Chapter Text
The dining room was filled with chatter and laughter from small voices as Eggchan was led in. One tiny hand dragged along his iv stand, the other tightly grasping Minute's much larger one.
He'd only been under the care of the voidling for a few weeks, and yet the man had managed to win over his trust as the first positive male role model in the angel's life. Whenever he spoke to the child his smooth voice took on a careful tone Egg wasn't used to, as if he was worried he would scare him. His hands were gentle as he helped the angel, never hitting or hurting the way similar ones had in the past. He looked at Egg like he was precious, not the bother he felt himself to be.
After a particularly nasty flare up, Egg had been put into a medically induced coma for three months so his weak body could properly repair itself. When he woke, however, he found that his father had finally gotten what he wanted and he had been given up with only a note from his mother left. She pleaded with him to remember that she will always love him and to take care of himself, and stated she was eternally apologetic for having to leave him.
He took a month to recover, between learning to walk again—which he managed very quickly with his angelic background—and learning to eat again—his stomach was incredibly weak and struggles with much—and was eternally grateful to Minute for staying beside him the entire time.
By the time he had moved into Minute's home and out of the hospital, he was walking relatively steady with little assistance and could eat simple solids—like bread, crackers, and buttered pasta. The coughing had subsided enough he could string together sentences without pausing to cough, though the shakiness was still present.
MinuteTech approached the head of the dining table and the children fell silent, most of them turning to look at him.
"Good morning, kids. Did you all sleep well?" Minute smiled warmly at the resounding cheers of agreement. He shifted which hand he held Egg with and moved one to the angel's back, letting the drooping child rest slightly. "Today we're introducing the newest addition to our little family, Eggchan. Wifies, will you get him settled while I got make breakfast?"
The tallest of the group nodded and made his way over at a leisurely pace, a smile curving his lips as he took Eggchan's hand from the man. He led the angel to a free seat and ruffled his hair, approaching a cabinet and crouching to reach the lower drawer.
"My name is Wifies. I'm a doll designed to assist Mr. Tech in caring for the children living here." He pulled a cushion out from the drawer and stood, sliding it shut with a foot before quickly making his way over to the angel and placing the cushion on the chair. He hoisted Egg up from under his armpits, seating him on the cushion gently.
His hair was a deep brunet and styled carelessly, messy but in an appealing way. A purple bandana with a yin-yang symbol sat just under his bangs, drawing attention away from the joint lines around his eyelids and mouth. Mismatching earrings peeked out from under his hair; one a green and blue feather and the other a tiny block of tnt. Each of his fingers had visible ball joints, though his nails were painted bright green and yellow—clearly to draw attention away, similar to the bandana. It was evident someone—or multiple someones—had gone out of their way to make him look more human.
"If you ever need help with anything—and I mean anything—please ask me. I'm equipped with knowledge in almost any category you could possibly have questions about or need assistance with, and the last thing I want is for you to be lost or confused and feel like you have nobody to help you."
Eggchan nodded and leaned into the hand threading through his hair, a soft purr rumbling from his chest.
He glanced around at the other kids looking at him, taking in their mixed reactions to his presence. Most were smiling, though one was simply staring and another was frowning. He tucked his head-wings up to cover most of his face and hide his embarrassed flush, leaving only a single of his many eyes to peek out at everyone.
A giggle broke the silence that had fallen, followed by a snicker and a quiet "stop" from one of the children across the table.
A voidling child with a rainbow bandana and big, fluffy curls was whispering to a demon boy with a matching red bandana and straight, black hair; the demon child shushing them and giggling back. The demon had a heart monitor on a stand next to him which accelerated as he laughed, the quiet beeping growing slightly louder in the otherwise quiet room.
"My name is Spoke!" The voidling called out, waving at Egg enthusiastically. "I'm not actually sick or hurt anymore, but Mom is my biomalogical dad so I still live here!"
"And I'm Mapicc, Spoke's best friend." The demon smiled and leaned on an arm. "Sometimes I got into organ failure for no reason and the doctors don't know what's wrong with me so I have to be watched all the time. My condition got reeeally expensive so my parents had to give me up, but Minute is like, rich or something so he can afford to take care of me." Mapicc shoved Spoke off of their chair, snickering at the offended gasp he got and crying out in joy when he was tackled to the ground, the beeping of his heart monitor picking up.
Egg smiled at the antics, glancing around at the disappointed look on Wifies' face and the amused ones on three of the four others. The fourth boy only rested his head on his hands, muttering something to the boy next to him.
A brunet bunny cleared his throat, catching the attention of the wrestling boys and the observers; a large smile plastered to his face showing off the gap in his front two teeth and his braces.
"My name is Lomedy. I'm paralyzed from the waist down and my parents had to give me up once I became just another mouth to feed without being able to pitch in work." His smile didn't falter as he spoke, showing his indifference to the entire ordeal. One of his ears twitched slightly and he gestured towards the big-cat boy next to him. "Your turn."
"My name is FlameFrags."
He was the one who had been frowning, though it looked more like a pout now that Egg was paying attention. His ears were downturned and his eyes were covered by a red blindfold, the shiny fabric giving his scarred face a more regal appearance.
"I'm missing an arm, but I'm still the strongest one here." The tiger's pout quickly turned into a grin directed to the avian next to egg, who's feathers flared as he took a sharp inhale.
"You are not the strongest here, don't even try with that!" The cockatiel hybrid jumped to his feet, sliding his chair back as he pointed at FlameFrags. "I beat you and Wemmbu last week, or did you forget?!"
Wifies put a hand on the avian's shoulder and whispered something as he glared at the tiger, settling the boy down.
"Normally Mane would have introduced himself next, but he moved out last month." A second avian boy raised his hand as he spoke, a calm smile on his lips. Green feathers framed his face, halfway hiding the bandages covering where his eyes should be. His face was noticeably lacking the markings typical of a tropical bird, and the skin was the same shade as the rest of him as opposed to the typical pale base. His jaw was much softer than one would expect of a bird like him, his button nose appearing much cuter than the standard straight one. All these strange features gave him a rather uncanny appearance, though this quality seemed to compliment him in an odd way.
"My name is Parrot, and I lost my eyes in a pillager raid. My wings are also mildly deformed and I can't fly with them." He fluttered the appendages in question, the soft jingling of jewelry following the movement.
His wings were extremely well cared for, with each feather laid perfectly and looking expertly groomed. The jewelry adorning his head-wings made him look almost royal, the shininess of his feathers making him look straight out of a television advertisement.
The rowdy avian from before turned to face Egg head on, puffing out his chest and crest feathers as he pointed a thumb at himself.
"And I'm Theo—the real strongest one here. Don't listen to what Flame or Wemmbu try and tell you." He had a similar uncanny air to him, however this time his features were too sharp for a cockatiel. If anything, he looked more like a macaw than Parrot, while Parrot looked more like a cockatiel.
He had large scars covering the exposed skin on his left side of his body and face, and his left wing was bound close to his body with green and purple ribbons tied into neat bows. Black sunglasses rested on his nose, presumably to try and hide some of the damage to his face.
"I was blown up by my cousin when he lost control of some fireworks and now I cant use my left arm, wing, or eye. My community didn't want me to begin with, so they really just saw it as an excuse to get rid of me. But my life here is waayyy better than it was there anyways, so I don't really care!"
The room fell quiet again—save for the steady beeping of Mapicc's heart monitor—as everyone else looked at the empty seat next to Egg. Claw marks carved into the spot between where legs would sit gave the angel the impression of someone with a short fuse; clearly from quelling either impatience or anger.
Wifies adjusted his glasses and glanced at his watch, humming quietly as he shrugged.
"I guess Wemmbu decided to sleep in today; I'll go get them. Please behave you all. Egg, why don't you introduce yourself in the meantime?" The doll exited the room in no rush, his bandana flowing behind him as if affected by non-existent wind.
Eggchan looked back at the group, his feathers puffing up nervously as he realized all eyes were on him. His wings trembled slightly in anticipation and he could feel the eyes on them trying to open—trying to ward off predators who intend to hurt him.
He pulled him iv stand closer and clutched it as he took a deep breath, letting his head-wings finally fall open in a display of trust. He watched Theo's smile grow, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he nodded in acknowledgement of the act.
