Chapter Text
In this world, everything revolved around money.
Money bought food, shelter, education, healthcare, safety, and even a little respect. Without it, survival itself become a privilege rather than a right. Power came next, because money alone could disappear overnight─but handling it back you.
There were countless families living below the poverty line, struggling every single day just to make it to tommorow.
Crime rates had climbed even higher compared to the previous year. Robberies gang violence, illegal trafficking, and disappearances had become so common that most people barely reached anymore.
Corruption had seeped into every corner of society, laws favored those who could afford them, and justice was little more than an expensive luxury.
The rich continued to grow richer, while the poor continued to sink deeper into poverty. That was simply how the world worked.
If you were born without money, then intelligence was your only remaining chance. Study hard, get perfect grades, earn a scholarship and then enter an elite university.
After that, find a respectable job and climb your way out of poverty.
People repeated those words so often that they almost sounded comforting.
Almost.
But what if even your grades weren't good enough?
What if the only ladder people told you to climb, had already begun to crumble beneath your feet?
...
Flamefrags quietly walked home from middle school, his backpack hanging loosely over one shoulder while one hand tightly clutched a single sheet of paper.
His test paper.
The afternoon sun felt unusually warm against his skinxyet his hands remained cold.
His thoughts were a complete mess.
This was the third time he had received a poor score on one of his daily quizzes. Logically, he knew it wasn't the end of the world. Daily quizzes usually served as bonus points to support students semester grades.
One bad score, perhaps even two.. Wouldn't ruin everything.
But this, wasn't just about school. It was about Parrot. His older brother.
Flamefrags lowered his eyes to the crumpled paper in his hand. He could already picture his older brother's expression.. Not anger or shouting, but also.. That somehow made it even worse.
Parrot would simply look disappointed.
Flamefrags let out a long exhausted sigh, as he continued walking along the sidewalk. His mind rafer through dozens of excuses and even more ridiculous plans.
Maybe he could hide the paper, or throw it away. Or maybe he could tell the teacher hadn't handed the quizzes back yet.
Wait..
No.
None of those would work.
His home room teacher always updated the parents group chat whenever the class finished a quiz. Even if Parrot rarely had time to check his phone because of work, he always found out eventually.
He always did.
Flamefrags absentmindedly kept walking, until he unknowingly passed someone sitting on a wooden bench beneath the shade of a tree.
The man's tiger tail lazily swayed behind him before suddenly stopping.
"Yo, Flame!"
Flamefrags ears twitched instinctively. He stopped walking and turned around.
"Mane?" He finally said.
The person who wad sitting on the bench was Manepear, his cousin's from his late father's side.
Although most of his father's relatives had gradually distanced themselves from their family after his father passed away, Manepear had never completely abandoned them.
He still visited every now and then, occasionally bringing groceries, helping fix broken furniture, or simply checking whether the children were doing alright.
He was one of the few relatives who still treated them like family.
Manepear smiled before scooting over slightly and patting the empty space beside him, "come sit."
Without saying another word, Flamefrags slowly walked over and sat beside his older cousin, who was five years older than him.
For a brief moment, neither of them Spoke.
Manepear's gaze eventually drifted toward the paper that still clutched tightly in Flamefrags trembling hand.
His eyes lingered there for only a second.
"Another bad grade?"
It wasn't really a question, it was an observation.
Flamefrags looked down at the paper again before giving a small nod.
"Yeah.." His voice come out barely above a whisper, his fingers unconsciously tightened around the page until it becomes slightly wrinkled.
Silence settled between them once more.
The demon hybrid and the tiger hybrid both knee exactly what would happen once Flamefrags returned home, especially with that grades.
Neither of them needed to say it aloud.
"Well," Manepear finally broke the silence, rubbing the back of his neck. "At least you tried."
Those words were supposed to be comforting. They should have been enough. But somehow.. Both of them m ew they weren't.
Trying wasn't always enough.
Not when expectation were higher than effort, not even when the person waiting at home was Parrot.
FFlamefrags slowly lowered his head, staring silently at his shoes. And Manepear noticed that immediately.
With a quiet sigh, he reached over and gently patted the younger boy's shoulder.
"Hey.." He said softly. "When you get back home, clean the house before Parrot comes back from work. Just... Don't make him upset, yea?"
Flamefrags remained silent.
"And apologize first," Manepear continued. "Even if he hasn't said anything yet."
Another gentle pat landed on Flamefrags shoulder.
