The sequel to Bird of a Wing. Kidnapped and now in Navat, Ryraso has to cope with his impending doom and protect his foster son from the people who claim to love him. Who do love him, and Ryraso loves them back but duty comes before self. Even if th...
His hands were caked with dirt, he could feel it under his fingernails and the moistness of the mud sinking into his skin. It was not a bad feeling, far from it. It was the kind of soil that you could feel life teeming in. He reached up and wiped his brow, his back ached slightly. It had been a long time since he had done this kind of work. His father had stopped insisting he help with the harvest when the village healer had protested losing his assistant for such a long period of time every year.
"Tired, Ryraso?" a voice called, sounding vaguely amused.
Ryraso looked over and saw his mentor flying above him, looking at him with a slight smile. "Slightly," he admitted, smiling back at his mentor. Umin had given him this job to make him complain and be generally unhappy. Most healing apprentices who came to Navat were above working in the fields. "The others were fighting again last night so I didn't sleep much," he added so it was clear it was not the work which was tiring him.
"That so?" Umin hummed. "You really should move into my place instead of sleeping in the dorms. Do you have any complaints?"
"About moving in with you?" Ryraso asked innocently. "If it gets me away from the fighting, I'll happily move in with you," he smiled warmly. "As for helping to grow herbs, well. We are healers. It is important to know how to make the tools that we use," he said matter-of-factly. "Also we have to deal with blood and gore sometimes. If you can't get your hands dirty with soil, just what kind of a healer are you?" he added with a disapproving scowl.
"Just so," Umin nodded, a wide grin on his face. "Keep at it. I'll have your things moved to my cabin."
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Ryraso woke up to the smell of damp and the sound of rain falling through leaves. It was a lovely soothing smell that was very much Navat. Big city or not, Navat was made from treehouses and when it rained the city smelled of wet woodland. He opened his eyes and found the room was dimly lit, it was obviously not quite sunrise yet but it was no longer night either. He shifted slowly and took count of the nest. Aw'endo was still next to him, no longer clinging however but Eyeri was gone.
Blinking slowly, Ryraso removed himself from the nest, grinning as Aw'endo curled into Dyn'ad's chest with him gone. Dyn'ad hugged him in his sleep, covering the boy with his wings. One child safe, Ryraso walked over to his own room, for some reason getting a feeling that Eyeri was not in his own, and found Eyeri inside. Eyeri was curled on the window ledge, looking out over the garden.
"Da," Eyeri murmured with a soft smile. "Morning."
"Morning, aren't you cold?" Ryraso asked gently, reaching over to his bed to pull a blanket off the foot. He walked over and threw it over Eyeri who willingly wrapped it around himself. "Were you dreaming again?"
