Chapter Text
Flying typically wasn’t a problem. They’d stay out of sight from the main roads and fly around wooded areas. Their wings were good for those close-quarters areas anyway. Small wings like theirs weren’t used for prolonged flight, though Phil did make a habit of flying to the town center and back just for the exercise before goofing off. No matter how much Chayanne complained, it was good for him.
Mid-October meant the air was crisp and clear and perfect for flying albeit much colder, especially at higher altitudes. The first snowfall would come anytime now and either cause minor inconvenience to drive in or bury them indoors for an afternoon. All the kids were anticipating it, watching the weather forecasts with bated breath while their parents had long since made proper preparations: testing generators and making sure they were stocked up on fuel.
As the town center came into sight, Phil knew he was forgetting about something, but it couldn’t have been that important. Tallulah was at Quackity’s playing with Tilín and Chayanne was up here with him flying just ahead of him. The nagging on the back of his head couldn’t have been about his kids so he didn’t worry about it too much.
Phil followed Chayanne as he started his descent, slowing the movement of his wings to slow his momentum. He landed on his feet in a practiced crouch before straightening out. Phil landed on the roof a few feet away from him where he looked up at him with a question.
“Yes?”
“Can we get lunch at Tio Roier’s?”
“Oh, why not.”
Chayanne grinned. He ran across the roof and jumped over the edge as he spread his wings. Phil followed him and stepped off. His wings caught the wind under him, softening his fall. By the time his boots hit the asphalt and he was folding his wings back behind him, Chayanne was already running around the corner to the front door, the back part of his orange cape flying behind him over his folded wings.
Phil shook out his wings a bit upon entering the store, the bell ringing above him. It was toasty inside, the cold melting away from his cheeks. Chayanne was on his tip-toes at the register, peering over the counter at Bobby on a stool on the other side.
“Hey, Phil!” Jaiden came out of the far aisle with an empty cardboard box.
“Hi, Jaiden. You doing all right today?”
“Oh, yeah. Nothing out of the ordinary. I like your ring.”
From the back of the store, there were some other voices; not uncommon, but Phil couldn’t recognize the words. It sounded like a different language and not one he recognized, though admittedly he was familiar with very few.
Phil unzipped his trouser pocket and grabbed the black ring that was always on him, cool to the touch, which wouldn't have been odd with the amount of time he'd just spent outside, but he knew better. He pushed the ring onto his finger and his wings, tail, and all his feathers disappeared.
Chayanne only needed a pointed look from Jaiden before he rushed to pull out his bracelet. He pushed it on around his wrist and the back of his cape fell as his wings and tail feathers vanished, and no sooner had he done so than a child came running out from the far aisle with a drink firmly in hand.
He saw the group of them at the front of the store and abruptly stopped, his boots squeaking on the linoleum floor. He looked up at Phil, though Phil couldn’t see his eyes under his dark curls. He hardly smiled before the boy turned right around and ran back to where he’d come from.
Jaiden laughed. “Intimidating as ever.”
“Any stranger is gonna be intimidating.”
“You keep telling yourself that, Mr. Death Angel.” Jaiden walked past him around to the back of the register as other steps came closer.
Chayanne’s attention was fixed on the corner the other boy had disappeared around. It wasn’t often they got visitors and Chayanne was always interested in any they got.
Phil pulled his son away, guiding him to the counter on the opposite wall where the hot food was. The glass cabinet was stocked with sandwiches wrapped in tinfoil while the warmer beside it held the same steaming canister of today’s soup, which wasn’t soup at all if the sign was anything to go by. Well, chili probably could be considered a soup.
He lifted the lid and steam poured with the spicy scent of everything Roier had cooked up that day (he’d never given up the recipe). He grabbed a cup and spooned some in while Chayanne was nearby at the drinks serving himself some hot chocolate.
“You want some chili, Chayanne?”
He nodded his head fervently, carefully pushing a lid onto his cup before grabbing a second one.
They went back to the register with their treats. Phil took out his wallet as Chayanne carefully set the two cups on the counter while Jaiden rang them up.
He heard talking and glanced up to see the child had returned with his parents, though he stood just behind one of them, holding onto his coat. That parent was unabashedly staring at Phil like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Phil had his ring on. Nothing supernatural would be visible to him, and he was certain he’d never seen him before.
“Hello,” he said with his best smile.
