#friskini

It was… a long day.

The two of them had decided to settle in for the night, finding shelter in a nearby cave in the mountains. The wind raged, propelling snow and clumps of ice against the entrance as they huddled against a slightly raised platform deeper within.

The Storm moved in the distance – Far away from them… for now, at least.

Apollo worked on whittling down wood, cutting off the chunks of ice that stuck to the branches, while Frisk worked on starting a fire with the sticks he had already done. They were grumbling, violently working two of them together to get at least one ember going.

“Wish we still had that flint and steel… Would have made this so much easier…”

He winced, feeling their glare as he continued cutting. “I said I was sorry about that! I didn’t mean to break it!”

“Sure you didn’t. They’re just so easy to break and happen to snap on their own…”

“Next time, you try lighting a fire while your hands are literally freezing up! We were lucky I could even make a fire at all.”

They stuck their tongue out at him. He huffed, flicking a small snow chunk at them since he couldn’t do the same. He got a snowball launched at his face in return, their laughter filling the air as he squawked and flailed backward.

A spark finally ignited, regaining their attention, and Frisk got down, cupping their hands over it. He could hear them blowing at it, encouraging the spark to take hold and spread, consuming the wood pile. There was a sigh of relief at the same time as the crackle of fire, their shadow cast on the walls as they sat on their haunches.

Both of them relaxed, finally having some warmth wash over them. Frisk moved to lay down on their stomach, resting their head on their arms. They sighed, closing their eyes. The flames danced in their face, given their proximity to the fire, but they didn’t mind – It felt rather nice.

Apollo put down the knife, wiping snow off his screen and tossing the branch he had into the fire. It crackled as it hit, flames licking along its sides as it began to burn. A hum left him as he stretched out and leaned toward the blaze, hoping to warm his machinery. His wings unfurled from his back and head, coated in light layers of frost.

Frisk slowly opened their eyes again, having heard his wings shift. They were rather noisy things and hard to look away from, especially with the snow covering them like glitter. It wasn’t often that he had them out, really only when the Storm was getting too close – He claimed that they were quick to freeze up in the cold, and that they were heavy, so he kept them hidden.

They thought the wings were mechanical, like the rest of his body. They weren’t expecting the large, bird-like appendages that looked real. Things of flesh and blood that were so… unlike the robotic being that they were attached to. They would have thought they were made to look like that, if he hadn’t let them touch the wings once, and felt the lifelike warmth they produced, little as it was.

It was… unnatural. Strange, though they suppose that Apollo was just strange in general, given the mysteries surrounding him. They never really thought to question it, given that they had been so focused on traveling and getting away from the Storm.

They certainly had some questions now though, seeing his wings up close once again.

Apollo turned to them, head tilting slightly. One of the wings on his head, so much smaller compared to the ones on his back, curled. “What?”

“…” They narrowed their eyes, saying nothing as they continued to stare. His screen flickered, crooked antennas curling slightly. “You’re weirding me out. What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

He touched his screen, searching as they snickered in response. His screen flickered again, wings folding closer – It was almost hiding parts of his face, hiding it from them, as he shook his head at them. “You’re not funny. But seriously, why are you staring so hard?”

Frisk hummed, thumbing some melting snow off their nose. Then, they pointed at his wings, causing his head to turn. “Not staring at you, I’m staring at those things.”

The bigger wings twitched, folding as though to hide behind him. The smaller ones pulled away from his face, flattening against the sides of his head. Frisk raised an eyebrow at him, watching the wings. He stared at them, motionless for the most part.

“What about them?”

“How’d you get them?”

He scratched the back of his head. “That’s… complicated. Kinda traumatic.”

“Okay then– How long have you had them?”

“…For a while.”

Their lips curled down slightly. “What are you?”

“Good question – Like the others, hard to answer.”

Frisk frowned fully at him. “It’s easier to tell me ‘fuck off’ if you don’t want to talk about it.”

Apollo made a wincing noise. “That’s– It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it, exactly.”

“Then why are you being cryptic and avoiding my questions?” they countered, shivering slightly as a breeze rolled over them. The fire flickered, causing both of them to tense for a moment as they watched, before returning to normal. After it settled, he sighed, his screen’s light falling on them.

“It really is just a complicated situation,” he explained, forcing his wings to relax and stretch again. “There’s a lot of things that are just– hard to explain. And they’re long and boring and stuff.”

Frisk huffed, air condensing in front of them. “Well– Try and cut it down, or something. Can you at least give me straight answers instead of dodging?”

He leaned forward, propping his elbow on his knee as he rested his head against his palm. One of his antennas was raised, bent at a certain angle. “Why are you so curious in the first place? You never questioned it before.”

They rolled their eyes. “Well, questions are usually the last thing I think about when running away from an eldritch horror devouring the land in an endless winter storm. But now, I’m not really doing either of that, am I?”

“…”

Frisk pinched the bridge of their nose. “That wasn’t– Just– Let’s just talk. To pass the time, for however long we have it. Please?”

Apollo stared into the flames, silent. Frisk inhaled sharply, frowning further as they watched him. “…You know me.” 

A twitch, from his wing and antenna. They glared, continuing. “You got to know my family, my friends, my stories, my life – I answered your questions when you asked them. Can’t you do the same for me?”

He exhaled, fog puffing up his screen, head dropping slightly. “I… Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. What do you want to know?”

They rested their head against their arms again, keeping their eyes on him. “…You had a family too, didn’t you?”

“I did, yes. My dad.”

“…Tell me about him.”

Apollo’s screen flickered, dimming slightly. “He was a good… person. A good father, and a good man, someone who was strong but kind. I looked up to him a lot. He… did a lot for me. More than I felt like I deserved, sometimes.”

They hummed. “Like what?”

His wings drooped as he leaned back, looking up into the ceiling. Frozen crystals twinkled down on him, screen glitching slightly as he thought back on his memories. They could see his body relaxing, shoulders falling as he got lost in his thoughts.