Driran sat with me for hours, gently drying my wings for me, not saying a word. When he deemed them dry enough he stood without saying a word, and left the room. I sighed and slumped down onto the bed, huffing. I stared at the ceiling, thoughts swirling though my brain. I shook my head and sat back up, I willed my wings away and bit my lip.
I slipped out of my bedroom and wandered down the hallway, gently pushing opened the doors, and peeking in as I went. Most of the rooms were elaborately decorated bedrooms, and even a study. One of the rooms was a Huge sprawling library that spanned 3 floors. I got to the end of the hall and pushed the door open, gently peeking in and my heart stopped.
It must've been Driran's room. The walls were painted a deep red and the massive bed had deep red silk sheets. A tall, dark bookcase packed tight with books was sitting precariously in the corner. A desk littered with papers and dog eared books was shoved against the far wall, and two dark doors were hidden in the side of the room, presumably for the bathroom and closet. I walked in and my bare feet met soft, plush crème carpet and I smiled, wiggling my toes. I ran my hand over the soft sheets of the bed and yawned softly. The bookshelf was littered with titles in another language, but a few of them were familiar. I pulled out one of the familiar titles and sat carefully on the bed.
I flitted through a few of the pages and yawned again. I curled up on the soft sheets, careful of my wings, and dozed off in the comforting caress of silk.
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I heard a book close, startling me awake. I yawned and slowly sat up, groaning softly as my heavy wings brought back the pain to my muscles. I felt the cool silk slide off me, and blinked my bleary eyes a few times, focusing them on the soft light glowing from the desk. Driran was sitting on the chair, slumped over the desk, head in his hands and I heard him sigh softly. I rubbed my face and slid off the bed, trying to lift my wings, and padded quietly across the carpet towards him.
I gently touched his shoulder and he spun around, startled. I saw a flash of hopelessness on his face, but I blinked and it was gone, that cold smirk replacing it. He leaned back in his chair and threaded his fingers behind his head. "This is my room you know." He lifted his eyebrow at me and my face heated.
"I'm sorry, I was exploring and I thought this room was beautiful. I saw your bookshelf and.. and.. uh the books were so tempting and the bed was so soft..." I trialed off, biting my lip to stop rambling and looked down. "I'm sorry I'll leave." I turned to walk out of the room and Driran caught my hand.
I jumped, turning back to look at him and he looked slightly lost. He let my hand go, and frowned softly. "You can stay if you want." His voice was soft, pained and he ran his hand through his hair.
My face twisted in confusion and I just nodded. He sighed and turned back toward the desk, flipping though all the paper. I glanced at all the papers and saw that same strange language that seemed to be filtered into the house. I gently touched one of the papers, studying the strange sharp script.
"It's an ancient demon language." Driran said softly, startling me again. "Only a few people know it anymore." He turned his pained gold eyes toward me and I studied his beautiful face.
I slowly reached out and ran my fingertips over his cheek. He closed his eyes and exhaled softly. I jerked my fingers back and stalked out of the room, narrowly missing the doorframe with my wings, and the door behind me. I leaned against the wall and groaned softly. What the hell? Why is this male so tempting? I growled in frustration and stalked back down the hall and outside.
It was dark, the stars shining dimly though the low mist. The air nipping at my skin and cutting though the bathrobe I still wore. I silently cursed myself for not getting dressed and trudged out into the woods, letting the lights from the house fade behind me. I bit my lip and shook my head, shaking out the thoughts from my head.
I groaned in frustration at the cool air on my damp wings and I ruffled my feathers, shivering as the crisp air cut through my feathers and muscles straight to the bone. I slowly lifted my wings, stretching them and trying to flap slowly. I felt my wings brush the ground and scowled, trying to slowly flap them again, I successfully did a few times, keeping them from smacking into the ground and sighed, tucking them in behind me.
I wandered back to the house and around the side of it, trying to find a clear way up. I spotted a small ladder and grinned, someone must've been up there recently and forgot to take it back down. I tried to climb up, arms and legs groaning in protest as I tried to heave myself up with the heavy wings attached to my back. I gritted my teeth as I slowly scaled up the ladder to the roof. I stood carefully, steading myself, before carefully scaling up to the slanted peak.
I grinned at the extra open space and stretched my wings. I giggled and gently tried to flap them, the peak of the roof arched perfectly, making it easy to avoid slamming my wings into it. I inhaled sharply and kept practicing, but Driran slowly filtered his way back into my thoughts. I pushed down a little harder than I anticipated and I felt my feet lift off the roof. I screamed and snapped my wings back, folding them in as I landed back on the roof, I smiled triumphantly, but it was short lived as my foot slipped and I lost my balance, falling face first, and sliding a few feet down the sloped roof. I gritted my teeth as I pushed myself back up, scowling at the scrapes on my hands.
I stood back up, sighing and wiping my hands on the bathrobe draped off my body. I tucked my wings in and climbed back off the roof, cursing my stupidity. I easily could've slid right off the roof. Why did I think this was a good idea?
When I was back on the ground I strolled back to the front of the house and jumped when I saw Driran leaning against the house, his wings tucked behind him. He was scowling at me. "What the hell were you doing on the roof?" his voice was laced with concern, but I heard the tinge of anger.
I crossed my arms, and stood up taller. "I thought it would be easier to avoid my wings hitting the ground." I walked straight past him and into the house, leaving him to trail behind me. My mind briefly wandered to food and I decided against it, stalking to my room. I felt Driran following me and I spun around once I got to my room. "Call Kiernan tomorrow."
Hurt flashed across his face, but he just nodded, leaving me alone once again in my room. I sighed and headed over to the closet to change into some real clothes before settling down to wait for morning.
