Bird of a Flock (Bow 2) - Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Ryraso woke up to birds singing. He shifted and looked up. He was back in the room he had claimed for himself. By the light in the room, it looked like it was about mid-afternoon as the sun was starting to go lower. His right arm was throbbing. Sitting up on his elbow, he looked at his arm. There was a new scar in the shape of the symbol of the Goddess. The symbol itself was thing lines but the skin around it was red. He touched it lightly and wince as pain sparked up his arm.
"You were brought back to us with it," Pol'ar commented from the side. Ryraso jumped slightly, having not realised he was in the room. The head healer was sitting at the window. "The priest claimed it appeared magically but I suspect otherwise. A few of the priesthood can heal to a degree. It's not infected, just looks it at the moment."
"Feel's fresh but the wounds are not deep enough to scar," Ryraso acknowledged. The implication being that someone had carved it into his arm and healed it after. Whether it was the priests or the Goddess who had done the marking didn't really matter, however. The meaning behind it, did. "How come you are here?" he asked softly.
Pol'ar shrugged. "I am the Royal physician in your absence. When you wouldn't wake up after your trip the God's plane of existence, the brats were concerned. How do you feel?" he asked walking over and putting his hand on Ryraso forehead. "Any dizziness?"
"No," Ryraso commented after a moment. Apart from his arm being sore, he felt well-rested. His shoulders were loose and he felt like he had energy for once. "I feel surprisingly well."
"Don't be too surprised. The Goddess does seem to like you after all," Pol'ar chuckled. "I'd contact the Winglord if I were you. He was very concerned. He was also angry with Ton'enth for blocking you from the link." Pol'ar sat on the bed and looked over the symbol now scared onto Ryraso's arm with an almost sad expression on his face. "The Goddess has accepted you as theirs. No one will court you with that one your arm," he warned.
"As we have already discussed. I have no options but the Royals," Ryraso said calmly. Part of him felt like he should be angry and demand he wasn't a slave. A different part of him pointed out that to fight now would be cutting off his nose to spite his face, painful and ultimately useless. The Goddess, herself, had said that he loved them.  He shivered as he thought about what the Goddess had also shown him. The image of Nel'os courting another. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Part of him wondered if he had been a little naive to assume they hadn't had interest in others while he had been gone. They had a few when he had been living there but they had never lasted longer than a year.
He had been gone seven years and Nel'os was Nel'os. Could he even justify being hurt? Ryraso knew one of the bigger reservations nests had about taking a human was that humans struggled when new people came along. Ryraso hadn't even known the Royals had been courting him or wanted him for their nest. Even with hindsight that was Ryraso being utterly bling or possibly just ignoring what he didn't want to see.
"You're cold," Pol'ar murmured, picking up an orange blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapping it around Ryraso's shoulders.
"I..." Ryraso passed as he realised he was cold and the blanket felt nice, comforting, around his shoulders. He gave him the strength to face up to some truths. Nel'os at the very least was courting someone and the three of them had not told him. He needed information. "Are the Royals courting someone else at the moment?" he asked, looking up at Pol'ar's face to see his reaction to the question.
Pol'ar kept a straight face but then exhaled. "They should be the ones to tell you," he said gently.
"Fine, at least give me a name. I don't want the nobles to try and blindside me with it," Ryraso said firmly. Pol'ar had confirmed it after all. He was definitely hurt but he was sure Nel'os and Dyn'ad had their reasons. What he didn't want, and he expected the Goddess had shown him the image to avoid the same situation, was for a noble to use it as a way to belittle him.
"Cai'ress," Pol'ar said reluctantly. "He's the second youngling of a minor noble clan. Has a good nature from what I understand."
"Good to know," Ryraso nodded slowly. If Cai'ress was the second youngling, he would have been trained to be submissive. It meant it would be very hard to know Cai'ress' real personality because it was likely hidden under layers of behavioural training. Firstborns were easier to deal with in that respect.
"You were gone for a long time. None of us thought you would reappear the way you did," Pol'ar offered with the tone of someone who felt like he had to defend actions they didn't agree with.
"It's not surprising," Ryraso said gently. "And as much as I wish they had been the ones to tell me. I understand why this is not the best time to do so. Nel'os worried that I feel like he and Dyn'ad are accepting me rather than loving me too," he said softly. He pulled the blanket closer. Strangely, that wasn't actually a fear of his. Nel'os and Dyn'ad looked at him in a way which was impossible to deny. "I imagine, they don't want me to have more reasons to think so."
