[PRP] Wingless (Llyr & Pachua)

[endejester]

Pachua took a breath and thought of what to say, what to say that might be comforting… but all he could think of was a story.

“Papol Voh…” He said carefully, trying not to inflect the words too much.

“This…is the beginning, there is not a person, an animal, a meadow, a forest…. There is only the sea pooled under all the sky. The sea is at rest, waiting, there are only two in all the world. There is the great lord “heart of sky” in the heavens, and in the water, there is ‘Plumed Serpant, in the blackness, in the early dawn.”

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

He let Pachua's words wash over him, and they soothed him, filled his aching heart with a sense of warmth and satisfaction. Llyr took a short, sharp breath that shook slightly, and then let it out again, easing himself carefully against Pachua.

"I know a pretty plumed serpent," Llyr murmured, and the faintest of smiles touched his lips. "A pretty plumed serpent who is quite possibly the most important person to me."

He turned his head a little, burrowing his face into Pachua's scales.

endejester

 

[endejester]

The laugh was a chirping twitter, soft and pleased and a gentle rocking through the great twining body much like his breath.

“Plumed Serpent is the forefather of our people.” He murmured. “Or so they say” he added. “Perhaps in the past, the great ocean was one of your ancestors, the idea of him, yes?”

His tongue gently brushed Llyr’s cheek.

“Which would make us a sort of beginning, because you are very important to me as well. My friend, My Llyr, my deep watersss.”

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

It tickled a little, but it felt nice; Llyr scrunched up his nose slightly, then gave a weak laugh, feeling, for the first time since coming back, more relaxed. His back throbbed dully, but Llyr's heart was beginning to settle.

"I do not remember much," he said softly, barely above a whisper. "I do not know where I came from...everything is dark before coming here...but I like the idea of being from water. Water is...familiar. Water is soothing."

Llyr's eyes opened, just a little, glinting a dim blue in the quietly lit room.

"You make me very happy," he said softly. "I do not know...how to express it well, or express it enough."

endejester

 

[endejester]

“Shhh, you express very well.” He promised, “And if words are not enough, I will find better ways that we can share underssstanding.” The grand white nose nuzzled gently.

“But I worry…I worry that you need to ressst. Know that I will keep you sssafe.” He hesitated, lifting his head slightly from under the wing as he considered.

“Shhhould I take you to water? Shhhould I take you to your rooms? We could lay in your pool, your familiar pool, I’d lay under you, like now. It would keep you ssssafe.”

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

"Perhaps words are not needed," Llyr murmured. Pachua's nose prodded gently at his side, and that was like words except softer, gentler. He sighed out a breath.

"My room is...is okay," he said, after a moment. And then, a bout of nervousness overtook him, and he added, somewhat fretfully, "If -if you would...help me."

endejester

 

[endejester]

“Always… forever.” He promised in return for the request for aid. He shifted, but twisted so that llyr now hung draped over his shoulders and wings, the outer edges of which he turned to cup the tall boil carefully to help keep him from falling.

“I will carry you.” He whispered. “Just be still, just be still, tell me if I jar you too much.”

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

Llyr wrapped his arms obediently around Pachua's neck, burrowing his face into the great feathered serpent, and he pressed his fingers against the warm, reassuring scales. He felt at ease lying there, even with the prospect of the walk ahead.

"I trust you," Llyr mumbled. "You will keep me safe."

endejester

 

[endejester]

“Yes…” He promised solemnly. “No matter the cost.” He added, though that last promise was as much to himself as to the other boil, more perhaps to himself even as it held ominous undertones.

He carefully, carefully took Llyr back to his own room trying hard not to jostle him or move too quickly. He worried still about doing something awful like getting one of his own feathers stuck in the gruesome injuries but all the same he used his wings to help cover the boil whenever he felt a breeze or a draft that might prove uncomfortable.

“Almost there.” He promised.

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

He had come from the Haunted House with no other thought in mind than to just find somewhere he would no longer be in pain. And when he had learned how near he was to Pachua's place, the prospect of being near to his best friend had become a desperate desire, because out of everyone, it was Pachua to whom Llyr felt the safest, the most cared for.

The ride back to his own place was slow and steady, Pachua's brightly colored plumage protecting him from anything else. They were probably a strange sight; the giant winged serpent carrying the injured demon on it's back, but Llyr's attention was focused elsewhere, on holding on and staying awake. A wince passed across his face as they slid up the stairs, but a moment later they were nearly at his room, and Llyr breathed out a sigh of relief against Pachua's scales.

"You will stay with me?" He asked tentatively, and though he knew the answer, the childlike, selfish desire to reassure himself that Pachua wasn't going anywhere was unable to be suppressed.

endejester

 

[endejester]

"Yesss, I will stay, I will stay adds long as you need." He promised, carefully arranging himself to recreate the 'nest' he had made in his own dorm- this time in the water of Llyr's pool.

"Do you wish me to stay asssss I am? Or do you wish armssss to hold you? He offered gently.

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

His own room was pleasantly cool and immensely reassuring. Llyr could feel the tension easing from his shoulders just at the sheer familiarity of it, and he opened his eyes, feeling the cool rush of water against his bare legs. He sank down, hair sticking to his neck, and ran his fingers over Pachua's scales.

"I would very much like to see your face again," he said softly.

endejester

 

[endejester]

The great form shrank, drawing in on itself, and changing, ribs and bones shifting to become arms and legs, the end of his tail drawing up to the base of his spine and ruffling unconsciously.
He was smaller than Llyr again, still carefully embracing him.

“Better?” he asked softly.

kuroopu

 

[kuropeco]

And then Pachua was Pachua again, or at least, a smaller Pachua than before, and Llyr stepped into his embrace and buried his face in the crook of Pachua's neck where it slid into his shoulder, his body trembling, his arms wound around the boil's shoulders. He was taller than Pachua, but he fit against him anyway, curling himself against the boil as though seeking comfort.

"I'm...I'm not strong," he gasped out, his fingers digging into his own arms. "I can't...I'm not good at...at this, at anything - I couldn't even - protect myself - "

endejester

 

[endejester]

A nuzzle of his nose against the curve of Llyr’s jaw. “You are stronger than you know… so much stronger. You are strong because you trust. You trust and it’s a strength to trust… but no one ever showed you how to … how to defend did they. No one ever showed you how to take a life…with honor.”


He worried at his lip, eyes down cast and rested his brow against Llyr’s shoulder for a long moment, counting the breaths till he could speak again.

“Let me show you.” He said softly, finding a rounded stone and pressing it into Llyr’s hand.

“Alright?” he whispered. “Let me show you… “

kuroopu