Chapter 2- The Landing

Honestly I'm so thankful for the reception chapter one got. I'm so excited for this fic and I hope you are too! Thank you to everyone who has followed/favorited/commented, its all greatly appreciated!

*I forgot to mention that I've messed with the ages a bit so everyone should be around the same age. Viktor and Yuuri are both turning 18. Chris and every other skater mentioned so far are more or less the same age as the MCs just for ease of writing.

-Cass

Yuuri's hand rubbed over his right gill. It fluttered quickly, opening and closing as if he was gasping for air.

Which was exactly how he felt.

He'd already said goodbye to his parents and friends. His mother had wanted to come see him off, but he knew this was something he needed to do on his own. He needed to prove to his people that he was going to be able to lead them and taking this journey on his own was the first step. So he'd said his goodbyes at the palace, the queen tearing up at the thought of her son going on land and the king calmly reminding him to stay safe. He had felt a pang of nervousness as he had left, he'd never been away from his parents like this.

Yuuri fingered the pearl in the pouch strapped around his lower arm, one of the few of his belongings that he could actually take onto land. It was small and smooth, part of a gift from his parents for his tenth birthday. It had been part of an art piece, a depiction of the palace made of pieces of shells. The top had been adorned with the pearl, though the true palace itself had no such thing. His mother had warned him of its fragility, that with one small push it could easily break. He supposed now, that it may have been some sort of lesson, because it was not long before the creation had broken. The shells, though broken before, were little more than dust. The only thing that had been left was the pearl from the top, still as round and smooth as it had been before the world had crumbled beneath it.

"Are you ready to surface?" Otabek, one of the Guard who had been chosen to accompany Yuuri, asked. The rest of the entourage stood behind him: Mickey, a temperamental male, his sister Sara a laidback mermaid who Yuuri could tell was already annoyed with her brother who had been snapping at the fourth member, Emil, for jokingly flirting with her. Yuuri hadn't had much interaction with their fourth travel mate before, and he was having a hard time figuring him out. He was the tallest in the group, and despite Otabek's dark look, he looked like he could easily best anyone there in a fight. And yet, he allowed Mickey to boss him around.

"Prince Yuuri?" Otabek's voice brought him back to the present.

"Yes, yes. I'm ready. And it's just Yuuri." Otabek didn't answer and Yuuri hoped he wouldn't be spending the whole trip trying to get them to treat him like a normal merman.

All worries about formalities were quickly erased from his head, however, as Otabek nodded to the group and they began to ascend. The water around him lightened as he swam towards the surface, with increasing amounts of sunlight reaching down to him. He could vaguely tell that the water was warmer than he was used to, but mermaids didn't sense temperatures quite the same as other species. He could see the sun, blurry and shaking through a screen of ocean water. He flicked his tail faster, anticipation getting the better of him. Otabek made a sound of protest as he passed him, but Yuuri barely heard it.

The surface was so close, he could almost reach out and grab it. He stretched his hand forward and his fingertips grasped for the open air.

And then his fingers broke through the surface and the rest of him was soon to follow.

It was bright, much brighter than he had anticipated. After spending almost all of his life on the ocean floor, with nothing but the glowing rocks to light his way, the surface was nearly blinding. Otabek surfaced next to him and the others followed after. They were in some sort of alcove, a small strip of shore sheltered from the rest of the land mass.

"There are some sun protectant glasses with our clothes, they will help your eyes adjust to the light." Otabek informed him, already taking long strokes towards the shore. Yuuri followed, his heart beating hard at the idea of finally stepping onto land.

There was something both so exciting and absolutely terrifying about the concept. It was something he had dreamed about for years, the way it would feel to leave the water, to have feet instead of fins. But there was always that little nagging in the back of his head that whispered doubts into his ear. What if it wasn't as wonderful as Yuuri expected? What if humans really weren't anything more than the creatures who were destroying his home? And possibly the worst question of all: What if it truly was everything he had ever dreamed of? What was he supposed to dream of if his wildest dream had already come true?

The merman shook his head, his damp hair falling into his eyes. That was a new sensation as his hair normally floated effortlessly in the water. He felt the water shallowing underneath him and he worried that maybe he wouldn't transform. He could see Otabek slightly ahead of him, his tail already beginning to split. Flipping over, he found that it was already shallow enough for him to sit with his head and shoulders above the water. He scooted backwards, the rocks underneath him scraping at his hands, until his entire torso was out of the water. He felt heavy, as if the whole weight of the ocean was suddenly on his shoulders.

