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Mane hadn't been this happy in over a year.
Flame was sitting in Mane's nest, munching on a plate of fruits Zam had sent up for them when no one came down for breakfast. Flame was actually acting like a bit of a hog with the way he was shoveling food into his mouth. Mane wasn't really one to judge, he was the exact same and it wasn't hard to figure out where Flame had gotten that from. Mane just wished that Wemmbu got that gene as well, maybe he'd eat a little more.
Speaking of, Wemmbu sat at Mane's desk. He swung his legs in the chair as he chatted happily about a desert village he and Egg had helped on their travels as Mane gently brushed through his now clean hair.
The outfit he was wearing when he came in (apparently from Zam???) was being washed and the duo of older brothers didn't wait long to dress their younger brother in their own clothes. Flame's pants had to be rolled up because Wemmbu was still too short and Mane's hoodie was just too big in general, the sleeves scrunched up his arms. Mane smiled as he looked at his now cozy looking brother.
He'd missed this.
The familiar scene brought warmth to his chest, even with the three looking older. It felt just like home.
"-and then Egg shot the bandit with slow falling and the dude just shrieked and floated around. I mean - like - I get it! I hate slow falling too! It's so fucking-"
"Language." Mane cut into Wemmbu's rambling.
"-annoying when you have to wait 30 seconds to start smashing heads, but - bro - you've gotta have more class than that!" Wemmbu ignored Mane's correction to continue his story.
"Oh?" Flame had a shit-eating grin on his face, "I bet you would shriek worse than any bandit when hit with slow falling!"
"BITCH!" Wemmbu hissed and lunged at his brother, the two rolling in the nest.
Mane sighed and put the hairbrush back on the desk. Of course Flame had to rage bait their brother when they were having a nice moment! Although… talking about the mace Wemmbu had was still a bit of a hard topic for the trio - even if none of them want to admit it.
Mane was still worried about the physical effects the mace could of had on Wemmbu. He had - while Wemmbu was asleep (it's not creepy, he was worried!) - checked his youngest brothers arms but only found a few scars that were probably from an axe or a sword. This did not make him feel better.
His baby got hurt and he wasn't there.
Mane chuckled as Flame shrieked, "MANE!!! HE FUCKING BIT MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"
Mane pulled Wemmbu off of their whining brother, "Lilac, no biting."
"He started it!" Wemmbu huffed, turning to purr against his oldest brother.
It was something he did when he wanted things to go his way, acting cute to Mane knowing that the lion couldn't resist. Flame hated it. Mane love it.
Mane pulled Wemmbu into a hug with a sigh and a purr, causing Flame to rage, "REALLY?!"
"How could I resist?" Mane whined as Wemmbu giggled, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Sirs?" the voice of a palace servant called, "His Majesty has sent fresh clothes for Sir Wemmbu."
Wemmbu's face scrunched up, "Sir? Ew…"
Flame snorted as his brother was placed next to him on the bed, "Get used to it, they won't call you anything else. No matter how much you beg."
Wemmbu's groan of despair followed Mane as he opened the door and took the clothes, thanking the servant with a soft smile before turning back into the room, "Time to get dressed."
Wemmbu got up and looked over the outfit Zam had picked out with a smile before running off to Mane's bathroom to get changed. Flame stretched and left the room, bumping against Mane with a purr. Mane let out a small chuckle before wandering off to his closed to get ready for the day.
~
The sun was shining again today, making it a good day to show Wemmbu around the empire. Zam had given them instructions to make sure Wemmbu got his (and apparently Egg's) communicators fixed before they could explore.
"Hmmm…" 4CVIT hummed in thought as he looked the devices over.
They were completely smashed. Mane could now see why their messages wouldn't send. He still didn't know how those two kids managed to survive the landing, but he didn't really want to ask about the specifics at the moment. He just wanted to enjoy Wemmbu's company.
