Chapter Text
“I’m so booooooreduhhh.” Theo whined as he slumped onto the table. His arms slacked on the surface, almost knocking the tea set. His eyes landed on Parrot’s figure in front of him, looking so poised while reading the book Theo couldn’t imagine a kid his age reading. “At least you’re having fun reading your book.”
Parrot looked so unbothered reading a massive book, his eyes just going back and forth with how big it was. He was bundled up in a quilt thick enough to be a pillow that he almost couldn’t tell whether or not there was a person under it. It was tied like a cloak around Parrot’s neck with a string too thin to even support the weight of the quilt.
Unbeknownst to Theo, Parrot was not even paying attention to what he was reading. Everything that went to his brain was shot through the backdoor, never to be remembered unless he read it again. He flipped from page to page, reading passages over passages.
Three teens were inside an extravagant room decorated with a flurry of colors that screams of the Empire’s color scheme. Parrot’s chambers didn’t have fancy chandeliers, but it did have some lighting that only lightborns and skyborns can turn on and off at any second. Theo and Parrot were sitting at the tea table near a massive window with the curtains closed, with Flame leaning against the wall next to the door.
Parrot sighed, putting down the book with a heavy thud while looking at Theo straight in the eyes. “You know you’re not obligated to stay, right?” He said.
Theo jolted up. “Well, yeah! But…” He grumbled, looking to the sides while his head wings made a poor attempt at hiding his face. “It’s been a while since we properly hung out…”
He wasn’t lying. They haven’t been hanging out since Theo started his training and Parrot started his preparation to get crowned as an official heir of the Zam Empire. Sure, they see each other often, sure Parrot watches Theo train whenever he’s free, but that’s entirely different from just hanging out on a random day picking up flowers in the garden or running around the halls.
Parrot’s eyes softened as he let out a sigh. “This is like solitary, you think this is a proper hang out?”
“Ugh…” Theo grumbled, slumping onto the table again.
Hmm…
The maids are busy tending to the delegates that almost no one is in the residential sector, Zam is already in the meeting with the Farlands Emperor, and Pangi would be there with Zam and Mane, since Flame is in the room with them guarding the door and making sure no one gets in or gets out. The window is right beside them with the curtains closed, but flying would be a little risky, since people would easily spot them.
Parrot’s eyes landed on Flame’s guarded figure, then back at the table.
Hmmm…
“What if we just, I don’t know… go out there?”
“Hell nah, bro.” A bonk to the head was immediately delivered unto Parrot’s head, earning a startled gasp from the poor lightborn.
Parrot looked up from behind him, the makeshift hood slipping slightly from his head as he looked at the taller teen looming above them with his blindfolds still on. “What the— Flame?! Where— how did you even—??”
Seriously, how fast can a Netherborn be?
“Dude, the Emperor would genuinely skin me alive if she sees you out bro.” Flame said flatly, his ears twitched as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Then she’d force you to write another ten pages on why you shouldn’t be seen by outsiders.”
Parrot’s face reddened as his eyes narrowed at him and pouted like a child that he is, aggressively putting back the hood on his head and hid himself. He hated the fact that Flame was entirely right.
“Aw, come on, Flame!” Theo shot up, almost pulling out his hair in utter frustration. “Just a bit? We’re just gonna be in the halls! Just near here, promise!”
“I said no.” Flame said, his voice a little too stern for someone only two years older than them. “Why don’t you like… practice flapping your cape or something.”
Parrot groaned while Theo tilted his head in confusion. “Flapping a cape? Isn’t that like doing this?” Theo flapped his wings from his back, letting out a gust of wind inside the room with the curtains from Parrot’s canopy bed and the curtains from the window flailing around.
“No, that’s not how it works.” Parrot let out an exasperated sigh. He held out a fraction of his cape with colors of green, blue and gold. “It’s not as easy as that for me, considering I only have five Wedges and all. You avians have it easy.”
“Hey! It’s not easy for us either!” Theo rebutted, pointing a finger at Parrot. “That’s ster— stereo… s— something, I don’t know!”
