Chapter Text
The lion hybrid was woken up by the sound of something falling. The teenager immediately reached for his spear. Slowly, he stepped out of his room, making sure the potential opponent wouldn’t hear him , a surprise attack would be a better idea.
When Manepear left his room, he started going downstairs toward the sound of chests being opened. When Mane finally reached the room, he jumped out from around the corner and quickly took a fighting stance.
“Put the items on the ground.”
As Mane was about to attack, he noticed that the person stealing was a child, not older than his younger brother. The purple creature used Mane’s moment of distraction and jumped out the window.
“Huh, WAIT!”
The lion hybrid jumped after the child. Luckily, he was known for his speed, so he quickly caught up with the kid. Not that it was difficult , the purple slime was leaving trails of sludge everywhere.
“BRO, don’t run like that!”
The demon didn’t listen and kept running.
“Kids these days, bro…”
After five minutes of chasing, Mane finally grabbed the child by his robe.
“You’re coming back with me.”
Wemmbu was now tied to a chair. The older boy had been trying for a few hours to get information out of him, but the demon remained silent. He had no intention of talking to suspicious people. It’s not like he even knew how to talk much anyway.
“Listen, kid, I really don’t have much time… Just tell me who sent you and that’s it.”
Wemmbu stuck his tongue out at the perfect moment, which caused Mane to groan.
“O myyyyyyy…”
Then footsteps could be heard upstairs, it looked like the second family member had finally woken up.
For some time, Wemmbu had been stealing shiny things from them. Usually, he robbed a house only once, but here there was always something new. In his opinion, only an idiot wouldn’t take advantage of that. Besides, that lion knew how to fight, so he could always get new things.
“Good morning, Mane…” the fiery boy rubbed his eyes; you could see that the blaze hybrid was still sleepy.
“Good morning, Flame,” the lion replied, still not taking his eyes off Wemmbu.
“Brother, what is that?”
Okay, the word “what” hit Wemmbu personally.
“A thief who’s been stealing from us for some time.”
That fully woke Flame up.
“He stole my golden sword?!”
The blaze hybrid got angry; the tips of his dreadlocks started burning, and the older one began putting them out with his hands.
“Don’t get so mad. We’ll get that sword back once this kid starts talking…”
Wemmbu looked away. This was starting to get boring and uncomfortable. Because he was tied up, his wings were in a very uncomfortable position. Mane could at least have adjusted him into something more comfortable.
“Then make him start talking!”
Manepear sighed.
“Flame! It’s literally a child! I’m not going to torture some kid. I’m sure he works for someone. Just give me some time, he’ll crack eventually.”
The brothers started arguing. The demon used the fact that Mane stopped looking at him and began untying the rope. After five minutes of effort and getting annoyed at the rope, Wemmbu was free.
Slowly, he stepped off the chair and backed toward the window. Maybe he failed the first time, but this time he’d manage.
As Wemmbu jumped out the window, Flame happened to look in his direction.
“BROTHER, HE’S ESCAPING!”
Okay, he had to hurry. He quickly jumped out the window onto the ground. Good thing his whole body was made of slime, otherwise he would’ve broken his legs.
Flame started running after him. For a moment, Mane told him to give up the chase, because the kid would probably come back for more loot anyway and they could catch him then. But Flame didn’t agree. He wanted justice now.
Unfortunately, the demon was faster and Flame lost sight of him in the dense forest.
“Take a breath, Flame. Remember what Mane taught you about tracking.”
Then something clicked.
After the nights when the creature robbed them, there were always different purple marks left behind. It looked like the kid couldn’t control it. He could use that to his advantage.
So he started looking for the first trace. It took him a while, but after that, he just had to follow the marks.
The signs led him to a small cave in the ground. Flame pulled out his iron sword and swallowed. It was his first time on a mission alone without Mane.
He gripped the sword tightly and entered the cave.
It was small; the blaze hybrid had to bend down to avoid touching the ceiling. In the corners were many shiny objects , from golden apples to golden spoons. And in the middle of it all was the demon, drifting and distracted, his tail (which was between golden rings , he had no idea how they were staying there) swinging in different directions.
Flame raised his sword and attacked the creature. Unfortunately for him, the demon dodged at the last second. The younger one had good reflexes.
When he tried to run, the blaze hybrid grabbed him by the cloak and pulled, causing the slime to fall over. Before the other could react, Flame pointed the sword at him.
