The Legacy of Dirty Birds

A Message of Hope and A Plan to Use It

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Calum shifted away from the annoyance.

Drip.

There was water running down his face. He opened his eyes and the crimson afternoon light sliced down above his head from a grate. A leak slowly dripped water from above. The whole room was rancid with a flowery scent Calum couldn't place, it made him dizzy. He was in a cell.

Something was shifting against his skin. He realized Edwin was curled around him, their face pressed against his shoulder. Calum moved his arm to tap their shoulder. They startled awake. His eyes were wide and bloodshot. Tears cut clean trails down his soot-soaked face. Even underneath the dirt he could see fresh scabs across Edwin's nose and chin.

"Hey...what happened?" Calum asked.

"I don't know, one minute I was fighting the dogs...I did something to them...I think it was magic. I d-didn't...I didn't want to hurt them. They were so...angry. I wanted them to be at peace." He clung onto the fabric of Calum's shirt. "I woke up here with you."

Calum stared at him, taking time to notice all the details. His hands shook, one of his fingers was bleeding, his pupils were dilated in the dim light. He squinted at Calum every few moments, like he was having trouble focusing on him.

"I was fighting Tarif, the High Welf appeared...I can't remember much but I think she had you with her." Calum gingerly touched a lump on his scalp.

They paled. "We're back in the colony."

"It'll be okay, we'll figure it out-"

They kept running their hands over their face. "We're already dead."

"Edwin."

He flinched hard, yanking himself away from Calum's body. He paced over the opposite side of the already small room and slammed a fist into the rough sewn stones. His fist left a small imprint of blood.

"N-no...I can't."

Calum started to stand, and found his wings were a dead weight behind him. He couldn't move the muscles. He couldn't feel his back. Edwin's wings dragged along the floor behind him.

"Can't what?"

"I can't...make these mistakes anymore. I have to follow the rules. I can't... I don't want to hurt you."

It wasn't an explanation. It was a cry for mercy. It was begging.

"You won't."

"She'll make me." The sentence was a barely indistinguishable from a breath. "When she does, I'll do it without hesitation. I'll do it and feel nothing."

"Delikiae," Calum's voice cracked, he reached out his hand. "Please."

Edwin met his eyes, and took a step backwards. He pressed up against the wall and the red sun just managed to swallow his ankles. He sank to the floor, leaving himself pinned up against the wall. Curled up before Calum was a small child.

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." Tears and blood flowed his face. "Mum?"

Calum pressed his hand against the rock walls and forced himself to stand. "It's Calum."

Edwin stared at the floor; they didn't seem to have registered Calum's voice. He crawled over to them and tried to think of something to say. His mouth was empty of comfort, their future was unknowable to him. All he had was a burn in his gut and the belief they would make it out of this.