Shining Star//Dimming Light (VOL.2) (Felix X SKZ ONE-SHOTS)

Part of Your World (HwaLix) [PART 2]

Pairing: Seonghwa & Felix

Genre: Fantasy AU

!!TW!! : angst, war, racism, implied genocides, implied minor character deaths, betrayal, attempted murder, still kind of murder though, drowning

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Three weeks had passed since Felix rescued Hwa from the beach and brought him back to the palace. Three weeks of constantly sneaking around, staying up 'til the early hours of the morning to chat with the merman, and spending the rest of his time studying on their history with the merfolk.

The more time passed, and the more Felix came to realize that peace might be more of an option than everyone thought.

Humans had provoked the merfolk by intruding on their territories and hunting their preys, often leaving some areas completely inhabitable for the pods – in return, the merfolk had begun hunting near the shores, effectively destroying the smaller villages' and towns' economy. At first, it was more of a competition, of a sort, each species eating the other out of a home, but nothing more than that – at least, until the Humans began blaming the merfolk for the ships lost at sea, and the merfolk began stealing preys straight from the nets. The tensions and conflicts climbed until, eventually, blood was drawn and a full-out war exploded.

Thanks to everything Hwa had shared with him, and everything Felix had learned on his own from either reading about it or questioning everyone he could think of, the freckled prince was growing more and more convinced that establishing peace between merfolk and Humans wasn't too far off. It was just a matter of establishing boundaries, respecting borders, maybe even opening a trade! When Felix shared his ideas with Hwa, however, the merman hadn't appeared too tempted.

("Humans and merfolk are alike in the sense that we are very stubborn, and we hold grudges easily. Merfolk are prideful, and Humans are greedy – neither will willingly give anything up for the sake of peace when they so strongly believe fighting is an easier way to getting what they want.")

From what Hwa had told Felix, he was a merman not unlike him – son of a pod leader, he refused to sink ships and kill humans alongside his brethren and, eventually having had enough, he'd fled from his home in the hopes of finding a peaceful place where he could settle, away from the conflicts – and that's when he got caught in the crossfire caused by Chan's deployment of the weapon.

Felix understood. Himself had never tried to get involved in the matters of the war, happy to stew in his own ignorance while his brother dealt with everything else. But now that he'd seen the consequences of the war for himself, now that he better understood what was at stake, his heart couldn't help but bleed in sympathy for all of the innocent lives lost. So, despite Hwa's lack of outright support, Felix threw himself into building a case – the project of a potential peace treaty with the merfolk, which he would submit to his father, the King, along with the Royal Counsel at their next monthly meeting.

"They won't like it," sighed Hwa. "You will get hurt. You should just let it go."

Felix hummed, laying down on the grass near the edge of the water. "I can't. Even if it doesn't work... I won't be able to live with myself if I don't at least try."

"Your soul shines brightly, Felix, but not everyone desires change. If you are not careful, then your light will draw in the wrong people, and they will snuff it out."

"Aw, you almost sound like you're worried," teased Felix, a small smile gracing his lips as he let his gaze wander over the star-filled sky above them. "And here I thought you barely tolerated me."