"Get back here!" Mumbo griped, scowling as the tawny cat slipped from his grasp and ran up a nearby tree. "Look, I'm sorry I scared you away. I know you don't like me but you like Grian right? Don't you want to go see him? Don't you want to help me make him happy?"
The cat hissed, flashing its claws, and Mumbo stomped the ground like a child.
"You are so frustrating!" He yelled.
"Mumbo?"
Mumbo shot one last glare at the cat before turning to greet Grian, his gaze softening instantly at the sight of his companion.
"Who were you yelling at?" Grian asked, sidling towards him and looking around the clearing, his lips twisting in confusion.
"I was, uh..." Mumbo glanced up at the tree where the cat sat. "Well I was trying to get that cat from last month, but I don't think he liked me very much"
A smile stretched across Grian's face as he looked up.
"Hello!" He cooed reaching his hand up as far as he could. "Mumbo, I can't reach"
"I can't either, so of course you can't" Mumbo said, smiling as Grian shoved him gently. "Here"
He gripped the small God by the waist and hoisted him up on his shoulder, making Grian squeak in surprise.
"Mumbo!"
"What? Now you can reach" he chuckled with a grin.
Caught between wanting to smack him and thank him, Grian just stuck out his tongue and turned his attention back to the cat.
He reached out an arm, letting the creature smell his hand before moving to actually touch it. The cat meowed in acceptance, lifting its head so Grian could scratch under its chin.
"That's a good girl, you're so good"
Mumbo bit his lip as to not interrupt, although the overwhelming cuteness of the situation was pulverizing him. He felt a tap on his head and looked up to see Grian smiling at him.
"Hello? Anyone there? You can put me down now"
"Oh r-right"
He carefully lowered Grian to the ground, allowing his hands to linger at the small God's hips a bit longer than perhaps was necessary.
"Come on Mumbo Jumbo, I have a lot of deliveries to get done today"
Mumbo trotted obediently alongside him as they made their way to the village. He insisted on carrying the majority of the packages, and simply took them from Grian's arms when he was refused.
"I swear, you might be more stubborn than even me" Grian muttered, holding up his arm to block the beams of light from the low hanging sun.
"Impossible. I could never reach such a standard"
Grian laughed softly and shook his head.
"You really have gotten-"
Mumbo dropped the packages in surprise as a tall broad man appeared from nowhere and struck Grian across the face, knocking the small God to the ground with a loud thump.
"Grian!"
Mumbo ran to him and crouched by his side, shaking hands reaching out to help him up.
To his utter shock and dismay, Grian flinched away from him, one hand on his face to hold his mask in place, the other wiping blood from his mouth.
"Looks like your freak doesn't want you to touch him"
Mumbo turned, his concerned expression instantly transforming into a withering glare as his eyes fell on Jevin. The smirk on his face made Mumbo's blood boil.
"Thank you for your assistance" Jevin said, nodding at his large friend.
"What the hell is your problem?!" Grian yelled.
When did he stand up?
Mumbo quickly got to his feet. He tried to block Jevin from Grian's path but was pushed aside by the small God.
Jevin laughed cruelly and simply snapped his fingers.
The large man who had hit Grian before began to move towards the Gods.
"Stay out of this" Grian whispered, pushing up his sleeves.
"But-"
"Stay. Out. Of. This"
Grian lunged at the man, grabbing his wrist and attempted to bend his hand forwards. The man yelled in pain and grabbed Grian by the hair, hoisting him off the ground and throwing him into a nearby tree.
"Leave him alone!" Mumbo shouted, moving towards the attacker.
"Stay back!" Grian snapped, getting shakily to his feet.
Jevin cackled.
"Lovers quarrel?"
Mumbo's face burned and he dug his nails into his palms as the wide man approached Grian again.
"Why are you doing this?!"
Jevin turned to Mumbo and shrugged.
"Freaks need to know their place"
Mumbo felt his jaw drop and his eyes went hazy with fury.
"I'll kill you!"
As he made to run to Jevin, a dull thud to the side of his head made Mumbo collapse to the ground, his ear ringing from the blow.
He gazed up to see Jevin's friend standing over him, smiling like a clot.
"How dare you touch him"
All three men turned to Grian. The small God was staring at the attacker. If looks could kill, he would be dead.
The attacker chortled at the sight of such a small person talking back to him.
"And what are you going to do about it?" Jevin asked with a smirk. He turned to his friend. "Go on. Kill him for all I care"
Mumbo cried out in pain as the man reached down and grabbed him by the arm, squeezing so tightly the bones cracked.
And then suddenly the pain was gone.
Mumbo fell to the ground and looked up curiously, the man above him screaming bloody murder and dropping to his knees. Grian stood over him, a look of pure rage on his face as he squeezed the man's throat, smoke wafting from his touch.
He's... burning the man's throat Mumbo thought, wincing as the smell of burning flesh met his nose.
Grian let go as blood began to pour from the man's neck, his esophagus completely burned through.
The man fell to the ground, shuttering and groaning nonsensically until he stopped moving.
Grian stared at the body, the flame in his hand still lit.
"H-how did you do that?!" Jevin stuttered, his eyes as wide as dinner plates as he stared at Grian. "What-what are you?!"
"You told him to hurt Mumbo" Grian said, his voice startlingly calm.
Jevin looked between them, shaking his head vigorously.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he babbled, tears beginning to stream down his face as he fell to his knees. "Please, I won't hurt either of you ever again. Please, please just let me go!"
Grian snuffed out the flame in his hand.
"Run"
Jevin tripped over his own feet as he stood and ran away, screaming and crying into the growing darkness.
Grian immediately turned and knelt down, gently taking Mumbo's injured arm into his grasp.
"Are you ok? What hurts? Do you need help getting up?"
He continued to babble, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks as he held Mumbo's hand.
"Grian... y-you killed him"
Silence.
"Why... why didn't you do that when he was hurting you?"
Grian sighed and looked at the ground. He helped Mumbo to his feet and took a step back.
"I... I don't care about me" he whispered. "I care about you. I couldn't let them hurt you. And... I know that you need to go now. You've seen... what I am, and I know that I'm a monster, so..." he sniffed, and wiped his face with the back of his hand. "You need to go"
Mumbo felt his chest ache. Throwing away all pretenses, he grabbed Grian and squeezed him tight in a rib crushing hug.
"Mumbo" Grian squeaked. "Mumbo... I can't breath"
Mumbo loosened his grip slightly but didn't let go. He buried his face in Grian's hair.
"I'm sorry" he whispered. "But no, I'm not going anywhere"
Grian's sob was muffled by him pressing his cheek into Mumbo's chest, and he wrapped his arms around Mumbo's middle.
"I'm not leaving, Grian. Never leaving you"
The wind began to pick up, swirling around the two as though they were in a whirl pool.
Mumbo looked around, holding Grian tightly.
"What's going on?!"
"Oh no. No, no, no, no, Mumbo, you need to-"
The dark sky suddenly rumbled with thunder, and lightening struck the ground in front of them three times.
The two Gods jumped back, and Mumbo let go of Grian as a bright white light forced him to block his face with his hands and squeeze his eyes shut.
Then suddenly everything was quiet. The wind ceased, the thunder stopped, and the light faded, leaving three people standing in its wake.
"Hello Chaos" Life said.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, please consider leaving a like and a comment to let me know what you think.