Chapter Text
(Rough Timeline: Uhm… I don’t really know? ;-; Before the 2v1000 but after Wemm’s identity was revealed ig?? Idk, it’s confusing for this one, don’t think about it too hard please T-T)
The wind blew calmly, leaves rustled in the distance. It was.. Peaceful. Which obviously meant that something was going to go wrong within the next half hour. Wemmbu’s life was never peaceful. Well, it could be, but those were rare moments with Egg, Minute, or Boosfer.
Wemmbu was kind of just… Waiting for something to happen. He knew it was coming, he just didn’t know when. It unsettled him. What made it worse was that he wasn’t sure where Egg was. So now he was waiting for something to happen along with questioning where his best friend was.
A small ping caught his attention, and he grabbed his communicator from his pocket. Looking, all he saw was a string or coordinates from Egg.
…
What.
He didn’t even bother to respond or question it. Wemmbu and Egg had a system they made after how many times they got separated, whether because Wemmbu was being hunted down or because Egg was being held hostage. If they could, they would just send the coordinates for where they are, and the other person would come running.
But that was only really used in actual emergencies. So clearly, this was an emergency. Unfortunately, the coordinates were rather far. So Wemmbu had to quickly launch into the air, and use what firework rockets he had left to boost him.
Still, he took him far too long. That or it just felt like it. If time flew by when you’re having fun, then no wonder time felt like it was slowing down. He was definitely not having fun trying to figure out what was going on with Egg.
Finally he was close, and all he saw was thick forest. Which then meant he had to slow himself down so he didn’t crash through branches and leaves. After landing (a little less gracefully then he normally did) he started to scramble around.
“Egg?” He called out. He didn’t even bother to mask the worry in his voice.
…
Silence.
So, Wemmbu continued to go to the coordinates. He was speed walking, twigs snapping underneath his feet. “Egg?” He called out again. He was about to shout again when his eyes landed on gold. A pale gold liquid, slowly dragging on the forest floor. It was ichor. Angel’s blood.
“Egg!” He yelled, a bit more frantically. He ran, following the trail. And then he finally found his best friend.
His best friend, heavily wounded. His best friend, covered in his own blood. His best friend, who seemed to barely be awake. Wemmbu said nothing, simply bolted it to be sitting next to Egg. It was probably the fastest he had ever moved before, faster than when his own life was in danger.
The angel had a deep slash across his chest, his black suit slowly being dyed a yellow hue. His pale blue, almost white wings, were limp and looked as if Egg had tried to shield himself before passing out.
“Egg? Egg, open your eyes, look at me. Egg, please-” Wemmbu stuttered. He could already feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he didn’t even care. “You’ll be fine, I’ll- I’ll help, I can get supplies, or something,” the demonic avian said. The panic in his tone was clear as day, and his face was dressed with a terrified expression.
Finally Egg’s eyes seemed to flicker open, and he blinked a few times. That unfocused and cloudy look in his gaze drifted away once he realized who was with him. “Wemmbu?” He said, his voice hoarse, “You’re.. here?”
“I’m here,” Wemmbu confirmed shakily, “I’m right here, I’m not leaving you.”
“That’s.. Good,” Egg lightly smiled. Wemmbu could tell that his energy was fading quickly.
The demonic avian scrambled around in his inventory, looking for anything that could help. The best he could do was grab a golden apple and try to get Egg to eat it. “Can you manage to eat?” Wemmbu asked, his voice wobbly.
Egg simply shook his head, though it was barely noticeable. “I’m dying, Wemmbu,” Egg murmured.
“No! No, no,” Wemmbu said, “you are not dying on me, Egg!”
“Don’t sound so worried,” Egg softly chuckled. Golden blood lightly dripped from his mouth as he spoke, “Seraphims.. Don’t die easily.”
Wemmbu tensed at the words. He knew that. Angels in general didn’t die easily, a seraphim was even harder to kill. They could revive themselves a total of six times, equal to their wings and eyes. But they had to wait six years as well. Wemmbu didn’t think he could survive without Egg for six whole years.
“You can’t.. Leave me,” Wemmbu said, choking back a sob, “not yet. Please, Egg.”
“Just find my book, okay?” Egg smiled weakly. “You know which one and where it it,”
“I can’t wait for six years, Egg!” Wemmbu cried.
“Just try?” Egg asked, “For me?”
Wemmbu’s body seemed to freeze, and tears continued to make their way down from his eyes and onto Egg’s suit. Slowly, Wemmbu brought Egg closer to him, wanting to try anything that might make Egg stay for even just a bit longer. “I can try,” Wemmbu whispered.
“Thanks,” Egg said, his tone just as quiet. “I’ll be back, okay?”
“Not yet-” Wemmbu quietly shouted, “Please I’m not ready, not yet-”
“It’s not a goodbye,” Egg said weakly, that small, soft smile still on his face. “It’s just a.. See you later,”
“Egg, no, please-” Wemmbu cried. “Just hang on for a while longer, please,”
“Wemmbu,” Egg murmured softly, getting the demonic avian’s attention. “I’ll see you later. Just make sure to.. Keep something from me, alright?”
Wemmbu went silent. The only sound coming from him being quiet sobs and uneven breaths, “I’m never forgetting you.” He said, voice so quiet only he and Egg could hear, “Never.”
“I’m counting on it,” Egg grinned, his voice just as quiet. “I’m going to.. Rest for a long time now…”
And then Egg closed his eyes, and let himself go limp in Wemmbu’s arms. The demonic avian realized too late that Egg was gone- wasn’t breathing, wasn’t responding to his cries.
Eggchan died
That was all the death message was. No one or no thing to blame, simply just.. Letting the world know that the angel had died. And if anyone was smart or simply was aware; it let them know that Wemmbu’s best friend, his brother, his anchor, had died.
~~~
Leaves crunched under his footsteps, and stray twigs snapped when he stepped on them. He could barely see the sky through the thick leaves above. In all honesty, Flame was just annoyed with this forest. He had been in it for hours, and for some reason couldn’t find his way out. What in Void’s name was going on? It was like something wanted him to stay stuck in here!
He sighed through his nose, utterly irritated. He just wanted out of these stupid woods, was that so much to ask for? Apparently it was, as he just continued walking in one direction, hoping to get out soon.
Flame was about to straight up turn a 180 and hope that would work instead, but then he paused. He strained his ears, trying to listen for whatever he heard. He was glad that he was part lion hybrid, considering it made his hearing better.
And then he heard it again, that quiet and panicked talking. It was muffled, but he could get a general direction from where it was coming from. And hey, curiosity killed the cat (pun not intended), so he started to walk toward it.
He instantly froze as soon as he realized who was speaking.
“-no, please-” Wemmbu cried. “Just hang on for a while longer, please,”
Flame had never in his entire life heard Wemmbu beg or plead. Not like this, never like this. Soon enough Flame was running through bushes, trying to find where Wemmbu was. He didn’t pay attention to whatever small twigs were hitting his face as he ran past, didn’t pay attention to how much noise he was making. The only thing in his mind was to get to his rival and figure out what the hell had happened.
