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For the first time since coming back to life Owen found it was quiet. The voices had stopped. It was Apo’s doing, apparently they were in a dream dimension. She had his staff and was scanning the ground when Apo pulled her back.
“It’s not my first time being blind y’know.”
“Yeah sorry…” she said sheepishly.
Together they sat on a little ledge, enjoying the silence found nowhere else.
Apo’s wings, which were normally small and just molted often, brushed against his skin.
“Your wings feel nice but there are some impurities in them. You should get Pearl to preen them or to teach you.”
“Yeah they-Oh my Gods why are they so big?!” she squawked and she heard rustling where she was looking at them.
Once she got over the shock of her wings apparently being much bigger she quietened down again and seemed to thin over his words.
“Hey umm. Do you want to help me preen my wings?” she asked softly and if there was another noise about Owen would be sure he wouldn't have heard.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I don't want to be caught off guard when I'm doing it and it seems safest to do it here.” she said confidently.
“And because I trust you…”
“What was that last bit?” Owen asked even if she knew already.
“N-nothing. You can start now though.”
“Ok.” she said calmly and put down his staff to start. Apo’s feathers were soft and bristled when she put her hands on them. From what she could feel they were gorgeous.
“Could you describe your wings to me while I do this. And tell me if it hurts as well.”
“Alright…well.”
Apo spoke about her wings as a foreign object and not a part of her but Owen wasn't fully paying attention. He carded her fingers through the harpy's wings and grew confused at her speech starting to trail off when she went limp in his arms.
Owen was just about done anyways and as long as she stayed here he wasn't complaining at all.
So now here he sat, with a very asleep Apokuna and nothing but silence to keep her company. Silence was a privilege compared to most times especially now that his blips occurred more and more. Silence was her saving grace.