Project: Neverbound (A Double Life AU fanfic)

22 - The Flame

Poem reading created and provided by roweterpsichore
https://youtu.be/nHMnEfDvvHs?si=kIclq4t-_nbYFvGp

The pits of the netherworld, the Flame first formed
With not but his mother, tired and worn
In her age as queen
A beast yet seen
Forced him to be sent away from the pits, now torn

In an age where so many are ripped apart
The Flame found his footings and made a start
Though some may die
And with no time to cry
His mother would one day reward their kindness, with a gift from her heart

Tango's chest filled with a crushing weight he'd never known until that point. Crimson red flooded the floor, and the older woman it was coming from didn't seem to get 2 more breaths out before her body stilled and her eyes clouded over.

He ran to her in horror, shaking her by her shoulder as if to try and wake her up, but to no avail. His tail curled around his leg, an unconscious action he made when he was distressed, as he let his tears flow down his face. The world was silent, safe for the crackling of distant flames and the popping of a lava pool just across from where they were. The netherrack dug into Tango's knees, but he would've stayed there a million years longer if he had the choice.

He nearly forgot about the winged man standing above him, looking on with his blue eyes as if he were shocked about what he'd just done, and he was. Just moments ago the man and Tango's mother were talking, nothing out of the ordinary at all. It was almost as if the netherborne blinked and missed whatever it was that killed her.

As soon as he heard shuffling behind him, Tango whipped around, jumpy and alert with fear. But the winged man just kneeled down beside the body, his head hung low and the wings aside his face folding over to cover his eyes. The netherborne knew what it meant now, it was a sign of respect from a Watcher, but at the time, he had no clue.

So he stared for a minute, then took a cautious step forward. Then another. The Watcher didn't look up until Tango wrapped his arms around him in a hug, which didn't go very far with how small Tango was at his young age. A few seconds passed before a wing held him in closer, and the Watcher gave him a hug back, both of them sharing the silence of grief together as if they were friends.

It was a blur from there. He heard a woosh and could faintly remember a bright purple light, but that was all he could recollect before he knew what happened next. He woke up in his adoptive dad's house, in the overworld, and had completely forgotten about his mother, the Watcher, or even that he was meant to be the king of the nether.

But it didn't stop there. He was suddenly much older, late teenage years it seemed. He was in his new room, posters for old rock bands all over the orange walls. He was just setting up his TV again, since he and his dad had moved away from his childhood home and to a new town a few weeks ago and he'd been procrastinating on it since. The move unfortunately meant he had to move away from his best and childhood friends Impulse and Zedaph, but they promised to keep in touch by text if nothing else, and they really did.

Just as he was fixing the wires to hook up properly, he heard his phone buzz from his nightstand. He shoved the last few plugs in before half-walking half-running to his phone to pick it up. It was from Impulse, so he accepted the call, thinking nothing much of it. Impulse was just as much of a tech guy as Tango was, so if anything, he could ask for help on his TV.

Instead of a nice hello, the blonde was met with heavy breathing. He thought it was some kind of practical joke at first, so after a few seconds he laughed it off.