Chapter Text
It started off as a headache. A stupid, inconspicuous headache.
Wemmbu was exhausted after fighting off Flame yet again, trying desperately to protect the vault he swore to guard for Zam. The colony was in shambles and he hurt in every way possible from trying to fight off the skilled fighters. He didn't even realize that the headache was abnormal, he just thought he hit his head in the fight without realizing it. Egg even had him on concussion watch for a full day. When it didn't go away with the rest of his injuries, the pain only growing as two small bumps started to form on his forehead, the two of them finally connected the dots.
Wemmbu always knew he wasn’t human. His skin was literally purple for crying out loud and had fangs, claws and a tail. He may not know his parents, but his heritage was plenty obvious. He and everyone around him just kind of agreed that he was an End Demon, a being born from the void with no parents or family. Just a thing. A creation. Sure his tail was a little thick for a demon tail, sure his teeth were a little too sharp, but creatures from the End were a mystery, he was probably just some odd breed. Growing horns was something he expected alongside everyone around him. It really didn't matter that he was growing them so late - like unnaturally late - as some demons were just late bloomers.
As much as he expected the process, no one really prepares you for the excruciating pain that is growing horns. Egg read as many books as he could find on the process to make it easier for Wemmbu, but in the end most of them could be summed up to just letting them grow out while tiptoeing around the demon until it was over, and that was exactly what Egg did. He helped when he could with cool cloths and a product that was supposed to help numb the area - when in reality it did absolutely nothing - but other than that he couldn't really do much. As the horns grew, Wemmbu’s headache grew with it until it became a splitting migraine. Every little noise his oversensitive ears picked up sent a spike of pain through his head and any light was just too much for him.
He got passing glances from the people living in their civilization, discomfort clear on their faces as the welts on his forehead grew day by day. They were discoloured and slowly starting to break the skin, making the surrounding area inflamed. It wasn't pretty, and definitely looked a lot bigger than the pictures Egg saw in his books, but it was all part of the process. By Notch did it hurt though.
The pain made him irritable to the point he was lashing out at people for no apparent reason. He even lashed out at Egg for walking too loudly in his general area! It got to a point where he just locked himself in his hastily rebuilt room and laid down with absolutely zero light for a week straight while his horns finished growing in. According to Egg, Flame even dropped by to attack again while he was holed up in his room but left upon discovering that Wemmbu was growing out his horns. Apparently he decided it would be dishonourable to attack while their main line of defense was incapacitated as a result of his biology. Zam also somehow caught wind of this and tried to visit, but apparently an angry Wemmbu growling at him from the darkness when he tried to enter his room was enough to get the king to back off. Wemmbu didn't remember this, but Egg assured him it happened from the other side of the door.
Finally though, Wemmbu’s horns were done growing in. Two months after his headache first began, he finally woke up to life being bearable again. The migraine was subsiding and while the area still hurt, his head was actually clear for once. He was sore, extremely tired, and incredibly itchy, but surely those were just side effects from growing horns for two months. It would go away soon enough and he would be back to his normal self. At the very least he could leave his room now without experiencing the urge to murder anything that moved just for existing.
He hauled himself out of the crappy oak bed he crafted for himself, dragging the purple sheets with him like a cape as he shuffled out of his room and down the stairs into the meeting room where Egg was already sitting at the large meeting table, sorting through papers of what the citizens paid as tax. The floating eyeball that was his head turned up to face Wemmbu when he finally noticed Wemmbu’s presence, placing the papers down on the table and watching as Wemmbu practically collapsed into the seat beside him with a dramatic huff.
“Wassup bro?” Egg tried to greet him and was met with a drawn out groan from Wemmbu who was now face down on the table. Everything hurt and itched and despite the fact he wasn't about to throw up every time the lights were a little too bright, he still wasn't too keen about normal life just yet. Egg thankfully understood this because he didn't try to speak again, waiting until Wemmbu was ready to start the conversation. After what felt like ages just sitting there in silence, Wemmbu finally gathered the strength to start the conversation, resting with his chin on the table instead of his face so he could actually speak.
“Oh my god… Dude, I am so glad I never have to do that again.” Praise be whatever being decided that growing out horns was a one-time experience and he would never have to experience the pain of something literally growing out of his skin again. It had been worse than popping a totem and that was saying something. At least popping a totem was brief, one moment of excruciating pain before you healed up again. Growing horns had been unavoidable and took a painfully long time with no way to make it quicker, genuinely awful.
Wemmbu’s voice was scratchy from lack of use considering he had barely spoken throughout the entire week he was hiding in his room. Although, it really shouldn't be as bad as it was. Every time he spoke, it felt like the inside of his throat was on fire with how badly it hurt. He probably just needed some water, but the effect was horrendous. He did not sound intimidating at all considering his voice sounded like it was about to just give out on him if he spoke a little too loud.
