WARMING UP

It was the scenery of beauty poisoned by the venom of death. It was a world contained in an unsuspecting cave. The ceiling was a purple sky with murky clouds resting above the ruined kingdom– hidden behind the eyes of the seeker.

There was a narrow canal trailing towards the floating ruins. Some parts of wooden infrastructures that had witnessed the history of ruin were scattered on the chipped floors.

The background of the suspended castle was a wide wall of a waterfall where dead trees sprang in some parts, splitting the angry downfall of the stream.

There were a variety of races scurrying around and playing, bringing life to the deceased city. Almost all of them were very young children and some were adolescents.

The scent of rot hung in the air and it was no wonder why Slade was the way he was. The stench of this place must have clouded his sense of reasoning. It caused him to become violent and stupid.

Once the children saw Slade, they brightened up and ran to greet him.

And here I thought they would scamper away for their lives.

"Welcome back Slade-onii!"

Sevor picked up one child with tiny transparent wings, throwing her up in the air. She flew away, giggling. Slade ignored the greetings with a blank look on his face but petted a bashful child with brown hair.

Wye Fye was beaming sweetly at her lover who interacted with the children. I diverted my eyes at the sickly display of affection and assessed the decomposing surroundings. I will revive this place later and leave when I get the chance.

Now that I think about it, why do they live here? They can travel anywhere they want with the twins and migrate to where there was actual life. Why do they agonize themselves?

A little boy ran up to me with wide eyes. He had a green bandana wrapped around his whole upper head with strands of purple hair peeking out.

His clothes were ragged and dusty. He smiled at me with his incomplete teeth.

"A new onii!" He cheered.

Soon the rest of the kids flocked around me with their little hands grabbing me eagerly. The teenage girls fussed about how attractive my skin was in which Wye Fye decided to comment on it.

"He must have grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth." She beamed at me and followed that statement with "I'm kidding!"

Jokes were always half meant just as her existence. Her parents didn't give much thought to making her, did they?

"I do not understand. My mouth is currently unoccupied and my kind has always had glowing skin. "

She crossed her arms over her breast. "You mean your kind that has always been selfish and arrogant?"

"Yes, my kind who seems to be in the same league as yours," I replied in approval.

She became enraged with my reply. Why was everyone infuriated when I agreed with them?

"You better watch your mouth ancient. You are in OUR territory and unless you want to get your wounds checked, you better show respect."

She had lost her calm composure. Her false skin peeled off at the right time.

"I do not have a mirror to watch my mouth. Will you care to provide me with one? And to correct you, I was forced to come here against my non-existent free will. I do not want to get my wounds checked. I only desire to return back to my werewolf companion," I explained.

"Slade, do me a favor and get your mate out of my sight!" She snarled.

She shut her eyes tightly, holding the small bump on her stomach.

That bump must be a severe case of constipation. She must stop consuming garbage and eat clean.

Slade glared at her, turning away once his brother called him out.

"Do what she says Slade," he commanded.

Despite Slade's distaste for his brother and that woman, he still had a string of obedience in him.

"Fine, I'll take our mate. Be sure to calm your perfect tik (bitch) before she explodes with that abomination inside of her. How I wish she will."

"Slade!" Sevor growled.

He attempted to lash out at him, but Wye Fye placed a hand on his chest to interfere.

"Don't my love, don't stoop to his level. After all, a failure will stay as a failure," she told him.

Sevor held his anger in, looking away.

"You're right."

He would let that unpleasant wind get away with blowing insults at his brother? A true brother should not let a woman with indigestion fart at your brother's face.

I could see how different my own brother was compared to him.

My arm was grabbed by Slade. I was dragged out of the small and short crowd of children and was taken to one of the small crumbling buildings.

Slade slammed the chipped door shut. I was thrown to the mushy bed that smelled like moss. He spurred out every profanity, throwing things in rage.

When his tantrums were getting too long, I focused my attention on a spider that had one big red eye. It was found at the corner of the ceiling that was opposite from where I was sitting. It reminded me of Bebe. It cried thick webs that pooled to the floor.