The demon raised his hands.
Flame was proud of himself, his first mission ended in success.
“Wait! Talk! Your sword, right?”
Bro, Flame had never seen someone butcher the English language that badly.
“No — I mean yes — just… ugh whatever, just come with me.”
He watched as the demon slowly stood up, hands still raised.
On the way back, Wemmbu tried to escape several times, but each time Flame managed to catch him. It ended with the demon being attached to a fishing rod that Flame was holding. It was supposed to prevent him from escaping or something; he didn’t really understand what the fiery boy was talking about.
And so he ended up tied to a chair again. This time Flame made sure to tie him properly. Manepear was surprised that Flame found him, but you could see pride in his posture.
“Give me back my sword, thief!” Flame said.
Wemmbu obviously ignored him; he didn’t even have the sword with him. Even if he did, he wouldn’t give it back — it was his loot. (If they took that sword from him he’d just come back for it the next night.)
“Flame, you won’t achieve anything by yelling at him. Trust me, I did that for a few hours and he didn’t say a single word.”
Of course he didn’t. What was he supposed to tell them? That he didn’t actually work for anyone and that collecting shiny things was his passion? Nah, he still wanted to live. This way he could use the lion’s kindness.
“But what else are we supposed to do? Otherwise he won’t give back my sword and the other things!”
The hybrid was angry. He noticed that the item was important to him , did he also like shiny things? Even if he did, he still wouldn’t give it back. He should’ve watched his belongings better.
“I have an idea.”
Then Mane pulled out a golden enchanted apple from his inventory.
Wemmbu’s black eyes lit up. He had never seen such an item before, and it shone incredibly. It had to be rare.
“BROTHER, don’t tell me you’re going to give him that apple for robbing us!”
Flame argued with his brother, but Wemmbu stopped listening, staring at his new target. He returned to reality only when he felt the ropes around his body falling off. Oh, he was untied.
“Let’s make a deal. I’ll give you the apple, and you’ll give us back the golden sword and answer all the questions I ask.”
Wemmbu nodded. But when he was about to take the apple from Mane’s hands, the boy pulled it away.
“First the sword,” Manepear said.
Wemmbu groaned.
“Come,” the demon said, walking out of the room. He wanted the two of them to follow him, which they did, confused.
Manepear had been following the purple slime for a few minutes. None of the three said anything. Flame held his sword in his right hand; the lion could tell he was ready to attack at any moment. But if he was honest, the demon didn’t look like he wanted to escape now.
After a while, they reached a cave.
“So this is where you hid earlier,” Flame said. Was it an enemy base? Probably not , Flame would’ve mentioned it.
The demon started going inside. When Flame and Mane tried to follow, he turned around and held out his hand, saying “stop,” so Mane stopped and waited. His younger brother just looked at him weirdly and shrugged.
After a moment, the slime came out, holding the golden sword.
“My sword!”
Flame snatched it from the purple creature’s hand and carefully inspected it for damage.
“What’s your name?” That was the first question he asked the child.
“Wemmbu.”
Okay. Easy to remember.
“Wemmbu, now we’ll return to my house and there you’ll answer the questions.”
The child only groaned but started walking back.
When they got back, Flame went to get a cloth to wipe the purple marks off his sword, leaving Mane and the child alone.
Manepear handed the promised apple to the demon sitting on the floor. The boy immediately started examining it from all sides.
“So, Wemmbu, who sent you to me?” Mane said, now leaning against the wall.
“No one.”
The lion hybrid groaned helplessly.
“Bro, just tell me.”
The child kept looking at the item curiously. He even pulled out a cloth from under his robe and started polishing it.
“No one,” he repeated.
Mane walked over and knelt in front of him.
“Alright, so how old are you?”
The lion tried to build at least a thread of trust first. Maybe then the child would be more willing to cooperate.
“Six.”
He was four years younger than his younger brother Flame.
“Mhm. Where are your parents?”
Wemmbu finished polishing his apple, put the cloth away, and instead pulled out tape. He started taping the apple to the inside of his cape.
Manepear didn’t even want to question that.
“No parents.”
Okay.
That left two most likely options. Either the boy ran away from toxic parents, or someone killed them. He wasn’t sure if he should continue that topic , it might be too sensitive for Wemmbu.
The child had just finished taping his loot to his robe. Now he looked straight at Mane.
