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Winter was nothing but annoyance. The cold season was his least favorite, not seeing a reason why the world had to be covered in white, and the temperatures dropped. It brought many dangers with it, shorter days, easier to get sick and during a storm, less sight of ones surrounding.
Flame hated winter. Every biome covered in snow he avoided, sticking to the warmer ones. Biomes that didn’t slow him down.
Yet, he couldn’t always avoid these biomes, sometimes forced to traverse through a snowy mountain biome. The one positive thing about the white biomes was that it was easy to lose people and traces from someone never lasted long. A good biome to get away when being chased.
He wasn’t known to run away from a fight, after all he was the immortal demon who killed over a thousand players in a single battle, but to his disdain, not every fight he took was a fair fight. Traps, maces, exploits, he had faced all in the past and sometimes was forced to back out of the fight like a coward.
When it did happen that he had to run away and was forced to hide until the coast was clear, he swore to take revenge at those players, not stopping until they were all dead. He had to go to such lengths to sustain his reputation. If word spread, he ran away, people no longer would respect him, no longer fear him and the points he stands for. That one could be the strongest without any cheap tricks or overpowered weapons.
After his loss against his younger brother Wemmbu, Flame’s reputation took a massive hit. The fear and respect he had built over the years were gone in an instant, and it took him a while to gain it back.
Now people were back to fearing him, his reputation fully restored.
People avoided him like the pest, scared he would attack them and kill him. In contrast to the reputation he built, he didn’t start fights without any reason. As long as you didn’t attack first or gave him a reason to attack, he wouldn’t swing his weapon.
Only a few looked past his brutal reputation and treated him like a normal person. Of course, those were his brothers and a few close friends like Lomedy. His brothers were the only people on the server who had seen him vulnerable and knew about his weakness.
Growing up together, it was foreseeable for them to see him weakened and not the invincible older brother he tried to be.
When they were hunted down by hybrid hunters, he was the only one strong enough to fight back, the only one who knew how to wield a weapon. Every fight he took was to ensure his siblings were safe.
Back then he wasn’t’ as skilled as today and it showed. Most fights ended with him bleeding, injuries that took too long to heal. A child against multiple adults just wasn’t fair, but he never backed down. The only thing making him survive the unwinnable fights was his mindset to protect his siblings.
Without him neither of them would have made it past childhood.
Flame was only ten years old when their parents left them for dead. One random day they decided they weren’t interested in raising the four kids they placed into the world and just left, leaving the nether demon alone with his younger brothers to care for.
He never felt as helpless as he did that day.
What hurt the most was that his brothers believed their parents would return. They were all too young to realize what happened, asking him constantly when mom and dad would return and him being forced to tell the truth. Parrot had barley been three years old when it happened.
.oOo.
Spoke: “Flame, Parrot is crying and Wemmbu is hungry!”
Flame: “Can you take care of Parrot? I have to finish packing.”
Spoke: “Why are you packing our things?”
Flame: “We need to leave.”
Wemmbu: “I’m hungry!”
Spoke: “But if we leave how will mom and dad know where we are? They said we can’t leave.”
Flame: “Spoke…they are not coming back and it’s no longer safe here we have to leave.”
Spoke: “But they always come back.”
Flame: “Not this time. I’m sorry.”
Wemmbu: “Parrot is still crying!”
Spoke: “Why would they leave? They love us…right?”
Flame: “I-I don’t know, but we have to find a safer place to live.”
.oOo.
Spoke was holding back tears as he understood what Flame meant. Their parents weren’t coming back to them. A switch was flipped inside Spoke’s head and for the first time he acted responsible. Flame didn’t know if it was because he understood the grievance of the situation or because it was the first time Spoke witnessed Flame being helpless, close to breaking down.
The same day they left their old home, only bringing the essential items along. A lot of their toys and plushies were left behind, not having fit into the backpacks they were carrying.
Flame had the heaviest backpack, with the most things inside of it. Spoke and Wemmbu had their own backpacks with less things, weight appropriate for their age. Parrot was too young to walk long distances, so Flame carried him.
