Elements of Emotion

Chapter 3: Fallen Leaves

"Caelian, aren't you done yet?" Nathaniel whined as he hung limply in the air.

"Not yet," Caelian said as he ran his fingers down yet another feather.

"But you've been doing this for hours."

Caelian glanced up at him before blinking up at the sun. It had definitely moved quite a bit in the sky, so the sprite probably wasn't lying about the time.

"I have to preen all of them or it's pointless, Nath. If I stop, I'll lose track."

"You've only done, like, three of your wings. It's going to be another two hours before you're done at this rate. Stop delaying your job!" Nathaniel huffed.

"It's just a quick break! I didn't notice how dirty they were!"

"Caelian!"

"Fine, let me at least finish this wing."

"Ugh. Fine. I'll wait. Over there. Call me when you're done."

Caelian watched as Nathaniel zipped across the pond and to the other side of the meadow. He hovered above the flowers for a moment before settling down into the center of one, using it as a makeshift bed.

The sun was high in the sky, leaning more towards the west now. There were probably only a few hours left before darkness fell. Nathaniel was right, he needed to hurry up so he could finish the job Gaia had given him. He didn't want to disappoint her, whatever that meant.

Caelian shifted on the rock that he sat on, and looked down into the sparkling water of the pond. He had mostly dried off from the water of Iaestia's protective bubble, though his coat still felt slightly damp.

As he studied his reflection, he noticed a few leaves and twigs sticking out of his tangled hair. He brushed his hand through it, feeling his fingers getting caught in the tangles. After a few more tries of running his fingers through, the stuck leaves eventually drifted out, and the twigs fell into the water, scaring away some of the nearby fish.

Caelian sat back onto his heels as he looked over to his spread out wing beside him. His white wings always ended up looking more dusty and dirty than his black ones, so he always did them first. Maybe it wouldn't be too noticeable if he walked into town with only half of his wings preened. The white ones were done, at least.

He returned his wing to a folded position against his back before sliding off of the rock and landing on the ground. He'd finish the rest of his wings later.

He walked gingerly around the pond, being careful, as always, to not step on any of the wildflowers that covered the ground. As he made it to the other side, he knelt down near the area he had last seen Nathaniel.

"Nath?" He called. Getting no response, he crawled over to the next patch of flowers, looking intently for the sprite's jade green body amongst the bright colors. After a few more moments, he spotted him curled up in a pale orange flower, appearing to be fast asleep. Caelian gently cupped his hands around him, lifting him up out of the pollen filled center. Nathaniel sneezed as he woke up.

"I thought you said it was too late in the day to be sleeping?" Caelian asked.

Nathaniel rubbed at his large eyes, "Yeah, well, it gets pretty tiring flying around all day. Not that'd you'd know, or anything. Can't fly and all. It's super exhausting."

"I see," Caelian couldn't help but crack a soft smile. "Want to sleep in my hood for a bit?"

In response, Nathaniel flitted up and out of Caelian's hands and into his hood.