Chapter Text
"Flame?"
...
"Mane?..."
Wemmbus eyes were wide, he wasn't ready to see them at all. Not like this.
Flame stayed in place outside the door, looking conflicted on what to do, eyes looking anywhere but Wemmbu.
Mane stepped forwards
Wemmbu stepped back
Manes ears drooped, not by a lot, but it didn't go unnoticed. Wemmbu hesitated for just a second.
After a year of mostly being alone, Mane had more than enough time to think and reflect over his actions. What he did was, well, wrong and fucked up. He was too harsh on Wemmbu, too expectant of a boy who had no guidance throughout most of his life. That he knows of for sure.
Mane looks down to the wooden floor, tan polished wood looked right back at him.
Ever since he wrote those particular words on that sign, he has regretted every second that day and the days after. Mane has actually camped out in a nearby jungle tree when he "left" The foliage of vines and leaves effectively hiding his orange character.
He waited for Wemmbu to find it, body tense with regret and overthinking.
He watched Wemmbu read the sign, short words but heavy impact.
With the help of a spyglass, he watched Wemmbus pupils dilate, body frozen, mind not comprehending what's happening in that very moment. Wemmbu broke the sign, not even bothering to pick it up, even though it no longer held those words.
He turned away making Mane unable to see his face.
That was the last time Mane saw him, well, until now of course. Mane looked back up, feeling regret course throughout his entire body. Wemmbu still refused to look back at him, purple irises looking elsewhere.
"Wemmbu..." Mane breathed in
"I-... I messed up, badly, I shouldn't have just, left like that with no explanation or goodbye..."
"yet you did.." Wemmbu croaked out, his voice small and quiet, as if his vocal chords weren't used for days on end.
"Yet i did..." Mane responded, quiet hushed voice loud in the room.
"I- I'm sorry, I need to have some time for myself for a while..." Wemmbu took a hesitant step back then turned and quickly shuffled towards the bedroom door, battered wings brushing against the floor.
He entered and briefly looked back for just a mere second, his eyes taking in Mane and Flames form once again.
He closed the door with a click, however that click felt louder than usual. Mane always used that door, so, why did it feel so much more... loud?...
The air in the living room was, palpable to say the least.
"So, what was that all about bro?" Flame hesitantly asked, unsure if he should even ask a question right now.
"It's complicated bro" Mane replied. Eyes still trained on the bedroom door that Wemmbu opened mere seconds ago.
"Well, if you need anything, I'll be outside by the training grounds i guess." Flame moved away, his presence fading away quickly from the living room.
Mane sighed and sat down at the dinner table. He looked down at his hands, scars and calluses were littered everywhere, a mark of every battle present. Mane was never good at relationships, hell he barely has any.
He leans back on the wooden chair making it tip slightly back. He drapes his hands onto his face,
"I don't know what to do bro." Mane shuffles in the chair elbow hitting something porcelain. He looks down, it was a bowl licked clean.
"..."
He stares at it for a bit and for a good while too.
Did, Wemmbu...
A small smile broke onto Manes face, he picks up the bowl and puts it into the sink, slowly rinsing it with warm water. He puts it onto the drying rack. Perhaps he should cook more, if anything, cooking is basically Manes language.
He thinks back to what Wemmbu liked long ago, A albeit being a almost a year, it probably hasn't changed much.
Hopefully
Searching through his memories, he remembers briefly Egg mentioning that Wemmbu had quite a sweet tooth. He's gonna thank egg the next time he sees him. Speaking of Egg, Isn't he stuck in the end or something?
He overheard a few rumors about a eye-headed individual in the end, and as far as Manes known, Egg is one of the only Eye-headed people. Seraphim's are pretty rare on Unstable, probably due to its anarchic ways, driving the peaceful nature of seraphim's away.
Perhaps Egg not being to bug Wemmbu about his health made him end up crashing to the ground....
Putting his thoughts aside, Mane took out his cookbook from a nearby drawer, flipping through it to find a good recipe. Reaching the end of the book, Mane stops at a peculiar page. There were stickers decorating it along side some scribbles of pointers and notes for each step.
Sweet berry cake
Mane book marked it, there was no way Wemmbu wouldn't like it. Its sweet and he likes sweet stuff. Mane then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, he just though of writing something to Wemmbu. Something short, reassuring.
