Chapter Text
It hadn’t stopped raining. Couriway stood guard with Nerdi just outside where HBG had settled down for the night. Couri was using his wings as an umbrella for both of them, golden feathers glittering from the moonlight as it twinkled off raindrops. He watched as Nerdi stifled a yawn.
“This fucking sucks.” Nerdi tugged his purple star hoodie even further over his head. “Can we please just go inside? There’s no way anyone is dumb enough to come after us in this weather!”
Couri sighed. “I’ve given you the same answer EVERY TIME. N. O.”
“N. O.” Nerdi clicked his tongue. “Does that stand for, Nerdi needs to go inside?” The blonde let out a yell as Couri slapped him across the face. “OW! What the fuck?”
The avian found himself laughing. “This is so dumb.”
“Yeah!” Nerdi exclaimed, shoving Couri in retribution. “So we should go inside, and SLEEP!”
Couri rolled his eyes. “Okay, you know what? Fine. You can go inside, I’ll stay. Just send someone out to replace you.”
“YES! FREEDOM!” Nerdi whooped as he ran back into camp.
Couri chuckled as he watched his friend duck into a tent. A few moments later, a frazzled Rek came stumbling out. The youngest HBG member took a moment to process what had just happened, glancing back at the tent, before noticing he was standing in the pouring rain and running towards Couri.
“It’s so gross out here!” Rek laughed, wiping his already wet hair out of his face.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad.” Couri chuckled in reply. “I can’t blame Nerdi for not wanting to stand out here.”
Rek nodded, moving closer to Couri as he shivered. The younger brunette looked up at the dark sky. “This looks really bad.” There was a pause as Couri nodded along. “Do you think- No.”
Couri raised an eyebrow, looking over at Rek as he turned his head. “What?”
“It’s nothing.”
A sigh. “No, Parker, it’s obviously not. C’mon, what’s up?” Couri took one of Rek’s hands, gently rubbing the younger’s knuckles with his thumb.
Rek, or Parker (he didn’t mind either), had only joined HBG a few months prior. Even within the short amount of time though, he had quickly wormed his way into everyone’s hearts. He wore his heart on his sleeve, helping wherever and however he could. Though despite his kind and sweet demeanor, it would be wrong to underestimate him.
Couri almost laughed at the memory of himself and Fulham finding a dirtied up Rek with a few good bruises to his name. Turns out some dumbasses in the town they were visiting thought it wise to pick on him. To put it lightly, the police found quite the scene in an alleyway that night.
“Did you see that dam earlier? When we were making our way over here?”
Couri felt his heart sink at the thought. He had a feeling where this was going. “What about it?”
“It just looked really unstable, and I’m nervous it’s going to… well you know, go.”
The younger boy watched as Couri thought to himself for a second before spreading his wings. “Wait here. I’m going to check on it.”
With a single powerful beat of his wings, Couri was launched above the sparse trees and given a clear view of the nearby river and dam. The dam was simple, just being a large rock wall. There were a few holes, albeit small, that let water through so as to not completely overflow the structure. Tonight though, the water level had grown so much that whitewater was spilling over the top. Below the dam, what was once a river was now reduced to a creek. If one were to travel further down it, they would go right through HBG’s camp. Couri sighed. Of course there just had to be a dam in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, no less where they’re camping. Only the King of Worlds could make an excuse to put a dam all the way out here.
The King of Worlds had only come to power a few years ago, and already everyday life felt like hell. Hybrids were outlawed, vibrant cities fell into ruin, and the famous deity, Universe, all but disappeared from the world. It was this event that had brought HBG together. United as one, they set out to find their missing god.
After a few moments, Couri tucked his wings and dove back down, startling Rek with the sudden entrance.
“Yeah, it doesn’t look great. I think we should get everyone to move to higher ground, just for the night.”
Rek nodded, a relieved smile crossing his face. “I’ll go wake everyone up. Maybe you can keep an eye on it?”
Couri shook his wings, watching droplets of water cascade off. “Yeah, that’s smart. Just let me know when everyone’s out and I’ll head over.”
