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It wasn't uncommon for the survivors to be blessed with a freebie round.
It seems even the killers had a breaking point. Sometimes Jason would grow weary and prefer to reflect instead of hunting down others. Sometimes John Doe, no doubt exhausted by the corruption, would cease his onslaught to rest. Even Coolkid, who seemed to have boundless energy, would sometimes take a nap in the middle of the round, curling up like a cat. It would almost be cute if it weren't for his horrifying stature and fleshy appearance.
One survivor that never seemed to follow this pattern was 1x1x1x1. The ghoulish figures' resolution was seemingly endless, even when faced with blow after blow from the sentinels.
That's why Elliot was more than a little weary when the swordsman hadn't reared his head during the round so far. Not even Shedletsky, who 1x seemingly had a particular grudge against, had been bothered by them. It could be a trick, that fact weighed heavy on the minds of everyone. Making it seem like a free round just to pry the survivors from their hiding places out into the open, making it easier for 1x to perform one of his dastardly corrupted attacks.
Elliot peered over his shoulder as the grass crunched beneath his feet. He had been sent by the others to check if 1x was truly granting them a rare mercy, or if she was lying in wait for her prey. Elliot took a deep breath, he was fast enough to outrun him if it came down to the latter. However, so far there was no sign of 1x anywhere. No telltale rattle, no cut up grass or marks against trees, not even one of his stumbling minions.
This gave Elliot more confidence as he quickened his pace, hoping to be done with his little investigation quickly. Hell, if this really was a freebie round, maybe he could finally see if he and Guest could move some of the furniture from the old mansion back to their cabins.
His thoughts were then interrupted by a strange noise. Elliot paused mid step, snapping his head towards the noise. It was coming from a hidden corner of one of the large rocky canyons. He remembers hiding there during a lonely but terrifying standoff between him and Mr. Doe. He shuddered at the memory of being skewered by a corrupted spike.
Carefully, Elliot stepped closer to the noise. It had to be 1x, everyone else was back near the gravestones, and there wasn't any wildlife here to make such a racket. But it wasn't the kind of noise he had grown accustomed to after who knows how many rounds with the incarnate of hate. It almost sounded like something soft being grinded against the rough wall of rock. Every now and then a whimper and small whine of frustration being let out. Elliot finally turned the corner to see what could possibly reduce 1x to this.
What he didn't expect to see was 1x1x1x1, the manifestation of hatred, a corruption who was part snake, with… wings? Elliot's mouth gaped as he saw the figure desperately scratching his wings against the wall of the canyon, small broken feathers and specks of blood already decorating the surface. How didn’t he notice those before? It’s not like Elliot hadn't seen a robloxian with wings before, many customers at his fathers restaurant had them. 1x must have been hiding them underneath his cloak, but why?
1x let out another frustrated growl not noticing the intruder yet, she dropped her swords to the ground, now focusing all his energy on scratching his wings. Elliot's gaze wandered to the wings, taking in the sight of them. To put it lightly they looked… awful. Elliot wouldn't call himself a wing expert or anything, but he had seen enough of them to know what a healthy, well taken care of wing looked like. 1x’s wings were pitch dark, but Elliot could still see the dirt and grime in each feathery crevice, broken feathers poking through here and there, and many pin feathers that were desperate for release from their keratin hold.
No wonder 1x wasn't seen all round, if just their sight looked bad Elliot couldn't imagine how 1x must be feeling. But… Now what? Should he go back and tell the others about the freebie? What would he even say, that 1x had secret wings under his cloak and he was in too much pain from them to attack?
But instead, 1x was about to make that decision for Elliot.
“ You.”
Elliot let out a small yelp, seeing 1x was now staring directly at him, his red glowing eyes bearing into his very soul. His tail rattled with annoyance, while his wings twitched from the aftershocks of the scratching. 1x had already reached for her swords as she hunched into a protective stance.
“ Come to gawk at me, have you?” He hissed, tongue flicking in and out.
Elliot gulped, “ Oh uh- no, not at all, I was just uhm asked to see if you were still active by the others!”
1x huffed in annoyance, pointing his sword at Elliot, “ Well, clearly you've got your answer then, tell your little friends that I'm feeling merciful today, and to leave me be.”
Elliot looked 1x up and down, seemingly undeterred by the sword, “ Are you… okay?”
For the first time in his life, Elliot saw 1x’s face morph into confusion, his stance drooping just slightly, “ What? Why are you asking that?”
“ Well, your wings look like they've seen better days!”
1x’s face flushed with embarrassment as he attempted to fold his wings out of sight once more, but the stinging from the scratching only caused him to wince and hiss pain.
Elliot let out a nervous chuckle, “ Seriously when was the last time you preened those things? I’m sure you've got plenty of time at… wherever you killers go between rounds to do that.”
1x’s mouth dropped into a frown, looking toward the ground as he shuffled his feet, “ I… don't know how.”
“ What?”