“You can hold my hand if you want to practice.” Flame offered, holding out his hand in front of Parrot. “I don’t think it’ll affect you that much.”
“You think so?” Parrot asked sarcastically.
“Why not? I’m sure it’ll be different this time around.”
You see, dear audience, a year ago when Zam was teaching Parrot how to thrust upward – take off into the sky, one might clarify, it was a total disaster, with Parrot almost immediately depleting his Wedges and falling to his doom.
You see, it wouldn’t be a problem in their homeworld where fall damage is basically nonexistent, but this is a different world, where fall damage does exist and death is permanent. Thankfully Flame was the one who caught Parrot and his light was immediately restored back to its full four, but then another Wedge was forming on Parrot’s back, which can only be explained by a single factor. Flame’s light gave Parrot another Wedge when his fifth wedge was supposed to be during his twelfth birthday two weeks later. Parrot was bedridden for a week, with Pangi and Zam trying to keep him stable because of an early development of a fifth wedge.
Parrot was sure that’s not gonna be the case this time around, but he doesn’t wanna get caught instinctively snuggling into Flame’s arms again just to get another whiff of his light, again.
Then an idea popped into Parrot’s head.
“Suuure…” Parrot muttered, slowly reaching for Flame’s hand, but not before kicking Theo’s leg, which gained a small reaction from the cockatiel. Theo’s glare disappeared when Parrot gave him a not-so subtle signal which could only mean one thing.
When Parrot’s fingers reached Flame’s own, a sudden burst of light immediately traveled down Parrot’s core. Fortunately, Flame’s light didn’t affect him that much compared to last time.
And when Flame was helping Parrot up from his seat, he didn’t expect that the lightborn would use that momentum to yank Flame’s hand with all his might and ran, with Theo throwing a pillow straight into Flame’s face before the two left the room laughing and giggling.
“WHAT THE HELL!!”
“Faster, Parrot! Faster!”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Two rulers were inside a meeting hall, sitting across from each other with two of their respective guards. Pangi and Mane behind Zam, and Null commanders X and Z behind Jamato. The tension was seeping inside the meeting hall, with both rulers contesting on who was the most composed.
“I must admit, Your Majesty.” Zam said, subtly eyeing the King of another kingdom with a glint of suspicion. “I did not expect the Prince to be accompanying the delegation, considering his presence was not announced in the letter.”
Jamato could only let out a sigh, resting his forehead on his fingers. Yet his expression softened at the mention of his beloved heir. “It was… unexpected, really.” He started. “He basically smuggled himself in one of the shulker boxes. I only noticed when we were checking in on our belongings.”
Zam hummed. “Quite the eccentric child, I must say.”
Jamato straightened up, dropping his hands neatly on the table. “Your Majesty, there was a reason why we reached out to you in the first place.” He says. “The state of our kingdom has become dire as the years pass. It has been… increasingly difficult to maintain the safety of my citizens as our code corrupts itself. The Null are lucky they are immune to it, but my people have been experiencing symptoms of corruption.”
Zam almost flinched, holding herself back as she pressed her hands together. “Corruption?” She muttered, her shoulders tensing. “I had assumed the corruption only affected terrains.”
“So did we.” Jamato responded, his voice dropping as the mood shifted entirely. Zam could almost hear the exhaustion in his voice. “I have some evidence prepared.”
Before Zam could even react, a black and purple glitch manifested unto the table as soon as Jamato drew something with his finger, the ring resembling a command block was flickering violently as holographic images began appearing in the air coming from the glitch.
This was technology that only the Farlands possess.
——————————————————————————————————————————
“Shh! Be quiet!” Parrot and Theo were giggling and catching their breath behind the chiseled pillar, their backs pressed against the wall as if they were trying to merge with it.
Theo’s hand was over his mouth trying to suppress his giggles along with Parrot, whose head wings were flapping from the thrill of running away from the young knight Zam assigned to watch over him. Parrot was peeking out on the hallway where they came from, he pulled away a part of his makeshift hood just to get a clearer view.
“D’you think we lost him?” Theo whispered, clearly smiling from under those hands.
