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I’m— I’m not even going to try and kill you!
If you think about it, you’re doing exactly what he was doing.
I can’t always help you.
I gave you simple instructions and you can't even follow them...
You’re a lost cause.
Haunting, it all was.
Wemmbu exhaled, as if he wasn’t breathing for a while. His eyes opened to the surroundings, finally noticing where he last stayed.
Suddenly, he was sensitive to everything. The moon was surprisingly blinding him, the wind in his hair felt exposing but the bangs that refused to drift felt itchy, his buckled knees went numb and locked, and the water and air suddenly binded together in an uncomfortable cold breeze, which was often comforting in his matter.
He shivered.
It was when he saw the person in front of him— Eggchan, his seraphim friend— then he calmed. Right, fishing…
“Yo, you good?” The angel spoke with his usual tone, dull yet not too far from emotion- concern. His headwings flapped as he turned, showcasing his singular eye to Wemmbu which was slightly curved in worry. His fishing bait held a small cod that was far from alive, then the demon noticed the stack of the dead school of fish in the bucket. Huh. What a roll Egg was on.
“..Yeah, yeah.” Wemmbu replied, a little later than he expected. “Just..” Yeah. Just getting threatened on a daily basis, holding it together and trying to not let it get to him for months on end. Unspoken though.
“Just trying to.. process.” He wasn’t necessarily lying.
Eggchan gave him a slight pout before looking ahead again. He knew that wasn’t the whole truth, and he knows he has his reasons, being wanted and all.
I hate that you hide, despite being the strongest. That silent thought floated.
And Wemmbu could sense that.
Not a reaction was shown, but he winced internally.
…
For the first time, with Eggchan’s presence, being his best friend for years.. Silence felt almost uncomfortable.
The slightly faster pace of the latter’s breath, the audible sounds of the air going in and out of his nostrils, all of it became so painfully aware to him and it struck to him as agitation.
He didn’t want to think about it.
His pride didn’t allow him to.
..And yet..
“I’m.. I’m sorry, Egg.” Wemmbu muttered, his head lowered a few centimeters down as he turned to face away his friend’s back. “Oh, nah. You’re good.” Eggchan assured, half-heartedly at least. “I get it, bro. Y’know, trying to run away from different gangs that all want you dead and stuff.”
“I’m sure you do.” Wemmbu snickered as he reminisced all the times Eggchan got kidnapped. “Oh, shut up!”
The air was easier to breathe in now.
Wemmbu stared into the endless horizon of the sea, clearly not interested in fishing.. or any of the activities that was going on around him. He didn’t mind listening to Eggchan curse every time he got an item that wasn’t beneficial. Though, his mind floated elsewhere…
The Law.
The Law kept him in prison, not to execute him for his crimes. No, no— that tone didn’t mean he was being just, he was pleased. They were preserving him for a show.
“When I become king, the first thing I’ll do is execute Wemmbu.”
He said in front of hundreds, if not thousands of players who probably all wanted the same. LettuceK knew everyone viewed Wemmbu as a bounty, a reward, a trophy, a view. Never a person. And he used that to his advantage. He could remember his sugarcoated justice to please his campaign, to stay on top. That tone that suggested a confident and kind man— suggested everything that he wasn’t.
As much as Wemmbu feigned indifference at that moment, it was all hitting him. He didn’t even feel.. real anymore. Too much happening, too little time to catch up. Yet, he remembered vividly.
He was convinced the world, the universe, was turning their backs on him.
Wemmbu sighed, leaning against Eggchan’s back. Eggchan hummed in surprise, feeling the sudden weight pressed against his behind, but he didn’t protest. In fact, he tried supporting the action by pressing his back against his friend’s own. Warmth ignited between the nonexistent space of their clothes. Warm. In its own way, something was on their way to soften them up.
Their breathing synced, inhaling and exhaling.
Eggchan initiated.
“You don’t have to—“
“I probably should.” Tell him.
It wasn’t right just to leave it behind his sealed lips.
Eggchan was his closest friend. The only one that even went through with him. Who stayed, never betrayed, never denied. Honest to him, loyal was a stretch but it was true. Sure, he wasn’t too knowledgeable of how everything worked here but he wasn’t stupid. Even if he hid it for long, he knew there would be inner turmoil surging somewhere in Egg’s mind— longing to feel like they were getting close.
Wemmbu had to prove that they were already close.
“You know, I didn’t even realize I was capable of feeling so.. down. I’d just shrug it and thug it out, like, 99% of the time.” He said quietly, running a hand through his purple locks that grew dull since his fight with FlameFrags. “Isn’t that weird?”
Eggchan sighed, pulling the rod as he caught yet another leather boot, singular, and put it in his makeshift pile of trash. “What’s weirded is you not feeling down, everyone feels like that, dude.” He admitted. “Imagine me after not seeing my own friend for years, and he’s all gloomy and detached from reality.” Dramatic.
“I’m not detached from reality, nor was I gone for years.”
