A/N: Quick note for you guys. I've uploaded about 3 chapters today. WE WILL NOT ALWAYS UPLOAD THIS MUCH IN A DAY! We had a shit ton of time this weekend to write a bunch of chapters. We have 3 done and one under editing. So don't think I'll post this much everyday. Now that that's over. Enjoy!
-Ahj
Chapter two: Falling
John: Be the 'Dave' boy.
You are now the 'Dave' boy. You are currently on your way to the base of the Mountain. It doesn't take very long to travel between kingdoms. Like the forest fauna have the Glade, the clawed creatures have the Mountain. The peak, which you might add, is where your king sits. He doesn't really do much; just sleeps and kills whoever doesn't bring him food. And that's where you come in; it is you and your siblings' assigned duty to feed the angry ruler, to drop off any recent catch you hunted this week at the entrance near the base.
And what a catch you have.
Glancing over your wing, you see Dirk and Rose have opted to share the deadweight of a royal deer between the two of them as you flew through the air. You're worried; why wouldn't you be? You captured- and killed, I might add!- the heir to the throne of the opposing kingdom! King Egbert would be outrageous, and you'd be the one who started the whole mess. Well... you didn't really know that at the time you were hunting a prince. From what you knew, you thought only commoners roamed the forest alone. Royals were meant to stay in the Glade. It's not like you're actually trying to start a war.
"Dave? Dave!" Dirk's loud voice snaps you out of your thoughts. "You know, you shouldn't be at the tip of our formation if all you're going to do is be a shitty leader." He huffs at your confusion. "You we're just about to fly right over the Mountain."
You look down and see the peak right behind and beneath you. Oops. You let out a string of curses, catching an hair drift to push you back. You spiral down and tuck your wings in closely, with Dirk and Rose close behind. Like practiced, all three of you flare out your wings and land more and less gracefully on the ground. It not like any of this is new.
Dirk sends you a questioning look, with those stupid eyebrow arches to those stupid pointy goggles of his. "It's nothing! I'm fine." You answer his unspoken words and roll your eyes, strutting into the large, cave-like entrance. Oh, how lovely. There's the smell of rotting corpses you love just so much... "Let's just drop that thing off here so I can skin him."
Rose changes to her human setting- she seems to prefer that over half form- and drags John over to you. You signal her slightly, with just a flick of your right, orange accented wing. She gives the slightest of nods and gently places the deer onto the skinning stone. "Done and done. Now let us go up to our nests. I have a lot of research of the flora growing around I want to catch up on." She gives you a wink as she drags Dirk upwards before he has any chance to ask questions.
You wait and stand rigid for a solid 15 minutes, before you hear Dirk's rumbling snores and Rose's soft humming, from both their respective nests. Great. Let's get this over with.
"Hey, prince-y prince." You open up the wooden box- a birthday gift from your bro- sitting in one corner of the Skinning Stone. Pulling out a Vial with yellow liquid, you attach it to another injection gun on the table and gently press it up against the young deer's neck. The fur feels soft and warm against your blistered hands.
Dave: Examine corpse.
You can't help it. Injecting the potion to counter the 'preservation' one, you sigh and drag a stone chair over and gently sit on the edge. Your red eyes skim over the animal, and you can't help but feel sad, completely unironically. He seems to be fairly young, you take notice. No antlers yet. His warm chestnut fur is a smooth shade of brown, with creamy colored freckles dotting their way down his spine, around his flanks, and to his hooves. You remember his eyes, the more you stare at him. They were so blue. So terrified...
You lean on your hands against the stone, inwardly groaning at your hunt. It was impossible to get Dirk off your back. He was the one who organized the hunts, after all. Rose knows what your plan is, and she supports it, but you're still not sure if you two could tell your older bro about it. Your plan was still... in the making. The "preservation potion" your sister injected into John wasn't actually what it was labelled to be. Rose specialized in plants; specifically what potions crushing those plants could create. The blue colored preservation is nearly identical to the sleeping death potion she actually gave the prince. You were glad it would only make him seem dead; slow his heart rate, reduce body temperature, etc etc. She wanted to unite the kingdoms as much as you did, and stopping the kills from the hunt was the first step in the plan... but you didn't think Dirk would accept it yet.
Everything in the Avian Kingdom was so harsh, and bleak, and rocks, and dirt, and feathers, and sticks, and boulders, and hardness, and coldness. You envied the Forest Kingdom, mostly because, despite your cool outer shell and what you want people to think of you, you actually like the warm, and the fluffy, and the flowers, and the people, and John.
