Okay, just be warned that while there's a lot of fluff in this chapter, there's a lot of sadness too. :\ I guess that's what you call this story—bittersweet?
Myna—guess whose name that is—is a type of south Asian starling that is most commonly found in northern India. I thought that was apt because Hinduism originates in India. And also because like a starling, she never stops talking. She's like the Garuda Clan equivalent of Cloche.
Disclaimer: There are many things in this world that do not belong to me. Kubera is one of them.
S-C-N-D
Courtship of a Phoenix
…
"Stop—ah!—Stop! Please, Garuda! I get it! I'm sorry! You're king! I'm down on my knees for you, don't you see?"
The red man held an arm protectively in front of his face, but that didn't stop his king from swinging the silver sword down and cracking his bones. Now that all four of Vinata's limbs were broken, there was nothing he could do and nowhere he could go. He was at the complete mercy of Garuda.
As his arm fell limply, Vinata tilted his head back and laughed rather maniacally. "All right, don't stop then. I suppose the next to go will be my vocal chords? Are you sadistic enough to cut my neck muscles off one by one? If you want to make this as painful as possible, then go ahead, you incompetent king. Do your best. It's not as if there's an afterlife where I can look back at this."
Despite his belligerence, when Garuda raised his sword, Vinata clamped his eyes shut in fear. Instead of swinging it back down, the king let it rest on his beaten shoulder and ragged clothes. "So you admit that you've learned your lesson now? Funny, because you didn't seem to be very sorry when you were on fire earlier."
Vinata huffed. He would have crossed his arms and legs, if someone hadn't broken them. "Well… yeah, that was kind of my last resort. I didn't think you'd survive. That attack takes up more than half my vigor but it's really nice looking, you see. I just couldn't help myself."
Even now, Vinata smirked, looking awfully pleased with himself. Tried of the sight of him, Garuda sighed and turned to walk away. He was gone at least half a football yard before Vinata began to demand where he was going.
"Home."
A pause.
"W-well don't leave me here! Take me with you."
"How? I can barely transform into Sura form and you don't have any vigor left. Unless you want to ride on my back…"
"Wait, is this an attempt to humiliate me for losing the battle?"
"…"
"Ah! Stop walking away! Don't leave! Fine! Whatever! I'll do it. Come back! I have no shame left anyway! Just—ugh! You better not have any tiny Asura Suras living in your feathers."
…
Chapter Fifteen: Home Bittersweet Home
N0 - approx. 60000 years
…
"Morph. Now."
However clipped and demanding Garuda's order sounded was completely contradicted by his actions. He had a loose grip on Vinata's neck, allowing more than enough room for the other bird to pant heavily. Even though Vinata was discomforted by the invasion of space, he could easily take on human form and slip away, which was exactly what Garuda intended.
But Vinata, when mad, tended to do the exact opposite of what was demanded of him. So he did not morph, but he did laugh a little bitterly.
"This seems oddly familiar, don't you think?"
Garuda released Vinata completely in surprise. Through gritted teeth, he bit out, "so I am not the only one who thought back to the Seven Thousand Year War. Why don't you tell me where I went wrong this time? I spend a hundred thousand years trying to find you and when I finally do, the first thing you do is attack me."
Even with freedom, Vinata did not move an inch. Simply remaining in his Sura form depleted his vigor bit by bit. Yet still, he refused to morph. For what? To spite Garuda? That much was worth his life? Waves of anger surged through the white bird's veins. How dare Vinata attack him? Was this really the gratitude that he got for hundreds of thousands of years of painful waiting? For the first time, he began to wonder if Gandharva had been right. Maybe Vinata really had been playing him for a fool. Maybe everyone had.
He arched his long neck down until his beak was almost touching Vinata's. In the face of the red bird, he vehemently declared, "I should be the one disciplining you right now. You, who have complete disregard for everyone but yourself. I let it slide when you persistently angered Chandra. But now, four Ananta Nastikas? Asvins and then Indra? How can you endanger your own clan so recklessly like this? Don't you know how to pick your fights?"
Instead of retorting, Vinata opened his beak and gathered what little vigor he had left into a very small Transcendency. Garuda's eyes widened and he turned his neck away, expecting a huge blow. Instead, the attack hit like a mosquito sting. It wasn't like physical damage really made a difference to begin with. Vinata used it as an emotional attack, and he succeeded. It cut deep.
"You…" He felt his face sting. "When are you ever going to be finished? When will you ever be satisfied?"
