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“Are you really going to do it?” Rag asked as they walked out to the empty field just outside of the village.
Icarus peered over his shoulder, still seeing all of their friends at the edge of the village, watching them, “Of course! I’d be stupid not to.”
“But why? Isn’t it dangerous? I mean you don’t know what could be up there, and-...and what if you upset the gods by getting too close? Not to mention what kind of creatures could be up there….I read-”
Icarus stopped, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and turning him towards him, “ Relax, Rag.”
Rag flushed, “S-sorry, it’s just…you’ve never gone that high before and I-I’m worried that you might not come down and…” , tears started to form in his eyes.
Icarus laughed lightly, pulling him in for an embrace.
“Can you keep a secret?” He teasingly whispered in his ear.
Rag froze, “Yeah o-of course-”
“I’m not actually going to touch the sun. I’m just going to go past the clouds, hang out a bit, and come back down.”
Rag pulled away looking at him, “But isn’t that cheating?”
Icarus gently ruffled his hair, “S’not cheating unless you’re caught, right? And well,” He leaned in, “How exactly could they find out?” He grinned, lifting his hand off Rag’s head.
Rag stood there for a moment in silence.
As Icarus untucked his wings, he felt a sudden pull on his hand.
Rag’s hand grabbed his, prompting Icarus to turn.
“Just, be careful… please. ” He looked at Icarus with desperation.
Icarus was quiet with surprise at his seriousness, quickly recovering with a response.
“I’ll be back in no time, trust me!” He smiled, gripping Rag’s hand in both his hands.
Rag’s expression changed from that sullen look to flustered in no time.
“Ok.” He said, staring at their hands.
Icarus’s wings fluttered in excitement, and he let go of Rag’s hand.
“I’ll bring you back a bird feather if I run into one, if you want!”
Rag looked down, “Ok.”
Icarus dusted his wingtip under his friends nose. Something he often did whenever he noticed Rag was upset.
Rag couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, “Why do you always do that?”
“I'll tell you when I come back!", Icarus shouted, winking as he did so.
And with that he made a running start, using his wings to lift him off the ground like they did so many times before.
He could barely hear the whoops and cheers from his friends, but just the slight sound made him grin from ear to ear.
Watching as his friend soared into the sky, Rag couldn’t help but feel a pit of dread in his stomach. No matter how much he tried to comfort himself, he could only feel that pit growing and growing.
“I’ll tell ya later!”
What if later never happens? What if the next time I see him, he's falling, plummeting to his-
No, he told me he would come back, and that’s what I’m going to believe.
Quietly, he sat down, his legs crossed, and started making pictures in the dirt.
…………
When Icarus reached past the clouds, he couldn’t help but gasp. The view was beautiful.
The sun shone on the clouds, covering them with a golden light. A small flock of birds passed, giving Icarus a curious glance. He gazed at them, mouth agape. Their colors were vibrantly warm, reflecting the warmth of the sun in every feather. He tagged along with them, and while they seemed a bit wary of his presence, they didn't usher away from him in the slightest. More than anything, they were probably curious about what such a strange creature was doing up here.
The sun made the orange in his feathers glow, contrasting beautifully with the dark blue feathers that resided closer to his shoulders. The warm wind hitting his face, gently playing with his hair as he flew. Even while he flew all he could think was one thing.
Rag would love to see this. It's better than anything he's ever shown me from his books. I can only imagine the paintings he'd make from this.
He continued on for a while, a bout of disappointment washing over him, as he'd hoped that maybe he'd make a friend or two while up here.
By the time he descended, the sun was beginning to disappear from the clearing he'd been flying through.
He scanned the ground, searching for any of his friends.
Oh, their parents probably called them in by now. He thought, noticing the lack of any moving specks on the ground. His heart sank a little, knowing that he'd be landing without a friend to greet him, but it wasn't enough to ruin his mood.
He started looking for a landing spot when he noticed a small light brown speck, and a huge grin spread across his face. His heart raced in excitement, and he began to dive headfirst towards his best friend. His wings tucked closer to his body, curving forward to make for a speedy descent.
“INCOMING!!!!!” Icarus laughed, startling his friend to look up. The sight of his friend's face made him reach towards him.
“Icarus!” His face lit up, smiling as he stood up. His eyes scanned Icarus for any harm, sighing with relief as he found his best friend to be unharmed.
Of course he's out here waiting for me, Icarus thought. That's why he was his best friend after all. It was never rare for Rag to be there for him, no matter what.
He couldn’t help but giggle as Rag's face turned from that of happiness to horror as Icarus dove closer and closer to him. It seemed he finally realized the speed at which Icarus was approaching.
“ICARUS!!” He screamed, freezing in terror.
Icarus stretched his wings out to slow his sudden descent once he was only a few meters away from Rag’s face. Unfortunately, he was not yet a master of landing, so even though his descent slowed he still managed to tumble into his friend, the two of them rolling a few feet in a tangle of limbs and wings.
When gravity finally decided to let them stop, Icarus jumped up. He let out his hand to help Rag up.
Rag, flustered as ever, took his hand and stood up, dusting off his tunic. There was still a bunch of dirt on his face, mainly covering the birthmark that ran across his face. Icarus pointed to it “You’ve still got some dirt on your face,”
Rag’s eyes widened, and he attempted to use the inside of his tunic, but didn’t seem to quite get it. Snickering, Icarus gently used his hand to wipe his face.
He wrapped his arm around Rag’s neck, pulling his head down so he could mess with his hair. He paused, realizing his hands were empty.
"Ah!" he groaned. Rag struggled, but managed to pry himself from Icarus’s grip.
He looked at him, startled, "What is it? What's wrong-"
"I forgot to grab a feather from one of those birds. They were so pretty to you would have loved it." Icarus smacked his forehead, mad at himself for forgetting.
"It's okay. I'm sure it's probably a bird I've seen in one of your mom's books-"
"Ugh, no. Rag, the view was so amazing, I wish I could have brought you with me, it was so much more beautiful than any book. I would have loved to see the paintings you would make of it." He said, his shoulders slumped.
"You could always describe it to me. It won't be the same, but I could probably visualize it." Rag suggested.
Icarus shrugged, "I guess..."
They started to walk back to Icarus's house, and he couldn't help but smile as he felt Rag's hand slip into his once the night took over.
A sudden thought came to mind, one that filled him with guilt.
"Hey Rag,", Icarus started, "Don't tell my dad I flew past the clouds today...please?"
Rag stopped, an uneasy feeling coming over him. "Icarus..."
"Please. I don't want him worrying about nothing." His wings shook, fluttering before settling down again.
"I...okay, I won't." Rag said quietly.
"Thank you." Icarus murmured, squeezing his hand gently.
Rag felt incredibly uneasy at this request. Still...he trusted his best friend.