“I think so.” Parrot replied with heavy breaths, looking back at Theo with a victor’s grin on his face. “We took five different turns, there’s no way he’d find us anywhere.”
“Do you really think you can hide from me?”
A voice so low, so menacing, came directly near and above them. What’s worse was that Flame didn’t even sound out of breath even though Parrot and Theo were still catching theirs. Slowly, they turned their heads towards the direction and saw Flame’s looming figure. To Theo, Flame just looks like some guy who looked like he was done with their attitude. But to Parrot, Flame looked like an angry massive ball of light trying to blind him.
Thankfully Lightborns are immune to such bright light.
“H— hi, Flame.” Theo greeted nervously.
“Are you two insane?” Flame exclaimed, his ears perking up while his tail swung aggressively. “Dude, Parrot, you genuinely look like you’re covered in glowstone dust, bro. I can see you from a mile away.” He noticed Parrot’s quilt slipping from his head, revealing the flurry of brown, green, and blue hair with some white locks having yet to adapt to the world’s colors. “And keep your quilt up! We don’t want anyone else seeing your light.” He grabbed the thick quilt and pulled it over Parrot’s head, securing it with the same thin string that was barely holding on to its weight.
“Wait, how come you can see Parrot’s light? Aren’t you a netherborn?” Theo asked, narrowing his eyes at Flame while his two sets of wings puffed up.
“He’s a Winged Light.” Parrot grumbled, adjusting to the suffocating feeling of the quilt. “He’s lightborn food.”
“That’s an awful way of saying I can replenish your light, Your Highness.” Flame sighed – letting out a small scoff as he did. “It’s nothing special, ‘cept I can see what lightborns and skyborns see.” He grabbed both Theo and Parrot’s hand, very careful not to touch Parrot directly on his skin. “Come on, let’s go back before Her Majesty finds out I lost you.”
“But, Flame!” Parrot whined, trying to pull his arm away, but Flame’s grip was too firm. “We’ve been stuck in the room the whole morning!”
“Yeah, Flame!” Theo exclaimed, glaring at the older teen. “Please, please, please let us play! We’re not even going to the main hall! We’ll stay here!”
“I said, no, Theo!” Flame shot back, not even stopping for a second despite Parrot and Theo’s pull. “What if the delegates came in this area, huh? How would we explain there's another lightborn like Her Majesty just roaming around the castle, and we don’t even know about their intentions?”
“Please, Flame? Just for a little while! I won’t even let the quilt slip, ever!” Parrot negotiated (if you could call it a negotiation) while clutching on his makeshift hood, completely hiding most of his hair and head wings save for the white fringe that decorated his face.
They only ever made it halfway back into Parrot’s quarters – only two turns away before Flame stopped on his tracks, turning his head towards the younger teens. His tail swished slowly when he saw Parrot’s expression. The lightborn was trying to wiggle his way out of this by staring at Flame with those big, hazel eyes that let him get away with everything.
Add Theo’s constant complaining and yelling and we have a combination of kids trying to get away with escaping punishment, when clearly, there isn’t even one to begin with! Flame was just trying his best, doing his job, and this is what he gets.
Flame lets out an exasperated sigh. This is way below his pay grade.
If he dragged them back while they’re whining, sooner or later they would fly out the window letting everyone see, which is waaaay worse than Just Parrot running around with a quilt thick enough to hide his light. They would have to deal with people trying to lure him out of the palace or straight up invading the Empire and snatching him away from them, which would then lead to an all-out war.
Flame sucked in a breath. “Fine…” He let go of Parrot and Theo, who immediately celebrated with a high five. “But we’re staying in these halls okay? No going to the main halls where there are outsiders around.”
“But can we go in the gardens?” Theo chimed, his amber eyes sparkling.
“What did I tell you, bro?”
“Oh come on, it’s just there!”
——————————————————————————————————————————
“Anything at all?” A null soldier, people would call them Greta, asked another null soldier who was looking up at one of the balconies at the main courtyard.
“No, he’s nowhere to be found!” Mio, another null soldier, pulled their hair in frustration. “He was right in front of us, HOW DID WE LOSE HIM?!”