With a roar, Vinata finally leaped to his talons. He blindly swung an arm at Garuda. It ended up hitting him hard on the left side of his ribs and temporarily beating the air out of one lung. But he recovered quickly before leaping back to keep a little distance between them. Garuda did not have enough restraint to prevent himself from hitting Vinata in reflex. Even if a repeat of the Seven Thousand Year War was destined to happen, he refused to hurt Vinata unless he really had to.
"Why won't you ever leave me alone?" The words came out of Vinata's mouth in an ugly screech, one so distorted that Garuda had a hard time believing this was his voice. "You always wonder why it is that I hate you so much. How can I not when you seem to have developed this sick obsession with me? You preach me about my duties and yet you're the one who took them away. So when I finally got tired of your hypocritical lectures, I thought you would leave me alone once I turned female, once I forfeited my position as the second in the clan. But no! You just had to come chasing after me even more persistently than before. Well, I hope you're happy now. I hope everything's just peachy for the Garuda Clan. Why don't I go die this instant so you never have to worry about me again?"
"You? Die?" The words sounded empty even to his own ears.
"Are you scared of the notion? Too weak to suffer what I'm suffering? I wish you would." Except he didn't, and his shaky voice and tearing eyes were testament. "Goddammit, Garuda!" Vinata fell to his knees on his arms' support. His head was tilted down and his feathers and horns were obstructing his eyes. "Why is it always my fault? Why do you keep telling me you love me but then turn around point your finger my way at the very first thing that goes awry? You don't even know what happened! How Marut and Asvins poisoned her while she was sleeping and she didn't know because when she finally woke up, it was already too late! You don't even know how humiliating it was to beg a god to give her a chance because he was the only option and there was no time. Do you know how many Suras I promised to kill for Vayu to even listen to me? And then, when he sent her there, they didn't even doanything. The four of them stood and watched and waited, taunting her as she died. So tell me what you would have done if it hadn't been Kalavinka, if it had been Shuri or Gandharva instead!"
At that point, Vinata realized his tears would literally create an ocean if he didn't stop. His two claws cupped the tears that flowed from his eyes but weren't very successful in doing so because they were too sharp and jagged. With every splash of water on earth, another small pond was created. Sniffing, he finally transformed, shrinking bit by bit until he was human size again. Garuda closed his eyes and followed shortly after. They stood approximately a mile apart because of their size, but he was still at Vinata's side in an instant.
Swallowing hard, he reached out a hand to tentatively cup around Vinata's ear. The crying man flinched at the contact, but Garuda showed no signs of withdrawing it.
"Why didn't you come to me after Kalavinka's death? I would have listened."
"But you'd never let me do what I've done and all those people—every single one of them would have walked away in spite of their heinous crimes."
Garuda winced and slipped his hand back to his side. Even with eyes full of tears, Vinata stared at him accusingly, daring him to refute the accusation. But he didn't, because they both knew he'd be lying if he did. If friendship was the one thing Vinata valued over love, duty was the one thing Garuda did.
He closed his eyes in an attempt to search for the light of the situation. They both needed it desperately. "So that's what it was… I thought you were just opposed to me…" He ran a hand through his hair tiredly "—because you were always so belligerent when I was around, despite that you were also sad. So when you attacked Carte, I thought… I thought it was your last resort," he admitted shamefully, "that you'd go to any measure to settle your own scores so long as I wasn't involved."
Vinata gave little warning as he leaped forward and grabbed onto Garuda's shirt collars. In his male form, he was only half a head shorter than his king. He stood completely straight as he brought the bundle of clothing up to his eyes. Garuda had to tilt his entire upper body upward. He felt the shirt tearing at its very seams.
"How could you say that?" cried Vinata. "How could you even think that way? You're the only one I have left…"
His heavy, unabashed sobs travelled for miles and miles. Echoes filled up the silence as mountains all around them deflected the cries. Garuda stayed silent and stiff, only because he was afraid that even if he moved an inch, Vinata would somehow slip away from him.
"I'm done." Vinata threw his arms around Garuda, digging his nails into his shirt and pulling the fabric down. "I won't kill anyone else. You can punish me however you like. You can even kill me. If it's you, I have no regrets."
Sighing, he finally lifted his leaden arms to run through Vinata's golden-red hair. Their height difference made the hug very awkward, and Vinata had to arch most of his back in order to bury his face in Garuda's shoulder, making it impossible for him to reach his waist.
