Chapter Text
It was afternoon.
I had just entered the N109 Zone, as its endless night swallowed my lone figure in the sky. Spring was just starting as the warmth of the sun faded along with the light.
My wings flapped calmly through the sky, as I flew between the skyscrapers of the city that never sleeps.
I was just returning from a long mission Onychinus needed me to go on, which was perfect since it meant I’d be in a warm place for the winter. I was a hybrid of sorts, half crow half macaw, the results of a wild lab experiment. My wings themselves were the shape of a crows, while my tail feathers were long like a macaws would. However, they weren’t colorful, truly just a dark gray color. Additionally, I had tiny feathers lined up the sides of my face, often attuned to my emotions like a dog is with their ears.
I didn’t know much about my past, only the lab before I escaped at the age of 12. Three years after that, I was found by the leader of Onychinus, Sylus. He took me in, gave me a place to stay until I could find my own standing ground.
Now, at the age of 17, I was handling missions like a seasoned missionary. Away for long missions during the winter, due to the cold being my only known weakness, after all the lab experiments.
I slowly started to glide, approaching the base, as I flapped my wings a couple times before landing. Once I landed, I tucked my wings against my back before opening the door.
As soon as I opened the door, I called out, “Hey Boss, I’m back from those Isles. I’ve sent all my reports before I started my way back here, hopefully they were sent successfully.” I headed into the kitchen, opening the fridge as I scanned the items with zero interest.
The small feathers on the sides of my face perked as the sound of faint footsteps started towards the kitchen. Pausing, I took the moment to identify who it was. They were too light to be Sylus’, and were too calm and cautious to be either of the twins.
Turning my head towards the hallway, I reached towards the gun attached to my holster, only to halt when the person entered the kitchen. I didn’t recognize her, she also didn’t look like she was a new recruit for Onychinus.
Not long after another set of footsteps approach, Sylus appearing behind her, watching our little stare off. Before his hand gently sits on the lady’s shoulder, squeezing gently.
“Kitten, I see you’ve met one my best recruits.” He spoke, his gaze locking with mine, as I removed my hand from my holster.
I watched the lady, who Sylus calls ‘Kitten’, while she observed my appearance. She took in the sight of my black hair, dyed halfway down a light blue, in a wolfcut. My clothing was plain, black sweatpants with a black t-shirt and white sneakers. Usually I’d wear a flannel but it was too flimsy for when I was on the job. I wasn’t the tallest either, currently standing at a height of five feet and four inches.
The wings were probably the number one thing she saw, along with the scars across my skin. All once again, from the lab, my clothes hid the majority of them, but there was no hiding the ones on my forearms and face. But her unease was from my eyes, unnatural, light blue. The joke about blue eyed people staring into your soul doesn’t feel like a joke when I’m looking at people apparently.
The lady seemed to finally take a deep breath, raising her hand out to shake mine, “I’m MC, I haven’t heard about you before.”
“The same could be said about you, I’m Atlas.” I reply, shaking her hand firmly, before turning around to continue my search for a snack. It wasn’t often Sylus brought people here, but it also wasn’t my place to judge. Then again, when has Sylus ever brought guests over?
Sylus watched me for a minute, before whispering something to Mc, then walked up to me. Placing his hand on my shoulder, he spoke, “Meet me in my office.”
I gave him a lazy salute, before going back to rummaging through the fridge. He walked away while I finally found something, grabbing the cup of yogurt. I walked over to the drawer, getting myself a spoon before passing Mc, heading towards Sylus’ office.
I didn’t bother knocking, using my shoulder to open the door, closing it then with a light nudge of my foot. I took a spoonful of yogurt into my mouth as I stood idly. I watched Sylus go over a few things on his laptop, obviously the reports I had sent over.
Without looking up, he speaks neutrally, “Sit.”
Humming, I walked over to the couch, plopping down as I continued to eat my yogurt. “So, I know it isn’t my business to ask.” I started, “But who is Mc? You don’t usually invite random people over unless they’re useful to you or—”
“She is just a friend.” Sylus answers calmly, keeping his tone neutral as ever.
“Uh huh, just a friend? That’s what they all say, and guess what.” I point my spoon to him. “They always end up together. You know, in a relationship.”
Sylus finally looks up, giving me an unamused look. Before standing up, walking to the other side of the room.
“They always have some tragic event that makes them reveal their feelings for each other. Now, I’m not saying I want that to happen to you, but that’s how the majority of those things go.” I rant on, not noticing how he grabbed the first aid kit that was sitting on one of the bookshelves, before walking over to me.