“I getchu bro, I got a cut on my eyeball once and it like- genuinely, it took forever to heal. Probably my worst injury to date, so I get whatchu mean.” On one hand, Egg getting a cut on his eyeball was completely different to Wemmbu growing out horns, but it did actually make him feel better knowing that Egg was trying to sympathize with him even if he didn't understand. Egg was just a good friend like that, Wemmbu genuinely got so lucky with him. Wemmbu glanced over at Egg to find him staring intently at his horns, papers completely abandoned in front of him. Wemmbu hadn't actually had a good chance to look at his horns yet, considering he stumbled here straight from bed, but the way Egg was looking at them made him concerned. Was there something wrong with his horns?
“Dude… your horns are like, genuinely massive. I read demon horns only grow out to like three inches but yours have gotta be at least five.” How Egg remembered that off the top of his head, Wemmbu had no idea. Egg had to have been super worried to memorize all these facts about demon horns, but why would his horns be almost twice as big as normal demon horns? Maybe he was just better. More impressive. Pride bubbled in his gut at the idea of having more impressive horns, knowing he would stand out in a crowd and intimidate everyone with how great he was. Intimate them with the fact he was literally biologically stronger.
“Really? Dude, no wonder they hurt so much growing in. Do I at least look tuff?” Wemmbu reached up to gently prod at his new features, gingerly touching them and marveling at how long they really were, the keratin curving backward over his head. They were still a little sensitive, unsurprisingly, but they were sturdy and very sharp, which he discovered once he reached the end and pricked himself on the tip. It was something he would have to get used to for sure, considering it made him a few inches taller. He was already decently tall, he would probably have to duck to get through the average doorframe now. He could already tell that was going to lead to some embarrassing situations eventually.
“Of course dude. Flame’s gonna turn and run the next time he sees you, mark my words.” Egg agreed cheerfully, nodding along to his words like he didn't say the most impossible thing ever. Flame running? The most prideful demon they had ever met turning tails at a pair of horns? Pretty large horns sure, but still just some horns. Egg was more likely to become good at PVP than for Flame to run. Never in a million years could Wemmbu see Flame running from a fight, no matter how one-sided it was.
“Okay, I don't know about that but- y’know what? Sure bro. I’ll hold you to that. Flame better run next time he tries to break into the vault or I’m sliming you out.” Of course, Wemmbu did not plan to slime Egg out for inevitably being wrong about Flame running, but it was absolutely hilarious seeing Eggchan react to the joke. His pupil shrunk in surprise and he jumped out of his chair to hide behind it, putting the crappy piece of wooden furniture between the two of them like it would save him. Wemmbu couldn't control the grin of amusement that broke out on his face, tail lightly thumping against the chair leg beneath him.
“Yo, chill! I didn't do nothing!” Egg’s voice was more high-pitched than normal as he protested and Wemmbu delved into a laughing fit that filled the entire house with how loud it was. Thankfully no one else lived in their house otherwise Wemmbu would have woken them up with how uncontrollably loud he was. There had originally been a plan for Manepear and Merffinn to stay in a spare room but it was very quickly vetoed and they ended up just staying in a civilian house instead. Speaking off, he hasn't seen those two in a while. They basically vanished once he started getting irritable and he had yet to see them since. Wemmbu’s laughter eventually slowed into small giggles before tapering out and Eggchan sat back down in his seat, although he didn't pick up the papers in front of him again.
“I’m just jokin’...” He drawled lightly, unconsciously scratching at the skin on his arm in an attempt to relieve the itch that was bothering him. He was probably just dirty. He had been in his room for a while just laying in his bed doing nothing, it made sense that he needed to clean up. Maybe he should go do that… He stayed seated for a few more seconds before the need to relieve the itch won over the exhaustion. He wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders and begrudgingly lifted himself out of his chair, shuffling towards the bathroom. “Dude, I genuinely feel like- awful. I’m gonna go heat the bath and clean off.” He explained when Eggchan looked up at him inquisitively, which seemed to satisfy the man’s curiosity because he turned back to the papers in front of him once Wemmbu left the room.
The house felt uncomfortably silent, which was weird because it was always this quiet. He could hear Egg breathing in the other room, the shuffling of paper and the scratching of a quill being the only other noises in the empty house. This was how it should be, yet it put him on edge for no apparent reason. His tail thumped against the ground behind him irritably and it helped a little bit, the vibrations gave him the illusion of more action in the house, but it was still too quiet. Too little.
He made it to the washroom and twisted the oak doorhandle, shoving his way into the room using his shoulder. The harsh shove sent the door swinging back, it slammed into the wall and made a loud bang before slowly swinging back towards the doorframe, almost catching Wemmbu’s tail between the two surfaces. Wemmbu flicked his tail out of the gap and used the rebound to close the door behind him, listening to it click as it slid back into place. He didn’t bother locking the door though, he wasn’t worried in the slightest about Eggchan walking in. He crouched down beside the tub and lit the campfire underneath using a flint n’ steel that definitely needed replacing soon, watching the flames lick at the underside of the bath. He shook his head to clear it and grabbed the water buckets, filling the tub and swirling the water around a few times so the hot water distributed evenly throughout the bath.
He reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt with expertise, the small buttons slipping out of their loops under his fingers until the very last one was undone. He shrugged the shirt off of his shoulders and tossed it to the floor, kicking it into a corner so it wouldn’t get in the way. He returned to the bath to swirl the water again, not wanting the bottom to turn scalding while the top was still cold, but his eye caught onto something in the mirror over the sink. His head snapped up to see clearly, grip tightening when he confirmed what he had seen. His back was a painting of mottled bruises, dark purples and yellows that ran all the way from his neck to the hem of his pants.
“Uh-” He stepped closer to the mirror and strained his neck to see the skin clearer, using one hand to tenderly press on the edge of the bruising. He winced when the pressure sent a spark of pain up his back, forcing a small hiss of pain from his lips. He knew his back had been getting sore, but he had assumed it was just because he had been laying in bed for so long. Was this an extreme version of a bed rash or something? He thought rashes were supposed to be… well, rashes. Not bruises.
“Egg? Bro, you need to see this.” He yelled, retracting his hand and taking a small step back from the mirror. He couldn't figure out what had happened for the life of him. The bruise wasn't there after his fight with Flame and he hadn't hit his back hard enough between now and then to warrant this big of an injury. It was like it just appeared overnight, a giant stain across his skin with no apparent cause. If Egg didn't know why it was there, he would have to put the colony on hold to figure out why this was happening, Zam be damned.
There was shuffling as Egg stood up and followed Wemmbu's voice to the bathroom, cracking the door open and peeking his head in cautiously. The second Egg saw his back, he stiffened and his pupil dilated in surprise and concern, shoving the door fully open and joining Wemmbu in front of the mirror. Egg’s hands hovered a few inches away from his back, like he didn’t know what to do with the giant bruise that had bloomed across his best friend’s skin.
“Bro what happened?” Egg demanded, holding Wemmbu’s forearm instead so that he didn’t irritate the bruising. Wemmbu didn’t shove him off despite the urge to create distance between the two, Egg was one of the few people that Wemmbu trusted to be so close to him, it didn’t matter if he was hurt. Egg bandages his wounds all the time, looking at a mysterious bruise was nothing compared to some of the injuries Egg has had to deal with.
“I genuinely have no clue, it just started bruising for literally no reason.” Wemmbu complained (he didn’t whine, he wasn’t a child), craning his neck to look at his back again. It looked worse from above, a canvas of colours that his skin shouldn't be. He might be crazy, but it looked swollen too, and it wasn't as defined as he was used to seeing. His shoulder blades were practically gone and he couldn't see the outlines of his spine or ribs. If he had to defend the vault like this he was actually fried, Flame would probably be able to take him down in a few well timed hits.
“Let me see. Sit down over here.” Egg instructed, leading Wemmbu over to the shower stool and sat him down so Egg could feel along his back and figure out what was going on. Wemmbu shivered at the feeling of Egg’s cold hands brushing against his back, wincing whenever Egg would press down to feel the skin under his hands. It hurt like hell in certain spots but he didn't tell Egg off because if he could figure out what was happening, Wemmbu wouldn't have to worry about potentially dying to some unknown affliction.
“Bro what the heck? I thought you were a demon.” Egg ran his hands down Wemmbu's spine and observed the lack of a reaction, switching to hovering over his shoulder blades and lightly pressing down on them. The reaction was immediate, Wemmbu flinched away from the sensation and grit his teeth under the light pressure, biting his tongue so he didn’t hiss in pain.
“I am? I mean, I'm like- pretty sure I am. Are you trying to tell me I’m not?” Wemmbu turned his head to look at Egg, catching a glance at his appearance. His pupil was dilated like crazy from surprise and he had removed his gloves to better feel the extensive damage to his friend's back. Egg glanced up at him when Wemmbu's body followed his head and twisted slightly under Egg's touch. Egg reached up and used his hands to turn Wemmbu’s head forward once more so he could keep working, his touch gentle but firm.
“Bro, it looks like you're growing wings.” Egg’s voice does not waiver despite the absurdity of what he just said, hands resting against Wemmbu’s back carefully. In fact, he almost sounded excited. There was a tilt to Egg's voice that usually indicated excitement or amusement, which beside the dilation of his pupil was the only way Wemmbu could discern his emotions.
“Huh? No- wait, what do you mean I'm growing wings?” His voice raised in pitch in response to his surprise, his voice almost completely giving out in him. He winced at the strain and brought his voice back down to a reasonable level, ignoring the concerned flinch from Egg. He tried to turn his head back to see again, but he barely moved before Egg was forcing his head forward once more, one hand on either side of his face until he gave up.