In some situations Flame would use Wemmbu’s weaknesses against him, try to use it for Flame’s own advantage, but with the words Wemmbu was saying and his tone… The demonic lion shoved those thoughts into the back of his mind. He just continued to run, straining his ears to try and find where Wemmbu was.
Before he knew it, Flame could see Wemmbu in the distance. He was sitting on the forest floor, holding.. Something? Someone? Flame slowed his approach, not wanting to scare Wemmbu (as if Wemmbu was ever scared, Flame couldn’t think of a time he had ever seen or even heard of Wemmbu being scared).
Yet, as Flame quietly stepped closer, he finally saw the whole scene. And his eyes behind his blindfold widened in surprise and concern.
Wemmbu was sat, holding his best friend, Eggchan, close. And Wemmbu was crying. What might have been worse was the that that moments later, a ping sounded from Flame and Wemmbu’s communicators.
Flame, slowly, grabbed his and looked at the message. The death message.
Eggchan died
And then Flame finally understood what was actually unfolding in front of him. Wemmbu was crying, holding his best friend’s dead body, trying to beg for Egg to wake up, to open his eyes or breath or move, rambling about how he couldn’t handle waiting for the angel to come back.
The demonic lion didn’t think he would ever see Wemmbu in this state. Crying, pleading as he stumbled over his own words, hands covered in golden blood as if he had tried to stop the long wound on Egg’s chest bleeding further.
Within seconds it felt like too much to simply stand by and watch. Flame walked out from the bushes, not bothering to hide or be quiet. Wemmbu wasn’t paying any attention to the sound of rustling leaves anyways, that or he just didn’t care.
Flame, without a second thought, went and kneeled down next to Wemmbu, carefully grabbing his left arm and trying to pull him away from Egg’s body. By this point Wemmbu had stopped his wobbly begging, and was simply limp and sobbing. He barely tried to stop Flame as he was pulling the demonic avian away.
“Wemmbu,” Flame said softly, “Wemmbu, look at me.” The demonic avian hesitantly dragged his gaze from Egg to look at Flame. And Void, his eyes.. Flame could see the devastation and guilt, and maybe even some dazed confusion.
“I-” Wemmbu whispered numbly, “he-.. He’s gone-”
“I know,” Flame murmured, trying to pull Wemmbu closer.
“I couldn’t,” Wemmbu cried quietly, “I couldn’t do anything-”
“No, you couldn’t,” Flame agreed quietly followed by reassurance, “it’s not your fault,”
Soon enough Wemmbu just slumped over, burying his face into Flame’s shoulder and sobbing. It was quiet, messy, and so utterly heartbreaking. Flame simply wrapped his arms around Wemmbu, trying to give him comfort, rubbing circles into his back.
“I can’t wait for six years,” Wemmbu murmured, tears still rolling down his face.
“Six years?” Flame queried, still trying to keep his tone soft.
“Seraphims can revive every six years,” Wemmbu explained weakly. His voice was hoarse from crying, and his eyes were all red and puffy. “I can’t- I don’t think I can live without Egg for that long,”
Flame stayed quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “Egg would want you to stay alive,” he said quietly, “or to at least try.”
This time it was Wemmbu who was quiet. His forehead was still leaning against Flame’s shoulder, tears falling down from his eyes. He was slightly shaking, and his hands were clenched tightly. Flame had to stop him from digging his nails into his sleeves multiple times throughout the crying session.
Neither of them were sure how long they had been there for. But eventually Wemmbu had mostly stopped crying. He just stared numbly at Egg’s body as he held onto a cold hand, his eyes cloudy as if he were in a daze.
“Let’s get you to Minute, okay?” Flame said after a while.
Wemmbu numbly nodded. “Wait-” the demonic avian suddenly said when Flame started to stand up.
“Hm?”
“Do you have a vial? Or- some kind of bottle?”
“Maybe,” Flame said, checking his inventory. And somehow he did have a small, empty vial. It used to hold something, probably a potion material, but it was usable now. Flame gave it to Wemmbu, assuming he wanted to do something with it.
What Flame wasn’t fully expecting was for Wemmbu to try and get some ichor in the vial. The demonic avian was able to fill it up about halfway, and Flame said nothing the whole time, instead opting to look away.
“You ready?” Flame asked after a few moments, turning his head back around. Wemmbu now had a half-filled vial of Egg’s blood, along with one of Egg’s feathers. He put them in his inventory with such carefulness that Flame had never thought Wemmbu was even capable of.
Afterward Wemmbu numbly nodded and let Flame lead him away. Although the demonic avian did look behind him to try and get one more glance at Egg every few seconds. Which then forced Flame to try and move faster without letting Wemmbu notice. If he noticed then he might freak out or.. Something, and go back to Egg’s body and be a crying mess all over again.
And while Flame fully understood that Wemmbu was grieving and clearly out of it, he would rather have Wemmbu mourn in a safe place than in a random forest. Plenty of people who didn’t like Wemmbu would definitely try to kill him while he was in this state, or mock him. And he probably wouldn’t be able to protect himself properly, hell he might purposely try to get killed (though Flame really hoped that Wemmbu would remember that Egg would want him to live).
It took an extremely long time, about a full day, before they finally got to the vertical tunnels that led to the Stronghold. Which meant they were close to the End, which meant Flame could get Wemmbu to Minute, because Flame could only offer so much comfort to his rival.
Flame went down first, landing with a water bucket. And since he very much did not trust Wemmbu right now, Flame kept water on the floor that way he knew Wemmbu would land safely. As soon as Wemmbu was down, Flame started to lead him toward the End Portal.
“You’ll be with Minute soon,” Flame said calmly. Wemmbu had begun getting more fidgety, trying to pick at the skin near his nails. He still had that semi-dazed look in his deep amethyst eyes. “You go first.”
And with that order Wemmbu stepped into the End Portal, disappearing quickly. Flame followed shortly after appearing right next to the demonic avian in the netherite box.
“Minute!” Flame called.
It took a minute (pun intended) for Minute to arrive, but eventually he did. Flame could hear the flick of a lever just before the box opened up, letting Flame and Wemmbu exit and step onto the pale yellow endstone.
“I’m surprised you two aren’t bickering right now,” Minute raised a brow as he spoke.
“So, uhm..” Flame said hesitantly, glancing at his rival, “yeah, Wemmbu’s not really.. Focused enough for that.”
Minute said nothing as confusion crossed his face further, he simply shifted his gaze to look at the demonic avian. Wemmbu was a few steps behind Flame, staring numbly at the ground. His tail was weakly wrapped around his leg, and his arms were crossed as he lightly tried to dig his nails into his sleeves. That along with the tired and slightly confused look in his eyes sent alarm bells into Minute’s head very quickly. Not only that but his eyes also seemed red and puffy, like he had been crying.
“What happened?” Minute asked, beginning to walk forward toward Wemmbu.
“Egg is.. Gone,” Flame replied slowly.
