Chapter Text
Virgil pulled his hood up over his head as he walked down the empty street. He buried his hands in his pockets and looked down at the pavement, trying his best to not attract any attention. He had left his earphones at home - stupid, stupid, stupid - and in turn had been searching for an excuse to not interact with any humans for the entire day.
That wasn't much of a problem, though. There was hardly anybody out on the streets to ruin his life. Not because it wasn't busy - it was actually extremely busy, way more people out that unusual - but because the majority of people living in the city flew everywhere. It was easier, Virgil realised. Less effort than walking. Cheaper than public transport. Definitely cheaper than driving themselves. And when everybody - or mostly everybody, at least - had a perfectly good pair of wings on their back, it was just the norm.
But Virgil choose to walk anyway. He enjoyed walking, for one. It was peaceful. Calming. For him, at least. And, on that particular day, Virgil's wing would just not cooperate with him.
It wasn't as if Virgil couldn't fly. He was actually a pretty good flyer. The best in his class, he was constantly being told. That was probably more the fear of falling and dying, or the fear of failing the class, than actual skill, but it was still something. He was a careful flyer. And fast. Safe and efficient. So, if he really wanted to, Virgil could fly anywhere, no problem.
Except, sometimes his wings would just... refuse to work. If Virgil was feeling particularly upset, or anxious, or... generally overwhelmed, his wings would just, kind of, close in on themselves. It was almost as if they would grow smaller. And then they wouldn't move, and Virgil would just be stuck with a useless clump of feathers on his back until he dealt with the problem at hand and they decided to be nice again.
Today was one of those days.
Virgil wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, either. Or, at least, he had an idea, several ideas, but... he didn't know. Which was possibly even worse than knowing and having to actually deal with the problem. He had no way to fix it, no way to get his wings to come back.
Maybe his wings were just being stubborn. He must have done something to offend them. He wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case.
"Hey," a voice called from behind him.
He froze. Was... Was the person speaking to him? There was nobody else around, so that would make sense, but...
"Hello?" That was the voice again. "Are you okay?" Definitely speaking to him.
His mind was screaming at him to continue walking, to walk faster, to run if he needed to. His wings seemed to be threatening to completely fall off. He didn't recognise the voice, meaning this was a stranger, and he hated speaking to strangers. God, why had he forgotten his earphones on that day, of all days?
Still, he turned around. His wings calmed down, loosening up a little underneath the hoodie. Maybe they had tensed up before at the thought of Virgil not talking to this person? Or maybe not. Virgil never understood what his wings were trying to tell him.
"Hi," the person greeted, for the third time. They were shorter than Virgil, and younger, he was pretty sure. Probably in their teenage years - Virgil had just recently turned twenty. He figured they were around seventeen or eighteen. Their hair had been dyed a mixture of blue and pink, which Virgil thought looked pretty cool. And they didn't look to threatening, at least.
But one huge detail that Virgil noticed was that they didn't have any wings.
Of course, they could have been hidden like Virgil's, but considering what the person was wearing... He didn't think that was it.
Virgil forced out a smile. "Do I know you?"
They shook their head. "No. I've just, uh..." They drifted off, staring at Virgil, as if they had only just realised the situation they were in. "I'm Talyn, by the way," they introduced, holding out their hand to shake.
Virgil didn't take it. "Virgil."
Talyn nodded, and brought their arm back down to their side. "Anyway, Virgil, I just... I've seen you walking around and stuff, and couldn't help but wonder about your wings? 'Cause, like, as you can see..."
He nodded. "Yeah. No wings. I got it."
They smiled. "So, uh, is it the same for you?"
Virgil shook his head. "No. I, uh, they do exist. I just prefer walking." Not a lie, but not the full truth. He didn't want to tell this stranger about the problem with his wings.
"Oh." Talyn suddenly looked disappointed. "Okay. That's... cool."
