The sky felt big. Bigger than normal. Is this what freedom does to you?

Persephone was ecstatic because Niki had decided it was about time she learned to solo patrol... And she was absolutely ready.

She looked past Niki's statement, 'Wouldn't want the city to be in ruins if I become incapacitated like Jack' and told herself it was just for fun. To make her more responsible!

And it was normal at first.

She climbed onto the rooftop, looking behind her to see if Niki was coming. 

She was, albeit a bit slowly, but she was still climbing.

Persephone sat down on the roof and sifted her hand through the roof gravel. Gravel had a certain scent to it that was both comforting and unpleasant. It was almost like she could smell the texture if that made any sense.

Soon, Niki clambered onto the roof, brushing her suit off.

"You ready?" She said, standing up straight and folding her arms behind her back. Persephone stood too, flicking her wingtips to gently rid them of the gravel.

"Ready as I'll ever be," She responded, cracking her knuckles out of habit.

Niki nodded, taking a breath. Persephone noticed she had been a lot more closed off for the past few months - ever since Jack was rendered incapacitated by Dream.

Speaking of Jack, he was getting worse. He'd had a relapse a couple of weeks after Persephone's birthday and could hardly leave his bed.

Persephone was getting worried.

No matter how strong Jack tried to seem or how sure he was of his health, he couldn't conceal the moments when the coughs would turn ratchety or the days his skin was far too pale to be natural.

...

Or the times the blackness of Wither would show in his veins. Some days he looked terrifying - pale off-white skin, prominent black veins in his arm... On other days, he just looked weak.

Wither shouldn't be this bad.

Persephone took a deep breath, pretending she had been listening to Niki recalling the safety mechanics to her for the last minute.

Just smile and nod.

Niki seemed convinced by her display of understanding but still spoke again.

"And remember. Under no circumstances are you to engage with Dream or Sapnap."

"I know, I know..." Persephone sighed, stepping back slightly. "So. I think I'm ready."

Niki nodded. "I guess you are..." She sighed, stepping forward and placing a hand on Persephone's shoulder. "Be safe out there." She warned.

Persephone nodded with a slight laugh. "I know, I know... I'll be just fine."

She stepped back because Niki needed that little push(Otherwise they'd be here all night long).

Niki sighed, nodding and stepping back. "Good luck." She murmured as Persephone turned towards the building's edge.

Persephone fluttered her wings slightly before flapping and lifting a bit off the ground. As she flew away, she peered over her shoulder to see Niki watching her go. She lifted a hand to wave goodbye before nearly flying into a building and gliding to regain her balance.

The air tasted like freedom and the night was young.

• ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ •

"This is easy," Persephone mumbled to herself, landing on a building. It had been close to an hour since she had left the rooftop, and nothing had happened. 

At first the feeling of being unsupervised was exhilarating and she darted around buildings and dove past windows and flew as high as she could into the sky.

Then, it got a bit boring. Sure, flying around is fun, but when you expect stuff to happen and it doesn't, it gets a little repetitive.

Well.

The universe appeared to have heard her complains, because who do they send her way but the great Corvid?

His wingbeats filled the air as he flew overhead, his head jerking downwards upon noticing her. 

She stood up straighter, wings snapping backward. Corvid landed on a nearby rooftop.

Well, this was not ideal.

Being arrested by her best friend's father would also not be ideal.

Honestly, Persephone was surprised she hadn't figured out Wilbur's identity sooner. But it had all seemed so obvious on her birthday...

When they were playing Hide and Seek; when she'd hidden in his closet. That's where she found it: The entire outfit.

Gloves, trench coat, hell, even the famous bandana.

And it made her feel so damn stupid. 

Of course Techno was Revenger; they both had long pink hair! And of course Phil was Corvid; his wings were so distinct you could tell who it was from a mile away.

It did also make her feel a little bad about all the times she'd hurt them...

Like when she knocked Somnus out with a folding chair.