You smile, pushing your goggles to your head. And John... He's caught your eye ever since the first time you flew over the Glade. You hadn't realized it, but now you're running your talons across the royal deer's side. It just seemed so comfortable and soft, you didn't really think much of it. Yeah, Dave Strider, straight as a circle. Straighter than a drunk man walking down the street. You've never seen him in human form, but in half, you thought he looks absolutely gorgeous. Swirling the tufts of hair between each claw, you gently pet your way up the other's back, then the neck, the the soft, thin hair behind the graceful ears and big blue eyes...
blue eyes?
Oh fuck he's awake.
You flinch back, and he does too. Oops, you forgot you injected the awakening potion. Stupid. You frightened him; again. Great going Dave. Real nice. You want to get the trust of the Forest Kingdom, remember? Help unite the two sides, stop the hunting, stop the war? Yeah.
You shake your head from your self-rambling, and look up. The poor boy is practically melted into the stone wall behind him. He doesn't seem to be as scared as when you were hunting him, though. You clear your throat and approach him slowly, trying to bring a sense of normality. "Morning, princess."
You smirk as you see the potion kicking in, and John seems to relax, even going so far as to scoot towards you to the edge of the Skinning Stone. He takes on half form, and you had to force down the oncoming blush and squeal. Striders don't do that; they don't act like lovesick fools. But, you guess you were one...
"Where..." He finally speaks, his small voice laced with a certain fire, and you sit back in the chair. Now in half form, he stretches out his two deer legs softly and crosses his arms over them. "Where am I?"
"You're in the Avian Kingdom. But chill; i'm gonna get you out." You explain quickly and smoothly, trying not to let your eyes linger on the way his tousled black hair sits around his animal ears. "I'm trying to stop an oncoming war."
He- cautiously- leans forward and tilts his head, a gentle ear twitching. "War? Between our kingdoms? What war?" His two hooves tap the stone beneath him nervously as his legs dangle from the stone. "And why did you capture me if you're going to help me get back anyway, you psychopath?"
In the a split second it takes you to answer, someone else's voice pipes up from above you. "Yes, the war, you dumb-nutted dork." Great. You roll your red eyes and sigh. The only time you would be able to talk to the boy you've been crushing on for who knows how long, your nestmate decides to barge in.
John looks up, his blue eyes searching the many openings to the nests to who spoke. He looks at you, and you slump into your stone chair. "AJ, god damn it, if you're going to barge in, at least don't do it hanging from my ceiling. Get down here." Right on queue, your nestmate peeks her head through one of the many entrances; she was in your nest again.
She flips over and lands on her feet, before walking over to you two, her snowy, blue tipped wings dragging behind her. Two black feathers cup either side of her shortly cropped hair, acting a sort of crown, and to refine hearing. You give her a lazy wave as she sits at the edge of the Skinning Stone. John warily looks at her, and you exhale slowly, motioning for her to scoot away. Too many 'enemy' creatures for him to handle at once, probably. Your nestmate smiles, her grey eyes holding a sense of mischievousness.
Dave: Be the grey eyed nestmate.
You are now the grey eyed nestmate. Dave Strider's gay of gay friend. Like 70% gay. No hetero, right? I mean you're not 100% gay. You think some guys are cute, buttt you like gals. Yeah. gay. Yep. Enough rambling! You shake your head and turn to face your nestmate's man-crush, as he calls it. Man, it's like everyone who hangs with the striders are gay. wow. You guess that doesn't apply to this John boy...
You smirk. Not yet.
You make it your duty, as the older nestmate, to help your bro Dave with his relationship dilemmas, he'd be single for forever if it weren't for you.
"Sup? Name's AJ. I like fish and daggers." You say, giving your signature playful salute making a small clicking noise. Sweet, Short, and to the point.
"Um..." John glances sideways a bit, before giving a shaky grin. "Hey. I'm John."
You fight down a giggle, instead sending a knowing, teasing look to your friend, who you could swear has a blush on his face. "Yeah I know. Dave talks about you all the-"
You're cut short by Dave's hand covering your mouth, his intense stare lasering into your head. You chuckle, looking at him before licking his hand.
"Gah~!" He shouts out, moving his hand away and wiping it on you. "AJ, that's so gross. Stop doing that." He clears his throat. John lets out a soft laugh, and Dave cracks a smile. Whispering harshly, you kick him in the shin; he's hopeless. "Dave! You're staring!"
He blinks out of it and glares at you, rubbing his leg. Talk about first impressions. "And stop doing this too! God damn that hurt!" He hissed, scooting his chair towards John and away from you.
