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Wemmbu has been feeling weird lately.
His horns, wings, and tail itch as if he were molting, but he can't find the usual scales, dead and resembling sharp shards of obsidian.
Molting wasn't the most pleasant process, but usually it was just a simple, irritating itch in his wings until the Ender Dragon removed the old, hardened scales. When Wemmbu was a little younger, he'd sometimes accidentally caught the not-yet-hardened scales with his claws, resulting in an unpleasant but tolerable burning sensation in his wing.
And that should have been the end of his problems.
But he is Wemmbu – which means nothing ever goes according to plan for him. That's why, most often during moltning, the hybrid had to shamefully ask for help from his... Acquaintances? Friends? Enemies? Wemmbu himself doesn't know. And the worst part of it all is that the molt was literally always hitting him at the worst timing ever!
Like that time in the Caves, when he should have been focused on rescuing Egg, but instead the dragon hybrid was awkwardly swooping toward Codmaster's house, suffering from wing itching and nervousness.
His golden eyes settled almost too quickly on Jaden, who was fishing and chatting with Codmaster. Wemmbu walked quickly up to the pirate, offered a halting hello, and said they needed to talk at their house. (His instincts flared briefly at the thought of their house, though it made no sense to Wemmbu.)
Jaden tensed, probably thinking this meant another discussion of an escape plan or a deadly mission. This made Wemmbu even more nervous, and he almost considered abandoning his request and trying to deal with the itch himself. But the pirate had already stood up, putting down his fishing rod, and headed toward their house, a level above the river. Codmaster waved goodbye to the duo and continued fishing, while Wemmbu, still feeling terribly awkward, flew to the hole in the roof of the house and landed inside.
Jaden came inside a short time later, and Wemmbu, overcoming his shame, told him he needed help. The hybrid immediately noticed the pirate's shoulders relax, and although he couldn't see his friend's mouth, Wemmbu saw a relaxed smirk in his eyes.
The situation ended with him sitting facing the back of the chair, his horns pressed against the soft fabric, his brain melting, and his muscles refusing to tense. With his wings spread and the tip of his tail wagging, Wemmbu struggled to contain the strange, inhuman sounds that tried to escape his mouth every time the pirate's cool hands touched the scales that the dragon hybrid couldn't reach himself, dissolving the unpleasant itch.
Or that time the molting started while he was literally in prison!
Then, when a pile of scales had gathered in the corner of his cell, but he still felt an unpleasant sensation in his wings, Wemmbu had to ask PrinceZam for help.
When they were once again taken out to dig stone with wooden pickaxes (Wemmbu still doesn't understand the logic, but that's not his problem anymore), he approached the yellow siren and quickly explained the situation. The dragon hybrid hardly believed Zam would agree, but the siren nodded meekly and simply told him to turn his back.
Everything went almost without a hitch, except for one time when Zam clumsily cut her finger on one of the sharp edges of a scale she had scraped off his wing. Then she looked at Wemmbu as if he had plunged a sword into her chest. The dragon just snorted and rolled his eyes, trying to focus on reality and not on the memories of popping totems, exploding TNT and the clanging of swords.
Another molt occurred when his identity as the Invisible Knight was still a secret, but Parrot was already trying to uncover it.
At that moment, he definitely didn't have time to fly to a certain green alien on a mushroom island.
When he landed in front of Boosfer's house and the alien saw his wings, he immediately invited him in. Wemmbu himself doesn't understand how the green alien understood what he wanted, but the dragon hybrid didn't ask and simply let Boosfer do whatever he wanted with his wings.
Their dialogue was the same as always, filled with jokes and ragebaiting, but even when Wemmbu responded too harshly due to fatigue and an incessant itch, Boosfer's hands remained surprisingly gentle on his wings, though he half expected pain for his words.
There was also one particularly weird period in his life, when he was ManePear's apprentice. He barely molted back then. But then...
Lost cause.
These words haunt him to this day. After this "incident", Wemmbu suffered the worst molt of his life. His wings literally turned to stone, completely covered in obsidian scales. The hybrid had a very long time to deal with it, and he couldn't even fly for help!
When he told Eggchan about this, his friend said something about dragons rarely molting at all, and only did so out of stress. He thought about it then, but now realizes the angel was mistaken, because he molts very often.
