Chapter Text
This wasn't how this day was supposed to go. Icarus was just visiting a new seaside, and now they are standing face to face with...something? Someone. A kid, to be specific, a kid who just mugged them, ran off, and when Icarus gave chase, the pristine seaside path turned to powdered snow in an instant.
Great! Cool. What's even better than a sticky-fingered kid? A child with powers who is now holding a dagger toward Icarus as the ground beneath the kid's feet seemed to change and shift in a panic, changing into different ores, wood, and rocks as she stepped into an alleyway. It honestly felt familiar and definitely not in a good way, thinking back to the times before where Quixis, Midas, would cause him trouble.
They knew now it wasn't intended to be harmful, but it sure felt like it and often was at the time. This can't have anything to do with Quixis, though, can it? No, sherbert is a good quixis, and this kid isn't one of Icarus' versions; they couldn't be. Fuck.
"Kid..hey, it's.. It's fine. Look, if you need the money, you can have it... But... those powers of yours--" Icarus wouldn't be able to finish their question before the shifting ground surged forward, the changing blocks solidifying into a beam, tripping upward, hitting Icarus in the chest, sending him flying back into one of the building's walls.
"Just--just leave me alone!" The kid's voice wavered as she took off running again, the ground changing as she ran. Icarus heard a few curses spewed, which shocked them only a little, as he gathered themself up again, watching the kid run back into the town, likely looking to hide out.
Icarus would groan a bit, rubbing his chest as they tried to follow the trail the little girl had left behind, until it finally stopped at a manhole, which originally was iron, and now copper.
Icarus debated letting the kid go, but this was more than just a stolen coin purse; this was potentially something dangerous, especially in the hands of a kid. So they jumped, a splashing sound resonating off the waterway's walls as their feet made contact with a puddle.
They made their way through the tunnels, eventually finding the next manhole that was now a birch trapdoor instead. As they climbed up, they squinted a bit, noticing that they were at the edge of the seaside, now at the side of a dirt road, and across the field of grass, they luckily saw her running off. Good, they hadn't lost her yet!
With a rocket, they lifted off into the air, spreading their wings, darting forward in the air and landing in front of the kid, the gust of wind knocking her backwards.
Icarus would raise their hands as if they were trying to calm a wild animal, and to be honest, the kid sure looked like one. Her eyes flared wildly as she held her little knife up toward him, her hands trembling as the ground started to change again.
"I'm not going to hurt you... it's ok, I...I just want to talk. I think I can help you?" They said not really believe it, considering they could barely help themselves when this happened to them.
The girl glared at him with green eyes that seemed to almost glow in the sun, "I don't need your help. Just go away!"
"Look, I know we kind of got on the wrong foot, you stealing from me and me chasing you, ou but if were being honest id say we both had pretty valid reactions.s..They shook their head. "But that's not what I'm here for. .think I understand what you're going through. Must those powers be really hard to manage, right? I mean, I doubt to intended to make a trail for me to follow?" They tried giving her a smile of reassurance, which was met with a wavering glare.
"How would you even know, you're. you're just some guy..." She bit back, shooting a frustrated look downward at the changing ground as if she were trying to will it to stop as she got up, still holding her knife towards them in her free hand.
"Well..." they rubbed the back of their neck. Let's just say I've had experience with this kind of thing myself. It sucked, but some of my friends helped me out. Who knows, maybe they might be able to figure this out, if you want?" They kneeled down, outstretching a hand to the girl. "My name is Icarus..Icarus Morningstar... what's your name?"
The girl would hesitate, searching Icarus' eyes for any note of malice. When she seemingly found none, she lowered her knife and slowly walked over to him, the ground shifting into something different with each step, before she finally took their hand gently.y
"Renata..just Renata..."A Icarus sighed in relief before noticing that the ground beneath Renata stopped shifting as she calmed down.
"There we are! See! Already helping." They would grin a bit, trying to lighten the mood some more, which would be met with a raised eyebrow and skeptical look.
“Don't give yourself that much credit. It stops eventually." Renata would shrug, crossing her arms and cocking her hip a bit sassily, kind of reminding Icarus of Vaeh when shed argue with her little siblings, except this kid was a bit older, probably even in double digits.
"Yeah, alright, fair enough...by the way, where are your parent?" Icarus would ask, and immediately regret it as Renata's eyes would narrow a bit as she kicked Icarus in the shin.
"Dead. What about you, nosy ass bird?" She snarked up at them, in which Icarus was far too shocked by the blatant swearword from this child to bother covering up their own snark.
"First of all! Ow?! And second, aren't you like-- ten? You shouldn't swear! And third," they would sigh, "sorry about that... my mom's alive, but my dad's...well, also kind of dead." They'd shake their head, realizing how off track they were getting.
"Ok, listen..how about we head back to my house, we get you some food, and I'll try getting my friend to come and help us figure out these powers of yours?" Renata would shift a bit, rubbing the back of her arm with her hand, "yeah...that would be ok..oh, and I'm not giving your money back. "
***
The ride home was long, since the kid refused to let Icarus carry them while they flew, so they were forced to use the railway system. While they rode the carts in silence, Icarus would have messaged Ocie, letting her know about the changes the kid had made, and that they would explain it later, but not to worry, and they would be back to fix it soon. When they finally arrived back at the grove, they walked a bit further to where Icarus made their home once he returned from being quixis.
The comforting lights shone through the windows, and the sounds of birds could be heard from inside. As they stepped inside, Icarus’ flock chirped happily. Vanda is hopping off her perch, flying down, landing on one of the pegs they had set up by the door, looking over Renata curiously.
“Hey, guys! This is Renata, Renata, uh, these are my birds, this one is Vanda.” They watched as the little girl would cautiously raise a hand, almost asking the bird permission to pet her, before Vanda leaned in, nudging Renata's hand.
She let out a quiet laugh as Vanda then hopped onto her outstretched arm, which Renata held closer to her to hold the blue bird gently. Icarus smiled in relief. Good, she was at least getting comfortable.
“I'll set you up out here by the fireplace. I've got a lot of pillows and blankets, and the couch is pretty comfortable, so we can make it into a bed until I get something else situated for you. Does that sound ok?” Icarus said as he paced around his home, grabbing as many comfortable things as they could, stacking them by the fireplace.
Renata would be petting Vanda gently as she watched before snorting a laugh, catching Ic’s attention, “Are you making me a nest to sleep in…like a bird?”
Icarus would open and shut his mouth, “I– no– well kind of? No! It's more like a– um pillow fort, yeah! This has nothing to do with me being a bird!”
“Pillow forts typically have walls, don't they?” shed laugh quietly as Icarus would look down at the very nest-looking setup they made.
“Ok, yeah, maybe it's a little nest-shaped, but this is not a bird thing!” They'd wave their hand a bit, dismissing this very damning conversation, “You can get comfortable, I'll get you something to eat, how do you feel about stew?”
After a quiet meal together, Icarus would leave Renata in the care of Vanda and the others of the flock as he retreated to their own room, where they would message Rae.
Icarus: Hey, sorry for messaging so late. Who am I kidding? You're probably still up, knowing your sleep schedule. Anyway, can you come by in the morning? I may have a situation that I need help with.
Rae: Yeah, of course! Is everything ok? Are you sure you don't want me to come over now?\
Should they have rae come over now? No, Renata's probably already sleeping, don't want to wake her after the day she's had.
Icarus: Yeah! Everything's…fine? And no, I don't think that'd be a good idea considering…Well, it's a bit hard to explain, and I'm kinda kicking myself for calling her a situation, but I…found a kid?
Rae: …A WHAT?!