He snapped out of whatever daze he’d entered and smiled nervously. “Hello. Sorry for staring.” He stepped forward, his son sticking close behind him like glue. He held out his hand. “We moved into town today. My name is Forever.”
Philza shook his hand. That’s what he forgot. “Nice to meet you. I’m Philza.”
His partner stepped up then, a tall man with dark hair who looked like he needed to sleep, and shook his hand as well. “My name is Cellbit. This is Richarlyson.” He stepped aside, allowing a view of the little boy hiding behind them.
Phil waved his hand, earning approximately three seconds of eye contact before he stepped back behind his father. Chayanne stood behind him, not so subtly trying to peek around Forever to see Richarlyson. “This is Chayanne.”
Richarlyson peeked out from behind his father, eyeing Chayanne.
Chayanne waved with a practiced smile. “Hi.”
“Hello!” Bobby said from behind the counter, not wanting to be left out.
Richarlyson looked between the two and waved.
Phil picked up his chili and both the hot chocolates and gave Chayanne a small nudge towards the door. “We’ll see you around. Welcome to the town.” Forever thanked him and Phil and Jaiden exchanged a passing glance as he headed out the door with Chayanne just ahead of him.
It was chilly outside, but still warm enough to sit and eat their snack on the wooden steps. Their hot drinks and chili more than made up for the chill in the air.
“Do you think they’re like us?” Chayanne started digging into his chili, his curiosity no match for his favorite chili.
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out eventually.”
That gave him reason to pause and look up at him. “Does this mean we have to walk back home?”
Phil thought on it. They certainly could walk, though it would take significantly longer and they might be late to pick up Tallulah. “If we stay away from the roads we should be fine. We’ll walk a little bit just to make sure.”
Chayanne sighed but didn’t complain. It wasn’t often they had strangers in town but they’d been through this before. “Do you think they’ll stay for long?”
“I don’t know.” That was Chayanne’s least favorite answer, but more often than not it was the answer Phil gave him, honest or not, though he tried to stay as honest as he could with him and Tallulah. He turned to his son. “Don’t pester them.”
Chayanne gave a huff. Having strangers around town was inconvenient, but what was more inconvenient was the kids sticking their noses into their business like they were family friends.
The bell of Roier’s shop rang behind them as the door opened. Phil turned back with a practiced smile for just a glance. Their new neighbors walked past them down the steps, their son clinging tightly to one's arm. He’d forgotten their names already. One of them, the one with the long, blond braid trailing from his hat, turned back to him with a smile.
“It was nice to meet you.”
Phil nodded with a smile. “Nice to meet you as well.”
His son tugged on his arm and that was apparently enough to get the three of them going. They piled into a large car close by and Phil pretended not to notice how much the one man was looking at him.
“Why is he looking at you like that?”
Phil shrugged his shoulders, spooning the last of his chili into his mouth. “Maybe I look like someone he knows. I don’t know.”
“He seems weird.”
Phil laughed. “Is that your official prognosis? That he’s weird?”
Chayanne nodded with a small smile growing over his face. He took after his father too much. All the boy really wanted to do was care for his family. That’s all this town really was, just people caring for each other. It could work that way when there were only a dozen or so residents. It was more a village than an actual town.
After the strangers drove off, he and Chayanne sat for a few minutes while they drank their hot chocolate before they got up to leave. They wouldn’t continue with their usual flight to Chayanne’s dismay, but they’d make it up another time when Phil was more confident that they wouldn’t be spotted by the newcomers.
They went to pick up Tallulah early. Chayanne squeezed past Quackity to run inside when he opened the door. It wasn’t a new tactic but Quackity managed to look peeved every time he succeeded before letting Phil in.
“You’re back early.”
“Well, we met the new neighbors.”
A look of realization came over Quackity. “Oh shit! I forgot that was today!”
Phil laughed, “Yeah, so did I.” At least he wasn’t the only forgetful one.
“How were they?”
“They seemed pretty normal as far as first impressions go. Their son was really shy.”
Quackity nodded. “Yeah, that’s what they said over the phone when I was talking to them about classes. I’ve got a few group activities planned for tomorrow to try to introduce him to everyone.”
“Do you have any idea about where they’re coming from?”
Quackity shook his head. “Fit said he was looking into them, but he hasn’t gotten back to me, yet. You guys cut your flight short because of them, I guess?”