But the most unpleasant part came a little later, when he noticed that after this molt, the hard scales began to spread not only to the bones of his wing, but also to the back of the membrane between them. This made it stronger, of course, but Wemmbu got tired faster when flying, requiring him to use tons of fireworks. He was grateful to Parrot for showing him how to fly without expending so much energy.
Although this change in his body still left Wemmbu slightly unsettled. The hybrid even tried reading books about the End to learn more, but he was constantly distracted, and he never found the information he needed. Wemmbu was sure he hadn't seen scales on the wing membrane of the Ender Dragon, which guarded the End before Minute. Why did the voidling take on this responsibility? It's so dangerous! He needs to check if he's okay right now!
Wemmbu shakes his head slightly, his tail slapping the bed. He seems distracted.
And that's another reason he feels weird!
Not only does he constantly want to scratch his wings and tail, but he's also tormented by the urge to constantly watch Minute and Egg. What's even more annoying is that he can't contact Jaden. Yup, he has a communicator, but it doesn't send messages across dimensions. And his stupid instincts won't let him leave voidling and angel alone in the End.
Although logically, he understands that Minute is strong and can protect their nes— base. And he understands that Jaden is most likely busy recruiting residents for the pirate civilization, since things have calmed down since Yungy became King of the Caves and Parrot returned to his role as King of the Server.
But his stupid wild brain can't stop thinking about how the pirate could be here in the End with Minute and Egg, and Wemmbu would be protecting them, and no one would ever capture them again, or harm them, they would live in safety and—
And the fact that he thinks about this instead of sleeping is another one of his problems.
He can't sleep.
His brain simply won't let him fall asleep until he quietly checks Minute and Egg's rooms and makes sure they're sleeping and safe. This only partially calms him. He begins to slowly and unconsciously search for a fourth door, even though he knows their base only has three bedrooms.
And even then, he still can't sleep.
It exhausts him so much that he simply disconnects from reality, allowing his body to do whatever it takes just to finally get some sleep.
In the "morning", Wemmbu wakes up to find a pile of blankets and pillows around him. Questions fill the hybrid's head. He looks around, flicking his tail in confusion, noticing that there are clearly more blankets around him than there were on the bed before.
Did he really do this himself?
Then his gaze drops to the two jackets, as well as the red bow tie and pink tie. One jacket is larger than the other, and the smaller one has slits for wings in the back, proving his mental theory. He stole Minute and Egg's clothes. His wings press against his body in shame at the thought. And given their placement in the chaos of blankets, he guesses he slept face down on these clothes.
The blood instantly rushes to his face, so much so that Wemmbu almost glows purple, and his tail stiffens awkwardly. The hybrid looks away from the stolen clothes. He could have returned them, but this helped him sleep, right? Besides, they wouldn't notice a few pieces of fabric missing!
Wemmbu begins to move more instinctively than rationally. He grabs his friends' clothes, folding them and hiding them under the bed, like a child hiding his personal diary from his parents. He'll definitely be ashamed of this once he figures out what's wrong with him. He then makes the bed, ruining the blanket structure, which leaves him unreasonably sad as he looks at the perfectly flat blankets.
Immediately after he tidies up the bed, the itch returns to his wings, tail, and horns. Wemmbu groans pitifully and tries to scratch his wings against the wall, which somehow only frustrates his instincts further.
He needs to do something about this.
He lists people he could turn to. Minute and Egg are eliminated immediately. Wemmbu knows that if he talks about his lack of sleep and the discomfort in his wings, he'll get a lecture on self-care and asking for help. Does the dragon appreciate their efforts? Yes. Will he listen? Perhaps. After all, he's about to ask someone for help! He just needs to figure out who...
Jaden isn't suitable, since he's human and has hardly delved into the subject of instincts... Wemmbu has no idea where to find Zam or Boosfer. The dragon hybrid doesn't think Yungy will do. He needs someone smart, a hybrid, well-read, on more or less good terms with him, ideally with wings...
An idea strikes Wemmbu’s head.
Parrot.
He winces immediately at the thought. Yes, he apologized for blowing up Capital City and explained that he didn't want to work for Arachnid, and also helped in the war against Cindercrest, but he's not sure if Parrot has forgiven him.
His wings tremble slightly at another memory.
Yeah. Right.
He hissed at Theo, Parrot's best friend, like a wild animal.
Theo had simply come to the End to discuss further cooperation plans with Minute. Something about supplying resources if the kingdom needed them, nothing of interest to Wemmbu. He simply stood behind the horned voidling alongside Egg, like a silent guard. The only sound he made was a slight snort when he realized Parrot had sent his best fighter, personal bodyguard, "The Biggest Bird", on a simple diplomatic mission.
Then the smirk vanished from his face as Wemmbu realized his presence here might have been the reason to send Theo here, not just a simple messenger.
After that, he began to watch the cockatiel hybrid's every move closely. With one particularly sharp movement of Theo's hand, which could easily have caused the TNT minecart or bed to explode and harm Minute, Wemmbu's tail lashed the ground in displeasure, and his wings unfurled in an unconscious attempt to appear larger.
No one seemed to notice.
A second later, he feels Egg's hand on his shoulder.
Ah.
Egg noticed.
Wemmbu looks at him, his wing lightly brushing against the angel's.
"Calm down, dude. He's not going to kill us or anything." Egg says in a low voice, so as not to interrupt the conversation.
And oh, mentioning the word "kill" was a mistake, because the dragon's pupils narrow and Wemmbu's gaze instantly shifts to Theo's hand, which is reaching out for a businesslike handshake with the End guard. This quickly sets off alarm bells in Wemmbu's brain, because: "Minute is in danger! He's about to be blown up!!"
It happens in a single second.
Wemmbu spreads his wings and steps forward, his tail slapping the ground furiously, covering Minute's body with his wing and hissing at Theo.
Theo seems to understand something, because he steps back, clutching his wings to himself, and shows his empty hands.
"Hey, hey, Wemmbu, chill out, man. I'm unarmed. We were already done anyway, I'm leaving now." Wemmbu instantly blushes purple, withdrawing his wings from Minute, who looks questioningly between Wemmbu and Theo. Oh my Void.
"No, my mistake, Theo, I don't know what came over me." The cockatiel hybrid smiles knowingly and shakes his head.
After that, the option of asking Parrot for help became even more awkward, but no less ideal. So, fighting his desire to stay in the End with Egg and Minute, dragon warned them he was leaving and stepped through the portal.
As soon as Wemmbu was on the other side, he pulled out his communicator and quickly began typing.
[You whisper to Parrotx2: Hey]
[You whisper to Parrotx2: Way]
[You whisper to Parrotx2: We need to talk]
Wemmbu looks at the communicator with displeasure, waiting for a response. His tail lashes the air in boredom. Parrot always took so long to respond to messages, as if the letters the feathered hybrid typed could determine whether the entire server would be blown up or not.
Hah
Now that he thinks about it... Wemmbu's communicator buzzes, alerting him to a message.
[Parrotx2 whispers to you: Hello, Wemmbu! Surprised you're not at the End right now. I'm at the castle. Theo will meet you there.]
Wemmbu eagerly takes to the air on his itchy wings, clearly using more fireworks than necessary.
He reaches the castle in record time, flying over the guard wall. Wemmbu grins at how none of them look up, despite the terrific amount of noise he was making with fireworks. Either they knew he was coming, or they are just terrible at their job.
Wemmbu definitely won't tell Parrot about this, in case the Ender dragon hybrid decides to show up uninvited.
Looking down, he spots Theo, and even through sunglasses, he can feel the cockatiel hybrid's gaze on him. He must have acquired this ability from his fights with ManePear and Flame. Wemmbu swoops down and lands next to the bird, a little less gracefully than usual due to the discomfort in his wings.
"Hey, Theo," Wemmbu greets the other hybrid, even if he's still a little uneasy. He flicks his tail, regaining his balance. "What's good?"
"Nothing much, mostly helping Parrot with paperwork. He was surprised when you messaged him." Bird shrugs as he speaks, flapping his wings.
When they reach a corridor with a large door at the end, Theo turns to Wemmbu, his gaze growing slightly colder.
"Listen, Wemmbu, I trust you, okay? But don't do anything dumb. Parrot isn't to blame for anything."
Wemmbu doesn't quite understand the point. After this sentence, the idea of asking Parrot for help becomes even more unappealing. But Theo is already opening the door, revealing a fairly large room with an oak table in the center. Parrot sits at the table, covered in papers.
Despite his slightly tired appearance, he looks genuinely healthy. The feathers on his wings glisten, reflecting the light from the window in an almost hypnotic manner, drawing attention even more than the golden crown on the avian's head.
The dragon hybrid subconsciously understands that you cannot achieve this without someone's help.
Wemmbu was suddenly overcome by a weird feeling of envy at the thought, and the itch in his wings only intensified.
He needed to focus. These strange thoughts were the reason he was here!
Wemmbu heard the door closing. The dragon assumed Theo was still outside. Because of the thick doors, the cockatiel hybrid wouldn't hear a calm conversation, but he would hear a scream for help. Wemmbu appreciated at least the illusion of privacy.
The sound of the door closing seemed to break Parrot's reverie, and the feathered one looked up at Wemmbu.
"Wemmbu! I'm sorry I didn't notice you right away. What did you want to talk about?" Wemmbu freezes in place, and suddenly all his resolve vanishes. Parrot waits patiently, so the dragon hybrid forces himself to speak.
"I need... I need your..." Wemmbu's pride prevents him from finishing this sentence. He still stands awkwardly near the door, at the opposite end of the room from the king. The dragon hybrid flicks his tail and decides to change the subject. "Maybe we could sit?"
Wemmbu feels Parrot's attentive gaze on him, analyzing every twitch of his wings and the awkward pauses. Avian seems to have found what he was looking for, because his wings relax slightly and he nods.
"Of course, no problem." Parrot quietly walks toward two chairs in the corner of the room, which Wemmbu hadn't noticed at first. The feathered one sits down, and Wemmbu soon follows suit.
Wemmbu sighs heavily. He'd replayed this conversation in his head a thousand times on the way to the castle, but now it all seems to have evaporated.
"I've been feeling very strange lately." Wemmbu looks up, half expecting a stream of questions, but all he gets in response is a slight nod and Parrot's focused eyes.
"It started sometime after I moved to the End. I have a constant feeling of discomfort in my wings and tail, like when I'm molting, but there are no scales that could cause it. I've examined all my wings and haven't found a single fossilized one!" Wemmbu looks at Parrot again, but the avian doesn't interrupt, allowing him to continue.
"I'm constantly worried about Egg and Minute, so much so that I can't sleep until I check if they're okay." Wemmbu pauses for a second and considers how much he can trust Parrot.
Then he sighs and continues, deciding on complete honesty. After all, Wemmbu wants to understand what's going on.
"It also really irritates me that Jaden isn't here with me. And the only time I could sleep was when I made some kind of construction out of blankets and…" Wemmbu's tail curls in a circle because of how pathetic he feels right now. "I stole Egg and Minute's clothes. I don't know why I've been acting so weird lately!" The dragon hybrid searches the bird's face for condemnation, but sees only a glimmer of pity, and then…
Oh, that look, the look of a person piecing together a puzzle invisible to Wemmbu. Don't get him wrong, he's happy to have such a smart player like Parrot on the server, and even happier that he's on good terms with him now!
But that look had caused him so much trouble in the past, especially when he was an Invisible Knight.
He was distracted; he needed to finish describing his symptoms, and maybe then everything would go back to normal.
"I'm not sure if Theo told you all the details of his trip to the End," Wemmbu said, flicking his tail questioningly. Seeing Parrot's nod, he relaxed in his chair. Oh my Void, if he had to embarrass himself and tell avian about this. "Well, yes, no, I don't know what went wrong with me at that moment."
At these words, Parrot grimaced so much that Wemmbu found it hard to look at him. Something between compassion, understanding, and sadness. Wemmbu tried to ignore it, nervously twitching his wings.
"So, do you know how to help?" This phrase meant they were now moving on to the part where Parrot compares his completed puzzle with the picture on the box. Wemmbu watches the avian list questions in his head before asking them.
"Wemmbu, will you show me your wings?" Parrot says in such a tone that the dragon hybrid briefly believes he might refuse. Wemmbu turns his back, finding an angle where he can still see the avian's face.
When Parrot finishes examining his wings and nods to himself, Wemmbu turns back almost too quickly and flaps his wings once, checking to see if the king has attached anything to their surface. The feathered one notices this—of course he does, it's Parrot—but he doesn't comment, only his wings droop slightly.
"You mentioned molting. How often do you molt?" Wemmbu shrugs.
"Three times since I faked my death." Guilt flickers across Parrot's face, his wings droop even lower, and Wemmbu can almost hear his silent apology. The dragon hybrid doesn't understand how a bird can feel guilty about his molt. What's going on?