Three null soldiers were panicking, searching for a single child. One little child that escaped the eyes of the most elite hunters known to the overworld. They were searching everywhere they could have access to – the main halls, the throne room, heck even the greenhouse, yet he was nowhere.
“Keep your voices down!” Seg hissed, shushing their colleagues. They were gripping a sash, following the trail wherever it pointed them to. Unfortunately, the places where it pointed them were at random, like it was trying to tell them that the kid was moving so fast the sash couldn’t even keep up with it. “Damn it, even this thing’s useless.”
Greta massaged their temples, their eyelids pressed tightly as if trying to alleviate the stress. “He couldn’t have gotten far.” They muttered tiredly before opening their eyes again, searching for any type of sign – a glitch or a dark shadowy mist, anything. “Think, if I were His Highness, where would I be right now?”
“Anywhere he’s NOT SUPPOSED TO BE!” Mio groaned, pacing around the other two. “It’s what he does! If his Majesty or the Emperor finds out, we are so dead!”
“MIO!” Greta hissed, grabbing them by the shoulder, stopping the panicked soldier in their tracks. “Get a hold of yourself! We will find him, okay? It’s not that hard! We just gotta look hard enough! Yeah! That’s it.”
“Yeah… yeah, we’ll find him! How big can this palace be? HAHAhaha haha… uhh…” Mio laughed out loud, catching almost everyone’s attention, garnering concerned looks from the palace guards and maids.
Seg sighed as he shook his head. “Gods above…”
——————————————————————————————————————————
The sound of footsteps echoed through the corridors of the second floor. The three teens were running around in circles, turning from corner to corner and going down the grand quartz stairs to the first floor. Parrot and Theo were both having the time of their lives running around with Flame who was letting loose and acting his age. They were having some kind of race towards the gardens. Parrot and Theo’s giggles could be heard in almost every corner, their voices cutting through the quiet atmosphere.
The moment they reached the gardens, something caught Parrot’s eye amidst the balconies decorating the residential sector. He stopped for a moment, stepping closer as he took a close look at the balcony. Something was moving there, but it wasn’t someone Parrot recognized.
“Wha—?! Parrot, wait!” Was the last thing Parrot heard before the light on his cape immediately rose up, dimming for a bit before regaining its light as he thrust upwards, the last wedge on the cape dimmed as he flew towards the third floor’s balcony. The quilt that once covered his entire being was discarded, fluttering in the wind like it had lost its anchor as Parrot continued to flap his cape.
His third wedge dimmed as he reached the balcony, his feet landing on the deepslate railings. His eyes scanned the surrounding area. The translucent doors were completely shut as if no one had come out.
Was he hallucinating?
Parrot doubted it, he’s been mentally healthy despite being locked up most of the time because Zam and Pangi are too paranoid. He knew he saw something, he just couldn't prove it.
“DID YOU SEE SOMETHING?” Theo asked, his voice coming directly from below as Parrot turned to look at him, ignoring the look on Flame’s face.
Without moving his head, Parrot’s eyes darted towards the balcony’s floors once more. He remembered what Flame said before he allowed them to just roam around and play.
‘If anything suspicious happens, we go back and stay there until the people from the Farlands are gone.’
…
Oh, well. He was hallucinating after all!
Parrot looked back at the two teens, giving Theo a cheeky grin. “Nope! I thought I saw a cockatiel, but I think it’s just you, Theo.” He chuckled, hiding the lie with a teasing voice.
Flame’s eyes narrowed, his face got even more stern than before, something that a teenager shouldn’t have, if Parrot was being honest. “You sure?” He shouted back. “Wait enough about that, get down from there first!”
“Okay, okay.” Parrot muttered under his breath as he hopped off the edge with the intention of gracefully landing on his feet with a last minute clutch, but alas, he was not as skilled as Zam with catching himself with grace and fell face first on the grass after flapping his cape the wrong way.
This world’s gravity was his mortal enemy, he swears to god—
“Oh my god, bro.” Flame deadpanned, rushing over to Parrot who was covered by his cape that was almost three fourths of his size. “This is why we don’t fly without supervision, Parrot.”
