Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"What now?" the boy asked as his gaze turned from the setting sun to his large friend.

After traveling through the ruins for days and solving all those puzzles, the two of them finally made it to the main tower, but now that were here the boy was lost on what do. Where should they go now?

Trico seemed to be looking around as if he was searching for something, but couldn't find it. The boy scratched his head, wondering why the beast wanted to come here in the first place.

The creature finally glanced down at him and chuffed before walking towards the edge of the tower. He then looked back at the boy expectantly.

The boy realized what he wanted. "You're going to try to fly?" he asked, a little apprehensively. After all, Trico never flew that far before. Trico hummed, almost reassuringly at him.

Unsure, but trusting his friend, the boy carefully climbed up and seated himself on the beast's back. Trico then began flapping his wings, ready to take off.

The boy's attention suddenly drifted back to the giant antenna and he quickly shouted. "Trico, wait!"

The beast stopped and glanced back at the boy in confusion.

The boy didn't know what was that thing was or what it did. Almost everything about the Nest made no sense to him and he had no idea how they worked. He just used whatever he found on his way to help them progress without questioning them, but something about this place just felt….wrong.

Glancing down at the mirror shield and then back at the antenna, the child frowned. He wasn't sure where this was coming from, but something told him this place was bad news, especially when he thought about that dark sphere inside the tower.

Despite the ominous feeling in the air, he had approached the sphere out of curiosity feeling almost as if it was beckoning him to come closer. An icy numb feeling then coursed through his body when the thing made contact with his skin.

Brows furrowed in determination, the boy knew what he had to do. He raised the mirror and aimed at the antenna.

Trico's eyes flashed violet. His tail rose in the air and dangerous purple energy gathered around it before shooting several lightning spheres at the target, blasting it off. The structure shook and the cage-like dome began to fall apart.

"Alright, let's go," With that, Trico turned around and began walking towards the edge again. Gulping nervously, the boy gripped tightly at the beast's feathers and braced himself.

Flapping his wings one last time, Trico leaped off the edge.

------

We're flying. The boy thought in awe as Trico began ascending to the sky. He dared to look down to see the ground below getting further and further.

The view was breathtaking.

Looking back, the boy watched the Nest slowly fade from view. He couldn't help letting out a joyful laugh. They did it. They finally escaped!

Trico growled in response to him as they soured through the sky, the wind blowing against his feathers.

The boy stared up ahead thoughtfully for a few minutes and then his eyes widen. "Are you taking us to my village?" he asked with excitement, realizing his friend's intention. The beast just snorted.

The child found himself wondering for what felt like the hundredth time. How much did Trico understand? The creature knew how to jump off pillars and catch the boy when he was falling with precise. One time he tried playing hide and seek with the beast when they reached another grassy area and Trico found him every time.

Suddenly, the boy yelped when Trico stopped and flew to a different direction.

"T-Trico? What's wrong?" he asked in worry, but Trico ignored him this time and continued flying. Unsure of what to do, the boy held on as Trico dove downwards.

--------

Ico sighed as he made his way through the thick trees, holding tightly to his companion's hand. It's been almost a day since the castle had fallen and the two of them had woken up on that beach. They had set out to look for a nearby village, somewhere safe.

Ico looked up at the sky and frowned. The sun was going to set. They'll have to find a place to spend the night in. It'd be dangerous to wander the forest at night.

After walking for a few minutes, they soon reached a clearing. This would do. Ico let go of Yorda's hand and turned to her. "We're going spend the night here," he said though he knew she probably didn't understand him, but he still felt the need to tell her.

The boy then began looking for twigs for the fire. He glanced back to see his friend kneeling in front of a patch of flowers, looking at them curiously. He couldn't help smiling at the sight before returning to the task at hand.

And that's when he heard it. The sound of beating wings. It started out faint, but then it grow louder and louder until it was impossible to ignore. Confused, the boy looked up at the sky and gasped when he saw something flying down towards them.

The moment the thing landed, Ico fell backwards as the very ground shook beneath him. The human found himself staring in terror at the creature before him, his blood running cold.

He couldn't tell what exactly it was supposed to be, but it looked like a giant dog with sharp claws and wings. He had never seen anything as big as this in his life. The creature's head alone seemed to be bigger than him!

The beast's black eyes stayed on Ico for a moment before moving to something else. Ico followed its gaze and realized it was looking at Yorda who was staring back at the creature in mute horror.

"Yorda!" Without a second thought, Ico grabbed the closest thing to him which was one of the branches he was collecting and hurried in front of his friend, raising the stick threateningly at the beast.

Ico tried not to show his fear to the monster, but deep inside he couldn't help panicking. What was he thinking? What could a tree branch do to a monster this huge!? The creature looked like it can crush the branch with its paw effortlessly.

Maybe he doesn't have to fight it. Maybe he could poke it in the eye and then escape with Yorda to-

"Hey!"

Ico snapped from his thoughts at the sound of another voice. He looked around, but didn't see anybody. For a brief moment he thought the beast spoke to him.

"Up here!"

Ico looked up and the branch almost fell out of his hands. The boy thought running around inside an ancient castle and being chased by shadowy wraiths was crazy, but nothing prepared him for this. There was another boy on top of the beast's head looking down at them curiously.

The new boy then began climbing down from the beast's shoulder and jumped to the ground with a grunt before approaching them. "Hi there!"

Ico was at a loss of words, his eyes shifting from the boy and the beast. Finally, he managed to speak. "W-Who are you?" he asked warily.

"I'm Tomiheanchu, but that's too long so you can just call me Tomi." He grinned and then looked at him curiously. "What about you?"

Ico gulped, unsure of what to say. The kid in front of him didn't look that dangerous besides his weird choice in clothes. He even seemed to be slightly younger than Ico and the fact that he spoke the same language as him put Ico a little at ease, but he wasn't sure if he could really trust him. After all this kid came with that creature.

"I'm Ico and she's Yorda," he answered hesitantly.

"What are you two doing out here? Are you lost?" Tomi asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Ico muttered suspiciously. This could be a trap. The kid might be acting all friendly to trick them and then command his monster to attack them. The beast growled and the both of them jerked back.

Tomi blinked and glanced back at the creature. "You're worried about Trico? It's okay, he's not dangerous." He said and then clapped his hands in the air. "Trico, come here!"

Slowly, the beast stepped towards them, making Ico pull Yorda back warily. The beast then lowered his head and nudged his friend with his snout.

"See, he's friendly!" Tomi giggled. The creature then turned to face the two and chuffed. Ico relaxed a little, but still didn't lower his guard down. "Hey, you still haven't told me why you are here." Tomi asked again.

"We were heading to a village and decided to camp out here." Ico answered, seeing no harm in telling him that.

"Great, can Trico and I stay with you?"

Ico grimaced. "But why?"

"You see, Trico has been flying for a while and he needs a place to rest in. Would it be okay if we stay here?"

Ico bit his lip and glanced at the beast and then Yorda before sighing in defeat, "Fine, but if that beast does anything-"

"Ah, don't worry. He won't, you'll see!" Tomi said with a smile.

--------

Tomi, of course, was aware that Trico wasn't tired or in need of rest, but the beast had come here for a reason and even though he didn't know what it was, Tomi wasn't going to force his friend to leave if he didn't want to. Not to mention, Tomi was curious about these two travelers himself. He hadn't see anyone wearing clothes like theirs before. He knew there were other villages beyond the forest he and his tribe lived in, but never got the chance to meet anyone from them.

Still, he appreciated having them around. He had been the only human in the Nest and was starting to miss interacting with people from his kind.

Tomi glanced over just in time to see Ico walking away with Yorda. "Hey, where are you guys going?"

"I think I saw a river on our way here. Maybe we could catch some fish for dinner." Ico explained.

Tomi's eyes lit up. "Really? I'm coming too then!"

"Sure, but the beast should stay here. He might scare the fish away,"

"Okay," Tomi shrugged and turned his giant friend. "Trico, I need you to stay here. I'll be back with some food for you, okay?"

Trico snorted and then lay on the grass. Grinning, Tomi then sprinted after Ico and Yorda. It wasn't long until the three children found the river. Ico walked over and to see if there was any fish for them to catch.

Meanwhile, Tomi stayed with Yorda who hadn't spoken a word since he met her. Maybe she was just shy?

Smiling softly, the boy turned to the girl. "Hello, I don't think we formally met. I'm Tomi, nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand for her to shake.

The girl just tilted her head and mumbled something he didn't quite understand. Tomi blinked in confusion. Didn't she speak the same language as theirs?

"Yorda, come and look!" Ico suddenly called out. Yorda said something in her language that almost sounded like an apology before walking to Ico. Tomi hurried to their side to see the fish swimming in the water. Yorda seemed to be the one showing the most interest out of the three of them.

Tomi and Ico stood side by side for a moment before one of them finally broke the silence. "So...have you caught a fish before?" Tomi asked.

"Uh….not really. You?" Ico muttered awkwardly.

Tomi shook his head. "Never, but come on. It can't be that hard." He said with a grin.

It was.

After several minutes of failing to catch a single fish, the two boys lay on the ground panting and wet to the bone. Yorda was sitting next to them and looking at them in concern.

"How could the hunters in my village do this every day?" Tomi groaned. The fact that they didn't have the right equipment to use didn't help at all.

"We're running out of time. It'll get dark soon." Ico said, frustrated.

Tomi sat up and rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment until his eyes lit up. "I have an idea," he told the two before walking away to the trees. He cupped his hand around his mouth and called out. "TRICOOOOO!"

Ico's eyes widen.

Oh no.

"Wait, stop-" But it was too late as the ground began shaking once more and Trico burst through the trees, startling them except Tomi.

The boy then led the beast to the river and pointed at the fish in the water. "Catch them, Trico!"

Trico leaned his head closer to the water, his eyes following the fish attentively. He swiftly pushed his claw into water, but when he pulled it out he found nothing.

"It's okay, try again." Tomi told him. Trico tried a few more times, but his claws were too big and the fish kept slipping through them. Tomi could tell that Trico was getting frustrated and he tried to calm him down by rubbing his side.

Trico finally seemed to give up and turned around to leave, much to the children's disappointment.

"Well, what now?" Ico asked, having ran out of ideas.

Tomi was about to reply, but then paused when Trico stopped in his tracks. He then turned to them and began scratching the ground with his claws, ready to pounce.

Eyes widening, Tomi backed away and waved his hands nervously. "Trico, wait!"

The beast dashed towards the three children and jumped into the river with a loud splash, causing a huge wave that knocked the three away. When they recovered, the three found themselves surrounded by fish wiggling on the ground.

Tomi cheered and ran over to pet Trico while Ico helped Yorda up. He glanced down to see water dripping from thier clothes and sighed.

Well, they were already wet anyway.

Chapter Text

Once Trico came out of the river, Ico had to shield himself as the giant beast began shaking the water out of his…fur? Feathers? The boy wasn’t sure yet.

“C’mon, we have to take this back to the camping spot!” Tomi stated and knelt down to collect a fish, holding it from its tail.

Yorda watched Ico walk over to help him and looked down to see one in front of her. Deciding to help out too, the princess slowly knelt down and tried grabbing it, but she yelped when it wiggled right out of her hand and bounced on the ground before falling back into the river.

A soft snicker caught the girl’s attention and she looked over to see Tomi covering his mouth with his hand, trying to hold back his laughter while Ico looked not far behind, making her blush slightly and look away in embarrassment.

Once they had enough fish for tonight, they placed the remaining ones back into the river and made their way back to the camping spot.

Ico gulped and his shoulders tensed since the beast was walking right behind them. He could almost feel the creature’s breaths on his neck and his black eyes trailing their every move. Tomi on the other hand seemed completely at ease by this and Ico wondered again how he could do that with such a terrifyingly huge creature following them.

The fact that the beast also had horns didn’t help Ico feel any better.

Tomi suddenly caught Ico’s gaze on him and smiled, causing Ico to look away sheepishly. Ico wasn’t sure what to think of the boy either. The fact that this kid who they knew for less than an hour was being this friendly to him was….weird to say the least.

Ico had always been an outcast. Nobody wanted him around and he wasn’t allowed near festivals no matter how much he wanted to join everyone. He recalled spending many nights alone at home and doing chores just to pass the time while the rest of the village were having fun without him.

He couldn’t even make any friends since most parents told their children to stay away from “the creepy kid with horns”. The children who did approach Ico just wanted to tease him about his appearances.

This was why he had a hard time trusting other people.

So to actually meet another boy nearly his age who doesn’t judge or hate him immediately was something Ico didn’t think would ever happen or was even possible to begin with.

The sun had set by the time they made it back and the sky was darkening. Ico hurriedly dropped the fish on the grass and walked over to the fire wood, ready to start the fire when suddenly he remembered something.

He didn’t know how.

Nervously holding two sticks in his hand, Ico turned Tomi who was petting Trico. “Hey, uh, Tomi. Do you know how to start a fire?”

Tomi blinked at him. “Uhhh..…”

Ico groaned and threw his hands in the air in defeat. Suddenly, climbing towers and jumping onto watermills felt like the easiest thing in the world when compared to what was happening to them right now.

Ico never learned how to start a fire and never really needed to. Even back at the queen’s castle, whenever he needed to light something up there were already lit torches for him to use. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten about that and collected these twigs for nothing!

Tomi frowned and went to look around for a minute before coming back with two rocks. “I’ve never done this before, but I’ve seen men in my village do it.” He explained and began hitting the two rocks together, hoping to create a spark.

He kept trying for a few minutes, but when nothing happened he let out a tired sigh and glanced at them. Ico was sitting cross-legged, glaring at the ground in frustration. Yorda was hugging her knees and obviously bothered by the cold. The fact their clothes were wet didn’t help at all.

Sighing, Tomi scratched his head and desperately tried to think of something when the weight on his back suddenly reminded him of the item he got from the Nest. He took out the shield and stared at it, an idea forming in his mind.

Ico meanwhile watched the other boy as he pulled out the strange shield he was carrying and hold it in his hand with a raised an eyebrow.

“What are you going to do with that?” Ico asked in confusion. How would a shield help them start a fire?

“You’ll see!” Tomi grinned and held the shield in his hand. Ico gasped when the shield began to glow, shining an eerie green light in the dark clearing.  Strange symbols appeared on the front of the shield and a bright beam of light shoot from it.

Ico stared at the glowing weapon in awe. He recalled seeing magic in the castle like with those statues they came across, but this seemed to be something entirely different. “Whoa, where did you get that thing?” Ico asked curiously.

“I…..I borrowed it.” Tomi said nervously before directing the beam at the pile of kindling.

Ico waited, expecting the pile to burst into flames all of a sudden, but then frowned when nothing happened. “Hey, I don’t think it’s…..” Whatever the boy was going to say next died in his throat the moment he looked up to see the beast’s eyes flashing violet and his tail rising to the air much like a scorpion’s.

Ico and Yorda cried out in surprise when a spark of real actual lightning came out of Trico’s tail and set the pile of kindling on fire.

Trico’s eyes then returned to normal and lowered his tail, letting out a low bark as Tomi patted his side proudly.

Ico stared at the fire shell-shocked. Okay, forget about poking him in the eye if he attacked them. This creature turned out to be a lot more powerful and deadly than Ico previously thought. They should avoid getting into a fight against him at all cost.

“Alright, we have the fire. Now let’s cook the fish!” Tomi grinned, oblivious to their internal distress.

“R-Right,” Ico stammered nervously.

-------

The next few minutes were spent in awkward silence. Ico skewered the fish with sticks and pinned them to the ground by the fire to roast them.

While they waited for them to be ready, Tomi took some of the fish and held out for Trico. “Here, Trico. Try them.”

The giant beast tilted his head at the meal presented to him and sniffed it for a moment before accepting it.

And that’s when the weirdest thing Ico had seen happened. Trico’s head jerked back and his eyes began flashing between yellow and violet rapidly. “W-What’s wrong with him?” Ico stammered at the sight.

“I don’t think he likes it.” Tomi sighed and rubbed Trico’s nose gently. “Sorry Trico, but I don’t have any barrels for you right now.”

“Wait, he eats barrels!?” Ico muttered in disbelieve.

Tomi turned to him and scratched his head. “Well, not really. There were these strange barrels I kept finding everywhere and he seemed to like the blue goo inside them. I’m not sure what it’s made of though.” He then made his way back to the fire and sat down cross-legged.

After a while, Ico took one stick and blew on the fish to cool it off before taking an experimental bite. It wasn’t the best thing he ate, but it was still good and he was glad to finally fill his stomach with something. The last thing they ate was a watermelon he found on the beach. He gave the other two kids a satisfied nod. “Okay, I think they’re ready,”

“Finally!” Tomi cheered and wasted no time munching on one hungrily.

Ico picked one up and made sure it wasn’t too hot before holding it out for his companion. “Here, Yorda.”

The princess hesitantly took it and gave him a puzzled look, unsure of what to do.

“You supposed to eat it, Yorda. Like this!” Ico demonstrated to her by taking a bite of his fish and then gestured for her to do the same.

The princess stared at hers for a moment before slowly taking a small bite. Her eyes widen and she placed a hand on her mouth in surprise. She never had anything like this before.

Ico laughed slightly at her expression before noticing Tomi had stopped eating and was staring at him with a raised brow.

“What?” Ico asked in confusion.

“You’re awfully protective of her,” Tomi noted.

Ico’s cheeks burned red and huffed. “W-Well, you’re pretty protective of your pet too!”

Tomi frowned at that. “Trico isn’t my pet. He’s my best friend,” He stated, glancing back at the beast. The child never felt that he owned Trico and referring to him as so felt wrong in a way. 

The three children and the beast stayed quiet for a while, simply enjoying their meal. Ico watched embers rise from the fire and let out a sigh of contentment.

He then glanced back at the trees and couldn’t help shuddering at the darkness surrounding them. He shouldn’t be afraid. They were out of the castle and the queen was gone. No shadows will appear and attack them. There is no need to be afraid.

Gulping, Ico turned his attention to the fire and focused on finishing his food instead.

“Hey, Ico?”

The boy looked to see Tomi staring at him curiously. “What is it?”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something. What’s with those things on your….?” he gestured to the side of his head, referring to the weird stomps on the sides of Ico’s head.

 Ico felt his heart skip a beat and his mouth went dry. The stick nearly slipped out of his hands and he could almost feel his hands shaking. No, no. Why did he have to ask about them!?

Ico had been meekly hoping they would go unnoticed by the other boy since they were shorter than before, hoping he’d be safe from another person’s judgement this time, but he had been wrong.

What will he do now? He can’t tell him the truth about his horns. He will think Ico was a freak! But if doesn’t tell him then the boy might try to figure it out on his own and come up with his own conclusion about him.

That might lead to something so much worse.

“I….they’re….” Ico swallowed, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. His mind was a chaotic mess and he struggled to come up with an excuse or a distraction or anything that would help him avoid this subject all together.

Tomi and Yorda were both giving him concerned looks now. Sensing his growing discomfort, Yorda reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stared at the girl’s worried face for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat.

“They’re….they’re broken horns.” He murmured, his voice barely audible.

“Wait, you have horns?” Tomi asked baffled. “How!?”

Reluctantly, Ico began explaining how in every generation a child was born with horns and how villagers saw it as a bad sign so they sent them to a faraway castle where they are locked away in there forever. He then explained how he managed to escape confinement by a stroke of luck and came across Yorda and all the things they went through to leave the terrible place.

By the end of the end of his story, Tomi was looking at them with wide eyes. “Whoa, I wasn’t expecting all of that.”

“So, what do you think now?” Ico said, prepared for the worst.

Tomi blinked. “About what?”

“About my horns. Aren’t they bothering you now?” he huffed in annoyance. The kid knew the truth behind him and his horns so why wasn’t he reacting like everybody else?

“What? No, not really. So you have horns. I don’t see how that changes anything.” Tomi muttered.

Ico stared at the boy in disbelieve and stood up. “I just told I’m cursed! Do you really feel safe being around me while knowing that!?” Ico shouted. He didn’t mean to yell like that. He just couldn’t understand why this boy wasn’t looking at him in disgust or fear like the people in his village did.

Yorda was looking back between the two boys, startled by the yelling, but not knowing what was being said.

Taken aback by this, Tomi frowned and looked at the ground. “But…we spent the entire evening together and nothing bad happened.” He replied, his voice suddenly growing more confident in his own words. “Besides, just because you have horns doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Ico’s froze and his anger faded immediately. “You….you want me to be your friend?”

“Sure, why not?” Tomi said, flashing him a sincere grin.

Ico’s chest grew heavy. Was he serious? But why would he even want to be friends with a horned child? “You’re not joking about this, are you?”

Tomi snorted. “C’mon, do you really think I’d care about them? Didn’t I just tell you who my best friend was?”

Ico couldn’t help it. He started laughing along with the boy, but he could also feel his eyes mist over and looked away quickly so the other won’t see it. There was so much he wanted to say at the moment, but he didn’t know how to voice them out.

The peace that settled between them didn’t last long though when Yorda suddenly let a startled yelp. The two boys looked over to see Trico crouching in front of the girl who backed away from him fearfully.

“Yorda, no!” Ico exclaimed. The two boy quickly sprinted towards them as fast as possible. Ico stood protectively in front of the girl, shielding her from the beast and glaring at him. “Stay away from her!”

“Trico, what are you doing?” Tomi asked frantically as he stood in front of the beast, hoping for a clue on why he was behaving this way. Trico wouldn’t hurt anybody for no reason and the girl behind him wasn’t doing anything that would provoke his anger. Trico barked and directed his attention to Yorda again, making an expecting noise.

Raising an eyebrow at this, Tomi looked between the girl and the beast for a moment until it finally dawned him. “He wants her to pet him!”

“What!?” Ico looked at him, confused and baffled at the same time. Trico made another noise and moved his head closer to the girl.

“Here,” Tomi held his hand out to Yorda. The girl glanced at his hand and then at Ico unsure of what to do before taking it. The moment their hands touched Tomi felt something like energy surge from his hand and through his body. It wasn’t unpleasant though. The feeling it left was warm and almost soothing somehow.

He stared at the girl in in front of him in wonder before suddenly remembering where he was and quickly led her hand to Trico’s face.

He could feel her tense up, but he kept a firm hold on her hand and placed it on Trico’s muzzle gently. He instantly noticed how Trico stiffened for a moment from her touch. So it wasn’t just him who felt that.

Deciding to think about it later, Tomi quickly began rubbing the side of his large friend’s face while smiling encouragingly at her. “C’mon, you try now!”

Yorda watched him curiously for a while and then began rubbing her hand against Trico’s muzzle cautiously, receiving an appreciating noise from the beast. Tomi giggled and moved over to pet him by his ear causing Trico to mewl softly.

