A Random Book of Randomness

CH Headcanon: Wings

Howdy internet peeps, today I am writing my first headcanon page.  I was having some writer's block with "The Scars of The Past", so I decided to take a break and finally start the headcanon chapters that I have been putting off.  Just a heads up, my AU for the most part follows 0luv0love0's AU like the entity lines and such, but there are a few key differences.  I recommend reading Luv's info book first before this one so you get the general layout since I will mostly focus on my aspects.  Now without further a due, let's get into the headcanon

In this chapter, we will talk about winged countryhumans and the wings themselves.

To be born with wings is considered a high honor among countries since it is quite rare, and those with wings are usually treated with great respect (most of the time).  Despite wings being rare, there are three known ways to increase the probability.  First, one or both of the country's parents have wings, with both parents having the highest chance.  Second, if the country's flag (like Wales, Kazakhstan, and Mexico) or coat of arms (like Poland, Prussia, and Indonesia) has a winged creature on it, then they have a slightly higher chance of having wings, but only slightly.  Last, if the "country" is a full-time entity, then they have the highest probability of the three to have wings, no one knows why.

When it comes to wings, they can come in a variety of colors and patterns, which usually reflects the flag and/or coat of arms of the country.  There is a rarity range when it comes to the number of colors that wings can have, one color being the most common.  The limit of colors that wings can have is believed to be four or five, as no other winged countries have been observed to have more than that.

Wings aren't only used for flying, they can also be used to show emotion or dominance, and they can be used to keep track of/communicate with other winged countries.  Just like when a person uses hand and body movements to communicate, wings are the same way.  When a winged country gets angry and/or is trying to intimidate someone, they will usually fluff up their feathers or spread out their wings to make themselves look bigger like a bird does.  One of the more embarrassing ways that wings show emotions is something called "the Mating Flare", basically, when a country finds someone attractive, their wings will subconsciously flare open, which can be very embarrassing when in public.

One trick that winged countries can do is communicate with their wings.  When two winged countries are near one another, their feathers will vibrate, but sometimes the countries can voluntarily vibrate their feathers in different ways to communicate or find someone.  Let's say for example, Mandara and MA are in a heated battle against an enemy country and they find themselves separated.  Then let's say that MA is being pinned down by a machine gun nest and is running out of ammo.  First, he would conduct what is called a "wing sweep", which acts in a similar way to echolocation, where MA would vibrate his feathers and any winged country (in this case, Mandara) within a certain radius will pick up those vibrations and subconsciously send some back.  Once MA is sure that Mandara is close, he will then vibrate his feathers in a specific way to signal that he needs help.  There are many different ways winged countries can vibrate their feathers to "say" different things, and if a country is experienced enough, they can even have full conversations through their wings.  One more thing, an experienced winged country can sometimes tell who a country is based on the way their feathers vibrate, it's usually militant and full-time entities that are the most experienced.

Even though having wings can be a great thing, there are some downsides.  First, wings take a lot of maintenance to keep them healthy, you have to keep them groomed and pluck any damaged feathers so they not only look nice but also stay aerodynamic.  Siting and sleeping can be difficult too.  Usually, a winged country just sleeps on their stomach or side, but if they accidentally roll onto one of their wings, they could wake up with a severe case of pins and needles.  When it comes to sitting, the hardest part is the backrest for obvious reasons, though one can easily flip it around.  The biggest problem of all for winged countries is keep their ability to fly.  For a winged country, the inability to fly is a fate worse than death, and there are three main ways to ground one, clipping the feathers, breaking the bones, and the worst of them all, completely amputating the wings.  Clipping wings is the most merciful of the three and really needs no explanation.  Broken wings are the most common one, since a winged country's bones are hollow to allow for flight, they are easier to break.  Finally, the worst possible thing to happen to a country is their wings being amputated.  Ways this can happen is if they are blown off in an explosion, surgically removed because of infection, or forcefully torn off by an enemy, countries often not surviving the latter.  Having wings can be a wonderful thing in the countryhuman community, but they are not something to take for granted.

Well, that does it for the first AU chapter, hope you found this informative, and if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments.