those bright crooked stars, man they're howlin’ out
thought you read them all right, had them all figured out
He'd been nearly asleep the whole way. Not even the long trek had woken him as he hovered near his sister's side, leading them almost dream-like to the mountain. He couldn't even recall why they were going or why she'd woken him, but she wanted to go and so he took it upon himself as her brother to escort her safely there. Wherever. For whatever.
It wasn't until his sides were suddenly cold that his dark eyes popped fully open with a sharp intake of breath. Gone! They were gone! His wings! He spun in place as if he could have simply just dropped them, but no. They were gone!
"Dagen!"
Oh no, she'd noticed. His face flushed with embarrassment as he felt her nose press to a part of his body that she hadn't touched before, where his wings no longer covered that specific spot on his shoulder. She told him it would be okay and he remembered himself. He had to keep her safe. This was for her. He would figure out the wing thing later. He could do this. This was for her.
He nodded, the muscle in his jaw pulsing as he ground his teeth together. Without commenting on his sudden nakedness, looking even more like her identical twin now, he turned and led them down the mountain in the direction they needed to go. He'd seen it as they were on the crest, just as she likely had.
They reached the base and looked at each other, and although the edges of his eyes were tight with stress over the loss of his appendages he nodded again, and in sync with one another they headed towards the river to follow it North.
She stopped to look out over the lake, the early dawn sunlight fighting so hard to touch the dark water and leave its mark on the surface, and he paused with her. More sleep would be nice. She was probably thinking something far more girly, but really he just wanted to get back home and have his wings back, sleep more next to Dad where they didn't have to worry about much of anything save for when they would see Mom again.
He reached out and brushed his mouth over her shoulder, his eyes softening and saying what he chose not to. They should keep moving.
She followed.
Time passed as they continued but he wasn't sure exactly how much. It hadn't felt like it'd been long before a stranger was there, a woman so sickly and disgusting. He frowned and glanced around, belatedly noticing that this was the only person they'd come across thus far. It was a poor time for traveling and meeting others, perhaps, but still. It felt odd.
His eyes settled on the woman, watching her with an intense gaze as she pleaded for help. Oh, no. His sister was going to try to help her! Was she crazy??
He launched himself forward, putting himself between them with a growling snarl as he pushed Brazen back. "Don't touch her!" His brotherly consideration earned him a headbutt and he grunted against the impact, scowling hard at his sister and watching her at least offer the woman a place to go for healing. Their home had a number of healers that could help reduce the symptoms, at least.
He grudgingly figured that was a better way of handling it, but he wasn’t sorry for telling the woman off either. Brazen wasn’t getting sick with him around. It was his job to keep her safe and he damn well would.
They were quiet again for the last part of their journey with only the soft sound of the water beside them trickling and the slowly waking birds stirring enough for lonely morning songs. He glanced at Brazen when she brushed her shoulder with his, stating they were almost there. The notion seemed to fuel her with a second wind of energy and he had to speed up to keep pace with her as she pressed on. His teeth reached out to clip her with a soft scolding. He had to keep her in line. She couldn’t just leave him behind.
The look in her eyes next was not the defiance he’d expected and he frowned. “What?” Wasn’t this it? It looked like the place they were supposed to be to him. What was wrong with her?
“This is it,” he told her in confirmation. She didn’t have to look so worried. “We made it.”
learned every constellation, just to find where you're at