Chapter Text
Town of Saitaria, 12:50pm, April 16
ManePear Age: 7
FlameFrags Age: 5
ManePear POV
“Mane?”
My younger adopted brother, Flame, walks into the room as I continue to sketch a detailed drawing of a dragon on my paper. “Yes, Flame?” I ask calmly, not looking up from my paper. Flame comes up behind me and wraps his five year old arms around my neck. “How long do you need to finish drawing?” He asks softly, his demon-hybrid eyes flickering slightly with inner flame. “Umm,” I look at the half finished creature forming on the paper. “Like, five to six minutes?” I estimate. “Oh. Okay. I’ll come back in five to six minutes for a hug.” Flame says, then turns to walk away. At that, I put down my pencil and turn around. “Wait,” I say, extending my arms toward him. “Hug now!” Flame’s eyes brighten instantly. He hurries over to me and climbs onto my lap, wrapping his arms around me and burying his head in my neck. Gently I encircle him in my arms and hold his warm little body. No matter what I was doing, I could never really be too busy to give Flame a hug. I didn’t really even know why. Maybe it was because he’d lost his parents-my own aunt and uncle-to a sickness before he was three. My mother, SakuraTide, had adopted him without second thought. I had been four and the time, while Flame had only been two.
Whenever I ask my mother why she had been so willing to adopt Flame, her answer is always,
“Sometimes it’s the thing we must give that we need the most.”
Even though I never really got what that meant, I accept it as the only answer I'll ever get.
"Mane?" I look down at Flame, who's lifted his head from my neck for a moment. "What's wrong?" Whoops. I hadn’t realized that I’d zoned out. “Nothing,” I tell him, lapping at his head with my tongue. Before you wonder why, I’m a lion hybrid, so it’s perfectly normal for me to do that. “Can I watch you finish drawing?” Flame looks up at me with round, hopeful eyes.
“Of course,” I say. Still holding Flame on my lap, I pick up the pencil again and continue drawing.
Timeskip to 2:00pm
“Mane? Flame? I’m home!”
I look up from the book I’m reading as my mother’s singsong voice echoes through the house. I put down the book and walk out into the hall. Flame comes out of his room and follows me down the stairs. “Mommy!” He smiles and runs to her as soon as we reach the kitchen. My mother lifts him up into her arms while I stand on the other side of the counter. A shopping bag sits on top of it. “What’s in the bag?” Flame asks as soon as Sakura puts him down. He comes and stands next to me, standing on tip-toe, trying to see over the counter. Flame is five inches shorter than me, so he often has trouble seeing over it. “I just stopped by the store for some groceries. But I also got you something.”
“What?”
Sakura lifts two plushies from the bag. One is a fire demon, the other a lion. “MANE!” Flame shrieks excitedly. “IT’S US! I’M THE MONSTER THING AND YOU’RE THE LION!” Flame takes the small stuffed animals from her and hands the soft plush lion to me. “Thank you!” I tell her. Sakura smiles, her lioness-hybrid ears twitching.
”I thought you’d like them. Now go and play while I make lunch.”
As Flame hurries upstairs to put his stuffed demon away, I pause at the kitchen entrance. I look at the lion, then at my mother, then at the retractable claws that I have as result of being a lion hybrid.
“Mama, how come I don’t have a father?”
At the question, Sakura freezes. I stare at her, wondering what’s wrong. Slowly, she turns around and comes to stand in front of me. She crouches so she can look into my eyes. “Look baby, there are many people in the world. Most of them are wonderful, kind, and hardworking. But some of them turned bad. The opposite of them. Your father was one of those few people.”
A shiver runs down my spine.
My mother puts both her hands on my shoulders. In a low voice she says:
”Mane, if your father is ever to show up, you are to take Flame and run. Don’t look back. Don’t try and get me. Just take Flame, and for the love of god, RUN. Promise me that.”
Looking into her eyes, I realize how serious she is.
”I promise.” I whisper.
”Good. Now go and find Flame.”