"Your brother works really hard for you guys. He takes care of everything by himself."
That's true. Parrot could just leave them, or maybe taking care of himself. But no, he choose to taking care the rest of his siblings that still with him.
Manepear look at that boy, his voice remained calm. "So.. Try to understand him, okay?"
Manepear offered the younger boy a small smile, gently rubbing his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him.
"Just listen to him."
Flamefrags simply stared at the wrinkled test paper resting in his hands. Before let out a long sigh.
"Okay.." He whispered. He wasn't sure whether he truly believed those words tho, but he nodded anyway.
. . .
Flamefrags eventually continued the walk home.
His conversation with Manepear lingered in the back of his mind with every step he took. The older hybrid hadn't really comforted him. If anything, he'd only reminded Flamefrags of what was waiting for him once he got home.
That's why he needed to prepare himself.
The neighborhood slowly grew quieter as the afternoon faded into evening. The orange glow of the setting sun had already begun disappearing behind rows of old buildings, leaving long shadows stretching across the cracked pavement.
After several more minutes of walking, Flamefrags finally spotted their house.
It wasn't large.
Calling it 'small' would probably be more accurate.
The old house stood squeezed between two other aging homes, it's faded exterior looking almost forgotten by time. The walls were weathered too.
The paint had long since begun to peel away, while the tiny front yard contained little more than a few overgrown weeds pushing through broken concrete.
And as the daylight slowly disappeared too, the house looked even more gloomier than when it was on daylight.
Flamefrags instinctively reached into his hand and looked down at the paper once more. His chest tightened, looking at the 50 percent scores. Without another thought, he folded the paper neatly before slipping it deep inside his school bag, making sure it wouldn't be the first thing Parrot noticed.
Because, by this hour.. His brother was probably already home now.
Flamefrags quietly opened the rusty front gate before stepping into the yard. His footsteps slowed as he reached the front door, then his fingers wrapped around the doorknob.
Click─
It's unlocked.
"..."
He remained standing there for a few seconds. Letting a quiet breath escaped his lips before he finally pushed the door open.
"I'm home."
His voice was barely above a whisper, it's careful.. Even almost sound like hesitate.
The walls of their house were incredibly thin, even the softest voice could travel from the first floor all the way up to the attic.
A moment later, he heard movement coming from the kitchen. It's was Parrot's voice.
It was loud enough for Flamefrags to make out every word, he was talking with a relative. He can feel the frustration hidden beneath it tho.
Well, at least he had been right. Parrot had already returned from work.
Flamefrags quietly slipped off his shoes and place them nearly on the rack beside Parrot's worn-out pair. He always made sure they were lined up properly.. It was a small habit, but one that Parrot appreciated.
".."
Lately, relatives from their mother's side of the family had begun trying to contact them again. After basically ignoring their lives for nearly three years since their mother left them.
Parrot rejected every single attempt. Every phone calls were blocked almost immediately before anyone could answer, even messages were deleted without being read first.
Whenever someone came to the house, Parrot never allowed them inside.
Once, one of them was their cousin, Grian.
Flamefrags remembered that day clearly.
Grian had stood politely outside their front door, carrying a small paper bag in one hand. Parrot had simply looked at him for a brief moment, before slammed the front door shut right in his face.
He haven't even been given the chance to explain why he had come. The sound from the slam door had echoed throughout the entire house.
Flamefrags never understood why Parrot refused to let anyone from their mother's family near them.
Perhaps there was a reason.
Perhaps there wasn't.
Either way.. Flamefrags had stopped asking a long time ago. Because Parrot always had his reasons, at least.. That was what he always said.
Never questioning someone who raised you, isn't that sounds familiar to you?
Quietly, Flamefrags walked toward his bedroom. The hallway was dim, almost swallowed by the whole darkness.
Their house rarely had many lights turned on. Parrot insisted they needed to save as much electricity as possible, just like they had to save water, food, and nearly every other expense they could think of.
Of course, as the result.. The house always felt dark.
Quiet too.
The air inside carried a faint dampness that never seemed to disappear, making every room feel smaller than it actually was.
Still, Parrot often reminded them that they were fortune.
"There are people who don't even have a roof over their heads." He said while smiling sweetly at their faces.
"There are families who don't know where their next meal is coming from." The words that come from his mouth after dinner.
" At least we still have food on our plates, and a clean water." its what he said after we do the dishes.
Flamefrags knew those words by heart. He had heard them so many times that they no longer sounded like comfort.