Yorda seemed intrigued and carefully reached down to rub below his chin. The beast’s purring redoubled in sound at this. Slowly, a small smile graced Yorda’s lips and she reached out her other hand to continue petting him.

-------

Once it has gotten late, the children felt exhausted and decided to rest for the night. It took several minutes for Tomi before he managed to convince them to sleep against Trico since sleeping on the ground wasn’t exactly comfortable. Ico left Yorda with Tomi and then walked away.

“Hey, aren’t you going to sleep with us?” Tomi asked confused.

Ico shook his head. “No, someone has to keep watch in case something happens. You guys can go ahead and sleep.”

“Are you sure?”

Ico nodded and sat in front of the fire, keeping the branch close to his side. The forest was quiet and he could almost hear the sound of the river nearby. After a few minutes, he heard shallow breathing and he looked over to see the two had fallen asleep.

The only ones remained awake were he and Trico. The beast would glance at him every now and then for some reason which made Ico uneasy. It wasn’t that he was sure that the beast would change his mind and attack them all of a sudden.

It’s just that something bad always happens every time Ico let his guard down back in the castle and he didn’t want to put Yorda in danger because of his own mistakes again.

He tried to ignore the beast’s presence and focus on his surroundings instead in case there was danger nearby, but that was easier said than done when he felt his eye lids grow heavier with each passing minute. The fatigue from his journey and today’s events was catching up to him.

“No!” Ico shook his head and pinched his cheek to stop himself from falling asleep. No, he can’t. He had to stay awake!

But soon it became hard for him to keep his eyes open and the boy found him unconsciously curling up and lying on the grass.

Unaware of everything around him, the boy suddenly felt something lift him up and then he was enveloped in something soft and warm. His sore muscles relaxed and tension slowly seeped from his body. It wasn’t long until Ico found himself falling into deep sleep.

Trico meanwhile had watched the boy as he struggle to stay awake near the fire until finally he gave in and curled up on the grass. The beast slowly leaned his head towards him and bit a piece of the boy’s shirt, carrying him and placing him with the other two.

Trico wrapped his tail around the three children and rested his head on his forepaws. Fire shone in his eyes for a moment before he closed them and drifted off as well.

Chapter Text

The three children and the beast were sleeping soundly. The fire had already gone out and there was nothing, but the sound of wind blowing through the trees.

Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping woke Trico from his sleep. The beast’s eyes searched the dark, trying to see where it came from. His big ears then caught another sound. Footsteps.

Something was near and it was approaching them.

Trico’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a dark silhouette between the trees. His weariness grew when he sensed that the creature was not alone and he let out a loud growl, startling the children awake.

“T-Trico, what’s wrong?” Tomi asked, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes. However, he instantly realized what was going on when he heard a low growl coming from between the trees. Soon the figures stepped out of the shadow and the boy saw them for what they were. Grey wolves.

Trico growled again at the wolves, his eyes flashing a fierce violet. While they did seemed to be startled by the beast’s size and appearances, they refused to flee, their eyes locked onto the three children with him. They kept their distance for now though.

Jumping straight into action, Ico sprinted to where the fire was and picked up the thick branch, clutching it tightly in his hands. “Back off!” he shouted, swinging his improvised weapon around, but that didn’t seem to be enough to scare them away as the wolves stepped closer to the boy, gazing hungrily at him.

Gulping, Ico hurriedly joined the others and stayed close to Tomi and Yorda.  

Just then, the children cried out when the first wolf pounced at them. Without hesitation, Trico quickly knocked him away with his paw, sending it tumbling across the clearing. This seemed to enrage the rest of the pack as they closed in on the four and one by one they began lunging at them.

Ico swiftly smacked one with the branch, trying to put as much force as possible in his blows. This was different from fighting the shadowy wraiths at the castle. His main concern back then was protecting Yorda since they didn’t have any interest in taking him. They only saw him as an obstacle and nothing more.

But this was a different case. These wolves actually saw him as a prey. He can feel fear and panic filling his heart as they bared their fangs at him. He tried to keep his attention divided between the wolves and his companions.

Tomi meanwhile took out his mirror shield, using the weapon to smack away a wolf when it charged towards them. He tried frantically to think of a way out of this, but he was having a hard time focusing on anything other than fighting off the incoming predators.

He glanced back to check on his friends and gasped. “Look out!” he exclaimed and pulled Yorda out of the way just in time as a wolf tried to attack her from behind. Ico saw this and didn’t think twice about smashing the branch against its muzzle and sending it reeling back in pain.

Trico cried out suddenly when a wolf grabbed onto his hind leg and sunk its teeth into it. The beast tried shaking it off, but the wolf refused to let go.

“Trico!” Tomi exclaimed and hurried to his friend’s aid. He aimed his mirror and flashed the light into the wolf’s face, blinding it and causing it to fall down. Trico snarled and smacked it away.

“There is too many of them!” Ico muttered as he took Yorda’s hand and backed away next to Tomi.

Biting his lip, Tomi looked down at his shield and for a moment he considered using Trico’s lightning to fight them off, but decided that was too extreme and thought of another option.

“Ico, take Yorda and go to Trico. We’re going to escape on him!” Tomi said.

Ico looked at him aghast. “What!? But-”

“Hurry!” Tomi exclaimed. Deciding to trust the boy, Ico quickly took Yorda and hurried towards the beast.

Wasting no time, Tomi began his plan. He held the shield in his hand and shined the beam in front of the wolves who were startled by the strange light, but the boy knew it won’t distract them for long once they realized it was harmless. Come on, come on.

Soon enough, Tomi heard the sound of energy charging before a bright sphere of lightning flew past him and blasted the area in front of him. The force of the blast knocked the wolves away while scaring the nearby ones giving Tomi enough time to run back to his friends. “Trico, sit down!” he exclaimed and the beast complied. “Climb up now!”

