#feilake

They felt an odd presence. Well, not odd per se, just familiar. Familiar enough to make Casimir look around the muttering and mumbling of students.  🦄: “I could’ve sworn…” He paused, tail twitching in confusion as he wracked his mind of what could have caused such a feeling in him “Oh bother… perhaps I’ll find answers later” 

Later - at the Cafeteria, Casimir was flitting about, drifting through tables all the while trying to identify where he belonged and where to sit. He wanted to find a compassionate group, one who they could identify with. That was until he spotted someone who made his heart ache…

🦄: Odd… I feel as if there was someone like him in my dreams… They pondered to themselves quietly, closing his eyes and trying to imagine that figure they saw in their dreams, ears twitching slightly

They walked past the table Feiyao was at, ignoring the feeling he had looking at the fae boy at the lunch table. He cast a glance over his shoulder as the student got up to put his tray away before walking around the cafeteria once more

🐦‍🔥: Feiyao paused for a second too long, turning around to see what invoked that odd feeling of familiarity within him “Huh… strange” Muttered Feiyao, scratching his head before shrugging and walking off “Probably was nothing”

--- 🦄: Casimir stayed near the edge of the cafeteria after the noise died down into something he could tolerate. Just as he was about to leave, a teacher approached him, clearing their throat gently and holding out a thin slip of paper.

🧑‍🏫: “Ah - you must be new here young sir - you look a bit lost,” he chuckled, crossing his arms. “Do you need your schedule?” 

🦄: Casimir blinked, startled, but shook his head “Oh - no thank you, I already have my schedule.” He glanced down, paper in hand as he scanned the rows of unfamiliar class names and locations. They had written their schedule down and memorized it during the orientation, so he was sure that he was all set. 

🧑‍🏫: He nodded, folding his hands behind his back “Well then, you’d better not be late for class since that’s the case. The bell is going to ring soon” and with that, the teacher strode away, most likely to ask other students if they’d already received their schedule

🦄: Casimir nodded “Yes, sir.” His attention turned elsewhere…

Of course, nothing else here was familiar or struck any feeling of familiarity in Casimir whatsoever… but then what was that his heart surged for just earlier? Folding the schedule carefully, he tucked it away and stepped back into the halls once more, hooves clicking softly against the stone.

The corridors were crowded, students moving in loose streams between classrooms.

🦄: Casimir kept to the sides, ears flicking as bits and pieces of conversations passed his ears. They filtered out those words, none of them were of any interest to him. He turned a corner without looking… And collided straight into someone.

The impact was light but enough to knock him off balance, but fortunately, knocked neither to the floor

🦄: Casimir stumbled back a step. “Ah - s-sorry!” he said quickly, looking up.

🐦‍🔥: Feiyao was about to say something before his eyes fell on Casimir - the fae froze.

For a moment, the world seemed to narrow to just the two of them. That face - older, yes, changed by hundreds of years, but unmistakable. The curve of the ears, the way his eyes widened when surprised. Feiyao’s breath caught in his throat.

But come on - how could the unicorn horn not be memorable?

🐦‍🔥: “Wait… Casimir?!” he exclaimed equal parts startled and excited. Startled that Casimir had just… appeared out of the blue, and excited to see his old friend once more.

🦄: The unicorn  tilted his head, confusion plain on his face. He studied Feiyao carefully, and that feeling of nostalgia reared its head once more, perplexing Casimir further… I swear… I know these features, but who is this boy? “I… uh do I know you…?” they asked, trepidation lacing their voice.

🐦‍🔥: “What?” He laughed once, awkward and disbelieving, then stopped when Casimir didn’t join in. Feiyao’s expression shifted, concern breaking through his initial shock. “Wait. No, that’s not funny.” He searched Casimir’s face, brow furrowing in confusion - why did Casimir seem to not recognize him? “Dude, it’s me. Feiyao.”

Silence.

🐦‍🔥: Feiyao’s hands curled into fists. Five hundred years. Five hundred years of sleep, of stone and silence. “You don’t remember me?” he asked more quietly now, still skeptical, as if Casimir would just start laughing and claim it was just a joke. “The moonflower fields. The stupid flower crowns you used to make, remember? You said you’d wait for me.”

🦄: Casimir’s ears pinned back slightly, he felt sorry for Feiyao - perhaps the fae confused him for another unicorn... after all, there was sure to be at least  few others out there.

They cleared their throat “I’m… I’m sorry,” they said, genuinely distressed. “I don’t remember any of that. I wish I did, but I don’t.” He shook his head “Maybe you’ve gotten the wrong person?”

🐦‍🔥: Feiyao stared at Casimir for a long, long second, the noise of the hallway fading away around them. Laughter, footsteps, distant voices - all of it felt wrong, too loud for the way his chest tightened.

The wrong person?