“Bro, I'm telling you these are wings. They've got what are most likely fluid sacs around them and I can feel the bones.” Egg's hands retreated and he could feel them lightly pressing against his back, the skin giving easily under Egg's fingers like the space beneath it was filled with water. Upon reaching a certain part of his back, Egg's fingers met resistance against what certainly felt like a bone. It felt exactly like someone pressing against a bone, Wemmbu just couldn't identify which bone it was. The evidence was pretty damning.
“Bro- this is insane! Demons don't grow wings!” Wemmbu laughed hoarsely, dragging a hand through his hair. His fingers almost instantly got caught in a tangle and Wemmbu resisted the urge to growl in frustration, removing his hand and letting it fall into his lap. His hand unconsciously found its way to his arm instead, scratching roughly at the demanding itch covering most of his body. Arms, torso, legs, face- almost nowhere was safe from the uncomfortable feeling. Egg slapped his hand away when he caught sight of blood, the blackish purple liquid dripping down Wemmbu's arm and coating the keratin of his claws.
“Then you're not a demon because these are obviously wings.” He would argue with Egg that he could be a hybrid, but the two of them had already had this conversation before. Apparently, a demon's unnatural skin colour was recessive - whatever that meant. Egg had dumbed it down to the fact that if he were a hybrid, he wouldn't have his purple skin because whatever he was mixed with would show instead. His parents couldn't be hybrids either because the End hadn't been open long enough for there to be hybrids until his and Egg's generation, so Wemmbu had to be pureblooded. Wemmbu hadn't really cared enough to listen to Egg's spiel beyond that.
“If I'm not a demon what am I? I'm not Enderian or a Voidling, and there's not really any other End creatures.” Wemmbu challenged, crossing his arms. Egg gave him a warning tsk when his claws started to dig into his arm and Wemmbu huffed. His tail flicked behind him in irritation and smacked Egg in the leg, piercing him with multiple little spikes that ran up the length of Wemmbu’s tail (when had those gotten there?). Eggchan didn't react, likely so focused on Wemmbu's back that he didn’t even notice.
Egg was always inconsistent with injuries like that. If he noticed, the smallest of pains made him flinch away and eat a golden apple, but if he was distracted with something he deemed important, he wouldn't notice even if he got stabbed through the chest. That alone wasn't that big of a deal, but the strangest part was that when Wemmbu would discreetly check on the wound later, there would be absolutely nothing there- even if he was sure Egg hadn't eaten any golden apples or drank any potions.
“I think you're a dragon dude.” Egg said after a few moments of silence, causing Wemmbu to go stiff. He shoved Egg's hands off of him and stood up abruptly, whirling around to face Egg. His friend barely reacted to Wemmbu's sudden aggression. He likely anticipated that Wemmbu wouldn't like the suggestion and was prepared to defend himself, standing tall.
“Don’t even joke about that.” Wemmbu hissed, hands curled into fists and tail flicking violently behind him. Dragons were cool don't get him wrong, but it was also practically a death sentence to be one. Humans picked off literally every single one, hung their heads on the front of their ships and made elytras out of the membrane of their wings. Every dragon and anyone who contained even a drop of dragon blood had been hunted down decades ago. Insinuating Wemmbu might be a dragon came with the threat of a very dangerous life he did not want to deal with.
“Dude I'm being serious! Your horns and tail are bigger than normal demons and you're literally growing wings.” Egg's points were valid but that didn't mean Wemmbu wanted to hear him out. His features looked almost exactly like the depictions of dragons in books written by people who had seen them first-hand. The large, ridged horns and thick tail with spikes were textbook dragon traits, but Wemmbu still refused to believe it. Despite this, Egg continued to argue his point. “Like- I don't know what else you could be.”
“Bro, Ender Dragons are literally extinct! The last one died decades ago!” He was mentally begging Egg to come up with anything else, anything that could explain his features without the weight of being his species sole survivor. Egg, apparently, did not catch this desperation because he seemed dead set on the idea that Wemmbu was a dragon and had stopped trying to come up with another possibility.
“Dude, I'm telling you that you might've been the egg bro. No one knows where it went!” How ironic that Egg's name had egg in it but it was Wemmbu potentially being from an egg that was up for debate. The egg had gone missing the second the dragon was defeated. Stories said that an invisible player swooped in and stole it before anyone else could take it but no one actually knew for sure. All they had were a couple brief accounts from people who had been in a high stress situation and could have very possibly gotten facts mixed up.
“How would that even work? You kinda need a human to make a hybrid and last I checked dragons and humans did not get along.” Wemmbu very clearly wasn't a pure dragon, his form was humanoid and dragons weren't known for shapeshifting back when they still existed. He would have to have some sort of human ancestry and yet that was practically impossible. Dragons hated humans and humans hunted dragons, there was no world where in the midst of being hunted, a dragon would have a child with a human.
“I mean, you could still be a pure dragon with some kind of disguise.” What was that supposed to mean? A disguise? Like a potion? A potion would have worn off years ago, so it couldn't be that. If Wemmbu remembers correctly, there were enchantments on other servers that could hide or alter hybrid features, but he had yet to see anything like that on Unstable. “I think it's your tiara. It looks enchanted and you always wear it, even when you're sleeping.”