Parrot let out a muffled groan.“I meant to land…” He muttered against the grassy patch.
A singular wedge was the only thing that twinkled on the cape. He was being hauled upwards into a proper sitting position as the hair on the back of his neck was moved to the side to make room for Flame’s gloveless hand, all the while Flame’s other hand was wrapping the quilt around Parrot, covering his entire back.
When Flame’s hand made contact with the bare of Parrot’s nape, a warm feeling surged through him as his core brightened, filling up the other four wedges almost immediately after the contact. Flame’s light seeped into the deepest parts of Parrot’s core that not even Pangi nor Zam could reach. It was so warm, so addicting, that Parrot didn’t even notice he was leaning in on Flame’s shoulder, completely devoid of personal space.
And for the same reason why Parrot had a premature development of a Wedge, despite not being pressed against him, he could feel the soft pulsations of Parrot’s core. Something he couldn’t even feel from Zam whenever Pangi isn’t there to replenish her light.
“Ahem.”
Theo, clearing his throat, completely broke Parrot and Flame’s immersion. Parrot immediately snapped his eyes open and pulled himself away from Flame. His face flushed red, and without all that extra clothing he had, Theo and Flame would’ve seen Parrot’s body turn cherry.
“You twooo, done?” Theo asked in a teasing voice, his head wings flapping happily the moment he knew he had something his friend was embarrassed for. “You got clingy all of a sudden.” He snickered, covering his mouth with his hand.
“I—I was out of Wedges!!” Parrot instinctively covered his face with his head wings, completely obstructing his vision. “Flame was just feeding me!” Parrot defended himself, peaking away at Theo as he slowly peeked from behind his wings.
“Sure, bro, sure.”
——————————————————————————————————————————
“I want to study your code.”
The meeting hall went silent. The tension in the air was so thick you could stab it with a knife and it won’t be enough to penetrate it to the other side.
From across the table, Zam’s fingers were pressing against the back of her hands, letting her emotions run through them instead of face. Her jaw had been clenched already, already aching to pop another vein.
Study her code? What do they mean by ‘study her code’? Her code isn’t meant to be studied, you’d have to pry it out of her hands first before you could even get a glimpse of such a precious thing.
Believe her, she understands the frustration of not being able to do anything for someone. She was already feeling that way every time a spider hybrid comes to her, but she couldn’t do anything back when she was just a moth. The feeling of helplessness, not enough winged light to give, not being able to do a single thing for them—
It wasn’t in her nature to be selfish. The Children of Light were entirely designed to give, sacrifice, and enter the cycle of rebirth, over and over again until they return to the megabird or get snuffed by dark dragons.
But in this world, a little selfishness would help her survive.
Jamato was ruling an empire that was built on centuries of history, predecessors whose names still impacted the world. He was given a legacy to protect. He loves his people dearly. So much so that he desperately came to the Zam Empire just for the sole purpose of negotiating a study that involves a being entirely made of exploits.
“Your Majesty.” Zam’s voice went low. “Do you realize the implications of what you are saying?”
The King of the Farlands hardened his expression as he kept his gaze steady, leaving no room for cracks. “I do.” He replied. “And I wouldn’t have come all this way and asked you for this if it weren’t for my people’s survival.”
“With all due respect, Your Majesty.” Pangi took a step forward, near enough Zam that he could see the fiery swirl of his light. He was completely stiff with hand clenched into a fist, his other hand directly on her ocean hued cape. He wasn’t looking at her, he was looking at Jamato. “Code is too intimate to be studied. Let’s not forget Her Majesty’s code is foreign in this world. Anything goes wrong with the study and the whole Empire would end your kingdom.”
“Pangi!”
“Really? After everything you saw on the hologram?” The null commander, we’ll call them X, seethed. “Have you no sympathy for others? The corruption is killing our people! Children wake up unable to recognize their parents, the adults are disoriented, and most are watching themselves get destroyed by the glitch!”
“X…”
“We are not asking Her Majesty for her light, are we?” X almost didn’t hear Jamato, his voice cracking, the raw desperation in his voice seeped through. “We’re asking her to give our people a chance! What’s so different about a code and a Winged Light if a Winged Light is just as important as a code?!”
