Hold Me Tightly
Pip wasn’t much. She knew that, of course. Her wings were small, she was a hybrid for god's sake! She couldn’t fix weapons, tailor armor, or even cook. She was good at a select few things, stealing, fighting, committing crimes. She was a rogue, and she’d stay that way for a while.
There were few ways to get money in the towns she passed through, and she’d found the ones with the more... Dark tones. Stealing jewels, robbing, being a mercenary for hire. It was easy, to just shut off their feelings. They would fight, kill, and do anything to guarantee they’d live another day. Nobody would be able to discriminate against them because of their small wings, or their spots, or even because they were the bastard daughter of a disgraced noble, one who had been forced to turn to criminal activities to stay alive.
Pip was a survivor, a bandit, a rogue and definitely unlawful, but they were alive.
That was enough.
Kaydence had watched empires fall, kings be toppled, coups be staged. She watched her worshippers die, her chosen paladins fall in battle, her warriors murdered by kings and armies and everything in between. It wasn’t a good thing to be blessed by the goddess of death, it never would be.
Her paladins had all died painfully, the King had made sure they always would. She was death, she was danger, she was everything in-between and everything around. She was the pull of the moon, the sound of the birds, the drag of the tides, the screaming of battle, the blood on the stones. Kaydence was simply holy, and nothing else.
She loathed her fellow gods. The ones that could love their worshippers like nothing else. She envied them, able to bestow eternity on their lovers, to have children they loved. She was the goddess of death, and she’d never find love.
Even Cecil had found love, he’d fallen for a dragon hybrid, made them a god as well. They loved brightly, and even fell for another mortal! An avian, a devoted follower of Kaydence’s. When their other lover had died, they’d come to her for help in reviving them. Cecil had always been her favorite, so she agreed.
She was all alone. Nobody worshipped her. A blind goddess wasn’t good enough, her wings never perfect, her eyes never seeing. She was death, a bad omen, the eternal opposite to the king.
Pip huffed, loudly. The job they’d done didn’t bring in enough money for their lodging, so they were forced to try and find shelter for the night. The woods were dark and empty, and she’d never felt more alone. There were few light sources in these woods, fireflies and glow lichen, but they weren’t enough. Nothing was enough. The dark was closing in, and she was terrified.
When it got too much, she ran, in which direction she’d never know, but it still hadn’t gotten her out of the dark. The trees towered over her, making her feel small and scared and she needed to get to a light source soon or she’d cry-
Her wings hit the tree, a scream on her lips. She grasped wildly, trying to find something to stabilize herself on, and found her hands meeting stone. Cold, hard stone. A shelter.
She flung the door open, surprised to find torches lit up inside of the shelter. A statue stood in the middle; a huge podium attached to it. Her mother had told her stories of a goddess like this once. The goddess Sieglinde, sister to the King of Gods. It was lucky she’d stumbled upon this temple, but she wasn’t religious. She didn’t believe in gods; she couldn’t pray for luck.
She did leave a loaf of bread on the altar though; it was common courtesy in the villages to feed the deities.
Kaydence was roused from her sleep by a feeling. An odd one, she hadn’t felt it in years. A feeling of worship and devotion, as though someone had given her an offering. That hadn’t happened since Ren had died.
She stretched her wings out, pulling her mind outwards. There was a loaf of bread in an old temple Ren had built. She’d never received an offering there.
This was interesting, and Kaydence liked interesting things.
Pip awoke in a flash, her eyes opening as quickly as possible. The sound of footsteps alerted her to another's presence. This place had been completely empty when she first walked in, she hadn’t known anyone would come in after her. Perhaps she’d stumbled upon a temple that was still in use, despite all the propaganda regarding Sieglinde.
She pulled out the knife in her satchel, gripping it tightly. Her wings pulled close to her back, a fearful look in her eyes. Whoever was coming wouldn’t be a threat, but she needed to be prepared.
She locked eyes with someone, and a feeling of recognition coursed through her bones. This wasn’t someone she recognized, but the feeling was familiar.
Kaydence hadn’t appeared in human form since her final paladin had passed. This human was interesting enough, and she’d humor them. Stumbling upon her temple, leaving an offering despite not worshipping the gods? She wanted more information, more about this mysterious rogue.
She needed to know.
“Hello?”
The human jolted into a fighting stance, eyes burning with pure and utter fear. Their wings were small, and they looked nothing but terrified to have been caught. Perhaps it was her eyes, Kaydence's eyes were quite scary to see for the first time.
