Bird of a Wing - Chapter 15: Chapter 15

"Come on Ryraso!" Sayskel complained loudly as he lay on the private room bed, frustrated by the fact the healer still wouldn't let him out of the clinic's rooms and back into active duty. "Winglord Tai'ray didn't fuck me up that badly," he whined like a child. After their encounter with the royal triad, Sayskel had been confined to one of the clinic's private rooms to heal. Normally for a relatively minor thing, Ryraso would have put the patient in the normal clinic post op, but the twins were not known for being the best behaved.
"You almost broke a leg. You're not leaving for another few days until I'm certain you're not going to do something stupid and actually break it!" Ryraso scolded firmly, hitting him over the head with his clipboard as Kelenn and Aw'endo watched amused by the spectacle. Kelenn was in a considerably better shape than Sayskel, having been up against Dyn'ad while Sayskel had been against both Tai'ray and Nel'os. Also Ryraso could trust Kelenn to look after himself and not make his injuries worse out of boredom.
"Da must like you somewhat to not have killed you," Aw'endo mused from his perch on a chair. The youngling was still shadowing Ryraso most days that he could get away with it, but that didn't exactly make him feel comfortable around the people who had captured him.
"You actually call the Winglord 'Da'?" Kelenn asked sounding vaguely amused by the idea, his green eyes watching Aw'endo's shivering wings with a look which made Ryraso wonder if the twins had more experience with the k'nairi than they let out. There was certainly a few occasions when they had seemed to know more about the race than most people fighting against k'nairi or with them.
Aw'endo shrugged, his wings pulling closer to himself. "Most of the time. He is legally my father after all. In public, I have to call him Winglord but in private I normally do," admitted Aw'endo quietly as Ryraso went back to lecturing a pouting Sayskel.
"What do you call Nel'os and Dyn'ad?" Kelenn hummed interested.
"The consorts I call by name. Nel'os is more of a big brother than a parent," Aw'endo smiled softly like he was remembering a memory. "I could call Dyn'ad 'Papa' if I wanted to," Aw'endo mused. "He's certainly protective enough."
Chuckling, Kelenn gave the boy a big grin. "I can see them being like that," he admitted. "Nel had never really taken the fighting here seriously. Luckily for us," he added, rubbing his arm where he had a nasty cut from the fight. Dyn'ad hadn't gone easy on him.
"Nel'os," Aw'endo corrected, not liking how Kelenn had shortened it so casually. "I wouldn't know. They never really spoke about the war where I could hear about it. At the beginning I barely noticed it was going on because ignoring Ryraso's leaving us, nothing really changed. Then recently..." he trailed off, his wings lowering, hugging his arms closer to himself.
Kelenn nodded. "They have been here more than not," he said gently with an understanding tone. Aw'endo nodded, his eyes watering. "Must have been hard, having them all be gone for such a long time," Kelenn commented, his eyes looking at Sayskel as Ryraso pinched his cheek for some comment. Kelenn suddenly had the image of an empty nest in his mind, of cold corridors and colder nights. Aw'endo's decision to go hunting for Ryraso suddenly made so much more sense. The royal triad had really let the youngling down. He looked back at Aw'endo studying him for a moment before leaning over. "The Zamen brothers call Ry 'Mum' when he isn't around to hear," he mock-whispered.
Aw'endo laughed, his wings loosening up. "Really?" he giggled.
Ryraso groaned, having stopped scolding Sayskel long enough to hear Kelenn reveal that. "They call me Dad to my face. Normally when they want something," Ryraso grumbled. "They know better than to dare call me that to my face, but as much as I'm in that place for Eyeri, Isst is more of a father figure for the rest of them."
"That fits so well. Maybe I'll start as well," teased Sayskel, who yelped as Ryraso cuffed him over the head again. Aw'endo's giggles increased and Kelenn smirked.
"You need to learn to shut up," Kelenn teased his twin.
"If you dare start calling me that, I will dye your skin blue," growled Ryraso seriously. Trying to ignore the fact that he was likely some kind of parental figure of the twins as well, as much as he refused to admit it. "Now try to behave if you actually want to leave this room this week."
"Yes sir," Sayskel grumbled unhappily.
"That goes for you two as well," Ryraso warned Kelenn and Aw'endo. "I'm no one's sodding mother!"
"Yes Ryraso," both Kelenn and Aw'endo smiled innocently at him.
"Come on Aw'endo. Speaking of the Zamen brothers, I need to go hunt Fetmar down. Yerir'o found out he had been brawling with you and left a few more marks than normal," Ryraso grumbled unhappily. "Why is it when people are seriously hurt, that is when they try to avoid me?" he asked rhetorically.
"Bye," Aw'endo waved at the twins with a cheerful grin on his face as Sayskel sulked.
"Come on!" Saskyel pouted at his twin who was being stubborn as normal.
"We are not pulling a prank on Ryraso while you are confined to the clinic," Kelenn hissed over their implant link. "He has just threatened to turn us blue and you know he has the resources to do so!" The resources being an inventive scientist department which would happily have enough time to make such a potion and be too busy to make a cure for a while. Ryraso being close friends with Wiljam meant he was also on good terms with the scientist geeks.