“It's not my tiara bro, see-” Wemmbu reached up to grab it, hands curling around the metal confidently. Sure, his tiara did have some sort of enchantment on it - made obvious by the pink gleam dancing across it every couple of seconds - and sure, he couldn't remember a single time he had taken it off, but there was no way it had given him a hybrid disguise. It probably just had unbreaking and mending on it or something like that.
“Bro don't take it off! It could mess with your wings, you're still growing!” Egg panicked, reaching up to stop Wemmbu from removing the tiara. Wemmbu could probably remove the tiara even with Egg pushing down on it as Egg wasn't very strong, but he relented anyway. He rolled his eyes and removed his hands from the metal, frowning when Egg took a deep breath of relief and ensured the tiara was still perfectly in place before letting his hands fall back to his sides.
“Fine! Look- I’ll wait until all my mysterious features grow in and then I'll take it off and prove to you that I'm not a dragon.” Wemmbu scoffed mockingly, applying a strong sarcastic tone to his voice while saying “mysterious features” just to get his point across. He turned his back to Egg and stalked over to the tub to check the water. He bit back a hiss when he stuck his hand in and the water at the bottom was ten times hotter than the water at the top, swirling it around a few times before putting out the fire below.
“I'm telling you, you're definitely a dragon. I don't know what else you could be.” Egg pushed, but Wemmbu was already done with the conversation. He just wanted to hop in his bath and scrub the grime and sweat off his skin after hiding in his room for a week. The itching was really starting to get on his nerves, he refused to stand there for another minute letting it drive him insane.
“Well- I guess we'll find out, won't we?” Wemmbu replied curtly, grabbing a towel from the closet and hanging it beside the tub. Egg seemed to finally get the message and took his leave, the door swinging shut and clicking into place behind him. The sound of Egg's footsteps faded down the hallway and Wemmbu sighed in relief.
He made quick work of removing the rest of his clothes and hopped into the bath, sinking into the warm water. He sat there in silence for a few minutes before reaching for the bar of soap so he could scrub the itch away, reaching for the one thing that could solve his issues. While scrubbing himself down, he discovered something he really didn't want to see, pausing and peering at his skin closer. Rows and rows of bumps covered everywhere that itched, made more apparent by the water's effects on his skin. He groaned at the realization that this was another one of his traits growing out and that the itch was not going to leave any time soon, sinking far enough into the water that he had to purse his lips together to prevent it from entering his mouth.
It seemed like all of his new traits were hitting him at once, drowning him in discomfort instead of dragging it out. At the very least he would be able to rest and let them all grow out without interruption- you know what? No. He wasn't even going to make a bit out of this. You already know that he did not get one moment of peace during this miserable period of his life.
His wings had progressed to the point where he couldn't even wear a shirt anymore, the pain of fabric against his back too overbearing to keep one on. The itch in his throat had gotten to a point where he couldn't even form words and his scales - large, tough scales the colour of obsidian - had finally broken skin and lit up in pain every time something pushed against them.
He had just been resting in bed waiting for Egg to return with his food when he heard the door to their base slam open and an angry voice echo through the halls. Flamefrags. His head shot up to track the noise but he didn't move just yet, not wanting to jostle his sore body if he didn't have to.
“Bro! I'm actually getting sick of this, where is Wemmbu? He should have grown out his horns by now! I literally even gave him a couple extra weeks!” Flame must've arrived and then gotten frustrated when Wemmbu failed to show up, storming their base to confront them. Wemmbu should get up and fight him off, that's what Zam would want him to do, but he was in no state to fight Flame right now. One hit would be enough to send him to the floor with how badly it would hurt the scales budding from his skin, coating almost his entire body save for most of his face, hands, and feet.
“Yo, what are you doing here? Wemmbu's still growing. You said you would wait till he was done.” Egg interfered, his voice tense as he tried to prevent Flame from finding Wemmbu in such a delicate state. Obviously Egg was no match for Flame, but he could still try to use his words to steer the demon hybrid away from Wemmbu's room. Unfortunately though, Flame was having absolutely none of it.
“Bro, I know he's done growing his horns. I grew them too, they do not take that long. Where is he?” Wemmbu almost forgot Flame would have gone through the process of growing horns too, which was silly. Flamefrags was a demon, of course he also grew out his horns. The issue was, that was really the only demon feature that grew after birth meaning that Wemmbu should be up and fighting again by this point. The fact he wasn't was making Flame suspicious.
“Bro- you can't bother him, you're gonna stress him out!” He could hear Flame's loud footsteps storming down the hallway followed closely by Egg's much lighter footsteps. Flame was throwing open doors, checking every room for Wemmbu's location while Egg trailed after him desperately trying to get him to leave. Wemmbu slowly slid off the bed and backed away from the door, eyes glued to the sliver of light coming from beneath it.
