Title: Clipped
Rating: M (for the violent beginning and later sexual situations)
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Plot: John is an ex-military doctor, and has had a comfortable life for the past two years. This all changes when a man, Sherlock, literally flies into his flat one night, wounded from some unknown event. Now John has to help Sherlock get back on his feet, all while integrating the man into his once quiet life.
Warnings: High Fantasy AU. Winged!Sherlock. Violence and blood for the first two chapters, but for the rest I would say eventual male/male romance. This is also un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: All things owned by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or the BBC is still owned by them, I'm just borrowing for the sake of a creative outlet. The world, and all original ideas are mine, and I would appreciate someone asking permission before using them.
Author's Note: Due to the high fantasy nature of this, there will be notes at the end to clear up any abnormal words or ideas. If there is any confusion, please ask in the reviews or message me, and I'll clear it all up! The fic will most likely be less then ten chapters.

Prologue

After weeks of the sirens blaring through the streets each night, John was more than happy to throw his window open in order to ventilate the stuffy flat. The warnings had been silent for two days, signaling all potential danger had passed onto a different realm. It had been a three week period of pure cabin fever, being stuck in his home each night, for fear that something might prey on any wandering individual caught unaware.

Below, he could hear the sounds of life, people bustling around in the streets, stretching their legs and chatting with friends and acquaintances they had been cut off from for the past days. Though he loathed staying in one more night, the clinic had left him drained, and all he wished was for a quiet night by his open window with a good book. The glow of the fire kept him company, harmonizing with the murmurs of the streets outside.

Everything seemed calmed and right for the first time since the last rift had opened near their fair capital, allowing a pack of the horrifying shades(1) to breach their unsuspecting defenses. He was all too glad to be done with treating the poisoned bites and the comforting of people as they cried over another lost loved one to the ravenous maws of their other-worldly visitors. It had been a horrible campaign, but eventually, the Fel(2) and the flying men had stepped in to help to push the thirty or so monsters out of Trias(3).

A cool breeze wafted its way into his sitting room, drawing his attention from his novel. The night sky, black from the copious city lights, was clear tonight, another first in a while. John smiled at this, content to relax, and was just about the turn back to the book lying gently in his lap when something gripped him. A burst of light, short, dull, yet most extraordinarily real appeared not 300 feet above his flat.

Swiftly, he was at his window, contemplating closing it for fear of more shades appearing, yet the realization that the bastards didn't make rifts so high above the ground was enough comfort to stop him from such an action. Yet another worry caught him when he noticed an object careening itself towards his building. Wide-eyed, he watched its descent, praying to the gods it's changed its crash-course for the outside wall. Sure enough, it seemed to take note of his wide window, and with a great struggle, its trajectory changed.

Thinking quickly and moving instinctually, John jumped out of the way as a winged man came crashing into his home, rolling forward to a stop on his stomach. John only had a moment to take in the man's sudden appearance before he was being gripped by the shoulders, nose-to-nose with the stranger. The man spoke swiftly, his words coming out in pants and broken stutters. It took John a second to waft through his initial shock to realize this person was speaking no language he had ever heard. He seemed desperate, eyes wide and skin a greyish color and John gasped when he realized this man was covered in blood.

"Hey, calm down." The man shut up at this, regarding John slowly, eyelids drooping, and his grip weakening as his legs began to give. John gripped him under the arms, noting the bare skin under his hands was heavily damaged. It was almost déjà vu from the past three weeks as he recognized the marks.

He was about the shake the stranger from going into unconsciousness when this man surged forward, arm wrapping tightly round the back of John's neck, bringing their lips together. It was not so much kissing as it was an assault on his mouth, the other man's tongue invading his despite any resistance John could muster. It ended as swiftly as it began, the stranger pulling away, panting and resting his forehead against John's shoulder.

"Um…" John awkwardly placed a hand on his back, pulling it back immediately when it touched sopping wet red flesh. It didn't take a genius to see the source of the all the blood. Out of what appeared to be seven wings, three affixed to the upper back on each side and one right on the tailbone, only three remained intact. The other four had been either been bitten through or appeared as though they had been run through the blades of some machine. "Shit…"

"Please…" The stranger picked his head up, trying his hardest to speak a known dialect, his accent somewhat horrible, yet John could make out the few words that mattered. "Please. Help me…" He gulped, trembling all over as the blood loss finally started taking its toll. "Shades…my…" He swayed, dark curly hair matted to his head with sweat and his eyes, an alarming shade of bluish grey, seemed to dim as the shock overtook him. "Wi-…" Like a flame in the rain, he was out, slumped heavily onto John as he struggled to pull the man to his kitchen, eyes set for the relatively clear table and thoughts going over what his next steps would be to help this ravaged stranger.

1- Shades are a violent predator that can move from one realm to the next. They prey largely on intelligent lifeforms, and are nigh impossible to get rid of. Traveling of packs up to fifty, they are capable of wiping out whole populations before moving on to their next target.

2- The Fel are the general term for beings in the Fel realm. Known for being very helpful, friendly individuals, they often pitch in to aide other worlds with their problems.

3- Trias is the name of this realm. It is one of the four super-powers of the universes. (this will be brought up in later chapters once certain characters are introduced.)

Reviews and criticisms welcome! Thank you. Next chapter should be up in a few days.