The City in the Sky

Chapter 10

More fluff :D

The question caught him off guard at first. Phil was always very careful in keeping his wings out of reach from being touched, unless he actively used them as a blanket or to hug him. And even then Techno tried to not touch them, since Phil obviously didn't like it when someone else touched even one of his feathers. Can't blame him for it, he knows that bird wings are sensitive and one wrong move or touch could cause some serious pain for the animal... or human, in this case.

So hearing him ask that question... he doesn't know if he should be honored that Phil allowed him to touch them or worried that there is something wrong with his friend. It seemed like an odd and sudden mood swing from the previous conversation. "Are you sure? I have no idea how to properly clean feathers and I don't want to hurt you and-" "I'm sure. I'll talk you through it, don't worry about that part." He smiled and stretched out one wing a little, eying the feathers that looked dusty and out of order. Techno wasn't a fool, he could see the nervousness in his friend's eyes. This was something very personal for him... something he will probably only entrust to his closest friend or family member. Techno decided that feeling honored was definitely stronger than the worry.

"They could really use a good cleaning... and it's very difficult for me to preen the spots on my back, so having someone to help me would be great. Brian has a lot of difficulty to help me... since he's so small in comparison to me." For a second Techno hesitated to answer the initial question, not because he was scared this time, but because he felt like Phil was pushing himself to let him do this. And if there is one thing he doesn't want, it's Phil forcing himself to do something he doesn't want to do. "Okay... I'll help you... but only if you are really comfortable with it. Please don't force yourself to allow me to touch your wings. I'll wait for as long as you need me to, or just never touch them at all, if that's what you want."

Phil's smile softened as he wrapped one wing around Techno's shoulder, pulling him into a sideways hug. He laughed when his friend jumped at the sudden touch of soft feathers against his shoulder. "I am comfortable with this... I just have to get used to it again. The last one who preened them was my mother... so it's been a while." Techno smiled now too and squeezed Phil's hand, even though he wasn't sure if it was to comfort him or himself. "Alright... what do I need to do?"

The angel folded his wings behind him and got up, pulling his friend with him. "First... I want to go up to the nest. It'll be much more comfortable for both of us and if done right... I'll admit that when my mother used to do it I fell asleep sometimes." Techno couldn't help but chuckle at the mental image of an asleep Phil on a large bed, wings spread out wide and fluffed up like they always are when he's happy. "I hope I'll at least do it well enough for you to relax a bit."

Phil just grinned and grabbed his friend, quickly carrying them both up to the safety of the nest. He's right... it will probably be much more comfortable to have a bunch of pillows and blankets around them. This will probably take a while, considering how big his wings are and how Techno had practically no idea what he was doing. Phil took his time in rearranging all the blankets and pillows to make himself a comfortable spot to just sit in during the preening.

Once the angel had arranged some pillows to his liking, he motioned for Techno to sit down behind him. He did as he was told, watching with awe as the large wings spread out to almost their full length, easily catching the slowly disappearing sunlight in smooth black feathers. Despite living with Phil for so long... seeing his wings like that still amazed him. "It's easy to preen once you get the hang of it, it just takes a while. Think of it like brushing your hair. Just with preening you start at the highest or top layer, which would be the fluffy small feathers at the top of my wing."

Techno nodded and turned to Phil's right wing first, scooting closer so he can reach everything. "So just... brush through them?" "Pretty much. Feathers that you notice are very out of place need to be pushed back into the right position and if I feel a loose feather that needs to be removed, I'll tell you which one it is." "Okay..." He took a deep breath before lifting his hands up to the top of Phil's wing. "I'll start now..." "Mmm..."