In the same night their house was raided by hunters and burned down to the ground. If Flame hadn’t decided to leave that afternoon all of them would have been killed.
Out in the wilderness awaited many dangers. The threat of wild animals or the cooling temperatures and the fear of getting found by the wrong people. For the first few nights they slept under trees, not protected by the wind or wild animals. Eventually they spotted a cave where they were able to live temporarily until Flame found an abandoned house closer to the mountains.
Their food situation wasn’t the best either, barely having enough. Flame often skipped his meals so his younger brothers could eat.
It was difficult to get by, but Flame figured things out. Once Spoke got older, he was able to help out.
During that time, he learned many skills; how to properly fight back, how to hunt and fish and how to take care of injuries. Those skills kept them alive.
Eventually they all grew up and went on their own ways, focusing on their personal goals. Flame began his journey to become the strongest, an unbeatable fighter.
Trust never came easy for him, never understood people who trusted blindly. How was he supposed to trust and rely on other people, if he couldn’t even trust his own parents?
He never understood why Parrot and Wemmbu were able to trust so easily, but it might have to be related to them being so young back then. He knew Spoke had also problems with trusting others, paranoia always present with the voidling, yet they acted differently. Spoke only opened up to a few while Flame stayed alone for the longest time.
But times changed and he learned he can trust and rely on others, once they proven themselves. Lomedy had proven that many times. Still, he only blindly trusted his younger brothers, as long as they weren’t currently fighting, but he knew none would hurt the other with the intent to kill and that was enough for him.
Now all of them were adults and were able to care for themselves but sometimes Flame forgets that. Looking at them, he sees their younger selves, the ones he swore to protect, to be strong for them.
It happened once when they all were working together that he treated them when they were kids, not wanting them to go somewhere alone. Parrot was the first one to point out his overprotectiveness to them and reminded them that they were no longer kids. Still, it was hard to let them walk into danger.
About two weeks ago, Parrot had reached out to all of them, asking for their help. Parrot heard of people disappearing in the mountains and wanted to check it out. It turned out there was a group of bandits camping out in the mountains attacking and killing everyone who crossed through there.
Not being the best fighter himself, he looked for backup who would be willing to help him make the passage safer. Spoke immediately said yes, who also was looking into the missing people's case. To convince Wemmbu and Flame to help, he promised they get to keep everything they wanted from the bandit camp and Flame was not about to say no to free resources (and helping his little brother, but he would never admit that).
That brought back to his hatred for the snow and cold weather. The bandit camp just happened to be located in a snowy mountain biome, the one biome he despised. To make things easier they decided to meet in the snowy plains right before the mountains to meet up and look for the bandits together.
An endless snow biome where Flame was forced to walk through for two days straight before reaching the agreed meet up point.
Not many knew this, but Flame was weak to cold temperatures, due to him being a nether demon. Heat didn’t affect him, but the cold did, making it harder for him to move, slowing down his every movement.
The fog didn’t help him either, barely being able to see five steps ahead. Any other person would have turned around a while ago, and Flame would have had as well, if he didn’t promise Parrot to help.
But currently the snow was not his only problem. For a good while now, there were people following him. If he had to guess, it was the bandits trailing behind him, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Flame was annoyed with his unstealthily followers. If they didn’t attack him soon, he would do it himself, wanting this to be over.
An opportunity arrived when the path narrowed, leading through a valley, perfect for an ambush. Flame’s steps quickened, trying to gain distance so his perusers would lose sight of him, the moment he reached the passage.
Turning the first corner with precise steps, he quickly climbed to the top, waiting until the bandits entered the narrow space. It didn’t take long for them to reach it, four people in total, covered in diamond armor.
Good, they had worse gear than him. His netherite armor was heavy, but with the advantage of a surprise attack, the fight should end quickly. One last steady breath before Flame jumped down, striking one of the bandits with his axe, and quickly pushing his sword through their chest, instantly killing them.
The other three turned around in surprise, just in time witnessing their fellow comrade fall to the ground, red tainting the white snow.
