need to be comforted anymore.

Why was it that since he got away from the Watchers, it seemed that everything had set him off? He never used to cry, or get scared of things that simply weren't real. A nightmare of all things! Haunting him hours after it had happened, even though it wasn't that bad, or it shouldn't have been. He knew it was illogical, but even acknowledging that, it still stuck to him.

All of this babying that he was getting, he very clearly needed. From hugs, guidance through his emotions, little gifts (those too made him cry it would seem) and little reminders; even with all of them he was barely keeping it together. He didn't mean to be so needy, but for one reason or another, this all-powerful Watcher was seemingly completely helpless and broken now.

The man only shook his head, trying to get the nightmares out. Not that it worked (if it was as simple as that, they would have been long gone already), but it was nice for a moment to imagine it might have even a chance.

That was when a shadow flew over him. Looking up, he was met with the sight of Scar's chair, sailing through the wind with sails attached to it. "Hey Grian!" He called before he made a landing.  His smile was bright, just as it had been the day before. "Enjoying the sun, huh?" He asked as he rolled up.

"I suppose so..." Grian only shrugged. That wasn't a lie; he was indeed trying to. One of his feet were in reality, here in this beautiful day, one stuck in the bitter darkness of his mind.

"You know..." The scarred man began, his smile unexpectedly fading. "It's okay to cry or just be... sad. Yeah?" His eyes, now having had lost their glimmer of light, met Grian's. Had he really looked that upset?

"What do you-" he began to ask, but he was interrupted.

"You've clearly been through a lot. We don't expect you to be all smiles, and we don't want you to be unless you really are happy." Scar continued. From his inventory, he took out a wooden cane decorated to match his chair just to gesture at Grian. The Convex must have kept his people-reading skills even after all these years; that's how he could tell with but one glance something was wrong, surely. 

"Thanks..." Grian found himself replying. He didn't have any more words to say, happy for his god child's concern but at the same time, not willing to let himself break into pieces again.

"Oh, I know what I can do," Scar grinned as he set the cane on his lap. "How about you meet my kitty?" He glanced around, almost apprehensively before whispering into Grian's ear, "truth be told, she's not just any cat. Some people say I'm crazy— and I am— but regardless, my Jellie has magic!"

It was enough for Grian's eyes to widen, recognizing the name. That was the one gift that he had given to Scar as a Watcher (other than saving his life of course). He had completely forgotten about that. He looked to Scar, trying to wipe that expression off of his face. "A... magic cat you say?" He asked, finding him giving a single laugh, trying to hide behind his nervousness.

The motion only caused Scar to tighten his hands on his wheels, trying to move his torso closer even though it was fully strapped into the back of the chair. "You think I'm crazy too!" He accused, though the thought only made him laugh like a mad man. "Here, I'll show you I'm not bluffing." With that, he stuck his hand in his pocket, shuffling around until he found a single uncooked fish. Holding it up with two fingers with a silly smile on his lips, he waved it ever so slightly. "Jellie! Want a treat?"

Grian tilted his head slight, beholding the fish. He glanced around, finding no cat in the vicinity, much less one that desired the fish. Regardless, the man still smiled, waving his fish. "Oh come on, Jellie! You're making a fool of me!"

It was only then, when Grian had really begun to wonder if this man had lost it, that a swirl of a grey magic collected by the front most wheel on Scar's chair. It flashed, and in its place was none other than a familiar grey cat with a white underbelly, now fully grown. As Grian yelled out her name in shock, She stood herself up, her tail rather lazily swishing side to side. She didn't pay him any mind, jumping right up onto her human's lap to receive her promised treat with a meow.

"That's her name!" Scar concurred, lowering the fish but still holding it so she could easily eat it.

Grian could hardly believe it, even as he watched her nibble away at her food. He could vaguely remember being told that the kitten he had taken was magical somehow; was that what this meant? That she could teleport at will? Or was there more to it?

"You want to pet her, don't you?" The scarred man chuckled. He slowly wheeled himself closer one handedly, close enough so Grian could reach over and pet her, which he obliged. He stroked her forehead, moving down along her spine. He was met with silky smooth fur, soft as could be. The cat didn't seem to mind as she took the last little nibbles of fish, taking extra care to lick Scar's fingers.

"She's... soft." Grian noted out loud, a light smile coming to his face.

"She can act quite distant, especially to strangers, but she's given me more emotional support than I can put into words." Scar replied, his own smile reaching his eyes. Pride gleamed in his eyes. "She's not just a cat that knows a few tricks, either..."

