They got captured by Dottore, and Aether's wings are at stake.
Royal AU and Tw: gore-ish?
Aether was screaming at the top of his lungs. Xiao heard it and immediately looked out the window inside his cell. It really was him. They were trying to do something with a knife. He saw the second Harbinger drag him somewhere. To here.
"Listen here little bird. You are going to comply with us. Or, say those wings of yours. And those kids. I would suggest you say goodbye to them."-Dottore
Aether stopped screaming. He cried and pleaded no. The Harbinger wasn't happy. He gripped onto the blond's waist and pointed a knife at his leg.
"AETHER!"-Xiao
Dottore cut off his leg, Aether screaming in pain. The blond whimpered. Blood spilled from the leg into a reflective pool.
"You can regenerate it, right? So why are you crying?"-Dottore
Aether tried to get up. But the pain was too great. His leg started to grow back, but the pain was still there. It fully grew back and it hurt even worse.
"Good. At least you'll be obedient."-Dottore
Dottore walked out. Aether tried to move. But Xiao moved closer and hugged him. He helped him sit up.
"What did you do? Is Aria okay?"-Xiao
"No...I told her to take Apollo and go into hiding. I was taken away just now."-Aether
"What do they want from you?"-Xiao
"Nothing. They were going to put me in a test tube and make you choose."-Aether
Xiao kissed him on the cheek. The blond doesn't deserve this at all. What did they want from him really? And why?
"My wings. They're not glowing. Huh. Pretty..." Soon Aether was dozing off.
His body needed more rest than ever. The soft glow of the flames outside the window were the only light inside their cell room.
His wings were soft this time. He wished he could see them sour outside with the wind.
—
-
Aether screamed. His wings were gone. All gone. From feather to feather, plucked off by a Harbinger. His back was a bloody mess. If he could stop the pain, he would.
He was thrown back in his cell. It hurt a ton just being shoved onto a concrete floor. He couldn't move, just lay there shaking.
"Aether! Can you move?!"-Xiao
"No. Not really. It hurts a lot. Gah...you got any bandages or did they leave you unprepared?"-Aether
"They gave me some, but they never stop the bleeding."-Xiao
Xiao grabbed them and started to tie the around his torso. Aether struggled to sit up while the pain vibrates through his body. The raven brought Aether up to his waste so they could hug.
"It hurts. It hurts so much."-Aether
Xiao could only console him in silence. He didn't have to go through all of this. All of their meetings have gone to waste. The blond held on tighter when he saw his lover's troubled face.
"Xiao, why can't we punch their stomachs and leave this place?"-Aether
"They have the power of the gods. They have equal power to you. It's not going to be pretty."-Xiao
"But I want to go home. Aria and Apollo. I don't want them to think we left them. They're just kids!"-Aether
"Aeth, we can't leave for now. Especially since you're injured."-Xiao
Aether couldn't do anything but cry. His back still hurt. But now his chest was making it worse. The sobs he let out were loud enough that it could be heard from the lab where it all happened.
All Xiao could do was comfort him. He didn't know how to help at all. He wished for Aether to recover quickly. So they could escape. And go home. To their bed. To their memories. To the life they made together. But how? Home is so far away.
"Aether, lay with me."-Xiao
Xiao brought him closer to his chest. He could feel the blood starting to leak through the poor quality bandages. He laid down on the concrete floor with his lover in his arms.
"Wont you be cold on the floor?"-Aether
"I'll be just fine."-Xiao
Aether kissed him goodnight and fell asleep on his chest. He eventually rolled off and went to the floor, still close to the warmth of Xiao's chest.
It was warm for once in there.
Dw, they escaped and went home.
737 words
