Author's note: Bird. That's about it, bird. It's an interesting oneshot, I suppose. I'm stuck on the Last Life related stuff, so I went ahead and worked on this.

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 Grian's POV:

 My tail dragged against the ground as I awkwardly stumbled out of my base. I stopped when my head briefly spun from the sudden dizzy spell.

 " GRIAN!"

 " GAH!" I flinched as I put my hands to either side of my head. I closed my eyes as something landed next to me. 

 Honestly, I didn't care what or who it was... It hurts too much to care.

 " I-I'm sorry Grian!" Scar's voice waded its way through the ringing that I was plagued with. Once the ringing died down, I opened my eyes and shot a glare towards the taller hermit.

 Upon seeing Scar's concerned expression, my own softened as I forced myself to stand up straight. My sides ached as I gave Scar a soft nod.

 Gently, Scar put his hand on my shoulder, " Are you alright, Grian?" he questioned as he took his hat off. I shrugged my shoulders, " Just a bit of dizziness... It's fine." I told him. Scar tilted his head, " W-Why are you so dizzy?" he questioned as I briefly looked out towards Mumbo's base.

 My tail twitched as I slowly put my hand to my chest. I let out a shaky breath as my heart seemed to rattle and beat against my ribcage like a drum being played offbeat. Quickly, I put my hand against Scar's arm in order to brace myself.

 Scar put his arms around me, " Y-Your feathers...." Scar gasped. I looked up at Scar and warily looked back at my wings. The feathers that lined the tops of my wings slowly molted off until I could see the black skin underneath. 

 I leaned closer to Scar as my tail twitched. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Scar's torso causing him to tense up.

 " W-What's happening to you, Grian?!" Scar questioned as I shrugged, " M-Mumbo? Soul....?" I mumbled. The pain was growing as I tried to wrap myself up with my wings despite Scar's arms being around me. 

 My tail twitched as I briefly coughed, " There's... wrong..." I slurred out as it felt like all my energy was being sapped out of me. Carefully, Scar detached himself from me and turned himself around, " Climb on Grian.. Let's figure this out..." he spoke in a relatively calm manner.

 But upon climbing onto his back, I could feel the way his body was shaking from nerves. 

 " Y-You're....warm..." I whispered as I rested my chin on Scar's shoulder. The hermit nodded as he steadied himself then took his communicator out. My tail twitched as I lowered my ears.

 Scar placed the earbud that connected to his communicator into the ear on the other side of his head. The hermit cleared his throat, " Heeeyyy Mumbo... Uh- Random question... Where are you?" Scar questioned with a small twinge of annoyance.

 I tiredly watched Scar as he stood for a few minutes before nodding his head, " Your starter base? Alright, I'm on the way over."

 Then, Scar's whole body tensed up causing my tail to thrash. I kept my mouth close as Scar tilted his head, " Mumbo? Why don't you want me t-"

 Scar let out a grumble as he took his earbud out of his ear, " Well, that was rude." he mumbled as he closed his communicator and put his earbud away. I let out a tired snuffle causing Scar to shrug, " Mumbo told me not to come then hung up." he explained.

 I tiredly nodded my head as I leaned my head against Scar's. The hermit let out a sigh, " Come on, Grian... Don't fall asleep on me now." my tail twitched as I slowly closed one of my eyes. As Scar began to walk towards the now sleeping tree monster, I felt the sudden pull of sleep trying to pull at me.

 Eventually, we reached Mumbo's starter base and Scar shook himself until I let out a low growl. I dug my claws into Scar's shoulders causing him to wince, " Grian... Stop." he shook his head. My tail twitched, " C-Can't... Help it..." I mumbled as Scar stepped onto a pressure plate causing a flight of stairs into the basement to appear.

 As the two of us descended down the stairs, the darker it seemed to get. Luckily, despite losing a lot of energy, it seemed like I could still see in the dark.

 " W-Watch out... Feathers on stairs... Right." I told Scar as he nodded and shifted to the left. 

 " Left..." I mumbled as Scar nodded and shifted to the right after a few steps. Eventually, the entire flight of stairs were covered in black feathers that had their ends covered in blood.

 Scar and I both gagged as we continued to descend into the darkness until it ended. 

 " W-What do you see, Grian? I only see a lantern." Scar mumbled as his body shook slightly. My tail twitched as I narrowed my eyes. 

 Despite being able to see in the darkness, there was something off about this room and its accompanying darkness. My nose twitched at the smell of blood and.... pork?

 " I only see darkness..." I mumbled, " But, I smell pork... for some reason..." 

 Scar tilted his head slightly.

 " Pork?" Scar repeated as I nodded.

 Scar opened his inventory and brought out a torch. A low hiss came from deeper within the room causing the two of us to tense up.

 " H-Hey? Mumbo?" Scar called out.

 " I-I told you to n-not come..." Mumbo hissed out as he briefly gagged. 

 My ears twitched at the gagging as I pointed ahead of me and towards a wall of chests. From where I was, I could just barely make out a strange, purple glow that shifted around from behind the wall.

 " He's back there... I think." I whispered causing Scar to nod and hold his lantern up. Scar cleared his throat, " Grian and I just want to talk with you, Mumbo." he looked at the feathers, " Whatever's going on... We can help with that too."

 As Scar continued to speak, I watched the purple glow as it briefly disappeared. My ears perked up as a chill went up my spine.

 There was that feeling... That all too familiar feeling:

 The feeling of being watched.

 " Come on Mumbo..." Scar's voice brought me back to the moment. I stared back into the darkness as the purple light came back.

 Mumbo coughed, " P-Promise you won't say anything?" he questioned as the purple light grew brighter. Then, the lights above us came on revealing what seemed to be thousands upon thousands of black and purple feathers.

 I breathed heavily, " This.. Soul..." I whispered as something, Mumbo, shifted from behind the chests and and sound of footsteps slowly began to tap against the ground. My eyes narrowed as a growl crawled up my throat as a tall, semi-birdlike Mumbo stumbled out from behind the chests.

 Mumbo's suit had been torn to shreds and feathers have sprouted from his neck and arms. Also, Mumbo's hands and feet were more talonlike. Finally, a large pair of bloody purple and black wings had ripped through Mumbo's back and dragged behind him.

 " W-W-W-What happened to you Mumbo?!" Scar gasped as he took a step back. I let out a soft wheeze as my eyes started to close again, " M-My sooulll... Feel...still..." I slurred out as my heartbeat began to slow.

 Once again, the feeling of my energy getting sapped from my body resurfaced as Mumbo gasped in pain and grabbed the wall. Quickly, and rather gently, Scar set me down against the wall before sprinting to Mumbo's side and grabbing at his shoulder.

 " W-WhatcanI-Idotohelpyou?" Scar asked in one breath. Mumbo hissed at him and shoved him to the ground. 

 With blurring vision from my closing eyes, I watched as Mumbo began to run away until he tripped to the ground.

 The transformed hermit scrambled to stand on all fours and looked towards me. My already weakened body tensed up as I stared into Mumbo's purple eyes as his pupils became huge.

 " M-Mummboooo." I wheezed as Mumbo's attention turned elsewhere as he ran up the stairs with his wings trying to spread out.