Chapter Text
Lukas hummed loudly, arms stretching far above his head. A tired yawn followed the gesture, small tears forming in the corners of his eyes that were blinked away with little effort.
Lukas let his eyes wander again, a whole ocean of spruce trees surrounded him with the occasional patch of oak trees breaking up the spruce, if only momentarily. The sky was clear, Lukas noted internally. Fortunate enough he supposed, it would've absolutely sucked to travel in snow-- or admin forbid, rain.
The ocelot hybrid shrunk in on himself at the thought of rain, his tail swishing back and forth. Sure, water wasn't that bad, in fact he did enjoy taking a dip every now and then, he argued. But rain was unpredictable and he couldn't just poof it away, not to mention it was rarely wanted.
Lukas ears flattened slightly, eyes narrowing. Sitting around in wet clothes was also highly unpleasant, the fabric would uncomfortably cling to your skin and it was *cold* and made you feel *miserable.* Not to mention-
“You sure we’re going in the right direction?” Lukas flinched, head whipping around and locking eyes with Jesse, who, to their credit offered him a sheepish smile along with an apologetic shrug.
"I didn't mean to startle you," They carried on "We have been walking for.." Jesse glanced up at the sky, pinpointing the sun to be way above the horizon "A decent while now, you sure you're not holding the map upside down?" A tint of playfulness in their voice
Lukas snorted, a grin on his face. The duo came to a halt underneath a set of oak trees and Lukas began digging through the shoulder bag resting by his hip. “I know how to read a map, Jesse dear...” He murmured, the dot on the map that indicated where they were still hadn’t moved out of the bottom left corner.
Lukas frowned slightly, glancing up at the sky which Jesse had done moment prior. They had been walking since the crack of dawn which was… A long time ago.
While Lukas had busied himself with making sure he was in fact holding the map correctly Jesse had taken the liberty to stroll over to a patch of Sweetberry bushes nearby. They knelt down by the patch, studying the red berries for a moment before deciding it would be worth the hustle.
“This is probably the least exciting portal hop we’ve done in a long time” Jesse stated in a matter-of-fact voice from where they perched on the ground, wings slouching ever so slightly behind them and brushing against the grassy ground. They began slowly picking a handful of Sweet berries, taking their time to ensure they didn't get pricked by the thorns.
Lukas tucked the map away into the shoulder bag slung across his body, turning to face Jesse who was seemingly unaware of their admirer.
Lukas took a second to marvel over their sheer beauty. Despite the fact they'd slept huddled up in a damp Cave the prior night Jesse had managed to look absolutely prim-- while Lukas himself had looked less presentable. There was just one minor detail that bugged him…
"Your wings are slouching"
Jesse groaned, throwing a quick glare over their shoulder in Lukas direction. As if on command they readjusted their wings, pulling them up close and tighter to their back.
"You satisfied now, kitty cat?" They quipped, pushing themself to stand up. The groaning and popping of their knee joints made Lukas wince, both his ears flicking.
Jesse had managed to pick two handfuls of berries that they plopped into their own bag with ease "Slouching wings aren't gonna kill me, however the boredom and knee pains that comes with walking all this distance might"
Lukas looked them up and down, it was true Jesse hadn’t been on any major explorations since… The whole admin thing. Much less portal hopping… Not regularly going on adventures or working out had done a number on them for sure.
“Would you prefer another murder mansion?”
Jesse winced at the words, their nose scrunching up. They gave Lukas a glare that said ‘Really?’ “This is better than that mansion… Or Pama." They stated in a matter-of-fact way, arms crossing over their chest. Jesse seemed to lose confidence, hesitate slightly "And the whole… Admin fiasco"
"I just wish there was more to it. Ever since we came here there’s only been spruce as far as an eye can see, spare a few oaks, course' ” Jesse gestured around the pair and Lukas felt inclined to agree. Seeing so much spruce was getting rather repetitive even if the terrain was beautiful.
He'd always favoured spruce over other biomes, maybe once they got back to their own world he’d build a little getaway in the spruce forest up north by the mountain area…
“If only these stupid things would grow in faster I’d be able to scope out the land ahead a lot more effectively!” Jesse flexed the darkish brown wings donning their back, wings splaying out wide. It had been about half a year since Jesse had sprouted wings and they did grow faster than most hatchlings' wings- but in Jesse’s opinion it was still not fast enough.
Lukas shrugged, gesturing for Jesse to tag along as he carried on walking ahead “They’ll be fully fledged before you know it. They’ve grown a great deal since then"
"You keep saying that but I honestly don't see-- feel much of a difference" Jesse splayed out their wings again, taking note of their wingspan "They are bigger now but I'm not even allowed to start attempting to fly yet, you brooding mother hen"
Lukas sputtered at the playful but unexpected jab, turning his head to face a pouting Jesse "You were the one who asked me for advice, little hatchling" He sweetly reminded, playfully nudging Jesse's shoulder “In a year or two you should be able to start flying and getting a feel for the skies again”
“I know, I know… I just wish the day would come sooner” Jesse sighed in annoyance, glaring around the area. "I can barely remember what it feels like to glide around with Elytras anymore, I just… Miss fleeting across the sky without a care"
Lukas hummed in acknowledgement, offering his lover a tender smile "You're lucky, then. Not only do you love the sky but in a year or so you'll have your own pair of Elytras essentially…" Lukas thought for a second, tapping a clawed finger against his chin "But better than Elytras, you won't need those damned loud fireworks to take off"
"Though you would need to build up your back muscles an-" "What is that?" Jesse exclaimed, pointing ahead. They had totally de-railing Lukas train of thought. The ocelot hybrid let his eyes linger on Jesse for another second before looking ahead to see what they were on about.
