Wings

Chapter 8

Heather centred herself and put a barrier around the area, knowing that if she didn't, the forest would be destroyed. Wherever they're sent, the botfires would destroy it. She imagined all the lovely forests and woods where they had set up camp and winced as she saw images of fire, smoke and animals screaming. 

"Finn I won't be able to fly very fast with you on my back so I'm going to give you your own wings," Heather blurted and started the enchantment. She watched as Finn doubled over in pain and saw two big feathered wings the colour of the sea sprout from his back. It was over in a few seconds, Finn on the ground, panting like he'd just ran a marathon. 

His hair flopped over his face and he blew it out of the way. He stood up, stretching his new wings. 

"While I pack up, you go practice your flying," she jogged over to the hut.

"Aye, aye captain!" Finn saluted with his wing. He beat his wings and shot off, very wobbly, into the sky.

She pressed the doorbell of the hut and watched as it folded in on itself slowly turning into a handbag. Once the transformation was complete she grabbed the handbag and dashed off into the forest, summoning Finn with her mind.

At first, she didn't think it had worked, but then Finn appeared above her. She hurled herself up at him and wrapped one wing around him.

"I hope you know how to fly 'cause on three we are going to hurl our self so out of this force field and wing it hard," Heather said, over the loud buzz of the botfires. 

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm a bit wobbly but I'm sure I can manage."

"If you get too tired you can come back on top of me, and don't take that the wrong way, you dirty minded creep."

"Too late." He grinned and winked, beginning to move toward her. She whacked him hard with her wing.

"Ow!" he protested.

"Three, two, one, FLY!" She screamed at Finn. They flew out of the barrier and suddenly Heather felt vulnerable and she knew. We must be outside the barrier, she thought. "FLYYYY FOR YOUR LIFE!!!" 

As soon as the words rolled off her tongue the botfires sped towards them, shooting balls of plasma. She magicked a bubble of protection over them as they flew but she was so tired from flying at top-speed that it wasn't very strong.

They were above a mountain range thick with trees, the botfires still on their tails and didn't seem to want to get off. Luckily, they'd given up shooting plasma balls - but were still chasing after them. 

Heather turned her head in time to see a rouge botfire shoot an enormous blast in their direction. She couldn't move. She was stuck, frozen in place. She tried to call Finn, scream for him to move. The blast reached them. Finn shrieked. Heather was blown backwards into Finn and they fell into the forest. Heather only felt rushing wing and roaring botfires before she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Heather heard a distant voice calling her name in the darkness.

"Heather, Heather! Heather! Heather! HEATHER!" she opened her eyes, seeing Finn. He looked worried, scared even. 

"Oh Heather! Thank Hyswæ! I thought you were dead!" he breathed, clutching his chest. "I was so worried!"

"Uhhhhg..." Heather groaned. "Everything hurts." She tried  - and failed - to stagger to her feet, collapsing more than once onto the forest floor. Then she noticed there was something wrong.
"I can't hear the botfires, she said, holding her throbbing head.

"Oh, yeah! They went away, I think they thought we were dead. We should look at our wounds, ya' know clean 'em up." 

"Okay," Heather sat up, trying not to vomit while the pain flooded through her. "You first."

"No way!" He said, pushing her back. "You are in a ten times worse condition than me!" 

Heather tried to argue but couldn't. She threw up in the bushes and almost collapsed for the fourth time, but Finn caught her just in time and gently sat her up against a tree.

"Where does it hurt most?" he asked.

"Everywhere." she gestured to all over her body. She turned around and threw up again. Finn patted her on the back.

"Everywhere it is then!" First, he started to examine a bump on her head. "Do you have the strength to summon medical equipment?" He wiped some blood from her head onto his shirt.

"I think so," Heather answered and tried to summon a medical kit without blacking out. She opened her eyes and saw Finn holding a medical kit. He leaned over her and dabbed her head with a soothing cream and the pain was lulled to a dull throb. He put a small bandage on it and moved to her next injury.

He poked her grazed shoulder and she hissed in pain. 

"I think you may have done more than graze your shoulder," he sighed, poking a particularly tender spot. "I think you may have dislocated your wing." As soon as he said this she knew what he would have to do. She groaned.

"Get it over with," she clenched her teeth and grabbed hold of Finn's hand. He shoved her wing back into place with a pop. She howled in pain and dug her fingernails into his palm. Then all the pain was gone.

"Heather," Finn said, wriggling. "You can let go of my hand now." She let his hand drop. He shook it vigorously, trying to clear the pain. Heather saw little fingernail marks on the palm of his hand.

"Sorry," she whispered.

That's fine, he thought to her as a wolf, licking his paw with a rough tongue. It'll be gone in a couple of minutes. 

Sorry, again she apologised, guilt fresh in her mind.

I just said its fine!!

Let me look at your injuries, she pressed. Turn human for me! 

"Okay here I am," he said in human form, pulling his clothes back on. She turned the other way, giving him privacy. 

"You can look at me but my injuries aren't that bad, thanks to your barrier!" He buttoned up his shirt and turned to her.

"Where does it hurt?" She looked him up and down.

"Well I've got a cut on my leg," he pulled up his pant leg. "It hurts another place too but to be honest you really don't need to examine there," He gestured and Heather didn't really want to explore any further. 

"Okay, let's look at this leg of yours," she leaned over to examine it and gasped. "I'm sorry to question your state of opinion," she winced. "But how do you call this not bad?"