A smile spread across his face as adrenaline filled his systems, excited for the battle. With smooth motion he potted up, charging at his next target with unhuman speed, too fast for the person to react, taking a direct hit to the chest, drawing blood.
More potions shattered on the ground and before he could stab the person in front of him, a diamond sword swung towards his face. He took a step back, sword missing him by an inch.
The third opponent was running at him from the left, sword ready to strike. Flame quickly equipped his shield, blocking the attack, before striking back with his netherite sword.
Metal clashing against metal filled the quiet valley, disrupting the peace. His opponents were no match for him, already sustained painful injuries, barely able to counter his attacks. The bandits clearly underestimated him.
After a strong push from Flame, one bandit lost their balance and fell to the ground, dropping their weapon in the process. Flame took this opportunity and focus all his attacks on the bandit to his right.
Breaking the shield, they were holding up with his axe before pulling his sword out, aiming for their right shoulder and successfully stabbing. The bandit let out a painful scream, dropping their sword by accident.
His buddy jumped in front of Flame, trying to protect his friend but leaving an unguarded area for Flame to strike open. The other two bandits watched in horror as their friend fell to the ground unmoving.
This fight was over. Both bandits tried to get distance between them and Flame, but he wasn’t about to let them escape. Shifting his focus back to the one he stabbed earlier, he lunged forward, sword colliding with a diamond chest plate, which broke with contract. In a swift movement he constructed the final blow.
Behind him the last remaining bandit tried to back away, reaching for his weapon. Slowly Flame walked over, footsteps heavy, marching towards his last victim. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, a feeling he loved. Just as Flame strike the bandit down with his sword, the bandit reached his weapon in time, swaying it in front of them in hopes to avoid the death. Their movement was messy and not fast enough to avoid the deadly strike, body sacking to the ground just as all his teammates did.
As Flame pulled his sword back, a sudden sharp pain from his side struck him. Looking down he saw the sword from the bandit stuck in his right lower side. He made the one mistake what costed many warriors their life; letting their guard down.
In the panicked attempt to save their own life, the bandit successfully stabbed one of Flame weak points, which opened up when he lunged forward.
Hissing he pulled out the sword, collapsing to the ground, back leaning on the rough stone wall. His hand pressing to his side as he tried to pull out some bandages.
After what felt like forever, he managed to pull off his chest plate and properly assess the damage. The wound was deep, dark red blood flowing heavily from his side, but it didn’t seem like an artery or any vital organs had been hit. Still, it needed stitches. Flame had nothing he could use for that, so he settled for bandaging the wound as tightly as he could.
The pain from his side was immense, hurting more as the adrenaline from before was leaving his body. Black dots appeared in his vision as he tried to get up, forcing him to sit back down.
“Just great,” Flame muttered, frustration tightening his voice. He drew a few deep breaths before slowly pushing himself to his feet. Staying in the freezing snow would be the end of him. The cold was already taking its toll, and if he wanted any chance of recovering, he needed to get somewhere warmer. Under normal circumstances, his enhanced healing would have kicked in by now, but the snow and frigid air kept it from working.
With each step he took, his side ached, slowing him down even more. At this pace he wouldn’t arrive on time, but there was little he could do. The pain stayed constant during his travel, reminding him of the open wound he sustained. Eventually the blood bled through the bandage, forcing him to take a break and change the bandages.
After walking for three days, Flame finally reached their camp, exhaustion heavily on his body. All his brothers were already there as he predicted, sitting around a campfire.
Wemmbu was the first to notice him: “Flames here.” The other two turned around to look at their last arrival. “Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up”, Spoke taunted him.
“Bro, shut up. The snowstorm slowed me down”, Flame explained as he sat down besides Parrot, putting his hands out in front of him to warm them up by the campfire. He really needed some warmth. The bird eyed him, not believing his reason.
“It's alright. We are all here now”, Flame relaxed as Parrot decided not to question him further. Parrot went on and explained his plan. They would leave tomorrow morning and cross through the mountains, searching for the camp. Once they find it, they will scare away the bandits, so the mountains become safe again.
