Crown of Feathers Oneshots

I Have To Cover My Ears (When You Listen To This Song)- Sevade

Song title from Lyricist by Heize! (The song itself has little to do with this fic but song has been stuck in my head recently)

This is a birthday gift to my friend Roshan (@/song-tam) on tumblr! It's basically a rewritten cof book 1, sev's pov, with the addition of soulmates

The nursery rhyme featured in this fic was made using openai, and then I made minor modifications (the amount of time openai saved me for that...). Lyrics at the end made myself.

Warnings: self-loathing, mentioned past character deaths (sev's parents)

"Hush now, little one, don't you fear."

Oh, for Axura's sake, again? If Sev hadn't known better, he would have thought that his soulmate was a parent, taking care of their toddler who was struggling to sleep. A pain, but not that bad.

It would have been better than what the situation actually was.

"The phoenix is watching, they are near."

It would have been better if Sev didn't know for a fact that his parents had come up with that lullaby, and that he'd been hearing that lullaby for a long time.

It would have been better if Sev didn't know for a fact that his soulmate was from Hillsbridge just like he was; that his soulmate was surely an animage. They had to be, otherwise the powers that Sev always worked hard to suppress wouldn't act up every time that song echoed in his ears.

He couldn't risk being caught as an animage. Especially not now, when he had just become a soldier. He couldn't be like those bondservants.

If he let down his guard even for a moment, he'd be exposed. And Sev had a feeling that 'my soulmate is an animage and that's why animals are flocking towards me' wouldn't make a good excuse.

Who would believe that Sev had an animage for a soulmate, and that they kept singing a very specific lullaby, out of all things. It wasn't the only song his soulmate sang, but it was clear that this song meant something to them.

"With wings of fire and a heart of gold,
They'll keep you safe from Nox's hold."

He closed his eyes, willing himself to ignore the words. To ignore the fleeting sense of warmth he felt from every word.

"So sleep, my love, and don't you cry,
And dream of the phoenix in the sky."

Warmth that scorched his skin, burned the same way his parents' and their phoenixes had before they'd—

The faint chirping of a bird, the barest sound of wings flapping. Sev breathed out, carefully looking around to examine the expressions of everyone around him. A bird flapping nearby didn't inherently mean anything, but Sev could never be too careful. Most soldiers seemed oblivious to the sound, but there was one pair of eyes on him. Eyes that belonged to a bondservant that seemed to be watching him often. There was no suspicion on his face, just the usual staring, but Sev couldn't help but be on guard anyway. Who knew what that bondservant would do if he found out. He'd probably snitch, happy to be able to bring a soldier down to his level. No, Sev couldn't get distracted. His life depended on it.

He turned away and continued his duties. The singing continued at a quieter volume, as if his soulmate didn't want to be caught singing. Whatever the reasons were, it was easier for him to ignore.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Ignoring everything that was going on was not as easy as Sev had hoped. He'd met a girl with a phoenix, and he knew that as a soldier, he couldn't afford to be able to protect more people like her. He could lose his freedom.