Work Text:
Spoke and Mapicc weren’t entirely sure what to expect when they got an invitation from Parrot. They had still been trying to work things out, because well.. Everything with NULL and all of Spoke’s lies and manipulation and Mapicc falling into the Void- it was a whole thing.
But it was fine! They were doing okay now. They were working through it. Trying to have a more healthy friendship, that stuff. They’re getting better, Spoke’s lying less, they’re communicating. It’s been really relieving, honestly. Anyways- the invitation!
The two had been doing their own thing in their base (which they recently built because they wanted some kind of fresh start), when a message was delivered to them by a random mail person. Spoke let Mapicc open it, because there were still some faint trust issues and they didn’t want to risk it being something bad and Spoke saying it wasn’t something bad.
Turns out though, that it was an invitation from King Parrot! To a ball, a celebration. Something with how Parrot wanted to celebrate winning the Civil War and a new age where he tried a different approach as king, or something.
In Spoke’s opinion he was kind of confused on why they were having this celebration so late. They overthrew Cindercrest, like.. Almost a month ago, or something. And then Mapicc reminded the voidling that Parrot probably had to make sure the kingdom was stable before throwing a party. Which makes sense, Mapicc is so smart for that, Spoke is glad that he has Mapicc again.
“So… We’re going, right?” Spoke hummed. He was leaning on Mapicc, looking over his shoulder to re-read the invitation.
“Sure,” Mapicc shrugged. “Sounds fun. I doubt there’ll be traps or anything.”
“I mean- it’s Parrot, I don’t think he’d trap us,” Spoke laughed warmly.
“Yeah,” the demonic border collie nodded, an amused huff escaping him.
Spoke smiled brightly at that. He loved this. This was great. He missed being able to just like- chill with Mapicc. Being able to laugh together. Like nothing ever happened. He blinked twice to focus again, before asking, “What time should we leave?”
“Well it’s at four PM, and it’ll take a bit to get there, so like…” Mapicc hummed.
“Three-forty-five?” Spoke guessed.
His best friend (because they were best friends again and they talked and they chilled and just loved each other again, and the voidling got so giddy and happy thinking about it) nodded.
“Which means we start getting ready to leave at three-thirty-five, because we both know you’ll get sidetracked by something,” Mapicc added.
“Mean!” Spoke said, acting dramatic. Then he added, a little quieter, “but true.”
~~~
“How many of them do you think will actually come?” Parrot queried. He had his elbows on the railing of the balcony, looking over the Kingdom- his Kingdom.
“Spoke and Mapicc for sure,” Theo hummed. “I think Egg would convince Wemmbu, and Lomedy might convince Flame. Fymada, Horace, and 4Cvit already said they’d come, and I’m sure a few other people we invited will come.
Are you sure that you want two separate parties, though?”
“Even if we know no harm will happen, I think the civilians would prefer to have their own thing,” Parrot shrugged.
He had made it so at the main Castle there was a Ball for more high-ranking or important people, and then the civilians had their own at a separate location. It felt safer, and Parrot had walked around asking a few people without telling what was actually going to happen. He wanted it to be a fun surprise, after all.
Right now he was just waiting for the time to finally come and people to arrive. It was currently three-thirty, so there was at least half an hour. Though the avian wouldn’t be surprised if some people came early, or late.
“You have that face again,” Theo commented.
Parrot looked over, confused. “What face-?”
“The one where you’re thinking too much,” the cockatiel snorted. Parrot couldn’t even deny that if he tried. “Just relax, we got time before anyone shows up.”
“Yeah, but I want to make sure everything’s perfect,” Parrot sighed.
“Dude, it’s a party to celebrate, it doesn’t have to be perfect.”
“It’s literally a Ball, those are normally perfect and formal.”
“A Ball that will have people like Flame and Wemmbu and Spoke,” Theo raised a brow. “It’s going to be chaotic and imperfect, just let it be. As long as we’re all having fun and no one’s getting too hurt, there’s no issue. Chill a little, dude.”
