Chapter Text
DJ shifted on whatever soft material he was laying on… A consistent buzz rang through his ears. What… what happened before this? Why did his body feel so heavy, so weak? His fingers and legs twitched. Superfish, the core, the unbearable pain-!
His eyes shot open with a gasp.
"Ah-" DJ instinctively pushed his body up, grabbing at the hand that hovered in front of him. The other hand quickly pulled away from DJ's grasp, giving him a chance too see who he grabbed in the first place.
"Whoa, easy…" Superfish.
The tension in DJ's body eased up, though didn't completely leave.
He groaned, his hand reaching for his forehead. It felt like someone was slamming a drum instead of his head. "Ow… Did you get it out?"
Superfish remained silent instead of answering his question. Releasing his hand from his own head, DJ looked towards Superfish, ready to demand the 'good' news (because there was no way he was going to go through that again.) But, instead remained equally quiet under Superfish's scrutinizing stare.
From the read DJ could get from the guy, he was for the most part just unbothered. To an antagonizing degree. But… on the moments where he wasn't like that, it was eerie. Well, everything about this was creep enough to start with.
This guy was a witch, and DJ was a human that happened to stumble into him. While Superfish looked so serious, whatever was going through his brain? What exactly was he thinking, planning? Superfish could do anything to him right now, and not a single person would find out.
"Wow…" DJ started to hearken at the sound of Superfish's voice starting up. "I'm surprised you don't feel anything yet."
Superfish slumped further into the bed, letting out a sigh. Of boredom or dread, DJ couldn't tell just yet. He rested his hand on his cheek as he watched DJ with furrowed brows.
Abruptly, he reached for DJ's back, attempting to force DJ to turn on his side. In return, DJ swatted at his hands, trying to "What are you doing? You can't reach for a guy's back like—"
DJ took a sharp inhale.
A piercing pain ran along his back—from the shoulder almost all the way down. Spontaneously, he arched his back, hands pressing into his area around his mouth.
"Ah." DJ just barely managed turn around in time to see Superfish's face quickly dropped in disappointment as he tsked. "…There it is."
"T-there is… what-?" DJ stuttered, with the little air that he could muster. The edges of his version became watery, but he still managed notice Superfish's hand approaching him, a faint slow emitting from them. In his delusions, DJ's chest close in on him and he slapped away Superfish's hand.
It was so hard to breath. To move. He couldn't take anymore pain— He couldn't—
All actions will have a reactions, and slapping Superfish's hand was the final push off the edge off the bed.
He landed on whatever was sticking in—or was it out of or—his back. DJ's vision flashed white and the bulge on this back insistingly throbbed. The sudden burst of agony on top of the pain he was already experiencing forced raw, high pitch scream that made his throat go dry.
He blinked furiously, the light above him shining all too bright, all too burning. Through the corners that weren't just blinding, there was nothing other than blur. He curled up on himself clawing desperately at his back, wheezing as his heart thumbed too loudly in his ear.
His nails pressed deep into his skin, penetrating the barriers meant to protects him, and allowing the blood to seep into his fingernails. DJ paid no mind to the stings that came as consequence to his actions, he had to get the bump.
But his hands fell too short.
He needed to reach, he needed to make it stop.
Unexpectedly, aches and the strains the wracked DJ's body numbed, not so that it was no long hurting him, but at the least, it became a little more bearable. "All the work I did to put you on the bed…" DJ could now partially see as Superfish's head hanged over the edge of the bed, and his hand hovered right DJ's chest. He was using magic again. "And you fall right off."
"Wha… What's happening?" DJ mutters weakly, trying to push himself up only to fall back onto the floor.
"Don't do anything. Moving will only make it worst." With the use of magic and the twirl of his fingers, Superfish floats a pillow under DJ's head to keep him levitated, which eases some pressure on his back. "I really didn't expect this too happen…"
Even with his gathered bearings, DJ tried to press forward but it only came out as something intangible under his breath.
"DJ?" DJ could faintly hear the sound of a door closing and his brothers voice ringing out in the house. "Are you still home?"
Superfish twisted his head at the sound, while DJ couldn't even fully register what was going on. Superfish frantically looked between the open door and the man still on the floor in front of him.
