Wings

Chapter 8

Gwaine dismounted and ran over to Lancelot once he saw the pained expression on his face. Daigo followed and watched as the two knights seemed to have a silent conversation. Gwaine placed a hand on Lancelot's shoulder and gave him a concerned look. Lancelot bit his lip and gestured to the rope tied around his torso. Gwaine gently pulled Lancelot away from the tree he was leaning against and untied the knot in the rope. The wings stretched out immediately, though too fast it seemed, as Lancelot's breath hitched and he winced.

Daigo looked up at the wings, mouth agape. He'd forgotten what they looked like. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen them not covered in blood. They were beautiful.

Lancelot rested his head against the tree as his breathing evened out and the wings slowly relaxed. Gwaine glared down at the rope before throwing it away from them. Daigo approached slowly, eyes never leaving the wings. There was a line where the rope had been that was cut and bleeding but apart from that the feathers were perfectly clean and there were no other obvious injuries. It was almost like he hadn't lived with Serkad for several months.

When Daigo reached the pair he reached out to touch the wings before Gwaine could warn him not to. Lancelot jumped and wings jerked, hitting Daigo and causing him to fall back.

"Sorry," Lancelot apologised and looked down.
"It's fine, I'm okay, no harm done," Daigo replied as he stood and brushed off some of the dirt.

Gwaine wrapped an arm around Lancelot.
"Are you okay?" He whispered, not loud enough for Daigo to hear.
Lancelot hesitated.
"I don't know," he admitted.

In all honesty, Lancelot was not okay. He was scared. He didn't want to go back to that place. It wasn't just that though. He was scared of everyone finding out, what they would think. He couldn't help but wonder if they would even care what Serkad intended to do to him if they knew about his secret.

The clearing was silent for a few seconds, before there was a loud splash. Gwaine and Lancelot looked up at the lake in time to see Daigo shaking his head, flicking droplets of water out of his hair. He saw the knights looking at him and grinned, gesturing for them to come over. Lancelot walked over and crouched by the lake. Daigo said something and Lancelot nodded, before Daigo suddenly grabbed Lancelot's ankle and pulled him into the water.

Gwaine ran over and watched as Lancelot splashed water onto Daigo with his wings instead of his hands. Daigo yelped and dived down to avoid the wave that came his way. Gwaine reached out a hand to help Lancelot out of the lake when he looked over. Lancelot accepted but before Gwaine could pull him up, he kicked against the mud of the bank and dived down backwards, taking Gwaine with him.

When they surfaced, they saw Daigo swimming nearby. They gave each other a look, another silent conversation, and while Gwaine swam up to Daigo from behind, Lancelot dived again. Daigo turned around just as Gwaine was about to grab him.

"Ha! I caught you! You can't sneak up o-" Daigo was cut off by his own yell when he felt a hand grab his ankle and pull him down. He opened his eyes under the water and saw Lancelot looking at him. Lancelot waved and smiled innocently before he swam back up. Daigo followed and glared at them both.

"You ganged up on me!"
"Yes, your point?"

Daigo pouted and Gwaine and Lancelot laughed. Daigo couldn't help but join in.

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Daigo looked up at the sky. It was just starting to lighten, the sunrise causing an orange glow to encase everything. Gwaine and Lancelot sat in their usual position by the large tree. Daigo was restless and exploring the clearing. The horses had taken to grazing and rolling around together near the treeline. Trinket had even put her head down to doze.