Chapter Text
They did it. Finally.
The piss king was dead, or as dead as you can be for an eldritch being. More like incapacitated probably. He was out of their tentacles in any case. Three major things happened due to this.
One - They were all teleported outside of Carcosa, still in the domain, but not trapped. They were back at the crossroads, outside of what would be the first yellow door. They were all together, they were safe.
Two - The knight, Derek, no longer had infinite knowledge. Siron learned that he had been in pain due to this power. While losing such an ability would take away some of his extra power it would also be freeing. He was smart enough on his own to rival the knowledge in most practical cases anyway.
Tears ran down Derek’s face. Avery fussed over him, making sure he was okay. Siron trusted him to take care of his mate. They had gotten together during the journey thanks to Kelp. He supposed it made sense that the bird was the wingman. He always seemed to be able to draw attention to the right thing to help people realize the others' interest in them. The two had been pining over each other since before Siron found them. It was honestly a matter of time.
Three - Cydrch had his memories back.
Siron went to him, carefully waiting for Cydrch to process the new influx of memories. He’d be there if he suddenly stumbled, otherwise he just stood there comfortably in the same space. The other two walked off after a few minutes. Maybe they wanted time alone, or to explore the world together. He wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was his mate was back to himself, and he would put all of his attention on that.
Physically Cydrch still looked like the Yellow King’s prince. He still had a harpy appearance and regalia similar to that of the Yellow King. It was him though. Siron could feel he was back to normal.
Cydrch stumbled, suddenly coming back to reality. Siron caught him, and stabilized him. His hand lingered on the other’s tallon for a moment, reassuring him he wasn’t alone.
“Cydrch? Ya with me now?” Siron asked.
“Siron?” The prince smiled. “It’s you.” He pulled Siron into a hug. He reciprocated, wrapping his good arm around the prince and using what he had left of his other arm. It had been forever since they held each other. Even if it wasn’t the best circumstances he’d take this any day.
“It’s me Cydrch, ‘m right ‘ere,” he reassured. "C' mon lets get ya out of ‘ere. I’d like to hold yer hand if ya don’t mind. Not in some kinda ya can’t walk kinda way, but I missed ya.”
Cydrch smiled as he backed away from the hug, and kept one of his talons on Siron’s hand. Siron smiled in return, starting the journey back to the surface. They started talking while they made their way back to their home. Everyone would be happy with the prince’s return. They would probably baby him again though. That was something he knew Cydrch would not appreciate. He was able to take care of himself. Though it is a bit fair for people to be prince going missing again. It would be surprising if Siron himself didn’t end up having a few nightmares on the topic. But he knew the threat was neutralized. The piss king was gone and would not be returning.
The first challenge was brought to them in the form of water logged tunnels. It would be fine. Siron had gotten Kelp through the same obstacle before. He had a few water breathing potions left. He originally bought them for Kelp, he hoped it would be enough for the both of them. When it was Kelp, he could strap him to his bag to help him along, giving him the same boost in water Siron had. That would be a bit harder with Cydrch.
He turned to see his mate look at the water concerned.
“While I was under the King’s rule he made me afraid of the water. I assume it was to make it so I would not go searching for you or Father.” He sighs. “I am fine with water now for the most part, it just feels… weird? This body was made to stay away from the water. I don’t know if I can keep up like this.” The price frowned.
“I have water breathing potions ya and Kelp can use. If ya need a break just let me know. We don’t need to go all of the way through either. The tunnel we need to take is only ‘bout halfway through the tunnel,” Siron explained. He could tell Cydrch was nervous about going under water again. As much as it would likely be a common memory for him, he had spent years trapped with the king. He couldn’t blame him for being nervous.
They weren’t in a rush, no one in the village or even Cthulhu himself knew they had finished the Yellow King. The two of them could stay there as long as needed for Cydrch to be comfortable. He could also imagine he’d want to get as far away from the Yellow King’s domain as possible.
“We can stay here as long as ya need, we arr not expected back at any particular time.”
“Yeah, maybe a couple of minutes, thanks.”
They sat along the side of the water filled pit. Siron could tell there was something bothering Cydrch. Something more than just there being water. While he wasn’t sure exactly what the king did to his mate during his time stuck in his domain, he knew he did not like it. Siron had a feeling that when he learnt the details he’d wish the king were still alive so that he could kill him all over again. Likely multiple times.
As much as he wanted to get out of here and continue on with their lives as domestic doofuses, he’d wait as long as Cydrch needed. A lot had happened. While it was over the course of years for himself, his mate was hit with it all at once. As much as Cydrch was fundamentally the same person, there were things that bastard king messed with that still affected him.
