Bird of a Nest - Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Ryraso woke to darkness. He could feel bodies around him. Tai'ray to the left, Eyeri to the right with Nel'os behind him. Aw'endo was curled between Tai'ray and him too, but it took an extra moment for him to feel him. Dyn'ad was resting above them, sitting in a protective stance with his wings up. Something had happened. The head took that position when the nest was in danger.
What had happened? His mind was blank. He yawned, wincing as his torso ached.
The stone guardian shifted from his position. A presence moved against the edges of his mind. Ryraso pushed back and found a barrier in the way. It was thin. He pushed against it again, this time bursting through in and into the mental mindscape that was Dyn'ad's. Warm and surrounded by love, he settled in the man's mind and in the arms of his family. Mental arms held him close.
"Where's Fetmer?"
"Guarding with Herymi,"
"Ok," Ryraso closed his eyes. The whispers of danger after a nightmare were fading as Dyn'ad love filled him. The safety of being surrounded, warming his chest and filling him. Whatever had happened, it was dark. It was time to sleep. Everything could be dealt with in the morning. Dyn'ad mind agreed with him, gentle whispers chasing away any evil thoughts.
"I love you, Ryraso."
"I love you too, Dyn'ad," Ryraso smiled, nuzzling into the pillow and letting his mind float again.
Next thing Ryraso was aware of, he was back in the garden. The table was still set up with the tea set. The warm, safe feelings were still bubbling his chest, but feelings of danger were returning. He remembered his dream. The light in the garden was dim, and blue balls of magic were lighting the area now. It created a more subdued atmosphere. Cai'ress was on the floor weeping, his wingless back shuddering. The sounds of his crying filling the space. They hurt his chest.
Something terrible had happened. Ryraso couldn't remember what but it involved Cai'ress. Ryraso frowned and tried to move closer. He couldn't stand to listen to anyone weep like that.
Before he could get closer, a hand caught his wrist and span him back into a firm chest. Wiljam smiled at him. There were no emotions in his eyes, they were blank. Or rather, eye. The left side of Wiljam's face was now scarred, a mess of flesh where his eyes should be. Ryraso reached up for it, his instincts to try to heal the mess, but Wiljam shook his head. "You can't fix that, my love. No more than you can fix that," he nodded towards the weeping k'nairi.
"I tried.  I sent people to look for him. I didn't want him to get hurt."
"You failed, and now he will suffer the consequences of it. Both of you will."
"Wiljam, this isn't you," Ryraso whispered, tugging his hand out of Wiljam's wrist. "You're not like this   " Wiljam was never angry, never jealous. When he'd ended it, Wiljam had been sweet and kind. Even towards people who deserved it, the man never raised a word or a fist, unless it was in defence. This Wiljam was Ryraso's mind-twisting, and Ryraso knew it. He knew this wasn't real, and yet it felt so. Ryraso leaned forward and pressed his forehead to the dream's shoulder. "This isn't you."
"Then, who am I?" The voice changing as it spoke. Bones shifted under his forehead. Ryraso stepped back, knowing that it was no longer the image of Wiljam standing with him. Instead, it was a different face, one that had fear running through him. "Am I this person?" it asked, clicking his fingers.
The Cai'ress in the corner stopped crying. Ryraso dared to look over at the man. Two splits appeared on his back where his wings should have been, dark patches as blood stained his tunic. The blood pooled around him fast. New wounds appearing on his arms and face. Handprints bruises littered his skin, and Cai'ress looked up at him as an invisible knife slice open his forehead.
Panicked, Ryraso went to move again, but there was a second click. His muscles froze in place. Pain stabbed in his chest, making it hard to breathe for a moment.
"You fear them more than the idea of your love being cruel to you," the voice whispered in his ear. "Interesting."
"Who are you?" Ryraso demanded. "You're no figment of my imagination."
"How can you be certain?" the voice chuckled, the wind blowing by his ear. A second click cut the strings, and Ryraso crashed to the ground. "Still, I'd observe if I were you."
