Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 17: Explanation Time!

CW: small bit of blood, being overwhelming

"Well, your wings seem okay," Mrs. Miller said as she carefully smoothed out some feathers. Virgil sat on their couch as they looked over him, surrounded by all three Millers, Patton, and Roman. They had to explain to both Roman and the Millers that they all knew about Virgil's wings.

"I still can't believe you bind your wings like that," Roman commented, taking a bite of a cookie Mrs. Miller offered them, the plate on the coffee table stacked with them. The cut on his cheek had a gauze over it, medical tape keeping it on. "That's gotta be painful."

"Well, I'm not strong enough to cover both wings with my glamour, and even if I was I doubt it would be for long," Virgil explained.

"Still, that could mess up your wings. Can you even fly still?"

The fairy frowned, feeling slightly defensive. "I've flown before, I don't do it often but I can."

"You need to do it more then, to stretch out your muscles and keep them strong. It's unhealthy to keep them tied to your back and never fly with them."

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry about me."

"That's rich," Patton scoffed, making Virgil flinch at the feeling of annoyance rising in his brother. "You were just attacked by a hunter from Randsted! Do you want to explain that?"

"Patton..." Logan warned.

The other sighed, trying to calm down his emotions. "I know, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be mean. But he recognized you from somewhere, Virgil! I know you don't want me to worry over you, but I would like to know if and when you run into hunters from Randsted! I just... After what happened to Dad I..." Patton took off his glasses, using the edge of his shirt to clean off a smudge. The room was tense and heavy, fear, anger, and now sadness filling it. It was unbearable to the fairy.

"Patton, you know I would never let them do that to me," Virgil promised, forcing the words out. "I know how much they scared you, so I-I didn't tell you because I don't want you to worry."

"Of course they scare me! And even if you wouldn't let them kill you, they still could! They killed Dad! They took our parents from us Vee, I don't... I don't want them to take you from me too."

Virgil could feel shock and concern come from Roman, but he ignored it. He looked at his hands and mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"If you angered them, I would want to know. I get that I'm overbearing and everything sometimes, but I don't want them hurting you. If I know that they're upset with you, I would do everything I could to prevent something like what happened today from ever happening again."

"I didn't want you to stop me from going back into the forest."

Patton blinked as it hit him. "Oh... oh my god, this happened the night you came back home with Roman, didn't it?" The fairy nodded, not quite looking at anyone. "So it wasn't just an iron bear trap?"

"No... they-they saw me help Darrell out of one of their traps." Virgil ran his hands through the ruffled feathers, wincing as one fell out with a drop of dried blood on it. It must have been torn out when he was pressed against the wall, no wonder his wings stung. "I didn't hear them and it was too late when I did. Then they chased me and... that's why I wasn't watching my step that day. They caught up with me but at that point everything else was a blur. Next thing I know, I wake up in Roman's home and I'm freaking out."

"So... Roman saved you from them?" Logan asked, looking over to the witch.

Roman looked away, rubbing his thumbnail with his other thumb. "He told me not to tell you about the hunters. I-I didn't know what else to do and um..."

"I'm sorry," Virgil repeated. "I just hate when you worry over me and I guess... I don't know."

Patton put his hand over Virgil's. "You're my little brother," he reminded the fairy. "I'm always going to worry about you. But I'm not going to stop you from doing something you love, I'll be extra cautious but it's not like I can stop you from doing something you really want to. Plus, I mean it's not like you're going to be alone in the forest, you can always go to Roman if you're in trouble."

"I guess." Virgil tried his best to keep his voice from wavering, feeling very overwhelmed. There were so many strong emotions in the room and he couldn't stand being the center of attention. He kept a tight grip on his cloak to keep his hands from shaking. Patton noticed it though.

"Why don't you rest here for the rest of the day? I can handle the stand, and I don't want you to run into that jerk again." Virgil looked up to argue, not wanting to leave all the work to Patton, but his brother shot it down before he could say anything. "You know Miss Kayda won't leave my side until those Rand-jerks are gone and out of sight, so I'll be fine. You were just attacked by them, and even though you're a fast healer, that's still a scary thing to go through. So please just stay here and rest?"

The fairy sighed and nodded, leaning back against the couch. To be honest, he was tired and wanted to be alone. He didn't think he could handle being out right now, plus everyone was probably talking about what happened. The scarlet man defending him from a hunter from Randsted? Yeah, he didn't want to be in public for the next few days.

"Alright, I'll come by later when I shut down the stand. Is that okay with you Mr. and Mrs. Miller?" Patton looked up at the married couple.

"Of course, we're happy to help," Mrs. Miller agreed. "Why don't you come by for dinner as well? I can send Logan over when it's time."

"That would be delightful! Thank you."

"What about you?" She looked over to Roman. "As a thanks, would you like to stay over as well?"

"That's very thoughtful," Roman told her. "But I have to get home soon. I let Darrell stay inside when I left, and I don't want to come home to find he tore up the place."

"I'm afraid I never really caught who Darrell is?"

"Oh, he's a friend!"

"He's a fox," Logan added.

"Oh," Mrs. Miller said, her eyes wide. "Well, I guess that makes sense."

"Thank you again for disinfecting and patching up my cut though," Roman said. "Um... how much would that be? I should have a few coins."

"Don't worry about a thing," Mr. Miller stepped in, stopping the witch from pulling out coins. "You helped Virgil, so it was only fair to help you in return."

Roman smiled at them. "I was only helping a friend. I guess I should be going then, finish my errands before returning home. I'll see you later, Virgil?"

The fairy jumped up at the sound of his name, still very antsy. "Uh- yeah. Guess so. Thanks for saving me, again."

The witch beamed, and Virgil could feel some joy radiating from him, though it was still laced with concern. "It was no problem."