You feel a sense of victory as you notice your bro's crush doesn't shy away in fear, and instead laughs at you two. You try to relieve any lingering tension in the air. John could trust you two; and maybe he'd help with the plan. "Sorry, Strider. I can't hear you over all the shits i dont give."
Dave gives you the bird (haha get it) and crosses his arms. "Don't mind her." He turns to the deer boy. "Anyways, i'm sure you have a shitload of questions. Give me the first."
"Firstly, what war? What were you talking about?" He quirks his mouth to the side and tilts his head again in that adorable fashion of his, and you could swear it reminds you of someone.
You cross your arms, lazily examining your wingtips. "You're a smart kid, John. I'm sure you're aware of the tension between our two kingdoms." He nods. "Sooner and later, it's gonna snap."
"And there will be a big ass war." Dave cuts in for you, staring intently at the other, in seriousness rather than admiration. "Like, battle and death kinda thing. That's where AJ and I come in. For the past couple months, we've been trying to hide our plan, but still help the Resistance. Setting free the prey we catch on hunts is one thing, but not nearly enough." You all look at each other, and then at John's furrowed eyebrows. "You've never heard of the resistance?"
"No. My father has made it his job to educate me only on how to rule the kingdom, and told me not to meddle with commoner battles." He sighs, slouching his white spotted shoulders. Good, he doesn't seem like he's against the Resistance. "I'm guessing they're this totally awesome band of Avians, and the forest Fauna they've spared in hunts, who go undercover and stuff?"
You hesitate, this is a royal you are speaking with. He could very easily inform the high king of the Forest, and this little Resistance business would be done for. But if Dave trusts him...
AJ: tell John about Resistance.
You smirk and put your hands on your waist, striking a dramatic pose, while Dave places his face in his hands. "You're partially right, in terms of what we do. But nah. This is the Resistance right here. You're looking at it."
John's blue eyes dart between you, then Dave, then you again. "How the hell do you two expect to stop a whole war by yourselves?" He hops off the Stone and dusts off his fur, and his white tipped tail flickers behind him. You blink; that mannerism seemed so familiar. Who have you seen do that as well...
Dave lets out a laugh; it was dry. Merely for show. "Oh, we also have my sister, Rose. She's the egghead who got you here alive and past my Bro, with her potions." He looks out the entrance to the cave as a roar shakes the room. "Shit. it's feeding time. Anyways, we have a plan. Promise. And if you'd join, that'd be great. The kings would never agree on something us peasants suggested, even if we're stopping a war. But if you, John, the heir to the Forest Kingdom, were to help, well that's a whole 'nother story."
Right after another hungry screech from your king, you quietly judge the conversation between the two boys; John seems so much lighter on his feet, and Dave seems to have toned his shyness down. Must be a dream come true for the kid. You wink at John when he looks at you, before you fly back up to the nests. Time to get cracking on the Resistance plans.
AJ, be Dave Strider.
You are now Dave Strider. And you are talking to John. You can't believe you've fallen for such a dorky kid. You examine him in half form as he rocks back and forth on his two hooves. His buck teeth are exposed in the soft grin on his face as you absent mindedly say something about the bird kingdom to him. Something about nesting? Oh well. At least you looked cool to him.
There was another screech, and you go to tell AJ to feed the king, but she had disappeared. When the fuck did that happen? You roll your eyes and pull the goggles down onto your face; you didn't want John to think you were creepy with how much you were staring. Like, god, why was he so attractive? That was totally not fair.
You know you're hot as hell though. Hotter than a summer's day down in the Ocean Kingdom. It's just that you'd never know if he swings that way. Nope. From what you could tell John was as straight as a line. You exhale and stop your talking as yet another roar thunders through the cave.
John flinches and ducks his head softly. "Oh, Dave? You said... you would bring be back home safely. It'd be totally lame if you didn't." He joked, but his ears dipped down in apprehension.
"Hm? Oh, shit, yeah. Just-" You groan inwardly. You don't want him to leave; you don't know if you'll ever be able to talk to him again. But it was a royal promise, you asshat. Take him home. "Listen here, Egderp. Go down the nest passageways to your left, and once your at ground level, I want you to- in full form- sprint as far away from this place as possible, but hang around outside of the forest territory. Don't ask why; just trust me on thing, got it?"
John blinks his eyes a couple of times to process the instructions, before he nods slowly. You feel a nagging sense of protectiveness, and watch quietly as John trots on his two hind hooves out of the cave. Sighing to yourself as the King bellows from above, you spread your wings...
And take off.
