Secret Wings

Chapter 9

Sorry this update took a while, I was busier than usual.

The beautiful cover on the side is by @justpriya

If you celebrate it: have a merry Christmas!

I hope you enjoy the chapter!:)

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Chapter 9

"What's wrong, Hailey?" Mortimer asked, worried, seeing the shocked look on my face.

He followed my gaze to the stray feathers and picked one up, a thoughtful look on his face.

Chase stepped out of the kitchen, "Hey, are you guys coming or what? I'm hungry!"

Mortimer twirled the feather in his hand, and I continued staring at them in horror.

"Guys? Okayyy..."

I finally found my tongue. "Chase! I'm losing my feathers!" I cried out.

"So?" He asked, looking between Mortimer and me like we were a bit messed up in the head.

I looked at him in bewilderment. What did he mean, "So?" I was loosing my feathers, and, what's more, right after my first flight! He could at least pretend to be a little worried.

"Stop looking like you just watched your own death happen, Hailey, you're just molting." Chase said carelessly.

"Molting?" I echoed.

Mortimer looked up. "Yes, molting. It's when your wings lose old, damaged feathers to replace them with new ones. I'm sorry, Hailey, I should have told you about it."

I felt a bit ridiculous to have freaked out about something that was so common, but how was I supposed to know Winged lost their feathers?

"Oh, yeah, I guess it would be a bit freaky to see your feathers fall out like that..." Chase said.

"Yeah, really freaky." I agreed. "So you mean this will happen again?"

"It will, but don't worry, it's not painful or anything." Chase answered. "Although it is a bit weird that you're losing feathers outside molting season, now that I think about it."

"Molting season?"

"Yes, we usually molt at specific times of the year. Some Winged molt twice a year, some only once. It just depends on your descendance."

"Then, why am I molting now?" I asked.

Mortimer spoke up, "I think all the flying you did today must have damaged your wings, especially since they were unused to rough winds like this and you didn't groom them as carefully as most Winged do. Your body decided to replace them with new, stronger feathers. Also, I think your feathers were more fragile than usual, because it was your first growth."

I nodded slowly, registering the information. "So, from now on, I should only molt at set times in the year?"

"That's right," Chase agreed.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure you'll only molt once a year." Mortimer added.

"How would you know that?" Chase asked.

"I can tell by the color of Hailey's feathers," Mortimer answered him, although it looked like this statement only confused Chase more.

"How can you tell that just by the color of my feathers?"

Mortimer brought the feather he had been holding to eye level.

"Look. The parts where you feathers aren't green are white. Pure white. When Winged have white wings, it's usually a cream or grayish white. Actually, that's how I thought your feathers were, green with a cream, almost white color, so I was surprised to realize they were white as can be."