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"Alright, I set up the camp, could you grab our stuff from over there Two time?" Shedletsky asked, "Mhm!" Two time answered going to go grab all of their stuff.
This short camping trip had been to relax Two time, it had only been about 3 months since what happened. They had been going to therapy often. They've gotten better thankfully, they still don't know very much about the outside world though. But he's been teaching them, it's like watching a baby bird trying to fly for the first time. Very silly.
This time he was planning on teaching them how to swim, they were camping on a beach after all. Which Two time was fascinated by, they had only ever seen the forest. He also had a little something for them as a surprise later…
"I got our stuff!" Two time appeared behind him, Shedletsky flinched as they appeared out of nowhere dear 2X2 they could walk so quietly- "Ah sorry, did I scare you?" Two time asked.
"Yeah, but it's okay, it's impressive you can be so quiet on your feet even with a few bags of heavy stuff that you could startle a demi-deity!" Shedletsky laughed his wings fluttering.
"Woah, it's so pretty…" Two time said getting distracted stepping onto the beach, the sun was slowly setting and the waves were gentle. And the fairylights hung up on stakes was really nice.
"Look a uhm, redish orange creature!" Two time pointed at a crab half a mile away on the beach. "That's a crab, also how can you see that far away?" Shedletsky asked quite shocked yet curious.
"I'm not sure, I have always had better vision than your average Robloxian…" Two time replied, ugh their back was bothering them, it's been so itchy! They itched their back as the itchy feeling turned into pain instead. "Ack!" Two time yelped from the sudden sharp throbbing pain.
"You okay?" Shedletsky asked worried, "Mhm, there's just this throbbing pain in my back, it started out just itchy but then it became really painful…" Just as Two time said that the pain got sharper it was like something was stabbing their skin from the inside while also breaking their bones, it felt like all of their bones were reconstructing within them. "AUGHK!" Two time let out what sounded like a really painful scream falling onto the ground.
Shit were they having a medical emergency? "I'll call 771!" Shedletsky said trying to stay calm, but Two time tugged on his leg forcing him to stay, "If yoyou dddo they willwil questquestion why you aare with a mortal…!" Two time yelled from the pain again as warm blood started to seep out of their back.
Crack.
Crack.
CRACK.
Sickening cracking noises started and got louder and louder, until with a scream their back burst open, blood splattered everywhere and their wings shot out and up into the air. Wings soaked with blood and blood still gushing out of their back. Shedletsky could see their bones and bloody flesh around the area the wings burst out.
Crap, Two time was an Avian?
It was a horrifying and suprising sight but there was one thing he couldn't deny, Two times raven black blood soaked wings hell almost as big as his wings, quite abnormal for a mortal, were beautiful. They glistened a soft blue-like color in what was left of the sunlight.
But he couldn't focus on that right now, he had to make sure they were okay.
Two time choked down sobs crying from the pain radiating down their back and throughout their wings and body. They hadn't even looked back to see what happened, all they could feel was a light weight on their back that hummed with pain.
"Two time we need to bandage you up now, you're bleeding badly!" Shedletsky said quickly grabbing a towel from his bag and some bandages, he always kept these here just incase. Besides the towel.
Shedletsky sat behind them wiping off some of the blood before applying pressure using the towel, "Is this okay? It may hurt a bit…" Shedletsky said softly. "It's okay." Two time replied looking back at him, "Wings?" Two time was confused.
"You grew your wings, did you not know you were an avian?" Shedletsky started bandaging up Two time. "Ah, I did not. Is it normal for me to have such big wings?" Two times tail twitched.
"Well, no. They are quite big for a mortal, especially one of your size!" Shedletsky teased. "But it's not a concern, just odd." he added.
"Oh." their wings involuntarily fluttered just a bit as Shedletsky touched them trying to wipe off some of the blood.
"Well, it does explain your eyesight, and your eyes have seemed to have changed too more avian-like, and sharp!" Shedletsky remarked looking into Two times piercing dark brown eyes. "I uh, can not move my wings very well, nor feel them." Two time seemed sad.
