Thunderstorms

2) Broken Wings

Karra's POV

   I woke slightly to movement. It went on for a few seconds before stopping. I was content to leave it alone and go back to sleep, until I heard the stairs creak. I'm not sure how long it took for that sound to register but it eventually did.

   My eyes shot open and I pushed myself up, looking around for my guest. He was gone. Jerking to my feet and stumbling out of the room and down the stairs. I instantly went to the door, tearing it open and checking around. I didn't see him, he must have flown off already.

   Cursing myself for letting him go before I could ask questions I headed back to bed. That was when I noticed the bathroom light on and bleeding through the cracks of the closed door..

   I went over and knocked gently.

   A thump like something fell and a loud hitch of breath. I kept my voice calm "it's just me".

   It was silent for a moment before he spoke, slightly shaky "w-what do you want".

   I frowned "to make sure you're ok I guess".

   "Well I'm fine" he said quickly. I could hear movement and cabinets opening and closing.

   I knocked again, suspicious "let me in".

   The sounds of movement grew more frantic "I-I'm almost done just give me a minute".

   I didn't give him a minute, opening the door that he had apparently forgotten to lock and looking it. I froze instantly.

   There was blood all over the counter and shower and boy. Icarus stared at me, face white and eyes wide. I took a moment to glance at his exposed wrists, just in case he had done this to himself, and relaxed slightly when they seemed unharmed. I looked him over again. He was tensed and scared and obviously hurt somewhere, wings pulled tight against his pack and one hand halfway between him and a cabinet.

   Something on the counter caught my eye and I glanced at it. An old pair of pliers I kept under the sink and a broken jumble of something that looked like barbed wire, only deadlier, sat gleaming at me.

   I stepped into the bathroom and moved to the counter, barely noticing when he backed away. I carefully examined the wire. It was almost the same as barbed wire except that, instead of normal spokes, it had deadly hooks. They hooks had bits of feather and skin and a lot of blood on them.

   I looked around to find Icarus, he watched me nervously from the corner, the wound on his face standing out because of how pale he was. I said and leaned against the counter, rubbing the bridge of my nose "someone got you pretty bad last night".

   He was silent for so long I began to think he wasn't going to answer, but then he said quietly "I fell into one of the traps".

   I winced. The traps are, well obviously traps, but their set specifically to try and catch the Thunderbird, or Icarus as I now know him. The traps range from a simple bell attached to a string and get all the way up to barely visible nets made out of barbed or hooked wire. Actually, not many bird hunters risked using the hooked wire, they didn't want to get sued if someone's idiot kid got themselves caught in it. A few hunters did and they were by far the most deadly and probably the least sane.

   I motioned for him to come closer "let me make sure you got it all, where is it".

   He hesitated, studying me like he wasn't sure if he could trust me, I let him "... wing... my wing". He carefully stepped closer and half turned.

   I leaned around to try and see it, gently touching the wing to try and extend it. He flinched away from the touch, I sighed in exasperation "look, you either trust me with this and I make sure you don't get infected or you don't and you probably stop being able to fly after a month of pain".