Some more things were discussed but Flame didn’t pay attention, exhaustion slowly shutting his brain off. He desperately wanted to lie down next to the fire and sleep, but he couldn't. It would be weird for him to go to bed this early and he didn’t want to worry his brothers.
He only zoned back in as Parrot handed him some food they cooked at the campfire. After three days, eating warmly was so good, something he needed.
“Flame, are you sure you good?” Flame looked up at Parrot, his younger brother looked concerned. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”, he took another bite from his food. “You’ve been quiet.” His other two brothers were watching the ongoing conversation, not wanting to jump in.
“I don’t have anything to add”, with that he turned his attention back to his food and the warmth it had been providing him. “I think the cold temperatures got to him, making him moody”, Spoke so proudly said. Flame shot the voidling an angry glare but stayed silent.
As night fell, they all went to sleep. Flame was sharing a tent with Spoke, while Wemmbu and Parrot were in the other tent. Normally Flame wouldn’t fall asleep when someone was around, but these were his younger siblings, whom he trusted and during their childhood, they always slept in the same room. Sleep took him fast after he laid down.
After a small breakfast they headed for the mountains, Parrot and Spoke ahead of the two demons. Over the night the pain from his side increased, making it harder for him to move. Flame was sure his wound reopened and needed fresh new bandages, but he hadn’t had time to change them.
He was aware the longer he went on without proper medical care, the more likely it would get infected, but it wasn’t like he could back out now. After all he promised Parrot, he would help.
They first noticed they were being followed after two hours of climbing the steep mountain. Flame was the first to spot it and warned the others without drawing attention.
“Can’t we just kill them already and then look for their camp?”, Wemmbu whispered next to him. Parrot let out a long sigh, “No, just follow the plan.” The purple demon groaned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “My plan is better”, Wemmbu mumbled only for Flame to hear.
On any other day, Flame would have supported Wemmbu’s idea, but today he was lacking the energy to fight and actually would prefer if no fight happened at all, but that was unlikely. After all, they came all the way up here to fight the bandits.
Suddenly an arrow lands in front of Parrot, alerting all of them. Instinctively, his hand gripped the stealth of his sword, ready to pull it out. Bedsides him Wemmbu copied his motion, only difference was that he grabbed his mace.
Three people dressed in gray attire came into view, same armor as the bandits he killed earlier. There were more hidden around them, just out of eyes sight, but close enough to attack.
Parrot was the only one who didn’t pull out a weapon. “Hello?” Flame shook his head as the avian tried to start a conversation with the bandits. “Hand over all your valuables if you don’t want to die.” As expected, the bandits weren’t out here to make friends.
“I don’t think we will do that”, Spoke joined the conversations, already taunting the bandits. “See, being nice doesn’t work. They always want to die.” The leader of the bandits made a hand movement, and the hiding bandits jumped out, charging at the brothers.
In total there were ten bandits, all in diamond armor, swords pulled out to strike. Only as the attacks began did Parrot pull out his own weapon and shield, defending against the attempts on his life.
The others followed suit, Wemmbu and Flame more on the attacking side than Parrot, while Spoke was doing his own thing, which was neither defending nor attacking.
While his brothers were moving around, Flame was struggling, breath shortened and slowed reactions. His side was screaming in agony, reminding him of the open wound and why this fight was pushing him to his limits.
His attacks sloppy, tripping over nothing as he dodged an attack, black dots appearing in vision every time he moved too fast. The attackers noticed this weakness, speeding up their own strikes and punches.
Around him he heard laughter, screams and yelling, but his mind wasn’t able to decipher it, his surroundings were lost in a haze. Not being aware of what’s happening around him, stressed him out, normally he was aware of everything happening. He thought he heard Wemmbu yell his name but was too busy dodging the incoming attacks.
The netherite sword in his hand felt unbearably heavy. His arms trembled under its weight, and his grip was beginning to slip. Flame’s vision blurred, his breathing came in ragged gasps, and pain tore through his entire right side. He desperately wanted it to be over.