As Siron thought about all the King in Yellow had done to his happy-go-lucky mate he seethed in anger. Cydrch could take care of himself, and Siron would never imply less. So many people had looked down on him, giving him undue pity all for not being able to see. It wasn’t even true pity. It was always to get favors from Cthulhu. Meanwhile they acted like Cydrch could not walk on his own. There were krakens with leg injuries and they weren’t even given pity like this. Siron didn’t want to treat Cydrch like he was pitying him. He wasn’t. He knew his strength more than anyone. At the same time he didn’t want to leave Cydrch’s side. The idea, after the years apart in fear of what could be happening to his mate, hurt him. Siron had never been particularly clingy. He preferred to show his affection through actions. Gods the things he’d do for him when they were back home.
Siren pulled a book and quill out of his bag. He opened it to the next clear page. He’d been using it to mark off areas he’d already checked while searching for Cydrch. Now that he was found he could use it for another purpose. He started jotting down ideas.
Gifts for Cydrch
- New clothes for Cydrch, get current ones tailored for comfortable fit
- Drying station so feathers don’t need to be wet
- Comfy perch spots
“Whatcha writing?” asked Cydrch.
“Just some ideas,” he replied, looking over at his mate lovingly.
“Like what?”
“Can’t tell ya, it’s a surprise.”
The prince pouted. He turned his attention to Kelp, whispering something to him. Kelp flew over and tried to land on Siron’s shoulders. He closed the book before he could see what was inside.
Kelp squawked indignantly and flapped back over to rest on Cydrch’s shoulder.
“Nope, no tryin’ to get a sneak peak with Kelp’s help,” Siren snickered.
“Fine,” Cydrch smiled mischievously. “I suppose I’ll find out eventually. You wouldn’t hide a surprise from me if it wasn’t for me, you sap.”
Siron chucked at his antics. “Yer gonna see what I have in mind eventually. We’ll have to go home before then. Arr ya ready?”
“Yeah. Can I have one of those water breathing potions? I might also need help swimming” He frowns. “I’m not like a duck harpy, my talons won’t be any help for diving.” He flexed his claws in disgust.
Siron gently took Cydrch’s hands in his own. He kissed the claws at the end of them, “No matter how ya have changed physically, yer still yerself. Yer still my mate. Yer still Cydrch. And I would do anything it takes to make sure yer comfortable.” He takes a breath.”If I had ta carry ya all the way there, I would. If I had ta craft fins for ya, I would. No ask is too much.”
Siron made a mental note to gather the materials when they got to the surface to make some kind of fins for Cydrch. He could get something more permanent when they got back to the village. Maybe some different clothes too. The village probably wouldn’t be all too kind to someone wearing the enemy's clothing. Especially after all of the krakens lost in the battles with this particular enemy.
Cydrch sniffed and made a motion to ask for a hug. Siron immediately complied. He lifted his arm so that Cydrch could get comfortable before wrapping it around him strongly. He could feel his mate tremble and softly sob in his hold. The closest thing to crying since the king took his eyes and with them tear ducts. The sobs slowed slowly. It seemed it had been a while since he was able to cry. Really cry. The kind didn’t seem like the person to allow Siron wondered just how long. Had it been all the years he was missing?
When it had slowed to the occasional sniff and the trembles had mostly departed Siron let up his hold just a little. Cydrch was still held to him in a hug, though now it was more gentle and not clinging to each other for dear life.
“Arr ya feeling any better? Interested in telling me about what’s going on in yer beautiful mind?” He nudged the cloth away from Cydrch’s forehead before giving it a kiss.
“Mmm mm mmmm,” he mumbled against Siron’s chest, shaking his head.
“Okay. Ya don’t need to if ya don’t wanna. It’s okay.” They stay like that for another while. He checked the clock he had deep in the bag. It said it was about to be night time. Although he could handle the mobs easily. The darkness had never been a problem either. He supposed it was an adaptation to deal with dark waters. It still took longer to travel at night. Maybe it would be a good idea to take a nap anyway. Siron always floated to sleep, the water would be good for that.
That used to be how they slept. They had an indoor pond of sorts in their house that they would float in together. They held hands like otters.
With Cydrch’s current aversion to water that probably wouldn’t be an option. How had his mate been sleeping all this time? Sure, even as a kraken, he didn’t need the water to sleep. The idea of being away from water for so long was not a comfortable thought.
“How ‘bout we take a sleeping break. It’s almost night time,” he suggested.
Cydrch nodded.
“How do ya want to sleep? I’m gessin’ not in the water. How do ya normally sleep now?”
He shifted himself so he wouldn’t be mumbled anymore. “I make a nest out of moss n’ stuff I find around.”
“Hmm. Okay. I think there was moss a few rooms back. The one with that broken down village.I can go grab some or we could just go back and sleep there,” Siron offered.
“But don’t you sleep in the water?” he questioned. “Like we used to?”
