Scribbles and Drabbles

Bow Verse Drabble - Hawk 2

Roo remained asleep.

His wings twitched under his harness. He wasn't going to sleep like this. The entire camp slept in fabric tents, typically two people a tent, but some had more. Fabric didn't stop sound travelling so the world was full of snoring and private shuffling. Some were having a card game a few tents down from them. He was uncomfortable and his heart beat too hard to drift into oblivion.

Twisted out of his blankets, he got to his feet. As he stepped into the night, the moon sat high in the sky, and stars glittered over the darkness. Everyone should have been asleep, ignoring a token nightwatch. The night watch was more dangerous than safe; officially, it was their job to report on anyone trying to desert the camp. The watch was less about keeping the camp safe and more about keeping the camp trapped. 

They turned a blind eye if a group decided to pick on a weaker member, especially if they included the night watch in the activity. A bunch of men stuck in one place got restless, and sometimes, things happened. 

Hawk didn't have enemies who would take advantage of him late at night, and he didn't do this often enough that he could become a target. Tonight, he'd take the chance.

It didn't take long to wander to the lake. Moonlight glowed on the underside of the plants, lighting the way. The local fauna had some valuable qualities to them. Roo could list them off. He liked plants. He'd helped a few of the attacked men with plants that helped them to heal. The Commanders didn't care about the sanity of the men under their watch, they cared if they were ready to kill for the true Emperor. 

Safe and out of view of the camp, Hawk unclipped his shirt and stripped down. His wings ached with relief as he removed the binder holding them down. He flexed the muscles and let his false wings unfurl to their full size. They barely stretched past his shoulder, worthless things. From what he could see, they were fine if not a little messy. He tidied them back into place as best he could without being able to reach or see all of the feathers before he dipped into the cold water and sat mostly submerged. 

The night quietly ticked on. Animals moved about, and the wind rattled the branches, but otherwise, the air settled on a busy day. Nothing dangerous lived in the lake's water except maybe some rats or snakes. A snake bite would be annoying, but the local snakes weren't venomous. 

Hawk wanted to go home. 

Leaving would be a stupid Idea, the desertation squad would hang him in a heartbeat. Wanting to go home wasn't a problem; the desertation squad acknowledged people could want to go home. They weren't allowed to until they were dead, discharged or the war was won. Until Lord Loror had High Priest Inai's head on a spike, the war would continue. 

The chill of the water started to settle into his bones and Hawk shivered. There was no point being bogged down by things he couldn't control. He flexed his wings and cold water poured down his back as he tried to clean them. It was a hopeless exercise. With no one to trust and being unable to reach them, all he could do was rush the water around the feathers and fluff them outside the water in a vague hope that it moved some of the grease away.  

Some of the others questioned by the k'nairi soldiers stole Nic so regularly, but Hawk understood. Using someone who understood k'nairi wings to help clean them made perfect sense. Roo was the closest person Hawk had to someone he could trust, and that was not enough. 

A crack of a branch made Hawk freeze. He lowered the wings into the water and breathed an illusion of a plain back with burn scars. This late at night, k'nairi eyes might not pick up the charm.

"It's a bit late to be bathing," Sh'rpen said, landing on the rocks nearby. "Cold water too."

"Couldn't sleep and was too hot, sir," Hawk said, continuing to wash the rest of his body. He kept his face towards Sh'rpen. He couldn't let the k'nairi see his wings. "What brings you out into the night? I thought you hunted during the day."