"Have you ever had this kind of sleep problem? When you can't fall asleep without certain things?"—and that becomes the one question Wemmbu refuses to answer honestly.
He will never tell anyone about the nights he could only fall asleep with his nose buried in an orange blanket, lying on a bed inside a giant tree. That secret will remain between him and that blanket.
So what if it's in his shulker with sentimental things in an Ender chest, next to a dried sunflower? So what if its owner would likely be disappointed with the wasted space?
He sighs and answers Parrot with such confidence that he believes his own words.
"No."
Parrot nods slowly, choosing his next words.
"What do you know about your instincts?" Wemmbu shrugs in response.
"Nothing."
"Bro, what were you even doing on the server?" Parrot says this more like a complaint than a question, but Wemmbu answers anyway, flicking his tail.
"Surviving."
Parrot doesn't seem to expect an answer, simply staring at Wemmbu for a few seconds. The dragon hybrid raises an eyebrow. What did he expect?
Parrot runs a hand over his face, pushing back his hair and slightly moving crown.
"This is going to be a lot of information for you, so I ask you to listen. First of all, what's happening to you isn't a disease. What's unhealthier is that this is the first time you face your instincts." Wemmbu looked at the bird in shock, his wings and tail frozen, reflecting his numbness.
"The discomfort you're feeling in your wings is because your body is trying to bring your flock back together. You should, in theory, ask them to preen your wings, so all of the members of the flock will bond. The main issue will be dragging Jaden to the End; he's so busy with civilization... Although, when he finds out you also consider him part of the flock, he'll probably be happy." Parrot is increasingly confusing Wemmbu with his words... He has a lot of questions!
"Wait, Parrot, but Jaden is human? How can he be a part of the flock? And how did I even get a flock? How do you figure out who's in it? I'm so lost right now, bro..." Parrot looks at him like he's an idiot, though he probably looks like one right now.
"No, Jaden isn't human, he's a leviathan hybrid, although there is more human in him than hybrid. His pupils are slightly vertical, and his attraction to water shows he's not just human. And he has scales on his cheeks, that's why he wears a bandana." Parrot shrugs.
"Obviously, the pirates didn't want a leader who is literally representing a mythical monster who sinks ships." Now that Parrot had literally shoved the evidence in his face, Wemmbu began to remember the details.
The claws on Jaden's hands, his good orientation in the dark Caves without a night vision potion, the pirate's quick understanding of Wemmbu's molt, cooler than normal humans hands, and finally, the time he saw bluish scales through Jaden's torn sleeve, but though it was his imagination.
Now he finally understood why the pirate came to Codmaster's house so often. The lowest level of the Caves was the only one with water. Clearly, a leviathan hybrid can't live without it.
Wemmbu slapped his hand loudly across his face—so loudly that he was almost surprised Theo hadn't heard it and came into the room to check.
"Of course, Jaden isn't human..." The dragon hybrid growled in disappointment, though it was directed at himself. "So I need to get Jaden to touch my wings, and then everything will be fine?" Parrot winces at the simplification, but answers anyway.
"And Egg with Minute." Wemmbu simply hums in response. He's too tired to deal with this right now.
"Anything else I need to know?" avian nods.
"Your frequent molting isn't normal. Ender Dragons only molt when stressed. Their scales harden to protect their wings from damage." Parrot's wings press against his body with guilt.
"You've molted so often that your membrane has begun to grow scales. It's not very healthy, but there's nothing that can be done at this point." Wemmbu is grateful for the pause in the king's speech, because he needs a little time. So Egg was right that time?
"The End has now become a place of refuge, where you feel safe enough to identify your flock and begin building a nest. What happened to you and Theo that time was a normal reaction to an outsider in your flock's home." Parrot chuckled.
"Theo is probably ripping his feathers right now out of fear for me. You're just not used to it because you have less control over your instincts." Wemmbu's brain is about to explode from the amount of information being loaded into it.
"You'll start sleeping normally if you make a nest with your flock's belongings. I suggest you make a small room for it." Parrot pauses again, considering other words.
"I'm not sure about nesting instincts for the leviathans, but the instincts of the voidlings and angels should be similar to ours, so it would be beneficial for them too." Parrot nods to himself, assuring himself that his words make sense. Then, to Wemmbu's surprise, the feathered one stands and walks to the door. Wemmbu follows him, looking above the bird's wings. Parrot opens the doors.