The he felt it, a sharp pain at the base of his tail that traveled up almost all the way to his naval. His eyes widened as he watched his tail split apart, forming two sides that were solidifying. Things inside of him shifted around, and there was a stinging sensation on his neck as his gills sealed. Suddenly his chest was burning, he had expected the rest of the pain but not this. Black spots swam across his vision and he grasped at the air, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for.

A hand smacked him squarely in the back, the sudden impact causing him to gasp loudly. The burning in his chest subsided and quickly as it had arrived.

"You've got to breathe up here." Sara laughed at his confused face. "Suck air in through your mouth or nose and then push it back out." Yuuri tried, sucking in a mouth full of air and then exhaling forcefully.

"How do humans concentrate on doing this?" He asked, reminding himself again to take a breath. Sara laughed again, patting him on the shoulder.

"Your body will do it automatically soon enough, you're usually good to go after that first initial breath." She looked down at him and smiled. "So are you going to try out those new legs or not?"

Yuuri's head snapped down to look at the two appendages that now protruded from his lower half. The dark hues of his tail had faded away, leaving skin that was a similar color to his upper body. The young prince wiggled his toes experimentally, almost shouting in excitement when they responded. Otabek and Mickey, who were both already fully formed and standing upright, reached down on either side of him and gripped him under his arm pits.

"Okay Yuuri on three we're going to pull you up and you need to put your weight on your feet. It will be a little unstable at first so hold onto us until you get your balance." Mickey informed him. The Guard members grunted and hauled Yuuri out of the water.

He placed his feet down, feeling again the weird sensation of having a whole ocean pressing down on him. Swaying a bit, he gripped Otabek's shoulder. The Guard member stayed still, allowing his prince to gain his feet.

"Now you have to put one foot in front of the other. That's how you walk." A voice came from behind, and Yuuri turned his head to find that Emil had emerged from the water. He demonstrated his instructions, making it seem as simple as swimming. Yuuri nodded his head and lifted one foot.

And promptly fell face first into the water.

He felt hands on his shoulders, quickly pulling him from the water.

"If you're submerged too long you'll begin to change back." Otabek said after he had helped Yuuri get back up.

"Emil why don't you find something useful to, like going and getting the clothes." Mickey snapped at the other Guard member. Emil laughed but left to do just as Mickey ordered.

"Now maybe try it a bit slower, make sure you're completely stable before lifting your foot each time."

"Maybe if you don't think about it too much, just let your body do it."

"No you need to concentrate on keeping your balance with every step."

"Could everyone just be quiet for a minute?" He knew the others were trying to help but their warring opinions weren't helping anyone. He placed one foot forward, then the other, and somehow, he just kept going. He walked to the shoreline and turned back to his entourage to raise his hands in victory.

The move probably would have been more impressive if he hadn't immediately fell onto his back after.

Yuuri managed to push himself back up just as Emil returned with stacks of cloth in his hands. He was wearing some sort of covering, though Yuuri wasn't sure what the purpose was. Emil handed him a couple pieces of the cloth and set the rest on the shore. He directed Yuuri back behind a small grove of trees and instructed him as to how to robe himself in the cloths.

"What is the point of this?" Yuuri asked as he pulled what Emil had referred to as a 'shirt' over his head. The cloth was scratchy against his skin, a foreign feeling as Yuuri had never covered his upper body before. Nobody did, mermen swam bare chested while mermaids had a band of scales that wrapped around their chest.

"Humans are much more worried about covering themselves than we are. So if we want to blend in we have to do the same."

Yuuri emerged, feeling ridiculous but hoping he was wearing the human clothing correctly. He was sad to cover up his new legs with the stiff material (he couldn't remember what those were called and made a mental note to ask Emil) but he liked the colorful blue 'shirt'. Emil gave him a thumbs up and they went to rejoin the group.

The others were dressed mostly the same, everyone clad in shirts and what Emil had revealed were called pants. Otabek handed him a small contraption that looked like two clear pieces of sea glass held together pieces of some sturdy black object.

"These should help your eyes adjust to the sunlight. Once you've been on a land a couple times your eyes should adjust naturally and you won't need the glasses." He showed Yuuri how to slip them onto his face and the world around him was brought into focus.

