Chapter Text
Sun was given the freedom to venture the city by himself as long as he went back to the apartment before midnight. Sun had never seen so many normal celestials in one place. Some celestials evolved with humans while others evolved into beasts. Sun always wondered what having true rays instead of his extra plumage would be like. He’d love to glow in the dark. The most he got was his light ability he had to put energy into. Sun combed down the orange feathers on his head.
The harpy had gone to some smaller part of town for more local festivities. This little festival had a bunch of vendors and displays as well as a couple performers. He had bought a short purple cape that had yellow lights embedded into the hemming of the bottom. As he ate dinner from another vendor, he noticed that the festival got packed. Sun got up to leave when he was done but he noticed someone caught in the crowd in front of a light display that very clearly didn’t want to be there. The person looked like one of the performers for the sailors tale show. Sun had watched that performance and thought it didn’t seem accurate at all. Sun didn’t remember there being any gory parts though. His face looked very familiar somehow, he couldn’t quite pin it down.
Sun decided to go get a closer look and began to try to catch up to them. He shouted a couple times but the performer seemed to not hear or even go a lot faster forward. Sun huffed as he tried to make his way through the crowd as well and get to them. Sun was having trouble weaving through the crowd as quickly as they were but was able to keep up. The person ran right into an alley. Sun was nervous but followed. The person looked afraid and panicked.
“Hello?” Sun said nervously.
The person kept their hood up and didn’t look at him. Sun noticed how his hood looked like he had cat ears. Sun kept talking despite their cold shoulder.
“I’m Sunflower Orion, what’s your name? Don’t tell me if you don’t want to. Do you need help?” Sun tried to keep his voice gentle and friendly. The man in the hood’s head jerked up slightly at the name. His red eyes peeked up to look at his face. He squinted. He felt familiar.
“Sunflower… long for Sun?” The hooded man said.
His voice was alarmingly familiar for Sun. Sun picked his brain for any memory containing him.
“…Do… I know you? What did you say your name was?” Sun asked.
The man wiped the blood off his face and pulled his hood down.
“Moon… Just Moon. I don’t have a last name,”
Sun paused and looked at his face before it clicked. Sun transformed back into his harpy form and looked for any positive reaction towards Moon’s scaly face. Moon’s eyes lightened up and he tackled Sun into his embrace. Sunny grunted at the initial force and giggled at how tightly Moon’s hold on him was. Moon burst out laughing before spilling tears. Sun was stunned but was able to tighten his own hug on Moon and rub his back. Sun had only seen him cry once when they were little kids.
Sun assessed Moon’s body. The tail he’d been amazed by from the start was still there but his fish fin hair was more hair in a long braid covering his little light Sun loved. Sun picked up the end of the braid while Moon’s face was buried in Sun’s feathers. He didn’t mind the touching at all for once. Sun’s fingers moved the curly hairs to find the beloved little light. Moon stopped sobbing and quieted.
Sun slowly picked the dry siren up and was instantly hit with the metallic aroma of a scent he knew very well by now. Sun’s lip twitched but ultimately stayed shut as he just felt Moon in his arms. Moon didn’t say anything but he would’ve already complained if he didn’t want to be there. The solar harpy pushed himself off the ground with a jump and lifted into the air. Moon finally lifted his head from Sun’s chest. Moon glanced at the city growing smaller and smaller beneath them.
Sun knew that if he stayed out past his curfew he’d be in trouble but he was ready to take the loss to catch up on lost time with his best friend. Sun flew into the dark woods and landed near a decent lake. Sun’s talons felt the muddy dirt that bordered the lake from the land. Sun’s hold on Moon adjusted as Sun sat on a log. Sun kissed Moon’s head as his fingers ran through his dark hair. Sun was completely enthralled in his silky black strands. Moon had fallen asleep on his long lost friend. The harpy moved to a branch tree and fell asleep with him.
As the glowing gibbous moon in the sky reached the middle of the night. The fog over the cloudy waters got more dense. It had started to storm over the reefs. A violent one that would soon start causing issues for the islands.
The rain hitting Sun’s face woke him up quickly. Moon was still asleep, so Sun carefully lifted him up. It was still late in the night when Sun woke up. The only light was the stars and the city in the distance. The bright gibbous was low in the sky. Sun was debating whether to leave Moon or take him. With a huff, the harpy decided that he’d be in trouble anyway and he wasn’t going to lose his beloved again. Sunny found himself staring at Moon’s unconscious face while he began to take off. Sun flew over the busy city dodging in open areas on ground. He flew gracefully so as not to disturb his friend. Moon was his friend… You kiss your friends…right?