Just as the dragon suspected, Theo stands behind them. The cockatiel hybrid's eyes light up at the sight of the unharmed king, his shoulders relax, and Wemmbu isn't sure whether he's flattered or insulted by the level of wariness because of him.
"Theo, would you mind escorting us to the nest?" the cockatiel hybrid's face fills with shock at these words, and Parrot only smiles in response.
"Wait, why? I'll go, of course, but..." Wemmbu wonders the same thing. Does Parrot want to show him what a proper hybrid nest should look like?
The three of them walk at a measured pace through the corridors. Large, high-ceilinged hallways give way to a more modest interior. Wemmbu assumes they've reached the castle's residential wing. Then Theo and Parrot stop at an unremarkable door. The king opens the room, and Wemmbu peers inside curiously. He doesn't cross the threshold, aware of the invisible boundary.
The room looks... lived-in. It's small, the floor covered entirely with soft blankets and pillows. A window hangs on the wall, graced by a pair of thin curtains. The thicker pair is pulled back to let in sunlight.
The room is also filled with shelves. Some are occupied by books, one by a jug of clean water and two glasses, and another by a strange jar. Judging by the label, it's something for feather health. In the corner of the room lies a pile of clearly damaged, multicolored feathers. Several of them are lost in the folds of the blanket around the room.
Judging by the state of the room, it's clear the birds weren't expecting visitors.
Wemmbu is almost mesmerized by the room and the feeling of comfort and rightness it evokes.
The dragon hybrid feels that strange envy again.
Wemmbu catches himself at the thought. Parrot had said he needed to embrace his instincts to control them, right?
So Wemmbu sighs quietly and admits to himself: Yes, he wants a nest, too. Yes, he wants his friends there.
Wemmbu swishes his tail contentedly. This is, in a sense, character development.
Soon, Wemmbu says goodbye to Parrot and Theo, returning to the portal to the End, his wings itching the entire time. Now, at least, he knows how to fix it.
When he's already descended into the stronghold and is standing on the portal frame, looking into the star-studded blackness, Wemmbu feels his communicator vibrate. He looks at the device in confusion.
[Jaden_MAN whispers to you: Parrot said I'm needed in the End.]
[Jaden_MAN whispers to you: I'm on my way.]
Wemmbu stares at the communicator for a few seconds.
Seriously?
The dragon was certainly going to invite Jaden to the End, but not immediately after his sense of self had been shaken a bit. Parrot, that feathered traitor...
With a disappointed sigh, Wemmbu quickly types into his communicator.
[You whisper to Jaden_MAN: Nothing urgent]
[You whisper to Jaden_MAN: I'll warn Minute]
Having finished typing, the hybrid jumps through the portal.
Wemmbu feels slightly nauseous after passing through the portal. He looks around for the End guard. A few seconds later, he spots the voidling and the angel. His instincts rejoice at the sight of his flock unharmed. Minute speaks first, while Egg merely waves his hand in greeting.
"Wemmbu, good to see you. How did it go?" the voidling's white eyes inspect him for injuries.
"Hey. Jaden will be there soon." Wemmbu doesn't have time to talk about his meeting with Parrot right now. He needs to mentally prepare himself for the awkward conversation ahead, so he quickly heads to his room.
Wemmbu's wings tense as he feels Egg's narrowed gaze on his back. He knows he's acting strange, but he's understandable!
He slams the door behind him, exerting too much force.
Wemmbu is terribly tired.
His wings are a little sore from today's journey, coupled with the constant itching and exhaustion, and now the dreadful anticipation of talking to his flock.
He's no diplomat!
You could even say that calm, serious conversations are his only weakness.
So the dragon hybrid quickly changes into simpler clothes and collapses onto the bed with a heavy sigh. Wemmbu closes his eyes, hoping to fall asleep quickly. After a minute of waiting, he opens them again.
Nothing ever goes according to plan for him.
The dragon hybrid has resigned himself to his fate. A nest, huh? Wemmbu defeated FlameFrags in battle, so building a nest shouldn't be a problem!
Wemmbu looks into the darkness with disappointment.
Even lying in a pile of blankets and pillows, which he laboriously arranged into something resembling a nest, the dragon still can't sleep.
