Bird of a Wing - Chapter 5: Chapter 5
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"I assume by the fact Inai practically threw you back at us that you have something to tell me," Tai'ray drawled from his seat in his nest. Nel'os and Dyn'ad were either side of him slumped over clearly relaxed.
The four of them were in Tai'ray's private cabin. It lacked the size and luxury of the royal palace chambers but was still considerably better than what most of the common grunts lived with. The chamber was well lit from a large window which took up one of the walls but was painted with dark grey paint. The blankets and pillows which made up the Royal nest were mostly blues and greens and Tai'ray was still wearing his officer uniform. It was tightly fitted but still hid many of Tai'ray's muscles. His shirt was half undone having been about to dress down when S'onon had been dropped off at base.
Both Nel'os and Dyn'ad were half undressed, Dyn'ad looking like he was asleep wit Nel'os draped over him reading a book of some kind. S'onon stood awkwardly, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. He had been friends with the Royals for a long time so seeing them like this wasn't the issue which only made Tai'ray more suspicious about why Inai had sent him back so quickly.
Not that the high priest made a habit of keeping prisoners for any longer than he needed to but Inai had never contacted them that fast before. Tai'ray barely had time to offer anything before Inai was agreeing and sending a glider to collect the goods and release S'onon.
"I may have had some serious news from their healer and Inai was kind enough to try and hasten what needs to happen," S'onon admitted gravely, his wings low and shivering with emotions. He knew what had happened would be seen as suspicious. It didn't help that he didn't want to tell the Winglord just who had looked him over.
Dyn'ad opened an eye at this, looking at him lazily from where he was still under and a seemingly uninterested Nel'os. "S'onon?" he asked tilting his head. S'onon was not as close to the nest as he had been before the war but he was still considered a friend. S'onon's wings were telling the Royals considerably more than he was verbally at that moment. S'onon was scared.
"Oh?" Tai'ray lifted an eyebrow. "Am I to guess S'onon? Or would you rather me force it out of you?" By all rights, Tai'ray could save S'onon from having to say it verbally by using the link to speak to him but Tai'ray preferred the more normal way of being told. He could listen to S'onon or he could make the k'nairi who had made a fool out of himself by getting caught suffer a little. Plus there was more show of loyalty and servitude in someone willingly telling Tai'ray something than Tai'ray simply taking it from their mind.
S'onon looked to the floor, his cheeks heating and took a deep breath. "I did something stupid," he admitted.
"I can guess that S'onon because Inai, as kind-hearted as he is, doesn't normally trade people back with the urgency that he did for someone acting stupid," Tai'ray said dryly, not impressed with his subject or friend for acting this way. "Please stop wasting my time and tell me S'onon."
Rubbing his arm, S'onon looked up to find Nel'os now looking at him too, the youngest of the three looking at him with a bit more compassion than Tai'ray was currently holding. "I suffered from PF, if you remember that's how I met you in the first place. When the caw left," When Ryraso left without warning to be exact, "I stopped going for treatments because I thought it was gone. Except it seems it has resurfaced. My feathers have started to grey and fall out." S'onon said in a quiet voice, not mentioning Ryraso by name just yet.
Every member of the court knew Ryraso was a sore topic with the royal triad. Most had learned not to risk saying his name in front of them anymore as the reactions always seemed to vary from dark and furious to an almost bottomless depression. The human had left a scar on the k'nairi nation deeper than most would guess. All of the caw had unintentionally. Tai'ray suffered greatly from the loss of so many from the link in more ways than just the loss of Ryraso.
"S'on," Nel'os murmured, shifting out of the nest to walk over to him, going to look at his wings himself. "How did you not notice it was returning?" he asked in a tone of disbelief. "Someone must have said something about your wings while they were cleaning them," he commented, fingers gently running through them, inspecting them himself to check what the healer had told S'onon was true.
"I've been in human brigades lately. They wouldn't know. The healer gave me 5 days before the process was complete," S'onon said still looking at the ground. A feather floating to the ground from where Nel'os had pulled it loose. Dyn'ad shifted so he was sitting up.
