/December, 2011, a Friday
Egbert Residence/
John hadn't even registered the question.
Those had been feathers...
"John!"
Karkat's shout brought John back a bit.
"What? What the hell are you?!"
Karkat ignored the second part.
He whipped to John's back and tugged the boy's jacket off.
"Hey! What are you doing? Sto-"
Karkat's eyes widened further as he lifted up John's shirt to look at his back.
"Stop it! It's cold, what are you doing?!"
"Shut up! Just shut up! Someone will hear you if you don't shut up!"
John tried unsuccessfully to pull himself away. Karkat was strong, especially for his size.
"That's kind of the point!"
Karkat took a deep breath.
"Okay, I'll calm down if you do, how about that?"
John looked behind his shoulder to Karkat, searching his dark face for any answers. Instead, he only found more questions.
Karkat's voice sounded like he was straining to stay calm.
"John, your wings.. y-your tail..."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Where are they..? There aren't even any scars, so they couldn't have been torn off..."
John couldn't believe his ears. Was this guy insane? Wings?
"Of course I don't have wings! No one does! Are you nuts?"
Karkat just backed away from John, shaking his head, though out of shock, disappointment, or fear, John couldn't tell.
Karkat sighed, and started to unbutton his coat.
John picked up his own jacket and pulled it back on, shivering from the exposure to the cold.
Karkat had fully unbuttoned his coat, but held it closed with his hands.
"John.." He started slowly, "if I explain what I'm talking about, will you stay quiet about it? No yelling, no screaming, and no telling anybody. Got that?"
Again, Karkat didn't wait for an answer. John figured he did that often.
Karkat slid off the trench coat, dropping it behind him.
He took a shaky breath and spread out his wings.
Wings.
They were huge, and light grey, all except for the longest feathers, which were a deep scarlet, and the very tiniest of feathers along the tops of them.
John stood, speechless.
This couldn't be real.
Karkat ruffled his feathers and shook out his tail, a feathered tail that went down to the backs of his knees. It was the same grey, all except for the outermost bottom feathers, which were scarlet, like his wings.
"I am an Anima. We have wings, and tails..."
John decided that as long as he was in this dream, he may as well learn something.
"There are.. more of you?"
Karkat nodded, thankful he was getting some cooperation.
"Yes. There are whole cities of us. The one I'm from is called the Haven, it's kind of like our capital."
"And... you can... fly?"
Karkat frowned.
"Of course, dipshit! Why wouldn't we be able to fly?!"
"I... Well, I dunno. It's just, that's crazy."
The Anima raised an eyebrow.
"Crazy?"
"Yeah! People flying? That's the stuff you only read about... or dream about." He was dreaming then, and he knew it. This wasn't possible. No way. Nope.
Karkat sighed.
"If I show you, will you believe me?"
John shrugged. "..Sure." Of course he'd fly, what else would a dream-bird-guy do?
Karkat's eyes narrowed. Something seemed off. But, whatever.
"Okay, here you go. One shitty air show, coming up."
Karkat then turned to face down the driveway, angling himself down and half-tucking his wings.
Then, he began to sprint, gaining speed and leaping just before he hit the road.
The world seemed to pause while he hung in the air.
Then, it was shattered, as he snapped out his wings and pushed himself up in a whirl of feathers and snow.
John stared open-mouthed as Karkat's powerful wings flapped, taking him higher. He soared, wings outstretched, hands reaching out as if to touch the clouds. He held himself aloft, looking down to John and waving.
John, not knowing what else to do, waved back at the garnet-eyed boy in the sky.
Suddenly, Karkat's wings collapsed to his sides, making him dive at a steep angle.
Before John could do anything, the young Anima was standing in front of him once again, wings relaxed, and he briskly shook his tail before continuing.
"So, do you believe me now?"
John laughed at little. A dream was still a dream, no matter how real it seemed, right?
...Right?
YOU ARE READING
Angels Who Fall
Fanfiction[Angels Who Fall - A Homestuck AU] Karkat is an Anima -a birdlike person- who was sent to find a 'lost angel' who had been born on Earth, of which there are very few. But when he finds his target -one John Egbert- he realizes a mistake had been made...