"It'll probably take a week to get them both fixed," the redstone expert explained, "I'll have them sent back to the palace when they're done."
"Awesome!" Wemmbu grinned brightly before turning to them, "That means we can explore now, right?"
The boy was practically vibrating in place, his wings and tail twitching wildly as he attempted to stay in place.
Flame rolled his eyes, "Yes, let's go explore."
Wemmbu tried to run off in excitement, only to be caught by Mane, "No, Lilac."
He whined and squirmed in his older brothers grip, "Oh come on…"
"The empire is large," Mane gripped Wemmbu's hand in his, "you will get lost."
"Maneeee!" he whined, "I'm too old to hold your hand!"
Flame smirked, "You still act like a little brat."
Wemmbu's head snapped to the tiger with a hiss, "Bitch!"
Mane sighed and cut into the argument, "We'll stay together, I expect that I don't need to hold your hand, Flame?"
Flame jumped away from Mane with a hiss, running to the other side of Wemmbu, "No! Unlike shorty here-" Wemmbu hissed, "-I'll be fine!"
"Why does he get to do what he wants?!" Wemmbu purred against Mane's arm, looking up at him with a pout.
Mane refused to be swayed and kept his gaze firmly ahead of them, "Because Flame is 21 and knows the place, you are 17 and very likely to wander off on your own."
Wemmbu's sweet face fell into a scowl but he stopped trying to escape his older brothers hold and decided to enjoy the tour.
Mane guided them around the markets, knowing how much Wemmbu loved the ones from the villages back home. He held the shorter boys hand tightly as he was tugged in the direction of one particularly shiny stall. This one was one of Zam's favorites as it sold multiple pieces of gold jewelry and sparkling jewels.
Wemmbu apparently shared the rulers expensive tastes, which they should have realized when they looked at his outfit.
Wemmbu's tail swayed happily as he browsed the stall, the old owner coming forward to chat. He obviously sensed someone who enjoyed gold.
"Hello, young man," the owner greeted kindly, however a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, "see anything you like? I must warn you, my pieces are one of a kind and not cheap."
Mane and Flame's eyes narrowed, the old man was clearly going to try to swindle their little brother.
Wemmbu scoffed, "I don't care about price, you think I got all this for free?"
(He did. He stole them from outposts. He has never paid for a single piece of jewelry that he was wearing.)
The owners eyes practically sparkled at the sight of Wemmbu's own jewelry, "Of course, Sir! Browse as much as you like!"
Wemmbu hummed as Mane and Flame looked over his shoulders, catching the old mans attention, "Sir Manepear? Sir Flamefrags? What are you doing here? His Highness hasn't bought anything to pick up?"
Mane smiled darkly, "We're accompanying our younger brother here."
The old man froze before letting his head turn between the three brothers, "Your… brother?"
Flame smirk cause the greedy old man to start to sweat, "Yes, turns out, Wemmbu here is a good friend of His Highness. Right, Wemm?"
"Hmm?" Wemmbu turned to them briefly from where he was admiring some gems, "Yeah, saved his crown when we were in the Farlands."
The old man had turned an interesting shade of white at the remark. He probably just realized how important the young man was in front of him.
"Old man!" Wemmbu called, "Where's this gem from?"
The old stall owner rushed over - eager to please someone so important - and glanced at the gem. It was a pretty pink, sparkling in the sunlight. But other than the color, there didn't seem to be anything special about it.
"That one was brought from a man that claimed an Enderman was carrying it. According to him, the beast was especially vicious about the gem and would actually attack even when they didn't look it in the eyes. After slaying the creature, they found it was just a normal gem and pawned it off to me." the man explained, confused as to why this gem caught the boys attention.
Wemmbu slowly smiled and reached a hand out, "Can I hold it?"
The old man hesitated but rushed to fulfill Wemmbu's request at the glares he received, placing the gem in the boys hand. He thought Wemmbu just wanted to test the weight, however the second the gem touched Wemmbu's skin, it glowed.