“What?” I sat up, noticing how he was walking over, just as Sylus sat down on the other side of the couch. He grabbed my left leg swiftly by my ankle, causing me to flinch at the sudden touch. He rolled my pant leg up, showing my bandaged up leg.
“What do I say about hiding injuries?” Sylus asks, clearly waiting for an answer as he unravels the bandages. Clearly unhappy with the wound more than me.
“Do not hide them.” I say with a sigh, putting my yogurt on the side table, crossing my arms across my chest. My wings shifted against my back while the pain flared for a moment.
“And what should you do instead?” Sylus asks once more.
“Tell you…” I mumbled, the small feathers twitching as I watched him.
“That’s what I thought.” He says, grabbing some material from the first aid kit to clean the wound properly. It was long and clearly agitated from the long fly, I had gotten nicked by a thrown dagger during the end of my mission.
“I was going to properly take care of it once I had gotten to my room.” I mumbled, refusing to make eye contact, knowing he’d give me a full on leather again.
“But you still planned on not telling me.” Sylus deadpanned, looking up at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Fine, maybe I wasn’t going to tell you. But I’m not that dumb 15 year old who ran straight into an ambush on my first day on the job.” I practically growl out the sentence, the memory of my very big mistake leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
“Yes, such a fond memory.” Sylus says sarcastically. “But, that was a learning moment, no? I brought you into Onychinus so that you can discover who you are and to grow strong.”
“You had to knock me out because I refused medical assistance.” I gruffly replied, looking off to the side.
“But now we have a system, no needles, nothing sharp, and nothing that beeps.” Sylus responds, wrapping my leg up again, now fully disinfected. “Unless we absolutely have to use either of those.” He adds on after a moment.
“You know, I’ll be taking care of myself soon, why not just let me deal with my own wounds?” I sigh, watching as he packs up the first aid kit.
“If you start complaining like the twins, you’ll be told the same thing.” Sylus answers, standing to put the first aid kit away. “Unless we absolutely have to use them.”
“Alright, I’ll spare you the same conversation you have every week with those two.” I stand up, putting some weight on my injured leg. The wound still stung a little, but it didn’t feel as bad as it did when I bandaged it up.
I looked up towards Sylus, watching him organize everything back into place. I wanted to say so many things, say how much I appreciated him taking care of me. But the words got stuck in my throat, as usual. I could never say these things to him, he was my boss, a friend even. Not a father figure.
“Well, I’ll be off to bed now. If there’s any problems in the report, let me know tomorrow.” I stretch, before casually leaving the room. Once I made it out of his office, I quickly went upstairs to where all the bedrooms were. Knowing Sylus will probably be keeping a closer eye on me with my injury, I’ll be walking on eggshells all week.
Upon entering my own room, I was quick to find one of my blue sleep shirts and some shorts. Placing my dirty clothes in my laundry basket, before curling up in my bed. Sighing happily at the familiar soft blankets, spreading my wings out as I laid on my stomach.
I nuzzled into my pillow with a sigh, finally letting my body rest properly. Whenever I take a mission outside of the N109 Zone I never relax, always alert for any ambushes or assassins. This was the only safe space I know, the only place I know.
My memory always felt too short after I escaped the lab. I have no recollection of how I escaped and what had happened in the lab. I didn’t know if I even had an actual family before the lab, maybe I was created in there.
Groaning in frustration, I bury myself deeper in the comfort of the blankets. Trying to shoo away the unnecessary thoughts and questions that plague my mind.
I closed my eyes, hoping for a moment of sleep. The chances of me having a dream are close to zero, I hardly ever dream. But sometimes, they find their way.
I gasped awake, sitting up in a cold sweat, wings puffed up anxiously. I can never remember what I dream about, sometimes little bits and pieces, but never a full image. I took a shaky breath, before forcing myself to lay back down.
I looked to my side table, seeing it was two in the morning. This was Sylus’ usual working time, as I forced myself to bury back into my blankets. These nightmares weren’t new, I didn’t need to be bothering him with these. But the thought of being in his arms as he holds me like I was his own.
No. I couldn’t be thinking about my boss like he was a father to me. Yes, he gave me a place to stay so that I could find my footing, but I couldn’t ask him to become a father figure.
With that bitter thought, I drifted back off to sleep, unsure of what the day held for me tomorrow. Maybe I’d get to catch up with the twins, or watch a movie. Either way, there was no way I was going to waste my time trying to remember dreams I barely have.
———————————————————————
Sylus was sitting at the dining table, Mc sitting across from him. They were eating peacefully, enjoying the meal his private chef had prepared.
