Freezing Wings

Chapter 35

{Back to Sasha's POV}

The thing that woke me up was my stomach.

A sound like the grisly death of an asthmatic whale and a stab of hunger kicked me out of sleep, the ache in my ribs making me groan in pain. I took a deep breath, my skin flexing painfully.

The agony of shredded wings and broken ribs had faded to a deep throb, softening to the point that I could move. I found myself humming as I shifted, stretching with my eyes closed. My tail lashed and I stretched my wings, the scabs flexing with the scales.

Even though having our wings cut hurt like something that only Satan could think up, they actually healed very quickly. As long as they were arranged in the right way, the skin could knit back together right and recover relatively fast. For how badly they had been shredded, I estimated about three days had gone by. I would probably be ready to fly in two weeks, even though the scales wouldn't be back completely until at least a month later.

My ribs were probably broken, and I didn't know how long it would take for them to heal. whether it would be two weeks or two months, either way it would ground me for a while. Flying a thousand feet up where the air was as thin as my patience with broken ribs would not be a good idea. It would make breathing difficult, and I would probably pass out from oxygen deprivation, so that was out.

To fly right above the snow was slightly dangerous, considering all of the wildlife that lived here, as well as the fact that the snow was literally twenty feet deep after the storm, and I couldn't just hoof it because of the same reason. To go even half a mile would be pretty hard if I couldn't breathe. I found that, compared to when I was human, taking shallow breathes was much more dangerous.

I was fine if I just held my breath or breathed regularly, but anywhere in-between was hard. I often didn't breathe while solidifying a sculpture, or swimming in the lake, but other than that, I got dizzy with a limited amount of air. It was a biological phenomenon that I can't really explain, but that is how it is.

I opened my eyes, greeted by a scene that I was not expecting.

I seemed to be in a sort of pen, surrounded by a high metal fence, a dark gate the only exit. There was no roof, the moon high in the sky. The air was warm, despite the fact that the cold should have flooded down to my position.

I could see the mountain that my cave was in in the distance, the top covered completely in ice. It had probably snowed the previous night, I couldn't see any bare rock through it all.

The floor I was laying on was covered in some sort of soft plating, like a stone carpet. It sunk down under my weight, the green material acting similar to a high quality mattress. It was comfortable, and I found myself settling into my spot, curling up.

However, just as I was about to go back to sleep, I heard something. It was breathing, and it was right next to me. I craned my neck and looked back, surprised to see a familiar blue dragon.

I winced and stood up, a mix of worry and fear making my system go cold for a moment. I walked over, taking a closer look.

Lucas was out cold, bandages covering him from the neck to the wings, covering both arms and the top part of his back. I could see that underneath the gauze, there was a chunk missing from his neck, an abnormal dip in the muscle.

His left wing was in what seemed to be a cast, a metal splint holding the bone in place; it was broken. The wing was wrapped up in such a way that it would be held in the same position as when it was folded, pinned to his back.

From what I could see, the bandages were secured fine, and no blood was seeping through. After a quick sniff test, I couldn't smell any sort of medicine or drug on the gauze, so that was good. He seemed to be sleeping fine, his face relaxed and peaceful.

For some reason, I didn't want to go back to my own spot. Something told me to stay next to him, not only for safety but also just to confirm that he was still there. Although I technically wasn't alone now, I didn't feel right sitting on the opposite side of the pen, especially with him being as hurt as he seemed.

I curled up on his right side, within arms reach. After one more cursory scan over the area, I curled up, and was soon off to dreamland.

*

When I woke up, Lucas was still there, still unconscious. He had shifted in his sleep so that he was right next to me, his good wing covering my back. I craned my neck and looked over him, making sure that he was okay.

There was a tiny bit of blood seeping through the bandage around his neck and it would have to be changed soon, but from what I could tell, nothing else was wrong. The bandages on his arms were the same as before, and he seemed to be sleeping fine.

His breathing pattern was even, and although I would have preferred that it be a bit colder in there, it wasn't enough to cause any significant harm. I would probably have to get some snow later, just so that we would be comfortable, for now we seemed to be fine.

I lay back down in my spot under his wing, and I planned to go back to sleep. However, something interrupted me.

I opened one eye, a bolt of ice hitting the place the Kymari had just been. Before I could attack, back away, or even register what the alien was doing, he dropped the thing in his hand and disappeared.

My eyes narrowed and I hissed quietly, standing up from my spot. My nostrils flared and I took a deep whiff, the strong smell of meat in the air. I swung my head around, searching every crack and crevice in the pen. Other than Lucas, it was completely empty, there wasn't even a visible camera.

*

[Freezing Wings has been on hiatus for a while now, but I am glad to say that we will resume the normal schedule starting today. My mom is out of the hospital and is recovering, Wattpad finally quit smoking crack, and all is now right in the world.

The next chapter will be out on Saturday, as regularly planned, and I hope to catch up on all the work I missed throughout this last month. I just wanted to say thank you for all of your patience throughout this time, and to tell you that my mom says thank you :)

I hope you have a great day :D]