The trio watching Wemmbu gasped as the pink colour turned a deep purple. A glance at Wemmbu himself showed the gems on his tiara were glowing the same color.
Wemmbu giggled with a happy grin, "I'll take it! Hmm?"
The shocked trio watched as the boy turned towards another gem, this one yellow and in the shape of a sunflower.
A sad look crossed Wemmbu's eyes, causing Mane to snap out of his shock and rush next to his brother, "Are you okay?!"
Wemmbu smiled, "Yeah, just remembered something. I'll take this one as well!"
"W-well, Sir!" the owner shuttered, "Those two are very expensive!"
Wemmbu's expression turned annoyed, "I already said that I don't care! Name your price!"
It was awfully bratty and probably annoyed the old man into raising the prices, "A stack of diamond blocks!"
Mane growled, there was no way the two gems were worth that much! The man had never even dared to charge Zam that much! He just wanted to upset their brother!
Wemmbu just huffed and placed down a echest, "That cheap? Ha!"
The three stared in shock as Wemmbu placed down a shulker box and pulled out the required blocks, throwing them at the old man before packing everything away and taking the gems happily.
Wemmbu skipped off to a bench to sit down, Mane and Flame following behind. This left the stall owner to stare at his hands in shock.
"Since when are you so rich?!" Flame gasped.
Wemmbu let the originally pink gem float up to his tiara, fusing with the golden object before gently holding the sunflower gem, "Just some stuff I've come across while me and Egg were traveling. It's just some diamonds so I don't really care that he tried to swindle me."
Mane huffed and rubbed between Wemmbu's horns, "You shouldn't let people take advantage of you like that. Even when you can afford it."
Wemmbu rolled his eyes and pouted, "Fine…"
Flame huffed, "Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room? What's with the gem and your crown?"
"Oh that!" Wemmbu grinned, "The gem is originally from the second ring of the End. There was an old civilization out there that the Endermen were part of. If I had to guess, the Enderman carrying this was from that place and the gem was the last thing they had of their home."
The two older brothers blinked at the explanation.
"Regardless on how you would know that," Flame started, "how does that tie into your crown?"
Wemmbu glanced off to the side, clearly not wanting to say the reason and Mane crouched down in front of him, "We can't keep secret anymore, Lilac. Remember what happened last time?"
Wemmbu's head lowered as he rapidly glanced around, "I… I want to tell you, but if someone else hears it…"
Flame sighed and patted the top of Wemmbu's head, "Tell us later then, when we're back in the nest."
Wemmbu purred and rubbed his head into the hand before he pushed both of them away, "Okay, okay! I got this gem for a reason!"
A mace materialized in the air. This one wasn't the one they had seen over a year ago, it had a theme of yellow sunflowers.
"It looks… different from last time." Flame commented as Wemmbu tied the gem to the handle of the mace with a purple ribbon.
"That's because it's not the same mace," he explained as he admired his work, "that one was Gambit, this one is Crucible!"
Flame's face scrunched up, "Why do you need two?"
Mane went to explain the different enchantments when Wemmbu cut in with a mischievous grin, "Wanna find out the hard way?"
Mane groaned as Flame perked up, "We're supposed to be having a calm day!"
"Sparring makes me calm!" Wemmbu grinned and him and Flame ran off, Flame guiding the younger to the guards training field.
Mane raced after them, wanting to make sure things didn't get out of hand, as they usually did with those two involved.
~
"Ready?" Flame grinned, Fragger pointed at Wemmbu.
Wemmbu held Gambit over his shoulder (he definitely looks like he shouldn't be able to hold such a large and heavy object), "Always!"
Mane stood between them, acting as a referee and holding back the curious guards, "Just don't get too out of hand."
Zam cheered from behind the guards, "Go Wemmbu! Don't worry about destroying the place! I can get it fixed!"
Mane had no idea who told Zam about this, but he was too worried about his brothers to care, "Ready?"
