Bird of a Wing (Bow 1)

Chapter 34

Eyeri clung on to Tai'ray's back, resting his head against Tai'ray's shoulder and neck. The second day worth of flying had been distinctly unpleasant, despite being in a more comfortable position on Tai'ray. The winds had been damp meaning Eyeri had spent most of the day wet, his hands freezing. As the light began to dim, they landed in a clearing not too unlike the one the previous night. Unlike the previous night, no one really spoke, instead, Nel'os and Dyn'ad lit the fire in the hut and passed around some meat jerky for dinner. Afterwards, everyone collapsed on the nest and Eyeri, himself, fell to sleep pretty much the moment his head hit the pillow.

Ryraso had a dim memory in the midst of the storm winds picking up outside and of the hut creaking loudly. Eyeri stirred afraid by the noise but Ryraso cooed gently in his ear. Ryraso felt Tai'ray's arm tighten around Eyeri before a wave of magic appeared around them, silencing the storm. Eyeri settled and his body relaxed. Ryraso smiled gently, relaxing slightly himself, not entirely aware of what was happening.

The next morning, the sky was grey and overcast. The sun was hidden behind a thick layer of cloud. It was cold and no one seemed ready to leave the hurt, which let Herymi slip out easily, climbing down the rope ladder with some difficulty. He fell the last few feet and groaned. His muscles were stiff.

'Go too far and I'll chain you down tonight,' Tai'ray said to Herymi over the link, giving him permission to wander ad stretch his legs.

'I won't,' Herymi smiled, taking the permission and starting to walk upriver, fingers running through the wet plants.

He could see plants which were distantly familiar plants, which only grew up north. It was astonishing just how fast the royals could fly. They were already so close to k'nairi lands. Herymi crouched down and picked a purple flower from the ground, twiddling the stalk between his fingers as memories flowed over him. It felt strange to be so north after so long.

'You okay over there?' Tai'ray asked sounding slightly more awake than before. 'Need one of us to come to get you?'

'I'm not in pain,' Herymi said slightly amused by the assumption. 'Just the nostalgic, I guess.'

'Your link was singing in pain,' Tai'ray murmured almost sadly. 'Is coming home that painful for you?' the Winglord asked, a mental tendril caressing Herymi's mind gently.

'Not painful itself but some of my memories of leaving...' Herymi drifted off. Some of it was painful. Some of it was just sad and some of it still burned in Herymi's heart. The way they had treated him in those last few months had been incredibly painful.

There was a fluttering of wings and suddenly Tai'ray was there, his face solemn. He sat on a rock and tilted his head. "The fight you had with your nest, it was bad," Tai'ray acknowledged out loud, the words almost piercingly loud in the early morning quiet. "Childish and stupid on both sides," he added, the words feeling like a slap in the face for Herymi.

"Not my nest," Herymi snapped back fiercely, before sighing. "Why are we having this conversation so early in the morning?" Herymi asked sitting on the bank a little way down from Tai'ray.

Tai'ray moved down to him and wrapped a wing around him. "Because any other time of the day we have an audience and this is a sensitive matter," Tai'ray offered lightly. "You knew this would happen eventually," Tai'ray murmured gently, placing a hand on Herymi's shoulder. "Before the end of the war or after, eventually all caw will have to return to the k'nairi."

Herymi's story was uncommon but not unheard of. For a human to prefer the K'nairi way of living was rare, which made it only more confusing why Herymi had chosen the other side but it seemed that Herymi had left the place he considered home for similar reasons to Ryraso. Bad communication between his 'friends' and him. Tai'ray knew more than Herymi did however about the circumstances in which the fight had occurred but then as Winglord, he would.