Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Winged Kin Settling In

With their worldly needs largely taken care of, the kin explored the nuances of the Fortnight World they dwelt on. The native species, which had heretofore simply been called that, decided that they needed names and classifications. Not to set them apart, but to learn as much as they could about themselves. What did they need, what could they do for the Hold, what would they be doing in the wild?
   Just as Onnu was learning what dragons could and couldn't do, they were embracing their new bodies. The winged ones that weren't birdkin began to distinguish themselves as their own species. They began to fly in a unique undulating motion that they found much more comfortable than the flapping of their feathered kin. They learned from watching the flitters with similar wing types.
   The bimobasna (bird, mouse, bat, snake hybrid creature) was particularly helpful to the serpentine-bodied winged kin. They had learned early on that they needed something to coil around, being legless, but were slow to figure out how to launch into the air. The rudimentary perching hooks some of them had for feet served no other purpose besides holding them upright when eating, or holding things in their hands.
   It was Violet Ferry who documented their method of propulsion. They would coil like a snake, and spring upward. It was so fast, no one had broken it down yet. She just happened to spot one with a cramp, or some such injury, who was slow enough to act as a how-to guide. Violet was a dolphin-tailed undulating winged kin, but she was friends with Emerald Herald, who was the serpentine-bodied variety. She showed her what the bimobasna did, using a coil of the vine that basketnuts grew on as an illustration.
   Once Emerald got the hang of it, word spread to others, and their kin were dubbed springwings. The healers stopped treating sore backs and pelvic girdles, as they began to launch the way they were designed to.
   As for Violet's kin, who did have legs, they learned that they needed a bit of a running start, or elevation, to get airborne comfortably. It wasn't that they couldn't get aloft from a standstill, but they tended to tweak their spines when they did. If they flapped and ran, and then glided up like a dolphin, their bodies responded better. They theorized that in the wild, they would be tree dwellers, like the birdkin. Springwings likely thrived in rocky terrain, where there was enough resistance to launch themselves upward.
   Because of their distinct rise into the air, they were dubbed dolfings, short for "dolphin winged kin". Onnu chuckled when she heard it. It sounded like "penglings". None of the little kin remembered the actor who said it, so she didn't bother sharing.
   Magenta Porter mastered the dolphin launch so well, and so smoothly, she became sought after for any delivery that required a gentle touch. They would attach the cargo around her neck with vine rope, and a lidded woven grass basket. Kin flocked to her for a ride, if she was going somewhere.
   The undulating motion of both springwings and dolfings became a novelty that all who were able wanted to try. Some swore that once you got the hang of it, the ride was far smoother than that of the feathered kin. Others said it made them seasick, and would ride with no one without feathers.
   Some craftskin would only ask feathered kin to make deliveries, because their grasping digits were more deft. Others would only ask the membrane-winged kin, because of the smoother ride. And still others requested the first available kin who was willing.
   The winged kin in general became a vital part of inter-Hold commerce, as dragons weren't always available to make deliveries. They hadn't forgotten Clack's suggestion of a tunnel system, but for the time being, outside of large gatherings, they had a working system in place already.
   Another benefit of this new knowledge was that the membrane-winged kin were finally able to successfully mate. They hadn't realized how vital it was, knowing how their bodies were supposed to move.
   In time, they learned that membrane-winged kin produced live young, where their feathered kin laid eggs. If the young were similarly winged, they were born able to hold onto their parents as arboreal mammals do. If they were bipedal or quadrupedal, they spent much of their early lives sheltered in or near sleeping niches, same as any other infant of the sort.
   Fortunately for them, the more experienced parents had devised a system of sun shades from bone poles and woven grass that could be taken down and used as bedding at night. Having Watchers to alert them to Sighting was a boon, in that they had time to disassemble such structures without fear of losing them to the Maw. The grass only lasted a few days before being fodder for stew, but the craftskin were already working on more durable shades.
   There were also playpens made of similar materials, also collapsible, that several toddlers could be put in and monitored while their parents went about their tasks. The shades for those were used more often, as they had separate niches for them. They risked being lost to the Maw, but they had not yet filled all of the niches, so there was space to store some few communal supplies.
   Emerald Herald spread the word throughout their local Holds, and the healers were relieved of all of their membrane-winged patients with back and pelvic pain. Their populations grew a little, with the new batches of young.
   This eased their sadness upon seeing all of the other parents with their children. They were more productive, happier, and generally more settled in to their lives. Those who hadn't wanted children were more comfortable in their own skin, and felt less dysphoria.
   The kin with legs that didn't bend as a human's did also began to learn how their bodies felt comfortable moving. The winged kin wore their wings more naturally at rest. The quadrupeds played around with gaits to see what they liked. They all began to embrace who and what they were, and were happier for it.