“..I hate it when you make sense,” Parrot sighed.
“So you’ll stop worrying?”
“The worrying will lessen,”
“Good enough!”
~~~
“What kind of things do you think will happen when we’re there?” Egg queried.
“Bro, I don’t know,” Wemmbu groaned.
He and Egg had gotten an invitation from Parrot, and decided to go. It seemed like fun, something to let everyone loosen up a little. Wemmbu was unfortunately still agitated, even a month-ish later, after they had overthrown Cindercrest and he had killed Arachn1d. Call it paranoia all you want, Wemmbu was happy to call it being alert.
Nevertheless, they were currently walking to the castle. Walking, because Egg insisted. And Wemmbu didn’t feel like arguing about it, so he just let his best friend have his way.
“Who do you think will all be there?” Egg hummed.
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Wemmbu retorted playfully.
“It’s not like you’re answering any,” the angel snorted. “Still, who do you think?”
“Spoke and Mapicc, maybe?” The demonic avian sighed. “Jaden, if he got invited.”
“Yungy?” Egg guessed. Last they heard Yungy had become the new leader of the Caves.
“I don’t know if Parrot would trust Yungy enough to invite him,” Wemmbu shrugged, “but maybe.”
Egg hummed at that, and then they walked in silence. It was about three-fifty-five, so there was a chance they were a smidge late, honestly. They doubted Parrot would mind, though. When and doubt don’t make the assumption that people will arrive early or on time, especially knowing the people in this server. Especially knowing the main group.
Also, considering the kind of person Wemmbu is, he did indeed get distracted by trying to find a good outfit. It was a ball, a party, to celebrate something. And he somehow had plenty from back in the PrinceZam Empire days, because Zam had held quite a few balls that she insisted Wemmbu (and Egg) attend. So, safe to say, he had outfits from those times.
His best friend also did, but he wore suits constantly, so there wasn’t much to change. Still, Wemmbu prided himself in appearances, which meant he tried to add some more decor to Egg’s suit. Which the angel didn’t mind at all.
Back to the present, though. They were at the castle, all they had to do was walk the steps up to get inside. “Yo, do you think there’ll be dancing?” Egg asked when they just started going up the staircase.
“I would assume so,” Wemmbu hummed.
“Lowkey it’s been forever since we danced,” Egg noted.
“I kind of doubt that anyone else here can dance,” Wemmbu snickered.
“How surprised will they be when they learn we can actually dance?”
“Depends on if they know about Zam’s many parties.”
“Facts,” Egg nodded.
And soon enough they were almost at the top.
~~~
Flame.. Actually didn’t mind parties. Wasn’t the best thing in the world in his opinion, but he had gone to plenty. Just because he was a guard in Zam’s empire didn’t mean she didn’t make him go to whatever she was hosting. In the earlier days, at least. Zam held less balls as he grew more paranoid.
Which caught Lomedy off guard, actually. When they got the invitation Lomedy thought he would have to take at least an hour to convince Flame to go, but he actually agreed within ten minutes.
Which meant they got to take the time to choose outfits, and Lomedy quickly realized that Flame might be more knowledgeable then Lomedy was. The rabbit hybrid had only really been to one fancy party before, while the demonic lion had gone to at least ten. Closer to twenty, maybe.
Either way, they were already here. They weren’t the first people to show up, but they certainly weren’t near the end. Parrot did a good job, honestly. The ballroom looked perfectly formal and impressive, while also being relaxed and fun.
It was a little jarring to Flame, actually. Zam always made parties extravagant and a big deal, making sure every tiny thing was correct. Made sure it was all exquisite and royal. Parrot’s were much more.. Calm, Flame would say.