Wemmbu thumped his tail against the nest walls in displeasure and reached under the bed, feeling for the fabric. He pulled out Minute and Egg's clothes and, looking defeated, folded them right where he was about to lay his head.
Winning countless battles, only to lose to four soulless pieces of fabric.
How ironic.
Wemmbu settles comfortably into the nest, and as soon as he closes his eyes, the dragon falls asleep.
Wemmbu is awakened by a knock on the door. He hears Egg's distant conversation with Jaden and Minute's words behind the door.
"Wemmbu, Jaden's here." Wemmbu rolls his eyes. Yeah, he can hear it.
For him, the distant sound of the pirate's voice is both a siren's call—Hurray! The whole flock is finally in one place, safe with Wemmbu! We need to check quickly if something bad happened to the pirate while he was away from the flock!—and a damn bell announcing an execution. Because now he has to go to the living room and talk to his flock, whose presence Wemmbu learned of less than a day ago.
And the dragon hybrid still hasn't answered Minute.
"I'll be right out!" he says, listening to the End guard's retreating footsteps. Wemmbu then gets out of bed, untangling the blankets in search of two jackets, a bow tie, and a tie.
When the dragon finally finds a familiar fabric, he hangs the items in his closet. He'll still have to admit to stealing them, at least clothes will be less wrinkled.
Afterwards, Wemmbu tidies up his long purple hair and takes a deep breath.
He's one of the strongest players. He'll definitely be able to just talk.
Wemmbu enters the living room, quieter than usual. The dragon hybrid sees Minute, Egg, and Jaden on the couch. The leviathan hybrid is talking about his civilization.
It's a shame Wemmbu can't hear him, because his brain is chanting excitedly at the sight of all the flock members together, and his tail is wagging furiously with joy. Even the itch that had returned in his wings subsides. The dragon hybrid takes another breath.
"We need to talk." The conversation that had been going on in the living room stops, and three heads turn in his direction. Egg nods, Jaden waves, and Minute mutters something that sounds like "Good morning."
Wemmbu walks over to the couch, sitting down in the empty seat next to Jaden. The words catch in his throat, but the dragon pushes them through. He just wants to get this over with as quickly as possible.
"I haven't been feeling so well lately. My wings have been itchy and I've been having trouble sleeping. But—" Wemmbu can already see Minute preparing a lecture in his head. "I asked Parrot for help. He told me how to solve these problems. The discomfort in my wings is caused by my body trying to rally my flock together. So I need you three to do something about my wings."
Wemmbu doesn't look up at his friends' faces. And he won't until he's finished explaining.
"Parrot didn't say what exactly. And about sleeping. Um... I was wondering if you'd mind lending me some of your clothes? For the nest?" Wemmbu finally dares to look at his flock.
Egg looks like he's just caught the rarest fish on the server, Minute looks thoughtful, and Jaden looks flattered. The pirate is the first of the three to speak.
"I didn't bring any spare clothes." Then an idea seems to occur to him. Wemmbu watches as Jaden's eyes flicker over Minute and Egg. Having made a decision in his head, the leviathan hybrid asks, "Will my bandana do?"
"Yup!" Wemmbu nods instantly, but then remembers that the pirate's hybridity was a secret from the others. "I mean... You don't have to."
Jaden shakes his head and removes the bandana, handing it to the dragon hybrid.
Wemmbu stares, mesmerized, at the pirate's face. His eyes immediately land on the clearly inhuman fangs, but then move to the pirate's cheeks. The lapis blue scales shimmer in the light of the lanterns hanging around the living room. They glow like stained glass, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow whenever Jaden moves his head, as if they were covered with a layer of nacre.
Wemmbu had heard somewhere that many poachers hunted leviathan scales for their durability and beauty, which is why they're rarely seen these days. And he could understand why.
At that moment, it dawned on him that this was likely the main reason Jaden was hiding his hybridity. Although Wemmbu wasn't mad at Parrot for not mentioning it.
If the bird had mentioned it, Wemmbu would go on a fascinating journey to The Great Sea, visiting all the black markets along the way. If he'd heard or seen anything about selling or buying leviathan scales, he'd play a funny game with everyone involved. However, this game wouldn't have lasted long. Wemmbu wouldn't mind breaking a few fishing rods for the sake of it.
"I didn't know you were a hybrid. Fish?" Egg's voice breaks him from his reverie, and Wemmbu watches as Jaden shakes his head. (The dragon's pupils dilate slightly, watching the glint of scales on his friend's cheeks, but only he will know that.)
