Chapter Text
The day started like any other. Skeppy woke up, did his chores, then left the house to mess around with his friends. He had a lot of friends, but his closest friend was Badboyhalo. He used to be close with another boy, but he was discovered to be a hawk hybrid and ran, for their village wasn’t very hybrid-friendly.
Skeppy ran down to the creek, where he and Bad would always meet up. He sat on his favorite rock, and waited for his friend to show up. A couple minutes later, Bad ran up, holding two muffins.
“Baddddd, you’re lateeeeeeeeeeee.”
“I’m sorry Skeppy, I had to wait for the muffins to finish,” Bad replied while handing Skeppy one of the still-warm muffins and sitting beside him.
“Tank oo Bab,” Skeppy said while stuffing his face full of muffin.
“Skeppy, don’t talk with your mouth full!”
“Waf me.”
“Skeppyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.”
Skeppy laughed as he finished off his muffin. He got up from the rock and reached down a hand to help Bad up as well. When they were up, Skeppy stretched, wincing when it pulled on the rash on his back and shoulders.
“Are you okay Skeppy?” asked Bad, his face full of concern. Skeppy rolled his eyes.
“I’m fine. It's just a sunburn or something on my back. It’s no big deal.”
“Okay...” Bad sounded skeptical. “Just promise you’ll tell me if it gets too bad.”
“Okay Bad. I promise.”
“Good muffin! Now, what are we doing today...”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Skeppy woke up and immediately wanted to go back to bed. His rash had gotten worse and it hurt like crazy. But alas, he had chores to do, and Bad had wanted to show him something today, and it sounded serious. So he dragged himself out of bed, fed the chickens, grabbed the eggs, and headed off to his and Bad’s meeting spot.
By the time Skeppy got there, he just wanted to lay down, cry, and pass out. He plopped down on his rock and noticed that Bad was already there.
“Skeppy! Are you okay? You’re almost never late, and you look like you haven’t slept for a week!”
Skeppy sighed. “I’m fine, Bad. This stupid rash has just been bothering me.”
“Hmmm. Well, let me take a look at it. I might be able to help, my dad is the healer.”
Skeppy agreed, and with Bad’s help, they peeled his shirt off to reveal red, inflamed skin and his shoulders and upper back.
“Skeppy! You were supposed to tell me if it got bad!”
“It’s not that bad. I can handle it.”
“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. How long have you had this rash?” Bad asked, while digging through his bag.
Skeppy thought for a moment. “I’ve had it for a couple of weeks, it hadn’t gotten bad until about a week ago.”
Bad looked thoughtful, then realization dawned on his features. “Alright Skeppy, I’m going to do something real quick, it might hurt a lot, but it will help me be sure of what’s happening.”
Skeppy nodded as a go-ahead and Bad pressed one of his fingers on a small area on his shoulder. White-hot pain blinded Skeppy and he screeched in pain as Bad quickly pulled his fingers back. Those couple of seconds were all he needed to feel a bump beneath the skin and confirm his suspicions.
“Wh-what the hell Bad,” said Skeppy between pants.
“Language,” Bad chastised softly. Then he cleared his throat and spoke up. “Skeppy, you’re growing wings.”
The clearing was silent for a moment while Skeppy processed the news. Then, it clicked. “WHAT????”
“You’re growing wings.”
“No. No, I can’t be growing wings. I can’t be a hybrid. Because then, I’ll be shunned from the village, or, or killed or given to hunters or-”
“Skeppy” Bad’s voice broke through his panicking. ”Breathe with me. In, out. There you go, it’ll be alright.”
Skeppy got his breathing under control, and for one blissful moment, he felt comfortable and safe in his best friend’s arms. But then a twinge from his shoulders, no, his wings , reminded him of why he was panicking in the first place. He pulled away and backed into a tree.
“Please don’t turn me in, don’t tell anyone, please .”
Bad cut off Skeppy’s begging. “Shhh, Skeppy, I won’t turn you in, I would never let you get hurt.” With that, Bad took off his cloak, and two massive wings unfurled from his back.
The wings were black on the top, but then faded into a deep, beautiful red at the bottom. There were also a few scattered feathers that were the color of gold. Skeppy looked up from the wings and at Bad, who seemed to have a shimmering halo around his head. Bad smiled at him, and offered a hand to help him up.
“I would never let them hurt my flock.”