Heavy is the Head that Wears the Solemn Crown

Thirty-One - A Golden Monster and the Mortal God

Tommy

Tommy sits at the top of the ravine, his feet swinging against the reddened rock. He looks towards the sky, watching as the seraphim spin and soar across the richly blue sky. Sometimes, he can hear snippets of their laughter carried from the high winds to the ground below. He can't see their smiles from the current distance, but he can imagine it clearly in his mind's eye. He remembers how they looked and sounded when they were given a brief moment of happiness while they were all stuck in the bowels of that ship. He might have been sick out of his mind, reeling from his true nature being revealed, but his memories of them weren't that foggy.

Certainly, all his memories of Beau had sharpened. She was his biological sister, as much a part of him as his limbs or new wings were. He couldn't remember their shared past, but he could remember how she carried him from the ship to the trees they were tied to. He could remember how she took a hit for him when he was bloodied on the ground. He could remember how the two of them had laughed, and how she had done her best to ease his sickness. They were the actions of a good friend, but they were also the makings of a good sister. Tommy was still conflicted about how he felt regarding the situation. He had spent his entire life with Kristin. She was his sister, and she always would be. Did that make Beau any less his sister? Was he supposed to treat Beau like he did Kristin, or was there a level of nuance allowed to him? How was anything about this fair?

Tommy could reconcile with the fact that he wasn't human. He might have been a species he previously knew nothing about, but he always knew that he wasn't quite like everyone else. He showed up in a village out of nowhere. His existence brought great calamity before it brought blessings. His powers weren't anything like the magic mages or witches possessed. He knew deep down that he was something more than human. So, yes, being a seraph didn't faze him as much as it would anyone else.

He could handle the existence of Freddie and Andor. In a way, they were his friends. Freddie made him laugh, and Andor calmed him down. They both provided support when his own suffering threatened to consume him. It didn't matter that they weren't human. Tommy had plenty of non-human friends. Ranboo, Shrub, and Phil were a few examples of people who weren't human but were his friends.

It was Beau's unapologetic presence in his life that sent his head into a tizzy. How was he supposed to come to terms with the situation? How was he supposed to talk things out with Beau?

For now, he could only watch them from afar. He stared rather enviously at them, wishing that he could be part of their flying routine. As it stands, he hadn't tried flying. The seraphim weren't completely vetted, either. Phil was spending a lot of time with them, but it was Wilbur's decision to keep the three away from the camp until they could make certain nothing ill would come from allowing them in. It was a necessary sacrifice, Wilbur assured him, and Tommy was just glad for an excuse to keep avoiding them.

"Are you ready?" A voice startled Tommy. His wings flared up defensively, and he had to force them down so he could see who had called out to him. He shouldn't have been surprised to see Grand Duke Samuel Dude of the Badlands. Wilbur had informed him earlier in the morning that Tommy would be accompanying the duke to an area covered in withered plants and decaying animal corpses. Wilbur claimed the reason was because Tommy's gift would allow him and Sam to be unaffected by Hannah's fae curse, but Tommy overheard the real reason. With the sudden appearance of Xornoth in the camp, foul play was being suspected. There was potentially a spy in the camp. It was the reason why every member of the Syndicate, and even the seraphim, were being sent on missions all across the continent to get them away from the camp and the supposed spy.

"Fuck yeah! I can't wait to see this!" Tommy called out excitedly. Even though he knew that it was a serious mission leading to a dangerous place, Tommy was ready to see more of the world. He was no longer aligned with any nation, either, so he didn't have to worry about offending Sam. What would the duke be able to do? He couldn't arrest Tommy while he had immunity with Wilbur's army, and he could threaten anything Tommy cared about. Kristin could handle herself, and Tommy's home nation was gone. He didn't need to be respectful to anyone except Wilbur, the king he temporarily swore allegiance to, and Techno, the leader of the unit Tommy was assigned to. Even then, they didn't expect him to regard them with proper titles and perfect bows.