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The air was cold and still in the lower levels of the earth. Scuttling from unseen creatures was heard in the recesses of the dark caves. Down here, anything could be lurking in the unseen.
Skulk lit up the corners of the room and sparkled with a deep red. Felix began to time its breathing with each pulse of the light. It was calming…
Here in this large carved out room, Felix lay on a pile of the left over deepslate. It had spent a few days down here already, just mining resources for the Temple.
Felix refused to admit how unhealthy it was being. Maybe it did hurt its eyes to see the outside, and maybe it had turned to eating rotten flesh from lack of food here, but it was doing fine.
As it shifted onto its back, the avian cringed as its wings ached from the weight. Its feathers were out of order and shoved up in some areas.
It ran a hand through its wings, only to groan in pain. Felix knew it needed to get help to fix its wings, but it refused to let anyone near them. The last person to preen it had been Val… It missed her and Judge a lot.
Broken pickaxes lay in a pile by the chests of cobbled deepslate. It felt like they needed more every day. An endless stream of mining or chopping for resources.
Venus had taken to collecting the crimson and warped stems for them. She was good at getting into a rhythm with the work. Felix had also noticed how she wilted a bit when stuck underground.
It felt strange to remember how they had both gotten to this point. Living by a cherry blossom grove and working to build a massive temple.
Felix had never met Wrath, the one who held them here through this cursed armour. The red branding on its armour was a constant reminder of its mistake.
Back to thinking about its corruption, it remembered how it had first met Whisper. The Skulk entity that had been the one to curse it through sharing his armour.
At first, Felix had felt apprehensive about going to the Silent City with the man. Evakeira was a strange mysterious place that it had only walked through once with Osiris by its side. It had also maybe… Borrowed a few books with Osiris, so it did not know what terms they were on.
It was Val who had calmed Felix’s fears when she excitedly agreed to follow him. Whisper showed no hostility during their encounter. Felix was still confused as to why Val was so calm around Whisper, knowing what happened now.
What would have happened if Felix hadn’t agreed to test the armour? What would have happened if Val and Judge hadn’t been immune and given Felix the confidence to try? What would have happened if Val had just told it no?
After a moment of silence, Felix guessed there was no point in pondering on it. Now it was here and it was doing its best to live with that decision.
“Are you not planning to come up today? You can’t stay down here all the time.” Felix perked up suddenly and tilted its head until it could see Venus. They nervously shifted on their feet, being uncomfortable trapped in the dark carved out area.
Felix sighed and pulled itself up before sliding to the ground. The avian stretched its arms over its head and shuffled its wings around until they were comfortable on its back. It had been planning to stay down here longer, but it could head up for Venus.
“Lead the way. I need to make sure I’m not too pale~” Venus rolled her eyes but made her way to the water, swimming up it. Felix took a glance behind it before following her up.
A few close calls with zombies and creepers were had before they made their way to the stairs that led into the ravine. Felix snorted as it remembered the countless times they had rammed into each other, falling into the snow below.
Venus launched herself using her cursed boots, sparks flying behind her. A fun little ability they had gained from the aspect, Wrath.
Felix launched itself up using its own boots. Even with how limited the flight was, it still adored being in the air. The freedom it felt, one it couldn’t have with its flightless wings, was well worth the corruption.
Felix walked over to where they had two ovens and threw some uncooked potatoes inside. It refused to let Venus know it had been living off of rotten flesh below. It knew they would worry over it when Venus had her own things to be dealing with.
Looking up at the Temple, Felix noticed that QV had finished the third layer. It smiled tiredly as it knew more cobbled deepslate would be needed soon.
Thinking back on the creature, Felix knew it needed to confront them eventually. It only got a short talk with Whisper before the Skulk went off to work on plans.
What a dysfunctional team they had here… Better than what it came from.
Snow was beginning to fall around them and Felix smiled as a flake fell on its nose. It had always enjoyed the peaceful moments like these, where it could finally rest.
The sky was stuck in eternal darkness from the eclipse that had begun a week before. The day that it had entered back into this land. That had been quite the welcoming home.
The avian noticed Venus standing under a cherry blossom tree on the hill. She almost glowed in the oppressive light of the guiding star.
