Broken wings

Chapter 10

A week has passed and I'm relieved my wings haven't acted up as bad since. They hurt from time to time and I often experience a dull ache, but I can barely remember what it was like before.
"So no training?" Roman looks at me unimpressed.
"You twisted your ankle." I look up at him as I brush Stormclouds long manes.
"It doesn't hurt that bad anymore." He protests. Yesterday we went training like usual, but during the fight he managed to land his foot wrong. Resulting in him twisting his ankle. I tried healing him, but not even that I can do properly anymore. All I did was relief his pain a bit. I raise an eyebrow at his clearly false statement.
"Walk from here to Patton and back without flinching." I order him.
"Easy." Roman reacts. Sticking his chin out as he starts walking away from me.
"And no limping." I add when I notice how little weight he tries to put on his ankle. He lets out a sigh when he accepts his defeat and turns around again.
"Fine. So it still hurts a little bit. I don't see why you can't just show me some moves? We can train without actively fighting, right?" He limps back. His face twisting in pain when he lands harsher on his foot than he intended. He looks up into my eyes to know if I saw. Another frustrated sigh escapes his lips when he notices I did.
"You need to let that ankle rest or it'll only get worse." I point stern before picking up the small brush again. Roman pouts like a little kid, but I no longer focus on him. I straighten up when I hear the familiar sound of wings approaching. Did Chasten and Birrol find out I'm not actually dead yet? My heartbeat starts to race when I look around for ways Roman and Patton can escape if that were the case. Relief washes over me when I see it's Logan. I close my eyes and swallow my fear down again. It's okay. I open them again only to see Patton jump startled at his sudden appearance.
"Oh jolly, sorry, son. I didn't see you there." Patton speaks up with his usual chipper smile. Logan tilts his head intrigued. Completely disregarding me and stepping closer to the small man instead. Roman shares a look with me and I pretend to push back some invisible glasses so he understands. He knits his eyebrows together as we both look at the conversation happening.
"I admire your spectacles." Logan speaks up. Pointing at Patton's round golden glasses.
"Why thank you! I like your glasses too." Patton beams over the compliment. A pleased smile pulls up Logan's lips.
"I don't believe I've seen you around before. I'm Patton." The smaller man sticks out his hand with a friendly grin.
"Logan." My brother introduces himself as he shakes the man's hand.
"What?" Roman blurts out before looking frantically up at me. "I had to wait weeks before you told me your name and Patton can know Logan's the first time he talks to him?" He rambles jealous. I shrug.
"I'm not my brother." I point out. Roman huffs.
"Talk about unfair." He mutters to himself. I look amused at his reaction.
"Brother stop flirting with the man and tell me what you came here for." I call out to my brother who turns around unimpressed.
"I assure you I am not flirting with anyone." He speaks up as he straightens his glasses with a glare. I smirk at how easy I can still get him riled up over nothing. I tilt my head curious then. Face more serious when I remember he's not just here for a friendly visit.
"Yes, well, I haven't found out too much." He admits. I try to ignore the pang of disappointment.
"So why are you here?" I wonder.
"I fear Aimee is starting to believe Chasten and Birrol. More and more of our brothers and sisters have been agreeing with them. You know how some of us never liked the primates? They're using that doubt and manipulate it to benefit their cause. They haven't directly spoken to me yet. I'm certain they know I wouldn't agree." Logan shares his concerns. Things must've really moved forward since the last time I saw him. I feel my stomach twist when he mentions our younger sister. She can't really believe them, can she?
"Do you know what exactly that cause is?" I ask him. My voice even to not give away any emotions. He shakes his head.
"They're still just spreading ideas. Talking about how we can't let the primates get away with this. I haven't found any connection with Deceit yet either." He tells me with a concerned frown. I look down at my feet. If only I could go up and help him piece this together.
"What about you? Found anything yet?" A hopeful glint is seen in my brother's dark blue eyes. I let out a deep sigh of defeat.
"Nothing." I admit begrudgingly. He straightens his face in one of less emotion again.
"I suppose that was a predictable outcome." He mutters. "I should go back. I'll come visit when I've got more news." He promises.
"Logan, wait!" I call him back when he starts flying. When he reappears in front of us I look him in the eye.
"Take care of Aimee, alright? She doesn't know what she's getting herself into." I tell him softly. His lips twitch down.
"I know." He whispers before leaving for real. The moment he's gone I feel like drowning in helplessness.
"Fuck." I whisper yell to not scare Patton or the horses. I throw the brush away angry.
"Don't lose hope." Roman speaks up softly in an attempt to calm me down. I stare at him before walking out of the stables. How can I not? That disgusting snake is poisoning the brains and hearts of all my brothers and sisters. Turning them against each other and the humans. And there is nothing -Nothing!- I can do about it. I hear Roman limp after me.