The avian took a few moments to watch Rek as he ran back into camp, through the pouring rain, and into the tent he was sharing with Nerdi. Once he had disappeared, Couri’s wings once more flared open and took him back in the air. He ended up perching atop a young larch tree. It swayed under his weight, but it was the tallest tree Couri could see within a few feet of him, so it would have to suffice.
Rain continued to pour down from the heavens, showing no sign of stopping. Couri could just barely hear the activity coming from the camp as his friends vacated the area. The sun continued to set, making it harder and harder to see the dam. This only put Couri more on edge. What if it broke and he couldn’t see it? What if he couldn’t warn the others in time? What if-?
“Hey Couri!” Rek’s voice jerked Couri out of his swirling thoughts. He craned his neck to look down. Rek’s blue and yellow jacket was the only thing Couri could see in the descending darkness. “You can come down!”
Couri glanced at the darkening silhouette of the dam before gliding down. “Is everyone out?”
“Not everyone, but there’s not many left, so Fein told me to get you.” Couri felt his face flush. Of course he did. Rek had a knowing smile appear on his face at the sight of pink. “Soooo, when are you gonna tell him~?”
Couri groaned, shoving Rek away. “Shut up.”
“Oh come on!” Rek giggled. “It’s not like either of you have been discrete about it! Someone has to make the first move, and I think it should be you.”
Golden feathers were brought across Couri’s face to hide the bright red that painted his face. “Stop talking already.” he muttered as Rek’s giggles turned into uncontrollable laughter. “The more you keep telling me to do it, the longer I’ll tell myself NOT to do it.”
Rek took in a breath to continue laughing, only for it to hitch. He glanced behind himself, in the same direction as the dam.
“Do you hear that?”
Shit. Couri flew back up and immediately tucked his wings to send himself falling. Just as he had feared, the dam had collapsed, and the water was already halfway through it’s journey towards camp. With his heart in his throat, Couri fell to the ground, not acting fast enough to catch himself and landing on his back with a thud.
“Oh my gosh, Couri! What the frick were you-”
Couri jumped to his feet, grabbing Rek by the shoulders. “We need to go NOW!”
“Couri, your wing-”
“JUST GO!” he screamed, shoving Rek in front of him as the two broke out into a run.
Thankfully, the camp was empty, save for one person. That person, unsurprisingly, was Feinberg. It was a bit difficult to see him in the pouring rain, but Couri could recognize his figure anywhere, trident and all.
“Okay, two people,” Couri huffed under his breath. “That’s doable.”
Rek spared a brief look at him. “Are you crazy?”
“I’ve flown with two people before Parker, it’s fine-”
“Your wing is broken, Couri!”
Oh, so that’s why his back was hurting. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I was trying to tell you!”
Oh, this is bad. Fuck, this is BAD. Couri searched for words, eyes wide with panic. “There’s no way we’re outrunning this though!”
“What’s happening?” Fein was suddenly next to them, scaring the hell out of the other two. “Did the dam break?”
Couri nodded. “And my wing is fucking broken and-”
“How the fuck did you break your wing?”
“Not important! I’m gonna have to fly with you two regardless, because there’s no way in the Universe’s name that we’re outrunning it.”
Fein’s gaze hardened. “You are not doing that.”
“Well what else do we do, genius?”
Couri watched Fein tighten his grip on his trident. He frowned.
“Fein, you’re the only one who doesn’t get fucking smited touching it.”
“It’s our only option though.”
A lump found itself in Couri's throat. He was just about to answer when the three burst out of the forest, a hill with the rest of HBG before them. At this rate, what was once a dull rumble had become overwhelming, and there was no time for second guessing. It was now or never. Couri felt a warm hand take his. He looked up and met Fein’s ice-blue gaze.
“Do you trust me?”
Couri took in a shaky breath, reaching over and grabbing onto Rek’s hand as well.
“I do.”
It felt weird to be flying while not using wings. There was still the free feeling, but this was more than that. Electrifying was the word, though even that didn’t perfectly encapsulate it. Couri spread out his wings to slowly bring the three of them safely back to earth, lips curved up in a content smile. He never should’ve doubted Feinberg-
There was a sudden coldness in one of his hands.
Couri jerked his head around, catching sight of Rek as he tumbled down, down, down. He let out a shriek of despair just as deafening lightning cut the world in two.
The world felt darker.