Cagaster of an Insect Cage one shots

Wings

3rd pov

There's very rarely a case where people with wings have to try and hide them, because everyone knows wings are vulnerable, the wings themselves having trouble with touch but especially the area where the wings connect to the back, where all the nerves, muscles and tendons are most easily struck. Wings are different in shape, size and color, but all wings have some kind of issue with touch that's too rough or any damage to the base of them. Cagaster wings are different, with the way normal wings transition into Cagaster, it's really disturbing, watching the fathers fall off and be replaced by leather or whatever the hell Cagaster wings are made of.

Kidow is from the Far East, where you use every advantage, but even they won't touch the wings, refusing to hurt someone so seriously, because wings can carry a person and hold more weight than they look, but they are also extremely easy to rip off, with next to nothing actually keeping them protected. Typically, since every person has wings, they leave them folded up on their back and out of the way, trying to avoid them to their best ability. Illie is always fascinated by the colors of others' wings, her pale blue ones twitching with interest anytime she sees a color she hasn't ever seen or noticed before, eyes sparkling.Ms.Mario makes sure to keep her in check, large spotted brown wings keeping her from touching by accident.

Qasim has thin sturdy ones meant for tight spaces, their color a natural gray. Hadi and Aisha have green wings, though Hadi's is speckled with blue and larger, while Aisha's are dotted with white, thin but long. Jin has wings that fit his size, the silver color standing out in the night. Kidow's wings are almost never seen, maybe a glimpse or out of the eye, but he does a pretty good job hiding them, though everyone knows they are quite large, making them wonder what exactly he does.

Kidow's home area had been in the habit of binding wings, once they are fully grown, in order to keep them out of reach of Cagaster limbs and such, and he's never gotten out of the habit, deciding it's perfectly fine and not going to hurt anything. After all, his wings are fully grown and everything, so binding just means they stay hidden under his clothes, since they are not wider than him.

They had long since gotten used to not seeing his wings or even a single feather,despite knowing he has a Molting day, like every person does, it's not every month but pretty close, however, he never leaves any feathers behind and they're not sure where he puts them. In the East, feathers are used for tracking someone down or as jewelry for people in your family, whether they're actually related or not, who cares. He's been working on making jewelry for Ms.Mario, Jin, Hadi, Aisha, Qasim, and Illie along with debating giving a single one of a necklace to the kids she hangs out with, putting them under his protection.

He has to wait until his next Molt though, because he didn't get quite enough feathers this time. He just hopes they like the jewelry. It took him forever to make each one. Of course, sleeping with the binding on doesn't work out well, so he removes the binding then, but at that point everyone else is asleep and has no way of knowing they're missing an opportunity to spot the wings they've been trying to peek at for years.

A Cagaster ruins his surprise, unsurprisingly, since he's on a hunt with the military, clearing a path for a couple of cars and such, Cagasters lining the area in front of them, guns going off every moment, people ducking and crying out in fear whenever a carcass comes near them. One of the big ones comes from above and behind, all of those on top of the tank are too busy to stop firing to get the one coming up. They all tense, unsure of who it's aiming for, wings tucked in tight. Kidow lets out a muffled curse as claws tear through the back of his shirt, ripping it, the binding and some of the skin close to the base of his wings, pain lightning his senses up for a moment, before he gets it under control.

It is only a moment, but even that is too long, bugs starting to override the area he was firing in. With a groan, he's forced to switch between the flamethrower and his sword, moving around a bit more in order to kill all that he needs to. The air on his back almost feels nice, except it leaves an opening for any bug to take advantage of, and he can feel the damn exhaustion starting to set in, his eyes having trouble focusing on what's in front of him. Qasim takes notice and starts taking some of the Exterminator's insects, helping wherever his bullets will be most effective, trying to cover for the teen.