“Gone as in he left, is missing, or.. Dead?” Minute queried. He was right in front of Wemmbu now, resting a hand on Wemmbu’s shoulder comfortingly, though his head was turned toward Flame.
“..He’s-” Flame started.
“Dead,” Wemmbu whispered, cutting the demon-lion hybrid off. Minute and Flame turned to look at Wemmbu. He was still staring at the ground of pale yellow endstone, his gaze unfocused and grieving. Minute’s face slightly fell. He had a feeling that Egg was dead, based on Flame’s words and Wemmbu’s behavior. But he also had hoped that it wasn’t true. But hearing how broken Wemmbu’s voice was.. There was no way Egg was alive.
“I’ll.. leave you and him alone,” Flame said after a moment. With that he walked toward the portal and stepped in, sparing one more concerned glance at Wemmbu before disappearing.
Minute turned his full attention onto Wemmbu. The demonic avian was slightly shaking now, his eyes becoming watery. “Oh, kid,” Minute said softly. He walked one more step closer and took Wemmbu into a hug.
The moment that Wemmbu felt the full embrace he quietly started crying again. It was the same as when Flame had found him in the forest: messy, upset, and honest. His breath slightly hitched and legs started to buckle underneath him, causing him and Minute to slowly drop to the floor.
Minute held Wemmbu close as the demonic avian clung to him, softly sobbing. It was heart-breaking, and Minute carefully raised a hand to run it through Wemmbu’s long, untidy hair, in hopes to provide even more comfort.
After what felt like an hour (but was likely only fifteen or so minutes), Wemmbu just went limp in Minute’s arms. He felt like he had cried his whole heart out, but he knew he would probably end up sobbing again once he found Egg’s book.
Egg’s book!
Wemmbu’s body tensed as he jolted up. His eyes seemed to focus just a little more. “What is it, kid?” Minute asked, his voice still soft and calm.
“Book-” He stuttered, “Egg’s book- he said something about it,”
“Which book?”
Wemmbu started to get up and run toward his and Egg’s room, not bothering to respond. Minute quickly followed, worry creeping into his mind. Wemmbu was still grief-stricken, likely not thinking clearly. He didn’t want the demonic avian to do something stupid that got him hurt somehow.
Speaking of said demonic avian, Wemmbu was still scrambling to get to Egg and his room. He ran inside and immediately went to Egg’s bed. He carefully, hastily, moved the bedside table away, and opened a trapdoor that had been hidden underneath. Minute entered the room just as Wemmbu had opened the chest and grabbed a specific book.
The sound of Minute’s footsteps got closer, and soon enough Wemmbu felt a calm, grounding hand on his shoulder. But he didn’t bother to look up. He simply stared at the book in his hands, somehow perfectly free of dust.
Seraphim Revival Process
Were the only words on the cover. It wasn’t in Egg’s handwriting, it wasn’t even the same type of book that Egg normally bought or made. It had a soft brown leather casing, with an ichor-golden colored latch that kept it shut. The words were carved to be cursive and then painted a bright angel-wing white.
“Egg could be revived-?” Minute quivered, confusion clear in his voice.
Wemmbu again said nothing, and simply unlatched the book, slowly opening it. Immediately he saw a table of contexts and skimmed it over. Whence he saw one that talked about the first step, he flipped to the page.
There were.. Not as many words as he thought there would be. Unfortunately it was all in a fancy cursive that made the words hard to decipher, but he understood what it was saying after a minute or two of re-reading.
Everything that happened next felt too fast. Wemmbu was reading over pages and following whatever it said. For the most part it was just things that Egg would have had to do, but the main part Wemmbu focused on was the section that talked about remembrance.
To put it shortly: if Wemmbu didn’t do specific things, then when Egg revived six years later, he would have no memory of Wemmbu whatsoever. So Wemmbu and Minute both tried to follow that set of instructions. Seeing as if they both did it, then there was a higher chance that Egg would also end up remembering other players he had interacted with because of Wemmbu and Minute.
Again, doing all of that felt far too fast despite it taking possibly three hours. They had to constantly re-read what was written so they didn’t mess up, and they had to be very meticulous whenever doing something. It was stressful, but around the half hour mark they had gotten the hang of it.
Soon enough, they had done everything they could. They both had charms or emblems of the late angel, and there was a small shrine in Egg and Wemmbu’s room. Wemmbu even made the small vial of Egg’s blood into some kind of necklace, with the feather also being added. It made him smile for a few moments, but eventually he just felt emotional all over again. He wouldn’t have had to do any of this if he had just been quicker, or brought medical supplies, or never separated from Egg in the first place.
He didn’t even realize that he had started to tear up again until Minute walked over and rested a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up, seeing the demonic voidling’s worried expression. “‘M fine,” Wemmbu murmured. If his eyes didn’t already give him away, his voice definitely did. It sounded broken and was slightly slurred as Wemmbu tried to speak around the lump in his throat.
“Don’t lie to me, Wemmbu,” Minute said softly. “It’s normal to feel upset with all of this,”
Wemmbu weakly nodded, his eyes falling back down to the floor. He didn’t even know why he felt guilty about his grief. Of course he was going to mourn his best friend, why did his mind try to convince him that that was so wrong? Was it just his usual instincts to not show weakness or vulnerability?
Minute quietly sighed, so quiet it was barely noticeable. Wemmbu’s body tensed, for some reason he started to question if he had done something wrong. “Hug?” Minute offered.
The demonic avian didn’t even think about it, just nodded. “I need a verbal response, please,” Minute said carefully. He wanted to make sure that Wemmbu actually wanted a hug. Because the look in Wemmbu’s eyes when he nodded was unfocused, as if he was just going to agree with whatever was said.
“..Hug,” Wemmbu murmured weakly. It almost sounded like a quiet plea, which broke Minute’s heart. Carefully Minute wrapped Wemmbu into a tight and reassuring hug, and the demonic avian fell into it immediately. He had already been on the verge of crying again, after staring at the vial of golden blood- Egg’s blood. Being surrounded in a comfortable and safe embrace just made him not be able to hold it in anymore.
“I want him back,” Wemmbu said, his voice cracking.
“I do too,” Minute said, running a hand through Wemmbu’s hair. Void, Wemmbu just looked like a small child right now. It hurt Minute so much to see his friend, someone he saw as a son, like this. “Everything will be okay,” he murmured softly. He could feel the demonic avian’s body slightly shake as he cried.
Both of them stayed like that for a long time. Wemmbu softly sobbing as Minute held him close. Minute really wished that Egg could come back sooner- he wasn’t sure how long Wemmbu would be able to last, even with Minute’s help.
~~~
It had been about three or so weeks later, and everything just seemed to go downhill. Wemmbu’s appetite was completely gone, to the point that Minute had to sit with him and convince him to eat otherwise he wouldn’t. The demonic avian had also been feeling absolutely exhausted, yet his body wouldn’t let him sleep. Every time he closed his eyes it was like his hearing had heightened, as he flinched as any noise. And the rare times where he could sleep, he often woke up because of dreams or nightmares.
