Bird of a Flock (Bow 2) - Chapter 31: Chapter 31

The Sparrows were silent in their cages as Tai'ray flew into the room. None regretted what they had done but none were looking forward to the future. The stories of what the D'mar did as punishment were brutal.  Even the halflings were unsure of what exactly was going to happen next. The leader of the Sparrows, Alesul, was in the same cage as Kinper, the injured man curled to his side miserably. His leg had been tended to and there was a bandage wrapped around the injury. The leader was the only one who looked at Tai'ray as he entered, his eyes a hazelnut brown. The type of shade which made it hard to tell if he was a halfling or not.
Tai'ray looked over the mostly human captives. The Sparrows looked at him cautiously. They were in cages hanging from the ceiling much like the one Eyeri was in, only smaller. Eyeri could lay down and sleep comfortably. They could only sit crouched. One of the men had his legs dangling over the side of the cage though he had pulled his limbs in when Tai'ray had walked in the room. Fetmar was still loose, Yerir'o apparently chasing him around the entertainment district currently. From the bemusement coming over his bond, he got the feeling it wasn't going well for anyone involved.
"Alesul," Tai'ray nodded politely at the man. "I trust you are happy with the treatment given to your teammate," he commented.
There were six Sparrows. Or rather, five and a technician who had been assigned to them. The tech was a young man, likely the same age as Fetmar. The Sparrows were more varied. Alesul looked to be about in his mid-thirties while the one who was curled into Alesul's side looked more around Eyeri's age. Though Tai-ray knew Inai did not allow anyone under eighteen to fight, his subordinates might close their eyes, he mused. The tech was likely there because Fetmar was flying with experimental technology. Something his own scientists were itching to get a look at, giving humans the ability to fly would be handy but more importantly, there were halflings who suffered from sky hunger but couldn't fly.
"Winglord," Alesul said politely. "Your medics were very good with him. You have my thanks for letting me stay with him." As he spoke, Alesul's arm around Kinper tightened slightly. A gesture of protectiveness with the sincere words made Tai'ray pause. He hadn't expected the man to be so open about his care for his teammate.
"It was not a problem," Tai'ray nodded, his eyes drifting from the two to look at the others. His eyes focused on the technician, who shrunk slightly under his gaze. He had met this one before though his name and reputation were not coming to mind. "I have to say I'm impressed," He nodded to himself, "It is rare that humans gain flight. Possible but incredibly rare. Not only that, but you managed to get all the way to the heart of my capital and almost got away with one of mine."
"Eyeri's not yours," growled the only girl. Her teeth were bared and her eyes were bright orange, gripping onto the bars of the cage. She looked distinctly wild and Tai'ray would have been offended but she was a woman in an army and a halfling. The few females he had met in the army had similar personalities.
"Ryraso is mine. Eyeri is his, admittedly surrogate, son. Ryraso is my chosen consort which in turn makes Eyeri my son as well. Trust me, girl. He is mine," Tai'ray managed to say without growling. Of the six humans, only two of them had been in contact with k'nairi before other than fighting. Even the halflings were not well versed in k'nairi culture. Still, the human who couldn't fly shifted uncomfortably.
"Then why did he run?" taunted the girl.
"Because he is a scared child in a city of 'bloodthirsty beasts' who apparently eat human babies for breakfast," Tai'ray said dryly, the girl blushing as she realised he had read the book she had on her. The Sparrows' belongings had been confiscated and inspected. It was very worrying that a halfling had a book like that and only backed up Tai'ray's resolve to capture halflings too.
"We don't actually believe that stuff," one of the other boys offered. The one who had been swinging his legs over the edge of his cage before Tai'ray came in. "Those are just stories. Zaro told us more truthful ones."
"I'm glad," Tai'ray replied, his eyes moving back to the technician who shifted embarrassedly. He could only guess this was Zaro. The name finally revealed jolting some information to Tai'ray as to why he knew the man's face.  Zaro had been one of the Namya who had worked on their warship. "I would hate to think any non-caw I decide to keep will think us entirely violent," he finished, walking up to Zaro's cage.
"Aren't you?" muttered the girl, only to flinch as Tai'ray appeared by her cage, pushing back against the bar almost instinctively.
"You are brave," Tai'ray commented darkly in a tone which made them all shiver. "I would be careful with your words little girl. You are no longer in a place where you are not expendable. After all, I still need to test those shackles of yours." The shackles were silver bands on their wrists. Every Sparrow but the tech had been forced into them. They were magic reducers to stop them flying. "Like them by the way?" he grinned at her tauntingly.
"What do they do?" The final man asked.
"Stop you using magic. No doubt that should keep you on the ground like the other humans," Tai'ray commented, not missing the looks of horror which went through their eyes. He headed back over to Zaro's cage as the Sparrows made noises of horror.
"No!" whispered the girl, "You can't do this ..."
"Yes, I can," Tai'ray growled, reaching through the bars of Zaro's cage to cup his chin and study his face more in detail. "You Sparrows are mine now. Don't worry give it a year or two and provided you have behaved yourself I might let you fly again," he said idly, glancing back over at Alesul who was hugging Kinper tighter now.
"I thought K'nairi went mad without flying! How can you..." one of the boys hissed, fear lacing his voice.
