Work Text:
His feet were floating barely a few centimeters from the ground, casting darker shades at a slight angle beneath them. Closing his eyes for a moment he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
He could still feel the phantom of limbs on his back, aching to stretch and move, not that it was a possibility. There were no muscles to make anything move, even less when there was nothing there to do so either.
Opening his eyes he pushed himself off the bed, touching down and needing a second to balance before rebalancing, so as to not stumble right back into the bed.
For a moment he stood still, feeling air surround him on all sides, moving the blanket hanging from the side of the bed and the cloth acting as a curtain to keep out the sand.
The barely there sound of footsteps accompanied him through the room, following him up the stairs till he stilled at the top of the tower that acted as their home.
The wind was caressing his face, playing with his hair and cooling his skin. The desert stretched out in front of him, empty except for the few torches that they had thrown around in a rush to light up as much as they could.
They had hurried into the safety of their base afterwards.
He leaned against the low walls, the rough feel of the sandstone beneath his fingers was harsher than he had expected, though he could say the same about the cool stone beneath his feet.
His body was buzzing , an unfamiliar sensitivity taking him over. An awareness of the wind carrying grains of sand dragging against him, his jumper weighing him down and raising goosebumps wherever it was in direct contact to his skin.
He turned his eyes away from the moonlit desert, gazing down at himself. The heart shaped symbol on his wrist caught his attention, glowing a soft green. He reached towards his sleeve, pulling it down to reveal the twin hearts beneath, colored a faint yellow and red, though they seemed black in the shine of the moon. They didn't glow. Not yet, at least.
It had been a marvel when the other had returned, showing his glowing heart, yellow, not green like everyone else's. After all the excitement of the first death it had seemed like an unimportant detail, noticed by only a few and not mentioned afterwards.
He grazed his fingertips against his own yellow heart, dark and seemingly unimportant.
He wondered how long it would stay that way. He had promised the other his loyalty as long as it was still his green heart one that glowed.
The other had just smiled, celebrating for a moment before packing up and whisking him to the desert, promises of a home, a monopoly and fun on his lips.
He shivered, the desert wind freezing, such a big contrast to the overwhelming heat barely a few hours ago.
He pulled his sleeve back down, huddling further into himself, seeking warmth.
The bed he had left behind calling him to return in the back of his mind, the warm blanket and understuffed pillow seeming so alluring now that he was away from them.
Retreating into the heart of the building felt like a horrible idea though. Too enclosed when all he wanted was to be out in the open, moving freely. He wanted to go up, up, up. Feel the wind flowing between his feathers and carrying him far away from here.
There was an ache in his heart. It had sat there from the very start, when they had sat up and wondered where they were. When he had reached behind him and realised the lack of feathers, flesh and bone.
The others hadn’t commented, not a whisper of anything amiss except that no one knew how they got here. He knew he was missing his limbs, his freedom though no one else seemed to know, just as they didn't seem to know what they were missing themselves.
There was a distinct lack of what he assumed they saw as ‘advantages’, no hair formed from fire, no sharp canines or claws. At least he saw some things were unchanged, sunglasses still hooked awkwardly around a pair of fluffy ears.
It had resulted in an ugly feeling rearing its head, whispering of favoritism and unfair treatment. He had squished them to the back of his mind, turning away and leaving in the opposite direction.
His back burned. His jumper rubbed against his skin in a way that was painfully unfamiliar.
The wind was roaring in his ears, demanding all his focus to return to the now.
His feet dragged against the ground as he set himself in motion, moving to the opposite side, looking out towards the desert.
His fingers curled into fists,nails digging into his palms harshly. He pressed his eyes closed, breathing deeply, trying to forget, ignore the freedom that was stripped from him, leaving him bound to the ground.
Warm arms wrapped around him, a scarred chest settling against his back, setting him ablaze. His eyes ripped open, gaze flitting to the arms keeping him trapped. The glowing yellow heart sat next to his, their wrists crossing.
His shoulder relaxed, settling, allowing the other to lean over him, lowering his head on top of his.
A murmur left the other, meaningless.
They stayed like that for a while, before the other detached from his back, hand slipping further down to grasp his wrist and pull him along , back into the safety of their home.