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Chapter Text

(Five years ago)

Smajor

Canary turned to him with a frown on his face. The man’s purple stained wings were wrapped around his shoulders, something he hadn’t done since they were still !¡ꖎᔑ||ᒷ∷ᓭ. Smajor opened his mouth to speak but before he could get a single word out a taloned hand clasped itself over his mouth. If he still had them his eyes would have widened in surprise but instead he didn’t dare to move.

The hand was pulling down on his mask and it hurt. He reached up to gently remove Canary’s hand but his wrist was grabbed and Smajor was pulled to his feet. The taloned hand on his mouth was removed but as he went to speak a hushing motion was made and he simply nodded.

Canary had always been strange since they’d been turned. Hells, he’d been strange when he was still just plain £1€^#. However this was something new, fear could be sensed from the man, fear… how was he feeling fear… that, that wasn’t possible in their current forms. Canary went white as footsteps became audible in the distance. The man turned and began to run pulling Smajor along, whether or not he wished to join the man.

His fingers were growing stiff from a lack of mana flow to them and his arm felt as though it was being pulled from its socket. The footsteps in the distance grew faster and louder, and Smajor swallowed the dry spot in his throat. As he did his best to keep up with Canary, mainly to prevent his arm becoming dislocated he tripped over his feet as a small, golden-yellow feather flew past him.

His eyes shot up to the purple stained wings infront of him… purple stained… What colour had they been before £1m^# had been turned? His mind raced and as he was distracted they ran a corner. The arm that wasn’t being dragged slammed into the wall and he loud out a sharp cry of pain. A few moments later shouting could be heard in the distance and his steps faultered as he heard his flock’s distress call come from below.

His… flock…? “Canary what is going on?!” His voice filled with rage as he finally stopped running and ripped his wrist out of the man’s grasp. The winged man instantly turned back to him, his wings now pressed against his spine in fear. How was he feeling an emotion that wasn’t meant to exist in upper beings? That wasn’t possible, it never-

His thoughts were cut off by Canary grabbing his shoulders hard enough to cause him to wince. “Scott now is not the time, we need to go.” His mind blanked. Name… th-thats not. No. He didn’t… that was a name… not a title. No that couldn’t, that wasn’t…

Scott

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That wasn’t

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It shouldn’t exist

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That was

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That’s my name

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Can@(^Jim&-@

Scott froze infront of him and Jimmy silently cursed under his breathe. Why has he used the elf’s name now, he wasn’t meant to use it until they were back to the mortal realm with Grian in tow. Watcher’s were getting closer to them and Scott’s mask was glowing dim. His mask… it was a stupid plan but right now he couldn’t think of anything else.

A watcher came round the corner and he reached towards Scott’s face. The mask burned his fingers but he pulled on it and it snapped in half falling to the floor. Jimmy looked up and saw his lover’s eyes for the first time in years and he wanted to sob. He grabbed Scott’s arm and started running again desperate to not be caught. The elven followed him but clearly still was trying to make sense of it all.

His blue eyes were hazy and weren’t focusing even after the mask left his face. A coating of mana still tingling over his skin, Jimmy didn’t bother trying to keep up appearances anymore. With his free hand he reached up and threw of the false mask he’d been wearing for the past few weeks. He threw open a door and spread his wings to descend the stairs faster before hitting Scott’s arm and letting another curse slip his lips.

He quickly folded his wings and risked a glance back at Scott who still seemed out of it but the haze coating his eyes was vanishing. In its place was fear, pure fear, something Jimmy never thought he’d been so glad to see on the blue-haired man’s face. As they reached the bottom quickly more shouting added to the noise above with footsteps alongside.

He let out a quick call and nearly fainted in relief as he saw the air infront of him warp and shift. He stopped running and felt Scott run into him before letting go of his lover’s wrist and turning to him. The elf looked close to tears as the mana continued to leave his body weak. As his blue eyes widened Jimmy turned his head over his shoulder and saw his older brother, back in his old attire rather than the white and purple robes that he and Scott still were in.

“R-right, what’s happening?” He quickly turned back to his lover and felt his heart melt as he heard his normal voice instead of the ethereal tone the elf’s voice had taken when he’d been turned. He silently thanked the stars that the Watchers never had been able to fully turn them and pulled Scott into a tight hug. He heard the elf take a sharp breath before hesitantly hugging him back.

Grian made a sound of offense before quickly joining the two’s side and wrapping his wings around them. Footsteps got louder and the hug quickly was disparted as purple mana coated the avian’s hands and Grian raised them. Scott let out a cry of distress seeing the Watcher’s mana but Jimmy quickly grabbed his hand again. He felt his chest tighten seeing the pure terror in those icey blue eyes and he couldn’t think to do anything but give the man a reassuring smile.

The mana dripped onto the floor and formed mist making Scott jump. When had Scott ever been the one to jump at this sort of stuff? As his vision turned purple he heard Scott let out a distressed call and pulled him into a hug as a chill ran over him. He felt the elf go limp in his arms and panic to pull his lover to his chest, wrapping his wings around the blue-haired man.

When his vision cleared he saw a thick forest around him and a Scott passed out in his arms. He stifled a yawn as he saw the Grian’s eyes blinking rapidly. He knew that Scott would probably be exhausted from the sudden mana shift in his body, but paired with the transportation, Jimmy should have full expected Scott to be unconscious. His brother walked over, no longer glowing from mana and gave him a small smile.