"Where are we?" He asked as he looked around. The ground was largely made up of dark rocks and the few trees were large and deep green. He had thought that trees were supposed to be soft, much like the other land plants he had learned about, but these looked prickly.

"Were on the land mass that humans call Russia." Otabek answered. "Though werewolf and vampire clans roam across here, it's largely considered neutral territory which is why the meeting will be held here."

"Otabek the sun is already starting to go down. We should head into town before it starts getting dark." Sara spoke up and Otabek nodded, beginning to walk towards the trees.

Yuuri looked down, watching as he carefully placed one foot in front of the other. His hand went to the pearl that he had moved into the pocket on the so called pants. He felt its unchanging smoothness, a reminder of his home as he walked away from the ocean.

Viktor spread his wings, feeling the warm currents catching over the tips of his feathers. They fluttered behind him, a small symphony carried off by the wind. He watched as the clouds moved swiftly by him in a sea of never ending white.

His father had bid him goodbye from the comfort of his castle. He had secretly hoped that he would actually see him off but he knew such an idea wasn't like his father. Even in the confines of his own castle he hadn't shown much affection for his son, simply repeated his advice from the day before.

"Don't disappoint me."

He wasn't sure why he had expected anything more, his father had never been overly affectionate and he highly doubted that would suddenly change. Nonetheless, he had a job to do, to show his people how capable he was of acting on his own. He didn't need his father's encouragement, no matter how much he secretly wanted it. He would do this on his own, just as he had done everything.

"Victor are you ready to head down?" Chris asked, being one of the ones who would accompany him to the earth. The others waited behind him, their feet set near the edge of the precipice. The rest of the company were older angels, tasked with making sure Victor did nothing to embarrass the kingdom while on earth. One of the older angles was Lilia, an advisor to his father who resembled more harpy than angel. Her normally downturned mouth only accentuated her beak like face, and her constantly bad disposition had the younger angels rumoring that she was a direct descendant of the furies of Greek mythology. She glared at the prince and Victor knew she saw this as nothing more than glorified babysitting.

If it made her feel any better, he didn't want her there any more than she wanted to be there herself.

"Yes. Let's go." He stretched his wings to their full potential, easily dwarfing even the older angels accompanying them. An angel's wings were a point of pride and it wasn't simply the sheer size of his wingspan that set him above the rest. His feathers were a pristine white, not mottled or dusty colored like the others. He supposed from far away it would be easy to mistake their feathers as white, but up close you could tell that they weren't quite. His bright white wings were a sign of his heritage, an inheritance to match the crown he would soon bear.

He watched the other angels let the wind catch beneath their wings as they stepped off of the edge, their bodies bobbing on the currents. The prince turned back for one last look at the castle. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt very distant from the life he had lived only yesterday.

Victor shook his head and angled his wings to catch on the air. He felt the warm current sweep over his feathers, ruffling them slightly. Stepping off the precipice, he dropped through the clouds. The only belongings he was taking with him were a pack of clothes, strapped to his back in between his wings. It felt weird to fly with the weight but it didn't seem to effect his flying.

Large white wings stirred the clouds as they slowed his speed, spreading out nearly flat behind him to allow him to glide on the currents. He could see the others a bit farther down than him and he had sudden impulse to dive.

So he did.

Victor folded his wings as close to his back as he could with the pack on and he dropped like a stone. He easily passed up the other members of his party, earning a shout from Chris and annoyed huff from who he could only guess was Lilia. The wind rushed past him at an exhilarating speed and his hair whipped almost painfully at his cheeks. He could hear nothing but the whistle of the air around him and he wondered if there was anything more exciting than falling.

"Victor!" He could hear Chris shouting behind him, interrupting his cocoon of rushing air. He flipped himself over so he could stare upwards, watching as Chris tried to yell something more. The wind ripped his words away and left Victor puzzled by the alarmed look on his companion's face. Chris gestured pointedly below and Victor flipped himself back over. He finally broke through the clouds and he could see the green land beneath him. He could see it too well.

He was hurtling straight towards the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Finally understanding Chris' urgency, Victor snapped his wings out. He was sure that anyone with a smaller wingspan would have found themselves smashed against the rocks, but thankfully his large wings caught enough air to slow his descent.

