Bird of a Wing (Bow 1)

Chapter 33

There was a cold chill down the back of Eyeri's neck. The damp feeling of waking up somewhere cool when surrounded by warmth. Arms and legs entangled with his, the sticky breath of men around him running along his skin. One distinctly familiar, the others not so.

Eyeri's eyes blinked open, eyelashes sticky from crying, to see Tai'ray's collarbone, his t-shirt pulled lower than normal because of how the Winglord was sleeping. Eyeri's eyes felt sore and the arms around him were tight. Eyeri's heart sunk. He had a nightmare, he mused sadly, not quite remembering the details but his body was trembling slightly.

Sniffing as the feeling of panic ran over him, Eyeri stiffly and calmly untangled himself from the arms and slid out of bed. He sat on the edge for a moment, shivering in the cold and breathing slowly trying to calm his thumping heart. He was slightly surprised when neither Tai'ray or Ryraso woke up, the two men dead to the world. Eyeri looked at their faces and inwardly grimaced. They looked tired. Eyeri couldn't turn to Ryraso at the moment, he had his own problems to deal with. He had to be a big boy and deal with this on his own.

Pushing himself up, Eyeri moved to the door of the hut, stumbling as he went. Outside the hut, there was a small balcony type area for the k'nairi to land and take off from. Eyeri found himself on his knees throwing up over the side of the balcony. His fingers clinging to the edge so he didn't go over, the wood pressing painfully against his palms. Once Eyeri was finally done, he wiped his face on his arm and fell back, sniffing, leaning against the wall of the hut, he cried.

"Oh, little one," an unfamiliar voice murmured.

Eyeri looked up to see Nel'os standing over him with a strange expression on his face. Pity, the emotion making Eyeri feel worse. The k'nairi knelt down next to him and gave him a waterskin to drink from. Eyeri took it and drank deeply, not wanting to look at the stranger who had found him throwing up and crying.

When he was finished, he put the waterskin down and let Nel'os wipe his face with a clean cloth, not having the strength to argue at that moment. "Need a hug?" Nel'os asked gently.

"Don't push yourself out for me," Eyeri said darkly, not liking the tone of pity in the offer.

Nel'os flinched at the tone but didn't let it deter him. He sighed and moved closer to Eyeri, gathering him in his arms and hugging him close. Nel'os rested his chin on Eyeri's head and hummed gently, trying to remember the last time he had to comfort someone who was not his mates.

Eyeri was stiff in the hug, not knowing or trusting this k'nairi, despite knowing from Aw'endo that Nel'os was the friendliest of the three. Heartbeat slowing down, Eyeri became aware of the earliest rays of sunshine peeking over the horizon. The sky was cloudy and mostly grey but there was enough blue sky to see the sun itself rising in the distance. The wind was cold and found himself pressing into Nel'os' hold to shield himself from it. The air was painfully fresh in his lungs and Eyeri felt sticky from sleeping in the pile.

"Nel, Eyeri?" a sleepy voice called and Aw'endo appeared next to them, a blanket wrapped around his chest. "Why are you out here?"

"Bad dreams," Nel'os offered. "Can you watch over Eyeri while I find us some breakfast?" he asked, almost thankful for someone who would know how to look after Eyeri better than he could.

Aw'endo nodded and sat next to them, Nel'os letting Eyeri slide off his lap and sit next to Aw'endo. Nel'os kissed both of their foreheads, his wings brushing against them both. He disappeared and Aw'endo moved his wings so one was around Eyeri to protect him from the wind.

"Aw'endo, I am safe, right?" Eyeri asked softly, pressing against him.

"Yes, I think so," Aw'endo said firmly, taking his hand and squeezing gently. "This is about Tai'ray threatening you yesterday, isn't it?" Eyeri nodded.

Aw'endo looked over the dim view quietly, aware of the four men still fast asleep in the hut behind them. Eyeri's eyes were still red and he smelt weak. Not ill but exhaustion was exuding off of him in waves. Aw'endo's wing was acting as a wind block but Eyeri was still curled in on himself, clutching the material of his clothes tightly.

"For a long time, I didn't notice," Aw'endo murmured. "How unstable Da was becoming. They did their best for me not to know but even among the k'nairi the stories of how Da was fighting spread. The Winglord was as sane as ever in the courtroom and when dealing with normal matters but in battle, something happens and we lose him..."

"Berserker?" Eyeri murmured.

Aw'endo shook his head, hugging his knees. "Something different. The first time I saw it... It's not Da, not really. The link takes over sometimes. It wants to be whole, and it will do what it needs to in order to recover." Aw'endo let go of his knees and spread his legs, letting them dangle off the edge of the porch. "Please don't hate him for yesterday."

"Yesterday..." Eyeri whispered, flashbacks of the knife at his throat and the laughter at the lake mixing. Two distinctly different sides of Tai'ray's actions to him.

"The knife. I won't lie, none of us knew if he was in control or not. That's why I..." Aw'endo trailed off. "When Da's unstable, there are things that as his son I can do to calm him that Dyn'ad and Nel'os can not. Something different about the way he feels about me, I guess. Or maybe it's just that I'm not a threat at all."

"You hugged him," Eyeri commented softly. "You hugged him to calm him down," he realised as he followed Aw'endo's weird way of laying it out.

Aw'endo nodded, not looking at Eyeri though his wing was still around the boy. "I know it might seem weird but it does calm him. Like the protector side of him takes over from the link," Aw'endo paused, kicking his legs idly, the wind blowing through his short hair. He checked over his shoulders and the four men were still asleep. "You will probably be able to do it too," he admitted. "Bring him back to reality by hugging him."

"That..." Eyeri started pausing as images of cuddling with the warriors of the warship filled his mind. Tears pooled in his eyes at the memories of men he would never see again but didn't quite fall. "Would not be unlike what I did on the warship at times," he chuckled, wiping the tears away with the back of his hand.

Smiling, understanding what Eyeri was meaning exactly, Aw'endo wrapped and arm around Eyeri's waist and hugged tight, Eyeri leaning his head on Aw'endo's shoulder and closed his eyes. Aw'endo watched the sun rise with Eyeri falling to sleep on his shoulder. Tears still rolling down his cheeks. Eyeri was scared and Aw'endo had no way to reassure him there and then. Eyeri needed to experience it. It didn't help that Eyeri wasn't part of the link, he couldn't feel the emotions of the people around him which made it harder to reassure him that he was safe.

Aw'endo felt as one of the adults woke up. The man rolled out of the bed and audibly stretched. Aw'endo was unsurprised as he walked over to them and sat next to him. Tai'ray looked very sleepily up at the cloudy sky and exhaled tiredly.

"Today is not going to be nice to fly in," Tai'ray grumbled, before looking at Aw'endo and Eyeri. "Your brother didn't sleep well last night?" he said softly.

"Nightmares," Aw'endo said with half a smile, his eyes sad. "Nel'os went to find some breakfast," he added.

"Nightmares..." Tai'ray grimaced, looking at the human boy. "We're going to have a lot more of those," he commented gently. "I think I'll keep him on my back today, he seemed happier with it."

Aw'endo smiled more amused. "He hasn't flown before Da. Of course, he'd feel safer on your back," he teased.

Tai'ray smiled at him and nodded. He stood up and moved around them to pick Eyeri up gently. Tai'ray carried him back into the hut and placed him back on the bed. Ryraso woke up briefly and looked at Eyeri's tear stained face sadly before hugging him close again. Herymi and Dyn'ad were still unconscious to the world and Tai'ray was content to leave them asleep until breakfast was ready. They had far to go that day.