"The k'nairi caw are having their wings clipped. Do not assume this is your punishment, but simply part of what everyone else is getting. Grounded and in the case of human's branded," Tai-ray declared firmly, silencing the room with the tone of his voice. He turned to look back at the human who hadn't fought his grip. "I know your name from the warship," he acknowledged. "Anything you think I should know before deciding your fate?"
"Not really," Zaro said softly. "I'm General Tiew's younger brother," he offered hesitantly, clearly not sure if it was a thing in his favour or not. Tai'ray understood the reasoning. Tiew was high up in the Namya hierarchy. That made Zaro a valuable hostage to have. It also meant it was more likely he would have to send the young man to Fiant, the closest D'mar prison and also the most brutal in existence. Tai'ray was not inclined to do so if he didn't have to. The reason was a bit more of a mystery.
"No. There is something else," Tai'ray frowned. "Oh well. We have a few days to figure it out but I decide your fate, Zaro," he sighed, withdrawing his hand.
Zaro went to ask a question but before he could speak, two people came barreling through the open window. They hit the ground roughly, both covered in paint and glitter and cursing at each other furiously. The one with actual wings was attempting to pin the other down though Tai'ray had to specify actual wings as feathers seemed to be glued to the both of them. They looked like a prank had gone hideously wrong.
"What the hell happened to them?" muttered Zaro, sounding slightly out of his depth.
"I would like to know too," Tai'ray commented back, watching as the two figures began fighting and shouting at each other with a kind of morbid fascination. He waited for a few moments to see if they would stop their fight or if one would win but it appeared the two mystery people were evenly matched.
Eventually, he grew bored of waiting for them to finish.
"Stop!" Tai'ray roared, his voice echoing powerfully in the room. The shape and design of the room making it echo and increase in volume dramatically. Every captive curled up tighter, trying to shield their ears. The two figures stopped fighting but stayed standing, through the human one appeared to falter slightly. "What is the meaning of this?" Tai'ray demanded, fixing them with a serious and commanding look.
The two were silent for a moment. "His fault," an unfamiliar voice declared, pointing at the k'nairi.
"My fault? You're the one who decided to fly through the arts centre!" a much more familiar voice argued back, shifting to glare at the human. The comeback was almost as childish as the original shot.
"Like I have any fucking clue where I am going. Whose bright idea was it to tackle me into the giant pot of glitter and glue?" the human growled back.
Tai'ray just exhaled as he watched the two fight verbally, feeling a vein on his forehead twitch slightly. He was not in the mood for this. Turning back to the Zaro who was watching it bemused as well. "I take it the human's Fetmar?" He asked idly. He nodded. "You stay put. I'll have to decide what to do with you later. Unless something is revealed about you that I can use to keep you here, you will most likely be heading to Fiant. As for you flyers," he turned to face the rest of the Sparrows. "You flyers had better get comfortable. Anyone who flies under their own power is under my domain according to D'mar law. You are not going anywhere."
The human paled. The human flyers protesting but Tai'ray ignored them, leaving them in their cages. Instead of paying attention to the still fighting duo. Tai-ray could feel his anger beginning to rise as the noise level grew. He finally lost his temper as Yerir'o pounced on Fetmar and pinned him to the ground.
"Silence!" Tai'ray screeched just as Dyn'ad flew into the room with Ryraso.
Every person in the room fell silent, including the now still pinned Fetmar. Tai-ray fixed his eyes on Ryraso, who met his eyes but was obviously unnerved, if not scared, by the look in his.
"You are all testing my patience!" Tai'ray growled. "Now, Fetmar as Eyeri's older brother you have the right to know his fate. I once declared Eyeri had the right to try to attempt escape, the right to fight the branding. As promised, I will not punish the little one more than I promised him," Tai'ray glanced at Ryraso as he went to protest, but the healer fell silent, for once. "I was going to brand him tomorrow but I no longer feel safe knowing he is still not linked to me and not marked as k'nairi," Tai'ray said in a deceptively light tone. He felt Dyn'ad and Ryraso tense in the back of his head and saw Yerir'o's eyes widen with worry. "So tomorrow, at the official opening feast. I will brand Eyeri then and get this all over with."
Fetmar let a growl loose, struggling against Yerir'o at the declaration. Dyn'ad shot him a worried look at the declaration. Ryraso looked pale but Tai'ray felt something harden in his chest. Eyeri was going to be stressing over this every day until it happened. It was time just to get it over with and get the boy healing from the situation.
"You have no right!" Fetmar yelled, as he pushed Yerir'o off him and stood up.
And then everything went a deadly silent. Everyone paling. Fetmar did not know what he had just unleashed. Ryraso looked like a ghost and moved forward to try and protect his oldest, but Dyn'ad caught him and shook his head. Ryraso gave him a meaningful look but Dyn'ad's talons dug into Ryraso's arm to keep him in place.
"No right?" Tai'ray said, dangerously calm. Fetmar now also seemed aware of the situation he had put himself in. He gulped, resisting every urge to run, instead revolved to stand his ground. Tai'ray could see him squaring his shoulders and it only made him feel angrier. "You dare question my right?" Tai-ray bellowed.