Feiyao let out a slow breath, dragging a hand down his face. “Nah, nah, nah, nah,” he said quietly, shaking his head adamantly. “No, it IS you.” His voice wavered, and Feiyao quickly caught onto that, fixing his voice crack with a firm tone. “I’d recognize you anywhere. Even if you forgot me. Dude - stop joking around, this isn’t funny.”

🦄: They took a step back, face scrunching slightly “Mh-hm…” 

🐦‍🔥: He looked up again, eyes searching Casimir’s face with something close to desperation, then his gaze ripped away from Casimir, realizing how overwhelming this must be. “Er- Sorry. I didn’t mean to corner you like that.” He took a step back, holding his hands up. “But I SERIOUSLY swear I know you.”🦄: Casimir shook his head with an apologetic smile, shifting his stance slightly, “And I myself have to apologize, I do not know you at all.” But seeing Feiyao’s slightly crestfallen expression, they cleared their throat, deciding to change the topic, “But could you help me to class? I’m a bit lost, I'm afraid…”

I should’ve grabbed that teacher's help when I could… Casimir thought to himself with a sigh.

---

Feiyao and Casimir had gotten along over the days in college - they were often in the same class, with Casimir passing notes to Feiyao whenever he wasn’t paying too much attention to class and Feiyao calling the teachers attention for Casimir. They had a good bond, but Casimir couldn’t help but feel that twinge of familiarity whenever he and Feiyao’s hands accidentally brushed, whenever Feiyao asked a stupid question Casimir could easily answer, whenever they looked at each other for long enough… Casimir often shook that off as a coincidence - maybe the prince had a familiar face? 

But one day, Feiyao had had enough of Casimir drifting in and out of remembering the past… everytime it seemed like the unicorn would remember something in the past they shared, his mind would always drift away

Now the two stood in Feiyao’s room, having finished up with some homework Feiyao had neglected for a little too long.

—

🦄: “Remember you…? No, I don’t remember you…”

🐦‍🔥: “You don’t? Really- you- you’re pulling on my leg, right?” 🦄: “If I was, I’m pretty sure you would have felt it…” the unicorn murmured, a confused look in his eyes. Usually, their depths would reflect the ever beautiful forests - the fields of which the two would play in when they were but children.

Now Casimir’s eyes showed only Feiyao’s reflection

🐦‍🔥: Feiyao frowned, trailing his hand down his face “No no… nevermind…” he growled, tail twitching in mild irritation behind him as he slowly began to pace. 🦄: Casimir tilted their head slowly, brows furrowing - they tried their hardest to have any recollection of Feiyao in his past. “I’m… I’m sorry” they held their head low “No matter how hard I try…” Their words trailed off, gaze growing distance for a moment before shaking his head, tail twitching with a nervous energy

🐦‍🔥: The dragon stopped pacing, messing his hair in frustration before snapping at Casimir “Don’t act stupid! Seriously! Please!” he practically pleaded, taking a deep breath, then quietly -  “Five hundred years…” 

His voice raised, not quite angry, just… frustrated “Cas, do you not remember the moonflowers? The playdates? The trips into the forest? Raising a butterfly from a caterpillar?”

🦄: Casimir turned his gaze away “I grow moonflowers, always have…”

🐦‍🔥: “That’s not the point!” Feiyao exclaimed, growing desperate - a fear blooming in his chest at the thought that his first friend, his best friend, had forgotten him after all this time. Just like he’d feared 🦄: Their ears flicked, taking a pace back and biting the inside of their lip - has this man gone mad…? Wondered Casimir, unsure if he should make his leave before Feiyao got worked up even more

🐦‍🔥: “You tunneled the river,” he said immediately after, tone calming  “You were so proud of that. You wouldn’t shut up about irrigation for a WEEK.” His voice almost lifted in excitement before faltering again. “You made crowns out of vines that scratched my scalp because you pulled them too tight.” a wry chuckle escaping him

🦄: That made Casimir pause, a flicker of recognition passing through his eyes for only a second “I was unaware that dragons could complain so much..” They chuckled wryly, trepidation ebbing from their body 🐦‍🔥: Feiyao’s eyes lit, his tail giving a hopeful, tentative wag - “You used to say that a lot back then - whenever I fussed about this or that.” He had not missed the flicker of recognition, and that alone made him more determined. 🦄: “I feel like I’m missing something still…”

🐦‍🔥: A twinge of irritation ran through Feiyao. Not at Casimir in particular, just the fact that this memory loss, this distance between them, had been caused by the greed of hunters. “Okay,” he said, forcing steadiness into his tone. “Imma start over.”

“My name’s Feiyao. I like glowy things. I’m very cool. Extremely heroic.” he put a hand to his chest before motioning at Casimir “You were… who knows where, and I was er- stone” 🦄: That made Casimir snicker a little bit “Stone…?” his ears giving a small flick “How uh… how unflattering” He smiled, putting a hand over his mouth, hoping he wasn’t disrespectful

🐦‍🔥: Feiyao smiled, a small laugh escaping under his breath “Long story. Curse. Bad people. You know, exciting stuff” he gestured with his hands vaguely before they both fell silent - Casimir trying to remember, and Feiyao trying to come up with something to help them remember.