The demonic lion did notice however, that there weren’t many civilians. It was more so noble people, or other important figures. People from Parrot’s cabinet, high-ranking officials from cities, or just people with big titles such as Flame himself. It didn’t take long for him to spot Spoke and Mapicc, as well. And he watched as Wemmbu and Egg made their way in only five or so minutes late.
“The music is nice,” Lomedy commented.
Flame simply nodded, looking around. There were a few banquet tables of food and beverages, lit lanterns or hidden torches, clean carpet and banners. A few scenery paintings hung on the wall if he looked down a hallway. The music wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either. It was the kind of music you’d picture for a ballroom.
For everyone it was pretty fun.
Spoke and Mapicc were playfully arguing about something, maybe about the food. Maybe about the drinks. Or the lighting. Or something completely unrelated to the party, only they knew.
Parrot and Theo were chatting as they went around to make sure everyone was having fun. They paused to have their own fun or if something caught their eye sometimes.
Wemmbu and Egg were talking about.. Something. No one really knew, and not too many people were fond of Wemmbu even after he betrayed the Caves and went to support Parrot. He technically didn’t apologize outright, but he was.. Getting there. Maybe. Hopefully.
Flame and Lomedy just walked around, sometimes talking, other times just in their own thoughts yet staying together. It was their own version of having fun, and they didn’t mind just taking in the environment without many words.
And then came the part that a lot of people were either waiting for, or dreading.
The dancing.
Some people paired up with their partners, others their friends, and some people went solo or just refused to dance. Which was fine, Parrot made it clear no one was forced to do anything. (Besides some people who positively peer pressured their friends, but Parrot had no control over that, and silently found it amusing.)
It started off very.. Not organized. A few couples bumped into each other, some friends lost each other in the crowd. But everyone was laughing or smiling, so Parrot didn’t worry too much.
But there were three main things that surprised people, whether they commented on it or not.
Firstly, Wemmbu and Egg were dancing. And not the kind that Spoke and Mapicc were doing, where they had no idea how to properly dance and were just messing around, no. Wemmbu and Egg were doing an actual waltz of some kind. They followed the beat of the music, they didn’t step on each other once. They moved like one, fluid, and very much still trying not to laugh at one another.
Secondly, Theo was playing the violin. He originally tried to teach Parrot how to dance before they both gave up, and many people raised a brow when they saw Theo approach the small orchestra playing. And then quite a few, were quite surprised that Theo could actually play insanely well. Even Parrot was a little surprised.
Thirdly, last but certainly not least, Flame could dance. Similar to Wemmbu and Egg, except more people were utterly shocked. The Immortal Demon, the demonic lion who had committed many massacres and had been covered in blood too many times to count, could actually dance. Even Lomedy was surprised, despite Flame telling him that he’d attended multiple parties similar to this one.
That however, did not surprise Wemmbu nor Egg.
Because, y’know, all three of them had been in the PrinceZam Empire. Where Zam loved to host festivals and dances and balls and parties. So if people remembered or knew about that part of their backstory, it really shouldn’t have been much of a shocker. And yet it was.
So, after the first chaotic stages, and then the proper and more organized ones, it went back to randomness and fun. People experimented with their movements, danced with people they barely knew, and were all having quite a lot of fun.
Spoke and Mapicc had tripped over themselves or each other more times then they could count, but they were still laughing loudly. They were happy. Healing. And Void Spoke would give anything to keep it like that (he already had. He had popped the totem of NULL because Mapicc asked him to. He had agreed to lay low and avoid lying and be honest with Mapicc).
Parrot was sitting on the large steps, a little ways away from people. He was watching Theo play, still impressed. And the cockatiel would flash him a smirk or genuine smile every now and then before focusing back on moving his fingers to the correct place and string, and moving his bow at the right tempo.
As for the other four..
“Lomedy, that’s not where you put your foot,” Flame sighed.
“Then where do you put it-??” Lomedy asked. Again.