"That... That's going to be tight," Nel'os murmured softly. "No wonder Inai got you back so fast."
"Can you trust who diagnosed you?" Tai'ray asked, his tone considerably more gentle than before, able to see through Nel'os the state of S'onon's feathers for himself. S'onon was indeed at risk of losing his ability to fly.
"I would say so," S'onon nodded. "Which brings my second piece of news," he admitted, gripping his arm. "The high priest's healer. He's k'nairi trained obviously, but more than that we know him."
Tai'ray narrowed his eyes at how S'onon was being almost secretive again before flinching back as a realisation hit. "No," he murmured in a tone S'onon genuinely wasn't sure how to describe. Nel'os and Dyn'ad looked at each other in disbelief too as Tai'ray's realisation filtered through to them.
S'onon nodded, "Ryraso is the head medic."
"He's here?" Nel'os murmured lowly, "Or rather, he's on the Namya ship."
"Yes. What's more, his remaining friend from his hometown is Inai's bodyguard," S'onon added.
"Did he look well?" Tai'ray asked, his voice neutral but his eyes were focused intently on S'onon. The look making S'onon want to hide or possibly confess every mistake he had ever made in his life.
"Yes, he did. A little tired maybe, but he had a healthy colour. He doesn't look that different to how he looked in Navat, but his hair is longer now," S'onon nodded thinking over what he had seen of Ryraso to let the royals see him. He flinched as the Winglord's presence surrounded him and grabbed the memory to look over it for himself.
Nel'os wrapped an arm around him in the real world without saying anything, knowing his mate was making S'onon feel a little uncomfortable. S'onon had mates of his own, feeling another's presence against his unexpectedly was not exactly pleasant. "Just because Ryraso wears a seal doesn't change the fact he is a part of the link. All of the caw still are. Ryraso won't age like most humans, none of them will," Nel'os explained softly. "That's why he doesn't look any older."
"Does that mean a human apart from the link will live as long as us?" S'onon asked, not having known that particular fact.
"Not quite as long as that, but certainly longer than humans do naturally," Nel'os acknowledged. "Even if they do not return willingly to us, sooner or later they will have to," Nel'os said darkly but also sadly. It would be a great shame if the caw only returned to them because they could no longer fit in because they weren't ageing properly. Some parts of Awacia were still greatly superstitious after all, things might not be so safe for them when it became more obvious.
"S'onon, go pack. Nel'os will take you home tomorrow morning at first light. Thank you for informing us of this," Tai'ray said in a formal manner.
"My lord," S'onon bowed before nodding to Dyn'ad and squeezing Nel'os arm as a goodbye. The three watched him leave the room and the door close.
"Poor S'onon," Nel'os murmured before turning to face his mates, one of which was quickly losing his regal mask.
"Ryraso is with Inai," Tai'ray whispered, falling back so he was lying on his back. "We can't let Loror know we have someone we care about on the main ship. He'll use it against us," he murmured gently through their mating bond. Dyn'ad sending feelings of agreement. Loror was careful with his officers, careful to keep someone to use against them if they showed signs of rebellion. Tai'ray got away with more than most because of who he was but even he had to be careful at times.
"Are we going to try to talk to him?" Nel'os murmured, trying to keep his own pain from what had happened from filtering through to his mate. Tai'ray hurt enough for all three of them but Nel'os and Dyn'ad had their own grievances from the situation. "I want to talk to him."
"We will no doubt bump into him eventually," Dyn'ad commented, twisting so he was curled around Tai'ray, the Winglord curling into his mate silently. Nel'os fell next to them and cuddled up to Tai'ray's other side, comforting him.
Wings and arms curling around him, Tai'ray let himself feel and think for a moment. His mates holding him close as he shuddered and cried. The pain still felt fresh and now Ryraso was so close but he still couldn't feel him. "If we are able to talk to him, we will," he whispered through the link. "Until then, we need to keep him safe from the D'mar troops. The seal and the fact he is a healer will help but we can't let anything happen to him. If nothing else, at least now we know where he is."
