Chapter Text
Before they had anyone else, they had each other.
It all started when he and Wifies found an unfinished house on top of a hill, which was strange because not many people had decided to move near the jungle. They didn't exactly have many options, being hungry and all. So despite Wemmbu's suspicions, his little brother decided to explore the place on his own.
And that was exactly when he realized that there were people already inside.
His first instinct was to get Wifies as far away as possible, back into the wilderness where no one would be able to follow them. But instead of shooing Wifies away or even scolding him for trying to steal food from them, they seemed... concerned.
Wifies was a bit on the smaller side, he just always grew a little slower than Wemmbu did.
The first one he spotted was a winged man in all white, giving a piece of bread to Wifies. His expressions were open and movements purposefully slow, as if he was trying to make sure Wifies wouldn't run away. Despite being the more skittish one of the two, he took the bread and ate it almost immediately.
Wemmbu winced when he started choking.
The second person he saw was almost the complete opposite of the first one, clad in all black and purple. He still helped his brother, patting his back and instructing him to eat slower. Perhaps it was a bad idea to go trusting them so quickly but well, Wemmbu wasn't picky.
And he also needed to make sure that Wifies didn't get himself killed. That was totally the reason why.
After giving the two more food from their chests, they asked them the usual questions. And Wemmbu begrudgingly answered them, although there wasn't much to talk about. The two had been wandering for a while, no family to speak of, nowhere to really call home. Afterwards, the two adults exchanged a glance, having a silent conversation.
Wemmbu hated it when he didn't know what was going on but he didn't press, yet.
Finally, the first one asked if they would like to stay with him for a little bit. Without much options, they agreed to live with the man. Except, a little bit turned into a long while and then it turned into a permanent stay.
Saparata took them under his wing, literally and figuratively, a constant presence around them. And Fluixon didn't stay but often visited from Luminara, always bringing along something interesting to show them. It was a weird arrangement but Wemmbu liked the close wilderness better anyway, making the clearing around the hill into a training ground.
Which was where he first found Eggchan.
The seraphim was unlike anything he had ever seen before. When they first met, it was by pure chance that Wemmbu saw a figure watching him from the shadows. The other boy's multiple wings puffed up to nearly twice its size when he noticed someone looking at him. One thing led to another and Wemmbu pounced on the other boy, toppling them both over.
He didn't quite remember how that turned into him joining the family but it wasn't his job to remember that stuff, it was Egg's.
They were weird but they were happy together, for a while at least.
The night passed by faster than Wemmbu expected, painting the makeshift arena in darkness. And just when he was about to finish up his sword training for the day as well.
He rolled his shoulders, stashing his blade away before making his way back.
By the time that Wemmbu had finally settled down for the day, it was already late. So when a letter marked by the seal of Tricolor came by, he was pretty surprised. And like the helpful son he was, he took the piece of paper addressed to his father. And unlike the helpful son he was, he opened and read it.
At first, Wemmbu had thought that it was from his godmother. Jophiel was known to send them a couple of envelopes when she was too busy to visit.
But when he tore it open, the first few words made his blood run cold.
"...The queen of Tricolor has been assassinated by her own right hand..."
His eyes scanned over the passage again and again, hoping it would change despite knowing it wouldn't. The realization that he messed up severely washed over him and he quickly shoved the piece of paper back in its place and went to go find his dad.
"Dad! Daadddd..!" Wemmbu shoved the bedroom door open, only to find his three other family members doing Ish knows what. "There's uh... a letter for you..."
The words slipped out of his mouth before he realized that he hadn't come up with anything to cover up the damage. Saparata froze in the middle of what he was doing, gently taking the torn envelope from his hands. His eyes scanned his son's face before dropping to the item in his hands, clearly unimpressed.
Wemmbu pretended to not notice it, dropping beside the other two.
"So.. what are you guys doing?"
Wifies petted gently through the angel's wings, careful as he aligned some wayward feathers. "Dad was trying to teach me how to preen Egg's wings."
Before Wemmbu could even come up with a follow-up question, Saparata was already on his feet and typing furiously on his communicator. His own wings were tucked tightly against himself, a sign of clear distress. The letter laid on top of the mattress, forgotten. "Kids, pack your things. You're going to be staying with your other dad."
"Aw man but I don't wanna-" Something white and feathery hit his face, interrupting him. He didn't like going to Fluixon's house, it always ended with something crazy happening.
And usually it was Wemmbu's fault, but they didn't need to know that.
"Why?" Egg let himself off of the bed, "Did something happen?"
"Nothing important, just..." Black eyes skimmed over them, lingering on Wemmbu for just a moment before breaking contact. The smile he gave was supposed to be comforting but only made the atmosphere tense. "We'll talk about it tomorrow, okay?"
Their father quickly herded them back to their room, protests ignored. The door shut with a note of finality, leaving the three huddled together in silence and darkness. Someone blindly fumbled for the lantern that was left on one of the tables, sounds of protests following when they elbowed Wemmbu in the stomach.
Wifies' silhouette came into view as he dangled the light source on his finger. "...This is kinda weird, right?"
"Yeah no, you're right." Egg was a little easier to see because of his light color, so it didn't take a genius to realize that he was glaring at Wemmbu. "Bro, what did you do this time?"
"Wha- it's not my fault!" Twin expressions of disbelief were on their faces, making him twitch ever so subtly. He was known to make trouble but definitely not one that would cause them to have to go to Luminara. "Seriously?"
Egg sighed, wings fluttering behind him as he considered the words. "What was in the letter then?"
Wemmbu winced, realizing that he should've prepared something to tell them before being interrogated. But well, he had never been good at planning anything and that wasn't about to change now. It didn't seem like his brothers would take anything less than the truth anyway.
"Okay, okay! I'll tell you. But if you tell dad, I'm gonna dump your body into the ocean."