“So, when were you going to tell me there were three of them?” She asks, looking up at Sylus with a raised eyebrow.
Sylus looked up from his plate, looking calm as ever. “Atlas is often on missions out of the country, he doesn’t often get introduced to new people.”
“But he’s also a kid.” Mc pointed out.
“Yes, a few months younger than the twins.” Sylus answers, taking a sip of wine.
“I understand twins and what they do. But missions in another country? What happens if Atlas gets in danger? Worse of all, what if he gets hurt?” Mc rants on, the hunter clearly not agreeing with the idea of a kid doing such dangerous things in other countries.
“If you doubt his abilities, then you can watch him train if he allows it. I’ve taught him well enough, he’s probably better than all of Onychinus’s members.” Sylus informs, gently setting his wine glass down. He always had faith in Atlas, once he had proven himself, of course.
Sylus still remembers the day Atlas had gone on his first mission with him. The mention of it not that long ago brings that memory forth. Atlas has just sprinted around a corner of a building in hopes of shaking off some protocore thieves, only to run into their second team.
They had beaten him pretty badly, if Sylus hadn’t been there, he would’ve lost a wing. Sylus was sure of that. He remembers how shaken Atlas was after that, how he would try to either stay on perimeter patrol or not go at all. At some point, Sylus had sat down with him to figure out how he could help build his confidence.
That’s when he truly learned the extent of how traumatized he was from whatever lab he escaped from, learning his darkest fears no 15 year old should have. The talk had gone from confidence building, to basically a trauma dump. Atlas had cried all his tears that night, apologized every minute, even then Sylus didn’t walk away.
“Hello? Earth to Sylus?” Mc snapped her fingers in front of his face. Sylus blinked a couple times, realizing he had gotten lost in his memories.
“Sorry Kitten, what did you say?”
“I was asking about his wings. He’s not any creature I’ve heard or seen in books about, not like Lemurians.” Mc asked once more, causing Sylus to frown.
“That is something he must tell you, it’s who he is, I have no right to tell anyone unless he tells me to.” Sylus firmly explains, reaching to take another sip of his wine.
Mc didn’t seem surprised by this, Sylus was the kind of person to let other people tell their business. But she couldn’t help but think back to how distracted Sylus was a few moments ago. She had never seen him like that, so she couldn’t stop herself from asking an intrusive thought. “Is Atlas your adoptive son?”
Sylus stops.
Wine glass forgot, as he stares at Mc like that question had never been asked before. Before speaking slowly, “He is simply one of my second in command, along with Luke and Kieran. He is not my son nor have I adopted him.”
Mc nods, finding it odd how stiff Sylus was. “Alright, just asking.” She says, reaching across the table to gently rest her hand over his. “Don’t stress about it, it was just a simple question.”
Mc stands up, walking around to pat him on the shoulder. “I’m going to call it a night, have fun in those meetings of yours.” She softly spoke, before pressing a quick peck to his cheek, scurrying up stairs.
Sylus gently touches his cheek, reflecting on what Atlas had said not too long ago about being “just friends” with someone. “Of course he’s right. When isn’t he?” Sylus mumbles fondly, before cleaning the table up and heading up to his office to officially start his work night.
Luke and Kieran had the night off, getting some well deserved rest. As he passed by their room, peaking in to find them laying half on top of each other. It wasn’t often you saw the two without their identical masks, but during these rare moments of peace, Sylus learned to cherish them.
He entered his office, he told himself he’ll check on Atlas after his first two meetings, if they go as scheduled.
They in fact did not.
It was around five in the morning when his two meetings finally finished, exhausted he left his office, fully prepared to sleep away his day. As he passes by Atlas’ room, he makes a quick stop to check on him.
Opening the door as quietly as possible, he sees Atlas resting on his side, loose feathers scattered across the bed and floor. His gaze softened as he walked closer, the scattered feathers were a sign of another bad dream.
Atlas’ face and body were calm now, but earlier in the night, he must’ve woken up from another one of his nightmares. Sylus didn’t understand when or why he stopped coming to him or the twins about this, stopped looking for help and comfort.
Softly, Sylus smoothed some ruffled feathers on Atlas’ wing, watching it twitch from the touch. But he remained asleep, as Sylus slowly retreated out of the room, closing the door silently.
As he entered his own room, he found Mc peacefully asleep, as he grabbed his own sleeping clothes. After changing into a pair of shorts, he joined Mc in his bed, pulling her against himself as he closed his eyes. He plans on talking to Atlas about how his dreams have been tomorrow, knowing it’ll be hard to get some answers out of him, but he hasn’t given up on him once. He wasn’t going to start now.