The four of them were in Tai'ray's private cabin. It lacked the size and luxury of the royal palace chambers but was still considerably better than what most of the common grunts lived with. The chamber was well lit from a large window which took up one of the walls but was painted with dark grey paint. The blankets and pillows which made up the Royal nest were mostly blues and greens and Tai'ray was still wearing his officer uniform. It was tightly fitted but still hid many of Tai'ray's muscles. His shirt was half undone having been about to dress down when S'onon had been dropped off at base.
Both Nel'os and Dyn'ad were half undressed, Dyn'ad looking like he was asleep wit Nel'os draped over him reading a book of some kind. S'onon stood awkwardly, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. He had been friends with the Royals for a long time so seeing them like this wasn't the issue which only made Tai'ray more suspicious about why Inai had sent him back so quickly.
Not that the high priest made a habit of keeping prisoners for any longer than he needed to but Inai had never contacted them that fast before. Tai'ray barely had time to offer anything before Inai was agreeing and sending a glider to collect the goods and release S'onon.
"I may have had some serious news from their healer and Inai was kind enough to try and hasten what needs to happen," S'onon admitted gravely, his wings low and shivering with emotions. He knew what had happened would be seen as suspicious. It didn't help that he didn't want to tell the Winglord just who had looked him over.
Dyn'ad opened an eye at this, looking at him lazily from where he was still under and a seemingly uninterested Nel'os. "S'onon?" he asked tilting his head. S'onon was not as close to the nest as he had been before the war but he was still considered a friend. S'onon's wings were telling the Royals considerably more than he was verbally at that moment. S'onon was scared.
"Oh?" Tai'ray lifted an eyebrow. "Am I to guess S'onon? Or would you rather me force it out of you?" By all rights, Tai'ray could save S'onon from having to say it verbally by using the link to speak to him but Tai'ray preferred the more normal way of being told. He could listen to S'onon or he could make the k'nairi who had made a fool out of himself by getting caught suffer a little. Plus there was more show of loyalty and servitude in someone willingly telling Tai'ray something than Tai'ray simply taking it from their mind.
S'onon looked to the floor, his cheeks heating and took a deep breath. "I did something stupid," he admitted.
"I can guess that S'onon because Inai, as kind-hearted as he is, doesn't normally trade people back with the urgency that he did for someone acting stupid," Tai'ray said dryly, not impressed with his subject or friend for acting this way. "Please stop wasting my time and tell me S'onon."
Rubbing his arm, S'onon looked up to find Nel'os now looking at him too, the youngest of the three looking at him with a bit more compassion than Tai'ray was currently holding. "I suffered from PF, if you remember that's how I met you in the first place. When the caw left," When Ryraso left without warning to be exact, "I stopped going for treatments because I thought it was gone. Except it seems it has resurfaced. My feathers have started to grey and fall out." S'onon said in a quiet voice, not mentioning Ryraso by name just yet.
Every member of the court knew Ryraso was a sore topic with the royal triad. Most had learned not to risk saying his name in front of them anymore as the reactions always seemed to vary from dark and furious to an almost bottomless depression. The human had left a scar on the k'nairi nation deeper than most would guess. All of the caw had unintentionally. Tai'ray suffered greatly from the loss of so many from the link in more ways than just the loss of Ryraso.
"S'on," Nel'os murmured, shifting out of the nest to walk over to him, going to look at his wings himself. "How did you not notice it was returning?" he asked in a tone of disbelief. "Someone must have said something about your wings while they were cleaning them," he commented, fingers gently running through them, inspecting them himself to check what the healer had told S'onon was true.
"I've been in human brigades lately. They wouldn't know. The healer gave me 5 days before the process was complete," S'onon said still looking at the ground. A feather floating to the ground from where Nel'os had pulled it loose. Dyn'ad shifted so he was sitting up.
"That... That's going to be tight," Nel'os murmured softly. "No wonder Inai got you back so fast."