Hi Wemmbu, it's definitely been while bro, im just gonna say, saying sorry won't fix anything and it will never do anything. I shouldn't have just left like that and leave that sign for you to read. I owe you an explanation about everything. Me and Flame won't bother you until you are ready, well, unless Flame actually does, I can't stop him.
- Your Mentor, ManePear
Manes pen stops and he reads the message over. He folds it once, chair scrapping loudly against the floor as he stands up. He walks over to the bedroom door and hesitantly knocks, slipping the note under the crevice of the door.
Done with that, Mane heads outside, although he wants to work on making the cake, that fight from earlier really too the energy outta him. He spots Flame rigorously training with the spear, pointed weapon jabbed into the air with vigor.
"Are you not gonna take a break bro?"
Flame pauses his attacks, turning towards Mane slightly out of breath, chest rising and falling.
"War waits for no one bro" Flame responds then turns to practice his spear jabs once again. The corners of Manes mouth turned downward, covered eyes tracing Flames form.
'War comes quicker for those who waits for it" Mane mutters under his breath, too quiet for Flame to hear. He turns away, taking a loaf of bread from his inventory and munches on. He made it a few days ago so it was a little stale, but Mane is not one to complain. It was filling enough.
Mane wonders how Flame has gotten this mindset, he often only fought in duels with set rules or the occasional battle or two, but, preparing for war? Perhaps it was this 'Law' thing going around the server currently.
Mane can see how Flame would be labeled as a war criminal, he has killed hundreds of players on this server.
Blindfolded eyes look up at the cave ceiling, catching onto the soft golden glow that the glow berries pertain. They shine bright although they naturally grow in darkness.
Perhaps not all is lost
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
Wemmbu is currently residing under the comfort of the plush blanket. His body was so tense it aches, it adds onto the pain his body is currently possesses. If only he were able to stay here for all eternity, although that is quite literally impossible.
I mean, there is no harm in trying?
Wemmbu shuffles under the blanket, trying to find a comfortable position. His injured wing began to throb after he moved into a weird position. He hisses at the new found pain, body tensing up once more.
Wemmbus head pops out from under the blanket, fatigued eyes turning to stare at the ceiling concealed in darkness. He remained in this position for a while, body numb with pain. He jolted in surprise when a small knock came from the door.
His golden eyes immediately locked onto the door, bracing for someone to come in. However no one did. All he heard was a small sliding of an object. Wemmbu shuffled under the blanket to get a closer look.
Low and behold a slip of folded paper was at the base of the door. Wemmbu stared at it, uncertainty running through his veins. Although he doesn't want to read nor even touch it, curiosity got to the best of him.
He slowly moved out from the bed, trying to not aggravate his wounds any further. He got close, reaching down to the small piece of paper. It stood in the palm of his hand, Wemmbu wonders who wrote it, Mane perhaps? He'll be damned if it is Flame who wrote it.
He breathed out, hands clutching the paper as if it were a prized possession. He closed his eyes as he unfolded it, one eye opening a little soon after he did. Wemmbu reads through the whole message, absorbing every detail.
Mane was explaining and expressing his emotions, offering to tell the whole story. Although that was not the most interesting thing Mane wrote.
Your mentor, ManePear
...
Your... mentor?
Wemmbu doesn't know what to think, does, Mane still regard him as his student? Or is this just a ploy for Wemmbu to open up? He doesn't know anymore, well, what he does know is that he wants an explanation about why he got basically abandoned in that damn treehouse.
Why he left, with no goodbye
Why he left, leaving that message
Wemmbu was left wondering for over a year and a simple explanation about anything won't be able to fix this burned bridge they have. He sits on the edge of the bed, sheets ruffled as he clenched them.
He tugs a stray lock of purple hair behind his ear, feeling how greasy it feel in a single touch. With everything going on since he got revealed as the Invisible Knight, everything has gone down to a bottomless hole of shit.
He's constantly on the run from the Law, barely getting any sleep and moving from place to place in a blink of an eye. The law, or more particularly Lettuce, wants him locked up, caged, actually, the whole server probably wants that at this point.
Wemmbus eyes drift down, he doesn't know what to do anymore.
What if he just, mined out of here? He considered this, but later thought of his wounds, they are not yet healed and he barely has any resources to help if he does get out. At best if he did try and mine out he'll mine halfway till his body just gives out on himself.
Wemmbus tired gaze towards the door.
Should he?