The blindfold went on. Now she looked like a regular priestess, or what one would look like if she still had any.
“Who are you.” Her voice was strained, as though she was trying to prevent her emotions from leaking into it. Oh, Kaydence liked them already.
“My name is Kaydence. May I ask how you got into this temple?”
“It was left open. If you’re the shrine maiden you’re not doing a great job.” Her voice had changed, now it wasn’t as guarded as before, now it was merely bitter.
Kaydence nodded, “well I am blind, so I try my hardest.” That wasn’t a lie, she had been blind once, before Arili had gifted her with sight. Back when she’d been human, before she’d ascended to godhood, back when she was the revered priestess of Arili.
“Oh- I didn’t realize! I’m sorry, I should probably go now. You’re a priestess? I left an offering for your goddess as compensation for being here overnight.”
Kaydence blinked, her blindfold stopped the view of her eyes, but she could still see. The avian was tense, clearly nervous about being kicked out. Why would she do that? What kind of cruelty had she been treated with in the past? This had once been a sanctuary for those unable to work or live normal lives. Her shrine maidens had once been blind, deaf, or mute. Why would she kick out an avian who had nowhere else to go? She wasn’t cruel.
“Why should you go? This is a temple for all.”
“Most don’t enjoy someone sleeping on their floor before they pray.”
Something about this traveler interested her, but the goddess inside of her craved something from them. She didn’t know what, but she needed it.
“Where are you headed next, weary traveler?”
The avian seemed surprised, the guarded look back up in a flash. “I’m going to the Copper Kingdom. I found work there.”
Kaydence blinked, fond memories coming back to her. That was the deity Xelqua’s court, she’d been there before. “I can travel with you if you’d like?”
Anything to calm the absolute rush of need that coursed through her bones. This human would become her next paladin. How rare, she hadn’t had one in hundreds of years. What made this one special? What made her long for them? A small, feeble avian. Maybe that was why, her instincts were desperate to protect the young avian.
She would protect them like she protected those before them. She’d be more successful this time. Her brother would not claim this one like he had the others.
This one would be wholly hers. Only hers.
Pip didn’t know why she agreed to let a blind priestess come with her. It was a spur of a moment decision, and the odd tugging feeling wasn’t helping her already weak resolve. Gods above this girl was so pretty it made her want to scream. Her hair was beautiful, a soft brown that seemed so fluffy she just wanted to run her fingers through it. Her skin was a lovely tan, one so unlike the normal pasty white of the villagers she’d met so far.
Her instincts just wanted her to grab this pretty, shiny thing and hide away with it. To show them with gifts and show affection towards them. She couldn’t do that, she’d just met the woman, she didn’t even know her name!
“So, your name?”
“Kaydence Lunete. Yours?”
“Pip Shroom.”
They fell into silence, it wasn’t comfortable, but it didn’t make her wings puff up on the ends, so it was alright. She regretted letting Kaydence come with her to the Copper Kingdom, she didn’t even know if she’d find jobs there, much less find one respectable. This priestess—Kaydence—also didn’t seem to be able to work. Blindness was a valid reason to become a priestess, but to serve Sieglinde? That was a punishment in itself. It made Pip wonder how she got here in the first place, how all these events fell into the timeline they’d caused.
She wondered if Kaydence could feel the tugging too.
Pip didn’t believe in soulmates, but whatever this bond was, it was close to it.
It took about three days to walk to the Copper Kingdom. Kaydence had managed to speed it up to one. Being a god had its perks, seeing magic, speeding up travel times, controlling who lives and dies... it had perks. She fondly remembered Xelqua, the god of chaos. He ran the Copper Kingdom, constantly being “reborn” to keep up the façade of being human. She’d heard he found a paladin, and she was nothing if not curious.
Pip wasn’t a talkative person, but that was fine, because Pip was perfect no matter what she did or didn’t do. Kaydence noticed someone from the corner of her eye, her brain going haywire. Her instincts screamed, because Pip was here, and something could happen to them.
A hand touched her shoulder and she moved into a fighting position. She blinked with recognition, a memory coming back to her. She moved before she could speak. Pip would later question if she was truly blind, or if she was faking it.
“Grian.”
“Kaydence! Meet Scar! He’s my traveling companion!”
“Nice to meet you Scar. Meet Pip, we’re looking for work inside the copper kingdom.”
He grinned, this one looking dangerous.
Pip looked back and forth from the two, then at the traveling partner, Scar.
She had the feeling something would happen soon.