"Can you trust who diagnosed you?" Tai'ray asked, his tone considerably more gentle than before, able to see through Nel'os the state of S'onon's feathers for himself. S'onon was indeed at risk of losing his ability to fly.
"I would say so," S'onon nodded. "Which brings my second piece of news," he admitted, gripping his arm. "The high priest's healer. He's k'nairi trained obviously, but more than that we know him."
Tai'ray narrowed his eyes at how S'onon was being almost secretive again before flinching back as a realisation hit. "No," he murmured in a tone S'onon genuinely wasn't sure how to describe. Nel'os and Dyn'ad looked at each other in disbelief too as Tai'ray's realisation filtered through to them.
S'onon nodded, "Ryraso is the head medic."
"He's here?" Nel'os murmured lowly, "Or rather, he's on the Namya ship."
"Yes. What's more, his remaining friend from his hometown is Inai's bodyguard," S'onon added.
"Did he look well?" Tai'ray asked, his voice neutral but his eyes were focused intently on S'onon. The look making S'onon want to hide or possibly confess every mistake he had ever made in his life.
"Yes, he did. A little tired maybe, but he had a healthy colour. He doesn't look that different to how he looked in Navat, but his hair is longer now," S'onon nodded thinking over what he had seen of Ryraso to let the royals see him. He flinched as the Winglord's presence surrounded him and grabbed the memory to look over it for himself.
Nel'os wrapped an arm around him in the real world without saying anything, knowing his mate was making S'onon feel a little uncomfortable. S'onon had mates of his own, feeling another's presence against his unexpectedly was not exactly pleasant. "Just because Ryraso wears a seal doesn't change the fact he is a part of the link. All of the caw still are. Ryraso won't age like most humans, none of them will," Nel'os explained softly. "That's why he doesn't look any older."
"Does that mean a human apart from the link will live as long as us?" S'onon asked, not having known that particular fact.
"Not quite as long as that, but certainly longer than humans do naturally," Nel'os acknowledged. "Even if they do not return willingly to us, sooner or later they will have to," Nel'os said darkly but also sadly. It would be a great shame if the caw only returned to them because they could no longer fit in because they weren't ageing properly. Some parts of Awacia were still greatly superstitious after all, things might not be so safe for them when it became more obvious.
"S'onon, go pack. Nel'os will take you home tomorrow morning at first light. Thank you for informing us of this," Tai'ray said in a formal manner.
"My lord," S'onon bowed before nodding to Dyn'ad and squeezing Nel'os arm as a goodbye. The three watched him leave the room and the door close.
"Poor S'onon," Nel'os murmured before turning to face his mates, one of which was quickly losing his regal mask.
"Ryraso is with Inai," Tai'ray whispered, falling back so he was lying on his back. "We can't let Loror know we have someone we care about on the main ship. He'll use it against us," he murmured gently through their mating bond. Dyn'ad sending feelings of agreement. Loror was careful with his officers, careful to keep someone to use against them if they showed signs of rebellion. Tai'ray got away with more than most because of who he was but even he had to be careful at times.
"Are we going to try to talk to him?" Nel'os murmured, trying to keep his own pain from what had happened from filtering through to his mate. Tai'ray hurt enough for all three of them but Nel'os and Dyn'ad had their own grievances from the situation. "I want to talk to him."
"We will no doubt bump into him eventually," Dyn'ad commented, twisting so he was curled around Tai'ray, the Winglord curling into his mate silently. Nel'os fell next to them and cuddled up to Tai'ray's other side, comforting him.
Wings and arms curling around him, Tai'ray let himself feel and think for a moment. His mates holding him close as he shuddered and cried. The pain still felt fresh and now Ryraso was so close but he still couldn't feel him. "If we are able to talk to him, we will," he whispered through the link. "Until then, we need to keep him safe from the D'mar troops. The seal and the fact he is a healer will help but we can't let anything happen to him. If nothing else, at least now we know where he is."
End of Bird of a Wing Chapter 5. Continue reading Chapter 6 or return to Bird of a Wing book page.