Suddenly purple flashed in front of him, smashing one of the bandits with a mace, before disappearing out of his view. The remaining bandit looked up, shield ready for the incoming attack. It took Flame a couple more seconds to realize that Wemmbu was taking out his enemies.
As he came to that conclusion, the other bandit met the same fate as the other. Only as he tried catching his breath did he realize the fight was over, only one more bandit was alive, currently trying to get away from Parrot and Spoke who were chasing him.
“Bro, you good? You fought like a little chungie.” Wemmbu leisurely held his mace, the heavy core touching the ground. Flame would have responded if his head wasn’t spinning and the pain from his side wasn’t so strong.
In the background he could hear Spoke laughing and taunting the poor bandit, followed by Parrot scolding him, like an angry mother. It momentarily got Wemmbu’s focus, looking away from Flame to witness what his brothers were doing.
Flame reached to his aching side, testing to see how the bandages were holding up, only to realize he had bleed through them. Pulling his hand back, he saw it stained with red.
Maybe he overdid it. Pushed himself too far over his limits.
He must have zoned out, Wemmbu was gone from his sight but replaced by Parrot, with a concerned look on his face. Breathing felt exhausting just as was standing up straight.
His mind screamed at him to pull himself together, to hide any weakness from his younger brothers, to remain invincible in their eyes. Yet another part of him urged him to close his eyes, reminding him he was safe and that it was okay to be weak.
Staying true to his wish to be seen as invincible, as the strong older brother, Flame tried to pull himself together, but the more he tried the more he felt tired. Suddenly he lost his grip on his sword, blinking in confusion at the sword on the ground before looking at Parrot.
Darkness crept into Flame’s vision, and his body grew unbearably heavy. Every sound seemed distant, and the cold no longer reached him. As he finally gave in, he thought he heard someone yell his name.
A comforting warmth greeted him as he returned to the consciousness. His brain was foggy and he was too tired to open his eyes, but he felt a comfortable surface he was lying on and the warmth it provided.
The pain, that had become a constant for the last couple of days, was still present but lessened in sensitivity.
Flame wasn’t ready to wake up yet; afraid he would lose the warmth he yearned for the last couple of days. That he had to go back in the cold and fight.
At some point, lying half awake in bed, he thought he heard someone whispering but lacked the energy to listen to it. The blanket over him kept him safe and warm, making it hard to even form a thought.
But like always, good things had to end. Feeling of hunger began bothering to the point he no longer could ignore it. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and was met with an unfamiliar ceiling. Dark oak combined with stone builds the roof; planks of the wood, the walls and the foundation was stone.
Panic pushed him fully out of his sleeping state, sitting up too fast to look around the room was in, hurting his side in the progress. A pained hiss broke the silence.
“Be careful with that wound. Open it and you will get another earful from Parrot.” Flame immediately looked up and saw Wemmbu leaning against the wall. “Bro what do you mean another?” Slowly Flame positioned himself comfortably on the bed, back leaning against the bed board.
“Well once he sees you awake, he will scold you for not mentioning the wound. If you tear open the wound again, he will scold you for a second time.” Wemmbu walked over to the bed, taking place on the chair already next to it.
Flame nodded, already imagining the avians scolding session, he would receive later. “Bro, where even are we?” The purple demon explained that after he passed out and scared them, they searched for the bandit camp, successfully finding and taking it over. Luckily, they had a big cabin as their base, in which they took shelter for the time being.
“Your body was really cold…”, in a quieted voice, almost being scarred to say it, Wemmbu looked down. Being from the nether, fire being a part of him made him naturally warmer. A type of warmth he was known for. In the past, his younger brothers often called him their personal heater.
The cold and the wound must have lowered his body temperature. Normally, that would only happen after at least two weeks in freezing conditions, but the blood loss had made it worse. Seeing him so cold must have scared them.
“Did anyone else get hurt?” Wemmbu looked up at him, taken off guard with his question. The nether demon knew that it should be his least concern, but not knowing how the fight ended, he needed to make sure all his brothers were safe.