Felix still felt for her being stuck here in the cold of the southern continent. Their bug heritage was not built for this.
Once they were standing side by side, facing the eclipse, Venus turned her head to Felix. “Are you alright?”
A stilted smile graced its face and its eyes looked down under the blindfold, “I… I am adjusting. The temperature change is the most drastic. The weather is nothing like Refuge. You would know with how long you lived there~”
The Evakeiran snorted and shook her head, “Judge was kind enough to let me stay with him until I set up my own place in Evakeira. I wasn’t going to say no to him… I also liked being around Val again.”
Felix sighed at the name, “Yeah… I am sorry you got pulled away from them to be here with us…” The me in its sentence was left unspoken. Venus nodded her head and smiled at him.
“So… What happened with you and Val? I didn’t hear you coming for her throat recently.” Felix glared under the blindfold and shifted awkwardly.
“We… Hmm… I came to an understanding, I guess… She gave me one of her feathers. She said I am one of her friends… I think I never appreciated her until now, with all of… Well… This heh.”
Venus looked at it silently before turning back to the Eclipse, “I’m surprised she gave you one.”
Felix nods and pulls out the feather from where it was hidden under its shirt, “I am too.”
More silence passed between them before Felix turned to look at her face.
Fear.
All it saw there was fear.
It didn’t like that look on her…
Felix wanted her not to have that look anymore…
“Hey, let’s do something right now.” Felix grabbed her hand and pulled Venus behind it to the flattened ice.
The avian smiled happily as it shoved a disc into the nearby jukebox. It had taken the disc from the lower rooms. The song was one from a certain man who descended in a dog onesie… Felix chose not to question that…
At first, it felt a bit rusty spinning on the ice. Slipping a few times but never falling. Its wings and tail were shifting rapidly to keep itself upright as it giggled euphorically.
As Felix finally found its footing, it reached out a hand, beckoning Venus to come join it. At first, she seemed unsure and watched from afar. After hearing Felix’s laughter on the ice as it continued to spin around, they gained enough confidence to step on the blue slippery surface.
She squeaked as she instantly slipped, and Felix caught her with loud laughter. They glared at it for a moment before smiling as Felix helped them glide around the space.
“I used to do this a lot on missions to colder climates. It always made me feel alive to skate along the frozen lakes.” Venus grinned, and their wings buzzed happily behind them as they got the hang of sliding around.
As they continued with the music bouncing around them, Felix laughed louder and finally found itself feeling true unbridled joy. It had been a long time since the avian felt this emotion. It had been a long time since it felt like a person.
Venus chittered happily and slid over to him. Felix grinned at her and locked hands with the dragonfly. The two spun around, faster and faster. Loudly laughing and smiling as the scenery blurred and the wind brushed their faces.
Felix looked at her, tracing every line in her smile. He saw the way their hair blew as they spun and their eyes lit up with every twirl. The way they glowed at him with trust, affection, and kinship.
Oh…
Heh…
That’s what this was…
Venus… Oh, how he loves her… His first real friend… The first one to keep him around with a smile… The first to look at him with no hidden motives… The first to want his company for him…
Here was someone who saw him at his worst and still decided to stay. Here is someone who saw him when he was cruel and hurtful and angry. Even through all of it, she still asked him to stick around.
This here is his sibling. His true family. He couldn’t see a future without her by his side.
Felix would burn down this entire world for her, just to see her smile at him as she did now.
They finally came to a stop and took a second to not collapse from the dizziness. Felix couldn’t stop himself from looking into her eyes with wonder and adoration. So this is what it felt like…
Felix gently took the disc out of the jukebox and put it away. It didn’t want the others to get upset at him for damaging it.
Venus was no longer on the ice, so it looked for her as the snowfall came to a stop. The night sky was now there in all its beauty with no clouds to block it.
Venus was sitting under the cherry blossom tree and looking up at the constellations. Felix walked over to her and sat down.
She tilted her head to the side, and Felix leaned against her. She was surprisingly warm for a bugkin. They sat like that and let the silence settle, no longer needing words to communicate this moment.
The stars were pretty tonight…