They simply sounded.. Normal.
Just as Flamefrags placed one foot on the staircase, a familiar voice called out from the kitchen.
"Flame? You're home already?"
He froze for a brief moment.
It was Parrot.
The phone call from earlier had apparently ended. Judging from the silence that followed, Flamefrags could only assume Parrot had done what he always did whenever Parryhad done what he always did whenever someone from their mother's side of the family tried to contact them.
He had blocked the number, again.
A moment later, Parrot stepped out of the kitchen, wiping his damp hands on a fish towel. His long green-blue hair had been loosely tied back, despite there is a few strands falling across his face after what was likely another exhausting shift at work.
Even so, he still manage to looked composed.
His blue eyes now landed on Flamefrags, they stayed there for a few quiet seconds.. Before then he let put a small sigh.
"Put your bag away first." he said calmly. "Then go pick up your brothers."
His tone remained gentle, almost casual.
"Make sure you guys don't running into anyone from our mother's family."
That was all, he didn't explain any further.
He simply turned around and walked back into the kitchen, where the quiet sounds of cooking immediately resumed. The rhythmic clinking of a spatula against a frying pan.
Flamefrags stood there for another moment, before nodding.
"Okay brother."
He quietly climbed the stairs before entering the bedroom he shared with Wemmbu and Spoke.
The room wasn't spacious. Three beds had been squeezed inside with barely enough room to walk between them, while a single worn desk sat against the wall, cluttered with schoolbooks, old notebooks, and a few dull pencils.
Flamefrags carefully placed his school bag on the desk. His fingers briefly brushed against the folded paper hidden inside. For a split second, he considered taking it out.
But he quietly closed the bag again, maybe.. Not now.
Without even changing out of his school uniform, he left the room once more. He left slipped on his sandals near the front door before heading back outside.
He already had a pretty good idea where his younger siblings would be.
Spoke mostly spent his afternoons at the same small park near the river, playing with his friend, Mapicc, until sunset.
While Wemmbu in other hand, preferred sitting beneath the old tree nearby, chatting with Eggchan whenever the two of them had free time.
Flamefrags picked up his pace, he needed to be hurry.
Because Parrot disliked waiting.
...
It didn't take long before the neighborhood park came into view. Just as expected, Spoke was happily jumping rope with Mapicc, laughing without a care in the world.
Wemmbu however.. Was sitting alone beneath the large tree , it's seem today he wasn't with Eggchan.
"Wem! Spoke!" Flamefrags Called, he also raising his voice just enough for the two of them to hear. "Come on! We have to go home! Brother's already looking for us!"
Both children immediately turned toward him. Spoke frowned, clearly disappointed that his playtime had been cut short.
"Aww..." Spoke said, ( his face look like this ":'c")
Still, he didn't complain tho. He simply turned back toward Mapicc, waved goodbye, and promised they could play again another day before walk to him over.
Wemmbu slowly pushed himself to his feet and stretched lazily before approaching Flamefrags.
"Let's go," Flamefrags said quietly once both of them had reached him. "We should get back before Brother gets upset."
Neither of them argued. Wemmbu reached down and took Spoke's hand before the three siblings began walking home together.
The journey back was unusually quiet. No one spoke. Even Spoke, who was normally the chattiest among them, remained silent.
The only sounds accompanying them were the evening breeze and the steady rhythm of their footsteps against the pavement.
...
By the time they arrived home, the sky had already begun to darken. They slipped off their sandals at the entrance before stepping inside.
The first thing they noticed was the smell, freshly fried eggs. Where they go eggs? Simple, it's from Theo of course, Parrot's bestfriend.
Theo had stopped by the previous day and left them a carton of eggs before heading home. Without little acts of kindness like that, putting dinner on the table would've been much harder for Parrot.
The kitchen light was the only one turned on in the entire house, between bathroom of course.
Parrot stood by the dining table, placing three plates of steaming rice each topped with a fried egg.
As he finished setting the last plate down, he turned around upon hearing the front door close. He then give a gentle smile spread across his face.
"Ah, so you're finally home huh?" His voice carried the same warmth it always did, his eyes swept over the three of them before he let out a quiet chuckle.
"You must've been having so much fun."
There was another brief pause.
"You even didn't wait for your big brother at home."
The smile on his face softened, his shoulders drooped ever so slightly as though he were genuinely hurt.
"I was.. Looking forward to eating with all of you.."
He laughed quietly to himself before shaking his head, then smile again. "It's alright."
