Chapter Text
Far away, at the edge of the World, a kingdom was on the rise. All citizens loved the gentle Ruler, Zam, and his rule was bound to last long.
However, this is not Zams story
This is the story of a boy, named Parrot.
He is the youngest of five brothers, Wemmbu the eldest, a dragon hybrid with great combat skills and a fierce sense of protection. Flame, only 5 months after him, a Nether Demon with an incredible Firepower and lion like Claws. Flames twin, Mane was a Lion hybrid with the speed of a demon and same slit pupils as Wemmbu.
Both shared similar combat skills as the eldest brother. Flame has very light sensitive eyes and Mane has poor eyesight, leading to both of them wearing blindfolds to train their other senses.
A year later, Spoke was born. He is a voidling. He has tiny horns highlighting his image as a devil.
A year and four months later, the youngest, Parrot was born.
To evryones suprise, he was an Avian. No one knew how that linneage made it into their strange gen pool. Parrot was very fragile and skinny. He inherited feline ears and a tail, although his tail is decorated with feathered flight fins.
Avian hybrids are rare, most never survived childhood and those who did, were often hunted for their feathers. Each feather carried traces of magic, but if too many would be taken by greed, the avian would weaken and eventually die. The Older brothers, very aware of this, never left parrot alone or let him wander out of their sight.
Their Father left 1 month after Parrot was born. Leaving the brothers to fend for themselves.
Their Home stood deep in the forest where trees grew so thick that sunlight only reached the ground in scattered beams.
The house itself looked as though it had been built Pice by Pice without any plan. One crooked section leaned beside the front door, creating a small shelter in the Garden where Parrot spent most of his childhood. Behind the house rose a narrow, slightly crooked tower that looked as if it had been added years later.
For the first eleven years of his life, Parrot was only allowed outside in the small garden beside their house.
His brothers taught him everything.
Wemmbu taught him how to fly, patiently guiding him through the air, but never took him past the Treeline.
His brothers, Mane and Flame, were the blindfold brothers who were the most feared duo in the kingdom.
They wanted to teach him how to fight as they had learned, but Parrot could barely lift a Sword let alone fight with one.
So eventually they gave up.
Spoke helped Parrot preen his Wings where he struggled to reach his colourful plums. He also wanted Parrot to be his partner in crime with his pranks, but Parrot was not really cut out for it. As he was very clumsy as a Child.
Therefore, Spoke mainly hung around his Best Friend Mapic. Mapic was an ember demon and was about as good with pranks as spoke was.
Egg, Wemmbu´s best friend, who is an angel hybrid, lives together with Minutetech, a fellow dragon hybrid, in the end, running the End - Archives. Egg also was the one to tech parrot all the „boring“ stuff, according to spoke.
As Parrot got older, the twins and Wemmbu left the house to go hunting, trading or training. Spoke often then had to stay behind with him. During these quiet days, when Spoke hung out with his best friend, Parrot developed a great love for books and journals.
He often asked Wemmbu to bring him some Books from the End-archives when he would go to visit Egg or Flame to ask his farmer friend Lomedy, a hare hybrid, for more old journals.
Parrot mostly stayed in his attic room when Mapic came over, not wanting to get involved with their mischief. They often pranked the twins, as they were the easiest to get rage baited.
Mapic started to bring his little brother, a Mage. The Mage was around Parrots age, his name was Wifies.
He and Parrot became close friends always hanging out. They shared their love for knowledge and books. Wifies played around with his magic a lot, leading to funny outcomes and fails. Wifies liked logic and theories, as he loved solving mysteries. Parrot often read journals about the world beyond the forest, about the other kingdoms, especially the coast and the jungle fascinated him, he and Wifies would often fantasise about making their own journeys to these biomes.
Of course, Parrot would ask his brothers if he could leave the clearing and go beyond the forest.
However, every time he would get the same answers.
„Parrot, it is far too dangerous! “ Flame would say
„We only want to keep you safe, do you want to end up like the rest of your kind? “ Mane would chime in, always with a worried look on his face.
„Parrot, we can’t always protect you. Just stay here and everything will be fine. “ Wemmbu would attempt to calm him.
All of it stung. It hurt Parrot that his brothers saw so little in him. Eventually he stopped asking.
As he grew up, he had everything he could wish for. Except his true dream.
Everything changed around his eleventh birthday. More precise a month after.
