The Winged

9- Mike

I took off running across the table in a hopeless effort to get away. No use. Sam easily snatched me into his fingers, lifted me up and dangled me over his other hand for his friend to see. He smiled a little when he saw Mike's amazement, then turned back to me.
"Why don't you introduce yourself?" Was all he murmured.

I gulped in a breath, my voice just gone. Gone. Even if I had wanted to say a word to his giant friend, I was far too terrified to speak. I managed to shake my head a little, much to Mike's wonder.
Sam let out an amused sound, "No?"
Again I shook my head, pleadingly this time. I can't, I wanted to say. No words came. My throat seemed to be stuffed full of fluff. The human shook his hand and a soft whine sprung out of me.
"Come on. You've got a pretty accent." Sam jolted me over the fatal drop. I opened my mouth and could only produce a single, whispery 'can't.' The human made a sound that was equally quiet, like a mocking laugh, then nodded his head.
"Okay then..." All of a sudden, his other hand was coming towards me. Still suspended in midair, I couldn't do anything as the huge fingertips brushed down my back, then proceeded to pinch the wire that bound my wings.
A scream built from nowhere as heat rippling across them like a flame, "-op it, stop!"
He heard my cries and gave a satisfied smile, but didn't actually let them go until a moment later.

Sam had barely begun to hurt me, but had he continued putting pressure on my wings for just a second more, I knew that my back would have burnt for hours. They were so delicate, even in my hands, and much more so in the careless grip of some giant human. They weren't supposed to be touched by anyone but me! But he didn't care about that, did he? I was gradually learning that the human's concern for me was minimal. There were tears in my eyes as I shuddered, still hanging loosely in his hand. Just put me down, I begged, please.

Mike raised his eyebrows at his friend's torment, "Was that necessary?"
Sam replied with a shrug, "Probably not. I didn't realise it hurt her that badly. Although, it help her talk, didn't it?"
He turned his narrow eyes back to me, then brandished his other hand in front of my face. Within an instant I was frozen. Please don-
"Now." Sam smiled. I flinched away from the nearing fingers. He made sure I was looking at him, hand hovering over my wings in threat. Only when I managed to look into the human's eyes did he speak. With a tilt of his head, Sam murmured to me in sweet tones, "Unless you want me to rip one of these lovely wings off, you're going to introduce yourself to Mike."

I hiccuped pathetically, a few tears beginning to drip down my face. No- no, not that. He wouldn't. But the human's eyes were stone cold. It would be easy for him to do that to me; absolutely effortless. Rip. Rip. Rip- rip my wings off. And I didn't doubt that he would. Hysterical trembles went shooting through my body, my head darting from side to side in a despairing plead for mercy. He narrowed his eyes, watching, not bothering to hide his enjoyment. Then he gave my wings a light tug.
"NO!" I choked out, barely able to speak, "Azu-re- name is Z-Azur-e."
Either the other human didn't notice his friend's cruelty or he didn't care. Mike smiled in awe, slowly extending his finger towards me. I shut my eyes before it had even come close, and he prodded me sharply in the stomach. A harmless nudge to him, but I had to stifle a whimper as my sides started to throb.
"Azure..?" he repeated, astounded. I squeezed my eyes tight again. Sam probably wanted me to reply, but a jittery nod was all I could manage. Had I the strength, I would have drawn my knees up to my chest.

Sam finally tipped me backwards into his palm, no longer dangling me over that chasm of a drop. I opened my eyes to see the huge creature looking down at me with an almost... satisfaction in his face. He was enjoying this. Tears started to fall from my eyes again. He was enjoying this, the true meaning of that was too scary to comprehend. Just leave me alone.
"There, was that so difficult?" He cooed, "Good girl."
I hid my face from him, despairing to hold back the tears, but I couldn't stop myself anymore. The threat wouldn't leave my mind. Each word repeated over and over again, endlessly. Rip- the mere thought of that sent my entire body shaking. Not that. The pain of it, the pure agony of it... it would be fire, it would be dying. And yet a giant finger traced down my neck, slipping through my hair for a lingering moment... before he brushed over my wings. I stifled a petrified sob. No! Sam didn't know anything about me or my wings. He wouldn't hesitate to do the unthinkable if I didn't do exactly what he said. They meant nothing to him. I meant nothing to him. Please no, anything but that... I couldn't bear to even imagine it.