After doing this countless times before, the boy managed to get on the beast’s back with ease. The same can’t be said for his two other friends. Ico hesitantly grabbed onto the beast’s feathers and began climbing up.

He then leaned over and reached out for the princess. “Yorda, come on!” he called out. Yorda took his hand and let him pull her up with him. Ico sat behind Tomi while Yorda held tightly onto his back.

“Trico, run!” Tomi exclaimed. Trico gave off one final roar before dashing through the trees.

Tomi held on tightly as the beast ran through the dark forest. He could hear the growls far behind them and dared to glance back to see the wolves were chasing after them. He yelped when Trico jumped over a fallen tree and continued sprinting down the forest path.

“Where are we heading?” Ico asked over the noise.

“I don’t know. We have to lose them somehow!” Tomi called back as he, like the rest of them, tried to keep himself from falling off.

Trico took a left turn and headed straight into some trees. Tomi screwed his eyes shut as he felt branches hitting them from every direction. They soon burst out from the tree, leaves scattering in the air around them.

The boy opened his eyes to see they had reached the end of the road. There was a huge chasm separating them from the other side.

“Tell him to stop!” Ico said.

“No, we’re going to jump. Hold on tight!” Tomi replied determinately.

“What!? Are you crazy?” Ico exclaimed.

“Please just trust me!” Tomi muttered before staring up ahead. “Trico, jump!”

Trico chuffed and ran as fast as he could before leaping off the ledge. The three children screamed as they flew over the chasm and landed on the other side roughly.

Panting, Tomi glanced back to see the wolves had stopped and were howling in their spot. The boy sighed in relief, glad they were safe now, but flinched when an angry voice yelled from behind him.

“What were you thinking? We could have fallen down and died back there!” Ico huffed, scowling at him.

“But I knew Trico can do that jump. We’ve done something like this many times before,” Tomi stated.

“Yes, but we didn’t. Have you even done it while someone else was riding with you?” When his question was met with silence, Ico sighed. “Look, I know you were trying to help, but Yorda and I could have fallen off back there.”

Tomi lowered his head guiltily. “I’m sorry,”

Ico ran a head through his hair. “It’s alright. At least we got away.”

Trico was looking around, not know where to go next. The trees were very tall in this part of the forest and even though he can see in the dark, the children won’t be able to. He glanced back at Tomi and made an unsure noise.

“What do we do now?” Tomi asked.

“We might as well keep going. Staying in one place is probably not the safest thing to do now.” Ico answered.

Tomi nodded and pointed ahead. “Trico, go!”

With that, the three children and beast headed deeper into the dark forest.

----------

For many years, Yorda had always been curious about what it’s like to live in the outside world. She spent her entire life wondering what lay beyond those stone walls, but she never believed she would find out because of her role in the castle.

And then one day, that boy with horns came and freed her from her cage.

He had looked so confused and yet determined to escape the castle. She never really understood his reasons for bringing her along or why he tried so hard to protect her and take her with him to freedom, but she was grateful nonetheless.

Now they were travelling with the other boy and his beast. She had been frightened when she saw the huge creature for the first time. She never imagined animals like this existed outside of the castle and had expected him to be like the terrifying monsters her mother used to tell her about, but he had proven to them that he meant no harm.

“Akai su ko,” Ico said breaking the silence and snapping her from her thoughts.

She raised an eyebrow as she tried to pick up on what they were saying, but their words were lost on her. Sighing, she glanced around, taking in the sight of the huge trees surrounding them.

Just then, she noticed a flash of blue at the corner of her eye and looked over to see it was a butterfly. It quietly fluttered right by them and she seemed to be the only who noticed it.

Curious, Yorda reached out for the butterfly, but it quickly moved away from her hand.

“Yorda?” the girl stiffened and turned to meet Ico’s confused gaze.

“Look,” she said and pointed to the butterfly. Now the two boys seemed to notice it too and watched it fly past them. Even Trico stopped to see it head over some bushes.

The beast was about to move again, but stopped again when another butterfly flew by and went to the same direction the first one took.

Confused, the beast began following it. The boy in white didn’t try to stop him as he seemed to be curious about it too just like the rest of them.

Yorda could feel something in the air that tugged at her senses, but didn’t know what it was. The feeling somehow grew stronger the further they went in that direction. Trico made it past more bushes and stopped when he came across a strange sight.

There were several blue butterflies fluttering around something on the road, their bright wings almost shining an ethereal light.

The boy in white gasped suddenly as if he realized something and quickly climbed down the beast. He walked over to where the butterflies were circling to see something sticking out of a ground. He quickly knelt down and began digging.

Yorda didn’t know why, but she felt the need to go inspect it as well. She carefully looked down to the ground and swallowed back her fear as she began climbing down the beast just like she saw the boy did. She tried to think of it like climbing down the ladders in the castle.

“Y-Yorda, digu!” Ico exclaimed, probably telling her to be careful. She gave him a reassuring look before hopping down to the ground and making her way to the other boy to see what he was digging up.

“Ah-ha!” the boy exclaimed and pulled something out of the ground. It looked like a dusty old barrel and it seemed that it’s what the butterflies were drawn to as one landed on top of it. “Trico, kumi!” he said with a huge grin.

The beast’s eyes flashed yellow and began bouncing in his spot in joy while Ico cried out as he tried to not get tossed off the beast’s back.

Yorda’s attention returned to the barrel. She reached out and placed her hand on the barrel, feeling peculiar energy pulsing from within it.

Strange.

Yorda’s gaze then turned to the boy holding the barrel who stared back at her in confusion. She felt a similar kind of energy coming from him. She could feel that this boy was different from Ico. While she felt something eerie and mysterious coming from Ico due to his horns, this boy here was filled with so much energy, so much life.

The princess found herself wishing she could ask the boy to get some answers, but she knew that won’t be possible.

