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A single firework was heard from a distance before a winged figure landed onto the tall obsidian walls.
"Is spoke asleep?"
"Yeah, he is." Mapicc sighed, dusting off the little grime on his hoodie before his gaze darted towards the other man. It's a bit difficult to see what emotion he's expressing, especially with that white mask that covered his entire face. Why does he even need to wear a mask anyways?
"I'm surprised. You not only got him here, but you have properly sedated him too." JamatoP paused. "he's a slippery kid, so I'm curious as to how you managed to do all that."
"Well, I have my ways." Mapicc smiled, which looked a bit eerie in jamato's view but he didn't really mind it much.
"Alright then.. Well. What do you plan on doing next?" He tilted his head a bit, watching mapicc's smile disappear to answer his question.
"Hm.. I guess I'll let spoke leave the platform after a few days."
"Are you sure?" Concern filled his tone. He didn't seem too sure of mapicc's plan, but his previous success has given him a hint of trust.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry, he can't leave the prison anyways even if he tried. But.." Mapicc paused and turned his head away from jamatoP, putting on an act of thinking with his elbow resting on his other arm.
"I don't need he would want to leave anyways." His smile returned. JamatoP wasn't sure if this is the same person who he thought mapicc was, but then again, he never really paid too close attention to mapicc.
"..."
JamatoP stared at him for a bit, noting his expression and body language before finalizing his judgement. "Okay, I trust you with him."
He eventually equipped his elytra and flew away. Mapicc could guess that he's going to the farlands again, but he didn't really care since now... he has spoke within the palms of his hands.
Admittingly, he didn't actually expect spoke to soften and trust him almost immediately after his apology, and that was okay because he has spent so many hours planning on how he could regain spoke's trust despite previously betraying him and now imprisoning him.
Well, "imprisoning" didn't seem like the correct term. This isn't a prison, this is their new home! It's not like there are guards or anything, at least not the ones that are visible. Besides, this place is too good to be called a prison.
If he had to choose between the term "imprisoning him" or "keeping him safe", he would choose the latter because it's the closest thing to the truth.
This is a place of safety, a place where spoke wouldn't have to worry about whether or not he would live another day. This place is home specifically made just for the two of them.
Even if jamatoP says that this is a prison, mapicc would never consider that. After all, he is wrong.
Though he would never try and correct him because his belief makes things easier for him. The more jamatoP trusted that this was a carefully crafted prison made to trap spoke forever, the less he would visit or try and mingle with mapicc's plan.
Speaking of jamatoP, it actually took a while to convince him into letting mapicc do the planning. He didn't really trust mapicc back then, nearly calling the plans off the moment mapicc offered to trap spoke.
He said it was "too risky" or "it wouldn't work". Well unfortunately and fortunately for jamatoP, it did work, proving his previous judgement wrong.
However mapicc does agree with a couple of things jamatoP had said. Spoke has always been difficult to catch, constantly finding ways to escape even when he is at a disadvantage.
The only times he recalled spoke having to actually be captured is when he wants to or let's himself be captured. Other than that, he always seem to find a way to escape- which is something that mapicc would have to consider if he actually wanted to keep spoke trapped within these walls.
But then again, mapicc is sure that spoke wouldn't leave him. No, he wouldn't. He's already dependant on mapicc, mapicc just needed to make him feel safer so that spoke isn't in a constant fight or flight mode. Which should be easy, in his opinion.
Spoke always felt safe with mapicc, and that's a fact. Even if they were currently on the run, hunted by some random players or strong organizations like the LAW or BAT, mapicc would always find a way to make things feel lighter and safer than it actually is.
Without mapicc, spoke would've gone insane long before the LAW was even an organization. Crushed by the sheer amount of pressure weighing him down.
I mean- the reason why spoke hadn't joined the mafia a few years back is because of mapicc, right? If it weren't for mapicc, spoke would've believed that he was just like ash and maybe even join his side because of that belief and guilt. But he didn't, and it was all because of mapicc and his companionship. While you could argue that leowook- the leowook before BAT did play a role into helping spoke divert his negative beliefs away, mapicc would argue back.
Leowook is nothing compared to mapicc. He's a friend- no, he was a friend. But that's it, that's all it is to leowook. He's the kind of friend that would come and go. But mapicc? Mapicc is the kind of friend that would stay no matter what. And that alone has made him superior to leowook when it comes to their friendship with spoke.
Spoke needed mapicc as much as mapicc needed spoke. They need each other to exist. Without the other, whoever is left would be in shambles.
Their relationship isn't the healthiest but they would rather be disgustingly close to each other than ever think about parting away. Spoke would never leave mapicc, and mapicc- well, that's debatable but he would always return. Always.
_____
It has been a couple of days ever since spoke arrived to Arcadia, which was a name given by jamatoP for the prison their sanctuary.