"You're a good man, Ryraso," Pol'ar smiled softly.
"You are," a voice agreed with the statement Ryraso looked over to see Tai'ray smiling sadly. "You may go, Healer Pol'ar. You have my deepest thanks for remaining with Ryraso," he dismissed politely.
"It is never any trouble to look after a fellow guildsman," Pol'ar nodded, patting Ryraso's shoulder. "Just call if you need me," he ordered with a look.
Ryraso flushed and looked away. "Yes, sir," he muttered, knowing what Pol'ar was referring too. Healers rarely liked being the sick one and Pol'ar was used to have to discipline healers who hadn't got help when they needed it.
Pol'ar hummed but with one last pat, left the two alone in a strange silence. Tai'ray moved over and kissed Ryraso. Ryraso kissed back before pulling away. He shifted and patted the bed covers. Tai'ray sat down and stretched out next to him with a sign of pleasure. Ryraso smirked slightly at the noise. Tai'ray wriggled his eyebrows at him before reaching over to tuck at him lightly, fluttering his eyes. Ryraso slid down and cuddled in.
They remained in silence for a moment, Ryraso closing his eyes and enjoying the moment. Still, he could felt Tai'ray bringing the courage to say something. "I'm sorry," Tai'ray murmured finally, slightly surprising Ryraso. "I didn't think that the Goddess would interfere so much."
"You wanted to court me properly," Ryraso agreed. "I know. You still can," he added with a touch of amusement. "You just know for certain now that I'm not going to disappear on you. I can't."
"I didn't want to trap you," Tai'ray said sadly, kissing Ryraso forehead. "Still..."
"Don't worry. I forgive you," Ryraso smiled. "Now is there something you wanted?"
"Just you," Tai'ray grinned darkly, something in his eyes Ryraso hadn't see in a while. An animal desire to claim. A spark of something went through Ryraso's chest and he blushed, knowing completely what Tai'ray wanted.
"No," Ryraso protested, trying to move away but tangled in blankets. "Can't yet," he pointed out desperately. His efforts were for nothing as Tai'ray straddled him and pinned him down on the bed, Ryraso's head landing on a pillow softly. Tai'ray pinned Ryraso's wrist above his head with a cheeky smirk. Tai'ray leant down and kissed Ryraso passionately, hungrily.
Ryraso whimpered, pushing up against Tai'ray as sensations he hadn't felt in a while started to spark up. Tai'ray answered the sound with a dark purr. Kissing and nibbling at Ryraso's neck, Ryraso suspecting Tai'ray's more feral nature was more in control at the moment. Ryraso gently pulled his hand free and ran his hand through Tai'ray's hair, trying to calm him down. Tai'ray looked at him again with a strange smile on his face.
"Tai," Ryraso breathed, as the man started pulling the blankets off the bed. "We can't."
"Mine," Tai'ray said firmly, pinning Ryraso again, this time parting Ryraso's thigh with his knee. One hand reached up to push Ryraso's shirt up and Ryraso felt his face warm at the intimate action. Ryraso's hips bucked slightly as Tai'ray rubbed against his groin, moaning. Tai'ray looked at him and laughed, pressing his face into Ryraso shoulder. "I think you are protesting a little too much, Ry."
"Shut up," Ryraso grumbled, looking away embarrassed. His heart was beating fast and he was starting to respond like a teenager.  "You really should stop."
"You're adorable," Tai'ray grinned mischievously. "And I don't need too," he purred. "I'm not going to break the rules."
"Honestly?" Ryraso squeaked as Tai'ray knee started rubbing again. "Feels like you are going to try too," he pouted, trying to wriggle up and away from the nice feeling. He needed to keep his head clear.
"Feels nice, right?" he grinned, kissing Ryraso gently and pulling him back down by his hips. "There are other things we can do. I said no sex but..." he trailed off. "Unless you say otherwise, I don't see why we can't have some fun," he grinned fluttering his eyes. Ryraso just looked at him in disbelieve and found himself speechless.
"So. Who has been giving you the run about then? I heard people on your watchlist are causing you chaos," Dyn'ad asked after the meeting.