Ryraso panted, looking over at Cai'ress. Cai'ress's body morphed, changing into Ryraso. An alien sensation filled him at the sight of his own body surrounded with blood. His stomach was bleeding profusely. A new Cai'ress appeared, this image winged, naked and injured with a look of desperation on his face.
His mind flinched. A memory trying to return but something was holding it back. Nel'os appeared. The look of horror that washed over Nel'os' face was difficult to look at. Betrayal. Nel'os felt betrayed by Cai'ress. He slapped Cai'ress, the already injured k'nairi fell back down to the floor with a heavy bang. Nel'os disappeared with the image of Ryraso. Leaving Cai'ress behind.
It was Ryraso's term to feel horror. Nel'os had left Cai'ress? Ryraso wasn't able to remember correctly, but it was clear from the image of Cai'ress that something had happened to him.
"That was a mistake," the man growled, Om'hat the name came to him.
"You were going to rape and kill him," Cai'ress rasped, his voice hoarse and painful. Cai'ress was pushing himself up, tears and snot rolling down his cheeks. "I would not let you do that. I WOULD NOT," he yelled. The sound echoing around the garden. Ryraso knew it for what it was. He'd heard it many times before, a death cry. Cai'ress' last ounce of will and power going into those words.
"You should have watched and been glad for it," Om'hat acknowledged. He strode up to Cai'ress and yanked his head back.
"Fuck you," Cai'ress spat.
"Time to teach you a lesson."
Pain dragged Ryraso from the dream, his torso crying with pain. Tears rolled down his face, and he curled, pressing down and trying to make it disappear. Hands rubbed over him, lips kissing his hair. It took a moment for the pain to fade. The image of Cai'ress face burning in his mind. As the pain disappeared, he opened his eyes and found his family with him. Everyone looking at him with concern.
"Morning?" he offered tentatively as he sat up, the dream fading for a moment at the sight of his family looking so worried.
Eyeri dived on him, arms clutching him. Ryraso flinched but grabbed his son and kept him close before he could move away. He yanked Aw'endo close as the youngling hesitated, seeing his flinch. There were no words for a moment, Ryraso just holding his children and letting him feel his warmth. Dyn'ad moved behind him, to support him. His boys were trembling.
"I'm here," he whispered, kissing both of their temples. Eyeri looked up at him with watery eyes. Aw'endo didn't. Eyeri kissed his cheek and held on again for a moment longer. "I'm safe now," he promised, cupping Eyeri's face and wiping one tear away with his thumb.
"You almost weren't,"
"And yet here I am. The Goddess isn't going to let me die that easily," Ryraso smiled with a soft, fond look for Eyeri. Aw'endo was still hiding his face in Ryraso's side. Eyeri looked at him and then behind Ryraso before shifting away, hugging Aw'endo from behind and leaving the right side of Ryraso free.
Nel'os was there first. Ryraso kissed back firmly as Nel'os wasted no time in pressing their lips together. Fingers wrapped into his hair, and Ryraso would have leaned closer into him, but with Aw'endo still clinging, Ryraso didn't want to dislodge him. Nel'os' kiss was slow and loving. Ryraso could feel butterflies in his stomach. Eyeri giggled to the side, and Ryraso rolled his eyes.
"Love you," Nel'os' mind whispered.
"And I love you," Ryraso returned, knocking their foreheads together again.
A shy smile unfolded on Nel'os' face. Tai'ray didn't move Nel'os, just curling up behind him and kissed Ryraso over Nel'os head. Not as passionate as Nel'os, but that was likely due to the lack of space. Dyn'ad just kissed the crown of his head, and for a moment they all stayed like that.
"As adorable as this is," a voice shattered the illusion. "I need to check Ryraso," Pol'ar said, carrying a bag into the room and looking at them all with a fond smile. "And to do that, I need you all away from him."