Phil followed Quackity into the kitchen. He could see the oven light on and a pan of something cooking inside. “Yeah, I didn’t feel like risking being seen when we don’t know anything about them.”
“Fair.” Quackity leaned back against the sink. “I guess we’ll have to drive in tomorrow.”
Phil laughed. “Do you still know how to drive?”
“Mother fucker! I drive all the time! You think we fly in the rain?”
“Bruh, you’re literally a duck.”
“My clothes aren’t water-proof, Philza!” Phil just laughed and so did Quackity. “You guys want to stay for dinner?”
“Why not.”
-
Richarlyson ran straight to the kitchen as soon as Cellbit opened the door, neglecting to take off his boots. Cellbit let him go this once. Once they’d unpacked everything and cleaned he’d start being a little more strict, but for now, well they had other things to prioritize. He could hear Mike and Pac talking with Richarlyson, probably being shown the snacks they’d gotten from the store. It wasn’t much but it’d be good enough for the night.
The kitchen was scattered with boxes, all open and unpacked to varying degrees. Crumpled pieces of newspaper were everywhere, but the cabinets above were open to show off the plates and bowls put away neatly.
“Where’s Felps?”
“Downstairs,” Mike answered. He opened a cabinet under the counter and Richarlyson only needed to see it before he started putting the food he’d carried inside away. “He wanted to unpack his stuff.”
Cellbit carefully made his way through boxes to the fridge to unload his bags. The town store had quite a bit and not a whole lot at the same time. The woman there, Jaiden, had said that there was a grocery store about forty minutes out. Everywhere was so far out. He was more and more glad he worked from home. It would be rough in the beginning but once they settled in they would be just fine.
“Meet any of the neighbors, yet?” he asked.
“What neighbors?” Pac asked.
It was only partially a joke. There weren’t that many houses and all the houses that did exist had to include a few acres of land like theirs did, all heavily wooded.
“We met some at the store,” Forever said. He handed the few perishable items from his bags to Cellbit before moving to put the rest away in a cabinet. Cellbit could only imagine how long organizing this all would take with all of them trying to put things away in their own way.
“Yeah, tell them about who we met, Forever.”
“Shut up, man.”
“Who’d you meet?” Mike asked.
Cellbit closed the fridge and folded the paper bags. “We found Brunim’s look alike.”
“What?”
“I can’t have anything,” Forever muttered. He crouched down and busied himself with finishing unpacking one of the boxes Pac and Mike had started.
Pac and Mike stared at Forever in varying degrees of confusion. Richarlyson had apparently decided he didn’t care for the conversation which was fair enough, and left, going to his new room or maybe to find Felps.
“Forever, explain.”
Forever threw his head back dramatically with a moan. “Why? There was a man. He was pretty. Cellbit stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m going to make some horrible irredeemable mistake.”
“Well, you might.”
“Stop treating me like a child.”
“You are a child.”
Mike interjected, “Both of you are children the way you fight.” He focused his gaze on Forever while he unpacked silverware. “Tell us more, Forever. I want to know the gossip.”
“Actually nothing happened. Cellbit’s trying to get under my skin.”
“And succeeding,” Pac remarked.
“Why can’t you guys just leave me and my heart alone?”
“Because it’s so fun to mess with you,” Cellbit joked, but he sobered quickly. “I just want to make sure you’re not going to be weird about this.”
“We just moved in today, Cellbit. What am I possibly going to do? In fact, you’re the one being weird about it.”
Cellbit turned his attention elsewhere. He was right. Today was only their first day and maybe he was pushing, however, he knew how much he’d cared for Brunim. For a while it’d seemed like he’d been someone Forever couldn’t get over, though he had seemed to do so. This Philza guy appearing in the same town they’d decided to move to for its isolation and discreteness didn’t seem to be too lucky. He hoped it wasn’t an omen of more to come. That was the last thing any of them needed, especially Richas.
“Just remember that people can tell when you’re staring at them like they’re prey.”
“I did not stare!”
Cellbit laughed. “You were looking at him like he was the last man on earth.”
“Shut up.”