Unfortunately that just caused more breakdowns, which led to everything else worsening. Wemmbu hated every second, every minute, every hour, and every day of it. It had just made him irritated as hell.
He wanted Egg back. Void, he wanted Egg back so much. It hadn’t even been a month, yet it had felt far too long. Wemmbu doubted he could last six years, if he couldn’t handle one month.
Why couldn’t angels revive every six months instead? That would probably be more manageable. It was half a year, Wemmbu could probably hold on for six months. But six years? Yeah, with how things were going right now he didn’t think he was making it. But Egg had asked him to try, so he was trying.
Eventually Minute had tried practically everything he could think of. He himself was slightly grieving, he had gotten to know the angel pretty well when Egg was stuck in the End. But it certainly wasn’t hitting him as hard as it was hitting Wemmbu. Unlike the demonic avian, Minute’s form of grieving was being a workaholic. But he had also had it drilled into him how to take care of himself so he could continue that work, so physically and mentally he was doing fine (we don’t talk about the emotional part, he would deal with that when Wemmbu was okay).
“Wemmbu,” Minute said. He was at Wemmbu’s door, a plate of food in his hand. “You have to eat at some point, kid,” he sighed softly. Wemmbu had already skipped breakfast, which would normally be fine if he snacked on food before lunchtime, but he hadn’t left to grab snacks.
“..Don’t want to,” came Wemmbu’s muffled voice. On the other side of the door, he was sitting on the floor, back against the door. He was slightly curled in on himself, hugging his knees close to his chest. The demonic avian numbly stared at the ground. Sometimes if he stared long enough he could see shapes- normally he saw things that somehow reminded him of Egg. Whether it was something that vaguely looked like a fishing rod (Egg loved fishing) or an eye (like the sky-blue eyes that Egg had) or a wing (like the pale blue, almost white wings on his back, or the two sets of wings behind his ears) or a tie (Egg weared a pink tie with his black suit).
“You need to eat, Wemmbu,” Minute said once more.
Wemmbu breathed out a small huff of annoyance. He wasn’t annoyed at Minute, Void no. He was just annoyed that he needed to eat. His appetite was shot, and he just wanted to exist without having to do anything.
“Kid, I know you don’t want to, but your body needs it.” Minute said gently, “When was the last time you ate anything?”
“..Yesterday?” Wemmbu guessed. He didn’t know, didn’t remember really. Days seemed to blur together. The only thing that seemed coherent was Minute and knowing that he missed Egg.
“Can you at least try to eat something? Even if it’s just a bite?” Minute coaxed.
Wemmbu was silent for a long time. “Fine,” he sighed quietly, moving away from the door so Minute could come in. The demonic voidling opened the door and stepped in. In all honesty the plate of food didn’t have much on it- Minute already had a feeling that Wemmbu wouldn’t want to eat, so he didn’t want to push it.
It was simply a few crackers, an apple that was cleanly cut up, and some trail mix (containing nuts, almonds, and chocolate chips). Not too much, but enough that could hopefully entice Wemmbu to eat at least some of it. Meekly, Wemmbu grabbed a cracker and nibbled on it. His hunger was still nowhere to be found, but he could at least eat something. About half of the food on the plate was gone before Wemmbu refused to eat anymore. For some reason that small amount made him feel sick, even if his stomach wasn’t upset. If anything his stomach wanted more, but his mind refused.
Still, Minute smiled at the amount. It was better than nothing, at least; and Wemmbu had tried, which was all Minute had requested. Minute quietly left after giving Wemmbu a quick, reassuring hug. As much as he didn’t like leaving Wemmbu alone in this state, he still had to guard the End. Even more so with the state that his son was in.
With a sigh Minute went back to his patrol. Wemmbu wasn’t completely helpless, it wasn’t like he was going to get hurt if Minute left him alone for an hour or two. Still, Minute didn’t like the thought of Wemmbu being alone in his current state.
Then an idea popped in Minute’s head as he was walking. Wemmbu was close to Boosfer, wasn’t he? They were like brothers, supposedly (if Wemmbu’s complaining about the alien hybrid saying that he was the older brother was anything to go by). And unfortunately whatever Minute was trying wasn’t working (maybe he was just too much of a gentle parent), so maybe Boosfer could help Wemmbu more?
So, Minute took out his communicator and sent a short message.
You whisper to Boosfer: I have a favor to ask you
It took a few moments, but eventually Boosfer sent a response.
Boosfer whispers to you: YOU need a favor from ME?? :0
Boosfer whispers to you: what is it? it better be interesting (:
You whisper to Boosfer: It’s about Wemmbu. He’s not doing very well, and whatever I’m trying isn’t working.
Boosfer whispers to you: …
Boosfer whispers to you: bring him here when you can, i need to see HOW bad it is
You whisper to Boosfer: Okay.
And with that, Minute continued patrolling, waiting for when it would be his break. Thankfully time seemed to fly by quickly. Carefully Minute made his way to Wemmbu’s room, stopping just at the closed door like normal. “Wemmbu,” he called. A quiet hum was the only response he got. “Are you okay if you stay with Boosfer for a while?”
“Boosfer?” Wemmbu queried after a moment, “You two talk?”
“Well, not really-” Minute said, “I just figured he could help you more.”
“..Okay,” Wemmbu murmured. “Are we going now?”
“If you’re fine with that,” Minute replied.
“..Give me a few seconds,” Wemmbu sighed.
So Minute patiently waited outside the door. All he could hear was minor shuffle and barely audible mumbling. Soon enough Wemmbu exited the room, dressed in simple yet elegant attire that seemed surprisingly comfortable. His hair was still a bit of a mess, however; pulled into a messy ponytail. “You ready?” Minute asked, just to make sure.
“Mhm,” Wemmbu merely hummed. Void, his eyes looked so dull and tired. Nevertheless, Minute led Wemmbu to the portal that would bring them back to the Overworld. To make sure that they appeared next to, or at least near one another, Minute gently held onto Wemmbu’s arm. And then they stepped into the dark void-like portal.
Once they were out, they started to make their way to Boosfer’s base. It took a long time, seeing how it was on a mushroom island that was quite far out, but they made it eventually. Minute continued to lead the way, since Wemmbu still seemed to be a little out of it (then again he had seemed out of it since two days after Egg’s passing).
“Boosfer?” Minute called out, standing a little away from the entrance to the large factory-looking base. The alien hybrid was quick to skip into view, popping his head from behind a wall.
“I had a feeling you two were going to come soon,” Boosfer lightly grinned. “Alrighty, fill me in, what event happened?” Wemmbu immediately tensed at the question, and his gaze locked onto the ground.
Boosfer, having picked up on the movement, quickly led Wemmbu and Minute inside. In all honesty, besides the factory-like appearance of the first few rooms and the outside, it was surprisingly homey. “What happened?” Boosfer asked once more when the three of them were comfortable at a table. His tone was a little more serious now.
“It’s about Egg,” Minute said slowly. He kept glancing at Wemmbu, who was still silent and avoiding eye contact, his head down.
“Is he being held hostage again?” Boosfer guessed.