He looked away.
He brought out his most prized possession, Gambit. Brushing his fingers against it, he felt the underlying power throb against his delicate fingers, as if it wants to escape its cage of a mace. This Mace has been with him since the PrinceZam empire days.
Fondness washes over him, he remembered the exact moment he crafted it. He left Zam underground by himself whilst he went up to get wood for a crafting table. Now that he thinks about it, he didn't need to get one didn't he?
All he needed was to use the one in his inventory. Well Zam did got it so it's all good. He remembered Zam yelling at him for leaving him underground too. It was kinda funny though. His mind drifted to when he was training with Mane a year or so ago.
He named Gambit there in the treehouse after Mane suggested he should name his weapon. He traced his weapons name in its handle, it was messy, letters too big or too small, corners too sharp or stubby. It was imperfect yet undeniably his.
After the whole Mane incident, Wemmbu started carving Gambits name into his handle, working on it whenever he had the time to.
As of recently, some parts of the mace have started to crack, some parts brittle to a point it might just chip off. He really needs to med it doesn't he? Wemmbu stores Gambit back into his inventory, its weight vanishing from his hands.
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
Sweat beaded down his forehead, his breaths short and fast. The spear in his grip unbearably warm in his hands. Flame wiped away the sweat from his forehead with a quick swipe of a sleeve. He has been practicing for a good while now and feels like he's near perfected his jabs.
Many who would see Flames form would say that it's perfect, however, nothing can truly be perfect in Flames eyes. His muscles ache with weariness, mouth dry from no hydration. Flame looks to where Mane has been for a bit.
His head still looking up to the ceiling of the cave. Doesn't his head hurt from that at all? Well never mind that. Flame looks up to where Mane is probably looking, a few clusters of glow berries growing from the ceiling.
What could be so interesting about them? Yeah sure they glow and all but they don't fill you up at all. Perhaps Mane is thinking of having them as a snack perhaps? Although... his face does say otherwise.
Flame tears his gaze away from Mane, heading inside the house to grab a glass of water. His head unintentionally turned to look at the bedroom door that held a certain purple behind it. The last time Flame saw him was after Parrot unmasked him as the Invisible Knight.
He remembered his face when he drank the milk. Tired dull eyes with dark eyebags stared right at him. Things don't really tick Flame off but, uncertainty ran through him for a brief moment there. Well, he doesn't really know what to say.
I mean, he wanted his title back that Wemmbu stole and he got it. But, he felt as if Wemmbu wasn't even trying. That fight ended way too quickly for his liking and soon after it ended, the law came and breached the trap.
And after that, he hasn't seen Wemmbu since. Was it wrong of him to fight Wemmbu with all his resources drained? He scoffs, No, of course not, Wemmbu did basically the same thing to him so why couldn't he?
Flame grabs a cup and fills it with water, downing it all in one practiced gulp. His mouth was no longer parched. He sets the cup down with a loud thud, the glass clinking against the calcite countertop.
He heads over to the orange couches Mane has and flops into them, a cream colored pillow engulfing his entire head. He hears a door open, probably Mane, Flame does need a sharpening stone for his Spear.
"Mane, do you have any sharpening stones i could borrow?"
"..."
"I'm, not Mane." A voice croaked out. Flame immediately removed himself from the couch, facing a familiar person. What he noticed first was, well, his purple hair, is was really, really messy. Along with that, Tangles were visible from where he was standing and frizz popping up in some places.
Lets just say his hair is just a big pile of mess.
Wemmbu tilted his head to the side, eyes locked onto the ground.
"Um, hey bro." Flame slowly speaks out, trying to clear the awkward air.
"Need anything?" Wemmbu shifts in place.
"I'm just wondering where uh, Mane is, I wanna talk to him" Flame looks outside, Manes head still looking up. He looks back at Wemmbu.
"Uh yeah, he's just outside, you'll be able to see him one you exit." Flame folds his arm on his chest. Wemmbu looks at him for a moment before starting to head out.
"Thanks Flame" He mutters, but Flame was able to hear him. Flames eyes widen by a smidgen, he turns away. That may have just been his most awkward conversation to date.
It's so different with Wemmbu not having his stupid chungus grin and his sound barrier breaking laugh.
Well, now he can't ask Mane about a sharpening stone since he and Wemmbu are talking. He groans and heads back to the couches, body once again engulfed.