A Misadventure's Fortune [REED900]

8: Journey

Song Of The Chapter:
Coastline - Hollow Coves

Nines and Gavin left early the next morning, knowing it would be a long day of travel. Gavin was as prepared as he felt he could be. With a mighty beat of his wings, they were off, ready to begin their journey ahead.

"I know some rest stops along the way!" Nines called, now that he knew what direction Gavin's home was. "Tell me whenever you need to take a break, I know of some tiny islands and areas where rocks jut out of the water you can land on."

Gavin was already breathing heavily as he flapped his wings, looking down at the merman with a small frustrated groan that wasn't directed towards Nines at all. He looked back up and focused on the sky in front of him, flapping and gliding to preserve energy. "Yeah, yeah," he groaned softly. He had to admit, it felt nice to be back up in the air. It was refreshing to get away from the ground and to feel the early morning air hit his skin.

Nines continued to swim quickly below, knowing well enough that he would have to pause every once in a while to give himself a break. Tail cramps were the worst, and he definitely didn't want to deal with those. Nines puffed out a little breath, whistling to a whale that he saw up ahead out of respect. Noting the currents, temperature, and their overall location, he knew that there would be a small rock outcropping in about a half-hour traveling at this pace. He readily swam onward, making that a goal for them to reach.

20 minutes had passed, and Gavin was getting tired, fearing the possibility of his wings cramping up. He growled as they began to feel progressively stiffer, but he kept pressing onward, flapping them with more labor involved as he grew exhausted. He needed a place to land or he'd crash in the water again. His eyes scanned around desperately for any sort of place to land. He was losing altitude, he could tell, the water seemingly getting closer than he would like.
Seeing Gavin start to decline in the air, Nines knew they had to stop soon.
"It's just up ahead!" Nines called out in reassurance. "Do you think you'll make it? You could try to land on my back or something if you need to," Nines said. "I could probably support your weight if you really need it."
Gavin looked down at Nines as he panted. "Fuck no! I'm too heavy- you'll sink!" He huffed and kept flapping, trying hard to stay up. He saw the little island ahead. With a burst of energy in seeing the outcropping of land, he flapped hard, gaining speed as he flew towards it. His landing was anything but graceful as he fumbled into the warm sand, but he couldn't care less as he lay limply by the water with low whines of pain and harsh pants.

Nines reached the area just off the shore of the small island, where he pulled to a halt, sucking in the water through his gills in heavy breaths. His tail felt numb after swimming so fast for a long period of time. He was far more used to either a steady drifting speed or short bursts of speed. Nines laughed to himself, and when he finally caught his breath, he let the waves push him up onto the shore, where he spotted Gavin in the sand.
"Are you alright?" He called breathlessly.
Gavin didn't answer for a while, more focused on trying to catch his breath. He offered Nines a painfully high pitched whine, trying to sit up but collapsing once again. His wings were sprawled out to their full giant length, one lightly dipped in the water. Gavin couldn't move them, they were to sore. His healing back injury didn't prove to be beneficial to his situation either.
"We'll rest here for a while," Nines stated, observing Gavin's current state. "I could try and find some fish to eat and some herbs for the pain." He didn't feel like it was a good idea leaving Gavin alone for long periods, especially when there could be some lone, prissy sirens waiting for some "fun". But it was better than feeling like he was doing nothing.

"Nooo...." Gavin groaned. He was already full from their meal earlier. He didn't feel like moving- his wings were so sore, the muscles tense. They needed to be rubbed out or something to loosen them back up. "I don't want any food..." he muttered, voice muffled from the sand. He didn't move an inch, his wings occasionally spasming and twitching.
"Then uh," Nines pulled himself up to where Gavin had flopped over. He watched Gavin's wings let out a particularly violent shake. "How about this?"
Gavin raised his head in confusion, before flinching as Nines gingerly took Gavin's right wing with careful hands. Gavin tried to pull away, being slightly defensive of his sensitive wings.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?" He spat as he attempted to sit up and look at Nines. The siren paid him no mind and began massaging the muscle with extreme caution. Gavin's struggling soon diminished as he slowed down and actually focused on the feeling, his expression going softer to reflect that of bliss and content, a near whimper escaping his lips as his body forced him to lay back down, allowing Nines to skillfully knead into his sensitive wing.
Nines snorted slightly at Gavin's reaction but continued working on Gavin's wing.
"I have a lot of practice with massages," Nines mused with a fond smile. "Sometimes us merfolk get tail cramps and soreness along our backs and shoulders. Connor always finds me when he gets them. He insists that I'm good at it." Nines shrugged, before tilting his head slightly. "I hope this is fine with you," he proceeded, now unsure. "Just... tell me if I'm ever crossing boundaries, okay?"
Gavin remained quiet with small grumbles escaping from his lips. He tried so hard not to be completely satisfied with the rubs, holding back purrs.
"W-whatever." He managed to murmur out, a small purr resonating in his chest before he flinched and breathed to hide it up, keeping himself from purring. Yes, maybe the grumpy bird could purr, sue him.
It was enough to get Nines raising a brow at least, hearing the beginning of the purr. He let out another breathless laugh but was merciful and spared Gavin from teasing. Before he switched to the left wing he stopped, looking at the scarring on Gavin's back, letting his fingers trail down it for a second.
Gavin visibly tensed, letting out a sharp growl of alarm.
"Don't touch it!" He spat defensively before his growl tapered off, his body shaking slightly. It had scared Gavin a bit, he didn't expect Nines to touch his still semi healing wound.
"Sorry," Nines murmured in apology. "I was just making sure it wasn't infected," He explained.
It wasn't hot, at least, meaning it wasn't infected. He let out a light sigh, then began working on the other wing.