But anyways... right! Phil. Corvid. 

The hero stepped forward to the edge of the building, wings spreading. He certainly did look intimidating, but Persephone knew well enough that the wing-thing was just an Avian's way of making themselves seem scarier than they actually were.

Persephone straightened her back, stretching her wings back. She didn't need this fancy display of superiority; it would hardly do anything.

Phil was usually a kind character, but his resolve - both as a parent and as Corvid - was strong. So, no, big wings wouldn't do anything.

"Hollywood," 

There was another reason she felt stupid; the voice. They didn't have voice changers(For some reason) and his voice was unmistakably Phil's(Just a little less warm).

"Where's your team?"

Corvid scanned the shadows like he was expecting Inferno or Waterfall to jump out at him at any moment. Persephone crossed her arms.

"Where's yours?"

Her voice changer worked moderately well. It distorted her voice a little bit, but that was about it... Oh well, people will hear what they expect to hear and Phil definitely did not expect to hear her voice coming from a vigilante's mask.

"Not here." Corvid said briskly, his cloak-thing flowing majestically in the cool night breeze.

"Alright, cut the crap, what do you want with me?" Persephone asked suddenly, wings bristling and shaking a feather loose.

Corvid looked slightly surprised at the interjection but held his shoulders high and looked down at her. "Well, I was going home, but then I spotted you. And I'm not sure if you've realized, mate, but it's sort of my job to arrest you."

Shit. 

"Oh, great," Persephone said sarcastically, beginning to pace the length of the building's roof. "Is this the part where we fight? Because I'm honestly just not in the mood. I'd rather you not disrupt my first solo patrol. You get me?"

Corvid frowned slightly, the veil obstructing Persephone's view of his eyes.

"I-" He started to say before cutting himself off.

"No objections?" Persephone asked pleasantly, taking a few steps backward. "Lovely. I'll be off then."

She spread her wings, flapping up into the sky and gliding away, leaving a very confused Corvid behind.

She chuckled to herself in the air... Confusing heroes was fun. Especially when she knew them.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

The moon was at its apex, illuminating the city quite nicely.

The pale light bounced off of the chrome surfaces of some buildings and made shapes and shadows on others. Persephone's shadow was short, faint, and constantly shifting due to the movements of her wings.

Everything was silent except for the wind casting gently around the buildings and through the streets.

Or, it was until it wasn't.

The sound of gentle scraping and metal clinking filled the air as someone moved on a rooftop above and behind her.

Persephone turned her head, watching warily. A figure came slightly into view...

Persephone knew who this was, even though she'd never met him personally.

Daedalus.

The last member of the Dice Crew.

Sighing, she stood up, preparing for a fight or a feud of some sort.

"Are you here to fight too?" She asked in a somewhat exasperated tone, crossing her arms over her chest. Daedalus looked down in amusement.

"Not at all," He said smoothly. "In fact, I was wondering if you could help me with a little something I've been meaning to work on. Maybe we just truce for the evening."

Persephone raised an eyebrow, even though he couldn't see it. "And what might that be?"

Daedalus approached the rooftop edge, pulling something out of his toolbelt. He attached it to his glove and gripped the building wall. The glove stuck... surprisingly well.

After testing its strength, he slid off of the roof's edge, clinging to the wall with his weird invention glove thingy.

He hung, eyeballing the distance from which he'd fall. Persephone stepped backward, still unsure if she could trust him or not.

Eventually, he decided the fall was worth it, pulled his glove off of the wall, and fell a few meters to the rooftop. He landed in a crouched position, one hand bracing the fall.

He glanced over at Persephone, eyes lingering on her wings. "I just need to check your wings out a bit."

Persephone crossed her arms. "Don't you have an Avian teammate? Gambit? Why can't you inspect his wings?"

Daedalus leaned against an electrical box. "His wings are a bit too small for what I have in mind... Yours look nice, though."

