Hanging out with Iskall wasn't as relaxing as Mumbo wanted it to be. For one, the duo was in another dimension where one slip up meant falling into the void. The other half was that Mumbo didn't know what to say. He wanted to vent to someone, ask another person for advice on what to do about Scar and the weird runes on Grians floor and that he had something called "the Sight" that no one could explain how or why...but it never felt right to bring up in the conversation.
Not to mention that Iskall was blissfully unaware of the world Mumbo had managed to find himself in and he wanted to keep it that way. If Mumbo himself could barely cope, he couldn't imagine suddenly dumping it all onto Iskall.

"Dude, are you okay? You've been quiet for a lot of this end busting you know. We can head back and buy an elytra if that would be easier." Iskall offered, standing up and leaving their precarious bridge across the void unfinished.

"Yeah, sorry. I've just got a lot on my mind is all." Mumbo smiled, "Though you pick now of all moments to tell me we could have bought the elytra?"

"You seemed eager to hang out and I didn't wanna burst your bubble." Iskall grinned. "We heading back?"

"'Are we heading back?'" Mumbo sputters "Of course we're heading back, every city we've been to has been looted and it's not worth exploring further than we already have without an elytra."

"Fair enough." Shrugged Iskall and he followed Mumbo back to the main island, the pair jumping into the portal together.

And so what if Jevin ended up 50 diamonds richer? How they got the elytra didn't really matter, did it?

"Well that was a pointless endeavour." Mumbo laughed, "But I should get back to working on my base. Thanks for joining me, dude." He lied, offering a small wave to Iskall as he flew off rather suddenly, leaving him blinking with shock in the shopping district.

"Well that was abrupt."

The redstoner headed back to his still-blinking hobbit hole, shoving basic supplies into a shulker box and plonking Professor Beak onto his shoulder before heading through the nether and flying the thousands of blocks out that the coordinates demanded. It had been a few days since Grian vanished, and the mystery that he left Mumbo with only grew in his mind until the only option was to follow the faerie.

He wanted answers from someone he could trust, and the only two people who knew about the fae were Grian and Scar.
And Scar wasn't someone who Mumbo really wanted to see currently...leaving Grian as the only person he could talk to.

So he built a portal in the right place and lit it, holding his breath as he stepped through.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what to expect.

That was a lie- he expected Grian to be the same as always, making a new hobbit hole and simply taking up residence further away from the other hermits.

Instead, a small cottage sat high in the trees, a new jungle forest housing the faerie. It was suspended by vines that hung from the canopy, flowers blooming along the length. A garden sat near the jungle floor, wheat, pumpkins and various other crops growing there.

"So you could see it." Grian smiled, staring down at Mumbo as he took in the environment. And Mumbo could see that Grian changed too.
His signature red sweater was replaced with a pastel blue one and his hair had grown a bit, causing him to tie it back in a tiny, curly ponytail. He seemed comfortable with his wings out, not hiding behind glamour anymore like he used to back in the old jungle.

"I figured Scar might have answered some of your questions, but I wanted to explain some things he probably doesn't know." Grian started, flying down to greet Mumbo. "Come in, I've got some coffee and sweets waiting for you."

Mumbo smiled, following Grian up the stairs into the small cottage. He couldn't explain how or why, but it was easier being around him. Everything felt a little bit brighter, a bit happier, livelier. Like the weight of the past week melted away and he was free to relax for once.

The fae was sat down at a table, two mugs and two plates of cookies set out, like Grian had been preparing for Mumbo to stop by. Like he knew that Mumbo would come.
"So what do you wanna know?"