Grian was going to ask what he had meant by that, but that was when Jellie turned around towards him. She meowed in greeting before hopping off of her owner, walking over to the one who had given her to him. She rather lazily brushed up against his leg, such a way feinting a lack of care. It was all the avian could do to bend down, petting her once more.

Scar only chuckled lightly. "Must be she really likes you!" He decided. "She usually ignores strangers. Even some Hermits she tries to avoid." Despite the American's easy tone, it brought a strike of fear in Grian's heart. Was Scar saying that he knew that he knew Jellie? If so, he could figure out that he was the one that gave him her, and since it happened on Update Day... he would therefore be able to conclude he was a Watcher. His blood ran cold at the very thought.

"What?" Scar asked, causing him to snap out of his thoughts. "Are you afraid that she stalked you in another life or something?" He chuckled a little, "Maybe you just smell like fish from being stuck in Mumbo's base. Or maybe she's just feeling extra friendly today." The cat only mewed. "Yeah, that's it," he concurred, almost as if translating.

The cat lifted her head, perhaps vain from all the attention. She turned from Grian now, going to climb back on her owner's lap once more.

"Was there a reason why you and to see me..?" The angel asked in the silence.

The man only shrugged. "Just wanted to say hi." he supposed with an easy smile. He cupped Jellie's head in both hands, leaning down to give her a kiss on the forehead. His girl only purred, nuzzling him with her cheek a moment later. After such affection, he looked back to Grian. "And to welcome you home."

"You mean I really—?" He began, cut off by Scar's eager nod and giggle.

"Of course! We all were pretty sure you belonged here; that meeting was more of a... conformity."

Grian couldn't help but grin, even giggle. "You... you mean a formality?" he asked. Somehow the man's simple mistake had made him feel better, that he wasn't the only one who could screw up.

"Yeah. That's what I said, wasn't it?" The Convex only tilted his head.

"I... close enough, Scar. Close enough."

The man ultimately decided to shrug it off. "Anyway, I also figured I'd tell you... with the Update coming, we will be moving to a brand new world. It's something that we've decided just this week, actually."

"A-A new world?" Grian squeaked, the tension in his shoulders rising again. It had been bad enough when he had been moved the first time. Now he had to do it a second?

"It'll be alright, Grian." The man replied, he smile fading. "A lot of us feel uncomfortable leaving our group of worlds. That's why, whenever we enter a new season, we link up the world in the same place our old one was. You won't ever leave the protection of this place. Whatever demons you may have won't find you."

Grian found himself feel a bit better at the man's words. His silky tone was enough to have that effect on him alone, a true master of words. "Thank you..." he found himself saying.

"Of course! I want you to be as comfortable as possible." He he man assured.

They both could feel it; the Update only drew nearer. And yet, Grian had hardly been introduced to anyone yet.

✧✰✧

Some time later, Grian had been moved to Mumbo's library. It was just a small room, one that the man had admitted was more to just fill the room with something, not to read. Regardless, Grian took his time slowly searching the titles. To his disappointment, though, most of them were on redstone. He never had taken any interest in that personally.

He almost chose to read nothing at all, but with dark thoughts itching at the back of his mind, he needed a distraction. In the end, he decided to grab the least boring title: Detailing Tips and Tricks. It was the only book on building that the man had. He began to flip through the pages.

Overall, even a few pages in he was quite underwhelmed. Truly, the book covered the most basic of basic, things that he almost wondered how anyone over ten wouldn't know about building. Regardless, for the sake of his sanity, he read on, trying to distract himself.

He read for another page or two before he heard a knock on the open door. Looking up, he saw the void that had been at the head of the table the other day. "Hey there," Xisuma said. His mouth was obscured, but Grian guessed that he was smiling. "I hope I didn't scare you."

Too bad, he had. Not in the sense he meant though; his sudden presence didn't catch the angel off guard, no. Rather, it gave him a spike in anxiety, wondering why the man could possibly be visiting now. Could it be that he found out the truth? Did he change his mind in granting him safe passage here? He tensed just enough for his bruises to protest. "It's... okay." He gave a nervous grin, side-stepping what would be an easy lie to tell.

"I just wanted to come by to apologize." The armored man explained, walking in with his arms and palms raised to the ceiling, as if to show he had no weapons, or he was getting ready to receive something. "I know that was quite intimidating, but we needed to make sure we were all on the same page."

"I understand." Grian nodded. As much as he had hated it, he knew that he would've done the same (if he hadn't rejected said stranger outright).