-
Driving to the school wasn’t odd for this time of year. They’d get their first snowfall soon and besides the occasional flights for exercise, they’d stick to the ground. Their feathers were fine for the rain but not the cold. It did however make the last few flights to and from school special. Tilín wasn’t stoked about having to drive in and frankly, neither was Quackity, but until they knew more they had to be careful. That meant making sure they both had their necklaces on to hide the parts of them that were less than human.
They went into the school building first to drop their things off. Tilín hung his bag on his hook while Quackity unpacked his binders from his own bag at his desk. Tilín pulled a chair up to the whiteboard and climbed onto it, wiping away yesterday’s date with her finger and writing today’s date while Quackity turned on the heat. Tilín waited by the front window until the first vehicle drove into the lot: their signal to go back outside. Today, Ramón was first to arrive, and he and Tilín were off playing together by the time Quackity was off the porch.
There was comfort in the routine. The other kids would start to show up soon and by eight-thirty Quackity would call them all inside to start school.
Fit came around the front of his truck, a hat snug around his head. “How you doing, Quackity?”
Quackity shrugged his shoulders, missing the feeling of his wings behind him. “Same as usual. You?”
“Fine, fine.” He pushed his hands deep into his pockets. “Come with any news?”
“As a matter of fact, I do! Found some info on our new friends.”
Quackity stole a glance at the kids. They were on the swings, playing a tentative game of kicking at each other each time they swung past one another. He focused his attention back on Fit. “Want to share?”
“It’s colorful, to say the least.” He rubbed his hands together a bit. “Three of them spent some time in a high-security prison and you’ll never guess the details.”
Quackity rolled his eyes. “Come on, it can’t be that crazy.”
“Depends on how you look at it. Does a cannibalistic murder spree sound crazy?”
He had to admit that he hadn’t been expecting that, but it could be explained. Or at least he rather hoped they could explain it. “Vamps gone rogue? Or ghouls?”
Fit shrugged his shoulders with a playful smile. “Don’t know. I didn’t dig that deep. Not sure about a ghoul, though. They usually scavenge from cemeteries.”
“There’s always a first.”
“You sure are right,” he said like he wanted it to be a first. His hunting days were mostly behind him, but Quackity always got the sense that he missed it. “He works as a P.I. now. The other two are engineers of varying types.”
“What does that mean?”
“Look them up yourself, Quackity. They have their own company called Tazercraft.”
Quackity braced in the chilling wind that blew past them. “That sounds familiar.”
“They were in the news a few years back,” Fit offered. “Made some ground-breaking technology for energy use.”
“Got a couple of geniuses in town, huh?”
“I just hope they don’t attract attention.”
“You and me both.”
Richarlyson and his parents were the last to arrive, though they weren’t late by any means. All the kids took advantage of the time before class started to rough house and play outside. While Quackity had been talking with Jaiden and Phil, a large, dark car drove up and the passenger door opened up to reveal a man with short pink hair with glasses. He opened the back door while his partner exited from the driver’s seat: another man in a blue jacket with black hair. A small kid with curls for days jumped out of the car with a bag on his back. It didn’t take him long to spot Quackity but he stayed by his father’s side like they were glued together. Both the fathers waved with smiles and Quackity returned the greeting, meeting them halfway as they made their way from their vehicle.
“Hi! I’m Quackity. It’s nice to meet you,” he said with a hand held out.
Pink-haired man took his hand first. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mike.”
The other man shook his hand after. “I’m Pac. This is Richarlyson.”
He looked down at their son and crouched down to be on his level. “Hi, Richarlyson. It’s nice to meet you.”
He just nodded in response with a tight grip on his dad’s coat.
“Do you want to meet the other kids?” He watched him look towards the group of kids playing behind him. He could barely make out his eyes under his curls and wondered how the kid saw through them. Maybe he didn’t like eye contact. He slowly nodded his head and Quackity offered his hand. He looked up to Mike, and with a quiet reassurance from him, took Quackity’s hand. He stood and the two of them started walking towards the schoolhouse. He called over a few of the kids and Dapper, Trump, and Bobby ran over. They all looked at Richarlyson curiously while Quackity could feel his grip on his hands tighten. “This is Richarlyson. He’s going to be joining us in class.”
Bobby nodded with a smile like he already knew this much. “I saw you at our store! Who’s that?” They all turned to see the target of Bobby’s curiosity, talking with Jaiden and Philza.
“My dads.”
“You have four dads?!”
“I have five dads.”