“It felt like years!.. And your hair says otherwise.”
“Dude— It’s literally just… slightly messy.”
“Slightly is an understatement.”
“What? You gonna clean it when we get back?”
“I’m down, I’ve been wanting to anyway!”
“..I was joking.”
I wouldn’t mind it. Wemmbu never uttered.
“When did you start feeling like this, Wem?” Eggchan asked, trying to make sure he didn’t sound too concerned so it wouldn’t be viewed as pity. “Oh, not that too long ago, maybe. Like.. It just hit me how almost everyone wants me, like, dead? I didn’t mind it at first because— pfft— suit yourself.” Wemmbu paused, before curling in on himself more. “..But, I dunno.. It just feels like.. no matter what I do, I.. I end up looking like anything that’s not a person.”
That statement sort of sent back Eggchan to the time he weaponized Wemmbu against the merchants and traders, sending a slight sliver of guilt but he brushed it off— He’ll treat him better, again.
“The Law, or.. Lettuce really wants me dead. Other players fight me because I’m either a bounty or I’ll be sold in the black market or somethin’. Players find me, befriend me, use me, then betray me. It’s nothing new, really, I just thought that I.. changed. Or something.” Okay, now he was beginning to feel stupid. “Nevermind, bro.”
His words drifted into the air, unsure if it would even reach Eggchan’s ears. Wemmbu rubbed his own shoulder in uncertainty, a habit he started having since he was in his first prison, alone.
“It’s good, it’s coo’.” The latter responded. “I understand. I mean, I get you. Like, I used to think like that, kinda.” That perked the demon’s ears. “Really?”
“Mm, yeah. I used to think that I was your side fling. ‘Cause lots of people would kidnap me to lure you in.” Wemmbu gulped. “But I just changed that— by changing my own view on it, and myself.” Eggchan smoothly said, casually taking in another worm as his fish bait. “Now? People think I’m funny like that since I’ve stepped up a bit. I think.”
Wemmbu chuckled. “Yeah, no one’s gonna touch you after a single kill.” He said teasingly.
“Seriously, bro. No one did, actually!” The angel emphasized. “I’m tuff like that. Plus, that wasn’t my first kill.”
“Yeah, your third.”
“Still counts!”
Wemmbu poked the angel’s wings as he teased about his kill count. “You’re so good at PvP now, huh? Should I even be here?” He was having way too much fun
“You’re my friend, not my bodyguard. Also— I didn’t preen my wings this whole week, don’t touch them.” Eggchan pointed.
He looked down at his friend’s wings. Indeed, they were unkempt. He stroked his fingers through the angel’s wings, feeling the softness of the feathers. Feathers stuck out like a sore thumb, but it didn’t seem too much of a hassle.
Though, his head rethought and replayed.
You’re my friend. His mind repeated.
You’re my friend.
You’re my…
Friend.
“‘Kay, bro.” Eggchan slapped his wings, a yelp escaping Wemmbu’s mouth. “Ou- Hey! I’ll preen them when we get back.” He stated. “Okay but I can fix your hair up after, right?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“..No.”
“It’s not fair, bro.”
“Fine.”
They sighed, leaning in further into each other’s backs.
Wemmbu took this opportunity to actually look. The sky as it stretched endlessly. Away from the town, he could see the stars, etched into the black yet beautiful void of the never ending space. The moon was soft as it always was, cascading down on their boat and on them. The boat rocked gently along with the waves that washed over the base of their floating contraption. The sea truly did look.. well, great, as the night gave the illusion of a perfect mix of dark blue and azure, the waters were unusually clear this time around.
He saw his reflection.
Wemmbu looked down, gazing at his own copy.
..For once, he didn’t see something else. He didn’t see his bloody self. He didn’t see his pathetic excuse of a fighter.
He saw himself.
He was dressed in royal wear, lavender beads highlighting the ends of his collar, drouted bows around his corset. His tiara held on his head, painfully, but he grew numb against its hold. The gem that was held in the center of its glory grew dull, hollow, even. His hair… was cut off. Sloppily. It surprised him. Last time he checked, his orchid hair blew heavily in the air, boisterously showing off his deep mauve colors.
It looked muted now. Maybe even darker.
He caressed a few strands, it felt rough as a bundle.
He considered staying alive as an option.
____
After many trials and casts, Eggchan had made his decision to turn back home with his newfound borderline obsession with fishing. Wemmbu was starting to doze off until the boat suddenly moved.
“Heyyuuhh.. Don’t do that suddenly..” He murmured, leaning into the combination of Egg’s warm back and the cushion of his wings. “My bad, bro.” The demon hummed.
The comforting feeling of being supported physically, with the relishing sensation of being acknowledged as a peer, it all dawned to him, so nicely.
So very nicely, he could finally rest without the deprivation.
Wemmbu’s vision grew darker, eyes growing heavier, compelling him to slumber.
Warm. He thought.
It felt warm.