Flight Without Wings

Chapter 12

       The sun continued to rise, and morning truly came. Birds sang happily, squirrels and bunnies leapt and frolicked, and distant fairies began to talk.

       The whole time, me and Rey sat there, quietly sobbing. My head was starting to hurt and my eyelids were heavy. I could see dark circles beneath Rey's eyes. I probably had them too, only I couldn't see them, and Rey didn't bother to point them out to me.

       Rey was able to grow some magical berries utilizing the plants around us, which I gladly ate. Both my thirst and hunger were fought back, and I was thankful.

       I lost count of the number of times that I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to keep myself awake. Even in the day, the sunlight was filtered both through the canopy of the trees above and the bush that we were hidden in.

       Soon, I gave in and fell asleep, despite all the discomfort around me. I woke up later feeling groggy and tired, and the light in the sky was brighter. I wanted to move around, but then I realized.

       Rey was using me as a pillow. Her head was resting atop my chest. I took the time to gently brush the leaves from her hair and magically clean her face. I'd gotten used to using my magic to maintain hygiene constantly, and yet I was forgetting to do it now.

       When she finally awoke, I snuck from the bush to move around for a moment and to relieve myself. Once I was back, Rey did the same thing. It was hard to quietly clamber back beneath the bush we were hidden in, but we were far enough from City Proper so that any houses up in the trees were far apart.

       When Rey was back, she took a deep breath.

       "Okay, okay. Iegis and Jade are gone." She whispered, thinking aloud.

       "I'm well aware." I replied.

       "Umm, what are we gonna do, this is bad." Rey said, her eyes once again beginning to water.

       "I'm sure we can get out of this. When night comes again, I think we could get further away from City Proper." I suggested. That seemed like the safest plan. I had already put two people too far into danger, I wasn't about to do it with Rey too.

       "But, what about all the prisoners?" Rey asked. I took a moment to think about it.

       "I failed, there's nothing we can really do to help them. I'm not strong enough to take on the guards alone. We're not strong enough either. The only time we had a chance was when Iegis and Jade were with us. But, I thought we would get to breaking them out. I thought we would have the full power of the wingless on our side. But, we didn't have them, so we lost." I answered. Rey sighed.

       "S-So we just have to... leave them there?" Rey asked.

       "Yes." I said, closing my eyes, I didn't want to see the look on her face. I felt her arms wrap around me, pulling her into me. I returned the gesture.

        "I wish I could have said sorry." Rey said, her voice muffled from being pressed up against me.

       "I made the plan, you don't need to apologize for anything." I said.

       "But, that's even worse. I just... couldn't do anything about any of it. I wasn't powerful enough to do anything about it. From knowing you and Jade for so long I know how hard it is to be wingless but I almost wish I could have that kind of power, even if it meant not flying. I've walked with you so many times, and I would trade the possibility of flight just to be powerful enough to fucking do something." Rey said, tears pouring down her cheeks.