Flame had been attempting to teach Lomedy how to dance for at least ten minutes by now. Two songs had finished, and a third was just starting. Which was making it very hard, because they were trying to use the music to keep the beat.
Wemmbu watched a little ways away, trying to muffle his laughter. Egg was looking at the drinks before turning to see what was entertaining the demonic avian so much.
“Should we help them, or..?” The angel queried, an amused grin making its way on his face.
“Probably, but this is really funny to see,” Wemmbu chuckled, still watching. Flame was trying to correct Lomedy’s stance again.
“Okay, but if we do help, who’s doing what?” Egg crossed his arms, eyes not leaving the demonic lion and rabbit hybrids.
“What are even the options, bro-?” Wemmbu glanced at Egg very briefly.
“One of us teaches Lomedy, the other like- talks with Flame or something, I don’t know,” Egg shrugged.
Wemmbu paused, laughing as Lomedy nearly stepped on Flame’s foot. Then he finally spoke, “I can’t teach for shit, we both know that.”
“True,” Egg hummed. “Didn’t Zam and I spend like almost a week teaching you how to dance?”
“Don’t remind me,” the demonic avian huffed, though there was no bite to it.
He almost hated how fondly he remembered that week. The first two or three days had been annoying, sure, but once he got the hang of it it was pretty fun. Kind of hated how he needed Zam to help him, though. Then again, he and Zam were on neutral terms now, so Wemmbu supposed it was fine.
“So.. I help Lomedy and you talk with Flame?” Egg suggested.
“Fine,” Wemmbu sighed.
And before the demonic avian could suggest waiting a few more minutes, Egg began walking over. Wemmbu merely breathed out a laugh before following behind.
“Loms, the beat is three-four, not whatever you’re doing,” Flame was saying with a roll of his eyes.
“Dude, I don’t even know what I’m doing.” Lomedy glared playfully, “You might be a worse teacher than I am a dancer.”
“So like, I’m not,” Flame argued.
“Nah, you kinda are,” Wemmbu suddenly said. Flame and Lomedy both looked over to see the demonic avian approaching them, Egg two steps ahead of him. “I bet I could do better at teaching.”
“Stop lying,” Egg snorted.
Soon enough Egg and Wemmbu were facing Lomedy and Flame. Which was kind of funny with all the height difference. Egg was basically as tall as Flame, if not taller by a very small amount, while Wemmbu was maybe a centimeter or two shorter than Lomedy.
“Where did you three even learn how to dance?” Lomedy asked, looking slightly exasperated.
“Zam,” Flame shrugged.
“Also Zam,” Wemmbu snickered. “And Egg.”
“Family,” Egg hummed. “And kind of Zam.”
“So Zam was literally just teaching everyone how to dance, wow,” the rabbit hybrid deadpanned.
“You don’t want to know how many balls Zam hosted or had us go to where you had to dance, bro,” Wemmbu groaned. “It was at least like- twelve.”
“You’re lucky you joined late,” Flame snorted.
“Why would a guard have to go to so many-?” Egg raised a brow.
“Ask Zam that,” the demonic lion snickered, “I had to go to about thirty, most of which I wasn’t even acting as a guard for.”
“Eugh,” Wemmbu grimaced.
“If you all hated those balls so much, why do you seem like you’re having a blast at this one?” Lomedy queried.
“Because it’s Parrot’s,” Wemmbu shrugged. Egg and Flame nodded in agreement.
At this one that Parrot was hosting it felt like they could actually breathe, rather than having to appear perfect every second of every minute. They didn’t need to have straight posture all the time, or dance with every person who asked, or remain quiet unless someone approached first. They were just here to have fun and celebrate their victory of getting Parrot his throne back.
“Anyways, about why we walked over,” Wemmbu hummed, nudging Egg with his elbow.
“Oh- yeah,” Egg said, “we noticed you struggling.”
“And?” Flame raised a brow.
“We wanted to offer help,” Egg shrugged.
