Cerulean Feathers

Chapter 45

The table fell silent at the comment, and Jonathan's blue gaze fell toward his plate.

"So, I'll never be able to fly..."

"I'm so sorry Jon,"

Brock tried to soothe from the other side of the table,

"I tried to save it, but- the bones were like pieces of glass."

Jonathan stared at his plate for a bit longer before he stood up.

"Th-thanks Brock. I-I-I'm not hungry."

The jay scuttled back toward the stairs, hands wringing when he seemed to realize the absence of his hoodie.

When he vanished, Evan stood up.

"I'm going to talk to him,"

He announced, dark eyes skimming over the table like he was looking for someone to argue against it. However, nobody spoke, and the elk's gaze paused on Smitty. The dove gave him a small nod of encouragement, and then the Alpha was quick to follow up the stairs.

***

When Jonathan opened the door to his bedroom, he was hit with a cloud of milk and cherries. He half expected Smitty himself to be in the room, but he quickly realized he could smell his own lofty lavender and vanilla tangled with the dove's. He stumbled when he realized he could recognize the scent, nearly tripping over his now-throbbing wing.

He had found it!

His scent that had managed to evade him for years.

He paused, relishing in the soothing scent before sighing.

He didn't feel any different.

No powerful revelation of who he was and should become, it was just... him.

He felt his heart hitch with anxiety when he was reminded of the absence of his trusty azure hoodie. He restarted his feet toward the closet, taking lungfuls of both of the calming Omega scents as he tried to fight the tears that were lining his eyes.

He forced the door open and fingered through the few shirts he had inside, frowning when he couldn't find his hoodie.He even dug through the small pile Smitty had collected of his own clothing at the bottom, but there was no sign of the calming blue. He stepped back and sniffled, the lump in his throat growing painful as he tried to swallow his sorrows.

He slowly turned back toward the blanket-covered bed, and collapsed into one of the broken nests. He nestled into one of the softer blankets, tucking his good wing beside him as he tried to ignore the needles of pain that nipped his bound one.

"Jonathan?"

The Omega stiffened at the voice, but poked his head out to see Evan standing in the doorway, the elk wearing a tragic expression that made Jon's stomach twist uncomfortably.

"W-what are you doing here?"

The Omega asked quietly, his voice cracked and shattered as bad as his wing bones.

"Checking on you. Mind if I come in?"

There was a part of Jon that wanted to say no, cry and brood until he was forgotten about completely.

But he knew that wouldn't happen.

"S-sure."

Evan closed the door behind him, and the Omega patted the spot beside him inside the nest. As soon as the Alpha was situated comfortably inside, he spoke quietly,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The elk's eyes were dilated slightly from the intense Omega scents, but it seemed that the actual Heat scents had faded enough to not affect him.