Bird Wings

Chapter 2

If only she had known how literally that night was going to be her last!

In the cave, time crawled forward and the reality didn't change. Wren stayed curled up where the bird man had left her, and after a while he moved away deeper into the cave. He didn't try to speak again.

Wren had tried to imagine what the creature in the cave might look like many times. She had hoped she never saw it, of course, but that didn't stop her from wondering. She'd imagined a shapeless black blob covered in feathers, or a man that was not quite right: legs and fingers too long, eyes too large, animal teeth perhaps - and wings. She had pictured all manner of monsters in varying degrees of ugliness. The village children had scared each other with made up descriptions of him and what he would do if he caught someone, and she had lost sleep over a few ideas that had gone too far. However, very few in the village had ever truly considered him a threat outside of the bad luck. Most of them thought he was probably a large bird or something of that sort, and only avoided looking at the cave in the cliff out of principle; It was better to be safe than sorry. There were some, though, who were convinced it was a demon, and would talk darkly of scaling the cliff to rid the village of the menace. They would get laughed at, told they'd risk their lives climbing a cliff only to get their eyes pecked out by a bird. Or what did they intend to do if it really was a demon? A human being was no match for that kind of monster. Better just to leave things be.

Now Wren knew they had been right all along. This creature was no bird, and unlike any of the monsters the children liked to imagine. Only a demon could look so innocent, so close to normal, and yet be so absolutely inhuman. She had seen the place the wings joined to his body up close through a hole in his shirt: how the skin spread over the juncture and sprouted feathers. She could still feel the way the beat of the wings had matched with his breathing, the way the muscles moved with them. There could be no question that they were a part of him, as much as his legs and arms were - the proof of his monstrosity.

As if that wasn't bad enough, how did he know her name? Why was he trying to talk to her at all? She didn't know what a demon could possibly want with her, to take her away like this and bring her to its lair, and it was terrifying to her that it seemed to want her to feel calm. She wished she had struggled when they were in the air, instead of hanging on so tightly. She wished she was at home.

There was a rustling in the cave, and she knew he was moving around again. She hugged her knees more tightly as he came closer and then sat down on the cave floor in front of her.

"I have bread here." he said, "you're probably hungry."

She didn't answer. Maybe he'd go away again if she sat still long enough.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I acted without thinking. I didn't plan on taking you like that, Wren, but please understand that I don't mean you any harm."

She hesitated for a moment, and then:

"Then take me home again."

"I can't do that yet." He paused after this, evidently struggling for words. "I'd like you to talk to me a little first."

She raised her head at this.

"That's what you want, a conversation? Did you kidnap me on my wedding day to have a little chat?"

He blinked when she met his eyes, as if her sarcasm surprised him.

"No, not just that, I mean -" He hesitated again, looking into her eyes. "I didn't want you to get married."

It was Wren's turn to blink. This was too much. Her heart could barely handle his proximity, and now this? She rocketed to her feet and then stumbled, as her knees had been bent for too long and protested sharply. She grabbed at the wall to steady herself and stared at him wide eyed.

"How do you know me? How do you know my name?" She demanded, "What does it matter to you what I do?"

Standing up had been a mistake. The tilt of the cave floor made her feel pulled towards him, and from that angle all she could see were the wings that stretched out behind him, warning her that no matter how sincere he tried to look, he wasn't human.

He didn't seem to know how to answer her questions. He had rocked back on his heels slightly when she stood and now sat there watching her with a slight crease between his brows.

"I -" He began "I can see the village from the trees. I know everyone's name."

She would worry about the weight of that revelation later. Just focus on the point.

"My friend Azelle got married a few weeks ago." She said, "You didn't mind if it was her?"

"No." He said. No further explanation.

"Take me back."

"No."

She clutched the outcrop of rock she had found to steady herself and stared at him, her eyes still wide. Maybe she could stare him down. He looked back steadily, unshakeable. Fury rose in her like bubbles in a boiling pot.

"Then get away from me! I won't talk to you! Whatever it is you want from me, I won't do it." She searched her mind for something to say. What did one say to demons? "Don't think you can trick me, either, I'm not an idiot. I'm not blind!"

This brought him to his feet as well.

"Oh, so you can see what I am? Is that what you mean?" He asked. He was scarier at his full height, and it brought to mind how easily he had pulled her around earlier.

"Please tell me then, what do I look like to you?"

Wren was very frightened. The fear had been exchanged for indignant anger for a moment, and his talk had distracted her, but now terror came back in full force. But wasn't that what demons wanted? He wanted her to be scared.

"You're a monster." She was brave!

He didn't answer her, but his expression changed and he appeared to grow smaller somehow. Did that mean she was winning? To her surprise, he turned to the mouth of the cave and without hesitation, leaped out into the open air.

Wren watched him fly away. Hours had passed and the sky was pink now from the setting sun. She supposed the bad luck from seeing him was already at work on her life, so she could study him without further consequences. He looked remarkably graceful in the air, more like an eagle than a buzzard. As she watched, he darted straight upwards and flew out of her line of vision, up and back towards the mountain. She was alone.

***

Acting like a brat > Acting appropriately terrified of your kidnapper

-Laura