Free, they were free. And they were never going back in that cage again.

Chapter Text

…Scott?

He shifted on the ground and let out a groan from the sharp pain stabbing at his head. He blearily opened his eyes and saw undergrowth all around him. Odd, he wasn’t aware of any place like this in the ᒷリ↸ ↸╎ᒲᒷリᓭ╎𝙹リ. He hesitantly sat up feeling exhaustion running through his mana like led. Smajor looked around weakly, no that wasn’t right…

He reached up and touching his cheeks gently feeling fear drowning him. As he felt his skin his blood ran cold. Blood… not mana. Where was his mask? His mind raced trying to remember how he had gotten there but found a gap in his memory. That shouldn’t be possible, it wasn’t possible. He was a Watcher, they didn’t just… forget!

He let out a small desperate laugh, he was going mad! That was it! Or maybe he was ill, highly unlikely but it was possible. This was all some weird fever dream that he’d forget about when he woke up. His mind settled in that idea and he kept in locked in the back of his head. He decided to get up and figure out “where he was”, probably somewhere he’d been from before he’d been turned. He’d been in forests before right?

He stood up shakily, his legs feeling far weaker than should be possible. The vines on the ground caught him fast and he let out a soft curse as he ripped them off his pants. His pants… He quickly looked down at himself and felt his heart catch in his throat. First, he didn’t have his mask on him, now he was in !¡ꖎᔑ||ᒷ∷ᓭ clothing, this was going just great. He thought bitter thoughts that should be kept to lower beings and would have been content continuing doing so for a few more moments until he heard a scream of pure terror in the distance.

Despite every bone in his body screaming at him to turn the other way he ran towards the sound. Stupid flock instincts- his mind caught over the word and distracted he fell as his foot was caught by the undergrowth. He quickly detached the thorny vines from his ankle and let out a hiss of pain as one cut his palm leaving a small trail of red. Red… blood…

He stood again and glanced at the ground before turning his palm up and letting the blood pool before he heard another scream and started running once more. He let out a flock call, a flock call… He knocked himself in the head for a moment when he paused, now was not the time.

He listened for a moment but when he didn’t get any reply his stomach twisted into a knot. He stopped running, wincing as his legs tightened using energy they weren’t used to needing. He squeezed his eyes and silent prayed for this nightmare to just end already. After a moment, he realized it wasn’t going to stop so he sighed and decided to continue forward, walking.

He tripped over vines and gained more than a few scratched over his arms. Seeing his own blood felt nauseating after so long of being unable to be injured. Unable to feel pain. Unable to feel. He paused for a moment as he saw a glint of yellow through the brush. He felt his heart leap to his throat as he hesitantly went towards it. His ears filled with the beat of a drum and hands shook.

Fear. Undeniable, pure fear. It ran its course through him as he pushed the vines away from his view. He tasted bile. Two corpses lay infront of him, avians from the looks of it.

He swallows down hard and stepped towards them. Blood was still pouring out of wounds, they’d barely been dead a minute. One had stripped wings like a macaw and the other yellow wings like a canary’s… a canary… sh*t.

He turned on his heel and knelt down by the avian’s head. He lifted it slightly in his hands, trying not to confirm his worst fear when it’s eyes fluttered open with a soft groan. They were hazy and looked so tired. It’s eyes widened slightly seeing him and it’s voice chocked out two words. “Scott… run…”

It’s eyes closed and it’s head went limp in… in Scott’s hands. He put its head back on the ground and stood up, wrapping his scraped and bloodied arms around himself. This isn’t a dream… is it? He stayed silent, not sure whether he was hoping for an answer or for whatever killed them to take him as well.  He waited and waited until his eyes felt wet.

His fingers dug into his arm as he let out a choked cry. Fat, heavy tears started rolling down his face and he fell to his knees letting out a guttural sob. Flock, they’d been his flock, hadn’t they? Protection, he was meant to protect them, and now they were dead, they were dead! He felt dizzy and his stomach turned. His thoughts became incoherent as blood continued to run off his arms arms into the soil beneath him, staining the leaves a bright red. He didn’t remember how to be a player…  but Scott so desperately wanted his flock back.

Cleo

Cleo used her sword to cut down the vines hanging infront of her. They’d heard distant screams but the only reason they went towards them is because it was on the direct path to get to the next village where she was meeting up with Pearl. It had been silent for a few minutes now and a small trickle of guilt was creeping into them for not finding the people and helping.

She was about ready to let it go when she heard the most recent pure sob in the distance. It was a desperate cry for flock but sounded like it knew no one was coming. They silent cursed themself and ran towards the call. She could hear small sobs in the distance now but when she let out a call she got no reply. They sighed and continued cutting down thorny vines and stepping over them.

Cleo was nearly prepared to turn back when she saw a glint of gold and blue through the undergrowth. She stepped through and felt their heart clench. An elven, likely not much older than she, was on his knees sobbing next to two avian corpses. His arms were bleeding from various cuts and his face was wet with tears. They hesitated slightly before walking infront of him and crouching down.

It took him a moment to notice her but when he did look up he looked completely defeated. Cleo didn’t know what she could say to him, it was obvious by now that the avians had been his flock members, and as far as she knew they were all he had. “What’s your name?” She asked him softly but he flinched away slightly at the words. He opened and closed him mouth a few times before looking down at the ground and finally speaking, “They said it was Scott.”