A shadow broke through the soft glow of the hallway light and his door slammed open, flooding the room with light that assaulted his unadjusted eyes. Egg flipped the lights off behind Flame, but not before Wemmbu caught a glimpse of the sharp grin that crossed Flame's face when he found exactly what he was looking for hiding in the shadows of the small bedroom.
Flame opened his mouth to speak but Wemmbu beat him to it, letting out a deep growl that reverberated through the room. His tail flicked behind him violently and he tried to make himself appear bigger to intimidate the intruder, but he just couldn't fully stretch his limbs no matter how hard he tried. One set was bound by something, pinning them to his back and sending a burning pain through his body when he tried to free them.
Flame's expression flickered between a couple different emotions before settling on surprise, his hand flying to grip the handle of his sword and taking a step back from the unexpected display of instinctual aggression. The space gave Egg just enough of a gap to slip into the room and run up to Wemmbu, letting the dragon (it was undeniable at this point) slot Egg in between him and the wall. Wemmbu wouldn't be able to protect Egg like this, but it soothed his instincts knowing that Flame would have to get through him to hurt Egg.
“Are you- Yo he is deep in his insticts… That's not a demon bro.” Flame took another step back, acknowledging that he was definitely intruding on a space he shouldn't be in while Wemmbu was so out of it. Flame turned to Egg briefly but his focus was still entirely on Wemmbu, unsure whether he would attack or not.
“You can't tell anyone about this.” Egg pressed, resting a hand on Wemmbu's shoulder in an attempt to soothe the aggressive growl engulfing the room. It was putting unnecessary strain on his changing vocal chords and it hurt to keep the sound from dying out, but Wemmbu refused to stop. The danger had yet to pass. There was an unwelcome presence in his room, fully dressed in netherite and aggressive. He had to protect Egg.
“I don't even know what this is!” Flame yelled, putting emphasis on “this” as he gestured at Wemmbu. The warning growl increased in volume in response to the sudden movement, the deep sound vibrating in his chest. Egg glanced between him and Flame nervously, trying to figure out how to talk his way out of the new situation he'd found himself in.
“I can explain but you gotta put your sword away and take off your armour.” Wemmbu could feel hands on his back as Egg took the chance to assess the damage caused by him straining himself. Wemmbu winced and pulled away from the sensation and Egg relented, deciding that while sore, there was no actual damage to the developing structure.
“Wha- no! No way bro, he's actually going to jump me!” Flame protested, glancing between Wemmbu and Egg with an offended expression. The difference between the two was disorienting, with Wemmbu acting borderline feral while Eggchan remained reasonable. The risks that came with taking off his armour were high, Flame was smart to be cautious. Wemmbu would absolutely take him out given the chance.
“No he won't. He won't attack you if he doesn't think you're a threat, but he probably won't let me talk to you out there so the only way you're getting answers is if he lets you in.” …Aw man. Did Egg not want him dead? He swears up and down he remembers Flame constantly attacking them but Egg was saying he wouldn't hurt Flame. Maybe he was mistaken.
“Ughhh. Fine bro, but if he jumps me I'm killing you.” Flame removed all his armour and stashed his sword in his inventory, though he did equip two totems of undying just to be safe. Wemmbu narrowed his eyes in suspicion but didn't lunge at him, creeping a little closer and ignoring the way Flame's eyes sharpened with distrust.
The silence stretched on until it reached a point of discomfort, Flame shifting from foot to foot as his eyes flicked from Wemmbu to Egg and then back to Wemmbu again. His hand twitched towards Wemmbu as though he was going to offer it out to him like a dog, but Flame thought better of it and his hand fell back to his side before the action could be completed. Wemmbu assessed Flame's body language to assure he wasn't planning to harm them and well, he wasn’t really much of a threat without his armour and sword. The low warning growl echoing through the room faded until it vanished completely, causing Flame to perk up.
“So is he-?” Flame's question was cut off by a scolding shush from Egg, which led to Flame closing is mouth with a quiet click. Wemmbu decided that - just from this conversation alone - Flame was an idiot. There was a large gap between no longer wanting to rip Flame's throat out and being okay with Flame staying in his room while he was extremely vulnerable. Yet the second he stopped growling, Flame thought he was okay. Maybe, just maybe, he was too stupid to be a threat right now. Wemmbu relented and dropped his defensive stance, stomping over to his bed and collapsing in the soft sheets. He let out a small huff and a puff of purple gas escaped his throat. Egg was quick to wave it away before it could settle.
“Finally bro… So are you going to explain? Because I'm genuinely about to kill you guys.” Flame groaned, making himself comfortable in the chair Egg dragged into the room when Wemmbu first started growing wings. Wemmbu tensed at the threat and the low growl picked up again, claws digging into the bedding as he glared at Flame.