"And I thank you for that." X replied. "I know that I've introduced myself before, but I wanted to have a bit of a more... personal introduction. My name is Xisumavoid, but you can call me Xisuma, or even just X."

Now that the truma-filled man wasn't completely overwhelmed, he could think much more clearly. Xisuma... that was hardly a name. It was rather a people group; a type of void. He was saying that he was the type of child of the void ('xi') that was undetectable to both Watchers ('su') and Listeners ('ma').

Part of him wanted to ask why he had such a description for a name. However, an anxious part of him thought that would be much too suspicious that he would know. In fact, maybe it would be suspicious to even be able to pronounce something from Language right away. "It's... nice to meet you, eggsizooma." He replied, giving a sort of lopsided and hopefully not nervous smile. Had that been a lie? Well... not technically. Right? Right.

"Did you just call me-" Xisuma began to say. He shook his head, sighing. Grian took it to mean that no one had gotten it right at first. Admittedly, that made him feel bad for doing it intentionally. "Well anyway, I was wondering if you would be up for a tour. I know that we're moving soon, but maybe it'd help introduce you to everyone."

"I..." the man began, finding himself glancing around the room. This admin had done so much for him and all he had done to repay it was insult him. He wasn't sure if he was really ready for such movement, but he felt almost morally obligated to say yes.

The void's eyes lowered. Did that mark disappointment? Sadness? Even heartbreak? "That's okay, Grian. You probably still need your rest. I still have no idea how you managed to just force yourself in. That should have killed you."

Grian found it was too much for him. For the man who had done so much for him, he could push himself a bit. "I... have been getting tired of the scenery here." He began, forcing a smile. He hadn't done hardly anything since he escaped, and aside from the trip to worlds, he had hardly done anything since Evo. Maybe a change would be nice after all. "We could keep it short..." he looked to the void a bit shyly.

"Are you quite sure? I don't want to make you do something before you're ready for it." X asked, his voice sounding like he was frowning. It was all Grian could do to bite his lip, nodding. It wasn't a lie, was it? Well, regardless, the man seemed to believe it, his shoulders relaxing. "Alright, but please tell me if you need to rest. We don't want you to injure yourself any more."

✧✰✧

It was slow going, walking around the Nether. Xisuma hadn't even thought of suggested flying; such an activity must take a lot of work and muscle coordination, especially for someone who had their own real pair of wings, true as their own flesh. Not just an elytra.

Regardless, it was a lovely day out. The clouds dotted the sky with no sign of rain, and there was little wind. Grian found himself smiling, simply enjoying the scenery as the two chatted about.

"It used to just me and someone else on this server. Well, different world, same name you know? But way back then, it was just us. He was a bit of a recluse, the poor man had seen his own battles for sure. Lived alone for... well, he had lost count of the years when he met me. GenerikB was a void just like me. After some years of being together, he decided that he wanted to send the invitation to more voids. Before we knew it, we had invited other lost ones, people who were running from something but weren't from our people group per se..." X found himself explaining. Perhaps he was rambling, but it was important for the new hermit to know the history of Hermitcraft. "Many of the original group are gone now, but me, Joe, Biffa, Etho, and sort of Keralis remain. Though, soon it'll just be me and Joe officially..."

Etho... why did that name seem familiar? Grian found himself tilting his head slightly, but he shook his head. It was an elvish name, maybe he just watched a few too many elves with that name. He decided to focus instead on what X was saying. "People leave this place?" He asked, receiving a nod in response.

"Many have come and gone." The void confirmed, finding their first destination beginning to come into view. "Since we all come from different backgrounds, we are comfortable with all different things. Some would never dare step outside of the firewall, while others just need a place to call home; they're okay with traveling to different worlds in the Main Hub. Some, Scar in particular, have no choice but to go out from time to time."

"How come?" Grian found himself asking, keeping his eyes on the buildings up ahead. There seemed to be a circle around them all, a fascinating design to say the least.

"Scar has a lot of medical issues." X explained, looking over to Grian now. Black eyes peered back at him a moment later. "He gets admitted to the hospital quite often and needs a lot of help that none of us know how to give otherwise. We do our best, but sometimes it's just beyond our capabilities."

His words made Grian frown. This was Scar's curse, the ill fate that the Watchers had warned him about. The very one that he had decided should be perused. In that way, he was responsible for the suffering.

"It... is what it is, I suppose." X only shrugged. "He doesn't want anyone to feel bad for him. I— there's more I could say about him, but I feel like I should let him talk about this kind of thing."