“Oh my Void, please, Flame is awful at corrections,” Lomedy grinned. He promptly ignored the offended noise that the demonic lion made.
And soon enough Egg was actually teaching Lomedy how to dance. Meanwhile Wemmbu and Flame stood back and awkwardly watched.
They’d kind of already made up, but it still felt a little weird. Normally they’d be sparring, not.. Standing at a fancy ball while their friends tried to dance. The silence (despite there being music, talking, and a few glasses clinking together) was weird.
“So like…” Wemmbu started, not making eye contact. (Not that he could because Flame was wearing his blindfold like usual but- you get what he means.) “Are we just gonna stand here, or-?”
“Bro, I don’t know,” Flame shrugged. His tail flicked, whether it was from boredom or agitation, Wemmbu didn’t know. Neither did Flame, because he was kind of between the two.
“..Wanna dance or something?” Wemmbu eventually queried. Flame gave him a look. “Bro, I don’t know, I’m bored!”
The demonic lion sighed, long and quiet. “Y’know what, fine.”
“Oh, really? Sweet,” Wemmbu grinned. “Wait until this song is over though, cause it’s got like forty seconds.”
“How do you know that-?”
“Don’t question it.”
While that happened, on almost the opposite of the room was Spoke and Mapicc. Doing… Who knows what. “I don’t think that’s how you do it,” Mapicc commented.
“Then how do you do it?” Spoke deadpanned. Mapicc had no answer. “Exactly!”
“I’m going to see if there are deserts yet,” Mapicc said, already walking away.
“Wha- wait for me!” Spoke whined. He stopped whatever the hell he was doing, and quickly caught up to the demonic border collie.
And after only a few more steps, they were at one of the tables. The plates were organized, neat. Some of them were missing food, some were untouched. There were a few empty places, probably where a plate ran out and was then put away.
“Yo, there’s brownies!” Spoke gapped. And soon enough he plucked one from the container, and began eating it. Mapicc tried to grab his own before Spoke stopped him.
“What?” Mapicc raised a brow.
“You’re literally part dog,” Spoke reminded.
“Oh yeah,” the demonic border collie paused. He looked at the brownies. Then at Spoke. Then at the brownies. “..Do you think the human and demon parts cancel that out?”
Then Spoke paused. “That is a good question,” he hummed. He had eaten his brownie by now, bits of it still on his fingers.
“How safe would it be for me to test it?” Mapicc queried. His eyes stayed on the brownies.
“How safe would what be for you test?” Someone suddenly asked. Spoke and Mapicc both turned, perhaps a little too quickly, and saw Parrot.
“King Parrot! Hi!” Spoke grinned, “We weren’t doing anything bad or evil, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Uh-huh,” the avian deadpanned. “What were you plotting, then?”
“If Mapicc’s human and demon parts cancel out the dog bit of not being able to eat chocolate,” the voidling answered.
“Specifically brownies,” Mapicc added.
“Specifically brownies,” Spoke repeated with a nod.
Parrot looked between both of them. Then he glanced at the brownies. Then he stared at Mapicc for a few moments, probably calculating. Definitely calculating. Spoke could tell that was Parrot’s calculating face. The song in the background changed to a new one, though none of the three were focusing on that.
“I mean.. It might?” The king eventually shrugged. “I don’t think one brownie would harm you, if it does at all.”
“I will take that chance,” Mapicc grinned. And soon enough he grabbed a brownie and ate part of it. They all waited for a moment. And then Mapicc took another bite. “So far so good,” he said after he swallowed.
“Probably don’t have more than three, though..” Parrot warned, “and if you do have three, don't have anymore chocolate for a day or two.”
“D’alright,” Mapicc shrugged. He ate more of the brownie. Spoke grabbed another one and ate some of his too.