Superfish groans, and removes his hand, levitating DJ as he struggles helplessly from the sudden action. He can hear another door being opened behind him, and before he knew it, he was thrown into his closet, the clothes within, pressing around him.
DJ looks desperately over to Superfish who was still sitting nonchalantly on the bed. The doors around DJ starts to come shut, and he reached out as a final attempt to call out, the last thing his brother needed on top of work was to find a stranger in his bed. "Wait—"
He was cut off not only by the slam of the doors, leaving him in mainly darkness with the pain on his back coming back full force. He groans, trying to muffle his moans of pain as much as he could.
The bulge was getting bigger. He could feel it. Feel his bones creak, hear even unless the pain was making him imagining things that weren't really happening. Whatever was under his skin because of this mess, pulsed in a constant rhythm, feeling as if I was ready to burst out of his back any second.
DJ crouched down, with a hand over his mouth and his hand placed on his back. He felt so nauseous. And sweat pooled at the sides of his face, as his vision started to become lost again.
"DJ?" As if this could get any worst. DJ clutched his face harder and applied more pressure to the middle of his lower back, as he could hear his brother's footsteps wander in the room. "I swear I heard something in here…"
Please just go. Please leave… please…
With pain that wracked every nerve in his body, DJ bit down hard on his hand as whatever was inside his back decided it would be contained no longer.
It uncontrollably forced his body forward, where through his suffering and dizziness DJ managed to look back and get a glimpse of whatever decided to free itself. DJ paused and did a double take.
White wings burst out and open.
They fluttered and tried to spread to the best of their ability, banging themselves repeatably against the walls of the closet. The bloodied feathers coated the clothes around DJ, pushing closer into him.
Now, the area felt too claustrophobic.
DJ was starting to get lightheaded, and the feeling was getting worst by the minute. Questions ran flew in and out of his mind, pertaining the wings. What was happening? How was this possible? Did this relate to the core? Why? Why did it hurt so much?
The questions stopped when he felt a liquid started to run down his legs. DJ hesitantly reached down, swallowing down the salvia that clung to all the corners of his mouth. His hand trembled as he dragged his fingers up his leg then back into his vision for the little amount of illuminate to what he had already suspected.
Blood.
It stuck the base of his of where his wings and back met. It flowed from his back onto the wood around him soaking up into areas of his socks, making them damp. The new wings hanged from his back, heavy, dirty, coated in blood. The clothes around him had blood, that all closed around on him, touched his skin, covered his clothes, made him feel—
It was sickening. He was sick.
He was going to die.
He was gonna die.
He didn't want to die.
"Dhananjay—"
Wheatear from the pain, the blood pooling from his back onto his feet, or the wings now attached to his back trying to flail for it freedoms DJ can no longer hold his conscious any longer. His eyes droop and arms and wings fall slack, as the door of his closet opens up to reveal himself to his brother.
The last thing hears, a thud.
Though he can't he too sure it that was from his own failing body or his brother as he drops from his vision.
.
.
.
Oh, a fish…
.
.
.
DJ gasped for air, the second time today.
Ow… his back still aches.
The first thing he was greeted with was Superfish's entrancing and sharp yellow eyes, hair hanging loose, and a smirk on his face like DJ hadn't felt like he died again. "Sleeping Beauty has finally decided to wake up, hm?"
DJ choose to ignore him, tipping his head back and massaging his temples with a heavy breath. He tried to recall back on what happened, flashes of memory's right before his collapse coming back to him the most prominent being…
"Where's my brother!?" DJ shoots up, an action he quickly regrets when intense ache blooms in his back, sticking his accusing finger in Superfish's face. "What did you do to him!"
"Relax." Superfish shrugged and moved back, pushing DJ's hand out off the way. "Wiped his memory of what happened, and he skedaddled his way to work or whatever. He thinks you in school right now."
"Wiped his memory-? Why would you-" DJ trail off, biting the bottom of his lip. The more he thought about it the more it made sense. His brother saw him, like that in his closet. He didn't need his brother involved in the mess that he started by going into that house the other night. Especially not involvement proved to be so… painful.
So, instead he changed the topic. "School…" DJ slumped further at the mention of it. He was probably late as hell, and missed majority if not all of his first class. That would be at least one absence and one tardy… but… if he got there quick enough he could still be marked present for the entire school day.