"I mean you just got new limbs, you won't be able to get the hang of it right away, but with time it should come naturally! Along with physical changes, you may also experience bird-like behaviors."
"Oh, that sounds cool!" Two time exclaimed, Shedletsky had cheered them up.
"Mhm and I'll teach ya' how to preen your feathers and fly, but before you fly, you need to know how to swim!"
"Huh, why?" Two time asked confused.
"Well we'll start by flying over water not too far above though, so you don't get hurt. Don't want ya' drowning!" Shedletsky giggled softly.
"Well, let's go then!" Two time said excitedly.
"Well hold your horses lil bird, first ya' need to fold your wings, but don't do it for too long, you'll get pins and needles!" Shedletsky ran after them.
"How?" Two time stopped running.
"Well you uh just like imagine it and try doing it like your moving your arm? I've never really thought about it, so it's hard to explain sorry!"
"It's okay!" Two time tried doing it, and they did! "This feels odd…" Two time said finally feeling the wings perched upon their back. They visibly winced remembering the pain they went through just a few minutes ago.
"Good job! Your already getting the hang of it!" Shedletsky said proudly as he walked towards the water trying to distract them from what had just happened.
"Alright c'mon get in the water, it's okay, just a bit cold!" he said walking into the water and waiting for Two time to follow.
They slowly got into the water flinching from the cold water slowly ingulfing their body. As they got in the water up to waist height they stopped.
"Alright, so this is like gonna be hard because I can't exactly swim in water that low, could you move out farther towards me?" Shedletsky asked.
"Well, then it will be too high up for me!" Two time was shaking from the cold water.
"C'mon I won't let ya' drown!" He tried convincing them.
"Fine!" They laughed playfully going over to where Shedletsky was, the water soon reached their upper torso. "Ack! It's cold!" Two time squealed and their wings flapped splashing water on Shedletsky.
"Hey, don't splash me with water!!" Shedletsky giggled.
"Well maybe if you had warned me it would be so cold I would not have splashed you with water on accident!" Two time yelled not angrily, more so in a silly tone.
"Fair enough. I don't get overly cold or overly hot like ya' do so I didn't know, sorry lil' bird." Shedletsky said lovingly and laughed lightly splashing them with his wings.
"Well we better start soon, the moon is rising!" Shedletsky looked back at the ocean, the sun just barely visible. The water became darker and almost pitch black as the moon shone onto the water as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.
The moon made Two time's skin look almost as if it were glowing, it also made their scars much more visible, some along their torso which where quite big, along with ones on their arms mainly upper arms. But it just made them more beautiful in his eyes.
"You are staring." Two time told Shedletsky teasingly.
"Ah- uhm sorry—heh." Shedletsky's head wings twitched as he looked away flustered.
"Alright, how do we do this?" Two time asked looking at Shedletsky smiling.
"So like-"
Shedletsky would go on to teach Two time how to swim, they actually learned quite fast, only within an hour or two. Maybe they were stronger than he thought they were?
"Aren't the stars so beautiful?" Two time asked looking up at the stars as they sat on the beach.
"Mhm…" Shedletsky replied watching them as they looked up at the stars, they were so adorable.
"Well ya' ready to learn how to fly?" Shedletsky got up.
"Yes!" Two time quickly got up after Shedletsky did.
"Alright well, first things first, you'll learn how to get into the air! There are two ways to do it, well not really, more than two but I'd consider these the main ones!" He continued.
"One is well, just normal." He said flying up into the air swiftly.
"Two is like crouching down and then pushing yourself up launching into the air, this can also be done fowards or backwards. It's fast but it's harder to do, most oftenly used in combat."
Shedletsky quickly got down on one knee putting one hand on the ground opposite to his knee on the ground and launching himself up into the air, kicking up some of the sand into the air as he did.
"We'll be focusing on one, ya' can try two if you wish to, but you probably won't be able to." Shedletsky slowly lowered himself back onto the ground.
"You can also land like how I did!"
"Alright but how do I fly?" Two time asked, coughing from some of the sand in the air.
