Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was supposed to be an easy first mission for Sunday. He was supposed to fight a few masked fools and be done with, be a real Trailblazer. They had landed on a deserted planet for a rest stop, it was meant to be deserted anyways.

Sunday thought he felt a presence around him, something’s eyes watching him. He tensed but hid it, trying to act like he was okay. His wings kept flaring, anyone with half a mind about Galovian behaviours knowing it was a sign of stress. He would let out small noises, stifling them before anyone could hear him.

It had been an uneventful couple days on this world, Sunday’s anxiety finally wearing off. He yawns as the group settle in for the night, Stelle taking the first watch. Not long later he drifts off, finally feeling safe.

“Sunday! Wake up! Sunday!” He jolts awake to shouts, seeing March, Dan Heng and Stelle all fighting a hoard of monsters. They were fighting well but there was so many of them. He tried to use any of his abilities to help but he couldn’t. Why? Why was he so useless? Why couldn’t he be useful? Why? Why? Why!

His wings flare out, all of them. Even the ones that are mangled and broken. He rises to the air as glowing thorns wrap around his limbs. Something snaps within him. He lets out a powerful blast of tuning, trying to protect the only people he had left. The others defeat the last of the monsters, they didn’t notice Sunday collapsing to the ground. Not until they heard a painful crunch and a wail. Something so instinct driven that they all turn to look at him.

Wings. Pain. Wings. Move. Get up. Can’t.

Sunday tries to move but cannot. Something is wrong, It hurts. He wants his sister. Why can’t he feel his wings? It hurts. He wants Robin. He tries to speak but can only let out wails, trills and warbles. He sees someone wearing pink coming towards him. “R-Robin?” He looks up through teary eyes to see someone who wasn’t his sister try to touch him. Who was it? Why did they want to be near him? He flinches. Hard. His wings cracking further at being flared out in fear.

Dan Heng knew this was bad. Sunday looked scared. But not normally, a pure instinctual fear ran through his body. He thought March was his sister, that was bad enough. He winced at the further sound of cracks coming from the Halovian’s wings. He knelt near Sunday and chirped back to him. The man looked up at him, a mix of confusion and familiarity in his gaze. March and Stelle looked at him in shock. “Since when can you chirp?!” Stelle nearly shouts, if not for being muffled by March’s hand. “Shush Stelle, you and March prepare the express. Tell Welt and Himeko to get a medical room set up, and get my room warmed up for us, I’ll help him out of here.” Dan Heng spoke firmly and quickly, gesturing for the other two to be off.

Sunday saw a man in front of him. There were two girls leaving the area that they were in, the man… wait no… Dragon? Started to chirp at him again, making him feel safer… where was his sister? His ears start to ring. “Wh-where’s Robin?” He whispered tearfully to the man in front of him. Where was he? Who was the kind dragon like man? He warbled once more as his vision blurred further with tears and pain. “Sis-sister?” He whined pitifully as his wings continued to ache. He just wants his sister. He wants to go home. “P-please home?” He saw the man speak to him but the ringing in his ears intensified.

Dan Heng saw Sunday go further out of it. Despite his best attempts to keep him calm Sunday still panicked himself into another fit of warbles, his hoarse throat no longer able to cry properly. Dan Heng knew touching Sunday at the moment was off limits, his reaction to March was bad enough. He let the soft hum of cloudhymn magic envelope his hands as he tried to ease Sunday’s pain, letting the cool water cover his wings. Sunday tensed but didnt flinch, that was a good sign. “Sunday, I’m gonna help you up, okay? We can call Robin for you? Please just stay calm.” Dan Heng spoke slowly, clearly, Sunday looked up at him with no recognition. He adds head injury to the list of problems Sunday might have at the moment. He finally noticed how mangled Sunday’s wings were, not just from recent breaks either, they had been broken and healed wrong over and over. Sunday whimpered and his wings jostled further. “Shh, Sunday, I need you to just fall asleep for me, is that alright?”

Sunday looked up at the kind man, he was making it hurt less. Why does it hurt so much? He looked around himself, seeing the barren surroundings. This wasn’t Penacony, this was somewhere else. Was there another disaster? Did their father finally give them up? Did Robin leave him too? But the man told him to sleep, he was tired, maybe a little nap couldn’t hurt too much. He slumped into the man’s arms and started to drift off. “g’night mister…” he falls asleep before finishing his words.

Dan Heng managed to carry the passed out Sunday back to the express, worrying about him, he seemed to have some sort of head injury due to the sheer confusion he had whilst looking at everyone. He was also displaying much more instinctual behaviours in the last ten minutes than he had ever seen out of the man. He had looked so scared, so lost, just begging for his sister.

Himeko had started to set up the medical room as soon as the two girls had returned to the train, talking about how Sunday had saved them but now was severely injured. She set for the express to dock at Herta’s space station, unsure what to expect as she sees Dan Heng approaching carefully. Sunday was limp in his arms, blood coating his arms, legs and wings. He looked like he was in pain, clear by the way his wings rested limply at awkward angles. She’d never even seen one of the pairs but it was bad. Welt had set up an appointment with a doctor who knew how to keep quiet apparently.

March watched as Dan Heng lowered Sunday onto the bed they had set up. She knew he would feel guilty, for not protecting them fast enough, for not managing to catch Sunday, for anything really.

Doctor Veritas Ratio was a busy man. He claimed that everyone wanted to have have appointment with him. Yet he cleared his schedule for the next few days after receiving a message from Welt Yang of the astral express, asking him to come and consult them about halovian biology. He had heard rumours that they kept Sunday on board, so he would have to keep quiet… but then he would still learn more about halovians so it was fair.

