Legends Never Die

First Impressions

"Son, remember that it isn't safe outside at night, demons come out and Shadows lurk in the darkness." The masked man with light blue-green wings warned his youngest son as he put him in bed, his deep voice laced with a sense of authority the child admired greatly.

The small room was illuminated by a soft golden glow provided by the fire lamp by the door, allowing the two to see each other despite the darkness outside.

"I know Dad, you've told me this before. Besides, I'm not a kid anymore, I'm basically a teenager." The son replied in a bored tone, having heard the same knowledge multiple times.

"I'm telling you this Dark so that one day you can take my place in the Hybrids and defend our village. I'm old and can't live forever." The father reminded him urgently.

"I promise Dad, I'll be the best guard this village has ever seen." Dark yawned wearily, stretching his arms high over his head while expanding his vibrant light pink wings.

"Good. Now get some rest, we'll continue training tomorrow morning if you choose to go on." He nodded before leaving Dark's room, blowing out the lamp with a quick swipe of his wing as he left.

Dark could hear his dad talking to his other brother as he rolled over onto his side, folding his wings closer to him as he listened to their quiet conversation.

"Dad, I don't think he should join the Hybrids, he could get hurt-"

"Jason, I've already told you that there's no other choice. Since he's half demon and half angel, he's considered evil. Nowhere else will take him, and we need more people to defend our village. The Shadows have grown stronger and their attacks are more frequent." Dark's father interrupted him sternly.

"Dad-"

"No buts Jason, this is the path he must take or else-"

"Damien!" Jason yelled, causing his father to fall silent.

Dark instinctively held his breath until Jason continued, surprised that he had snapped at their father since he never had before.

"I miss mom....I can't lose both of you too." Jason continued in a softer tone intertwined with grief that made Dark's heart ache for his older brother.

Their mom was also an angel, but she had died when Dark was young enough that he couldn't remember her now except if he tried hard to picture her face.

Shadows had found their hut and smashed it to the ground, killing her and injuring Damien in the process, which made him have to wear a mask.

"Dark has been training for years now, he will be alright." Damien assured Jason, his assurance lacking conviction.

"I hope you're right." Jason muttered before retreating into his own room.

Dark stayed motionless in bed until he heard his father blow out all of the lights in the tiny stone hut before going into his room.

Once he heard his father begin to snore, he slipped out of bed and poked his head out of his room before sneaking out the front door.

"Finally, now I can go to my spot." Dark sighed in content as a light evening breeze caused his wings to flutter slightly, closing his eyes as he breathed in the fresh air.

Without hesitation, Dark flapped his wings with enough strength to push him up off of the ground, allowing him to soar into the air like a bird.

The trees rustled around him as he flew above them, his hand able to graze their leaves as he reached down.

There was a cliff that he loved visiting every night ever since he had learned how to fly that overlooked what felt like the entire world as well as large stone structures that had been created long before he was born.

But when he got there, he could see a dark figure already there with their knees curled up to their chest as they softly sobbed.

"Hello?" Dark called out to them as he approached, gently landing beside them.

The person looked up at Dark with sapphire blue eyes that shone with tears, hiccups occasionally escaping from his body.

He had claw-like fingers, short dark brown hair that stuck up in various places, and pastel green wings that were folded around him like a cocoon.

He looked to be about Dark's age, although he had dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.

"W-who are you?" The man stammered in between sobs, his voice timid.

"I'm Dark, who are you?" Dark countered as he sat down by him, his legs swung over the edge of the cliff.

"M-my name i-is Anti." He replied shakily as he struggled to steady his breathing.

"I'm sorry if I'm in your way or anything." Anti apologized with a sniff as he hung his head in shame.

"It's okay, I like company." Dark consoled him with a small smile, kicking his legs back and forth as Anti slowly I curled his legs and followed Dark's movements.

"So why are you here?" Dark prompted as he looked out at the dark horizon.

"I...I'm part demon and part angel. My parents don't accept me since all of my siblings are angels except me." Anti explained bitterly as he looked out at the horizon with Dark.

"Hey, I'm a half angel and half demon too!" Dark exclaimed, a plan to become friends already formulating in his mind.

"And your parents don't care?" Anti asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's just my dad and my older brother Jason. My dad's half angel and half demon while my brother's an angel...my mom passed away when I was little." Dark explained with a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Anti apologized sheepishly.

"It's okay, I don't remember her much anyway." Dark responded casually.

The two sat on the edge of the cliff in silence for a moment, both unsure of what to say to the other.

"So, um, are you part of the Hybrids?" Dark asked Anti hesitantly.

"Yeah, but usually I end up being the one that stands back and watches everyone else do cool stuff." Anti huffed in mild irritation.

"Oh, my dad's wanting me to take his place when he dies." Dark added.

"Cool." Anti nodded.

"Yeah." Dark agreed awkwardly.

"Well I gotta go before my dad finds out I'm gone, will I see you tomorrow?" Dark asked hopefully.

"Sure, I mean, if you want to. I'm not very cool or interesting." Anti admitted as his face heated up slightly in embarrassment.

"We'll see if that's true in due time." Dark joked teasingly with a wink before taking off into the air, glancing back at Anti one last time.

He was able to watch him take off into the woods before Dark turned back around so he could see where he was going.

Once Dark got home, he snuck back to bed and stared up at the ceiling, unable to sleep as he thought of Anti.

Had he found his first friend?

He hoped so.