“I only have two dads!” Trump answered though he looked as excited as Bobby and Dapper were to meet their new schoolmate.
“I have one dad!” Dapper said, joining in.
“You guys want to show Richarlyson around inside?” Quackity asked, recentering their focus. “He’s going to join your table.”
There were no objections. In fact, they were all in excited agreement as Quackity knew they would be. The three of them raced up the steps of the old wood deck and Quackity led Richarlyson behind them.
Inside it had warmed up a bit, though it was hardly noticed as Dapper and the boys ran across the room to the far table. Richarlyson let go of his hand in favor of joining the others as they showed him the extra chair Quackity had put out that morning. Quackity hardly needed to do anything. They showed him where their bags and boots went, where they sat for group time in their makeshift library, and where all the supplies he’d ever need were stored on the far wall. By the end of their little tour, Richarlyson was smiling and bouncing with energy. They introduced themselves to him which is something Quackity should’ve done himself, but they got around to it eventually.
Richarlyson stopped when he saw their art supplies on a higher shelf, complete with paints and brushes, markers, colored pencils that had seen war, and other things donated by parents. They had mentioned he was an artist. Maybe he’d extend their time for art a little bit today.
-
Quackity hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d described the school. It was one building that could have been mistaken for someone’s house. In fact, Cellbit was sure it had previously been someone’s residence before they had needed a schoolhouse. He wondered how it looked inside, whether all the individual rooms were still there or if the walls had been knocked out. Outside in the yard was a playset outfitted with swings, a slide, and various ways up, currently occupied by kids shouting and screaming while they ran around.
He parked in front of the school house and by the time he had stepped out and closed the door, he looked up to see Richarlyson running at him. He swung his son up into his arms when he met him with a big smile.
“How was your day, Richas?”
“Good!” he proclaimed. “I made a painting for class!”
“Really?” Richarlyson nodded, his smile stretching over his face.
A shorter man with dark hair walked up to them with a smile and an outstretched hand. “Hi, I’m Quackity,” he said in English.
He shook his hand, holding Richas on his hip. “Nice to meet you. I’m Cellbit. We spoke on the phone.”
He nodded. “It’s good to meet you in person. I hope I can meet your other partners soon.”
“Of course. You met Pac and Mike this morning?”
“Yes, we spoke when they dropped Richarlyson off.”
Richas scrambled in Cellbit’s grip; his signal that he’d grown bored of what was happening. Cellbit put him down and watched as he ran back to the other kids. At least they didn’t have to worry about him not making friends.
“The kids were very excited to meet him,” Quackity said, maybe trying to reassure him, but Richarlyson racing back to them was all the assurance he needed.
“You should be able to meet Felps and Forever soon. They’ll drop Richarlyson off or pick him up sometimes, I’m sure.”
“So, five of you, huh? That must be a story.”
Cellbit laughed. “Yeah. Felps is a long-time friend and Pac and Mike and I have history.”
“And Forever?”
“My ex.”
Quackity’s eyes widened in almost mock surprise that he didn’t doubt was real. “Really?”
“It’s a long story. We all stayed together for Richas.”
Quackity smiled. “That’s nice. As long as you’re all happy, I mean.”
Cellbit nodded. “Oh, yes. I don’t think any of us thought living together would ever work but somehow it did.”
“How long have you had Richas?”
“Oh, it’s been a long time. We’re basically all together because of him. We’re just doing everything we can to take care of him and give him the best life we can.”
“And you moved to the middle of the woods to do that?”
Cellbit eyed Quackity. Did he suspect something? Or was he just prodding for gossip? “We all have our reasons. I’m sure you have your reasons for raising your kid out here.” Quackity nodded, though he didn’t seem convinced. “It is nice out here. It’s quiet. I haven’t felt this at peace in a long time.”
Quackity looked like he wanted to laugh. “It can be nice. The community here is the best thing.” He looked directly at him then, like he meant to instill what he said next. “We take care of each other here. We all have families to protect.”
“We all do,” Cellbit agreed. “We all have reasons for the things we do.”
Quackity nodded with a solemn expression like he really did understand what he meant on a fundamental level, like he knew exactly what he was referencing. He didn’t know how he would. He had to give an extra shove to that paranoia to quiet it down. No one knew. It was nigh impossible for anyone outside of his family to know. This was going to be a safe place for Richas. They would make sure it was safe.