Silence pressed in around them, thicker now. “Rem-Remember the promise we made to each other?” Asked the fae, taking a gentle step forwards, as if he might spook Casimir - I mean, who wouldn’t think that? Casimir was always jumpy 🦄: “Promise…” Casimir furrowed their brow a little further, pulling his hand up to rub his temple, muttering repeatedly, quietly “Promise… promise what…” their foot tapped the ground, impatient and frustrated at his own thoughts This was farther than Feiyao had managed to get with Casimir in terms of remembering the past…

🐦‍🔥: He nodded “Yes- yes the promise!” a small smile made its way back to the prince’s face “We promised each other, that no matter what happened…” Feiyao’s hands reached out to Casimir’s 

🦄: They were slightly uneasy, but let Feiyao take their hands 🐦‍🔥: Feiyao cleared his throat, trying not to tear up as he recounted their promise - it had meant a lot to him over the years, one of the reasons he hadn’t felt empty when he woke from his slumber. “...no matter what happened, that we’d never, ever forget each other….” His hands squeezed Casimir’s lightly, eyes begging, pleading for the unicorn to remember, hands shaking slightly around Casimir’s 🦄: One of Casimir’s hands slipped out of Feiyao’s slowly, hesitantly. Casimir pressed a hand to his temple. His head throbbed faintly… There was something there - warm and golden and soft like dusk over a field. A memory that would not quite form. He could almost see a shape beside him in tall flowers. Laughter. A flash of red-gold scales against silver petals.

“The promise… I think I remember that”

🐦‍🔥: The prince looked up once more, leaning in slightly, remaining quiet to let the unicorn think

🦄: … His purple eyes remained fixed on their joined hands. The air had gone still, as if holding its breath in the moment as well, the sunlight seemingly fixed to make the moment more dramatic… (which was quite unnecessary from the sun…)

“…You never learned how to make them properly,” he whispered after a moment 🐦‍🔥: “What?” 

🦄: The smile from earlier crept it’s way back onto the unicorn’s face, speaking slowly “You kept breaking the stems,” Casimir continued faintly. “And you blamed the flowers.” they said, lifting Feiyao’s hand, his smooth fingers running over Feiyao’s knuckles to stop their shaking.

His memory snapped fully into place like a thread pulled taut, eyes widening a fraction. Moonlight, laughter, a young Feiyao grinning besides a young Casimir - flowers decorating their hair. “...Feiyao”

🐦‍🔥: The fae had heard Casimir say his name many times before, all different kinds of tones, in different types of scenarios… but this? Casimir was saying his name with the weight of a friendship that had been waiting to bloom once more after years of slumber Feiyao shook himself internally, blinking twice and catching back up to the moment “Yeah…?”

🦄: Without much thought, Casimir pulled Feiyao close, close and tight… just like he had before when they were little. It was just then that Casimir sniffled, burying his face in the crook of Feiyao’s neck 🐦‍🔥: “Woah!” Feiyao exclaimed, his hands being dropped in place of that hug. The prince blinked, hands hovering where they had once been as he processed… before wrapping his old friend in a tight embrace “Damn it Cas…” He laughed, a bit winded from the sudden surge of emotion “I’ve been trying so hard… so hard to get you to remember again…” 🦄: The unicorn shook his head insistently, “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry… I really am!” he exclaimed, pulling back slightly from the hug to look at Feiyao, this time, looking deeper into the prince “I waited…” “I really did” he gave a small nod, his hand coming up to cup Feiyao’s cheek, rubbing the skin there reverently

🐦‍🔥: He laughed, “I know I know - I came back. And you wanna know the first thing I did?” Chuckled the fae, leaning into Casimir’s hand 🦄: “What was that..?” they asked, ears twitching slightly 🐦‍🔥: Feiyao rolled his eyes, tail sliding across the ground slightly, rubbing against Casimir’s tail as it too came to meet Feiyao’s. “Well, I looked for you, duh!” he smirked “You really are dumb sometimes” 🦄: That was what broke something loose inside Casimir… The years of wandering. The endless searching. The hollow ache they had carried without knowing its shape… and before he knew it? The tears started to well

“Goodness Feiyao… you’re.. You’re an amazing friend.” There was more they wanted to say. Apologies for the centuries. Gratitude. Relief. The way his heart felt too full for his ribs., but Feiyao interjected insistently

🐦‍🔥: “Woah woah woah woah!” he exclaimed, wiping the tears from the unicorn’s lashes, eyebrows shooting up slightly “Don’t cry - if you cry, the curse will make sure you won’t be able to be a unicorn again” 🦄: “Huh-? What curse? What do you mean????”