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Parrot let out a cry of alarm as the “smuggler” (oh, except he wasn’t the smuggler. Parrot was realising that now; too late) placed down a rail. His heart dropped as he turned on his heel, calling out to the dragon hybrid behind him.
“Wemmbu run!” he yelled, rushing away from the centre of the cemetery. Parrot pulled out his communicator, shooting a quick message.
“Parrot!” Wemmbu screamed at him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away from where the explosion was still chasing them. Parrot tucked his communicator away, continuing to run.
The heat and blast from the explosives that had been set off shoved Parrot into Wemmbu, the two falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Parrot felt the soft dirt beneath them collapse as the tnt that had been planted here chipped away at dirt and stone. The two of them fell downwards into the massive crater; the explosives were still going off all around them. Parrot bit back a cry as he felt bits of rock and debris pelting against his skin and wings.
This is it, Parrot thought, this is where I die. All that running, just for the two of them to blow apart into pieces. Did Coin betray them? Parrot shook that thought away. It wasn’t important; not now, at least. He twisted his body around, trying to angle himself so he was on top of Wemmbu. Parrot’s brown eyes met Wemmbu’s golden ones, both of them staring into each other with panic and a calm acceptance. Then Wemmbu’s eyes hardened, his jaw clenching.
“Are you really trying to sacrifice yourself for me?” the dragon hybrid bit out angrily, “bro, really?” he flipped himself over, shielding Parrot from the brunt of the explosion, “I told you I’d mace you if you helped,”
“Wemmbu-” Parrot protested, even as Wemmbu’s leathery wings spread out like a barrier. He winced as he felt purple blood drip against his face.
“I told you,” Wemmbu gritted out, only holding onto Parrot tighter as the avian struggled in his grasp.
“I can’t let you die,” Parrot hissed, trying to yank his arm out, “you’re my last hope, Wemmbu. If you die, Lettuce-”
“Blah blah blah,” Wemmbu snapped, “you take this server too seriously, Parrot,” despite his words, however, Parrot could feel Wemmbu flinch as a piece of debris slammed into him. The dragon hybrid let out a gasp, but his hold didn’t loosen.
“Wemmbu, please,” Parrot begged, although his own words were lost to the sound of a set of explosives going off somewhere to their right. Wemmbu buried his head in Parrot’s shoulder, his wings continuing to receive the impact of the explosion.
At some point, the loud clatter of explosions came to a stop, leaving just the eerie silence that followed. The land around them continued to collapse, but only a little. Parrot pulled away from Wemmbu, coughing up dust that rose from the gravel and dirt.
“Wemmbu?” Parrot croaked, shaking the dragon hybrid gently on the shoulder.
“I’m fine,” Wemmbu sat up shakily, brushing the rubble off of his clothes and armour. But Parrot could tell he wasn’t fine. Wemmbu’s wings were bloodied and torn from the explosion, and purple blood dripped, mixing with the earth. Wemmbu gave him a hard stare, as if trying to prove something, before fishing out a few golden apples from his inventory. Most of the wounds stitched up like clockwork, but not all of them.
“Here,” Wemmbu tossed him a golden apple, grimacing at the way the motion jostled his wounds. Parrot caught it with ease, immediately biting into the apple. He let out a sigh of relief as the regenerative properties of the gapple took effect.
“Bro,” Parrot turned on Wemmbu with a frown once he was done, “what was that? Why did you do that?”
“Yeah, you’re welcome for saving your life bro,” Wemmbu rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.
“You could’ve died,” Parrot stressed, his feathers rattling with annoyance and concern.
“Well we’re alive, aren’t we?” Wemmbu huffed, “let’s just get back to spawn,”
“Wemmbu,” Parrot called after the dragon as he turned on his heel and strode past him.
“Consider it payment for threatening to kill you earlier,” Wemmbu responded without looking back.
Parrot sighed, shaking his head. He glanced behind him, eyes scanning across the huge crater the explosions had created. Lettuce put a lot of work into trying to stop us. Distantly, Parrot could see the glint of netherite from one of the Law’s commanders. Across the destroyed cemetery, Parrot met the eyes of a yellow cockatiel hybrid. Theo gave him a single relieved, curt nod.
“Parrot!” Wemmbu yelled from somewhere up ahead. Parrot blinked back at his best friend, before turning on his heel. He had a debate to attend.