"What are they, Milo? What the fuck are they?!" I whisper-yelled, clutching tightly onto my pillow as I lay down on my bed. Milo had all but dragged me out of the shower, not even bothering to let me dry off before throwing me onto my bed face down. I had at least managed to cover my bare ass and junk with my blanket, hardly a priority when I had sticks protruding from my back.
"Shut up and let me look at them," Milo said sternly, voice slightly breathless as he tentatively touched one of the bony growths.
"Ah!"
The touch sent a jolt running down my spine, and Milo seemed to jump when the bony stick moved up and down frantically.
"Sorry, sorry, did it hurt?" Milo asked, his usually flat and monotonous voice frantic.
"N-No, I just... It felt weird," I said, biting my lip. "What are they? Am I dying? Oh my God, is that my spine?! How the hell did my spine leave my body? Ohhhh my God."
"It's not your spine, don't be stupid," Milo said quickly, shaking his head. "If it was your spine, you'd already be dead, or at the very least, paralysed."
"Fair point," I conceded, sighing in relief despite my heart still rabbiting in my chest. "Then what are they? Tumours? Can a tumour even grow that quickly?" I felt the colour drain from my face, and I grabbed onto Milo's hand, the boy jumping again in surprise. "Dude, do I have cancer?!"
"A tumour wouldn't move around like that, idiot!" Milo said, gesturing harshly to the bony sprouts on my back, which moved up and down as he spoke.
"Th-Then a parasite, or something?" I offered. "Or... Or a parasitic alien. Oh God, please don't tell me it's a parasitic alien."
"Aliens don't exist," Milo said, a true sceptic.
"Well, humans with wings don't exist, either!" I retorted, jerking my fingers at my back. "It was the magpie, wasn't it. It... It infected me with something. Like a bird flu, but a fucking flu that turns you into a fucking bird. Oh my God, what if I grow a beak as well?!"
"Okay, just shut up for a second. I'm going to... touch them again, okay?" Milo said tightly, and I nodded, clutching my pillow tighter in anticipation. "Ready?"
"Mhmm, I'm ready."
"Okay... Just my fingers, first," Milo said, making me swallow nervously. I braced myself for the feeling of his fingers on my back, and when they made contact, I fought back the urge to flinch like I had before. His touch was gentle, careful, and tickled slightly. I felt him stroke down the length of the protrusion on the left, and it was...
Kind of nice.
"Mmm," I moaned, unable to help myself. Milo's fingers suddenly snapped back from my wings, and I almost pouted at the loss of sensation.
"Did... Did that hurt?" Milo asked once again, voice a little rough.
"No, not at all," I said, shaking my head. "It was a little ticklish, but kind of felt like... someone running their fingers through your hair? That kind of feeling."
"So weird," Milo muttered to himself, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the odd growths. "If you have sensation in them, then they're clearly innervated and... part of your body."
"So they're totally part of my spine!" I yelled, panicking once again.
"They're definitely not!" Milo snapped back, shoving my back. "They're... They're almost like tiny wings. You know, like if you got KFC wicked wings and ate all the meat off them. That's what they look like."
YOU ARE READING
Swooped | ✓
Fantasy[BxB] Life was pretty average for Culver Fleet, an 18-year-old certified couch potato slash pothead. He has spent every waking breath dodging responsibilities, until one fateful day he is swooped by a magpie and is... changed. He thought he just cau...