May Bebe rest in peace.

After a while, Slade plopped down beside me, sighing in exhaustion.

"I hate them..." He grumbled. "I hate that woman even more."

Not knowing what to do anymore, I dove into the man's problems.

He may allow me to go back to Caleb if I try to tolerate his ridiculousness.

"Why do you hate them?"

He stayed silent for some time before answering me. The aura of rage switched into something more depressing.

"Sevor changed when he met that tik."

He rubbed his eyes roughly in denial of his tears.

"Heh, I guess I am a failure. I'll always be one."

I glanced at my feet, comparing it to Slade's huge ones. There was no permanent permanency in this life. There will always be change as long as a person is willing to go through that modification.

"A seed will never stay as a seed unless it is watered and taken care of. Life will go and death will come. The night ends and morning starts. Change can occur to anything and anyone, even you."

I never thought that change would come to my life but it did.

He scoffed.

"Well I tried but no one even acknowledged it."

I looked at Slade's taut abdomen, raising my eyes to meet his unique ones that were staring at me in question.

"Did you acknowledge your own effort?"

He narrowed his gaze at me.

"Of course," he replied in a snappish way.

"Then there's your someone."

If you truly want others to value your hard work, you should at least be delighted by your own effort.

"That doesn't make me feel better," he huffed.

"I'm not trying to make you feel better. I'm just trying to show you how stupid you are."

Before Slade can snap at me again, the door opens. Sevor entered with a bowl in his hand and a look of hesitance in his expression. He was now fully clothed compared to Slade who was still naked.

"What are you doing here?" The twin beside me bitterly questioned.

"I'm going to treat him. I already figured that you will let his wounds get infected or worse— you'll inflict more injuries on him."

Slade stood up, snatching the bowl from his brother. "I will do it myself since you don't even want him."

"Even though I won't accept him anymore, that doesn't mean that I'll let him die in your hands. Once he is treated, I will personally return him to where he belongs. You don't deserve anyone until you decide to stop being a brat."

"Rahat! (Bullshit!) When will you stop meddling with my life? Stop treating me like I'm as useless as a corpse!"

"Dead creatures are good fertilizers for plants. They are not entirely useless," I commented.

I hope he finds my words inspiring.

"I will interfere with everything you'll do, especially if I know when you'll fail," Sevor scolded.

The tension between them was as thick as Wye Fye's ego.

"Why can't you trust me this once?!"

That broke Sevor's patience as his voice raised even higher.

"Because trusting you is like trusting a Catastrophe! Everything ends up in a mess!" he snarled.

With that, Slade was silenced. He dropped his chin to his chest, standing paralyzed for a moment. He shoved the bowl to Sevor's chest, leaving the argument hanging on a cliff as he walked out.

That was thoughtless.

Sevor pulled an unsteady chair under him and sat. There was a mashed green disgrace inside the bowl. I hope that wasn't what was inside Wye Fye that made her look so bloated.

He applied the green mash on my face; the scent of herbs delighted my nose. He was lost in his thoughts as he treated my wounds. He nibbled his bottom lip, looking so absent-minded.

"I am lucky," I broke the silence. "I am lucky that Lucius is my brother."

He grinned at me sadly.

"You're implying that I'm a bad sibling?"

I shook my head in disapproval.

"No...not bad."

He gave me an unsure look.

"Really?"

"You're not bad because you are the worst. You are terrible. You are a lost cause. I know that I said that there is no permanent permanency in life but your stupidity is an exception to this rule."

"Hey!" He protested. "I am supporting him in a way that I see fit. He needs to be disciplined," he reasoned out.

The force of his rubbing became a bit harder on my face.

"But you are disciplining him even before he commits a mistake which is wrong on your part."

Lucius was always so encouraging. He believed in me and pushed me to my limit.

'You can do it chii! Onii believes that you can!'

"And besides, are you being cold to him because you believe that he can change, or is it because you already lost hope for him?" I asked.

