Bird of a Wing - Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Waking up after a big healing spell always hurt. Healing magic was soul magic and anything that affected the soul also played havoc in the body. In summary, Ryraso was hurting badly. He groaned softly and curled into whoever was in front of him. No one was behind him, which was unusual, given the circumstance he was in.
'Ryraso,' Nel'os' voice moved through him, Dyn'ad and Tai'ray's presence appearing in the link and mentally nudged him. Ryraso groaned again. He didn't want to wake up yet. He wanted his headache to go away. 'Come on, Ry,' Nel'os murmured. 'Time to join us in the real world again.'
Ryraso opened his eyes.
He was hugging Eyeri. The boy curled against Ryraso's chest, his hair in Ryraso's face. Tai'ray was on his other side, sitting up against the wall while reading a book. The Winglord glanced down at him and smiled softly as he saw Ryraso was awake, a hand moving to rest on Ryraso's forehead.
"No fever. You're fine, just hurting," Tai'ray said in human tongue.
Ryraso blinked slowly. Not at the action, it was a logical move to make. Healing spells which required a second power source often left the primary vulnerable to disease himself. Which was why they were only done as last resorts. The speaking out loud in human tongue, that meant something else. Most likely that the young man in his arms was actually awake and faking being asleep.
"No good morning?" Ryraso teased, his throat making it almost painful to speak. It was dry, he needed a drink. Just how long had he been passed out?.
"More like good afternoon. I'm going to have to let Herymi stay in one of the really nice guest rooms. I said one night, three is a bit more than that," Tai'ray said dryly, putting the book down. "Though I suspect given what happened last night, he'll be wanting to stay a little longer."
"His home in chaos would do that," Ryraso nodded, shifting slightly. Eyeri's hand curled in his top and Ryraso paused, wrapping and an arm around the young man and lifting himself up on an elbow so he wasn't completely lying down. "Does this mean we are delaying leaving?"
"No," Tai'ray shook his head, his voice pensive. "It means," he sighed. "It means I will have to trust Guardian Fl'ex to judge the relationship between Herymi and his suitors. We have to go. Herymi needs to be punished. Then after, I will give permission for him to return here. I have already had several visits from the villagers asking what the village would need to do to have him returned here and not Navat. The link will allow it."
"Are you going to ask his opinion on the matter?" Ryraso asked almost darkly.
"Do you want to open that can of worms now?" Tai'ray asked back with a glare of his own. Ryraso averted his eyes. No, Ryraso didn't want to start that argument again. "I will, Ryraso. But if the link is anything to go by, he may ask me. Seeing his family like this is hard for him. Especially with Guardian Fl'ex on bedrest."
"Guardian Fl'ex is hurt?" Ryraso frowned for a different reason.
"Oh yes. Your youngling had quite the mini-adventure after Nel'os brought you here," Tai'ray commented calmly, his eyes landing on the back of Eyeri's head. Ryraso felt Eyeri stiffened up. "Struck Guardian Fl'ex in the chest, drugged him and ran into the woods. Fell into the river, almost drowned and got saved by Guardian Fl'ex. I assume you didn't have a lot of the drug left?" Tai'ray said, reaching out to pet Eyeri's hair. Eyeri shook his head, still not uncurling.
"All gone now anyway," Eyeri muttered. "I lost my bag..."
"Eyeri," Ryraso breathed, kissing Eyeri's head. "Are you ok?"
"Bit of a redundant question really. He's still here after all," Tai'ray commented calmly as Eyeri shrugged. Tai'ray shifted slightly and rubbed Eyeri's shoulder. "He's in one piece and alive. Let's focus on that for now. Hiu'um still has his wings and Herymi, Dyn'ad and Nel'os are helping the community rebuild. Aw'endo's babysitting. Guardian Fl'ex wants to be the one to punish Eyeri for attacking him."
"You said yes?" Ryraso said with a hint of anger and concern in his voice.
"No. I said it was your choice and if you chose to punish him you would tell Guardian Fl'ex that punishment," Tai'ray reassured. "Herymi seems to think it would be safe to let Guardian Fl'ex do it," Tai'ray offered.
"You said I was allowed to try to escape," Eyeri muttered, starting to sound less sad and more frustrated.
"You are and your consequences won't be a whipping like Ryraso. There are still consequences for your actions in the process however and you struck a Guardian. A Guardian who is in his third century," Tai'ray said strictly but with a soft tone. "You can't expect to get off with nothing, Eyeri."
"If Herymi thinks it is safe, I will trust him," Ryraso said softly nodding, not missing the warning in Tai'ray's words. This was going on his tallies of crimes. He trusted Herymi enough to say something if Guardian Fl'ex couldn't be trusted with the punishment of a human teenager. Especially as said Guardian's adoptive son.
"Ryraso!" Eyeri looked up at him with shocked and frankly scared eyes.
"Eyeri," Ryraso cupped his face. "He saved your life. At the very least, you have to face him again to thank him for that."
"He..." Eyeri looked away and let out a sound of anger. "Fine!" he snapped, sitting up and moving to get out of the nest.