Parrot just stifled a chuckle before starting to walk back to Theo, before suddenly stopping and staring at something. Spoke and Mapicc were immediately curious as to what the avian was looking at, and walked over to see. Spoke had to swallow the last bit of his brownie before he let his mouth droop open. Mapicc’s ear twitched in surprise.
“We’re all seeing the same thing, right?” Spoke asked. “I’m not insane, we’re all seeing this?”
“Yeah, I’m seeing it,” Mapicc nodded.
“Parrot, you see it, right? Mapicc and I aren’t having shared hallucinations or something?” The voidling looked toward the avian.
“No, you’re not,” Parrot breathed. Then, quieter, “Never thought I’d live to see the day.”
As to what the three were all shocked about (as well as Theo if you looked over to him. His eyes kept glancing from his violin to whatever was happening before trying to keep focus on playing. Ignore how he fumbled over two notes before getting back on track)...
“Y’know, you’re actually not that bad,” Flame commented, quickly spinning Wemmbu.
“We were both taught by Zam,” the demonic avian rolled his eyes as he spun again, but slower.
Then his hand went back to Flame’s shoulder, his other one holding the demonic lion’s. Flame’s hand, the one not holding onto Wemmbu’s, was instead resting near Wemmbu’s shoulder-blade.
The two moved surprisingly well together, keeping beat with the song, Waltz of the Flowers. Even if they were rivals, it was kinda fun. Besides, nowadays their rivalry wasn’t as serious or tense. More so just messing around and steadily improving as they each found new tricks to use.
Right now though they were just dancing. It was shockingly easy for them to step or spin, partly because they were in a less crowded area. Egg and Lomedy were probably the closest people nearby, who were also trying (keyword: trying) to do the same dance to the same song. Except Lomedy still wasn’t very good, so they definitely skipped or messed parts up.
Wemmbu quite enjoyed how much he got to spin, honestly, since Flame was taking the lead. The demonic avian liked the feeling of the wind subtly picking up around him, regardless if he got dizzy after a few times.
The dance itself, or at least the one Flame and Wemmbu were doing, wasn’t very long compared to the song itself. While the song was maybe seven or eight minutes, the waltz was about a little less than three. Still fun, though. Maybe Wemmbu and Egg should make more of a hobby of dancing.
Before either of them knew it the dance was over. They stayed still for a few short moments. Not breathing heavily per se, they’d done much more tiring activities without breaking a sweat, but their breath was still a smidge uneven. Then they backed away from one another, their waltz over even though the song still played.
“So why can you two dance so well together when Egg and I keep tripping?” Lomedy complained.
“Because you suck at dancing,” Flame raised a brow.
“Rude!” Lomedy scoffed, though there was almost no bite to it.
“Accurate,” Wemmbu corrected with a grin.
“Something can be accurate and still rude,” Egg deadpanned.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” the demonic avian rolled his eyes.
~~~
Later, when there was only about an hour or so left, Wemmbu was outside. At a balcony, arms rested on the railing, just looking at the sky. The sun was just about to finish setting.
Without a word Parrot joined him at some point.
Then Flame appeared.
And lastly, Spoke.
They shared no words. It was just a moment of quiet. Four people, who had cycled through being enemies, acquaintances, rivals, friends, far too many times to count, all just watching the same sky. The same sun finally finish sinking under the horizon. The same stars begin to glitter in the sky.
Somewhere, Theo was still playing the violin. Mapicc tried to distract him. Lomedy tried to make sure Mapicc didn’t eat more chocolate. And Egg smiled and wrote in a book. Those four were louder and inside. Still having their own fun.
Eventually, at the final fifteen minutes, all eight gathered. Not on purpose, but coincidence. They subtly splint into groups none of them expected. People moved to different people. And yet all eight stayed together in the same area. Talking, laughing, joking, a few quiet apologies and some understanding.
Maybe during the next crisis they could actually stick together. Because they all knew something, big or small, would happen. But they’d be there for each other when it happened.
Right now, all that mattered was the eight of them, having fun.