Sevor raised my shirt, applying the mushy medicine on my torso. It felt icky.

"You don't understand..." He whispered.

His eyes held anger.

"I don't want you to understand," he murmured.

"Then nothing will be resolved and the two of you will continue living with knives behind your backs."

He never spoke after that. I chose to stay quiet and observe more.

It would be better if I gathered enough information before saying things. Valid information will enforce the impact of my words. I would like to say things that will make people see their stupidity in the nicest way possible.

He left after treating my wounds. I wiped off the thing he rubbed on me with a shirt that was scattered on the floor. I got out of the small house and wandered. Children's laughter filled the place. They reminded me of that dwarf detka.

I wonder how he was doing.

Huge bugs with pointy stings flew around. They chased one chubby boy who ran and sought help from a group. A boy from the said group released a breath of fire from his mouth which burned the bugs into ashes. Despite the food crisis that I had been hearing frequently, the children here seemed well fed.

But where do they drink water? How often do they set out to hunt for food? Why here of all places? There were only three adults among the plentiful children. I applaud them for providing protection over these kids.

The little boy who acknowledged my presence earlier ran up to me with a wide smile. His fangs were more visible with how wide he was smiling at me.

"Hello onii!" He greeted me.

"Domo," I greeted back with a slight bow of my head.

"My name is Buck, what's yours?"

"Lucian," I replied.

This child was awfully cheerful like Caleb. He hadn't caught up to us yet.

Buck's stomach rumbled which made him blush in embarrassment.

"Big brother Slade isn't done cooking yet. I didn't get to eat properly these past days since big sister Wye Fye was the one who did the cooking."

"Was her cooking as intolerable as her rabid behavior?" I asked.

Buck gasped and placed a finger against his lips.

"Shh don't say that! She's sooo scary when she's mad."

"She must be scary in both ways. I am not surprised," I stated flatly.

The children were in a living nightmare. They must be evacuated as soon as possible.

"Is Slade a decent cook?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! He is the best! I like him more than big brother Sevor. Rui will tell you the same thing!"

I smiled at him and saw him redden. Slade may think that he was worthless to everyone, but he did not notice how much the children adored him. That said a lot about his character and his capability to connect with others.

"Where is Slade?"

Buck pointed at the other side of the canal.

"He is with Maru!"

I followed him to the fallen log that connected the two sides. Indeed, Slade was mixing the contents of the pot over a pyram. He was wearing some pants now. Maru, the bashful boy from before, played with his stuffed teddy bear beside him.

"Is it cooked yet?" I asked.

Slade turned around, a look of surprise in his face before it flattened into a more relaxed expression. Cooking must have helped him calm down.

"Almost," he replied.

I stood to watch as he stirred the huge amount of porridge with his long wooden stick. The vegetables looked scrumptious.

"Tsk, I forgot the salt from the storage room," Slade sighed.

He left to go to a nearly collapsed establishment that was two destroyed houses away. Buck followed Slade and once he left, I took the opportunity to grab a fork from the table beside me.

I had a hard time puncturing the broccoli until I cornered it against the side of the pot. The fork was getting hot but that didn't stop me from pursuing my target.

The vegetable oozed with steam. I blew some of its heat before taking a bite.

"Tasty…" I murmured.

Maru shyly walked with hesitance in every step.

"Do you also wish to take a bite?" I queried.

A blush spread on his cheek. I fished a piece of mushroom and blew on it. His eyes sparkled when he tasted Slade's unfinished cooking. Though it may lack saltiness, the savory taste was enough for me to fish another piece.

Slade returned with a little brown wolf running after him. He gave me a puzzled expression, snatching the fork away.

"That's not done yet."

I stared at him while chewing.

"But it is delicious. You are now one step ahead from your talentless twin."

Slade's mouth hung open. He appeared to be speechless. He pursed his lips and then looked away.

"Don't be stupid."

"Don't return my insult," I retorted, taking another bite. "Bien joue (well done), isn't that right?" I asked Maru who nodded silently.

If he could cook this well then he may not be a bad man after all.