Tai'ray reached over and caught him by his t'shirt, stopping him. Eyeri froze, not looking at either man as Tai'ray pulled him back over and hugged him. Ryraso sitting up and rubbing Eyeri's leg, not missing the bandages on him. Eyeri had gotten a few scratches and bruises it seemed from his escape attempt. Eyeri slapped Ryraso's hand off him, Ryraso recoiling, shifting away from the angry teenager. Tai'ray slapped Eyeri's arm in retaliation.
"You, little one, are going to have to stop that attitude now. Yes, you failed to escape and you are still here but just how long were you expecting to survive against the D'mar?" Tai'ray warned. "Because I can tell you now, by foot it is two weeks to the nearest Namya safe zone and if you had chosen the wrong way, you would have ended up at Fiant."
Both Ryraso and Eyeri inhaled sharply. Fiant was an infamous D'mar prison camp. Infamous because it was where a sadistic scientist worked who experimented on dangerous prisoners of war and traitors to the D'mar name. Loror allowed the experiments for reasons he had never fully explained to Inai, justifying that the man had furthered medical science considerably. It was not a place that any Namya would ever want to go.
"Fiant?" Eyeri whispered, some of the teenage bravo fading at the mention of the nightmarish place.
"Fiant," Tai'ray nodded, while mentally sending Ryraso a map of its general location. It was close to k'nairi lands, closer than Tai'ray would have liked. "Count yourself lucky that Guardian Fl'ex saved your ass from drowning because even if you had somehow survived that, you would have been in far greater danger."
"Am I supposed to be grateful?" Eyeri frowned darkly, pushing away the horror of Fiant in favour on focusing on the present. "That I've been captured by a nicer imprisoner?"
"No, you are supposed to be grateful that you are alive," Tai'ray said firmly, not biting into Eyeri's bait. "This is your first and final warning though. If you try to escape again, you will regret it," Tai'ray said ominously.
"Is that meant to scare me?" Eyeri demanded, glaring at Tai'ray fiercely.
"If it doesn't, you are considerably less smart than I thought you were. It won't necessarily be me who causes that regret," Tai'ray stated before letting go of Eyeri. "One of the villagers left some clean clothes for you. Go see Guardian Fl'ex and remember your manners. If you see Aw'endo, remember you owe him an apology too."
Eyeri held Tai'ray's gaze a moment longer before blinking and his shoulders slumping slightly. "Should I be worried about Aw'endo trying to bite me again," he asked, moving off the bed, not looking at Ryraso.
"Possibly," Tai'ray shrugged, wrapping an arm around Ryraso as he watched Eyeri put on his borrowed clothes, roughly. There weren't any k'nairi around Eyeri's age or size in Tayagwe which meant the clothes were slightly too big, draping around Eyeri and making him look more fragile to Tai'ray's eyes. Ryraso leant into him. "He's certainly unhappy."
"Great," Eyeri muttered. He moved to leave but Tai'ray coughed. Eyeri paused and looked back at them with an unhappy look. "What Winglord?" Eyeri asked.
Tai'ray gestured at Eyeri to come back over, his eyes glancing at Ryraso with a stern look. Eyeri moved over and reluctantly gave Ryraso a hug. Ryraso holding him for a moment, Eyeri tense and unwelcoming for a moment before pressing against Ryraso closely. The boy kissed Ryraso's cheek, still not meeting his eyes and basically ran out the door before Tai'ray could demand anything more from him.
"Your boy is a troublemaker," Tai'ray commented, switching back to k'nairi. He nuzzled Ryraso and pressed a kiss to Ryraso's lips chastely. Ryraso let him but didn't really kiss back, his stomach squeezing uncomfortably.
"He is," Ryraso nodded, pulling away and lay back down, the room spinning slightly. "He's not happy at the moment either."
"Look, I know it's awkward now, but it'll pass. Just give it a chance," Tai'ray murmured. "Seriously though, I don't think I will be able to hold back if he tries something so stupid again. Not that trying to escape in itself is stupid," Tai'ray reassured as Ryraso pushed himself up again. "But doing it without a plan in enemy territory during a storm is."
Ryraso shifted uncomfortably. "It wasn't my brightest idea."
"Wasn't your idea, don't try it," Tai'ray said dryly. He paused. "Ry..."
"I already promised Nel'os and Dyn'ad that I will return when I get Eyeri out of here," Ryraso said with a growl in his voice. "Don't try it," he added backhandedly.
Tai'ray winced as his own words were used against him. "I do love you, you know," he said quietly, almost nervously for the Winglord.
"I know," Ryraso nodded, lifting himself back up and ignoring the pains in his body. "Again. How I feel is not going to stop me from my duties as a father," he warned, looking into Tai'ray's eyes. "Just as yours for me won't stop you from punishing me in accordance with the link's judgment."
"But you feel something?" Tai'ray said almost hopefully.
"I feel something," Ryraso nodded, not entirely sure what to do next but knowing he had started something he was going to have to finish.
"Can I ask what that feeling is?" Tai'ray asked, moving closer to Ryraso.
Ryraso was able to feel his breath on his face. This was it. He needed to do something now. Ryraso shrugged and pressed upward, kissing Tai'ray on the lips, this time considerably less chaste. He wasn't ready to say those words to Tai'ray yet, but he could show him.