Prologue

Lara walked to the outside of Jordan's house, rubbing her eyes and shrugging her wings. She was tired and itchy, and frankly, she wanted to tug Jay back into the cabin to get some rest before she decided to go against centuries of familiarity and start ripping her wings apart. It was never a comfortable time of year when this happened. Jace was just lucky he didn't have feathery wings to deal with, otherwise he would probably have spent hours whining about it still. The cabin's floor, however, was covered in white feathers from her morning of trying to pluck them enough to sate the feeling of itchiness.

Begrudgingly, she let her feet drag her over to Jay and Jordan. Jay was laughing, though Jordan looked less than happy. Inwardly, Lara wondered what had sparked their conversation. Polaris would probably be shedding her scales, but Jordan had learned already that he could melt them down to make armor. QuickSilver might have been, too, but Jordan would likely treat his scales the same. Maybe Jay had pulled a prank? There didn't seem to be anything odd, though.

"What's the matter, Jordan?" Jay mocked, "This is the best season."

No, it's horrible, Jay, don't even—

Jordan groaned. "They're in heat, you dick!"

Oh. Right. She's a dragon. QuickSilver's creation must have encouraged those hormones… Lara rolled her wings again, turning her attention to the two men. "What's up? Why's Jordan yelling? What did you do?" She inquired.

Jay's laughter was nearly hysteric, and he looked like he was holding himself together with his arms coiled around his stomach. Jordan's face was turning a shade of red, either from embarrassment or from anger with Jay. "Dragon… has… in… heat…!" Jay managed to blurt out through his laughter.

"O-Oh," Lara mumbled, cheeks turning red.

"Still… haven't been out," Jay added, face changing color due to air loss, "now… need… air…"

Lara reached over, patting his back. She was too tired to try anything else, and the constant itch she wanted to sate wasn't helping her ability to focus her healing. Lack of air due to laughing was never something she'd attempted to heal, though, so she doubted she would be able to regardless.

I want to sleep. Sleep… under that nice blanket Jay stole… that would be warm and nice, and…

"If you die, I'm stealing back that heavy blanket you stole from me," she warned.

"I… needed… more," he gasped, "Jordan… fuck with me… permanent…"

She wasn't certain what he meant, but Jordan raised a brow at him. With a sigh, she shook her head and started turning Jay forcibly around, pointing him in the direction of the tree. "I wouldn't worry too much, Jordan," she offered, tossing a brief glance in the Mianitee's direction, "mating season is short for dragons. I-If you'd like, there are bedrooms at Mianite's temple. You could use one… or maybe move in with Tucker and Sonja for the duration."

Jay started laughing again. "Don't disturb them while they are 'busy,'" he teased, still walking in the direction Lara had started pushing him toward.

Jordan offered a quick "thanks" and left. Lara turned her attention to Jay, trying to distract herself from the tingling in her wings and the way they flicked outward to try, in vain, to get rid of the obnoxious feeling in them.

"You shouldn't laugh at his embarrassment," she scolded.

Jay waved his hand dismissively. "I laughed because I did it," he corrected before adding with audible disgust, "damn, can you get this? My wings itch."

"Where does it itch?" She asked, raising a brow and a hand.

"Just everywhere," he said sarcastically, "plus, my feathers are falling. With their pointy tips, they impale anything I'm flying over."

Lara blinked, giving him a curious look as she turned her attention to his wings. "Has this happened to you before?"

"This god-awful sickness? No. Otherwise, I could deal with it," he answered. He reached around to snatch one of his wings, but it moved out of his way. Lara ducked back to avoid getting cut by his feathers as they bristled uncomfortably.

"These wings feel no pain, so they make me suffer," he grumbled.

So… a void-born like Jay can have this happen, too? Why hasn't it happened to him before now? She wondered.

She shook her head, offering a small laugh. "Let's go back to the house and I'll explain there. It'll be easier on both of us to be sitting down while we talk."

"This doesn't sound good," Jay muttered. There was something light and eager about his voice, despite the words. It took Lara a moment to realize, but she understood it after a few seconds, why Jay suddenly relaxed and walked without the weight he seemed to have been carrying for months. Lara had said the house, not her house or her cabin. It was almost funny how that little distinction meant so much to him, but she could tell that it meant everything.

"No, it isn't. I'm sorry, you're dying," she joked, albeit in a serious tone, as she shook her head and continued to pull him along. She opened her mouth to add on to her teasing, but stopped when she realized he was tense again.

Oh… right, he doesn't… know about this, does he? Oh, Jay… She thought apologetically.

Jay's mouth audibly opened and closed a few times before he rapidly spoke, "D-Dead? Me? Die? Us?"

