The Winged

11- Questions and Answers

I clenched my fists and tried to maintain eye-contact with him, but my eyes wandered downwards to Micah before I could say anything,
I looked at the trembling boy, then to the giant Mike, then back to Sam. He was still glancing at the boy every few moments— not at all cautious of my threat. The second I told him anything, he would just pluck Micah straight off the table again. Wings tense on my back, my stomach felt uneasy.
"Open the jar." I demanded with all the confidence I had left.
Sam actually laughed, "What?"
But I wasn't joking. I found the nerve to step closer to the front wall of the jar and ball my hands up into tights fists. My eyes hardened on his.

"Give him to me," I said calmly, "Let me be with Micah. So I know that you won't just grab him when I'm finished talking."
Sam narrowed his eyes. I almost lost my cool, he was still a human after all, an enormous, terrifying creature, but I managed to stay headstrong.
"I don't think you're in a position to make demands. Look at yourself," he replied, "And you've got a very breakable little boy to look after."
I inhaled sharply before I forced words out, "And you don't have a choice if you want me to tell you anything."
Mike sniggered at my retort with surprise. He eyed Sam with amusement, awaiting his friend's reaction. "What do you say to that, Sam?" Was all he said, not hiding the grin, "She has a point."

The giant looked at me, then to Micah, then back again. After a moment, he shook his head, sighing with disbelief. He let out a curt laugh shortly after, "You're lucky that I find your stupidity cute and not irritating."

He unscrewed the lid of jar just above me, letting the fresh air finally wash down through the opening and onto my hot skin. I didn't look away until I was sure that he wasn't going to snatch me from the prison, but Sam's hand made no move for me just yet. Then, his huge fingers lowered around Micah. The boy gave a tight protest as they closed around him, dragging him off the table without effort. For a second, I thought Sam was going to pull the tiny boy towards him, but he followed on with our deal and dangled Micah above the opening the jar. I stared up, chest taught with the suspense. With a chuckle, Sam finally released his hold on the boy.
He rolled his eyes, "Here."

I grabbed Micah up into my arms as he was dropped inside, "Micah!"
I wrapped my arms around the little one's body and pulling him close, nuzzled his face into my warm chest. He hugged me back in trembling gasps, clutching fistfuls of my clothes. Micah broke into a flood of tears not a second after Sam dropped him into my arms.
"Hey, hey..." I whispered through a wince. My fingers brushed through his hair as I held the boy close. I barely even knew this boy. But could feel the shaking with every breath that he took. Hear the whimpers and sniffing like roars in my ears...
Sinking my body all around him, my voice melted into a forced softness, "It's okay now, it's okay. I've got you..."

It took all the strength in my body not to glare at both of the humans.
How could they? Of all the people that Sam could have caught... I had been trained to look after myself, yet even I felt their steps shake my bones and liquify my nerves. How must a young boy like him be feeling? And that dammed human wanted to terrify him like this! Sam got some sort of cruel amusement from scaring him. I bit back a snarl, a certain swear tingling on my tongue.

"Now, that's enough." Mike narrowed his eyes. His voice shook the glass, making both me and Micah shudder inside our prison. I pulled his quivering body closer, taking extra care to keep his face buried in my jacket. He didn't need to see the malevolence in their faces— I knew that even the sound of Mike's voice was putting him on edge. Following his comment, the human leaned closer to us with a cold look protruding from his face.
"Are you going to answer the questions now?" He murmured.
I didn't quite nod. Whatever trembling head movement I managed seemed to satisfy Mike, because he leant back into his chair after that question.
"Thank you." He miraculously stated. Mike honestly seemed to be reasonable... for a human. But the other one...