Wemmbu stared at him as if he said the most absurd thing. “I don’t think that’s what you should be concerned about. We weren’t the ones that passed out and almost died.” At the end of the sentence his voice slightly rose, frustration barely noticeable.
Before Flame could respond, the door to the room opened. Spoke was standing in the doorway, surprised to see Flame awake, before turning away and shouting down the hallway. “PARROT, FLAMES AWAKE!”. The voidling then walked in grabbing a chair farther away and sitting down next to Wemmbu.
“Just to let you know, Parrot is upset with you,” Spoke proudly announced. Just on queue, Parrot entered the room as well, carrying a glass of water and some soup. The bowl was handed over to Wemmbu, who looked confused open, receiving the food, while the glass of water was passed to Flame who grabbed it with gratitude. His throat was really dry and needed some refreshing.
“That soup is for Flame and not for you Wemmbu,” The avian explained, looking around the room for another chair before sighing and taking his seat at the end of the bed. “Then why did you give it to me?”, Wemmbu questioned, staring down at the soup. Flame took a sip of the fresh water, relieved that his throat no longer was itching.
“Because he needed to drink something and can’t hold both of them,” Parrot shot Wemmbu a pointed look before staring at Spoke in annoyance as the voidling tried to stifle his giggle.
Observing his younger brothers, Flame came to the conclusion that none of them were hurt. He couldn’t see any visible injuries, nor did it look as if they were hiding any. A wave of relief hit him, happy that no one else was hurt.
Once he put down the glass of water on the nightstand, Wemmbu handed him the soup. As expected, the soup Parrot prepared for him tasted delicious, every sip filling him up with warmth.
Parrot shifted his attention back to Flame, calculating his next words to say. “Why didn’t you call out you for help after you were stabbed? If Spoke wasn’t looking at you, Wemmbu would not have been fast enough getting those bandits off of you.” Flame paused, putting the spoon back into the bowl.
For some reason, Wemmbu decided to join the scolding too. “Yeah, I mean, you were fighting like a chungie and got stabbed. Why didn’t you call for help or is that beneath the immortal demon?” Flame appreciated the attempt to lighten the mood, but it only seemed to make everyone else in the room more annoyed.
Parrot reached over and slap Wemmbu on the shoulder, before returning to Flame, expecting an answer. “I didn’t get stabbed during the bandit attack.” All three of his brothers stared at him in confusion. Spoke was the first one to speak up:” Soo, you were stabbed before we reached the mountain or when did you get stabbed?” The voidling dragged the sound of the or out accompanied on hand movements.
“I got stabbed two days before I reached the camp. Some bandits attacked on my way to the camp.” Flame kept his gaze fixed on the soup, slowly stirring it with his spoon. He knew how bad it sounded, and he knew staying silent about the wound had not been smart.
Parrot visibly struggled to control himself, taking a deep breath before opening his mouth. “You’re telling me, you got stabbed on your way to the camp,” he took another breath before continuing, “and decided to not mention the big wound to your side and just went on to the next fight, while actively bleeding out?!” Parrot’s wings behind him puffed up in irritation.
“Uhm…” There was nothing he could say to make it better.
“Oh my gosh bro.” His younger brother couldn’t believe what he heard. Looking over at his other two brothers for help, he was met with equally shocked faces. Guess he was alone in the scolding he was about to receive.
Parrot reminded him how dangerous it was to leave a wound untreated, explaining what an infection could do and how blood loss could cause lasting damage. The fact that Flame kept walking at all was a miracle and completely reckless. Every so often, Parrot paused to tell him to keep eating the soup so he could regain his strength, while Spoke and Wemmbu occasionally added their own comments.
When the bowl was empty, Flame placed it next to the by now empty glass. The lecture he was receiving was also concluding, after he agreed not to pull a stunt like that again and be more careful.
“You still haven’t explained why you didn’t mention the wound,” Parrot eventually asked.