The two barely had the chance to react as Trico impatiently snatched the barrel from the boy’s hands and munched on it.

“Trico!” the boy in white scolded though he had a smile on his face.

“Boy, what is your name?” Yorda asked. She knew the boy was probably trying to introduce himself to her by the river, but she couldn’t understand anything he was saying.

The boy gave her a puzzled look and asked something in his language.

“I’m Yorda,” she said. She placed a hand on her chest and repeated. “Yorda,”

She then pointed at him with a questioning look.

It took the boy a moment until understanding lit in his eyes and he smiled. “Tomi,”

“To…mi,” Yorda tried saying the name out loud and he nodded. She smiled at him, glad that she finally learned the name of her new companion.

The two then looked up to see the butterflies flying away now that the barrel was gone. The boy looked down at the hole as if he was wondering how it gotten here in the first place.

He eventually gave up on finding an answer and motioned for her to follow him back to Trico.

--------

It was about a half hour later that they made it out of the forest where they reached a cliff and the sun was peeking on the horizon. Tomi sighed in relief at having escaped the forest and the wolves and then turned to his friends.

“Alright, where’s the way?”

Ico blinked. “To where?”

“To you your village, of course!” Tomi said, rolling his eyes playfully. “Trico can take us there right now if you want,”

“Oh,” Ico’s face suddenly became downcast and had a conflicted look in his eyes.

Tomi frowned in concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I….I’m not sure if I should go back,”

“What do you mean?” he asked confused. After being gone so long from his village, Tomi thought Ico would be thrilled to head back home like him.

Ico sighed. “I told you the reason I was sent to that castle is because everyone is afraid of my curse. Imagine what will happen if went back to them. They will be terrified!” he explained dejectedly.

“Then….then come to my village!” Tomi offered, surprising the boy. "At least until you find somewhere else to go."

“B-But what will happen when they see these on my head? They’ll be scared of me too!” Ico stammered, gesturing to the stomps on his head.

“I can vouch for you. We’ll show them that they don’t have a reason to be afraid.” Tomi replied.

“I….I don’t know.” Ico bit his lip, unsure of what to do.

Well, what choice did he have? He couldn’t just live in the forest for the rest of his life nor did he even know the way back to his village to begin with. This could be his only chance to find a place to live in without having people fearing and hating him.

He finally sighed. “Alright we’ll go with you, but you have to promise me that you won’t tell them anything I told you about my curse or the castle,”

Tomi grinned. “Don’t worry, I promise! Now hold on tight!”

Ico felt nervous at the thought of flying through the air, but nodded anyway and made sure Yorda was holding on to him.

Tomi reached out and rubbed the top of Trico’s head. “Are you ready, Trico?”

The large beast barked in response and began flapping his wings.

“Let’s go!”

Without hesitation, Trico ran towards the cliff and jumped off ledge.

Ico screwed his eyes shut and heard Yorda yelp as the air rushed past them. For a while there was nothing but the sound of wind blowing and wings flapping.

“C’mon, open your eyes!”

Ico slowly opened them to see Tomi grinning at him from his spot. He looked around for a moment in puzzlement and then gasped when he looked down and saw they weren’t falling down or even on the ground anymore.

They continued ascending higher as Trico flapped his wings. The boy watched in awe as the forest below them got further and further by the second. The huge cliff they had jumped off was now a tiny speck in the distance.

“Isn’t it great?” Tomi laughed.

“Yeah,” Ico answered breathlessly, a smile stretching across his face as they flew past some birds. This felt like something out of a dream. He glanced back to see Yorda gazing down below in silent awe. When she met his gaze, she smiled back at him.

Trico chuffed lightly over the laughter of the children before diving through the clouds.

Chapter Text

Ico grunted as he shifted in his sleep, burying his face into the warmth surrounding him. A smile spread across his face as he relaxed into the smooth, soft pillow and heard a low….bark?

The boy’s eyes fluttered open as he gazed down at the feathery thing he was lying on. His eyes they wandered upward where he came face to face with a beast’s muzzle.

Ico cried out and scrambled back from the creature in fright. Trico titled his large head to the side in confusion while Yorda, who had been sitting next to the beast, looked at him inquiringly.

It took the boy a moment to calm down and remember their encounter with the mysterious boy and his beast.

“Sorry,” He muttered as he sat up and dusted himself though he wondered how he ended up sleeping against the beast in the first place.

He then looked around and noticed the other boy was missing. “Hey, where is Tomi?” he asked, but then realized that neither of the two could answer him.

Trico then lowered his head in front of Yorda and made a demanding noise. The princess hesitantly reached her pale hand forward and began rubbing above his eye. The beast let out a pleased sound as she continued petting him.

Ico sighed. Those two were getting along surprisingly well. Scratching his head, he looked over to see the fire they made yesterday had died out and a faint stream of smoke was the only thing left of it.

Ico suddenly heard Trico bark and he looked over to see Tomi coming their way, carrying something in his hands.

“Morning,” Tomi grunted. When he got close enough, he dropped everything he was carrying on the grass in front of them with an exhausted sigh. The pile consisted of some fruit, nuts and mushrooms.

Ico blinked in confusion. “What is all of this?”

“I’m trying to find food for Trico. There has to be something here that he could eat.” Tomi explained as he picked up an apple. “Here, Trico.”

The beast sniffed the apple held out to him before catching it when Tomi tossed it into the air. Trico’s eyes flashed briefly before returning to normal.

Tomi hummed and picked up a brown mushroom, feeding it to him the same way. However, Trico’s eyes immediately flashed violent and he shook his head frantically as it would help him get rid of the taste in his mouth.

“I guess that’s a no for mushrooms.” Ico muttered.

Tomi refused to give up and grabbed up some berries from the ground. “What about these?” he said, but Trico turned his face away, not wanting to go through with this anymore.