“No,” Minute denied.
“Missing?”
“No,”
Boosfer went quiet for a moment, thinking. Then his shiny white eyes widened, “Don’t tell me-” he murmured hesitantly, “he’s not.. Dead, is he?”
Minute said nothing to that. The silence was answer enough. That along with how Wemmbu quietly covered his face with his hands, his tail completely still while limply hanging from the chair he sat in.
With a small sigh, Boosfer spoke, “Okay, this is.. Fine. Well not really- but it’ll be fine eventually,”
“I’m really sorry, but I do need to get back to the End soon,” Minute said.
“You go, text me the details when you can,” Boosfer replied easily. “I can take care of Wemm from here,” Minute simply nodded, spared one more concerned glance at Wemmbu, and left.
~~~
Boosfer could hear the sound of firework rockets, and knew that the demonic voidling was gone. With that Boosfer walked around the table to be next to Wemmbu. “How long has it been?”
“How long since what?” Wemmbu murmured, voice muffled because of his hands.
“Since he.. Died,” Boosfer said carefully.
“..24 days,” Wemmbu sighed weakly.
“Well that’s a pretty exact amount,” Boosfer lightly chuckled, a little awkwardly, “have you been keeping track?”
“Kind of,” Wemmbu said quietly.
The two of them said nothing afterward. Boosfer was looking Wemmbu up and down, trying to figure out if there were any physical problems. And sure enough, Wemmbu seemed a bit thinner and had deep eye bags. “How much have you been sleeping?”
The demonic avian shrugged, “Sleeping is hard.”
“Dude, you normally love sleeping,” Boosfer pointed out.
Wemmbu lightly huffed, leaning his back against the chair. “It’s not like I don’t want to sleep,” he muttered. To him, he kind of wanted to just stay asleep. It meant he didn’t have to eat or move or think or do anything. He could just rest, and if he was lucky he would get dreams of Egg instead of nightmares of his death (the same thing had happened with Rejoice.. Except it hadn’t lasted quite this long).
“Welp, you’re going to go take a nap now.” Boosfer ordered, “And no arguing! You need sleep, and if you can’t sleep then I’ll stay with you until you do.”
Now that that was (forcefully) settled, Boosfer led Wemmbu to a bedroom and had him try to sleep. Unfortunately it seemed this would be harder than Boosfer imagined, because any minor noise seemed to make Wemmbu flinch and flicker his eyes open. “Okay, I’m going to leave for like- no longer than ten minutes, and if you’re not asleep by the time I come back in then I’m just staying with you the whole time.”
“M’kay,” Wemmbu murmured, trying to bury his head into a pillow. He really did want to sleep. It was probably one of the only things he had wanted to do recently. He was just being paranoid, or something. He knew that Boosfer’s base was (for the most part) safe, so why did he feel like every sound was a threat?
The door quietly creaked as Boosfer stepped out, and lightly slammed shut behind him. The alien hybrid let out a sigh when he thought he was out of earshot. His little brother was a grieving mess. And rightfully so! But for a little over three weeks, and clearly not taking care of himself? Yeah, Boosfer was worried. Quite worried, if he did say so himself. And he was going to try and fix it!
A small ping that came from his communicator stirred him from his plotting. Quickly snatching it from his belt, he checked and saw a message from Minute.
MinuteTech whispers to you: Brief explanation for how Wemmbu had been doing. He hasn’t been eating much, can’t properly sleep unless someone is nearby, and rarely came out of his room. Also, he has a necklace of a vial of Egg’s blood and a feather, just don’t take it away from him. Overall, he just needs a lot of understanding right now.
You whisper to MinuteTech: alright, thanks for the heads-up. trust that i WILL be helping wemm, whether it’s the last thing i do (:<
With that, Boosfer started to plan properly. He had to get Wemmbu to eat more, sleep more, and overall he just had to give his little brother a whole lot of comfort and support. Boosfer himself had never really lost anyone important (well, he guessed there was Boomie, but he mostly got over it after a week or so). So for Egg, Wemmbu’s best friend and practically his other brother, to have died? Yeah, no wonder Wemmbu was taking it this roughly.
He now had a decent plan thought out, so he turned back to enter the guest bedroom. Originally he didn’t know why he had it added, but he was glad he did now. Opening the door, which thankfully didn’t creak this time, he walked in. Wemmbu was curled up in the blanket, his back to Boosfer, looking small. Both literally and figuratively.
But it was also clear that he wasn’t asleep. He kept subtly shifting in discomfort, whether it was a twitch of his wings or his tail slightly moving. “Well sleep clearly isn’t working,” Boosfer hummed. The alien hybrid tried to ignore how Wemmbu had flinched and then froze at the sound of his voice.
Soon enough, though, Wemmbu huffed and flipped around. The irritation was clear on his expression, along with the exhaustion. “When was the last time you ate?” Boosfer queried.
“..Minute had me eat a few hours earlier," he murmured.
“And how much was that?” Boosfer pressed. “An actual meal, or more of a snack?”
“Snack,” Wemmbu huffed.
“Then we’re gonna have you eat first before trying to take a nap.” Boosfer decided.
“Meh,” the demonic avian whined.
“No arguing, you need to eat real food, as in a proper meal,” Boosfer said. “And you’re walking with me to the kitchen, too. From what Minute has told me you were cooped up in your room almost everyday,”
Wemmbu grumbled in annoyance, but he slowly got out of bed. Boosfer led the way to the kitchen, and looked in cupboards. For some reason he just had an assortment of noodles, so with a shrug he decided on spaghetti. Boosfer also tried to keep up a conversation with Wemmbu as he cooked, though it was rather one-sided. Soon enough the food was made, so he got Wemmbu and himself a plate.
“Food time!” Boosfer declared, setting the plate in front of Wemmbu. The demonic avian stared at it for a second before finally taking a bite.
Now, while Boosfer was a pretty fast eater, he was concerned by the fact that when he was almost done Wemmbu had only eaten about a fourth of it. “You’re eating at least half, Wemm,” he said, worry obvious in his tone.
Wemmbu grumbled, but he continued to eat. By the time he had eaten a little over half he lightly shoved the plate away. “Thank you for trying,” Boosfer smiled. With that the alien hybrid whisked the plates away and dumped them into the sink (he’ll clean them later, sshhh). With a small glance at a clock hanging on the wall, it was about sunset. Which was perfect, considering Wemmbu needed to sleep after eating, and Boosfer pointed that out.
“You’re bossy,” Wemmbu complained.
“You’re sleep deprived,” Boosfer retorted softly.
“No,” Wemmbu argued, “I’ve been sleep deprived before, this doesn’t feel like it.”
“I’m going to gloss over the fact that you’ve been sleep deprived before, because right now you actually do need to sleep,” Boosfer hummed. “Now off to bed!” Wemmbu stayed seated, grumbling in annoyance. “You need to sleep, Wemm.”