It was a sunny day. Parrot and Spoke were sitting on a blanket in the soft grass under the old Sprucetree. Parrot was reading one of his Favourite journals again, Spoke was maliciously preening his colourful wings until his bright feathers gleamed in the soft light. Parrots finned tail hung lazily behind him. His ears perked up and twitched with every sound the forest made. His chestnut hair was sticking up in different directions. He was relaxed.
So was Spoke. Spoke was a being of shadow. With his black skin and white eyes, he could be straight out of a black and white movie. However, he was obsessed with all the Colours the Rainbow could offer. His black hoodie had rainbow-coloured accents, so had his pants. However, the thing that really stood out was his rainbow-coloured bandana. Essentially was it just a long piece of colourful fabric, which sat loosely tied around his forehead. Behind his back, the leftovers swayed loosely in the light breeze.
Around midday, Spoke said, „Parrot, I’m getting some food, u better not do anything stupid, Flame would kill me. “ Parrot chuckled lightly. „Yeah, yeah whatever“ Spoke narrowed his eyes and attempted intimidating him, but Parrot already had turned around to continue reading. Spoke shook his head, a smile tugging at his mouth. His little brother was getting sassy. He was so proud.
As Spoke closed the door behind him, a mischievous grin spread across Parrot´s face.
He walked up to the tree, between their blanket and Lomedy´s small patches of wheat. The tree was old. It had been around as long as the house. Maybe even before the house. The Tree leaned towards the forest, its longest branches seemingly reaching out towards the other Trees.
With one flap of his Wings Parrot shot up in the air. Light as a feather he landed on one of the branches.
He would hide here to prank his Brother.
In his excitement, he climbed higher and farther out the tree until he eventually passed the white fence that surrounded their garden.
He sat there and thought how boring this was. He wondered how Spoke -of all people- who never could sit still for one minute straight, had the patience to sit around still waiting for someone he could prank.
Then he saw it. The most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
A butterfly.
Of course, he was no stranger to a butterfly but that one was by far the most colourful he had ever seen.
Without a second thought, he jumped down from his branch and followed the butterfly onto the gravel path that led deep into the forest.
He eventually lost the butterfly and as he turned around, he froze.
Behind him, there was no Clearing
No crooked house
No path
Panic clawed at his throat. Clouded his senses. Suffocating him.
He turned around, scratching his legs on some bushes as he began to run into a direction he thought he came from.
His legs started to burn and he was panting now, tears welling up in his eyes. He stopped and looked around.
It felt like the forest was closing in on him.
It seemed to get darker by the second.
His knees nearly buckled.
An idea popped into his head.
His wings snapped open to launch himself upward, trying to fly out of the forest to locate where he was.
However, the forest canopy was thick and tangled.
In his panic, he did not notice a heavy branch until it was too late
The crack echoed through the forest as he slammed into it loosing consciousness.
His feathers scattered though the air, pain exploded in his body as he regained consciousness after half a second.
A branch slit across his arm as he fell. Instinctively, he spread his wings to break his fall.
His landing was about the most ungraceful he ever had.
For a moment, he just laid down between his feathers, leaves and the gigantic roots of the surrounding trees. Tears running down his cheeks.
A sharp pain cut through his right arm as he tried to put his weight on it. He let out a hiss, tears dropping from his face.
The Branch had made a deep cut that was about the length of his entire forearm, blood quickly soaking his sleeve. A sharp stabbing pain throbbed through his right side.
Pain exploded through his head and wings as he tried to move further.
Parrot clenched his teeth.
He needed to hide. Quickly.
Somewhere safe.
Where his brothers would find him easily.
The thought of his brothers made his chest ache.
Carefully, he climbed the nearest tree, gripping the bark despite the blood running down his arm.
Even with a severe head and wing injury, parrot moved with incredible balance. That was one of his „Natural skills“ as Egg called it.
However, that was about it with his natural skills
Eventually he found a tree whose top had hollowed out with age. Thick branches, creating a small natural shelter, hid the opening.
Parrot crawled inside.
His ears twitched at every sound the forest made. Every snapping twig made his heart race and stomach drop.
He pulled his wings close around himself, his tail curled around his body his fins tightly presser to his tail. He desperately tried to stay quiet.
Eventually exhaustion pulled at him.
Despite fear twisting in his chest, Parrot eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep, hidden high above the forest floor.
—-
Unknowingly to Parrot, another person has found his feathers. A lynx hybrid named LettuceK. Moreover, he was now on the hunt.
For Him.