"No. No, Jay, I was kidding. I was joking," she corrected quickly. "No one's dying. You can't die from this. It's harmless."

"Oh…" He mumbled sheepishly, as if ashamed that he'd fallen for her lies. "Well… what is it, then?"

Lara pulled him inside of their house and sat down on the bed. She scooted back to the center, patting the spot in front of her in a gesture for him to sit down. Once he did, she smiled.

"It's called 'molting.' I'm a little surprised you've never had it happen to you before. I know Jace doesn't because his wings aren't like mine, but yours…" She trailed off and then added, "maybe it's an Overworld thing."

"Molting? Wings?" He echoed, reaching back to feel for his wings. This time, his wings didn't seem to want to escape him. "They feel normal, though, aside from falling out and that horrid, itching feeling."

She nodded. "They aren't going to feel any different otherwise. Some of your old feathers just fall out so new ones can grow. Dragons do the same with their scales."

"But if I lose them… I can't fly very well fly, now can I?" He asked as she expertly ran her fingers through his feathers. It must have been painless, because he leaned into her touch like she was giving him a massage. She was careful to avoid the tips as best she could, even as she healed the tiny pin-prick holes left by the loose feathers.

"Well… no," she agreed, "but it'll only last for a little bit. It usually lasts for a day before I can start flying again."

"How long does the damn itching last?" He inquired.

He reached back and plucked a few of the feathers from his other wing, tossing them into the floor like they were knives. She made a noise of protest. Just to watch him mindlessly tear out his feathers made her own wings ache. Jay seemed to understand that his behavior was making her uncomfortable so he stopped.

"Until the feathers stop falling out," she answered hurried, slapping his hand away from the wing, "stop that. That's a bad idea."

"B-But it's fun," he whined, drooping his shoulders and wings dramatically.

"It'll only make your wings itch more because you're damaging the fleshy parts of your wings by doing that," she informed. She sighed, healing the injuries, and added, "I know you want to – believe me, I do – but it won't help."

"Well, I have no idea what to do. I can't help myself! I might pluck my wings bare!"

"You won't. Because I'll make sure you don't. And when this happens again next year, you'll know how to handle it."

She listened to Jay rant a bit longer about his wings and how horrible it was. She whole-heartedly agreed with him, but it was distracting her enough from her own wings to help him with his. The way he kept leaning in to her touch, too, make her feel like her efforts were useful and wanted, and it was another way that the two of them could be close without needing to talk or fight.

"Point is, I have the ability to make this fatal. Not something I want," he finished, before turning to her with a pout and wide eyes, "you'll stay with me? Pwease?"

You little… ridiculous Guardian, you, she thought, smiling, how could I ever say no? After everything we've gone through, why would I deny you now?

"Fine, but you'll need to relax because I will eventually need to tend to my own wings," she answered.

"Yay! Sleepover," he replied, grinning. "We can read – or write – scary stories. Roast marshmallows. All kinds of stuff!"

"I already live here. We could do that any day," she pointed out jokingly.

"I suppose you are right… but we haven't, so this is special," he countered, stretching his wings.

"If you say so," she conceded, "I don't see what's so special about it."

Jay offered an innocent smile. "Spending more time with my Lara," he replied.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes affectionately as she moved her hand away from his wing and to her own. "You're so foolish," she mumbled, "who else's would I be?"

"Didn't say Lara. I said my Lara," he told her cheekily, wrapping her up in his arms. "Which means you are mine."

She smiled a bit as he placed his head against her shoulder. She carefully lifted a wing to keep it from being held hostage by his arms as he mumbled "mine" against her shoulder. She hummed quietly, threading her fingers through her wing in order to get rid of loose feathers.

"Wonder if I could abbreviate 'My Lara.' What do you think, Mara?" Lara sent him a sharp look. He put up his hands in surrender. "Just kidding!"

"Why do you feel the need to pet-name everything?"

"I don't know. Maybe I am a bit lazy. But you are important to me. That deserves something."

She lets go of her wing and turns her attention to him. "You're impossible, and lucky that I love you."

"Or impossibly lucky?" He suggested. She rolled her eyes and he laughed.

He turned suddenly serious and gripped her hand, tapping her pinky. "I love you, too."

Lara smiled at him, wrapping her pinky around his. She was grateful that he hadn't forgotten the promise, or what it meant. Even if he was only entertaining her concerns, he wasn't making light of her fear of being left alone. It meant the world to her.

"Maybe we're both lucky, then," she offered.

He returned her smile with one of his own. "Maybe so. If my wings are impossibly itchy and annoying, I'm glad I am here with you."

"It gets easier, I promise. If it keeps happening to you every year, then you'll just learn to groan about it and move on. That's what I do," she told him, "I should probably be happy Jace didn't have this problem. He would still be whining about it."

"Well, how come your healing power doesn't work on molting?"

"Because it's not an ailment. If your wings didn't molt, then all of your feathers would die and fall off – and then you might as well chop off your wings because they'd be useless to you."

"Well… that sucks," he admitted, "I think I can do it. With you, that is."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," she assured.

Jace frowned. He'd looked everywhere so far, and he still couldn't find his chat-pad. He couldn't recall ever taking it off, but he decided that it may not have been beyond consideration that he could have. It didn't really agree with lava – and after what happened with Furia and Amber, Jace had felt a bit wary to keep it on. He hated seeing the messages that they would publically send to one another. Just knowing that Amber had taken an interest in Furia made Jace's stomach hurt because he thought that he and Amber had been getting along alright.

Out of desperation, he went to Lara's cabin and opened the door, not quite used yet to Jay and Lara staying there together. Lara looked over at him immediately and Jay lifted his head up from her, turning to face him. Jace knew, based on the feathers covering the floor, that it was molting season, so Lara was likely uncomfortable and a bit annoyed. Jay, however, didn't ever seem to really appreciate company during his time spent with Lara.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Jace asked.

"Dick," Jay grumbled. Jace could guess that the void-born was either upset that Jace didn't molt, or he was annoyed that Jace had, in fact, interrupted. "What do you want, non-molting—?" Lara rolled her eyes, silencing Jay.

"My chat-pad's missing, asshole," Jace snapped back at him. He looked at his sister. "Lara, have you seen it? I know you still haven't gotten one back, so I thought, maybe, you might've borrowed mine."

Lara shook her head. "No, I haven't, Jace," she answered.

Jay seemed a bit apologetic now that Jace had explained. "Chat-pads suck," he conceded. He turned and started to get off of the bed, holding out his arm. "Here, take mi—"

He stopped and frowned. Jace blinked down at Jay's arm. His wrist was bare where the chat-pad normally sat, which was odd. It seemed especially so to Jay, who gave his arm a narrow-eyed look.

"I never too it off… I had it last night, strange…" He muttered, before shaking his head as if to clear it, and added, "Sorry. Don't have mine, either."

Lara looked between the two of them. "Are you sure…? You two are—chat-pads don't just disappear. You must have placed them somewhere."

"I don't take the chat-pad off in case someone needs me. I must be going crazy," Jay said.

"Who would need you?" Lara joked. "You're the one everyone watches the chat-pads for recently."

Jace nodded and then offered a sigh. "I'll go retrace my steps again – but I swear I didn't leave it anywhere."

Jay mock pouted. "Tag teaming isn't fair!" He whined. "You two can be meanies."

Jace watched Lara raise a brow at Jay and he resisted the urge to frown at Jay. He was acting… off. Maybe it was just the molting. Lara had been distraught when she'd started molting. Maybe Jay just acted sillier.

"I'm going to look now," he said.

"Good luck, Jace," Lara offered.

Jace nodded and left. He glanced around for a moment before kicking off of the ground. Maybe he had left it at Tom's house?

"Batman." Lara blinked at Jay and he continued, "Jace acts like Batman. Brooding."

She shook her head, playfully whacking his arm. "Stop it, before I start pulling feathers of yours that don't need to come off," she teased, tugging just barely at one of the feathers to make a point.

"You don't need Batman, Tony," he added, pulling his wing out of her reach.

"Where do you learn all of these things? Because I clearly need to talk to whoever's telling them to you and ask them to stop," she said.

"I have informants. You don't need to know who. That's highly-classified information, Jarvis," he replied.

She huffed quietly and turned, laying down on her stomach on the bed. She grabbed a pillow to cover her head with, folding her wings inward against her spine. "You're dealing with molting by yourself."

"Jarvis can't leave Stark," he informed, "although, it would be cool if Jarvis could turn himself on."

Lara reached over, grabbing another pillow from the bed and tossing it back toward him blindly. "Jay."

"Fine," he agreed begrudgingly, laying down next to her. "Night. I will try and sleep through this."

"Yeah, I might, too," she admitted, uncovering her head enough to glance at their feather-ridden floor. "And then I have to clean up the floor."

"Later," he mumbled into a pillow, audibly drowsy. "Wake me up in a few weeks, will you?"

She turned her glance over to him and sighed. Eventually, she drew up the courage to move closer to him and smiled a bit, happy to be nearer to him. "I'll wake you when I wake up," she offered, closing her eyes.

"Better be in a couple weeks then," he warned jokingly.

She could feel him roll over onto his back, but he didn't move further from her. She was content. Comfortable. Before she could doze off completely, she opened her eyes enough to make out a warm smile on Jay's face.

"Good night," he murmured.