“I know,” he mumbled half-heartedly, biting back a hiss. Sleeping has been a big struggle recently, okay? Wemmbu’s used to another presence with him whenever he’s asleep. And normally that was Egg, seeing how they always shared a room whenever they were in a base. Now that Egg was gone, it felt.. Wrong, in a way.
Boosfer stayed quiet for a moment, his eyes watchful and thinking deeply. “Would it be better if I was with you?” He queried.
“I-” Wemmbu paused, “..I don’t know.” He wasn’t sure how similar it would feel for Boosfer to be sleeping near him. Sure, he was also like a brother, same as Egg was, but still- him and Egg were really different; personality, appearance, and presence wise.
“Well you sleeping alone clearly isn’t working,” Boosfer said softly. “We’ll give it a try, how about that? Give it say.. Half an hour?”
Wemmbu merely nodded, eyes trying to look at the floor again. He felt a little guilty that Boosfer and Minute had to take care of him. It wasn’t like he was completely useless, he could still function alone.. Kind of.
“No more of that,” Boosfer said, having noticed that cloudy gaze that Wemmbu got when he started having unpleasant thoughts, “bedtime, off we go.” The demonic avian quietly whined again, but he got out of his chair and walked with Boosfer to the guest bedroom.
Once they were inside Boosfer quietly shut the door as Wemmbu climbed into bed. Boosfer quickly followed and climbed in next. It was silent for a few moments, with Wemmbu laying down, facing away from Boosfer, as Boosfer had his back against the headboard. Eventually Boosfer moved one of his hands so that it could gently scratch around Wemmbu’s horns, hoping that would make him more tired.
And luckily it did, even if it was just an instinctual reaction. The tension bled out of Wemmbu’s body, and he slightly melted further into the mattress. He subconsciously shifted to be closer to Boosfer, letting the alien hybrid scratch around more soothing places. Soon enough Wemmbu had flipped over, his head resting in Boosfer’s lap as Boosfer gently petted the demonic avian.
The normal instinct to keep up a conversation died out in Boosfer. Right now it was quiet and peaceful, and Wemmbu wasn’t hiding how stressed he was or ignoring his needs. He was comfortable, and seemed to be close to falling asleep. And that was enough.
Boosfer himself was also starting to feel a bit drowsy, his eyelids feeling heavy. And while he knew his back might ache a little in the morning if he fell asleep with it against the headboard, he didn’t want to make Wemmbu stir too much. So, Boosfer continued lightly scratching around where horn met skull, and he and Wemmbu drifted off into sleep.
~~~
“Flame, I’ll say it again, I can’t do anything for you right now,” Boosfer said, narrowing his eyes. It had been two days since the alien hybrid started to take care of Wemmbu, and he wasn’t risking leaving or doing anything that could lead to danger being brought to the factory base.
“It’s a simple thing, why the hell not?” Flame argued.
“I’m busy!” Boosfer retorted. It was getting harder and harder to keep up his whole happy and annoying facade by this point, because on Void’s name he was just getting irritated.
“Busy with what?” Flame hissed, “What could you possibly be doing that you can’t just do this one thing?”
“None of your business,” Boosfer stuck his tongue out.
“Oh my Void-” Flame pinched the bridge of his nose, “Boosfer. I will ask one more time, are you doing this or not?”
“I’m not doing it, I’ve already told you,” Boosfer said. “My mind is made up! No way to change it anytime soon,”
“Not even if I kill you?”
“If I’m dead I can’t do it, idiot.”
“Oh my Void bro,” Flame sighed. “Just do it,”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because no,”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the answer you’re getting.”
“I hate you,” Flame grumbled.
“Likewise,” Boosfer grinned. “How long are we going to stand here and argue, exactly?”
“However long it takes for you to agree to the very simple thing I need you to do!”
Boosfer was about to retort something back, when he heard something. It wasn’t very loud, and normally he would just chalk it up to the wind or gravity or something. But he also knew that Wemmbu was currently alone and still a mess, and the sound seemed to come from his room.
“Stay here for a second,” Boosfer murmured, trying to keep a nonchalant stance.
“Wha- Boosfer!” Flame shouted in anger and annoyance as soon as Boosfer turned around. The alien hybrid ignored the minor swears, his mind only on checking on his brother. He barely even noticed that once he was out of Flame’s eyesight he picked up the pace. But soon enough he was at the door and quietly opening it.
And he didn’t particularly like what he saw. Wemmbu was sitting in bed, back against the headboard, and was curled in on himself. Even from a distance Boosfer could see how the demonic avian was slightly shaking. There was an empty cup on the ground; Boosfer assumed that Wemmbu had knocked it over when he woke up and that was what the noise was.
The cup didn’t matter right now, though! Quickly Boosfer went over and climbed up on the bed, moving so that he could be seated in front of Wemmbu. “Wemm, what happened?” He asked softly, lightly putting a hand on the demonic avian’s arm.
“Nothing,” Wemmbu hicked, trying not to cry, “it was just a stupid nightmare.”
“You can tell me, Wemm,” Boosfer soothed. “Come here, you need a hug,”
Wemmbu said nothing as he slightly shifted so Boosfer could hug him. It was tight and grounding, and it just made Wemmbu more emotional for some reason. He slowly buried his face into Boosfer's shoulder and quietly sobbed. “You’re alright,” Boosfer said gently, “everything will be fine. You’re safe,”
For a few moments it was just the two of them. Boosfer rubbing circles into Wemmbu’s back and hugging him closely as the demonic avian cried. And then Boosfer heard quick footsteps approaching, and remembered what he had been doing a few minutes earlier. With a quiet, annoyed sigh, Boosfer covered Wemmbu’s ears. And as if on cue, Flame was at the doorway.
“Bro, you don’t just leave in the middle!-” He was saying before being cut off.
“Shush!” Boosfer quietly hissed, glaring at Flame as he tried to hide Wemmbu from the demonic lion’s sight.
Flame paused, letting his eyes behind the blindfold adjust to the dim lighting. And then he finally took in the scene: Boosfer trying to comfort Wemmbu, who was crying. With that realization, he stood quietly just outside the room. “We’ll talk later,” Flame murmured softly, then he walked away.
Boosfer didn’t.. Expect that. He hadn’t expected for Flamefrags, the Immortal Demon, Wemmbu’s rival, to just.. Leave. Leave after noticing the mess that Wemmbu was at the moment. But there was no time to dwell on that! At least Flame had left, so now Boosfer could properly focus his attention on his little brother.
With a deep breath, the alien hybrid went back to tightly, comfortably, hugging Wemmbu and offering quiet reassurance. It went on like that for a while until Wemmbu finally stopped crying, and dozed off. Boosfer was careful to wipe the tear stains from the demonic avian’s cheeks, and tuck him back into bed.
~~~
The last thing Wemmbu remembered was Boosfer comforting him as he uselessly cried. He must have fallen asleep, but then.. Why was he in a forest? No- why was he in the forest. The forest where Egg died.
Frantically, Wemmbu started running. It wasn’t long before he came across Egg’s body, though this time he was already dead. And there was so much more golden blood this time- it was a steadily growing pool around Egg, and it stained nearby grass and bushes. It made Wemmbu feel sick.
