hunted-for-feathers - Tumblr blog

hunted-for-feathers · 2 years

Text

Generational Secret | Solo

TW: Death

“Remember, my dear. Never transform in front of strangers, and always be aware of your surroundings. If humans knew what we were, they would hunt us. Okay, my dear Peri?”

Peri’s mother, Phoebe, always told him this growing up. Be mindful and aware of your surroundings. If people found out that they were pegasi, they would be hunted down for their feathers, for their feathers can make anything fly. That’s why there were so few pegasus left in the world now, and that’s why the gods of Olympus gave them the power to transform into humans.

Peri loved his parents and heeded their warnings. He tried not to transform often, but there were times where the urge to let his wings free and fly was too great. It was the greatest feeling in the world to any pegasus, so the fact that pegasi had to hide their true identities because of greedy and envious humans was sad.

Despite the sadness and secrecy, Peri never let that keep him down. He always looked for the positive and bright side of things. In his eyes, there was always something in life to be happy about.

Little did he know how amazing of a quality that would be after the hunters found them...

The Wing family kept mostly to themselves. They lived in a little cottage up in the mountains, mostly secluded from the world. They rarely had any visitors.

One day when Peri was seven, a little girl appeared on their doorstep. The Wing family was confused. How did she get here and alone no less?

Tears were streaming down her face. “H-Hi. I’m lost, a-and I can’t *sniffle* find my d-daddy!” The tears turned into a stream as she broke down crying further.

Pegasus bent down to her level and gently hugged her. “Shh. It’s okay. We’ll help you find him, okay?” The little girl nodded her head. “What’s your name?”

She sniffled. “Bailey.”

“That’s a pretty name.” She smiled, but there was still sadness in her eyes. “What does your father look like?”

“H-He *sniffle* He’s tall. Green eyes. Brown hair. Um... h-he’s wearing all brown. He may seem scary, b-but he’s actually really nice.” She started to bawl again.

“It’s okay. We’ll find him, okay?” She nodded her head. Pegasus turned to his son. “Peri, can you watch her while your mother and I go look for her?”

Young Peri nodded enthusiastically. “Leave it to me.” He smiled at the girl, hoping to cheer her up and extended a hand out to her. She seemed a little apprehensive, but she took his hand. “Do you want to play a game?”

“W-What game?”

“A card game.”

Bailey went quiet for a long moment but eventually nodded her head.

While Peri’s parents looked for her father, Peri and her played various card games. She eventually stopped crying, and Peri got her to crack a smile every now and then.

Hours passed. Pegasus and Phoebe came back home, but they didn’t find her father. She started to tear up. “Don’t worry, Bailey. We’ll find him, okay?” Phoebe said, trying to reassure her. Until they did find him, though, Bailey would be staying with them.

Days passed. Still no sign of Bailey’s father. Bailey was crying more often, and Peri didn’t like to see that. He didn’t like seeing anyone cry or be upset, and it seemed to be getting more difficult to get her to smile. He was determined to make sure she smiled, though. Even if it was just for a second. Plus, the longer they spent together, the more he started to see her as a friend. His mother always said to keep their secret from strangers, but was Bailey still a stranger to him? It should be okay to share their secret with a friend, right? He had been pondering over this thought.

Day 10. Still no sign of her father. Pegasus and Phoebe were worried that they may never find him or worse find him dead. They didn’t stop looking, though. They refused to.

Peri was doing everything he could to make Bailey smile but nothing was working. It was frustrating him. He looked outside, admiring the clouds. His favorite thing to do was to fly through the clouds. Maybe Bailey would like it too.

He contemplated for a long while, but after another hour of not seeing her smile, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey! I want to show you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Okay?”

Bailey thought about it before nodding her head. Peri took her hand and let her outside to the stable behind their cottage. He looked around to make sure no one else was around. “Wait right here.” He jumped into one of the stables and stripped his clothes off. Otherwise, he would’ve shredded his clothes when he transformed.

Once he transformed, he stretched out his body and his wings and neighed. He came out of the stable, and Bailey gasped. “Wow!” She shouted, grinning. That was the first time she grinned since she separated from her father.

Peri leaned down and motioned for her to sit on him with his wing. She gingerly moved onto Peri and wrapped her arms around his neck. He gently stood up and walked out of the sable, being mindful of the surroundings. As soon as he knew there was no humans around, he took off.

Bailey squealed as they flew. It was the most incredibly feeling in the world. For a minute, she forgot all about her dad. She forgot about her troubles. She just enjoyed the feeling of the wind against her, and when they flew through a cloud, she laughed as she felt a bit of wetness.

They flew around for about an hour before heading back to the cottage. “That was amazing!” Bailey squealed as Peri changed back. “Can we do that again?”

Peri laughed. “Sure! We just have to be careful that no one sees us, though.”

“Why?”

“Because humans would hunt us.”

Bailey started to get nervous. “Why?”

“For our feathers. They can make anyone or anything fly if they have enough. That’s why what I did today must remain a secret. Please don’t ever tell anyone about what we are, okay?”

She nodded her head. “I promise.”

Peri smiled, feeling like he did a good thing by trusting her.

As they went back inside, they found Peri’s parents there with a strange man. Bailey gasped. “Daddy!” She ran towards her father who caught her and wrapped her up in a big hug.

“My Bailey Bug. I was so worried.” He said tearfully. He looked back at Pegasus and Phoebe. “Thank you.”

“It was no problem.” Pegasus smiled. “We would hope someone would do the same if we ever lost our son.”

“Daddy, can we go home now?”

“Yes, sweetie. Yes, we can go home now.”

He started to leave and thanked the Wings again. Bailey went back and hugged Peri. “I’ll be back soon, so we can fly again.” She whispered.

“Come back any time.” Peri grinned and waved as they left.

Later that night, the Wing family decided to fly after dinner. They took the necessary precautions like normal and took to the skies. They flew for a few hours and headed back home, but they weren’t expecting to have company.

As soon as they entered the stables to shift back, they were surrounded by hunters. Among them was Bailey’s father. Pegasus and Phoebe were confused to see him, but dread filled Peri. Did Bailey betray their secret after she promised she wouldn’t? Did Peri make a mistake in trusting her?

“Now!” Bailey’s father shouted. Nets were thrown at them. They missed Peri completely, and Peri’s parents were able to avoid them. They all started to fly through the skylights in the stables. Peri and Pegasus made it out safely. Phoebe, however, wasn’t so lucky.

Just as she escaped through the skylight, the hunters threw another net and caught her. While Pegasus wanted to go back and save his wife, he had to make sure his son was safe. Peri flew to a cave and hid there.

Pegasus neighed, telling Peri to stay there, and he flew back to the stable. He was too late, though. The stable was set ablaze, and he knew that he had lost Phoebe. He wasted no time in flying back to his son. He shifted back and knelt on the ground in front of Peri. He didn’t stop the tears from flowing. “I’m sorry, son... I couldn’t save your mother.”

Peri transformed back and started to bawl, holding his father tightly. “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I thought I could trust her.”

“Who, son?”

“Bailey... I didn’t like seeing her sad, so I flew with her. I-I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry, Dad. Mom’s dead because of me.”

“No, son. No. It’s not your fault. Don’t ever think that, okay?”

Peri nodded his head, but he didn’t know if he fully believed his father’s words. He vowed that day that he would never tell anyone his secret ever again. He didn’t want to lose his father too.

Eventually, Peri went back to finding something positive in everything, but he would never forget that day. A wall now surrounds his heart, and he would always be weary about trusting people. Especially with his family secret.

#{ goofy but secretive | solo }#tw: death

1 note · View note