"If we don't, I'll be stuck here for another week at this rate!" Sayskel complained. Kelenn exhaled frustrated but gave in, fed up of his brother's constant mental begging. Mentally he apologised to Ryraso but his brother was a twit and would only get more insufferable the longer he was stuck in the clinic with its sterile smell and instruments. A smell which had never left their nightmares.
"What do you want me to do?" Kelenn sighed. He didn't like how Sayskel smiled at him. This was going to get the both of them into shit, he could tell.
Eyeri shivered as he walked to Ryraso's office, having been ordered to collect Ryraso's bag so the healer could go hunt down some other patients who had failed to show up as expected. Something Eyeri had done many times, only this time Aw'endo had decided to go with him. Eyeri had tried to wave him off but the k'nairi had been insistent on coming with him and Ryraso had just let him. Meaning, Eyeri was effectively stuck with a stalker he wasn't entirely sure wasn't still out to get him.
Stalker because Aw'endo wasn't walking next to him like a normal person, or even in front of him like Eyeri would have assumed the boy to do. No, he walked behind Eyeri. Trailing him with a look in his eyes which sent shivers down Eyeri's back, like he was hunting Eyeri, looking for a weakness. It was a little scary and not helped by the fact Aw'endo was taller than Eyeri.
"Aw'endo..." Eyeri said slowly, bringing up the courage to ask Aw'endo not to stalk him but rather walk with him. He turned to face the k'nairi, taking a deep breath.
"Yes?" Aw'endo replied lightly but with an extremely dark look which sent shivers down Eyeri's spine and made him want to cry, the courage draining out of him.
"Never mind," he whispered, turning back as they grew closer to the clinic rooms, practically shaking from nerves.
There was a dark chuckle from Aw'endo before an arm wrapped itself around Eyeri's waist and pulled him against Aw'endo's chest. It was a move he was used to, his brothers regularly manhandling him into positions they wanted him in, but this was different. This was Aw'endo.
"Relax. You're acting like I'm going to hurt you," Aw'endo purred amused into Eyeri's ear before kissing Eyeri on the cheek, leaving the human hot and flustered as the youngling let go of him again. Again, another action which Eyeri's brothers normally did to reassure him but had the opposite effect when Aw'endo had done it.
Eyeri made a strange noise before charging ahead, unable to think of a reply to that. He wasn't entirely sure Aw'endo wasn't looking for a way to make him disappear after all. Aw'endo laughed and followed after him, Eyeri's face red with embarrassment. He barged into the clinic and went straight to the office.
"Eyeri? Wait!" Kelenn called, having been getting a drink of water.
It was too late. Eyeri opened the door and there was a loud crashing sound, followed by Eyeri falling over backwards into one of the counters and spreading sharp tools on the ground where he fell yelling in pain and shock. A metallic clanking noise as the metal bucket which had fallen on Eyeri's head came off and rolled away. Aw'endo entered the room after him, his eyes wide at what he saw.
Red. Red everywhere, pooling from Eyeri who was crying out in pain surrounded by scalpels and other instruments used to cut into people.
"Lords, Eyeri!" Sayskel cursed, having hobbled to the door to see his plan in action.
"You!" Aw'endo growled, his eyes going dark. Aw'endo dived at the man but Kelenn caught him, holding him back. Eyeri had stopped yelling and was done taking in what had happened, staring at his red hands in shock. "You!" he snarled almost incoherently.
"Calm down!" Kelenn hissed, mentally telling his brother to get to the door. Now was the time to make his escape before Sayskel ended up with a whole host of new injuries thanks to Aw'endo. Not that anyone would blame the k'nairi for doing so.
"But Eyeri!" Aw'endo looked back over at Eyeri who was pulling himself to his feet.
"Is fine. Smell. It's just paint," Kelenn reassured gently, not letting go of Aw'endo even as the k'nairi relaxed slightly and let the scent of paint reach his brain. "You're fine, aren't you Eyeri?" he called over gently.
"I think so?" Eyeri said, sounding mostly confused. "I think I did get cut a bit thought," Eyeri added, as he looked at the patches of considerably darker red.
"Fuck Eyeri, sorry sweetheart. Wasn't meant for you," Sayskel grimaced at the door, but wisely didn't try to get closer to the young medic.
"Get out!" Aw'endo roared, once again trying to reach the prankster. Sayskel winced before disappearing from the doorway, Kelenn holding the k'nairi for another moment before finally releasing him. Kelenn backed away slowly before escaping himself, not wanting to be around for when it occurred to Aw'endo just how Sayskel, unable to walk properly, would have been able to set up the prank.
Aw'endo turned to Eyeri who was washing the paint from his arms and moved to help, growling angrily under his voice the entire time. Eyeri let him, not quite understanding Aw'endo's reaction. Only that Aw'endo was very angry now.
Ryraso found Aw'endo wrapping Eyeri's cuts half an hour later, having come to find them after Taidra had called him to tell him just what the twins had done. He paused in the doorway, not letting either boy see him as he watched Aw'endo tend to Eyeri. Aw'endo's wings half curled around Eyeri as he worked. Eyeri was wearing some of Aw'endo's slacks, Eyeri's blonde hair dyed pink from the paint. Eyeri looked confused but Ryraso liked the look in Aw'endo's eyes at that moment.
Eyeri had managed to get under Aw'endo's skin finally. Even a k'nairi youngling could be fiercely protective of their siblings or friends and Eyeri now had a k'nairi brother, whether he liked it or not.