And, of course, he made Wemmbu dash to be next to Egg again. Made him cradle his dead friend’s body, made him weep all over again. Made him experience what would have happened if he hadn’t been quick enough to hear Egg’s last words or his final breath.
Then suddenly the scene shifted.
Wemmbu was in a bright, grassy clearing. Birds flew above, small bugs buzzed in the grass, a pond of fish was just within eyesight. But wait… There was Egg. Alive and well, breathing and sitting peacefully, humming and his wings twitching lazily. He was sitting on the floor, fishing rod in hand, carefully watching the water and ready to reel in the string.
But Wemmbu couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. He couldn’t run over and tackle Egg with a hug. He couldn’t shout out Egg’s name to get his attention. He could do nothing but stare at the vision of his best friend, still feeling that painful ache from when he saw him dead a few moments earlier.
The scene shifted again.
This time it was dark, Wemmbu was slightly blinded, even. He could barely see the skulk he was standing on. But he could easily hear and feel. He could feel himself being shoved by Wardens twice his size, could hear them shriek as they tried to attack something.. No, someone.
“Wemmbu, bro, I’m going to die here-”
His eyes widened, his pupils slit, his breath quickened, his tail went still. Wemmbu knew that voice. He was moving before he could fully process what he was thinking. He was trying to build up and swing his mace at the Wardens before he could even speak. His mind was such a blur, his ears started ringing, his vision darkened even more both because of the black spots appearing in his visions and because of the Wardens. Before he knew it, the Wardens were suddenly gone and he was kneeling on the ground, staring at Rejoice’s body.
The scene shifted once more.
He was still in the deep dark, still in the Abandoned Civilization. And, just like with Egg, he saw Rejoice. Alive, breathing, happily grinning and skipping around. And just like with Egg, Wemmbu couldn’t move or speak. All he could do was watch with his watery eyes.
All he could do was cry. His body was forced to stay in place as if barrier blocks surrounded him. Right now, after seeing his brother dead and then suddenly alive, and then seeing his best friend dead and then suddenly alive, he just wanted to scream.
The scene shifted once more.
This time it was just empty blackness. Similar to the void.
By then Wemmbu just wanted to shout and cry and shriek and sob. He wanted to be with them, he didn’t want to exist without them, he didn’t want to live without Egg. It had taken him a while to get over Rejoice’s death (technically he still wasn’t over it if he was dreaming about it). Egg dying was the last straw.
After Wemmbu had been gullible and offered his trust to PrinceZam, who then kickstarted the rest of Wemmbu’s miserable life by betraying him and blowing up the colony that he had asked Wemmbu to make. After Wemmbu had then gone to Manepear and asked the lion hybrid to train him, then he left without a verbal word. After Wemmbu had then had to struggle and find Jaden, which led to Rejoice’s death. After Wemmbu had explored the Farlands. After Wemmbu had fought and beaten Flame. After far too many things and events that it started to blur together harshly, and Wemmbu was surprised he could even remember that many things. And then Egg had died.
Egg had died because Wemmbu had left him alone, because Wemmbu couldn’t get to him quick enough, because Wemmbu didn’t have the supplies to heal his best friend. Egg had died. His best friend, his brother, his moral and mental anchor, had died. And almost a month later he still couldn’t handle it. Wemmbu wanted Egg back. He wanted safety back. He wanted comfort back.
“I want to go home.”
~~~
It had been seventy-three days since Egg’s death. Two months and then some. Wemmbu was still under Boosfer’s care. Wemmbu still hadn’t recovered. Minute had managed to visit twice since then, and check up on how Wemmbu was doing; though they were short lived. Flame had even come back a few times to check on him; one time he had also brought Parrot and Theo with him. None of it helped.
All Wemmbu wanted was Eggchan. Egg meant Wemmbu was home and safe and comfortable and content with existence. No one, not even Boosfer who Wemmbu also saw as an older brother or Minute who Wemmbu saw as a father, could help him. All they could do was make sure he was eating a healthy amount, drinking water whenever he needed to, preen his wings when they got too messy, and overall make sure he was physically healthy.
Sure, they could be there whenever he had another nightmare of Egg or Rejoice’s deaths, they could try their best to comfort him and it worked most of the time (in the sense that he stopped crying and momentarily stopped his spiralling thoughts). He could always get a warm hug or gentle horn scratches from Boosfer, although most of the time he didn’t verbally ask because speaking felt too tiring.
Yet the dreams- or were they nightmares? -from weeks ago still plagued his thoughts. Seeing Egg dead and then alive, seeing Rejoice dead and then alive. That was for the most part all Wemmbu was thinking about nowadays. And every single day, the desire to join them got more tempting. Sure, Wemmbu would miss Boosfer and Minute, maybe even Flame, Jaden, or Parrot (and Mane…), but his priority was Egg. He had known Egg the longest, known the angel since he was fourteen and Egg was fifteen, so about four years. And they had become inseparable since the day they met. But now they were separated because Egg had died.
A long, conflicted sigh escaped Wemmbu. It was around, what? Three in the morning? No, more like four when he glanced at the clock on the wall. Two or so hours before sunrise. He stayed quiet, sitting on his bed, thinking. It might have been the clearest his mind had felt recently. And then he made up his mind.
He got up, took a quick shower, and got dressed in his usual comfortable, yet elegant clothing. A black button down with loose puffy sleeves that had cuts in the shoulders and cuffs at the end. A ruffled white color that had a golden brooch attached. Black corset with golden accents, a small sky-blue eyeball pin clipped onto one of the laces, and a skirt-like tailcoat that almost went down to his ankles. Off-white sailor pants, sturdy black lace-up boots that almost went to his knees. His golden tiara with an amethyst gemstone in the center. Then he walked over to the bedside table and grabbed the most vital accessories. A bracelet, with those same sky blue eyeball and sunflower charms for Egg and Rejoice (though the charm for Loppezzz had gone missing, though he didn’t think too much of it). And of course, the makeshift necklace that had the half-filled vial of Egg’s blood and one of his pale blue almost white feathers.
Quietly, Wemmbu exited his room. Slow that way the door wouldn’t creak when he opened and shut it. Just before leaving the factory base he opened the door of Boosfer’s room, quickly giving the alien hybrid a hug (as Boosfer had never woken to physical contact whatsoever, so Wemmbu didn’t need to worry about waking him).
Then Wemmbu made his way to a tall cliff with a steep ledge. He grabbed his communicator and typed out messages for four separate people, and eventually a fifth after a few moments of hesitation.
