CHP10

He waited for her wings to dry, watching from a distance and lounging on a nearby log pile with a curious gaze. Finally, he lifted a brow, smirking at her wings fluffing in the sun, covered in uneven downy fuzz and misaligned dry feathers.

Against Sohken’s hopes, the feathers were a milky shade of cohesive light grey, dappled with gentle freckles of red over her haunches.

“Thought it was blood, at first. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve seen freckling, but not red on grey,” Kael laughed as he approached her.

“My wings are grey?” Seneya whimpered.

“They are, with little freckles of red.” Kael softened as he said it, his mouth cocked in a half-grin.

Whimpering, she asked, “Why do I have wings?”

“Because you’re not human?” His amusement grew as he squatted down to sit and arched his wings up over his shoulders. His tail twitched curiously as two silver bands glinted in the sun, strewn amidst tattoos that blacked most of his appendage.

“But, I- I don—" She started, weakly.

“No, you’re definitely not.”

“An… angel… like you?” She used English to say the word, not knowing the equivalent. His sharp face contorted into amusement as he roared a heavy laugh, his fangs glinting as he did so.

He stretched his legs out to lean over them, watching her with rapt curiosity. “Nah, not an angel, not even close.” He looked over his hands at the knotted scars, the black tattoos, his dark nails.

“Demon?” She grimaced for a second as she tried to shift one of her arms

He snorted and roared with a heavy-chested laugh once more, his eyes watering. She couldn’t help but notice how beautiful and pure of a thing it was for someone so dark and ominous.

“No! Not demon either. I’m of the tribe of the Acerrai,” He said with pride.

“But I’m—I don’t look like you,” She breathed.

“I mean, you’ve got a tail and wings, little starling,” he said, wriggling the feathers of his tail

She moved her hips and became dimly aware of the new appendage. “But I’m not….”

“No, you’re not my race, but of the Phoenix and something else. Wild Blood? I don’t know what he meant by that, but I’m curious,” He crossed his arms over his knees, canting his head as he watched her try to gather her breath. He could see the twitching motions of her wings as she attempted to reconcile with them. He’d never met a fledgling like this before.

She broke down into soft little sobs, tears coating her cheeks as she closed her eyes in pain and relief. For the first time in a long time, she felt something besides confinement and a dead ache in her back.

“You ok, little starling?” he asked, “You’re squeaking again.”

“I’m okay. I think I’m really okay now. I don’t want to go back, and you’re not going to make me, are you?” She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, sniffing as the tears flowed.

“No, I’m not. I said you’re an interesting pet, did I not?”

“Thank you. Just… thank you,” Seneya wheezed before burying her head into her arms over the soft grass.

“It gives me something to do,” He mused, his brows slowly softening from their tense expression. They were the fiercest eyebrows she’d ever seen, thick and unruly.

“So, I’ll be able to fly?”

“Not with your wings that ragged,” He laughed, reaching around to find where he’d tossed the duck fat.

“I’ll need to get them oiled up in a minute. Need them fully dry to add this stuff. It’ll tide you until we can get your Ault working.

“You said that word before. What’s ault?” Seneya cast her eyes about, watching his every purposeful movement.

“Your oil glands for preening. It’s that little spot on your wrists that looks like you scratch at it all the time,” He said before lifting a leather band over his wrist to show a glistening patch of pink skin beneath.

She looked to her own wrists and groaned with hissing breaths. Moving her arms hurt. Every muscle on her back that worked with her shoulders burned.

“Oh,” She said as she stared at them.

“Put some of this on them. It should start them up,” Kael said as he rolled the tin of duck fat. She struggled with the lid and gasped as it popped open. The contents did not smell great at all.

She rubbed a small dab over both her wrists and grimaced.

“Yeah, now imagine how it will smell when you’re covered in it,” He teased.

“Can I just pull my wings back in, like you did earlier?” She asked, pleading.

“Nope! It’ll be at least six weeks before I even think of teaching you how to do it. You need strength in them. They need to heal,” he said as his grin spread wide.

He snatched the tin from her and scooped a generous handful over his fingertips before rubbing it all up and down the palms of his hands.

“If you’d allow me, I’ll do your first oiling,” Kael asked.

“This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“Probably.” Kael nodded.

“Bring it on, I guess.” Seneya lowered her head and huffed.