Thankfully as of now, spoke has been very, very obedient. Maybe it was because of the fatigue but a win is a win. Mapicc didn't mind having to feed him every now and then, infact- he loved having some extra bonding time with spoke.
Mapicc had recently gave him a couple of pillows and a blanket for the platform which spoke happily accepted. He noted that spoke has finally began purring which usually means he's happy and content (or distressed, but he didn't look like it so mapicc could just scratch it off the list.)
Because of the pillows and blanket, spoke has been sleeping very soundly, maybe a bit too soundly as mapicc would often come across him snoring when he was about to check up on him. It was a little loud but it was nothing mapicc couldn't handle.
"Mmm.. Mapicc?" These are one of the days where mapicc came to check up on him. He was still very sleepy which is predictable because of the sleeping pots mapicc infused into his cooked beef. He made sure that only a couple were drugged because he knew that spoke would likely figure it out if all of them made him strangely fatigued.
"Hey, spoke. Did you uh.. Did you have a nice nap?" Mapicc began to walk closer and sat beside his head on the platform, keeping his expression soft even if he was still alert. Spoke was still laying down when mapicc approached, but after mapicc sat beside him, spoke began moving his head to rest on mapicc's lap.
"Yeah, uh- I had a good nap. Man, I am so sleepy nowadays." He yawned, tucking himself closer to mapicc's stomach with barely opened eyes.
"Maybe because you've always been awake before. You know.. Insomnia and stuff?" Mapicc rested his fingers on spoke's head, moving up and down every now and then to ruffle his hair slowly.
"Mm.. Probably. I wonder whose fault that is." Spoke directed his head to look straight up, meeting mapicc's gaze who was staring at his sleepy form.
"Hey, hey- you can't blame me for what I did. You're always putting yourself and others in danger. I had to do it, okay?"
"Pshh, sure." Despite his sarcastic tone, spoke did seem convinced. Which is good, very good actually. or maybe he's just so tired that he couldn't think properly. Any was fine.
"Let's just forget about it, okay? You're safe here now." Mapicc assured, his hand slowly lifting away from spoke's head before he began to complain.
"Wait, don't stop. I actually like it."
"You like having your hair ruffled? What are you, five?"
"Shut up, mapicc. I deserve it" mapicc chuckled, letting his hand return in a mock of defeat before it began caressing spoke's head with the usual rhythm.
"Your hair is kinda messy." Mapicc commented as he let his fingers run through the tangles, carefully seperating the strands away from each other.
"Eh, it's not that messy. I think..." Spoke's tone was unusually soft. He's typically very bold and proud, which caused his voice to sound like it's booming and bouncing in every room. however, now- it just sounded like someone who is either very relaxed or is trying to appear less threatening.
Mapicc would guess the first as his purrs were also noticeably heard.
"It's a goddamn bush, dude. I should give you a hairbrush next time."
"Whatever." Spoke scoffed, his tone lacking any real bite.
The rest of the hour was just mapicc detangling his hair. It was nice, though spoke occasionally yelped when mapicc pulled too hard which he made sure to slow down.
It has been a while since the two had any time to bond. Previous months were filled with resource gathering, running, and fighting. It was beyond exhausting. Mapicc wouldn't dare go back to how things were before.
It's good that jamatoP was on his side. Without him, mapicc wouldn't have been able to trap bring spoke to safety in their new home.
...
Admittedly, mapicc was a little jealous of jamatoP. The day jamatoP led him to the farlands was the day a new idea sparked in his mind. He saw how peaceful it was, how.. beautiful everything is without the constant fear of being killed or having spoke be killed.
The rows of flowers, the strange, glitched terrain, the lack of destruction and violence. It felt like a breath of fresh air, and he hated it.
It's not fair. How can he explore safely, enjoying the untouched natures of their world while mapicc and spoke was constantly hunted? Well, he knows why but he didn't wanna admit it. He just hated how peaceful everything is compared to the usual, chaotic day he has with spoke.
He remembered wondering and asking why was he the only one brought to the farlands, why was he not allowed to bring spoke, and why he even knows him in the first place.
JamatoP didn't really give much information during that time. But, he seems to know a little too much about spoke. Even things that he himself didn't know.
But he never really said if they were friends or not. He just said he knew spoke and that's it. Then, he listed all the crimes spoke committed in the past which he didn't really understand why because mapicc already knew that anyways.
What caught his attention however, was not just how knowledgeable he is, but how he offered mapicc a chance to- quote on quote, "escape from spoke". He found that offer almost laughable but he made sure to hold his scoff when jamatoP spoke.
Unfortunately however, the offer was actually tempting. A way to escape the cycle of violence, and a way to escape the brutality of their day to day life sounds beyond amazing. He had always hoped that this day would come, but-
he couldn't help but feel like something is missing.
