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Mane felt a familiar warmth carefully crawl into his nest.
He held back a smile, not wanting to scare his little brother off. It didn't happen often, but Wemmbu still occasionally slipped into Mane's nest to cuddle. He always seemed to think that he could be sneaky enough to not be caught, but Mane woke up every time the door to his den opened.
He waited until Wemmbu settled against Mane's side before suddenly pouncing. His brother squeaked (which he will later deny) as Mane's arms surrounded him, pulling him closer under the blankets and hugging him tightly as he squirmed.
"Mane~!" his lilac whined, "Stop it!"
Mane laughed and rubbed his chin against the top of Wemmbu's head, "Nope~! Not happening! You're stuck here now!"
Wemmbu groaned but accepted his fate as Mane's teddy bear, snuggling close to his brothers warmth.
"So," Mane whispered, "nightmare?"
Wemmbu was quiet for a moment, "Yeah…"
Mane purred, "Want to talk about it?"
"No," Wemmbu shook his head, "just want to stay with you."
Mane smiled against his forehead, "That's fine, Lilac. Stay as long as you want."
Mane loved his little brother and he was glad that - even as a teen - Wemmbu still came to him for comfort after a nightmare. Not only was it soothing to Wemmbu, but it was also soothing to Mane himself. He liked holding his brothers and Flame was extremely against it because he was 'too old'. Wemmbu however, still let Mane hold him.
"You know I'm gone, right?" Wemmbu suddenly whispered and the illusion shattered.
Mane held the image of his littlest brother tighter as tears came to his eyes.
"Please," Mane begged, "please just let me have this. Just let me pretend."
Wemmbu stayed quiet as Mane sobbed, "I only ever get to see you in my dreams, just let me have this."
The imitation of Wemmbu sighed and held him tighter, "Only in your dreams, Manepear…"
Mane cried and held his brother in a tight embrace, willing himself to stay asleep just a little longer and pretend that everything was still normal.
~
Flame sat up on his bed and turned towards the window of the inn, watching the sunrise for a bit and trying to block out his sobbing older brother.
He didn't think Mane knew that he cried in his sleep every night, but he didn't want to tell him. Especially because Flame knew why he was crying. Every night Mane dreamed of Wemmbu. Probably of any happy memory his idle brain could pull up. It was his way of coping.
Flame couldn't really blame Mane for believing that Wemmbu was dead, it was a reasonable thing to happen. But Flame still held hope. He knew Wemmbu would never let himself die like that, he'd fight his way home.
That's why Flame kept leaving letters everywhere they went. He knew that Wemmbu would make his way back eventually and that he'd followed the path that Flame had left behind to find them. The letters also told of their journey, so that Wemmbu wouldn't feel left out of the adventure.
Flame hoped that Wemmbu was at least having fun…
Flame sighed quietly and turned on his communicator, replying to Lomedy's message before getting up. He wanted to use some of the hot water before Mane took it all when he woke up.
~
Mane woke up to water running and mourned the loss of Wemmbu once again. It was a feeling that never seemed to leave him. Like Wemmbu's presence was haunting him, not letting him go (not like he wanted to let go of him). He groaned and rubbed his eyes, brushing away dried tears before taking a deep breath.
He had to stay strong for Flame.
His will not fail his other little brother too.
He checked his communicator, seeing a message from Zam confirming their accommodations at his palace. He stretched his limbs and began packing. He needed to focus on getting himself and Flame to the PrinceZam Empire.
Where Flame will be safe.
~
Minute sighed woefully at the peace and quiet.
Don't get him wrong, he loved the peace and quiet! He didn't get enough of it with both of those kids running around him and Mane's over protectiveness. But he just couldn't help that it felt… too quiet.
Too peaceful.
He missed those damn kids. And he hates to admit it.
Wemmbu and Egg brought chaos to his life, but he seemed to have gotten used to the chaos and even - dare he say - enjoyed it.
And in the still and cold air of the void surrounding the End, Minute stood wishing for even a little bit of chaos.
~
Egg sighed as he watched his best friend sleep.
It wasn't often that Egg was up before Wemmbu, but he really did cherish the moments. Wemmbu rarely slept nowadays, always alert to the dangers around them. Always needing to protect Egg.
Wemmbu would run himself ragged to make sure Egg was safe and it was the reason the angel had started to train more. Egg didn't want Wemmbu to get hurt taking a blow for Egg, so he needed to know how to defend himself or at least keep himself out of harms way.
Egg and Wemmbu were extremely alike, even if most people couldn't tell at first. Wemmbu's personality was often the only thing people could see, Egg's own being covered in protective shadows. It worked for Egg, people normally underestimated him because of it.
Where Wemmbu was loud and energetic, so was Egg.
Where Egg enjoyed the small amounts of calm they got when traveling, so did Wemmbu.
And where Wemmbu's over protectiveness was, Egg's own was never far behind.
Egg would do anything for his best friend.
~
Wemmbu swished his legs in the river water as he looked up at the sky through the trees.
He wanted to focus on getting home, but he knew better than anyone what happened when the whispers in his head were ignored. They'd have to go to the Farlands before going home. Hopefully there was an End portal they could use.
He couldn't wait to go home and tell his older brothers all about their adventures. To show them all the loot they had found on the way home. To hug them, to say sorry, to drag Flame into Mane's den even as he whines about being too old to shared a nest with his brothers.
Wemmbu smiled in the sunlight, Gambit and Crucible sparkling as faint voices sung in the language of the End.
He'll make it home soon.