Chapter Text
Theseus glared ahead as the bright eyes behind him attempted to burn a whole in his back with their stare.
“What the fuck do you even want?” He asked, nonchalance in his stride almost masking the playful venom laced in his voice.
Blue eyes darted around the scenery in front of him, taking in the wide, open fields of what some would have called ‘Elysium’. A very fancy word for such a simple looking place.
Theseus just liked to call it ‘Dreamscape’.
So did she, in fact.
A loud, long giggle erupted from the figure behind Theseus, causing him to jump. The attempt to cover up said jump with a shrug only served to cause the figure to laugh even louder.
“You’ve gotten so aggressive, Toms!” she smiled through razor sharp teeth. “You used to be so kind and friendly towards me, what happened?” Sweet tone turned mocking at a strong weak attempt to get under Theseus’s skin.
When Theseus whipped around, anger forming as flames bubbling off his startling blue eyes, he was met with the gaze of the young girl he called his sister.
She smiled, chuckling to herself again as she lifted her arms to run off, away from the elder boy.
Despite his best efforts, Theseus was not successful in his attempt to conceal his bright grin. Unlike his younger sister, his teeth were generally pretty normal, though extremely bright white with some long ass canines.
She made fun of him for this fact.
Now that Theseus thought of it, that seemed to be most of what she did.
He couldn’t dawdle right now though, he did have a task to complete.
His eldest ‘brother’, as Theseus usually referred to him, had ordered politely asked Theseus if he would be willing to go complete a task down in the mortal plane.
And because his family was a bunch of spoiled brats, the task included stealing from two of the absolutely richest people down on the mortal plane. Simply because his elder brother was jealous.
Before he left, Theseus at least wanted to groom a little bit, his blonde hair was definitely a little bit out of control, and the feathers growing in the back of his head weren’t doing him any favors either.
Theseus was still just a little kid by his family’s standards, though his wings were twice the size of anyone else’s.
The kid himself stood tall, almost as tall as his older brother in fact. His wings were about triple his height in length, wingspan reaching across almost one whole field in the Dreamscape.
It was actually quite annoying if he was being perfectly honest.
Theseus couldn’t go anywhere without having to completely bind his wings against his back, both annoying and painful at the same time.
The only way you could really tell that he wasn’t just your average guy was by either checking under his peplos to see his wings or by finding the long feathers that grew in his hair.
Theseus. . . . did not find them as pretty as others did, you could say.
It made brushing his hair far more difficult than it ought to be, and on top of that, they just gave his sister more things to attack on his body.
He really hoped she grew out of that phase soon.
Theseus had better things to do then hesitate however, he really had to get stealing fast, or the next thing his brother decided to steal would be his life.
Walking as briskly as one can in the non supporting sandals he was forced to wear, he made it through the gates, guards saluting him respectfully as he left.
The road down to the mortal realm was actually quite lovely, pristine marble gates at each end, visible only to those who live up above, surrounding a well-kempt trail. Theseus’s favorite flowers grew along this road as well, pretty purple puffballs his brother calls “alliums”.
Tucking two behind his ear, he stretches out his wings in preparation for flight.
Theseus hadn’t been able to actually fly for a little while now, as the winds in the Dreamscape were much nicer for calm summer breezes then picking up to use during flight.
He supposes his brother didn’t consider that whilst building it.
That didn’t really matter to Theseus today though, the feeling of flight overcoming his body with euphoria.
As his feathers rustled from the aggressive headwinds, Theseus felt his flight feathers begin to wobble.
Concern settling in where the joy was before, his body slowly but surely falling out of the sky.
He tilted himself back towards the gates at the end of the road, in an attempt to get back on his course. It was too late for that now.
Theseus tumbled over the gate, landing in a heap on the hard, uneven ground. The gates behind him began to fade away as he left his home, and fear set in.
His eyes darted about, trying to figure out where the hell he was and what the fuck just happened to him.
His first thought was to check for his satchel, still securely fastened on his back, and make sure to himself that all the things he needed were still safe and sound.
Immediately after completing that task, his mind began to provide a sort of mental checklist for him, steps that his frazzled brain so desperately desired.
He bound his wings to his back in preparation for his long walk to the actual edges of the mortal realm, grimacing at the pain. He knew he had torn something in his wings when he heard a loud crack at the binding.
That. . . probably wasn’t very healthy, but Theseus didn’t have the time (nor common sense) to care too much. All he knew was that it hurt pretty damn bad. He hasn’t been down in this plane in a long, long while, and unfortunately, it seemed to show.
His entire body was covered in soot and ichor, soaking through his clothes. On top of that, his nose was bleeding and his arm was bent in a weird position.
Theseus officially decided that he detested the mortal plane.
The trees above him seemed to close him in, like a cage for a little songbird. Claustrophobia kicking in, his instincts took over. He dashed on his long, proud, legs as an attempt to escape the fucking forests.
After hours of non-stop running, Theseus finally stumbled upon a cave.
Settling down, he carefully unbound his wings, letting them droop on the floor behind him as he nestled into the small patch of moss he formed into a makeshift bed.
A small amount of effort (mostly due to his heavenly abilities) was then put into creating himself a little fire, lighting ablaze the feathers he pulled out during the grooming process.
He never truly understood why his feathers were so flammable, but then again, everything was always easy for Theseus. He never had to question anything because the answer never actually mattered.
The fire would be enough to keep him warm for tonight, but tomorrow he would need to find something a bit better.
As much as his cave was convenient (and absolutely lovely), he really should try to find a village. Theseus had never had the ‘pleasure’ of stumbling upon forest sprites himself, yet he’s heard things that he probably shouldn’t have.