"So like flap your wings but like more than once keep doing that once you get off of the grounf, imagine flying? I ain't a good teacher sorry." Shedletsky replied.
"But first let's get closer to the water so ya' don't hurt yourself!" Shedletsky lead Two time into the water at knee height.
"Deep enough, since ya' won't be flying far up."
"Ready?" He asked them.
"Yeah…" Two time gulped nervously, everything was going by so fast, escaping the cult, therapy, Telamon having to become Shedletsky, the fact they are an avian and—
the undeniable feelings they harbored for Shedletsky. But it was too early to catch feelings, it has only been 3 months. They should be mourning Aspen, and they are. But they also are falling for the man right next to them. His laugh, his smile, his accent, his comforting hugs, his gentle touch, his everything. Of course he was not perfect, no robloxian was. But they loved him.
Two time tried flying, they got off of the ground a bit before falling.
"Good job, ya' did good but you hesitated and stop flying. Don't think of it so much, try again." Shedletsky said trying to explain it.
A few tries later…
"I got it!" Two time exclaimed excitedly flying about 1FT above the water.
"It was easier than I thought it would be!" They continued, happily landing on the beach instead of in the water.
"May I try to do the uhm, second takeoff method?" Two time asked Shedletsky.
"Yeah! But don't be disappointed when ya' fail, it requires a lot of strength!" He followed Two time walking out of the water and onto the dimly lit beach.
Two time positioned themselves unfolding their wings taking a deep breath and looking at Shedletsky, he nodded.
They quickly pushed off of the ground with their right hand and left leg launching up in the air.
First try.
Shedletsky looked at them wide eyed.
Maybe they were much stronger than he thought they were.
"That was not hard." Two time said slowly lowering themselves but still staying in the air.
"Well then, see if you can catch me!" Shedletsky said unfolding his wings and flying up into the air far up above the ocean.
Two time flew after him meeting him up in the night sky.
They looked into his amber eyes, they looked like honey. He looked back at them holding their hands. Letting go of one of their hands and cupping their cheek.
"I—uhm, Two time…" Shedletsky said as he blushed unable to finish his sentence.
"Yes…?" Two times tail wagged.
"May I kiss you…?" He asked nervously.
"…Yes." Two time grabbed his waist gently.
Ah—he didn't expect them to say yes, but nonetheless he was happy. Two time leaned in and kissed him softly, their lips were so soft and they were so gentle. He kissed them back before Two time pulled away.
"May I have the honor of being your partner… Two time?" Shedletsky continued. "I understand it may be too early for this, I know you are probably still grieving for Aspen. So please don't feel pressured to say yes."
"Shedletsky, I would love to be your partner. I also thought it was too early, yes I am still grieving Aspen. He will always have a place in my heart that nobody else will ever have. But I love you." Two time gave Shedletsky a small peck on his forehead. "Let's… Take it slow, okay?"
"Mhm…" Shedletsky mumbled in reply hugging them and teleporting them down to the camp.
Shedletsky shuffled through his bag grabbing some things out. "Two time, are you okay with fire?" He asked them.
"Ah, uhm yes, just no big fires or a lot of smoke. So try to keep it small please." They said quietly.
"Have you ever had a smores?" Shedletsky asked lighting a small fire.
Two time flinched a bit due to an ember hitting them.
"No, but they sound interesting!" Two time scooted closer to Shedletsky and wrapped their arms around him for warmth. They were so happy that they were with him now. And yet something was itching at them. And they couldn't tell what.
"Here, try one!" Shedletsky handed a smores to Two time, how long has it been? They must've zoned out.
"Thank you…" Two time said tiredly, they bit into the treat.
"This is good…" Two time yawned eating the smores.
"You gettin' tired? We can go to sleep now if ya' want?" Shedletsky asked nudging Two time who was already falling asleep in his arms.
"Yeyeah…" Two time stumbled over their words.
Shedletsky picked up Two time putting out the fire. "Is this okay?" He asked.
They nodded.
"Alright." Shedletsky walked over to the tent and put Two time down.