Oh right, he wasn't with spoke that time. He remembered feeling guilty, almost empty despite the peace and excitement he was feeling. He couldn't stop thinking about spoke's wellbeing and he almost regretted coming with jamatoP because he didn't know how to return back to spawn.
He didn't know how to return back to spoke.
Spoke is smart, but he was never the best at combat. Often relying on mapicc to help him either get away from an impossible battle or to kill his opponents. Not to say he's incompetent, of course. But even wits can't survive a hundred swords.
Spoke was more of a trapper, anyways. His ways of killing tend to need preparation time and are often not reusable. Besides, if your opponent is smart, then there's a chance they might survive the trap.
And even if spoke did manage to handle all of these battles alone, defense and combat wasn't the only thing spoke relied on. Spoke was incredibly fragile, often refusing sleep because of intense anxiety and was also explosive with his rage, breaking whatever useless items he have to release the burning agony in his non-existent heart.
If mapicc wasn't there, he's sure that half of their base would be filled with cracked walls and shattered pieces of potion bottles. Thankfully though, spoke was responsible enough to clean it up once he finally calmed down. However, mapicc would've preferred if spoke didn't have to clean up a mess in the first place.
And now that mapicc was very, very far away from him, he wasn't sure if spoke could handle it, and he wasn't sure if he could handle it either. Parting with his fragile voidling felt impossible. They've been with each other for years and he couldn't possibly just leave spoke alone to fend for himself like that.
So when spoke arrived at the farlands, with a form that was slightly glitchy, he was beyond ecstatic. He remembered how low spoke's ears were and how they perked instantly upon seeing mapicc. The other hugged him immediately, making sure that his grip was so tight that he was practically suffocating the poor demon.
But he didn't care. It has been almost a day since he saw spoke, and he didn't mind if spoke demanded affection after being deprived of it for so long. He remembered hugging him back with the same strength spoke used, feeling the emptiness in his heart disappearing as soon as spoke embraced him in his arms.
The moment however was disturbed by jamatoP arriving back at the house.
Mapicc doesn't hate him, he could never. After all, he was the person who saved him from those pathetic spies. But, he would be lying if he said that he wasn't annoyed with him.
When spoke manipulated mapicc and zam into believing that leowook was the one who killed jamatoP, he wasn't sure if he was upset or happy. The whole vengeance thing was just something he felt he was obligated to.
He did however- feel a bit guilty about these feelings. Again, he doesn't hate him, he thinks. It'd be disrespectful if he did.
He just didn't like how condescending he sounded when talking about spoke. Sure, jamatoP was right about a couple of things, but he acts like he's the only one who knows spoke the best, which isn't true at all.
JamatoP was a bystander to his story, mapicc was a support. If anything, mapicc understands spoke more than he did. Mapicc knows what's truly best for spoke because he was the one who stayed with him, not jamatoP.
It is insulting for him to think that he is the only one who knows spoke.
...
"Mapicc?"
Someone called, their voice mixed with a hint of purr.
Mapicc snapped immediately, breaking his thinking trance and realizing that he had stopped ruffling spoke's hair. Spoke seemed confused, staring up at the blinking demon who looked like he had just regained consciousness.
"Sorry, sorry. I was uh.. Thinking." Mapicc cleared his throat before moving his fingers again, digging into areas he swore he hasn't checked in case there was more tangled hair.
"Mapicc?" Spoke called him again, however, his voice seemed a bit more nervous than before.
"Yeah, spoke?"
"When can I like- leave the uh.. You know, platform?" Spoke sighed, and before mapicc could react, he continued.
"I mean, the platform isn't that bad I guess. Or maybe I'm just too sleepy or whatever. But, I don't wanna just be stuck here doing nothing all day, okay? Like, how can sleeping be exhausting? That's just weird, dude." He scoffed. This time, he was serious. While there is no intention of harm, mapicc can't help but feel slightly offended.
"You can leave soon, don't worry." Mapicc dismissed, causing the voidling to finally sit up much to mapicc's displeasure.
"You always say that. But- you never say when I can leave. It's annoying, man. I- I don't wanna be stuck here. It's been four days, mapicc. Four. Days." Spoke raised his tone. He doesn't mean to, but, mapicc just seemed to always dismiss him no matter what. And he hates it.
"..."
"Mapicc?"
Silence. And after a couple of minutes of waiting, mapicc finally stood up and let out a resignated sigh.
"Okay. I'll let you leave."
"Really?" Spoke didn't wanna seem like he was ecstatic, but the way his tail trembles upwards like an overjoyed cat made It pretty clear that he was very, very happy with mapicc's statement.
"No."
"..."
"I'm joking. Yeah, you can leave. Follow me." Mapicc chuckled a bit. He always found it so fascinating how quick spoke's body react at sudden changes, he almost want to write and timestamp it everytime it does.