“Dude, stop putting him on edge. I'm about to explain.” Egg sighed, sitting on the bed beside Wemmbu and using one hand to gently scratch at the base of Wemmbu's horns. That syrupy feeling creeped in and Wemmbu relaxed instantly, everything suddenly less important than the brief relief Egg's comfort brought. Flame made a choked noise when the growling cut off and a satisfied rumble replaced it, Wemmbu's eyes drooping. Egg didn't even react, he just kept talking. “Wemmbu's not a demon.”
“Well yeah I already figured that part out.” Flame scoffed, glancing back and forth between Wemmbu and Egg rapidly. He finally decided that Wemmbu's sudden compliance didn't need to be brought up or focused on, so he turned his full attention to Egg and his explanation. Wemmbu followed Flame's gaze, eyes lazily glancing up and burning into Egg. Egg wasn't looking at him, but that was okay. He was still comforting him, and Egg was busy talking right now so the fact he was even thinking of Wemmbu at all was nice. Wemmbu's tail thumped happily on the bed beside him, causing a small smile to grace Egg's lips.
“Patience bro.” Egg chided, his voice steady and lacking urgency. Egg was always so reasonable, Wemmbu was so glad he had someone like Egg looking after him while he was incapacitated like this. No one could replace Egg, the two of them were just too good of a duo. “Wemmbu’s a dragon.”
“No way. Bro, dragons are extinct! He's probably just a hybrid or something.” Flame shot up in his seat, his hands gripping the chair under him so tightly that it left grooves in the wood. His voice was heavy with doubt, but there was also a sliver of panic that peaked Wemmbu’s curiosity. Most people didn't panic like that when the possibility of a dragon still being alive came up.
“That's not possible. His skin tone is recessive.” Egg cut Flame off matter-of-factly, gently brushing a strand of wild purple hair out of Wemmbu's face with steady fingers. Wemmbu almost instinctually bit his fingers off for it, but he had the mind to stop himself just before he acted on the urge. It was just Eggchan. He wouldn’t hurt Eggchan.
“...Huh?” Flame was staring at Egg blankly, the confusion evident on his face. Wemmbu would find it funny if it weren't for the fact he had reacted the exact same way before Egg explained it to him. He still reacted like that when Egg went further than just “that gene's dominant” or “that gene's recessive”. He knew there were like two more types but he hadn't paid enough attention to actually remember them.
“When someone is born, they receive two sets of genes, one from their mother and one from their father. For example-” Egg began to ramble, his voice tinged with excitement at the prospect of sharing his knowledge with someone. Unfortunately for him, Wemmbu could already see irritation blooming across Flame's face. He really doubted that Flame was goind to let Egg ramble for a couple hours. Not even Wemmbu could sit through Egg's rambling and Egg was his best friend. Usually, Wemmbu ended up cutting him off or zoning out after a few minutes. At most he could listen to Egg talk for ten minutes before it just started going in one ear and out the other.
“Bro get to the point.” Yup, there it was. Not even a minute in and Flame was already telling him to summarize. Not surprising, but he thought Flame would last a little longer. Wemmbu glanced up at Egg and the poor dude had deflated, disappointed that he couldn't fully share his abundant knowledge.
“...Dominant genes will always show if they're present and recessive genes will only show if they're the only type of gene present. Unnatural demonic skin tones like purple are recessive, meaning he would have had to get a purple gene from both his mom and dad. He can't be a hybrid.” There was silence for a couple seconds before Flame opened his mouth to interject. Egg beat him to the punch, effectively shutting down what Flame was most likely going to say. “His parents can't be hybrids either because the End hadn't been open long enough for hybrids to be mature enough to produce children by the time he was born.”
“Holy info dump bro.” Flame said after a few moments of silence, causing Egg to bristle in offense. Wemmbu glanced between the two before following suit, baring his teeth at Flame and barely receiving more than a glance before the two of them turned back to their conversation.
“You're the one who asked!” Egg protested, scratching at the base of Wemmbu’s horns until he relaxed. The rumble echoing through the room doubled in volume and Wemmbu admittedly zoned out, too focused on the comfort provided by his best friend. Flame and Egg exchanged a few words before eventually, Wemmbu tuned back in while Egg was talking. “Dude, whatever. If you just looked at him you would see he looks like a dragon.”
“How am I supposed to do that? You literally turned off the lights!” Oh. So they were still arguing. Boo. Wemmbu didn't want Egg to be upset. If it weren't for Egg keeping him calm, he would have probably jumped Flame by now just for annoying him. Not like Flame could do much without his armour.
“Dude, just use your eyes. I have my brightness set to moody and even I can see him.” Wemmbu had no idea why Egg chose to keep his brightness on moody. It seemed like such a bad idea, you literally couldn't see a thing if there were no light sources. Despite that, Egg refused to change his lighting settings even if he was caving.