Despite those words, Grian still couldn't help but feel bad. It wasn't like he had no involvement after all. He tore his gaze away, looking up at the abandoned-looking buildings instead. "Right..." he agreed, not wanting to be difficult. Maybe he'd approach Scar later if he could stomach it. (Though, wasn't it rude to bring attention to things like that to begin with?) "an abandoned city?" He asked a few moments later, wanting to switch conversations.

"Ah yes," X replied, his eyes turning towards the circular build. "This is the most important build on the server— the Community Build. We all worked hard on it, but Scar was really the one that brought it to life."

"It's... quite impressive." Grian had to admit as they walked in through the walls, entering into the center of the city. Xisuma only laughed.

"Oh no, this is just the top." He replied, waving his hand. "This part really is nothing." With that, he walked over to the hidden ladder and began to decend, expecting Grian to follow (which he did.) The smaller Brit couldn't help but wonder what could be built underground. The ladder was hidden in a shaft, walls blocking their vision on all sides.

"What's down here?" He asked, trying and failing to look below X.

"You'll see." The void only chuckled. A few moments later, his feet hit the solid ground, and he walked out of the tunnel so Grian could do the same.

As soon as the angel registered what he was seeing, he gasped. All around him was the largest, most intracurate terraforming he had ever seen. To dig a hole this large was an impressive feat in itself. To create such cliffs, waterfalls and bits of greenery was something else entirely. Everywhere he looked was more perfect than the last place he looked, if there only was such a thing.

It wasn't even a giant hole with cliffs, either. It was layers upon layers, designed to be a hidden sort of staircase. Shopfronts peaked in through the walls, just rare enough to not cloud the landscape any. "This... R— Scar made this...?" He asked, trying to pick his jaw off from the floor.

"He is quite amazing, isn't he?" Xisuma laughed, a sort of sound that held deep affection and love for the said man. "But you seem to be missing the true masterpiece of this area." He smirked from under his helmet, knowing that it couldn't be seen from the very center. "Come on, let's get to the edge of the wall. You'll be able to see it then."

"What could possibly be better than this?" Grian found himself asking, but his question went unanswered yet again. It only took a minute or two for them to reach one of the outer cliffs.

"Okay, now look where we came from." X nudged, prompting Grian to listen to him. The sight that he was met with made him gasp all over again.

In the very center of the hole, a collection of cobblestone, andisite and stone mixed together, spreading its way to the very top. There it branched out into a canopy, covering the roof of the hole. Devoid any color,  it was still so evidently a massive tree. Even more impressive, it managed to tie everything together, as if it were breathing life throughout the rest of the underground area.

"Y...you guys all made that?" He asked, shocked. There was certainly no way one person could bring all of this into fruiation.

"You give us too much credit." The man only shrugged. "We dug the hole, sure. But Scar was the one who made all of this. Aside from the shopfronts, he carefully placed every single block." He chuckled a bit at the expression he received as a response. "Like I said, he's something else, isn't he? He says that it's therapeutic for him, gets his mind off of things. He sure is gifted though... he's the best teraformer I've ever met."

For all the builds Grian had ever seen over the centuries of watching, this certainly was one of the best he had ever seen. And for only one person to build this all by themselves? It was simply unbelievable.

Who knew that Scar would have such a talent? Even at eighteen, he had never shown much interest in building. Then again, he didn't really have much time for such things; he was born with a full time job after all. What time he had for himself he gave it mostly to the Vexes by offering his body to them. Besides that, he spent the time he had with Cub and the rest of his family, pranking and joking around.

Grian found himself nodding, at a loss of words. For one person to do all of this was nothing short of astounding. He took a mental note to compliment the man the next time he saw him.

"This area is what we called the Big Dig." Xisuma explained. "We turned it into our shopping district. Each of us are allowed to have one shop. We had thought last season had become too... commercialized, but this isn't a good solution either..." the man shook his head at that, now looking a bit weary. As if this had been a problem that had plagued him for a very long time.  "Ultimately, we're going to reverse that decision next season, but that's no good either. I just have to trust they won't get carried away again..." Grian only nodded, realizing he didn't understand the context in which Xisuma spoke about.

"That sounds like a difficult problem." He tried to emphasize. He tried to smile. "I'm— I'm sure you'll figure it out one day, though." 

It seemed to be just what the void needed to hear, because he returned the smile. "You're right... with all of us, we're bound to figure out a solution one day. Thank you, Grian."