Just look at the way his ears and tail drop the moment mapicc joked, it's kinda endearing. Though he did feel a little guilty since spoke didn't seem to find the joke funny.
"Okay- dude you scared me for a moment." Spoke trailed from behind, making sure to crouch and hold onto him so he doesn't fall while mapicc bridged.
"Sorry, I just had to, okay?" Mapicc smiled, stopping his bridge midway just to see spoke's reaction from the front.
He still seemed a bit tired, likely from the sleeping pots remnants. No wonder he's clinging onto mapicc so tightly, he's probably afraid that he might fall if he let go due to how dazey he is.
Nonetheless, mapicc continued bridging until they finally reached the exit. From the sun's position, it looks like it's still pretty early. The sunlight wasn't too harsh and the wind was still a bit breezy which felt a little annoying on his warm skin.
"Woah- what." Spoke rubbed his eyes once to register the sun, and then twice to notice the strange, unnatural terrain around them. Well actually, fuck the terrains. There were tall barriers made out of pure obsidian that made the sky seem shorter than it actually is.
"What is this? Wha- holy shit, dude!" If he could be more animated, he would have his jaw on the floor with eyes bulging out of his socket. Spoke looked beyond amazed at the sight he was seeing, it was beautiful, but also a little intimidating.
"Uh.. Did you build all this?" Spoke shook his head, as if breaking his trance before moving his head to look at mapicc. Mapicc could practically see the sparkle in his eyes.
"No, of course not. I got someone else to do it." Spoke scoffed jokingly upon listening, letting his gaze dart back at the terrains that was below them.
"I mean- yeah obviously, that was a stupid question. My bad." Mapicc only nodded at his reply, watching intently while the voidling moved here and there to make sure he had seen all the terrains possible from where they stand.
He looks like a little kid who just entered a candy shop, it's funny. However, his amazement soon dissipates and was replaced by a set of confusion and uneasiness.
"Wait, why is there like a- uh.. A huge, tall obsidian wall around us?" Spoke stopped his excited chirps, causing mapicc to shift his brows with a hint of annoyance.
"It's to keep us safe, spoke. I mean.. You wouldn't want anyone coming here and potentially hurting us, right?" He took a few step closer towards spoke despite already within close proximity, his shoulder was practically touching the other.
"Eh.. I guess. I mean, it's whatever. Still better than that platform." Spoke sighed, slowly closing the distance between his legs and the floor until he's finally sitting.
"So uh, what now though?"
"We can just restart, you know. If that's what you like." Mapicc sat beside him, letting his arm drape around spoke's back as it rests on his shoulder.
"Mmm.. That sounds nice. But you're like, in full netherite armour, dude." Spoke pokes at mapicc polished chestplate, slightly pouting at the sight.
"Pft, okay. I guess that is true. I'll remove all my items, including the armour."
"You will?"
"Yeah."
Mapicc took a few steps away from spoke, retracing his steps towards the lava pool inside the chamber before he stopped right at the edge.
Spoke only watched from behind as mapicc began to remove all the items in his inventory, soon unequipping his armour and then finalizing his inventory cleanse.
"There, it's all gone now, spoke." He turned his gaze back to spoke who was still outside, waiting.
Mapicc walked back and sat beside spoke, like he did before. The lack of armour made him less intimidating and he could tell that spoke has significantly loosened up by the way his tail softly wagged. It's usually erratic, but that was because spoke was so used to stress that peace felt foreign.
But now, because of mapicc- spoke would no longer have to stress about being hunted, about lacking resources, about... anything, really. He doesn't need to worry anymore. Spoke just needed to stay here with mapicc and the two would live on in their new, miniature world.
Just them, just the two of them.
_____
"You already freed him?" The masked figure scoffed, but it didn't come from a place of malice. He just seemed.. Concerned.
"Yeah, you got a problem?"
"No, no. It's just.. It's only been four days, mapicc. Are you sure he won't try and escape?" Mapicc rolled his eyes at jamato's stupid question. Of course spoke wouldn't try and escape, spoke would never leave mapicc.
"He won't, I'll make sure of it." JamatoP didn't seem too conviced, but despite that- he didn't argue back.
"Okay. Do you need more sleeping pots, or..?"
"Mm.. I think I should have one, just in case, you know?" JamatoP nodded, handing over a bottle of sleeping potion to mapicc before the other snatched it and hid it in his inventory.
"Stay safe, okay? Tell me if you need anything." He spoke as if mapicc would fail. He would never fail, not when it comes to spoke.
"Okay. I'll go back to spoke now before he realizes that I'm gone." Mapicc walked away, pressing the button that opened the secret door to leave and enter and disappearing once the door closes behind him.
"..."
He could hear jamato's sigh despite their distance. But that didn't matter. His plan is working flawlessly and now spoke was completely safe under his care.