"Virgil, hold up. Please." He pleads. His voice sounding strained.
"I thought it didn't hurt that much anymore?" I look unimpressed over my shoulder. He looks pale. His lips in a fine line as he squares his jaws in an attempt to bite the pain away and follow me fast enough. He doesn't react, but keeps limping after me. I intended to walk off. Try to find some peace in the other forest. But seeing him so stubborn as usual makes me roll my eyes.
"You're unbelievable." I scoff as I pick him up with ease.
"Hey, no, I can walk myself." He protests as I carry him with me to the forest.
"Uhu." I react sarcastically. He glares, but no longer argues until I put him down in the forest again. Freeing my wings the moment we're alone.
"Is Aimee your younger sister?" He asks me softly as I start pacing. Feeling restless. I nod. He sits down on a fallen tree.
"Who's Deceit?" He asks. We haven't really talked about anything since the day my wings burned. The day we kissed. I look at him. Stopping for a moment to debate if I should explain it to him. I let out a sigh.
"No one knows for sure." I admit. "He's bad news. As far as I know he's always been between earth and our home. He's neither human nor one of us. He's a manipulative liar who always tries to cause chaos wherever he can. We never intervened when he did this on earth, but one time he poisoned my grandfather's generation as well. Making them believe insane lies about each other until-" I shake my head. We've all heard the stories. "A lot of us died that day." I whisper. "Which is why it's so dangerous that he's involved in all of this. Why it's important to find out what he wants." I look into his green irises. My emotions clear in my own brown eyes like a hurricane. Roman looks at me sympathetically.
"I'm sure Logan will find something soon." He tries to reassure me. I shake my head.
"You don't understand. We might not have much time left. If Chasten and Birrol are already able to lie and attempt murder, they must be under his influence for a long time." I start pacing again. "We've always had a love/hate relationship with humans. You're all so ignorant and selfish. Destroying this beautiful world without a care." I start rambling. It makes sense they manage to get so many of us on board. We're used to trusting each other. If one of us gets passionate, others are bound to follow.
"Thanks." Roman replies dry. I look at him with a frown. Thinking back to the last thing I said that could cause him to get angry with me. I glare at him unimpressed. "I said love/hate. Some of you are quite remarkable." I eye him closely. Is he one of them? He hums not really convinced. I roll my eyes. I don't have time for this.
"Tell me about the dark evil thing. Maybe I can help." He changes the subject. I stop my pacing and turn towards him. "You never know." He shrugs. I sigh and sit down next to him.
"Remember when I tried to get outside the first time I woke up in the castle?" I ask him.
"When you collapsed in the hallway. How can I forget?" Roman nods affirmative. I glare at him.
"I fell to my knees. That's hardly collapsing." I reply annoyed. Roman shrugs. "Anyway I was trying to go- out. I wasn't sure where I'd be going, but then I got overwhelmed by something really dark. It felt..., well, it felt evil." I look at him.
"You know how I can sense when you're troubled?" I ask. He nods slowly. I never explicitly explained it to him, but he knows what I mean. "Well, I have that with every being. Pain and fear are always the strongest emotions and I often have to shelter from it or it would drive me insane." I explain. I blocked everyone's emotions at the castle once I knew none of them were the thing I was looking for. Only Roman's emotions I can't seem to keep out.
"It's the same for truly dark thoughts and intentions. That time in the hallway I was too weak to locate where it came from, but it had to have a connection with everything that's going on." I tell him. He seems to think for a while.
"Is that why you were always on the move the first weeks?" He seems to realize something. I nod.
"I had to find out what it was. Of course I never did. I still don't know what it was. I haven't felt anything remotely like it since." I reply.
"I thought you were just curious or something. Trying to find your way in the castle. Meet the people." He admits. I let out a humorless chuckle.
"I couldn't care less about the people or the castle." I tell him.
"Sounds more like you." Roman admits as he looks down at his feet. I don't question what he means by that. "I know I said I might be able to help, but I've never seen or heard anything that could explain what you felt." He adds. Looking at me apologetic. I look ahead of me
 "It's okay. I didn't expect you would." I speak up before hanging my head and going through my hair in distress. Roman remains quiet and we just sit there for a while.
"I'm really just a useless primate to you, aren't I?" He looks up at me. Hurt in his eyes. I blink confused as I furrow my eyebrows together.
"What?" I don't understand where this is suddenly coming from.
"You tolerate me because you haven't got anywhere else to go right now. But once you can return home after all of this is over, you're going to forget all about the time you spend on earth. You're going to forget ever having met me." He continues. No longer looking at me, but at the tree we're sitting on. I frown at the sudden sadness coming off of him.