Up ahead the ground seemed to lazily slope down and at the bottom of the long, but hardly steep hill, you were barely able to make out the shape of a river between the trees.
However that was not all. Unusual shrubs were scattered about all the way down the hill and there seemed to be a bunch by the river, the shrubs, bushes seemed to have… Blue colored berries hanging from them.
They were about the color of lapis lazuli and smaller-- way smaller than Sweetberries.
The two hybrids exchanged a set of glances, a mischievous grin creeping onto Lukas face. Jesse shook their head, a smile creeping onto their face while they tried to remain serious "I'm *not* racing you down the hill, Lukas"
"Last one to the river cooks dinner for a week!" And with that Lukas tore off down the hill, dodging fallen trees as he went "He-HEY I DIDN'T AGREE TO THIS" Jesse yelled after Lukas, hands cupped around their mouth.
"No way in HELL I'm gonna cook dinner for a week!" With that Jesse tore after Lukas to the best of their ability.
Jesse tried their best to catch up to Lukas who had definitely heard Jesse's cussing and yelling judging by the fact he was laughing his head off as he ran.
The avian hybrid found themselves stumbling more than Lukas did, twigs and roots seemed to almost be grabbing for their feet trying to make them tumble and fall. Despite that they held themselves with pride.
The wind made Jesse's hair whip, tore at their clothes and made the feathers covering their wings rustle. It was so so tempting to just… Splay their wings and try to take off.
Ah heck, what could it hurt to try?
Jesse's wings sprung out with great force, the wind catching them so suddenly almost sent Jesse falling backwards flat on their butt. Despite that they just about managed to stay upright.
The two of them were about halfway down the hill, soon enough they'd be in the gone stretch. Jesse could already imagine the surprise on Lukas face when they'd come swooshing by at lightning speeds.
Jesse made a leap into the air, focusing solely on their wings now. With two powerful beats of their wings they were barrelling down the hill at lightning speeds gliding through the air.
They swooshed right past Lukas with ease, carrying the momentum forwards with them.
Lukas had to do a double take when Jesse zoomed right past him, he felt incredibly dumbfounded for a moment. He watched his lovers' feet briefly make contact with the ground as they sprung into the air again.
Jesse's wings battered wildly against the wind for a few moments as they tried to find that balance again but ultimately failed, sending Jesse free falling towards the ground.
Just at the last possible second their wings aligned perfectly and caught the wind, sending Jesse into the air and sailing towards the river again.
They were getting close now, Lukas realised. They were only a few yards away from their goal and there was no way he'd let Jesse get off the hook easily because they discovered they could glide.
Lukas did a jump, his arms stretching out in front of him and his hands made contact with the ground, the sudden force slammed on his shoulders earned a pained yelp from him but there was no slowing down now.
The ocelot hybrid bolted down the hill as fast as his arms and legs could carry him. Lukas was running faster than he could on two legs now and he was quickly gaining on Jesse who seemed to still be somewhat struggling against the wind.
The river was about a yard away now and the other side of it could be seen, it was quite a wide river by the looks of it.
Jesse angled their wings down and they quickly began losing height, they stretched their legs out to prepare for the landing--
A huge gust of air sprung forwards from seemingly nowhere, catching Jesse's wings with ease and involuntary tossing them forwards. A surprised cry sounded from Jesse who tried, and failed, to gain control over their wings.
A loud, violent splash sounded as Jesse was dunked into the river by the wind, water spraying everywhere.
Lukas felt his stomach drop as he watched the horror unfold in front of him, being unable to help in any way or form. He could just imagine it now: Jesse would emerge from the water, wailing and sobbing as their wings jutted out in unnatural positions, broken and crippled beyond repair.
They'd never be able to fly again and be confined to the earth for the rest of their life-
Or even worse, maybe they wouldn't emerge at all.
Lukas came to a violent screeching halt by the river, his body barking in protest. Lukas bare hands catching twigs and sharp stones tearing his palms open. Blood began rapidly spilling on the ground from his hands but Lukas had too much adrenaline pulsing through his body - was too far preoccupied with bellowing his lovers name to notice.
Lukas had sprung to his legs, sprinting to the edge of the river
"JESSE"
He bellowed, eyes frantically darting across the deep blue water in front of him. The only sign Jesse had been there were the rippled in the water from where they had crashed, even those were starting to fade now.
Lukas felt his breath hitch and heart shatter. He did one quick sweep of the river, nothing. Lukas took a few steps back, preparing to leap into the river to find his loved one.
"JESSE, PLEASE--"
A flurry of motion from the middle of the river made Lukas entire being pause, his heart coming to a standstill.
Jesse emerged from the deep blue water, a loud victory scream bellowing from them. Their wings were awkwardly splayed out in the water behind them. Jesse was soaked.
"Take THAT You sucker!" Jesse pumped a fist into the air, then slamming it down underneath the surface again to aid themselves in actually staying above the surface of the surprisingly deep river.
Swimming with clothes on was quite a task and adding a pair of soaked wings onto that… Made for quite a challenge "I'm not gonna be cooking for a whole WEEK"
Jesse hastily used a hand to push their brown hair back out of their face so they'd be able to see. They splashed around in the river, taking their time to turn themself around. They couldn't wait to see the surprise on Lukas face and be all smug about it.
"S' was pretty impressive, right, Lukas? Man, you should've seen me when--" Jesse's eyes finally found Lukas who was staring at them in utter disbelief, almost like he had seen a ghost. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, blood coating his hands, and--
"Je-Jesse"
Their name sounded like a broken whisper falling from Lukas lips. The ocelot hybrid fell to his knees, weeping his heart out from both disbelief and gratefulness.