"Chaos," Yerir'o shrugged. "Not yet. More than likely they are going to." He scowled darkly. "The Sparrows are AWOL and 3 out of 4 Zaman brothers are off the radar too," he explained. "Not a good mix." The sparrows were a group of humans who could fly using magic. A few were halflings and others were not. Tai'ray was planning to claim them regardless. The fact they were AWOL was very worrying to Yerir'o. It made the back of his neck itch.
"Unusual for the Sparrows to go off the radar. The Eagles sure, but the Sparrows?" Dyn'ad frowned. The Eagles sure, but the Sparrows?" Dyn'ad frowned. The Eagles were the more elite team, not that the Sparrows were to be underestimated. "Do you think they are connected somehow?"
"It's very possible with one of the brothers. The others I'm not sure about Oira, admittedly is likely at that base in the south. If the other was Makio, I'd understand. He's a spy but I know where he is. The other two. I don't know, if something had happened to the fifth, it would make sense," Yerir'o thought out loud.
"I thought you said there was only four," Dyn'ad frowned. The names were tugging at something in the back of his mind, but he couldn't work out just why. It was possible that he may have met one or two before, but their faces weren't coming to mind. Or it might just be dim memories of Yerir'o complaining about them while drunk.
"He exists, it's just I've never met him," Yerir'o mused unhappily, which wings puffing out slightly.
"That's unlike you," Dyn'ad half smiled, understanding the action. Yerir'o was well down for personally hunting down people of interest to meet them and learn their faces. "Didn't you hunt one of them down and kidnap one for a week? I remember the paperwork and Loror grumbling about k'nairi habits," he mused. They had been too busy that week to care too much about it and tell him to stop. After that, it just became an acceptable thing for Yerir'o to do occasionally.
"Yeah. That was Oira," Yerir'o said unashamedly of his previous actions. "After that, they got very tight-lipped about the fifth. They are very protective of him. I only got his name by chance."
"Chance?" Dyn'ad frowned.
"Humans get remarkably sensitive about having someone kidnapped for a week. Oira was perfectly safe the entire time. I was not going to let a sixteen-year-old come to any harm. And to be quite honest I had him eating a hell of a lot more vegetables than he normally does so I don't know why any of them were complaining," Yerir'o said with a distinct lack of understanding as to why that was a problem.
"You kidnapped him. Period. Even if you didn't hurt or molest him, if they are protective of the fifth brother, it stands to reason they wouldn't want you pulling a repeat act," Dyn'ad chuckled at his friend's confusion. Dyn'ad had no doubt that the fact the brother had been a youngling at the time had also added to that distrust. If the fifth was the youngest, they wouldn't want a k'nairi kidnapping a youngling to the D'mar side again.
"Yes, well," Yerir'o shrugged. "Fetmar let the name slip once while we were trapped in a cave together."
Dyn'ad froze, stopping in the hallway. "Fetmar. As in the youngest commander on the Namya side. He's one of the Zaman brothers you chase after?" he asked seriously, horror building in his stomach. Too many loose threads were appearing and now he was starting to weave them together. Fetmar was a name he definitely knew.
"The oldest one, yes," Yerir'o nodded, narrowing his eyes, pausing a step ahead of Dyn'ad.
"And the youngest's name?" Dyn'ad, praying that what he thought was happening was not. Protective brothers, Fetmar, Oira, five in total. The Sparrows were missing and Fetmar had connections to them. Dyn'ad knew this painfully well.
"Eyeri," Yerir'o stated.
Dyn'ad cursed viciously. "Damn it. You," he pointed at the first guard he saw. "Send orders around find Ryraso's adoptive son Eyeri. As soon as possible!"
"Yes, sir," the guard saluted. He remained still but Dyn'ad could guess he was sending a message to his mates to spread the order around. Nests with more than one working guards tended to work the same shifts so they could pass important news like wildfire. Messenger boys were for the unimportant or classified things. This network was for emergencies.
"Eyeri is... Oh shit," Yerir'o's eyes went wide as he realised the implications of this. "It makes sense. They are the only ones who could do it."
"Fetmar is going to try to break Eyeri out of Navat," Dyn'ad said grimly connecting his mates. "We have to stop them," Dyn'ad commented firmly, twisting to walk back to the consort rooms. "Before Tai'ray kills whoever is responsible."