Only now did the teenager notice how the younger one was built. He wore nothing except a black hooded cape. On his head was a golden tiara, and from under the hood his hair, if you could call it that, stuck out. His whole body was covered in slime; Mane could see through Wemmbu’s hand because the child was slightly transparent.
Additionally, he noticed two bumps under the hood. Most likely horns. And a tail stuck out from under the cape.
“Alone, truth”
The demon spoke for the first time without being asked.
At that moment, Flame came back in a good mood. He had finally gotten his sword back. He remembered that when he found Flame in the Nether, the younger one had that sword with him, so he assumed it must be valuable to him.
“So how’s getting information out of the demon going? I hope it was worth giving away OUR golden enchanted apple.”
Mane walked over to Flame and started patting his head to calm him down. He knew that when he was angry or nervous, Flame often burned the ends of his hair. It was a pain to fix later.
“Shhhhhh, let your older brother work.”
That made Flame make a funny face, and Manepear laughed. Flame’s expressions always amused him.
After a moment, Mane stopped playing with his brother’s hair.
“So, back to the topic of the little thief.”
He noticed Wemmbu’s body tense slightly, like he was ready to run at any second.
“He’s staying with us.”
You could hear surprise from both Flame and Wemmbu. The demon even relaxed for a moment.
“WAIT, WHY ARE WE TAKING HIM IN?!” Flame yelled, pointing at the younger one, who now laughed.
“Flame! We can’t leave him alone.”
Mane walked up to Wemmbu and placed a hand on his shoulder. The kid just looked at him like he was weird.
“But he robbed us?!”
Flame approached them; his hair tips started burning again.
“You have your sword back? Yes or no?”
Mane looked at Flame.
“Well yes, but that’s not the only thing that matters!”
The oldest sighed.
“Brother, go to your room. I’ll come to you later.”
And the blaze hybrid did so, going toward his room and leaving the two alone.
“So, Wemmbu, from today on you’ll sleep here.”
The demon looked around the room. There wasn’t much, just a desk, a bed, and a few cabinets.
“Why?” Wemmbu asked. He genuinely wondered why the lion took him in.
“I need extra hands for work.”
Mhm. So that was it. Well, he didn’t plan to work for them anyway. He wasn’t anyone’s worker. For now, he’d just use the shelter. He noticed not many players came here because they were afraid of Manepear. (That was why he had many item stashes near their base.)
“For now, just rest or something. I need to go to my younger brother.”
Wemmbu said nothing, just watched Manepear leave the room. That was strange.
The demon pulled his hood down, letting his black horns stick out.
Then the child lay down on the bed. It was comfortable. Much more comfortable than the rocks he used to sleep on. Maybe he could steal one for his hideout.
And so the demon fell asleep.
Flame was sitting on his bed. Of course he was angry at his older brother. He didn’t understand why he allowed a thief to stay in their house. It just wasn’t fair.
Suddenly, Flame heard a knock and the sound of the door opening. Mane stood in the doorway, arms crossed.
“Can I come in?”
Flame moved aside a bit, making room. The lion hybrid gladly took the opportunity and sat next to him. The younger avoided his gaze.
“Flame, bro, don’t act like a brat.”
The fiery boy felt anger taking over more and more.
“I’m acting like a brat?! You’re the one bringing some weird creature into our home! What if he does something to us while we’re sleeping?”
Mane placed his hand on Flame’s shoulder, making him look at his brother’s face.
“Flame, I won’t let anything happen to us. And besides, look at him. Does he look like someone who could hurt us? Did he win in a fight?”
Flame looked at his knees.
“Well… no.”
Mane smiled, then wrapped an arm around Flame and grabbed his cheek.
“MANE bro, STOP!”
Flame tried to move away, but it was pointless. His older brother was too big and too strong.
“A little confidence, brother. Besides, I couldn’t leave the kid alone. I didn’t leave you alone in the Nether, right?”
Flame felt his cheek finally freed. He looked at Mane, who was smiling at him.
“Right.”
The blaze hybrid finally moved away and lay down on his bed.
“Bro, what are you doing?” Flame asked, confused.
“You were afraid he’d kill us in the night, so I’ll stay with you tonight. I’ll protect you like a proper older brother.”
That was embarrassing. He wasn’t a child anymore and didn’t need Mane’s protection.
But despite that, he lay down on the other side of the bed.
“Goodnight, Flamefrags.”
“Goodnight, Manepear.”