"You don't have to do anything. Just hold on."
The king leaped into the air. One minute, Vinata was clinging onto him as if the world would end. The next, he found himself on the back of a gigantic bird, nestled somewhere in his soft down. Garuda's neck had to curve in a U so that he could see Vinata's tiny figure and ask him if he was comfortable. But at that point, Vinata was already fast asleep.
Suras had no need for sleep. Nastikas could regenerate their vigor even while they were awake. Sleeping was a liability; it made one vulnerable to attacks from gods and rival clans. He could maybe think of two reasons why a Sura would willingly fall into slumber. One was to pass time. And the other was as a temporary escape to the universe and the pain it brought.
Since he couldn't stroke Vinata's comfortingly in his gigantic Sura form, Garuda whipped his neck forward. He leaped off the planet, leaving behind nothing but a humongous, talon-shaped crater imprinted on the ground.
He smiled to himself, recalling the end of the Seven Thousand Year War. Vinata, almost like a tiny parasite, jabbered away on his back for the entire trip. At the time, it irked Garuda so much he almost grabbed nearby asteroids and jammed them inside his ears. Why didn't I break his jaw when I had the chance? He'd thought scathingly.
Now it was painfully silent and he found himself missing Vinata's voice.
Sighing, Garuda flew on. It wouldn't be like last time. This time he had enough vigor to take shortcuts through the Sura realm to Garuda Clan territory. It wasn't long until the Garuda Suras saw the shadow of their king. They gaped in temporary dumbfound and then began running around, screaming for Avifauna.
Garuda didn't wait until he entered the atmosphere to transform into human form. He grabbed Vinata's floating body by the waist before making a sharp dive. While asleep, Vinata somehow reached up to latched an unyielding grip onto his sleeve.
Garuda sighed. Haven't you abused my poor shirt enough for today?
Shaking his head with a faint smile, he landed outside of a cave. Prying Vinata's fingers off of his sleeve, Garuda carried the man into the darkness and laid him down in his nest. It was here that Vinata would remain undisturbed for the next three months.
S-C-N-D
N0 – approx. 60000 years
S-C-N-D
"Wait, so let me get this straight," Vegavis's daughter muttered with hands on her hips. "Last time you weren't here for council, and now this time Vinata-nim isn't?"
The clan also muttered quietly amongst themselves, save for Vegavis who looked extremely disapproving of the question.
"You heard correctly," Garuda replied with closed eyes. He was sitting on his throne, an elbow resting on an armrest and his head resting on the back of his hand. "Why are you so surprised, Myna? Vinata hasn't been to council for many years now."
"Yeah," stated Avifauna, "but this time, he's actually home."
Garuda had a feeling the Suras of his clan actually missed the entertainment that Vinata provided and not Vinata himself.
"Forget it," he sighed. "He's having a bad year. Just let him be."
"Can we still be dismissed early?" asked a purple Rakshasa.
"Just go," grumbled Garuda. He bet half the Suras of his clan would like him just a smidgen more for this—probably the half that supported Vinata in the Seven Thousand Year War.
One brown Rakshasa remained sitting cross-legged on a rock before his king's throne. Garuda shot him a look questioning why he hadn't left with his daughter. Vegavis only smiled knowingly.
"There's someone here to see you, Garuda-nim."
Visnu help him. The last time Vegavis uttered those exact words was the beginning of all Garuda's troubles. As Vegavis stood and flew away, he shut his eyes in irk.
"Ananta, if this is you here to see me again about your Nastikas, I've already brought Vinata back and disciplined him."
Two warm hands suddenly covered his eyes. Garuda snapped them open but all he could see was four lines of light—the cracks between tightly clamped fingers. The only thing he knew was that Ananta's skin certainly was not that warm.
"Who—"
He was kissed by the stranger softly, lovingly, in a way that completely blanked his mind, leaving him incapable of response.
"I'm not Ananta," she said.
Her hands left his face. The sun shone on her golden-red hair, almost making it almost glisten. But it was Vinata's smile that really put the beauty of Visnu's entire universe to shame.
S-C-N-D
So I'd like to state that this is a get-together-and-then-sort-out-all-our-differences relationship. Some things have been worked out between the two of them, but not everything. That tends to happen with a billion years of adversary. ._.
Anyway, fluff! Yay! Probably the moment you've all been waiting for! I need to go sleep now.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!
-SCND