The group hug seemed to tighten for a moment before everyone let go. Aw'endo almost needed help. He wouldn't look at Ryraso, and before Ryraso could catch him, he disappeared into his own room. Ryraso looked at Tai'ray worried. A pulse of understanding came through the link, and the Winglord stole one more peck on the lips before chasing after his youngling.
"I'll go let the others know you're awake," Eyeri said in a quiet voice. "They were worried."
"Thank you, my boy," Ryraso reached and gripped his hand for a moment before letting Eyeri run off too.
"Should we do this here or in your room?" Pol'ar asked.
"His room," Dyn'ad swept him up with careful hands. Ryraso held onto Dyn'ad's shoulders as he carried into the red room. Watching as Nel'os followed with a lost expression on his face. Dyn'ad placed him on the bed and quickly got his own kiss. More feral, more teeth than the first two as Dyn'ad cupped his cheeks and claimed him in that kiss. Ryraso felt sparks run down his body, and he gripped tight. It felt so good.
Pol'ar coughed, and Ryraso flushed, reluctantly pulling away. "Out," Pol'ar shooed the lost Nel'os. "Go inform the relevant court members that Ryraso is awake and recovering. I need some time alone with Ryraso."
"But Dyn   "
"You know why Dyn'ad is staying," Pol'ar gave him a look. Nel'os flushed but nodded, disappearing and closing the door as he went. Pol'ar shook his head and moved over to him, sitting on the bed. "If you are going to hover, do it on the other side of the bed," Pol'ar ordered, hand resting on Ryraso's arm in greeting, gripped for a moment. Pol'ar's own way of showing his concern and worry for Ryraso.
Dyn'ad nodded and sheepishly moved over, so Pol'ar could reach Ryraso. He crawled to the other side of Ryraso and sat against the headboard, leg resting against Ryraso's side. Ryraso found his hand and held it tight, kissing the knuckles.
"You had us scared," Pol'ar smiled, lifting Ryraso's sleeping tunic up to reach the wound. "That Cai'ress did some damage. The dagger must have been hot. You didn't bleed out as quickly as you should have because some of the wounds were cauterised," he said, hands quickly undoing the bandages there. Some blood on them but not much. Ryraso tried not to look down. He fixed his eyes on the patterns on the roof above him and tried to breathe like usual.
"Hot   " Ryraso closed his eyes. "Cai'ress    That bastard."
"We know."
"No, you don't. Cai'ress didn't heat the blade. It was that pimp. Om'hat? He carved his symbol into Cai'ress arm as proof of ownership," Ryraso spat, trying to sit up but Dyn'ad kept him down. Pol'ar was busy moving his hand over the wound, gently forcing it to heal a little bit more. Words pouring out of him as the memories returned and with it a more profound sense of dread. His dream wasn't real, was it? They didn't leave him there    "He wanted the wound to scar and burn. Less work to clean up    Did you check the burn?" Ryraso asked, looking at Pol'ar. "When they brought Cai' in, did you check? His talons tool. One looked infected from being pulled."
"No, I didn't," Pol'ar shook his head, a strange tone in his voice.
"Did anyone tend to his wound? He was covered in bruises. They'd been selling him cheap. We're going to need to check for diseases at the very least; Mental healing too. They'd conditioned him. Wasn't complete, but Om'hat would snap," Ryraso clicked his fingers, "And Cai'ress would bow and endure whatever punishment they felt he needed."
"Ryraso   " Dyn'ad murmured. "Don't worry about him, he almost killed you."
"They were going to... Fuck and dump was the phrase they used? They decided I was too difficult to be able to condition to what they wanted me to be," Ryraso whispered. He looked up at Dyn'ad. Dyn'ad sharing a worried look with Pol'ar. "Where is he?"
"Ryraso   "
"WHERE IS HE?"
"We left him there."
All joy of being home vanished. The image of Cai'ress bleeding out filled his mind, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. They'd left him behind.