Mitch's P.O.V.
Lachlan's wings bristled in warning, raising his feathers as he crouched over in front of Vikk. His wings continued to twitch nervously, wrapping one around Vikk so he couldn't be hit. I was sitting on the kitchen table, watching the battle before my eyes as my wings were spread out behind me.
There was an almost bark-like screech in the corridor and two boys, both with their ears perked on top of their heads and tails swinging behind them. They both held out orange and blue guns, fingers on the triggers and grins plastered on their faces.
Vikk let out a squeak and Lachlan raised his wings to shield the both of them, which wasn't hard considering his wings reached 7 and a half feet in length and almost 4 feet tall. The hail of small orange bullets raining on top of them flew past my face, and even I felt my wings start to flap uncertainly.
It was only a few seconds before the bullets stopped and one of the boys, Preston, with his orange ears pointed upright, pounced on Lachlan and crawled underneath his outstretched wings. There was a shriek and his wings flew backwards out of harms way before he fell backwards onto the floor.
Rob walked into the room, his ears and tail perked in worry, the shrieks probably getting him worried. Once he saw what was going on he came to sit on the bench beside me, his tail tickling my bare back. I wasn't wearing a shirt because it pinned my wings down and made them numb, and very uncomfortable.
Jerome, the other boy who had been holding a gun, dragged Vikk out from beside Lachlan, holding him to the ground as Preston continued his attack on Lachlan, tickling him so much that he was actually attempting to attack Preston, his wings flapping furiously and pushing him in the stomach.
I could sense something was wrong and I raised my wings in warning, just as Lachlan had done earlier, but this time it was because of more than an unexpected attack with nerf guns.
Jerome, from just below me, sensed my behaviour and ran to pull Preston off Lachlan, who was now fighting even harder, although Preston seemed to think it was just for fun. Jerome pulled him to the floor, wrapping his arms around Preston's waist and holding him there, watching as Lachlan curled his wings around himself, curling up in the corner.
I rushed forwards and wrapped my wings around him too, shielding him from the others view by using my wings like a cloak. They weren't quite as big as Lachlan's, about 7 feet wide and 4 feet long, but I was a little shorter than him, and barn owls were normally smaller than bald eagles, which are the breeds our wings came from.
Rob, his grey wolf ears and tail raised in alarm, rushed in and pulled Vikk out, motioning for Jerome to bring Preston with him so they could leave Lachlan with me. As soon as the door shut behind them I moved Lachlan's wings away from his face, so I could see him properly.
I saw small tear tracks running down his face and hugged him close, my wings becoming a shield from the world outside us. Lachlan pushed his head into my shoulder, his hands tangling in my feathers and mine gently feeling the feathers that had grown down his back, underneath his tank top.
Lachlan was a extremely shy person, he normally didn't let anyone touch him apart from Vikk and myself, Vikk because of how close they were and me because we both knew how it felt. I knew how he was feeling just by looking at his wings, it was our language between just the two of us and it gave away how scared he was.
I wasn't sure what Preston did, but chances are he either pressed between his wings or ruffled some of the feathers on his back, which were very sensitive to touch and pressure. Bald eagles were generally very solitary creatures and he had seemed to pick up some of those traits, preferring to be alone.