The two got into position, "Set!"
The weapons shone in the late afternoon sun, "GO!"
Mane jumped back so that he was out of the way. Fragger's blade struck Gambit's long handle, that sound of metal on metal singing through the area. Sparks flew as neither brother wanted to give in first, eventually both deciding to jump away from each other at the same time.
They mimicked before a few more times when Wemmbu grew bored of the back and forth, spreading his wings and taking to the sky, Gambit blocking the sun as it was held above his head. A burst of wind was the only hint Flame got of his younger brothers next move.
Gambit swung down on to Flame's head. It was crazy fast and if it had been any other player against Wemmbu, they would have surely died. However, Flame's not like other players. Fragger was brought up to parry the mace, Flame's body digging into the ground as a crater opened up around him.
Wemmbu lifted off once more in a burst of wind, Flame grinning as his brother flew back down on top of him in rapid succession. The crater around him grew deeper with every hit and his arms ached from constantly pushing back against the strong hits. He couldn't help the pride in his chest at the sight of how strong his little brother had gotten (even with such a cheat weapon).
Mane himself stared in awe as his youngest brother continuously hit their middle brother. He smiled at the delighted giggles (or would they be deranged?) that sounded every time Wemmbu hit Flame. His baby had been doing good for himself in the last year.
"I thought you were going to show me the difference between both maces?" Flame taunted as he jumped away from him crater, Gambit throwing even more debris around the younger boy.
Wemmbu grinned and switched to Crucible, rushing straight towards his older brother and switching between the mace and his sword (✿◠ᴗ◠), causing Flame to put up a shield and gasp as it shattered in his hands. Flame cackled as he jumped away to evade the next few hits.
"Is that a different enchantment?" he asked with a grin, swinging his sword down and connecting with Wemmbu's, his face softening a little at the sight of the same sword he had given his brother years ago.
"Yeah!" Wemmbu cheered, spinning and hitting him with Crucible again, "Density for open areas and high ceilings and breach for enclosed spaces and close combat!"
Flame grinned as they continued to attack each other, leaving the guards around them in shock. They were probably a little scared as well. Flame was already one of the youngest guards but he had climbed the ranks quickly, becoming one of Zam's guards - along with his brother - on the first day they had entered the force. Now seeing their younger brother, a guy who didn't even look like he should be able to hold his own weapon, scared them a little bit. What were they feeding that family?!
Zam seemed to be having the time of his life, clapping and cheering away. He had somehow become Wemmbu's number one fan, even encouraging the boy to attack and injure his own guard.
Zam was a little strange…
Mane eventually called the fight, the arena around them not able to handle much more. It would take a while for the place to be repaired, but luckily they had other arenas for the guards to train in.
The two grinned sweetly at their older brother, huffing and puffing from the small sparring session. They both began to babble to Mane about the fight and Mane felt himself sent back to the years where he would train his brothers in their own yard back home, how they would run to him after to chatter about the training sessions and how they would crash in the nest after a good meal.
Which lead Mane to the next part of their day - a large dinner made by yours truly!
The three downed their plates, Wemmbu managing to eat a lot more than he used to, which made Mane very happy. Afterwards, the older one sent the two off to their own rooms (Zam had a room made ready for Wemmbu earlier that day, right next to his brothers) to clean up and get ready for bed.
Flame and Wemmbu had whined about being too old for the treatment, but once they laid next to Mane in the nest, they were out like a light.
Mane chuckled quietly at his sleeping brothers, the two snuggled against him and purring up a storm. Mane let his own purrs out and rested against the pillows, feeling at peace after so long. It was nice to see Flame acting like he used to, it was also nice to just have Wemmbu back in his arms.
Later, he'd have to remember to interrogate Wemmbu about the tiara on his head and any secrets the boy was still holding on to. But for now, he basked in the warmth of a full nest, drifting off into a peaceful sleep.