“X!”
“But, Your Majesty!” X argued, looking back at his king before he saw the eyebags under Jamato’s eyes..
“This behavior is unbecoming of a commander.” Jamato’s voice went quiet, but it wasn’t without authority. “We are seeking help from another Empire, the least we could do is be civil.”
“The Winged Light…” Zam trailed off. Her mind is still filled with the images displayed on the holograms. She was still hung up on X’s words— comparing a mere Winged Light to her very code is an insult. “It’s not as important as a code. There is a difference. Learn how to differentiate an essence from lightborn food.”
“Your Majesty—”
“Pangi.” Another voice was heard coming from Zam’s left corner. Manepear was there with his tail swishing, obviously agitated, yet his voice remained calm and his face stayed neutral – emotions unreadable because of the blindfold he was wearing. “Let her do her thing. We’re here to protect her, not make decisions for her.” He said in a soft tone.
Pangi let out a sharp exhale before returning to his post next to Manepear.
Zam inhaled sharply, straightening her posture as she looked directly into the other King’s eyes. “I’ll allow it.”
“Zam—!”
Zam raised her hand before Pangi could even continue. “I will allow your researchers to understand the very essence of my code under my condition. These are non-negotiable.” She clarified. “Let us make a contract then, shall we?”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Two teens were hiding from an avian hybrid. One was near a pillar, and the other was hiding on top of a tree. They were already on their 3rd round, and this was the most fair it had ever been, since Parrot and Flame kept finding each other on the other two rounds just because they could see each other by light.
By light.
Theo had never been more thankful that he’s not from a different world.
Parrot was sitting on his legs, his back against the chiseled quartz pillar wrapped in vines (must be Horace’s choice). The quilt still wrapped around him like a giant tortilla. Looking at Theo who was still searching for them near the pavilion. He almost let out a sigh, finally having a chance at winning the game.
A moment has passed by until Theo went to the area where he was hiding, almost spotting him if not for Parrot’s quick thinking. He was already running, very light on his feet, slipping past the bushes and deeper into the secluded areas. He didn’t dare look back in case Theo was already chasing him, going from corner to corner until he wandered to a very quiet place in the palace gardens.
It was out of everyone’s sight, with the sole exception of their builder, of course. Giant rose bushes covered the entire entrance like a natural barrier, hiding it away from the people. If it weren’t for Parrot pushing aside the bushes, he wouldn’t have found this crazy gem of a location.
“Parroooot!! Flaaaame!!”
Parrot flinched as Theo’s voice echoed through the hedges. He held his breath, pulling his quilt tighter as he staggered into the clearing. It wasn’t until he turned his head to look at the greenery in front of him.
Everything looked well maintained, as if it were actually a greenhouse rather than a garden, if not for the fountain in the middle. Seriously, how come no one came for him here when there’s literally a working fountain inside? Sunflowers and daffodils decorated the grass around them, with a few butterflies of different species surrounded… someone.
Skin as dark as coal with hair in similar color. He was adorned with garments made from the void, but with the contrast of rainbow accents decorating his bandana, the hem of his hooded shirt, and even his leg warmers. He was completely enamoured by the insects surrounding him, letting out little giggles as a monarch butterfly landed right at his nose.
Parrot had never seen a voidling so full of whimsy before, heck, he’s never seen one his entire life!
Carefully, Parrot leaned forward, trying not to disturb the boy from his fun. But alas, the loud crunch of a dried leaf startled both Parrot and the voidling.
The butterflies instantly scattered in different directions as the voidling looked directly at him.
Pure white scleras met with hazel eyes, and both looked at each other with such curiosity, it almost made Parrot blush.
Neither of them moved for a moment, letting the other study them. Until the voidling bounced forward into Parrot’s personal space with bright eyes.
“Whoa! Who are you?!”
Parrot stumbled backward, but was still careful not to go to the other side of the rose bushes. He frantically clutched his makeshift hood, revealing his face to the void, eyes wide as he yelled right back. “Who am I? Who are you?!”