"My common name is Eggchan, and my body is too weak to support itself unassisted. My uhm— my father used my recent coma as an excuse to get rid of me." He covered his mouth with his lower head-wings as he spoke, avoiding the fear that tended to come with seeing the inside of his mouth.
Theo carefully grabbed one of the flight feathers on the angel's primary wing, using it to lift and outstretch the wing. His mouth fell open as he stood and took a couple steps away, standing the entire length of the table away to finally reach his full wingspan.
"These are massive! I thought you were just a dove with a few extra wings, what are you?"
Eggchan shook the wing free, letting both primaries droop and lay on the floor. He watched the shocked looks on the other kids' faces, a flush coming to his cheeks which he covered with his main head-wings.
"I'm a seraph, but I've never actually been to the aether to claim my spot so I don't have the big halo we usually have."
Lomedy cocked his head and rested his chin on his hands. He glanced at the ceiling and shrugged, raising a hand.
"If you need to claim your spot, how are you a seraph?"
Egg squeaked and wrapped himself in his wings, shaking his head.
"That's a very long story I don't wanna bug you guys with."
Spoke gasped and clapped their hands together twice. They raised a hand high above their head and waved it around, a big grin on their face.
"It's infodump time! It's infodump time! Mane used to keep us entertained by talking about things that interest him, but since he left we haven't had anybody to do it and it's been reallyyy boring when we're waiting around!"
Lomedy nodded. "It gives us something to listen to other than Wemm, Flame, or Theo arguing over who's stronger. Those arguments always end in the kiddie pool one way or another."
Eggchan hummed and sighed, looking down at his hands as he picked at his nails
"Well then," He smiled, his cheeks flushing lightly. "A common misconception is that all angels are just angels until they claim their spot, but in reality, our ranks are determined by the circumstances of our birth." He glanced around at his audience to make sure people were actually listening.
"For example; a throne is born with the birth of each avatar of a voidling and their life is as long as that avatar's own. A seraph like me, is born with the birth of an Ender Dragon. Our lives are also tied to that of our dragon's, and we will die if they do. Due to this innate connection to such an important creature, unlike other angels, we are naturally drawn to our dragon by the universe. In most cases we will become life long partners, and are typically the only living beings able to speak to the dragon as an equal."
Theo's mouth fell open and he grabbed the angel's arms, being careful not to bump his iv as he forced Egg to look at him.
"Are you telling us that you're going to marry the Ender dragon?!"
Egg felt his face light up gold and he pulled away, hiding himself in his wings.
"No! No no, that's really rare!" He felt the eyes on his primary wings open for a moment, startled awake by the sudden adrenaline rush. He shook his wings and composed himself, unfurling and dropping his wings—except his lower head-wings, he refuses to speak without them covering his mouth.
"We're typically just best friends, sometimes even closer to siblings given our matching birthdays. In fact, it's more common for our dragon to kill us and steal our life force than for us to marry."
Mapicc shuddered and nodded, lifting his hair to scratch a black, broken heart tattoo on his neck.
"Life theft is nasty business... My dad worked in handling angel killers and told me about it."
Eggchan furrowed his brows and glanced at the entrance.
"That's... a really heavy subject to talk about with a kid."
The demon nodded and grabbed Spoke's hand, fiddling with one of their rings. "Oh yeah, definitely."
The angel glanced at Parrot's, Theo's, then his own wings. The difference in preening quality made him look disgusting, with stray feathers scattered throughout and visible debris, compared to their shiny feathers and fancy decorations.
"Just ask Theo to preen you instead of eye fucking his wings." A sudden voice in his auditory receptor made Eggchan scream, jerking away and bumping into the cockatiel in question.
A kid around his age was sat in the previously unoccupied seat next to him, a smug grin on their face. Their dark purple hair was tied into a simply ponytail with fluffy bangs shaped to appear similar to feathers.
Egg wheezed as he felt coughs begin bubbling up through his chest, a hand reaching up to grasp at his chest as he fought for air. Wifies appeared and pulled him to face him, patting his back and saying something.
Static filled the angel's mind as panic took him over, his eyes locking onto his 'assailant's sharp teeth and clawed hands. All he could do was try and reason with himself as prey-brain took over; and the next thing he knew he was ripping his iv from his arm and bolting, ignoring the shouting and cries of his name.
He needs to get in the sky, and fast.