"That's not true." I break down his ridiculous ramble. It may have started out like that, but I've really grown to care for him. I thought he realized that. It's not nothing for me to be so open. To let someone that close mentally and physically. He flicks his eyes up to look into mine.
"Were you serious when you said you never lie?" He asks me softly.
"None of us are supposed to." I nod affirmative. Which is why it's a disaster Chasten and Birrol no longer seem to have a problem with it.
"Why did you kiss me back?" He whispers. Looking the most vulnerable I've ever seen him before. I shake my head slowly.
"I don't know." I admit softly.
"Would you do it again?" He asks.
"I don't know." I repeat truthfully. I don't know what came over me that day. I can't be sure it won't happen again. He seems to have some kind of pull on me that I can't explain. He looks down and nods softly. I look surprised to see tears in his eyes. I tilt his chin up so he looks up at me.
"You're not just a useless primate to me. You're Roman. The man who dived in a hopeless fight just to help a stranger. The man who's been trying effortlessly to make me feel even the slightest bit at home despite me being a dick to him most of the time. I appreciate you, Roman. Don't disregard our bond just because of some voices inside your head." I look at him stern. A weak smile tugs at his lips while a tear rolls out of his eyes. I gently wipe it away with my thumb.
"Okay." He promises softly. I nod curt before letting go of him again. "So you know you're a dick?" He speaks up more like his usual self already. A teasing twinkle in his green eyes. I glare at him and he giggles softly in response. I shake my head fondly before looking up at the sky. I hope Logan is safe. I hope he can keep Aimee safe too.
"Tell me about your home." Roman encourages. I look down at him upon hearing his request.
"What do you want to know?" I wonder. He shrugs.
"Anything. What was it like growing up there?" He asks for example.
"Great." I smirk dreamy as I think back at my childhood. How carefree I was. Things really have changed, hmm? I frown bitter again.
"Eric's soup is great. Yenny's tea is great. Patton is great. I know literally nothing with that information." Roman protests my short answer. I chuckle softly. I suppose somethings won't ever change. He really won't ever learn to shut up.
"I don't know what to tell you. I'm not a storyteller, remember?" I remind him with a smirk.
"What's your fondest memory of home?" He asks. I think about it for a while. There are so many. My first sword fight. Logan showing me all the things he's discovered in the decennia he walked around before me. My first time flying with mom holding me carefully. Meeting Zora. The general community. Knowing that I'm loved no matter what. Everyone can trust each other and I can just enjoy being around my brothers and sisters. But I guess one stands out.
"The day Aimee was born." I tell him with a crooked smile. "She was so tiny in dad's arms." I remember out loud. "I can still recall how Logan insisted on holding her in his arms as well. Me standing on my tiptoes as I leaned on him to look at her. Her eyes were these giant pools of the darkest blue. Even darker than Logan's. I wish you could see her. She's beautiful." I look at him with a warm heart.
"You must really love her, huh?" He smiles when he looks into my eyes. I hum.
"She's my little sister." I state the obvious. "It's our job to protect her." I add as I stare into the distance.
"She's going to be okay." He promises. But he can't actually promise that, can he? There's no way he can know that for sure. I flick my eyes back at him. Enough about me. I don't want to reminisce on all the things I've lost. Everyone I might still lose because what's going on.
"What about you?" I return the question. I know he didn't grew up in this castle. He told me that he moved here once he was eighteen.
"My nanny used to sing for me." He replies in a heartbeat. A bright grin on his face. I tilt my head curious. "She was the best, honestly. Every time she put me to bed or just because I asked her to, she would sing a song and it was like angels descended into my room to sing alongside her." He describes the brief look into his youth.
"Angels, hmm?" I look amused. He shrugs.
"You keep saying there's no such thing, but that won't stop me from liking them." He grins.
"Like your dragonwitch." I quirk my eyebrow.
"Exactly. Not everything has to be real in this world. Sometimes it's nice to just fantasize. Imagine the most marvelous scenarios and escape everyday life." He looks at me with sparkling eyes. I look at him with a fond smile. I can't possibly imagine what he means, but it clearly brings him happiness so who am I to take it away from him?
"New question: what's the first animal you ever saw?" He speaks up again.
"A Rüppell's Griffon Vulture." I reply instantly. I remember it very clearly. My brother and mother went with me the first time I could visit earth. We flew right passed one and I turned around instantly to watch it in awe.
"I have no clue what that looks like." Roman admits.
"It's a large scavenging bird of prey that lives far away from here on a different part of earth." I explain. He hums intrigued. We go on like that for a while until he manages to completely take my mind of the upcoming war back at home and potentially down here. 

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No clue what to say here, so I'm just going to thank everyone again who takes the time to read this and vote on this and even comment! I love you all and I'm so grateful for the support