The Seeds of Night

Icarus watched the girl walk away, as she looks over her shoulder only once, watching Eli sadly. He had never seen the girl before today, but she had known exactly where they were hiding, and she had asked for Eli by name. He knew shouldn’t have eavesdropped the way he did, though he couldn’t help but satiate his curiosity.

The girl had talked to Eli, actually talked to him, she was the first one to get him to talk since he had lost his tail; and not only that, she had kissed him. His own wings twitched, and he flexed them absently; he couldn’t bear to lose his wings, so he could only imagine how traumatic it must’ve been for Eli.

He slipped out from behind the crumbling pillar, softly walking up behind Eli, but stopping a few feet away. “Eli…?” he said, his voice faltering, “Eli, are… are you alright…?” No answer came. He gained his composure and tried again, “Eli? Are you alright?” Still no answer came. He was about to open his mouth again when Eli spoke.

“Elianos.” He said; one word, that was it. Then he was silent once more.

Icarus didn’t understand. “What’s that, Eli?”

Elianos stretched his legs, taking a deep breath, and staring at the sky, “Elianos; It’s my name, Icarus.”

Icarus blinked. He had never heard Eli’s full name before; when they were kids, Eli always had trouble with it. But now… now he wanted to be called by it. He found himself thinking of the cat girl, watching her tail sway as she walked north, out of the ruins of the Central District, and into the North District, where the wealthy lived. She was a beauty, and she was wealthy, but most importantly, she had loved Eli; it all made sense now, how Eli would disappear for hours on end, not telling us what he’s doing, and how he always came back with a smile and newfound glint of happiness in his eyes. He had been seeing this girl, for who-knows-how long. She had loved him, she had changed him, she had cost him his tail, and he loved her.

Icarus snapped out of his thoughts, it had all happened in a matter of seconds, he knew, he could think a thousand thoughts in the time it took anyone else to think ten; but that was another story. He watched Eli as the wind ruffled their hair, “Eli-“ he caught himself, biting his lip, “…Elianos… are you going to be alright?” It was in that moment that I saw it, though I might never know what it was, something had changed in him that day, in that moment. He seemed… different… and whether that was a good thing or not, Icarus did not know.

Elianos smiled, though it was hard to tell why, and said, “I’ll be just fine, Icarus.” He turned his eyes to Icarus, a new glint in his golden-yellow gaze.

Icarus couldn’t help but feel scared, loved, awed, and inspired all at once under those eyes, those eyes belonged to the boy that he had loves as his own brother, the eyes that now belonged to a man full of ambition. And yet… he did not care whose eyes they were, it was the eyes themselves that Icarus found himself to love so much. He would do anything for those eyes.

Elianos stood, and it was now that Icarus saw him in a new light, taking in every subtle nuance of the boy he had known for so long. The black wolf’s tail, that had been ever-twitching behind Eli, was gone, his pointed ears now covered by his long black hair, hair the color of the night sky itself, a sharp contrast to Icarus’ own white hair, which transitioned to black only at the roots. “Icarus,” He said.

“Yes?” Icarus asked.

“Teach me how to read?” He asked, looking Icarus in the eyes now,

Icarus smiled wide, his sharp, pointed teeth showing, and glinting in the sun, “Anything for you, Elianos.”



Elianos was a fast learner, faster even than Icarus might have thought. He picked up reading and writing easily, and was reading any book he could get his hands on. He found a particular interest with a certain archetype prevalent especially in human culture, creatures called ‘Angels’; apparently the souls of humans who had passed on, they appeared as humans with large bird-like wings, they fly through the heavens, messengers of a higher power. Icarus would have lied by saying that he was not envious of their large wings, his own wings weren’t even large to support his weight.

Elianos would get his first tattoo three months later.