When Sunday next woke up there was a woman sitting next to him, she had red hair and a gentle expression on her face. “Hello Sunday, my name is Himeko, I am the engineer of the astral express.” He looked up at her as she spoke, it was impolite not to. “It’s nice to meet you Miss Himeko. You seem to already know my name but I am Sunday, Former Bronze Melodia and current Head of The Oak Family. Is there any chance you know when my sister or father will arrive?” He didn’t want to see Gopher Wood but he had no choice. His breath began to stutter and become shakier. “Sunday, your father cannot make it. Your sister may be here in about a week but that’s not guaranteed” Sunday’s body trembled, he wanted his sister. He wasn’t allowed to want. “I’m sorry Miss Himeko- I don’t know why I’m- so-” He feels tears running down his face. No! He isn’t allowed to cry! Father would- Something drifts into his mind, a song playing… You’re the key to where my trust begins Join my dream, it's just the right time, whoa… “Is that Robin singing?” He asks, in disbelief. “Ah yes, she is quite famous across the galaxy now” For so many years she had wanted to become a professional singer… but why can’t he remember her doing that? He would remember? “Sunday, what’s wrong?” He hears Miss Himeko but can’t reply, his body feels wrong, not his own. It looked different to how he remembered. Why did remembering make his head hurt? He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Dr Ratio had warned them that Sunday shouldn’t be forced to remember too quickly, that it would cause him mental and physical distress if he did. After they got the all clear physically from the doctor Dan Heng started to build a bigger nest in his room, they had decided Sunday shouldn’t be left alone during his recovery so Dan Heng had offered to let him stay in the Archives with him. It was a suitable arrangement for everyone, as they learnt that a nest would help Sunday recover better, both mentally and physically. They moved Sunday to the room that afternoon, he slept most of the time at the moment, that was alright during recovery, that was what the doctor had told them.

“Sunday, you’re awake, I’m glad” Sunday recognised that voice, it was the kind dragon-man. He was in a different room now, but he was more comfortable. “Ah I’m sorry, we moved you here to make you more comfortable and it easier to recover” Sunday sat up in his bed- no. He was in a nest. No no no- Father would be so mad- Sunday scrambled out of the nest and onto the floor, wincing as he puts too much pressure on the fractured wrist. He was hyperventilating. What if Father saw him! He would be so mad!

“Sunday, hey, it’s alright-” Dan Heng could tell that Sunday was overwhelmed, he doesn’t know why but he doesn’t like it. He shifts into his Vidyadhara form, this seemed to gain Sunday’s attention. “Sunday, you have been in an accident, you may not know this but your father is dead, he cannot hurt you.” He picked Sunday up with the cloudhymn dragon and eased him into the nest, before climbing in next to him. Why did Sunday feel relieved? Why did it feel so good to know his father was dead? He must be a monster. He needs to be punished. But father couldn’t punish him…

“…dead?” He heard Sunday speak after a while, it was good that he was talking though. “You have my condolences, from what I’ve heard he wasn’t the best man, you’re safe here Sunday, safe to be you.” He can see Sunday relax slightly, the nest now bringing him comfort rather than fear. A while later Sunday speaks “What’s your name? It feels impolite not knowing it” Dan Heng noted that he still refused to make eye contact. “My name is Dan Heng, I am a Vidyadhara as you have seen, I hope you do not mind staying in my room as I am the only one on the express who can make a nest” He sat calmly near Sunday, watching the man deal with his thoughts. “How are you feeling physically? I understand your wings and wrist are broken. That must hurt” Sunday nodded and looked down at his casted arm, “I.. may have injured it again, I’m sorry- Please don’t hurt it more- it’s really sore- please?” He sees Sunday start to break down and fight himself about asking for the help, fearing punishment. “Can I see it? I know how to heal you if you’d like?” Sunday nods and holds out the casted wrist, it looks out of place again, it must be agony, how isn’t he passed out? “On a scale of one to ten how much does it hurt?” He continues to examine the wrist whilst waiting for an answer. “Four? Three maybe? I can deal with it if you’d like?” He notes how Sunday had changed from whimpering in pain to a sharp blankness in his expression.

Sunday messed up. He said it hurt, which was bad, then lied about it not hurting, which was worse, he didn’t know what to do. The dragon-man, he called himself Dan Heng, was still feeling his wrist. He felt it get realigned, crying out in pain, he hears an apology, he doesn’t deserve it. But then he feels a soothing coolness over it, there was also a hand carding through his hair, it felt nice, all of it. “ ‘s a good nest…” He murmurs quietly to the man next to him. It feels really good to have someone… be kind to him? Is this what that feels like? It’s warm. “Thank you, I hope it’s not too different from what a Halovian needs, I find it quite comfortable myself” Sunday nods, it did feel good. Laying down wasn’t the easiest whilst trying to adjust for the casts on his wings. “Is it okay if I ask you to stay? I would really appreciate someone staying with me… only if you want, it’s okay” He sees Dan Heng nod, that was good. Then he feels a weight lay down next to him and a warmth radiate across his skin.

Sunday is safe. Sunday is free. Once he heals he can be out of his cage. He likes Dan Heng, more than he has anyone else, except Robin, and Father… he thinks. The man cared for him, made him a nest, which was a Halovian courting ritual, he doubted the man knew that though. He had said he was a Vidyadhara, so a dragon, so he didn’t hallucinate when he first woke up. He felt a warmth grow within him… ah. This must be what Robin described when she had her first girlfriend… Father still didn’t know about that. He kept her secret well, like he promised he would when they were twelve. He blushed… he was laying in a nest, with a man… one that he had a crush on and Father couldn’t judge him. The man seemed older than him… but when he grew up they could get together… yeah! Thats what he would do! He would make sure to court the man once he was older. He fell asleep with a smile on his face for the first time since before his mother died.