Intimidation

Phantom was walking through the snow, having lost all feeling in her wings, flying was no longer an option for her, nor could she really hide them. This is exactly why she despised the snow. It was cold, would cause physical discomfort to her, and would mean she couldn’t hide her wings at all. It’s not like having them out was an issue, however she didn’t like having them out constantly. It wasn’t long before she caught up with Spectre, who had stopped a bit further ahead to let her catch up to him. He could tell that she was getting sick of the snow, but in all honesty, so was he. The snow had begun to melt in their fur, only to then start freezing over again, causing their fur to clump together. To make matters worse, it began to snow again. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Spectre muttered as the sky started changing colour. Awan was cold, and neither of them were fans of the cold. The sooner they were able to get home the better it was for them. They most certainly needed to keep warm for a few days after all this, but when exactly they’d get back was to be determined as they strayed off a bit too far from the ship, and it could take a day or two just to get back to the ship safely. “Here’s to hoping that we can find a cave or something nearby” Phantom said as she started walking in the opposite direction from where they were initially headed, her wings now dragging behind her in the snow. “Are you sure you won’t feel anything after you get feeling back in your wings?” Spectre’s eyes were focused on the wings of his companion as they dragged in the snow, lifting up slightly, only to drop back to the ground after scraping against a small rock that was hidden from view. 

“I’m certain that I will be feeling something from all the scrapes and bumps my wings have had to go through, but it’s a small price I’m willing to pay” she said as she came to a stop, the sound of twigs breaking under the weight of a paw, putting her on a sudden state of alert. But it wasn’t until the two noticed a figure was approaching them. The figure was snarling at them as it approached. The creature had dark fur, clouds shaped like stars in its white and golden sky which was lifting up from the body in a foggy manner, lighting scattering around here and there amongst the sky, a vortex hovering over its head with another one circling around the tail. It had two golden horns, one broken slightly. However the main feature that caught their attention was the golden scars, it was something abnormal to see. It was purely golden blood.

“The hell are you two and the hell are you even doing here?!” The larger creature snarled at them. “What do you mean by that? Huh?!” Phantom snapped back at them, challenging them despite her current state which had left Spectre confused as to who was being the most intimidating, as well as who was supposed to be the intimidating one. “How about we just… settle down, find shelter and then talk it out?” Spectre pleaded for the two to just settle down so they could get out of the snow and avoid trying to rip each other’s throats out before getting to safety. “Fine!” The two said in unison before staring daggers at each other again.

He couldn’t fault Phantom for being upset, however he knew that she could get upset and agitated whenever she was in pain, and the cold was not helping. The creature that they learned was actually a Cirrocanius, began leading them to a small cave that it was staying in to keep out of the snow. “You can stay here until the snow storm ends, however you will be leaving once it’s over, am I clear?” The Cirro snapped at them, clearly agitated now.

“Why are you so insistent that we leave? And who are you anyways? You never gave us your name” Spectre asked as he observed the Cirro, noticing that it had a limp in its right hind leg. “Who I am is of no concern to you, unless you can actually give me a reason to trust you—” he was cut off by Phantom before he could finish speaking “Then why don’t you just come back with us?!”

“Pardon?”

“Are you insane? We barely know the guy, and you’re already suggesting he comes back with us??”

“This place is practically unliveable for you, isn’t it?” 

“It has been getting harder to live here recently…”

“Then why don’t you come back with us?”

There was silence for a while as the Cirrocanius was thinking it over, with Specter still feeling intimidated by them. “Very well, I shall take you up on that offer” Spectre felt a bit of dread at the thought of bringing them home, however he couldn’t argue with Phantom. “At least we’ll be able to have someone look at that leg of yours when we get back, because that injury seems like it’s recent…” Spectre spoke with concern, looking at it a little closer. “I wouldn't be surprised if it’s permanently damaged at this point… however that could be changed if treated sooner rather than later” he continued as he looked up at the towering figure in front of him. 

“By the way… please forgive me but, what is your name? As we don’t really have a way of referring to you”

“You can call me Atom”

“Then let’s get you home once this storm has passed, shall we Atom?” Phantom asked with a soft smile as the three of them waited for the storm to pass.