He layed down beside them and started spooning them being cautious of their wings and tail which was wrapped around his thigh.
"Aspen?" Two time looked at the blurry figure in the distance running towards them.
The environment shifted around them and suddenly they were in front of the stake. In their robes. Azure was on the stake. Crying and screaming, trying to untie himself to no avail. Aspen looked at them with betrayal in his eyes, pure pain. They looked down, they were holding the matches.
SNAP!
They jolted awake from the sound of a twig snapping, they sat up. Their feathers were puffed out. At least they escaped that horrid nightmare. They breathed with a deep shaky breath. They were shaking weren't they?
Shedletsky slowly awoke from the commotion. "Two time, are ya' okay…?" Shedletsky asked.
"Yeah, I just had a nightmare." Two time sighed.
Shedletsky pulled them close laying them down with him. "Would this help you sleep better?" He asked.
"Yeah." They muttered cuddling up against him interlocking their legs with his.
He smiled and started to play with their hair until they fell asleep.
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Two time pounced on top of Shedletsky in the water. Shedletsky giggled. "Shedletsky! Give me my—" The two of them were soon interrupted by investigator Iris. "Shit." Shedletsky thought. He had forgotten he had invited her.
The two of them slowly watched as she approached neatly folding her hands in front of her. "Heh thought it was #odd when an admin invited me over here to discuss #Family Home For The Reborn!" She said cheerfully. "Don't worry I can keep a #secret!" Investigator Iris laughed watching as the two of them sheepishly got out of the water and walked over to stand in front of her.
"Well then, I'd assume you're Two time, correct?" Iris asked them.
"Mhm." Two time replied shyly.
"Ah, I didn't know you were an #avian, I don't remember seeing you with wings." Iris commented looking at Two time's wings.
"We didn't know either!" Shedletsky chuckled.
Two time tried to forget what happened.
"Well I do believe I #have something that belongs to you two time!" Iris shuffled through her backpack.
"Here!" Iris pulled out Aspen's hat and a necklace along with a bag of ashes.
"Sorry there's already a necklace made, you don't have to wear this one though." Iris said.
Two time froze staring at the stuff in her hands.
"I—thank you...!" Two time said quickly grabbing the stuff from her hands holding back tears holding Aspen's hat tightly to their chest.
"Do ya' need help putting on the necklace Two time?" Shedletsky asked.
"Yes." Two time replied giving Shedletsky the necklace and turning around.
As Shedletsky put the necklace on them Iris watched the two of them.
"Right also one more thing." Shedletsky said plucking one of his feathers from his wing flinching a bit before putting it in Two times hair.
Two time blushed.
"You two remind me of me and my wife when we were #younger! She was always the #outgoing adventurous one while I was the #shy one who didn't want to cause trouble!" Iris looked at the two of them seemingly reminiscing upon those times.
"Reminds me of one of my annoying coworkers! She's always bugging me!" Shedletsky said loudly.
Iris snickered at Shedletsky's response.
"Investigator Iris—"
"Call me #Iris!" She interrupted.
"Iris, I have a question…" Two time said fiddling with their hair nervously.
"Yeah?" She replied curiously, she was used to getting asked questions, and she loved when people did.
"Well… How did you see me from so far away when I ran away from my home?" Two time still refused to call it a cult even though they knew it was one. "You were on a cliff right?"
"Oh, easy! I'm an #avian like you! Well, somewhat. One of my great grandparent's were #avian's but the gene skipped their children and my #parents and I got it! But only partially, so my eyesight is of a #avian's!" Iris pointed to her gray bird eyes.
"That's really interesting!" Two time's eyes lit up.
"Mhm, I #agree!" Iris smiled seeing the younger avian's eyes light up.
"Well, I best get going!" Iris said. "My wife must miss me already, or she's really #worried since this is the first thing I did when I woke up, and she's more of an #afternoon person so she hadn't woken up yet!"
"Alright!" Shedletsky waved as Iris went back to her car, and waved back as she pulled out of the faraway parking spot.