"Yeah, um..." Virgil looked to the side. "I should probably go. I'm meant to be meeting up with someone." Again, not a lie. He was supposed to be meeting up with someone later that day. Not for a few hours, though. He just really wanted to get out of there.
"That's fine, I don't want to intrude on your life or anything," Talyn said, smiling. "It was nice to meet you, at least."
Virgil smiled back. A genuine smile, this time. "Y-you too. I, uh, might see you around some time."
They nodded. "Yup! See ya, Virgil!" They gave him a small wave, before turning around and walking in the opposite direction.
Virgil let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. That was over, at least. He still had a few hours of free time before meeting up with his... with his friend? Did he count as a friend? They had never actually spoken in real life, so... probably not. They didn't even know each other. They had just emailed a few times, and figured it would be best to meet up before they moved in together in a few weeks time.
God, he would be moving out in a few weeks time! And he would be moving in with someone who was basically a complete stranger. Like, he knew this person was safe, and all. His friend, Logan, was friends with this person. That was how Virgil found out about him. Virgil had needed a place to stay, and Logan's friend had been looking for someone to share his apartment. Logan had recommended Virgil, and... he supposed that was happening now.
Logan had said a few times that this person had struggled to find someone willing to share an apartment with him. Virgil hadn't been told any details on this, though. And from talking to him via email, he honestly didn't seem like a bad guy. In Virgil's opinion, anyone would be lucky to have this guy in their life. He was just so... positive, all the time. Everything he had said had managed to bring a smile to Virgil's face, which was hard to do.
Then again, Virgil had yet to meet this guy in real life. Maybe he was a completely different person than he was behind the screen. And Virgil couldn't help but feel nervous over meeting him.
Maybe that was why his wings refused to worked. From the anxiety over meeting basically a complete stranger that he would be living with for the foreseeable future. Great.
But he didn't have to be thinking about that right now. That wouldn't stop him from thinking, of course, but he knew that he needed to do something to take his mind off the entire situation. Music usually helped. It was just Virgil's luck that he didn't have his earphones with him that day. He didn't feel like walking the long way home, just to have to walk back into the city centre ready for the meetup.
The two had decided upon meeting in a small coffee shop near the park, almost in the exact middle of the city. They figured that meeting in a public place would be best. And coffee was always tempting. But that also meant that Virgil had to walk from the outskirts of the city all the way to the centre. Since he couldn't fly on that particular day (again, just his luck), he had had to take the hour-long walk there.
And of course he had gotten anxious about being late, and arrived in the city way to early. For the past hour or so, he had just been wandering around the streets, waiting.
Virgil felt a buzz in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, and glanced at the message.
13:23 Logan: Are you still meeting up with Patton today?
It took him a moment to figure out who he was talking about. Patton... the guy he would be living with. That was his name. Virgil quickly typed out a response.
13:23 Virgil: yup. at three.
He put his phone away and continued walking, before feeling another buzz. Sighing, he pulled it back out.
13:24 Logan: Are you in the city?
13:24 Virgil: yeah. by the church.
13:25 Logan: Would you be able to meet up with me for an hour or so? I have a problem with my wings.
Virgil hesitated. He... did need an distraction. And hanging with Logan was the best distraction there could be. Logan was his best friend. His... only friend, really. And Logan was always asking for help with his wings - Virgil knew exactly what he needed. It wouldn't take more than fifteen minutes. Ten minutes to walk there. Five minutes introduction. Half an hour hanging out after fixing the wings. Then it would almost be time to go to Patton. That would help ease his anxiety, at least.
13:27 Virgil: sure. i'll be there in ten.
13:27 Logan: It's only a two minute flight, Virgil.
13:27 Virgil: bad day.
Logan would know what that meant.
13:28 Logan: Ah. Understood. See you later.
13:28 Virgil: see ya.
No questions asked. Thank God. Although, he did presume that Logan would ask a million questions once he arrived. Virgil wasn't planning on answering any of them.
But he didn't have to worry about that right now. He had to keep telling himself to not worry about it. He began the journey to Logan's apartment.