“Yeah. A night or two wouldn’t hurt. I can manage for ya.” He smiled warmly at Cydrch who returned it softly. “I can carry ya if ya want me to. Ya always get tired after cryin’.”
Cydrch laughed a little and planted his head into Siron’s shoulder and nodded. He mumbled something that sounded something like, “You’re too nice to me.” He hugged him closer and rested his chin on his head.
“It’s not possible to be too nice to ya. Not when it's genuine.”
Carefully Siron picked up Cydrch and balanced him on one side. Cydrch held on tightly, helping him till he gathered all of the other things they were carrying. Once he had everything he used his arm to support Cydrch almost fully, angling his body to hold him the rest of the way. It was easier now to hold him. Not out of malnutrition. At least the king had kept him fed. It was the hollowness of bones now. Krakens had relatively dense bones, keeping them at the bottom of the water. Harpys however took after birds and had hollow bones. It allowed them to perch on things easier. Flying was a bit harder, you needed a lot of strength to get yourself off the ground.
He relaxed in Siron’s hold as they made their way back two rooms. They reached the room with moss about 15 minutes later. He had to climb down the pillar they used to get up carefully. Without the use of his hand, it was difficult, but he managed. He plopped down the sleepy harpy in the moss by one of the houses. Making sure to keep an eye out for anyone wandering around. This place seems to have been abandoned a long time ago so there shouldn’t be anyone.
Siron searches through the dilapidated building. It probably wouldn’t be safe to sleep inside given its state of disrepair. He gathered some woolen carpets and sheets off the bed that didn't look too bad. It wouldn’t matter if there was dirt on them if they planned to sleep in the dirt anyway. There didn’t seem to be any non-perishable food left over. Not that he’d trust many things given how long this place looked abandoned.
After thoroughly searching the house he returned to the prince. He seemed to be half awake at best. Cydrch was curled up on his side. He had one arm under him acting as a pillow and the other tucked up to his chin. It was nice seeing him falling asleep knowing he was safe with Siron around. His heart swelled at the idea. Siron made his way quietly over to the sleeping prince. He padded his sides with the carpets and put a wadded up blanket under his head, replacing the arm so it wouldn’t get pins and needles.
Siron laid down next to the harpy. He stuck another rolled up blanket under where his head would lay and used the last one to drape over them both. Kelp perched on the branch of a nearby tree. There had been a leftover nest ripe for the taking of some other bird. It seemed cozy enough.
Siron scanned his surroundings one last time. He made sure no one was around and no monsters had appeared in any shadowed areas and then let himself get comfortable. The only other movement besides them could be Avery and Derek. They had scurried off before Cydrch and himself though, so they would probably be much further through the tunnels. Unless they took debtors, he supposed. They had been at the entrance of the water tunnels for a while though. If they were still making their way down he figured they would have run into each other by now.
He settled himself against the changed form of his lover. It was strange, them being together. He’d gotten so used to mourning his loss. He never stopped looking, but the still nights alone had become the norm over the years. Their closeness now only served to make him nostalgic and a bit homesick.
It took him a while in thoughts to fall asleep. They weren’t particularly bad ones. In fact, the majority of them were him thinking about the future. A while in he pulled out his book and quill again.
He flipped through until he got to the most recent page.
Gifts for Cydrch
- New clothes for Cydrch, get current ones tailored for comfortable fit
- Drying station so feathers don’t need to be wet
- Comfy perch spots
It read. To this he added a few more ideas.
- Mossy nest area in bedroom. Place around or by pool
- Transmutation magic for dysphoria
- More dry spots in house, make house easy to traverse without getting wet or having to fly
- Harpy diet, find what I need to get special. New taste buds? Allergies? Not an aquatic harpy so fish are probably not in diet.
He put the book away when he got tired. He supposed he should go get himself to sleep. It would probably be a long day of traveling tomorrow. They seemed safe enough here to not need someone on watch. No monsters seemed to be appearing and no one else but Derek and Avery would be traveling though. He trusted them enough to either watch over them or pass by if they came though. They fought off the king together after all. No point in harming an ally.
Siron tucked himself up to Cydrch until his lover was curling into his side. The sleeping prince woke up enough to cuddle in closer, laying his head on Siron’s chest. He smiled and ran his fingers through the feathers on Cydrch’s head. He carefully made sure to not knock any uncomfortably out of place. He found a couple of feathers that were loose and he helped get them out of the way. Siron was about to fall asleep, lulled by the consistent motion and the sound of Cydrch’s breathing, when he heard a comfortable little chirp. His heart soared. Was he trying to kill him? Siron wouldn't be ended heroically in some battle, he was going to be ended by his mate being too cute.
It didn’t take long after that for him to fall asleep, his mind solely focused on the man laying on his chest. He drifted off to sleep. Cydrch’s breathing, and occasional chirping, being the last thing on his mind.