They’re known to be both incredibly in touch with nature as well as very two-faced. They can change from super friendly little kids to fierce demon warriors in a second's notice, and to be honest, Theseus wasn’t really in the mood to deal with any angry dwarves after that fall.
He needed time to heal, and much of it by the looks of his injuries.
After all, his brother could surely wait a little while to collect his fees. He had literally everything, a few more days couldn’t hurt.
The next morning, Theseus awoke to the sound of some animal making loud, high pitched screaming sounds outside his cave.
He would later find out the animals causing these noises were called ‘birds’, and that he was even distantly related to them as an aevial .
To Theseus though, the noises sounded more like his younger sister yelling then cute little animals singing.
They were quite loud and unpleasant, singing about things like how the nearby bartender didn’t feed them enough, or how the sprites never spoke to them anymore.
This gossip was really getting on Theseus’s nerves.
He sighed, the sound long and raspy in his chest. He supposed during that fall, he most likely injured more than just his limbs. His ribs felt pretty broken, but he was just a kid, what would he know?
Before he left his cave, he carefully re-bound his large wings, then tore off a piece of fabric from the bottom of his peplos to create a makeshift sling for his arm.
Theseus could already tell today was going to be annoying.
Luckily for him at least, the external wounds had already mostly healed themselves, the ichor had already stopped dripping, though still staining his clothes.
Theseus’s hair was also a mess, the long braid tangled with sticks and mud, and more recently, charcoal.
He was an absolute dumbass.
Theseus smiled, bittersweet undertones creeping into his sullen expression. He hadn’t been out here by himself for probably years now, and he was really starting to miss his little sister. Her smile would certainly cheer him up right now.
He was incredibly lonely.
Even the sounds of the nearby river tugged at his heartstrings. His sister had never been allowed to leave the Dreamscape, but she had always longed to splash around in rivers just like these ever since their brother told them about one. She had spent many days attempting to build one in their world, but her sort of abilities didn’t work very well for that sort of thing.
He missed his sister.
He made a pact to himself that as soon as he was done with his task, he’d sneak her out of there, and bring her down to this river so she could frolic around.
But right now, Theseus severely needed to clean his (now closed) sounds and his ichor-soaked peplos. Even his sandals were a mess, covered in grime and leaves.
Undoing the ribbon at the bottom of his braid, he let his long hair flow gently into the stream. The dirt and sticks stuck to his hair fell out gently, joining the tens or possibly even hundreds of dead feathers floating down the current away from him.
Theseus supposed his earlier stunt had really damaged his feather process if that many were falling out. This month’s molting was really going to suck for him.
After a nice long wash in the river, Theseus stepped out into his now clean clothes, feeling deeply refreshed.
He knew that most villages nowadays were stationed along rivers such as this one, so he decided to test his luck and just walk downstream for a little while.
Fresh motivation in his mind, he set a course quickly, and glided parts of it that let him.
Within a few hours, a small village came into view.
Theseus smiled, this was finally the progress he was waiting for.
The villagers were dressed in clothes that were mostly unfamiliar to Theseus, tunics and capes draped over the shoulders of men, and the women wore a shorter-sleeved tunic and a long skirt.
He looked far more out of place than he figured he would.
His sandals clicking on the gravel below his feet only served to distract him even more. Villagers were coming out of their houses and turning around and gasping as he walked by now, spooking him a bit. The whispers only grew louder as they spotted his long hair, apparently only confirming their suspicions.
“He’s here!” One villager proclaimed excitedly. “They’ve finally sent a hero!” At that statement, Theseus shivered a bit. He wasn’t anyone’s hero, he was just some boy that happened to live up above the mortal plane.
Theseus wasn’t special.
That’s what he’s always been told.
As strange as it was, Theseus actually was enjoying this positive form of attention quite a bit.
“. . .Hello!” He started, earning the immediate attention of the entire village. “You all may call me Theseus!” His golden hair blew brightly in the wind, serving to add more to his ‘hero’ persona the villagers gave him.
Cries rang out below him, excited and happy as he spoke. Smiles were the brightest Theseus had ever seen, and the joy simply radiating off of them was incredible.
One villager caught Theseus’s attention though, a boy quite shorter than him (not saying much, Theseus was really tall), with shiny brunette hair and bright hazel eyes.
Underneath the shorts he wore, his legs looked ever so slightly. . . off. Probably not noticeable to the average eye, but Theseus was special. They appeared to resemble animal legs at first glance, but as soon as he shifted his posture, the illusion was broken and he looked completely normal.
Huh. That was strange.
Theseus would have to try to talk to him later.
The villagers led Theseus to the town square, where large gardens seem to burst at the seams with bright red and blue flowers, and tiny versions of the purple puffball flowers that grow on the path.
Young children crowd behind Theseus, unbraiding his golden hair and re-braiding it (much better, Theseus might add) with beautiful flowers. Finishing it with a lovely flower crown, Theseus truly felt like their hero.
He wasn’t though.
It was strange how excited these people were to meet him, not unwelcome, but incredibly surprising.
Theseus supposed his brother’s task could wait for a little while, right?
These people seemed to really love him, and he couldn’t just abandon them. He hadn’t even met that one pretty village boy yet, and he definitely wouldn’t leave before he even got a chance to speak with him.
As he lay down in his soft, down-filled bed that night, he thought about how everything was already different since he left the Dreamscape.
Don’t get him wrong, not everything was lovely. According to the (very polite and pretty) village doctor, Theseus would have to wait at least six weeks before he could really use that arm again, it was very broken as it turned out.
That was fine by Theseus honestly.
He didn’t want to start being a ‘hero’ right now anyways. He wasn’t ready yet.
Tomorrow though, he would talk to that one village boy.
That, Theseus was very ready for.