When he got to his bedroom window, Sun shifted Moon into one arm and used the other to open the window. Click. Sun froze as he was half way through the window. The door slowly swung open. The man in the doorframe paused but hadn’t noticed the giant bird in the window of the dark room yet. It was Lucas.
“Yeah, his curfew was five hours ago. He’s never been out so long past curfew…” Sun froze in panic. He didn’t even register the question of who Lucas might be talking to. “Okay… His name is Sunflower Orion… Yes, that's his actual name. He’s 17…” Sun snapped out of it and fumbled to fly back out. The scratching at the open window caught Lucas’s attention and he gasped at the large shadow of a bird-like form. Sun slipped off the edge backwards over the window into the start of a long journey down to his and his friend’s death.
“HEY!!!” Lucas cried out in an urgent tone as he raced to the window.
Sun struggled to flap his wings the right way. He was falling and he was holding on tight to Moon. Moon’s eyes opened at the gust of air in his face. His face turned into one of panic as he realized they were falling. Moon looked at Sun who was clearly also panicking. Moon squeezed his eyes shut and pushed his face into the harpy’s chest. His hold on Sun tightened. Sun’s wings strained as he tried to sync to carry their heavy weight. Sun was not going to be the one to get them killed. Finally his wings began to flap and resist the blast of air helping them fall to their deaths. He felt a pang of pain shoot up through his wings as he finally was able to swoop back up and back towards the sky. Sun’s chest was heaving.
Sun finally moved to a more comfortable pace as he tried to flap in a way that didn’t hurt. Unfortunately every flap or even flutter felt like being stabbed. Sun hissed as he tried to find somewhere to land. Moon finally peeked his head out of Sun’s chest and opened his eyes before shutting them again and sighing out of relief. Sun groaned as he began to fly lower and lower. Sun finally landed somewhere outside of the city in the forest bordering Larimar. Moon let go of Sun and fell into the grass and just laid there. After a couple of silent minutes, Moon finally opened his eyes and looked at Sun who was just sitting there with his head in his hands.
“What happened?” Moon was slightly irritated that he woke up to a close encounter.
Sun picked his head up but didn’t make eye contact. “I was t-trying… trying… to go back to where I was staying… but I f-fell.” Moon could hear the shakiness in his voice. Sun couldn’t help but think that Moon would hate him for almost getting them both killed as soon as they were back together. What if Moon decided he was too risky to be around and left? Sun’s wings drooped onto the ground beneath him and the rock he was sitting on. Moon wanted to yell at him despite the situation not necessarily being anything more than an accident. Moon couldn’t utter anything out before feeling a pang of guilt in his chest after looking at Sun. The harpy looked like a mess and he was beginning to shake. Moon felt awkward and helpless. He wasn’t experienced in comfort very much at all.
Moon walked a little closer before Sun hissed at him. Moon was slightly taken aback. Moon met Sun’s eyes which were only slightly peeking through his talons. His eyes were wet and his expression looked hurt, which confused Moon because he hadn’t said anything yet after his first question. Moon attempted to talk using a soft and questioning tone.
“Sun-“ “No! You’re going to leave me! So just get on with it already!”
Moon was stunned at his outburst. How could Sun believe that? Moon hadn’t even lectured him yet and that response was rather petulant. Moon’s eyes darted away before moving back to Sun’s. Moon grabbed Sun’s hands and put them in his own before Sun could reject the contact.
“Sun, where is this coming from? I’d never do that to you… how could you think that…?” Moon spoke softly to not provoke Sun more. Sun wouldn’t meet his gaze anymore. He shook his head. Moon didn’t pry. Sun looked up finally.
“You won’t leave?”
“Never.”
Sun felt a little foolish, he let out a sheepish chuckle. When Moon let his hands go, Sun wiped his tears and put on a weak smile. He absentmindedly combed back his messy plume rays. Moon couldn’t help but wonder why he’d react that way.
“Are you okay?” Moon tilted his head while trying to make eye contact with Sun’s eyes despite them being focused elsewhere. Moon wasn’t sure if Sun understood Moon’s seriousness about staying with him.
Sun did not respond. His mouth pressed into a thin line. Moon frowned and grabbed Sun’s wrist. The harpy made a small sound as he was pulled up. Moon’s hands grabbed his waist. “Moon..? What are you doi-” Moon quickly but gently pressed his lips into Sun’s. Sun’s expression turned to alarm before melting into Moon and letting his shoulders relax. Sun’s eyes fluttered shut and kissed Moon back. Both of their faces warm when they finally pulled apart from each other. Sun let out a giddy giggle as Moon grabbed Sun’s face. Sun let his face lean into his soft hands.