While they kept him from meeting death on the cliff, they didn't stop him from hitting the ground running, jarring his legs painfully and sending him sprawling out across the grass. He quickly pulled his wings into his back to avoid damaging the delicate feathers with his rough landing. When his body had finally come to a stop, he laid on his back and stared up at the sky he had just fallen from.

He could see the others, their descent much more controlled than his. They landed easily on the grass and none of them even so much as tripped. Chris extended a hand down to him and hauled him to his feet, his face a mixture of amusement and sheer terror. It was an interesting look.

"Next time you decide to plummet through the air you should try to find something a bit softer to land on." He chuckled, his amusement winning over the fear now that he knew Victor was ok.

"I'll be sore for the next few days that's for certain." Victor responded. He rubbed his shoulder which had come into particularly hard contact with one of the boulders on the cliff edge.

"And so you should be." Lilia snapped as she folded her wings into her back. Victor just shrugged and brushed the dirt off of his clothes. He turned and smiled widely, his eyes taking in the area around them.

It wasn't much, a few sparse pine trees littered the cliff and the dark ocean crashed against the rocky shore below. He could vaguely see some figures down below the cliff but they were too far away for him to notice anything more than the fact that they weren't wearing clothes. He had never seen anyone shirtless before, much less completely naked. Angels always wore their white clothing, even the guys.

"Let's head into town. It's going to be a long walk." Chris commented. He must have noticed the confused look on Victor's face because he laughed. "You didn't think we'd be able to just fly around down here did you?"

"I guess not." He could feel the cool breeze through the slits in his shirt made for his wings. It kissed the hot skin of his back, though whether it stung from his clumsy landing or the itching from having his wings away he wasn't sure. He had been so focused on getting to go to earth he hadn't considered how annoying it would be to have his wings away for days.

Chris began to trudge down the cliff, his shoes slapping against the hard ground. Victor was a bit disappointed with the scenery. He had been hoping for bright flowers, maybe a beautiful sunset full of all of the colors he could think of. Squinting up at the sun, he could tell it was still a bit before sunset so maybe he'd get part of his wish anyway. He adjusted the straps of his pack and followed after his group.

By the time they'd reached the bottom of the cliff, Victor's legs were burning and he was huffing for breath. If angel's blood like a human's, rather than the light silvery color it was, he was sure his whole face would be red with exertion. At the bottom was some sort of road, though it was covered with some sort of dark hard material. Chris kept marching on and seemed to be following the road somewhere.

Victor hoped that somewhere included a bed and a hot shower. He'd been on earth for less than an hour but he already felt like all of its dirt was already clinging to his skin. The others didn't look nearly as tired, though to be fair Lilia never looked anything other than annoyed. He figured she could run miles and never show anything but disdain.

"We should be nearing the town soon." Chris spoke up a few minutes later, though Victor could swear that they had been walking for hours. He could see the faint light of the town ahead glowing through the dying light. The sun was setting, but down here on the flat land the trees blocked out any hope he'd had of seeing it set. It was chilly here, and Victor had been warned of the Russian winter so he had luckily brought a long a warm coat. He slipped it on and prayed that they would reach the town soon.

They rounded a copse of trees and entered a small town. The street lights were beginning to awaken, their light illuminating a row of tiny shops and one slightly larger building that Victor assumed was the hotel.

"Why exactly did we choose such a small town?" He questioned. Surely the locals would notice when their population suddenly swelled with the addition of a few supernatural creatures.

"We didn't. Seeing as we can go almost anywhere we don't get much say in the meeting locations." Lilia answered. "They needed to find somewhere that the wolves could run to, that was also close to the main vampire coven and had a shore for the mermaids to arrive."

Her tone of voice when discussing the other species mirrored the general feeling that angels held to their supernatural inferiors. They were worth meeting with occasionally, but probably not much more.

Victor had been right in his guess that the larger building was the hotel. The manager seemed ecstatic to have guests, though he remarked that they had already had a surprisingly large group of travelers arrive.

"Are you having some sort of family reunion? You look so similar to our other guests!" He clapped his hands happily, not noticing the way the comparison made his new tenants bristle. Victor choked back a laugh and Lilia's harpy glare pinned him to the spot. He gave her a dazzling smile, causing her glare to harden even more, and followed the hotel manager as he led them to their rooms.

Nothing could dampen his mood. Not long walks or bad landings, and certainly not grumpy old ladies.

He was on earth.

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