A Pair of Wings - Sanders Sides

3. Fishing Out an Angel

The water splashed around as schools of fish swam down the river in the warm spring afternoon. Not a storm cloud or hint of gray covered the sky. It truly was a beautiful day to catch fish, Logan thought to himself. Instead of hunting down for deer or rabbit, fishing seemed much less time consuming. Plus, he wanted to take the opportunity to get some food reserves, so he didn't have to fish so much. He sat under the shade of a tall tree near the river that was parallel to the mountains beyond. His cabin wasn't too far from the river but just far enough that angels or other creatures that lived around here wouldn't notice. A cool breeze passed him as he took a whiff of the fish he just caught. It was fairly large and would make an excellent dinner later. Gently, he placed it in a wooden box with the five other fish he caught. Soon, he took his fishing pole again and went to cast it out again until he heard a nearby tree rustle.

Virgil's heart raced as the human suddenly looked in his direction. Quickly, he hid behind the tree, hoping the leaves would cover him up enough. That was much too close of a call for his liking. As curious as he was, no way would he let a human see him or take advantage of him, even in his crippled form. He made a mental note to be quieter as he peeked out of his hiding spot in the treetops. The trees were rather tall, so at least the human wouldn't be so lucky in shooting him down. But a thought itched at his mind. What difference would it make if the human saw him? He was already miserable as it was, so even if the human did kill him, it would make no difference. And if the human truly was kind? In all honesty, he wouldn't know how to react. All his life, he thought humans were monsters, yet he hadn't seen this particular human shoot down an angel, let alone take out a crossbow.

Virgil looked around to see where the closest tree to him was. There was a small clearing around the river which made it difficult for him to just hide all the time here. The beaming light from the afternoon sun made it difficult to see since angels were semi-nocturnal, but he was sure he was at least smart enough to still accurately tell how far the tree was from him. He'd snuck around the forest so late in the morning that maybe his eyes have adjusted just enough for him to really see properly. It was very risky, but curiosity was starting to get to him. Even with his strong lingering fear, he desperately wanted to see the human up close. It might even be a chance to... No... In no way could he ever form a friendship with a human! Sure, there might be some merciful humans, but trying to befriend one only seemed like trouble. All he wanted to do was to just watch what they were doing. But maybe, just maybe he could try and talk to them. Finally, he found a branch that seemed stable and close enough. Quickly, he tried to leap over to the other tree, but soon learned how the sunlight and his eyes had deceived him.

One slip from the branch was enough to get Virgil tumbling down from the tall trees. He tried to grab onto the tree or even a branch with his long claws, but he just continued to fall. A dizziness made his head spiral. The rushing wind didn't help him either, only pushing him away from the tree. Suddenly, a thump rang through his head, making him close his eyes. His world was now black. On the ground, Logan heard a strange racket, and suddenly a crack when he saw an angel practically hurtling toward him. He quickly ran out of the way as fast as possible. His heart pounded as the angel finally landed with a thump.

Logan hesitantly took a look at the knocked-out angel as he hid behind a tree. As curious as he was, a rush of instinctive fear pulsed through him. They could wake up at any moment and attack him! Plus, it was very unlikely this angel would trust him in the slightest. He scanned their body, looking for any signs of injury. It wasn't too difficult as he soon saw bright red blood dripping down their right wrist. The red stained their purple fur that ran up their arms and stopped at the elbow. His heart finally slowed after a minute or two, and now that he was somewhat calmer, he realized the angel would most likely be quite weak if he didn't treat the wound. A part of his mind urged him to help while another side argued he'd only get hurt. Though, another thought came to mind. He'd been working on making his own artificial wings, so maybe it was good to finally meet and get to know a creature he'd been wanting to protect for years.

A deep breath filled Logan's lungs as he walked toward the angel. Quickly, he washed the injury with some water from the river. He pulled out a small rag he had in his pocket and gently tied it around the injured wrist. Soon, there was no more blood dripping down from their wrist. The wind suddenly started to pick up, a chill now running down his spine. He looked up at the sky, dark storm clouds rolling in. Certainly, the angel wouldn't be comfortable soaking wet. He looked over to his cabin in the distance then back at the angel. How in the world was he going to get them to his cabin? From what he learned as a child, he knew they weighed around 150 to 200 pounds, so it'd be a challenge to move them. Suddenly, thunder rang in his ear, the storm clouds approaching faster. He sighed, the only option being to carry the angel himself. He didn't want to be wet from the cold rain, so, as gently as possible, he tucked in their wing, and lifted them up.

To Logan's surprise, he held the angel in his arms quite easily. They were still heavy but certainly not as heavy as they should be. They were much too light for an angel. It almost scared him a bit. Had this angel not been eating well? Was there something else he didn't notice? Quickly, he shook his head before he started to ponder too much and walked back to his homely cabin. For a moment, he looked back over to his box of fish, making a note to go back for it later. Right now, he just needed to focus on getting this angel to safety. Even as terrified as he was, something about this felt very right. Whatever the feeling was, it made his heart thump madly, as if he was about to embark on a long adventure he yearned for all his life.