Persephone wrinkled her nose. "Thanks, I think," She muttered, looking over at the wings. Her eyes flickered back up to Daedalus. "Honestly though, what do you have in mind?"

"I just need to sketch your wings," Daedalus said with a shrug. "That's it. Just... collecting some information, you know?"

Persephone grumbled slightly, debating the idea. On one hand, he could be lying but on the other hand, he did pose some pretty good thoughts. And she wouldn't be opposed to sitting in one place and doing nothing for a while.

"Fine," She said eventually. "But no funny business of I'll have no issues with smiting you."

Daedalus chuckled. "Point taken; don't worry. I won't do anything harmful." He sat down by the electrical box. "D'you mind coming a bit closer?" He asked, pulling out a sketchpad and a pencil. "I can't really see at the moment."

Persephone sighed, moving until she was just a meter or two away from the other vigilante. She sat down. "So, how should I... you know... pose?"

She could practically hear Daedalus's shrug as he spoke; "Just have your wings a bit open, I guess?"

Persephone complied, spreading her wings slightly to display the joints and feathers.

Soon, she could hear the gentle scratching of a sharpened pencil on fine paper.

"You never told me what this is for," She reminded Daedalus, peering gently over her shoulder. He was slightly hunched over, eyes flicking from her wings to the paper, drawing lightly as he went.

"Is it really that important?" He asked with a shrug, boldening one of his pencil lines.

"Well, yeah, a bit," Persephone said, crossing her arms.

"Just... a new invention," Daedalus said. "It's a surprise."

"Wonderful," Persephone mumbled, staring at the ground. It was silent, except for the scratching of pencil and the occasional metal clinks from Daedalus's armor.

His vigilante outfit was pretty cool; a golden chestplate over tight green sleeves, a gas mask covering his nose and mouth(With a voice changer; like most vigilantes), and shin armor that matched the gold chestpiece.

"Do you know much about the structure of your wings?" Daedalus asked suddenly, and Persephone could feel his gaze on where her wings conjoined with her back.

"A bit," She said with a gentle shrug. "I know that most of the bones are similar to those of humans. The structure, at least."

Daedalus hummed thoughtfully and then Persephone could hear the pencil marking the paper again.

It went on like that for a while; Daedalus asking questions, Persephone trying to answer, as well as Daedalus asking for small improvements(Asking her to 'close her wings more, please' or 'spread the end feathers out').

Sometimes, Daedalus was bold enough to make the adjustments himself, hand reaching out to gently guide the wing to where he wanted it and how he wanted to align it.

The first time that happened, Persephone nearly jumped before relaxing slightly. It was easier than them going 'Move it that way- left- no, other left, wait, I meant right, no up-', which was definitely a plus.

At some point, the pencil marks stopped and Daedalus spoke.

"Alright, I think I got some good drawings," He said in satisfaction. Persephone stood, stretched her wing slightly, and walked over.

The art was... surprisingly good.

You wouldn't expect a vigilante to be good at art like that, but he honestly had some real talent. There were sketches of her wings spread, closed, splayed out, and more as well.

"Thanks for the help," Daedalus said appreciatively, beginning to stand. Persephone stepped back to give him room.

"No problem," She said with a nod, fluttering her wings slightly.

Daedalus was still looking over the drawings when Persephone decided it was late and she needed sleep.

She yawned gently, moving to the rooftop's edge.

"Well, nice to meet you, Daedalus," She hummed. "I have to be going now, though."

Daedalus looked up from his art. "Nice to meet you too," He said. "And I get that. It's late."

Persephone looked over her shoulder one more time before spreading the wings that had just been sketched and lifting off, gliding gently in the direction of home.

Successful first solo patrol, in her opinion.

And boy, did she have some stuff to tell Niki.

Words: 2,145

A bit shorter than normal but its nearly 4AM and I'm exhausted so I'm really sorry...

Hope y'all enjoyed, now get some sleep so I don't have to!

<3

-ITCFWI