“Do you believe me about you and me forever?” Moon spoke softly.
Sun nodded and slightly drooled on Moon’s hand by accident in his complete entrancement in his friend’s face. Moon giggled. Moon noticed how when Sun was flustered his feathers would puff up and he found it cute.
A couple minutes later, Sun had attempted to lift off the ground but he heard a loud SNAP while his left wing flooded with a fiery painful sensation that made him screech. All the exhaustion and bending against the currents finally broke his limit and he couldn’t fly anywhere. After Sun stopped crying on the ground with his face in the dirt, he and Moon ended up walking to a little hidden beach and camping out there for the night.
A low rumble followed by a loud crack shook the calm ocean. Deep below something stirred, something large, something fueled by an ancient feeling of festering hatred trapped inside. Every following day the crack grew larger. Something was waking up.
It had been a week since Sun ran away with Moon. They had begun to trek their way back to the docks. Sun knew he’d have to face Lucas again someday but they couldn’t risk going into the city being a harpy and siren. Hopefully the trip to the docks would give Sun enough time and rest to allow him back into his human form. Sun was still injured so he couldn’t fly. He was in absolute misery walking so far for so long. Moon rolled his eyes at every complaint. There had been another earthquake that day, they’d been becoming more frequent. Moon wondered why they were starting up all of a sudden. They never happened before.
“Moon? Why is it that the clouds have been blocking out the sunshine for months straight. We used to have some breaks in the clouds…”
Sun was bored, and the walking and looking around at trees and grass and deer he wasn’t allowed to eat were not enough to keep him silent. The duo had passed the empty crop fields some time ago, so no more cows were around to keep the large bird entertained. Moon looked at his increasingly annoying friend… were they still friends? Could they be more? Sun certainly seemed open to it, indulging in Moon’s kiss so easily.
“Moon. Moon. Moon!”
Moon snapped out of his thoughts clouding his head. He looked at Sun who was irritated at Moon for ignoring his twenty thousand and one questions.
“Sorry.”
…
There had been a search party for Sunny but they didn’t go past the Larimar Fields. Lucas had been worried sick. He was dreading the thought that thing in the window had stolen and killed him. Humanoids of the avian species were not common and those that did exist were dangerously territorial and aggressive. Those were the things he’d heard from hunters and sailors at least. He hadn’t seen the large winged monster for more than a second clearly. He couldn’t really tell what it was holding, but he knew what he thought it was holding.
Roxanne Wolfe was the lead detective on the missing persons case with her partner being Montgomery Gator. Most mammal hybrids were widely accepted among humans like Roxanne. Reptile species were more recently accepted after a war in the region. They were still widely discriminated against for their differences between mammals and celestials. The duo between gator and wolf wasn’t very conventional. Neither detective was very sought for in their skills. No other detectives and officers were available due to how frequent the earthquakes we’re getting and how much damage the other coast was getting. The two were all that were available.
Monty was on thin ice due to his short temper and reckless behavior. Roxanne was also on warnings for her notoriously poor performances and attention she gave her cases. Roxanne couldn’t afford to be fired if she wanted to keep her apartment. She wouldn’t let Monty ruin her chances either. Being put on the case as lead was a surprise. Roxanne wouldn’t let anyone down this time.
“So you said you last saw him a little over a week ago? Going to a small festival in the northern part of the city.”
Roxanne wrote everything down in her notepad. Monty was searching Sun’s room. Lucas was recounting every odd thing he saw and his suspicions.
“Has anyone in the search party found anything?” Lucas asked wearily.
“Not yet sir.”
Monty brushed his claws through his red parted hair. He was looking around the room before coming to the window. His eyes landed on the scratches on the frame. He traced the claw marks down to right beneath the window frame on the outside of the window. Monty took a couple pictures of the room. The bed was made but he found a couple of feathers on the bed which he found odd. These feathers were the same as the ones caught in one of the divots made in the window frame.
A couple hours later, they both scouted the northern part of the city. The search party was beginning to give up after searching the woods for a while. After the earthquake that morning rattled the city more deeply than the subtle shakes before. The search party members had given up after the last quake. Eventually Roxanne and Montgomery arrived at where the festival had been held a couple days before. Roxanne began questioning vendors who’d been in the area before while Monty ran around the area looking for any signs Sun had been there.
Monty had been trying to do the interviewing part but he snapped at one of the vendors, Roxy made him look around instead of talking to people. This order allowed him to find the bloodied footprints and find the alleyway. His eyes widened at the blood splatter on the concrete floor.
Lucas eventually began to head home in his truck. Sun’s friends were calling very often after not hearing from him for too long. He felt miserable leaving without his son.