★彡[ ᴀꜱᴛʀɪᴅ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴛᴏᴛᴀʟ ꜱᴏꜰᴛɪᴇ ]彡★
Kai had been distant lately with the rest of the dragon riders which confused them all. She'd even stopped annoying Astrid, who became even more suspicious, since it was impossible for her not to go a day without getting on the blonde's nerves.
The winged hero had been stuck in this new world for at least two months, and while she did enjoy her time here with the dragons and the riders, a part was beginning to feel homesick.
She just wanted to spend time by herself and clear her thoughts. Kai was also extremely tired of having to hide her wings this long. Her wings were a part of her and had never been retracted this long, and it physically ached her so much the long she kept it hidden.
Kai couldn't do it any more.
She just couldn't hold it in any longer.
So when night struck, and she was certain that everyone had gone to sleep, the winged hero snuck out of her hut and made her way to the secluded side of the island near another cliff where it was quiet.
Glancing at the ocean in front of her, she inhaled the brisk night air as the cool sea breeze blew against her skin. The sky was a wide open black canvas with tiny specks of white paint glittering here and there.
The moon was off to her left, the light reflecting in her golden eyes as she gazed up at it. There weren't any city lights here like she had been used to all her life, and it brought a strange sense of calm to her.
Before Kai had time to change her mind, she slid her goggles on and tumbled over the edge. Wind whipped through her dark-gold hair as she willed her wings to expand, firing striking her veins as her body trembled slightly.
In a blink of an eye, a pair of feathery golden wings expanded from her shoulder blades, growing as tall as her body, arcing off her back like a concave reflection. The smaller feathers blended intricately with the larger ones, having a tint of silver within them.
Everything slowed down before her eyes, or rather sped up for Kai as she flew straight ahead. She saw a star dim and light up again in slow motion. With childish joy, Kai flew upwards towards the clouds.
Realising no one would hear her, the young hero leapt in the air with joy and cheered. She opened her eyes and spun around happily freely. She had missed her wings so much.
But despite her glee, her back ached incredibly from summoning wings after ages and her body was beginning to tremble in tiredness. Without another thought, Kai was zipping back towards the edge.
Just when she reached the island, her wings finally gave out, retracting back. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, but as Kai tumbled into the grass and ended up laying on her back in the dirt, staring up at the stars, she really didn't care.
She could feel the blood seeping from her shoulder blades as she laid there, her breathing heavy and unsteady, barely making it out of her tired lungs and body, but it didn't bother her.
Closing her eyes, the winged hero took in another deep breath and almost treasured the burning sensation in her back.
"I can't believe I just did that." Kai chuckled slightly to herself, wincing and clutching her side but smiling nonetheless.
"I can't believe it either," a reply came.
Kai was broken out of her euphoric joy and jolted up in a sitting position, snapping her head behind her, ignoring the sudden surge of pain.
Right behind her stood Astrid herself, her blonde locks gently flying back from the cool breeze as she stared at the dark-gold haired teenager in pure shock.
Golden eyes met ocean ones under the moonlight. And Kai was surprised to find that instead of being stared at like some monster, Astrid was in awe, something that Kai would've never imagined.
Kai had no idea what to say at that moment, but she found herself asking. "How long were you standing there?"
"The entire time," Astrid answered honestly.
Kai let out a sigh, focusing back on the stars and laying back again, adrenaline flowing through her body as she felt the pain in her back slowly fade away as she laid. She heard Astrid walk over to her and sat next to her, a foot away from her.
The two sat together, or laid in Kai's case, in silence for a bit.
"I'm not an ordinary human or of this world," Kai announced with a sigh as she stared peacefully up at the stars, answering Astrid's unasked question.
Astrid scoffed. "You not being ordinary was obvious since the day I caught you when you fell from the sky. I guess now it kinda answers why you were that high in the first place without any dragon."
Kai was really surprised as to how greatly Astrid was taking it. "How are you so calm about this? That's supposed to be my thing."
Astrid's lips curled up in a smile. "Honestly, I kinda already figured you were weird. You just proved my suspicions."
"Wow, rude," Kai said in mock hurt.
"Those wings, how though?" The blonde found herself asking curiously.
Kai sighed before explaining. "I come from a place where most of the population possess some sort of superhuman ability called quirks, basically powers. I have wings that sprout out of my back and allow me to fly that you've just witnessed."
"And I also have control over fire in a way, being basically immune to it," she added.
"That explains so much why there weren't any burns on you when you were knocked into fire when we were fighting the Cavern Crasher," Astrid said.
Kai nodded and the two fell into silence for a few moments.
"So you can turn into a flying fire chicken? Lovely," Astrid stated, a playful glint in her eyes.
"I'm very deeply offended by the fact that you resembled my glorious wings to a chicken's," Kai replied in a hurt tone.
Astrid let out a laugh. It was a soft noise, and the way she threw her head slightly back made her look adorable in the winged hero's eyes who found herself smiling too. She had never witnessed this soft and understanding side of Astrid, but she loved it.
"Would you do me a favour?" Kai asked while Astrid stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Can we please keep this a secret between us? For now," Kai said, letting out a sigh. "I just, I don't know if I'm ready to reveal all this to everyone just yet."
Kai had always had a fear of abandonment ever since she was young. And she was scared that the rest of the riders would all leave her and be terrified for the abomination she was with her powers.
It was a miracle enough that Astrid didn't run away or scream at her for being a monster, and was calm about it.
"I know it's too much to ask of you, but please?" Kai pleaded gently.
Astrid was unsure about it for a moment, not liking having to keep secrets from the rest of the riders, but nodded. "Alright."
"Thank you," Kai replied softly with a smile.
The winged hero winced slightly as she sat up and pulled her knees closer to her chest which Astrid didn't fail to notice.
"Are you okay?" The blonde asked with a hint of concern. "I saw how you landed painfully on the ground."
"I'm fine. It had just been too long since I had summoned my wings so my back's just sore, but it'll be fine," Kai explained, flashing her a smile of reassurance.
But Astrid was far from convinced that Kai was fine, yet she reluctantly nodded, knowing Kai would never admit it. The blonde dragon rider was intrigued even more by the winged hero beside her after finding out a bit more about her.
"I don't understand it," Kai mumbled quietly under her breath.
Astrid heard her, furrowing her eyebrows. "Don't understand what?"
"How you aren't scared of me, despite seeing my true form," Kai stated.
The blonde raised her eyebrows, a confusing look passing her face. "And why would I be?"
"I don't know." Kai shrugged, struggling to find an answer. "You hate me, and you just ... you're acting really calm and considerate about this."
There was silence for a moment.
"I don't hate you," Astrid whispered softly, her blonde locks gently blowing back as she hugged her knees too. "You really annoy me, yes, but I never hated you."
A small smile broke on Kai's face. "Astrid, being nice, I can't believe it."
Astrid punched the dark-gold haired teenager's arm, but it was gentle from the blonde's perspective. "I can be nice."
Kai's grin only grew. "Aw, so the fierce Astrid is a total softie."
"Am not." Astrid scoffed softly, but the small smile that grew on her face betrayed her words.
"Hmm, sure you're not," Kai hummed.
A comfortable silence fell amongst the two, finding peace in each other's presences in quiet night. And that night was the night where their relationship slowly began to grow into something more.