But, he couldn't just go to school with wings attached to him!
DJ sighed, drooping his head as he looked off to the side. That when he came to realization. He felt… light. Lighter than it should have been with those two things connected to him.
DJ turns his head over both of his shoulders, craning his neck in an attempt to see what should have been two pairs of large wings sticking out his back."What happened to the…" He gulps. "The wings?"
"The wings? Well-" Superfish started, however was cut off by DJ.
"Wait- wait- wait- how?" DJ paused, shuddering at the memory of his wings when he last saw them. While covered in the red of his own blood, he could see peaks of the base. It was white, almost like a canvas waiting to be painted—a blank slate. "How'd I even get them in the first place?" How do I avoid something like that again?
"I'm…" Superfish glanced away. "I'm not exactly sure. The witches core in you clearly had something to do with it but, I can't tell wheatear it was in retaliation or a one off thing…" Superfish fell hush, staring at the ground with furrowed eyes and a light scowl on his face, like deeper things were taking over his mind, and DJ just couldn't tell.
"For you original question, before you oh-so rudely interrupted me," Superfish snapped out of his dazed mindset, going back to his flamboyant persona. He pushed himself into DJ's face, shaking his head to add a little extra to the taunt. "I used a little one of my potions I carry at me at all times, to hid them. Their still technically there but intangible until the owner wills otherwise."
DJ slowly nodded as he processed the information. So he still had it. Just, not there till he wanted it to be there. Well, that was good news for him, because he didn't want them to be there anything soon.
He reviewed Superfish's wording again, how he said my and not a when referring to the… wing hiding potions. "…You, also have wings? How do they look?"
"Yeah but, let's keep it a secret for now, shall we?" Superfish does the hush symbol against DJ's lips, winking as DJ's response was to gap and move back. "But what I can tell you is your wings are like a blank slate. The magic, or the core, isn't well adjusted enough to determine what kind of person you are next, so it hasn't decided on your wings yet. It'll probably be a boring animal from your planet." He snickers.
DJ pales at the implications of his wings having to change again. Superfish looks him over, and places a hand on his shoulder, oddly reassuring. "Don't worry, the next part will be painless. It'll kinda just… happen? They'll just randomly change."
DJ makes not comment, but the relief that washes over his is instant and clear. With his head down, and mutters a thanks.
Superfish stills for a moment, and DJ looked up to see a blank expression on his face, but this time, truly just empty.
"Well, I gotta go." Superfish says, almost hurriedly, and flicks DJ on the nose before rising too his feet. "And don't you have to school?"
"Well yeah but-" DJ tried too call out, attempting to stop him so he could answer more questions. But in a blink, Superfish was gone.
DJ looked around in distress for any final clue that might lead him towards whenever the witch would Nothing. Nada. Zilch. He was one hundred percent gone.
"Fuck…" He groaned, dragging his palms down his face mushing the skin under them.
Still on the ground with nothing better to do, DJ looked forward towards his bed, where he noticed objects left there. Getting a better look, he could not tell there was a singular note left fluttering onto his bed with a feather on top, next to a roll of gauze bandage rolls. He didn't notice it earlier but a subtle pressure wrapped around his back and chest.
DJ worked his was to his feet, soft grunts escaping his mouth and quivers in his legs and arms as he moved. Working his way to the bed, he picked up the note, which was a brief explanation how some of the blood on the floor were cleaned up, and that the bandages were for him to replace every day for at least a week. 'Don't need you bleeding out on me.' And he had a nerve to leave a smiley face afterwards.
DJ briefly picked up the feather, an ashy blue, before coming to the decision that it was just a mockery from Superfish. He picked up the last item on his bed, the bandages.
How much of this would he even need?
Which was kind of concerning because that mean nearly his entire back had busted open during that… process.
With wary curiosity, DJ grabbed at the helm of his shirt and pulled up a little. Bandages. Starting all the way from down the tip of his back. And he didn't want to know how far they went up (but he could already feel where compression ended and started). The slightest graze over the bandages seem to send a shockwave through his back. His hand jerked back and dropped the shirt.
He… he could check fully later. The bandages only needed to be changed in a day anyways. He was already running too late to school as is.
Right.
Let's just go to school.