"Leviathan." The dragon hybrid literally sees the realization flicker across both Egg and Minute's faces. Of course, his well-read friends will understand this immediately, unlike him.
"Wemmbu, you were asking about clothes, right?" Wemmbu is grateful for voidling for the change of topic, because with every second spent thinking about the dangers of the world beyond their base, the idea of making Jaden stay sounds more and more reasonable.
"You don't mind?" The dragon carefully clutches the bandana in his hands, his wings tensing. Even if Minute doesn't agree, he still has the stolen—
"Of course." Wemmbu's wings instantly relax.
"That's good, because I may or may not have stolen your jacket and bow tie when I couldn't sleep for a couple days." Minute looks only slightly surprised and almost flattered, so Wemmbu decides it's not that awkward.
Even if his tail still curls into a coy, embarrassed ring.
"And that may or may not include Egg's jacket and tie, too." Wemmbu always knew that negotiation wasn't his strong suit. Angel looks even less surprised by this news than the End guard.
"And I was wondering where my favorite shade of pink tie had disappeared to..." the dragon hybrid casts a confused look at his best friend. He'd never seen a difference between them.
"Glad we've sorted that out. Now, could you... Touch my wings?" Wemmbu's question comes out a little more hesitant than he intended.
Without waiting for an answer, he turns to the armrest, spreading his wings. That way, he doesn't have to look at the three of them. Brilliant idea, Wemmbu!
The dragon's tail trembles slightly as a cool hand touches its wings.
"Is that okay?" Jaden asks awkwardly. Wemmbu only hums in agreement.
Even the simple contact of the pirate's skin with his scales soothes the itch in his wings.
Jaden gently massages the base of one of his wings, and Wemmbu melts.
His body leans back against the sofa cushions, his eyes close, and a strange sound, like the dull hum of a redstone mechanism, fills his ears. A second later, Wemmbu realizes the hum is coming from his throat.
The second-strongest player on the server purrs like a tamed cat.
He would definitely laugh at this, but now all his attention is focused on the point of contact between his wings and the leviathan's hands.
Soon, he feels the angel's warm, soft hands on his other wing. Egg carefully straightens the limb, finding the tight muscles and stretching them, just as he had a thousand times before after their long adventures.
Wemmbu's mind is dimly aware of Minute's absence. He lets out a questioning hum, opening his eyes. The dragon notices the voidling returning to the living room at a brisk pace. In his arms is a pile of blankets, each a different color: black, blue, and purple.
Apparently, Wemmbu isn't the only one who noticed, because he feels Jaden and Egg stop tugging at his wings and stand up from the couch, making room. The dragon's tail thumps the couch in displeasure. He turns to see why his flock abandoned him.
His eyes follow the End guard's movements. Minute tosses the blankets onto the couch, taking a moment to arrange them, creating a makeshift nest.
Wemmbu thinks this nest needs: more space, because it needs to be larger than the couch, especially for four people; pillows, since he prefers them for building walls; and, finally, a fourth blanket.
A nest can't be complete without each flock member's belongings! So Wemmbu throws Jaden's bandana, which he's been clutching this whole time, into the pile of blankets.
Aha. That's better.
After re-evaluating it, he declares it acceptable, climbing inside and sitting again with his back to the flock, wings spread. The blanket beneath his hand is smooth and cool, somehow reminding Wemmbu of the void. He looks at it through his eyelashes. Black. Hmm. Even the color is like the void. An interesting choice.
Wemmbu reaches for the blue one, wanting to satisfy his curiosity. It feels soft and heavy, almost like a cloud. What does that say about its owner?
The dragon is so focused on analyzing the blankets that he doesn't notice Minute, noticing him only when the voidling gently strokes his head between his horns.
Wemmbu knows that action. When the dragon was younger and couldn't sleep, End guard would often stroke him between his horns, telling him a story or legend along the way. Wemmbu has no idea how Minute learned about the calming effect of this, but considering the voidling himself has a pair of horns, it makes sense.
For him, this is a signal, literally saying, "You're safe, you can rest". So Wemmbu closes his eyes and leans back, bumping his back against a warm body. Wemmbu's head rests on the person's shoulder at an awkward angle, but he doesn't care.
Wemmbu simply relaxes and falls asleep.