Tomi sighed in defeat and tossed a berry into his mouth. “Okay, that’s enough trying for now.”

“At least you know he’s fine with apples,” Ico stated.

Tomi nodded and then held out some of the fruit he collected to the other boy. “Have these.”

“Um…thanks,” Ico muttered awkwardly. He then walked back to Yorda and held one of the apples out for her. “Here, Yorda.”

The princess took it and nodded gratefully. Ico smiled as he took a bite from his as the four of them sat quietly in the clearing for a while.

Suddenly, Trico’s ears perked up and his head whipped to the left, gazing at something beyond the trees.

“What is it, Trico?” Tomi asked in concern. Instead of responding the beast quickly sat up and began walking away. “Trico!”

“Where is he going!?” Ico muttered.

“I don’t know!” Tomi exclaimed and ran after the beast. “Tricooooo!”

“Ugh,” Ico groaned and took Yorda’s hand before hurrying after the two.

Trico meanwhile continued walking through the trees and sniffing the air occasionally. He made his way through some trees and then paused as he finally found the source of the sound he heard. He thrusted his head through some branches and found himself staring face to face with a human carrying a large sack.

The man stared the beast in stunned silence for a moment before screaming at the top of his lungs and dropping his sack, sprinting down the other path just as the three children arrived.

“Hey, wait! Come back!” Tomi shouted, but the man was already gone. The boy huffed and turned to the beast. “Trico, you shouldn’t have scared him away like that,” he scolded and Trico’s ears fell back a little.

“Who was that man anyway?” Tomi asked.

“I think he was a travelling merchant of some kind,” Ico said as he looked over the heavy-looking sack.

Tomi came over to see what’s in inside it as well. One item in particular caught his attention and he picked it up. It seemed to be a hat made of straw. He smiled mischievously and put it on his head. He then turned to his two friends and posed in front of them. “How do I look?”

“Ridiculous,” Ico said, covering his mouth and struggling not to laugh.

Tomi rolled his eyes and took off the hat. He gazed at it for a moment and then had an idea. “Here, Ico. I think it suits you better,”

“H-Hey!” Ico stuttered as Tomi placed it on his head. He touched the brim of the hat and frowned, unsure.

“Besides, now with this on you don’t have to worry about people seeing your….you know,” Tomi stated, gesturing to the side of his head.

Ico blinked, having never thought of that. He quickly shook his head. “Thanks, but I can’t have this. It belongs to that man who just ran away.”

“We can borrow it,” Tomi suggested.

Ico crossed his arms and gave him a deadpan look. “You mean like how you ‘borrowed’ your shield?”

Tomi blushed and looked away.

Ico knew he was in no place to judge considering he had his own fair share of taking things that weren’t his back in the queen’s castle. He sighed as he took off the hat, but hesitated in putting it back into the sack. The hat might turn out to be useful for him if he didn’t want people to see what remained of his curse.

Ico searched in his pocket and took out a coin from there. He had found a few of these in one of the chambers of the castle and decided to keep them since they looked different from the ones used in his village.

He walked over and placed it inside the sack. “In case he comes back for his stuff,” he stated and then placed the hat on his head.

“Wait, hold on!” Tomi suddenly muttered. “What was that man doing here?”

Ico frowned. “I told you he was a traveling merchant-”

“No, I mean what would he be doing here in the middle of nowhere? He wouldn’t be all the way out here carrying all of this unless….”

Ico’s eyes widened. “Unless there was a village nearby!"

The three humans and the beast then followed the path they saw the man take for a while until they finally reached the end of the forest and saw a village down a slope. The design of the houses reminded Ico of his own a little.

Ico and Yorda began walking down the slope only to realize Tomi and his beast weren’t following them. “What are you waiting for?” he asked.

“Ico…I can’t stay here. I have to go back to my village,” Tomi answered.

“Oh,” Ico averted his eyes to the ground, realizing what this meant.

Tomi smiled at them. “Well, it was nice meeting you two.”

“Tomi….I…” Ico didn’t know what to say. The first friend he had made beside Yorda who never judged him for his curse was now leaving. They might not meet again for all he knew. “Yeah, it was,” he murmured wistfully.

“Nonomori,” Yorda suddenly said to Tomi and even though he knew nothing about her language, he knew what she probably meant and smiled at her.  

Trico’s ears drooped when he finally caught on to what was happening. He lowered his head to Yorda and whined. The girl smiled sadly and began petting him one last time.

To everyone’s surprise, the beast then turned to Ico and chuffed. Ico blinked and then rubbed the beast muzzle gently. “Make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble, okay Trico?”

“Wait, what!?” Tomi huffed and Ico laughed.

Then it was finally time. Tomi began climbing up and sat on Trico’s back. He then glanced back down at the two and hesitated. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Ico didn’t know what to tell him. With his lack of knowledge about that village he couldn’t be certain. He could only hope that the stories about the horned people hadn’t reached this place in case someone found out about the scups hidden underneath his hat.

Not to mention, Yorda’s almost elfin appearances and ghostly pale skin will make her stand out like a sore thumb. Still, he smiled at him. “We’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” he said and then frowned, scratching his head. “Will you two ever come back?”

“Of course!” Tomi said, though he sounded unsure of his own words. “Well, I better be going now.”

“Goodbye,” Ico said, trying not to show how sad he was with this. Tomi just grinned at him reassuringly.

“See you again!” the boy said and then held on to Trico’s feathers. The beast let out a roar and spread his large wings wide. He began running and flapping them before finally taking off into the air.

Ico watched as the boy and the beast ascended to the sky, feeling his heart clutch slightly. He suddenly a warm hand hold his and Ico looked over to see Yorda smiling down at him.

The boy whipped at his eyes and smiled back at her. He then looked up at the sky as the form of the beast grew further and further until disappearing in the distance.

Maybe someday….he’ll get to see them again.