“You- whatever! Fine, he's a dragon. Can I go now?” Yes please. Wemmbu was very much in favour of Flame getting out of his room. He wanted Flame up and out as soon as possible so he could go back to resting without worrying about a stranger being so close to him. Flame wasn't entirely a stranger, but Wemmbu didn't trust him in the slightest, so his point still stood.
“Hang on, hang on. You've gotta promise you won't tell anyone about this. Like, not even your family.” Egg shook his head, sitting up when Flame pushed himself out of his chair. Wemmbu scrambled up to get between the two of them, ignoring the small push from Egg that was probably an attempt to make him lay back down. He wasn't going to lay there with Flame standing. What if Flame attacked Egg?
“Are you serious?” Flame grit his teeth, hands twitching towards his side where his sword normally was. Wemmbu's purr had long since died out, replaced by a strong growl that forced Flame to raise his hands in surrender to calm him down. Egg quickly raised from the bed and wrapped a hand around Wemmbu's arm to - unsuccessfully - remind him to be civil, his eye trained on Flame as he spoke.
“Yes bro! If word gets out that Wemmbu's a dragon he's going to be in so much danger. A lot of civilizations would pay stacks of rare items to have the last dragon on the server, and the membrane of his wings could be used to make elytras, which are a super rare and a finite resource in case you forgot.” …Oh. Right. Maybe Wemmbu should be glad that Egg was making sure his secret stayed a secret. He bristled at the idea of someone turning his wings into an elytra, the notion causing his chest to squeeze with fear. The worst part was, it was probably true. Lots of people would kill to get their hands on a dragon and Wemmbu just wasn't strong enough to defend himself if that happened. Egg continued, not giving Flame time to interject. “Plus, dragon breath is the only way to get specific tipped arrows without breeding and leveling up tens of fletchers. He's literally a walking finite resource. If you tell the wrong person and word gets out, you're actually going to be the reason the last dragon dies.”
“Tsk. Fine, I won't tell anyone. When is he gonna be fully healed and able to fight?” Wemmbu was ultimately a little annoyed but also not surprised in the slightest that all Flame cared about was when he would be able to fight again. He was lucky that Flame was even honorable to wait long enough for him to heal, as most players would take the chance to do what they wanted while he was unable to fight back.
“I'd give it another month. He's growing two new limbs, you gotta give it some time.” Egg hummed, relaxing now that war wasn't about to break out in front of him. Wemmbu processed what he said and frowned, a little confused. Egg had told him that he was probably only going to take another week or two for his wings to fully grow, but he had told Flame a month. Had Egg lied to him? Or had he lied to Flame- ohhhh. Egg had told Flame it would take longer than it actually would so they would have time to prepare for his next attack after Wemmbu recovered. His friend was so smart!
“...He seems happy.” Flame pointed out judgingly, glancing at Wemmbu’s happy expression and the wagging tail lightly bumping against Egg's leg each time it swung from side to side. Egg glanced at him and sighed, reaching up to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“He hasn't been having the best time these past couple months, he's just happy it's almost over.” Egg lied easily, expertly covering for Wemmbu's slip up. Egg always seemed to know what to say, both to Wemmbu and other people. Wemmbu swallowed back the prideful rumble that built up in his throat just because his best friend was smart enough to buy them more time. He almost forgot that Flame was there until he spoke, reminding Wemmbu of his existence.
“Right… Well, I'll be back.” Flame grumbled, inching closer to the door. Wemmbu watched him intently, ignoring the way it clearly put Flame on edge. If he hated it so much, he could hurry up and get out. It was his room Flame was intruding in, Wemmbu couldn't care less if he was unnerved by Wemmbu’s stare.
“I know.” Egg said eerily, watching Flame calmly as the demon left the room as quickly as possible. Egg said it in that creepy way he sometimes said things where it made his words seem final, like whatever he was talking about was always meant to happen. It put Wemmbu on edge sometimes too because on occasion, Egg said something in that same creepy tone when he shouldn't know the answer to it - like the weather the following day or what enchants Wemmbu would get on his new armour - and he was always right. Always.
“You should lay back down.” Egg spoke once Flame's footsteps faded and the door to their base creaked closed. The exhaustion was finally starting to hit Wemmbu now that Flame had left and he nodded lazily, letting Egg lead him back to the bed. He let himself collapse on the soft surface with a huff, laying on his stomach with his head twisted to the side so he didn’t hurt his back further.
Egg sat down beside him and gently prodded at his back, apologizing quietly when Wemmbu growled in pain. He ran his hand over the growing limbs a couple of times before backing off and running his fingers through Wemmbu's hair to soothe him. “It's almost over bro. It looks like you've got another week until your wings emerge and then it'll be over.”
Wemmbu grumbled something that might've been words and Egg huffed in amusement, patting his head before standing up. “Get some rest. I'll wake you when it's time to eat.”
Wemmbu nodded lazily and let his eyes drift closed, trusting Egg to wake him if something happened. Sleep tugged at the edges of his consciousness and he didn’t fight it, letting himself drift off into unconsciousness with no more than a quiet grumble.