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“I- okay, okay, alright,” Flame sighed. “I’ll trust you.”
“You got this,” Falconu smiled. He started to turn and walk away toward the group.
“Falcon,” Flame called quickly.
The avian paused. “Yeah?”
“Don’t die on me, got it?”
“I won’t-”
“I’m serious,” the demonic lion said. His voice was close to a hiss, but not quite. “I almost lost you once already. I don’t want to actually lose you.”
Falcon froze, caught off guard. He.. Doesn’t think he’d ever heard Flame be that honest. Well, except for maybe two other times, but you get what he means. “I won’t die,” the avian finally said. “Promise.”
“..Okay,” Flame breathed out. “Good. Better keep that.”
“I got this bro, don’t worry. We got this.”
~~~
“My boots just broke-” Falcon informed.
Flame, if he wasn’t in battle, would have froze. “What-?”
“I have no boots,” Falcon repeated.
“Actually-? Okay- run, just run. Pearl, run, whatever,” Flame ordered.
He remembered TheG0DofWar’s helmet breaking before he was shot. Flame didn’t want to risk another friend getting killed because of broken armor.
“We need to run, we need to run,” the demonic lion repeated.
“Are we just full running?-” Falcon started.
He was cut off by almost every person’s totem, Flame’s included, popping. Green and gold sparks flew everywhere, footsteps buffered for maybe half a second before continuing. A few people dropped dead, arrows either lodged deeply in them or having gone through them.
“RUN-” Flame hissed,"Shield, bro get down, Falcon get out!”
Flame was panicking. He might be panicking. He’d seen this before, he’d lost a mentor- a friend, to this same thing before, he didn’t want it to happen again, Void don’t let it happen again. The demonic lion barely knew what he was saying. He was just yelling at Falcon to shield and get down and hold a totem and block and run.
Cobwebs were placed, he ate a golden apple maybe or threw XP bottles, he threw a pearl at some point because soon enough he felt the twist inside of his body as he was teleported away. A few more people dropped dead because of the more arrows.
“Falcon block- get behind the wall!” Flame ordered as he placed because Falcon could have been shot if he didn’t move. “Oh my Void,” the demonic lion said, parrying or tanking hits he wasn’t sure anymore.
“More of my armor is going to break soon,” Falcon said, still running.
Soon enough the two were in water and Flame just kept yelling orders because he couldn’t let Falcon die, the avian couldn’t die, Flame wouldn’t let another person he was friends with die because of a stupid arrow cannon or whatever the hell it was.
“Don’t even- don’t turn around,” Flame said.
“Are they still on us?” Falcon asked, trying to look despite Flame just saying to not turn around.
“I don’t know, just- keep running!” The demonic lion nearly shouted.
The two kept running. They didn’t stop. Eventually they started talking, Flame was maybe apologizing or saying something about how he shouldn’t have let Falcon come and it was just- Flame was still trying to not stay in memories of a different person, and yet a very, very, familiar scenario.
~~~
They were making their way back to the main server. Slowly, yes, but making their way back regardless. They weren’t close by any means quite yet, though. Still had a long way to go. Right now, it was night time, so they were laying low to rest up.
There was a campfire, two make-shift beds, and a singular chest that wasn’t quite buried but was close enough to being so. Flame wasn’t asleep quite yet. He wasn’t even laying down, actually. He was just sitting on his ‘bed’ and staring off in the distance. Lost in thought or searching for threats, the demonic lion wasn’t sure. Maybe both.
“Are you going to keep staring or are you going to sleep?” Falcon eventually asked. Flame didn’t respond; just a twitch of an ear that was a sign he heard what was said.
He still remembered what happened.
Falcon almost died just like G0dofWar did. Flame was so, so, close to losing another person. In all honesty he wasn’t very used to having friends like that. He had Manepear when he was young, sure, but that was his brother (cousin, whatever). And they eventually separated.
Flame had been alone for.. A year or so after that. He never really made friends in the Mafia, he hadn’t been interested. After the Mafia he was alone again.
A rivalry with Wemmbu was next, sure, but just that. Rivalry. The demonic lion supposes he considers Wemmbu a friend currently though, but he hasn’t talked to the demonic avian ever since their attempt at a fight.
Then he had Lomedy. Lomedy was great, is great. But Flame was a little too violent, and the rabbit hybrid wanted to try and fix his farm and look for his other friends. So Flame let him.
He supposes there was kind of Spongs and Skrilley, but.. Eh.
TheG0dofWar was next. He was a bit more of a mentor, though, technically. And then he was shot because Antagg cheated. Stupid, so utterly stupid.
And now there’s Falconu. And Flame was so close to losing Falcon as well. And he didn’t want that. He really, really didn’t. Especially not the same way as G0dofWar, not that same, cheating and dishonorable way.
Hm. Okay, uhm, Flame was realizing he may have some issues. Attachment or abandonment issues, maybe. Ugh, that’s weird. That’s stupid. He’s the Immortal Demon, the Strongest Player, why is he getting so worked up over friends?
“Hey Flame,” Falcon suddenly said.
“What?” The demonic lion queried.
“Why were you so like.. Adamant about me not dying in that battle? When I told you to go pull Antagg’s stasis?” The avian asked, “And with the arrows when we almost died?”
“Oh, uhh,” Flame’s tail twitched uneasily. “Don’t worry about it bro.”
“I think I should, given how panicked you sounded,” Falcon said. “I mean I don’t want to like pressure you or something, but I feel like I should know. Just in case.”
Flame paused. Then he sighed.
“It’s just uhm-” Flame started, fidgeting with the grass on the ground, “G0dofWar died in a really similar situation, and it uh.. Just reminded me of it too much.”
“Oh,” Falcon said quietly.
The demonic lion made sure to keep his head facing away from Falcon, not wanting to make eye contact whatsoever. It would be too awkward. (Then again Flame had a blindfold… Still.)
“I mean,” Falcon said, “I get that. Why you’d panic and not want me to die, I mean. Probably gave you flashbacks or something; it’s fine.”
It’s not fine, in Flame’s mind. You can’t just panic in a fight, it’d throw you off, distract you, give your enemy an advantage. He’s not used to panicking, he rarely ever panics when fighting. Same thing with flashbacks.
“Thanks for telling me, dude,” the avian said after a few quiet moments.
Flame just nodded.
…
That was enough emotional talk and thinking for one day. Maybe for one month.
Flame was just glad Falcon didn’t die.