You whisper to MinuteTech: im really sorry dad, i just … i cant take it anymore. i cant deal with Egg being gone any longer, i tried, i promise- its not your fault. thank you for being my friend
You whisper to Boosfer: im sorry Boos, but i couldnt take it anymore. its not your fault, and thank you for putting up with me for these past few months, but i just cant do it anymore. thanks for being my older brother
You whisper to Jaden_MAN: havent talked in a long time.. sorry for what im about to do. good luck with your pirate civ
You whisper to Flamefrags: thanks for being my rival and taking care of me whenever i was being useless, flame. you definitely kept me motivated to beat you
You whisper to Manepear: i hope i proved you wrong somehow, and that im not a lost cause. i tried my best… and you were a decent mentor
After that he put his communicator away in his pocket, and looked up at the sky. He stood at the cliff’s ledge for a few minutes, taking in the cool breeze. Listening to the occasional birds that flew overheard, or the sound of mooshrooms below. He took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Egg. I tried, I really did.” He said quietly, “I hope I can join you soon.”
And then Wemmbu took a few steps forward, closed his eyes, and felt the wind rush past him as he fell.
~?~
Wemmbu had expected to feel a whole lot of pain from the impact, yet he didn’t feel it. He honestly wasn’t sure what he was expecting after death, though. He didn’t really think that it would be a bright white void, however. But that’s what he saw when he squinted his eyes open. He tried to look around, yet it was white everywhere he looked. A very shiny white that reminded Wemmbu of Boosfer, Minute, and Spoke’s eyes.
Then slowly, the bright white faded and shifted to be a bright, grassy clearing. Birds flew above, small bugs buzzed in the grass, a pond of fish was just within eyesight. It was very similar to the one from his dream. And for a second he was worried he was dreaming once more, but a small, strong pinch to his arm proved him wrong.
Suddenly he could hear quiet humming, slowly getting closer. He turned around, and saw Rejoice. As the man got closer Wemmbu could take in the details, finally remembering what Rejoice had looked like (when did Wemmbu forget what he looked like?)
His skin was light with a yellow tint, his hair was yellow, not blond, yellow (both were similar to Zam, the more Wemmbu thought about it), and pulled into a small low ponytail. His eyes were a dark, deep brown that could be mistaken for black if you didn’t look close enough. He had his long, half red and half teal cardigan that went over his gray shirt, and gray trousers that were tucked into his black shoes. And, as usual, a sunflower was carefully tucked behind his ear.
Yet what irked Wemmbu the wrong way was that there was a patch of what seemed to be skulk stuck to Rejoice’s neck and left hand. Was it meant to symbolize how he had died? Did Wemmbu have that? Would Egg have a slash across his chest since that’s how he had died?
All those thoughts drowned away when Rejoice spotted him. Wemmbu noticed how Rejoice’s face seemed to light up, the gentle grin becoming a surprised yet excited smile. Quickly the man ran over, and lightly tackled Wemmbu with a hug, “Wemmbu!” He cheered. He let go before the demonic avian could process what had just happened, “When did you get here?”
“Uh-” Wemmbu sputtered, “a few minutes ago.”
“Intresting,” Rejoice hummed. His eyes were searching Wemmbu, looking the demonic avian up and down, “how did you die from falling..?”
He went quiet and looked away at that. “Wait, how can you tell-?” Wemmbu suddenly queried.
“Everyone gets a little thing that symbolizes how they died.” Rejoice explained, raising the hand that had skulk on it as a demonstration, “You have.. Well I’m not entirely sure what it is to be honest, but those who died from falling all have it.”
“Huh,” Wemmbu murmured. “Makes sense, I suppose,”
“Okay, but how did you die from falling?” Rejoice asked once more. Then a realization flicked across Rejoice’s eyes and his face slightly fell, “Wait a second did you-?”
“Don’t think about it,” Wemmbu interrupted, trying to hide the small panic rising in his chest.
“No, no,” Rejoice said, “did you willingly jump off?”
Wemmbu said nothing once more. Again instead avoiding Rejoice’s gaze, favoring to look at the ground. Before he knew it, he was being lightly tackled with a hug once more, “Why would you do that?” Rejoice’s voice wavered.
“I..” Wemmbu whispered weakly, “I just.. Couldn’t deal with what was going on anymore.”
Rejoice hugged Wemmbu tighter at that. The two of them stayed like that was a while, until Rejoice finally let go. “Well I guess I can’t really.. Stop you anymore, since you already did it. But if you ever get reborn or something like that, don’t do that again!”
“Try not to,” Wemmbu softly chuckled. “Say, uhm..”
“Hm?”
“Is.. Egg here?”
“Oh! Yeah, I’ll go get him! Can’t promise that he’ll exactly be happy that you’re, y’know, but I’m sure it’ll be fine!” Rejoice smiled. With that he turned away, presumably to go get Egg.
Wemmbu waited about ten minutes before he spotted Egg quickly walking toward him. The angel looked just as Wemmbu had remembered- black pants and suit with a tailcoat and a bright hot pink tie. A set of pale blue, almost white wings on his back and two sets just behind his ears. He was in his humanoid form, so Wemmbu was also able to see his sky blue eyes and white hair (though one of the eyes was hidden behind Egg’s hair). Although, Egg didn’t have any symbol for how he died. No, more like.. He had two? There was a faint slash looking mark, as Wemmbu had expected, but there also seemed to be a small white arrow floating over his hair that covered one of his eyes. Had.. Egg already died before what happened months ago?
Eventually the angel made it to Wemmbu, which shook him out of his thoughts, and the two stood in.. Awkward silence for a few moments. In all honesty Wemmbu was already feeling anxious. The quiet was odd, especially when it was his best friend. For some reason Wemmbu was fighting back the instincts to tackle Egg with a tight hug.
“Why.. are you here?” Egg asked after a few more moments, keeping eye contact.
“I-” Wemmbu said with a wobbly voice. Void, was he that nervous? “I’m sorry.”
There was silence again for a while. Wemmbu could start to feel a lump in his throat, like he wanted to cry again, and his head hung low. His tail was still before wrapping around his leg, as it normally did when he felt uncomfortable. “You shouldn’t be here,” Egg murmured, his tone tense.
“..I know,” Wemmbu whispered. “I just- … I’m sorry.”
“Wemmbu, I asked for you to live. For me!” Egg said, his voice just below a shout. The wings on his back were puffed up now, slightly closing around him. The two sets of wings behind his ears were similar, except they were flared out in minor distress.
“I tried,” Wemmbu said, choking back a sob and beginning to stutter his words, “I couldn’t- I can’t-”
Egg cut him off, simply by stepping closer and wrapping his arms around the demonic avian in a tight hug. Wemmbu tensed for half a second, before fully crumbling into the gesture. He hugged Egg back, just as tight, and buried his face into Egg’s shoulder and just quietly cried, occasionally murmuring apologises.
“You’re an idiot,” Egg said softly after Wemmbu had stopped crying. By now the two of them were sitting down, Wemmbu limply leaning against Egg’s chest, his head under the angel’s chin.
“I guess I am,” Wemmbu laughed weakly.
“You’re also my idiot,” Egg hummed, raising a hand to gently scratch around Wemmbu’s horns. And as usual the demonic avian sinked into the contact. “Still can’t believe you jumped.” Wemmbu merely huffed, a rumble building in his throat.
The two stayed like that for a while. Eventually Rejoice joined them, happily chatting away. It was peaceful, and Wemmbu could finally breathe. He was with Egg again, with Rejoice. He was home.