1x’s head snapped up as he hissed, “ I don't know HOW okay?? And no one else in that bloody shack knows either!”
For a second Elliot swore he could see tears pricking at the edge of 1x’s eyes. His previous confusion and wonder was now replaced by… pity. Just how long had 1x gone without any proper wing care? And who was his failure of a parent who didn't even bother teaching a winged robloxian how to preen their own feathers.
1x had now melted into the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest, still idly scratching his wings. Elliot shot a sympathetic gaze toward the corruption, stepping closer to them.
“ Yknow, I can help.”
1x looked up, “ With what?”
“ Preening, I mean I'm no expert in it but I know the basics, my sister used to keep a couple birds and she and I would take care of them sometimes!”
1x considered Elliot's words before shifting his gaze to the ground, “ Will it… hurt?”
Elliot's gaze softened, “ I can’t promise it won't, but I'll try my best to make it as painless as I can, you do have quite a few broken feathers yaknow?”
1x said nothing, but his sitting position relaxed as he turned and patted the ground near him to allow Elliot to come closer. Elliot smiled and took his place behind 1x, contentment bubbled in his chest. When was the last time he had fulfilled a request like this? Aside from the rest of the survivors who asked for the occasional pizza, Elliot missed his old work. Being able to make even the most irate customer satisfied with his services.
Elliot hummed and palmed 1x1x1x1’s left wing, immediately 1x flinched and scrunched her eyes shut. “ Oh, sorry I shoulda warned you, I'm gonna start with the left wing, okay?” Elliot quickly replied. 1x growled but pushed her wing into Elliot's hand anyway. He began to run his fingers through the feathers, straightening out the crooked feathers and brushing off any dirt and grime he could.
“ It’s a shame the water here's poisonous huh?” Elliot chuckled, “ Some water would make this easier.”
“ I don't care, just get it over with,” 1x hissed.
Elliot let out an amused huff and continued his work, with as many feathers straightened and cleaned as he could, he began to search for dead feathers to pluck out.
“ I’m gonna pull some of your dead feathers out, it might sting a bit but it has to be done,” Elliot warned.
“ Fine, do what you need to do,” 1x huffed back, trying to act dismissive, but his wing betrayed his ruse, trembling in Elliot's grasp.
Elliot carefully pinched one of the feathers and plucked it off quickly, causing 1x to flinch and let out a hiss of pain. Elliot opened his mouth to say something, but 1x cut him off “ Don’t stop, keep going.”
Elliot continued his work. Pluck, pluck, pluck. Meanwhile 1x brought her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. His claws dug into the flesh of his arms to try and ignore the stinging of feathers being yanked away. Soon enough, it was over, all that was left was to free the pin feathers and the left wing could be finished.
Elliot hummed a tune to himself, this was always his favorite part of preening, he really enjoyed the satisfaction. He rubbed his fingers against a ready pin feather, the keratin crumbling away to the ground. 1x’s posture had relaxed, and his face left the sanctuary of his arms. Eyes closed, she focused on the feeling of Elliot's hands through her wings, the gentle melody of his humming, the freeing feeling of his feathers finally being taken care of.
Elliot perked up when he heard a low rumbling reach his ears, the source of it coming from 1x herself. It sounded almost like a car engine with how deep and gravelly it was, but if Elliot didn't know better he’d almost consider it… purring? He smiled and continued working at the feathers, the more he worked the louder 1x’s grumbles and purrs became.
“ Guess I'm doing something right then, huh?”
“ Shut up,” 1x slurred, the preening making his mind foggy, causing the corruption of hatred to relax for the first time in seemingly forever.
Elliot patted down the now much cleaner looking left wing, “ Alright, you can fold that one up now, and I can get started on your right wing!”
1x shot Elliot a confused glance, “ This is taking a lot longer than I expected.” She folded up her wing, sighing in contentment at the lack of feathers poking against each other, and unfolded the remaining wing for Elliot.
Elliot grasped onto the wing and began his routine once more. 1x1x1x1 had now fully submitted, his eyes closed lazily as he grumbled and purred under Elliot's touch. His snake tail thumping happily every now and then. 1x had lost track of time in his trance, and whined in confusion when he felt Elliot's hands finally leave his wings.
“ What are you doing? Keep going.” He grumbled.
“ But I finished?”
1x opened his eyes and blinked a few times, he stood up and stretched his wings out behind him, flapping them a few times for good measure. He hadn't even known preening could be this relaxing. Telamon's preening sessions were always rushed and painful, leaving 1x scared and hiding his wings condition since then.
Her gaze shifted to Elliot, who was now backing away slowly with a nervous expression.
Ah. Of course. This didn't change anything, it shouldn't. But then why was there an aching feeling blooming in his chest?
1x folded up his wings and reached for his swords, “ You should head towards the others once more, they’ll be wondering why you took so long.”
Elliot nodded and turned tail to rush back to the rest.
However, he could have sworn he heard one last call from the corruption. A low rumble not meant for him to have heard
“ Thank you.”