Flame took a moment to think of an answer. “I guess because I wanted to help you and it wasn’t that bad of an injury.” Parrot was about to start arguing, but Spoke told him to stay quiet. The avian shot the voidling a confused look, expecting an explanation.
“This is just like in the past, when you Flame had to take care of all of us. You often pushed yourself over your limit, not carrying how severe the injury was, as long you were able to guarantee our safety.” At Spoke’s explanation, Parrot eyes opened, understanding what the voidling said. Wemmbu nodded along, placing everything together as well.
“But that was in the past,” Spoke continued, making direct eye contact with him, “We are no longer the defenseless children of the past. We are all adults now and can take care of ourselves. You don’t have to be strong all the time.”
Flame let the words sink in. Spoke read him like an open book, understanding that Flame was still stuck in the past where he alone was responsible for all of them. If he had told them about his wound, then he wouldn’t have been able to follow them up the mountain, meaning he let all three of his brothers walk into danger alone. That’s why he felt obligated to push himself past his limit to guarantee his siblings were safe.
“Flame, I appreciate you for what you did for us in the past. You’re the reason we were able to live, but as Spoke said, we are no longer the defenseless kids, but rather adults. If you need a moment to rest, to be vulnerable, we got you. Let yourself be taken care of.” Flame looked at Parrot, slowly nodding. He was right, he no longer had to play the invincible older brother. His younger brothers grew up and are all adults now. Adults he can rely on. Something their parents never achieved.
“Well, Parrot is barley an adult, but you can leave the work to me and Spoke, Flame.”
“Wemmbu, I swear-” Before Parrot could finish, Spoke burst out laughing. Flame joined in, amused by how easily Wemmbu’s comments riled Parrot up. The purple demon had teased the avian about his age for years. Some things didn’t change, even when they were adults.
“Awww, our little baby parrot is getting mad,” Spoke teased. At this point Flame was sure they all could be seventy and still call Parrot a baby due to his young age. The avian will never escape the teasing.
The ragebait went on for a while, only stopping when Parrot grabbed one of the pillows and threw it directly at Wemmbu’s hitting him straight in the face. For a moment everyone was silent, surprised by the action that just happened before everyone erupted into laughter again.
At some point they all calmed down and relaxed in each other’s presence. Wemmbu got up and brought the used dishes to the kitchen. Parrot immediately took Wemmbu’s chair the moment he left the room. “Pretty sure he will be mad at this,” Flame pointed out to which the avian only shrugged. “Well, he can look to sit somewhere else. Anyway, don’t you need to sleep more? You still look tired.”
This time it was Flame’s turn to shrug. It was true he was still tired, but he couldn’t relax enough to go back to sleep. As if being able to read his mind, Spoke got up from where he was sitting and crawled across the bed, over Flame and laid down on his left side, snuggling close to the demon.
“Bro, what are you doing?”
“Getting comfy. I want to sleep and you are now my personal heater. You weren’t the only one freezing out there,” Spoke claimed as he was finding the most comfortable spot in Flame’s personal space, head resting on top of his chest. In the process of lying down, he pulled Flame down as well, forcing him to lie on his back.
“Spoke, be careful, I just stitched the wound,” Parrot scolded and which the voidling scoffed. Eventually Spoke settled in a comfortable position. Now lying on the bed, Flame was hit with a new wave of exhausting, struggling to keep his eyes open. The weight from the voidlings head was grounding him in a relaxing manner.
“What happened while I was gone?” Wemmbu must have returned from the kitchen.
“Spoke was tired and decided to use Flame as his personal heater,” Parrot explained, a fondness tainting his voice. He heard a chair move, and Parrot came into his view. Gently, the younger was petting his head, a warm smile plastered on his face.
“Go to sleep Flame, you need it. Wemmbu and I will keep watch. Nothing bad will happen, alright?” At reassuring words for him to be allowed to rest he nodded, finally closing his eyes. In the background he heard Wemmbu agree with Parrot. Spoke to his side mumbled something as well, but he was already too far gone to understand him. Darkness took him fast, only this time he felt warm and safe.