The way his smile returned was .. Something unreadable beneath it.
"You three go ahead and eat, I'll have mine later after work."
With that, Parrot quietly walked past them and leaving the three siblings standing motionless in the doorway. No one dare to said anything, but they immediately go to the table to eating.. Didn't want to refuse or do anything that make their older brother more sad.
After dinner, Parrot disappeared into the bathroom for a quick shower before getting ready for his second job of the day. His night shift was at neighborhood laundry shop.
By the time he stepped back into his room, the faint scent of soap still lingered around him. He changed into another uniform before standing in front of the old mirror hanging on the wall.
Slowly, he gathered his long green hair into a neat bun. A few loose strands framed his race, he also studied his own reflection for a brief moment before reaching for a small pouch resting beside the mirror.
With practiced movements, he applied a light layer of makeup across his face.. Enough to hide the pale complexion and the dark circles beneath his eyes after another exhausting day.
Nothing extravagant, just enough to make himself look alive.
After all.. There nothing wrong with wanting to look beautiful, not even when his job was basically washing another people's clothes.
After satisfied, Parrot grabbed his bag before stepping out of his room.
The three younger siblings were still in the kitchen, quietly washing the dishes together. The only sounds filling the house were running water and the occasional clink of ceramic plates.
Parrot stopped for only a second, his gaze lingered on them.
"..."
Without saying another word, he walked past the kitchen and put on his shoes before left the house.
The sound of the front door locking echoed throughout the house, he had locked it from the outside too. Just like he always did whenever he went to work at night.
...
Once the sound of Parrot's footsteps had completely disappeared, the house became unusually quiet. Eventually, Flamefrags, Wemmbu, and Spoke retreated to the bedroom they shared.
The room wasn't particularly comfortable, but it had long since become the only place the three of them could truly call their own.
Wemmbu curled up near the window with the book Eggchan had lent him earlier that week, completely absorbed in its pages.
Meanwhile, Spoke lay sprawled across the floor, surrounded by scattered crayons and sheets of paper as he happily continued drawing whatever came to mind.
Flamefrags, however, couldn't bring himself to relax.. He sat silently at the study desk with his homework open in front of him.
His pencil rested between his fingers.
The page remained almost blank, he haven't answered anything. The words blurred together no matter how hard he tried to focus.
His thoughts kept drifting back to the folded quiz paper hidden inside his school bag.
"..."
He still hadn't figured out what to do.
Wemmbu eventually looked up from his book. His eyes lingered on his older brother for a few moments before he finally spoke.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
Flamefrags blinked, startled by the sudden question. For a brief moment, it looked as though he might say something.
Instead, he forced a small smile.
"Nothing, i'm fine." Wemmbu continued staring at him for another second. "Okay..."
He didn't press any further, Wemmbu simply shrugged before returning to his book, accepting the answer even if he didn't entirely believe it.
Silence settled over the room once again.
Flamefrags lowered his eyes toward the unfinished homework in front of him.
After several long minutes...
Flamefrags quietly closed the notebook, he hadn't written a single answer. Without another word, he stood up and climbed into bed. He turning onto his side as he faced the wall now.
His body remained tense beneath the blanket, sleep refusing to come no matter how tightly he shut his eyes.
He wasn't afraid.
At least... That was what he kept telling himself.
He was simply waiting, waiting for the moment he would finally have to tell Parrot the truth.
Eventually, exhaustion won. His breathing gradually slowed as sleep finally claimed him.
For now... He could only hope that Parrot wouldn't discover the truth before he was ready to tell him himself.
Parrot worked from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. He was finally free from his job as an employee at the laundry shop.
Parrot greeted a few customers, helped them with their laundry, and handed them their ironed clothes.
After finishing work, Parrot walked home. It was a chilly night.
As time passed, he finally arrived home. The moment he opened the door, he noticed how quiet the house was.
A smile spread across his face, knowing that his younger siblings must be asleep by now. And that was good.
Parrot took off his shoes, closed the door, and made sure to lock it before heading upstairs to his three younger siblings’ room.
He opened the door slightly and peeked inside.
They were truly asleep—good.
His eyes lingered on Flamefrags for a moment, noticing his younger brother’s body, which looked tense even while asleep.
Parrot knew full well that Flamefrags was hiding something. He walked inside the room as he own it, before take Flamefrags school bag and walking toward the door now.
“Really smart of you, i thought i taught you better with this,” Parrot smiled at Flamefrags before finally closing the door.