Rain thundering down against the roof, Ryraso sat on the wooden floor watching the fire while Eyeri slept. When their clothes had dried, Ryraso had draped his cloak over Eyeri and gotten dressed. He wasn't going to sleep that night. He had already felt the seal on his wrist heat up a few times. Tai'ray looking for him but not quite ready to push through with the magic.
At the very least, the storm was moving away. The thunder was sounding less and growing more distant with every boom. Eyeri was resting more peacefully for it. The young man had stayed awake for a while in his curled up ball before falling to sleep. His face was peaceful but he had bags under his eyes.
Then he heard a shift in the wind. He inhaled and held his breath. Listening carefully as the fire crackled and water washed against the wood. There was a shift in the wind, the distinct sound of wings cutting through the air.
Ryraso shifted, gently waking Eyeri by tapping his shoulder. Eyeri woke up, his blue eyes bright but he was quiet. Ryraso pointed up to the ceiling. Eyeri was silent, clearly listening to the sound himself before nodding. His eyes glanced over at the sink with a meaningful sink was wide and deep. More importantly, it had a lid. Ryraso pursed his lips but nodded. It would be tight but they would just be able to hide in there.
Eyeri grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. Ryraso looked around and grabbed the bags. He dropped them into the sink. Eyeri walked over and climbed in. Ryraso climbed in after and pulled the lid over them.
Time seemed to slow down as they waited. The sink was made from stone and was cold to the touch and the bottom was still damp from them washing their clothes. With the lid on, it was dark, and Ryraso could feel Eyeri shivering where they were touching. Ryraso gripped the seal on his wrist and tried to breathe as slowly as possible as they waited for whoever was flying around to check in the hut.
Finally, the wooden door slid open with a brief increase in the rain as two sets of footsteps walked into the room. The door slide shut again.
"Smell that, Guardian?" an unfamiliar voice said. "They were here."
"Yes, I suspect they were," Fl'ex commented calmly, his voice tight.
"Do we have any word on Hiu'an?" the stranger asked, moving to check the room in the back for any signs of them. They hadn't even looked into them but Ryraso knew they were storage rooms.
The lid of the sink creaked loudly as Flex sat down on it. Ryraso held his breath, Eyeri gripping his arm painfully. "The Winglord has had a try at fixing the damage but we need a real healer," Fl'ex said softly. "Hiu'an isn't the only one hurt badly either."
"Damn healer," the stranger cursed. "To choose this time of any to run."
The wood creaked as Flex shifted slightly. Ryraso felt his chest tighten. Was someone hurt bad? He had to force himself not to gulp and make a sound. That complicated things.
"To be fair, he didn't know the storm would cause this much damage. Hasn't in a long time," Fl'ex said softly, almost sympathetically. "I need to rest a moment. Can you go scout out the area and see if we can work out where they went."
"Of course Guardian Fl'ex," the stranger said with a healthy dose of concern in his voice but he didn't ask if Fl'ex was ok or not. K'nairi to the core. It wasn't polite to bring up the health of an elder, especially one with a rank like Fl'ex. The stranger left, the sound of the pouring rain again increasing as the opened the door and fading as it shut again. Leaving just Fl'ex in the room.
"There has been a fire in the village. The lightning hit an oil store," Fl'ex commented out loud. Ryraso closing his eyes. Fl'ex knew they were there. "Hiu'um's wings got caught in the blaze. If you don't help, he won't fly again. He's sixty Ryraso. Younger than the Winglord even. I know our ages get confusing but he's still so young." Flex shifted again, this time standing up.
Ryraso was silent, Eyeri's hands gripping his wrist. Notably the one with his seal on, Eyeri's hand curling around the metal. In the dim light, he could see Eyeri's expression. It was blank and unreadable. Ryraso had a funny feeling his own was desperate.
"This is no longer about you escaping Ryraso. If it was, I probably would let you go. I have brought up a human teenager of my own, I remember the determination to protect him," Fl'ex said softly. "I only have so many years left. But this is not about Eyeri's freedom. This is about your oath as a healer. We need you Ryraso. Hiu'an needs you." Fl'ex pulled the lid of the sink and looked down at them with a serious expression on his face. "So take that seal off and get out of the sink before I drag you out and discredit your name as a healer."
The oath was no minor thing. If Ryraso failed to help someone who was in need, especially after being formally asked to go heal someone, he could lose his title as a healer. A discredited healer would lose the confirmation behind their title. When Ryraso called himself a healer, people knew. Something in their minds and souls connected the statement to the truth. That would go and people did not trust a discredited healer.
There was silence for a moment before Eyeri shifted, letting go of Ryraso's wrist and taking the seal off at the same time. The click echoing in the hut. Ryraso winced as Tai'ray's presence jumped on him and dug in, feeling like thorns digging into his sides. Ry could almost feel the blood dripping down his back.
"Go do your job," Eyeri said cooly. Eyeri stood up slowly and Fl'ex offered his hand. Eyeri looked at the arm but took it, let Fl'ex pull him out.
"Thank you, Eyeri," Fl'ex smiled gently at him. Eyeri refused to look at him, instead reaching down to pick up his bag and walk over to the fire.
Ryraso slowly stood up, Fl'ex offering his arm. Ryraso accepted it too, climbing out of the sink. Fl'ex patted his shoulder. Nel'os appeared, looking tired but angry. He didn't say anything, running a hand through Eyeri's hair as he walked past. Eyeri let him bit shuddered as Nel'os hand left his hair.
He reached his hand out. Ryraso looked over at Eyeri but took the hand. They disappeared, leaving Eyeri alone with Fl'ex.
Fl'ex's eyes fixed on the young human. Remembering the last time he was faced with a 16-year-old human in a difficult place. "Thank you Eyeri," Fl'ex repeated. "That can't have been easy to give him permission to go."
Eyeri laughed. The sound bitter and cold. "I wouldn't force him to pick between me and his oath. Ryraso has worked too hard to lose the title of healer over me," he said darkly.
"Come on," Flex said offering his hand out to the youngling. "Let's head back."
Blue eyes looked at him with a distrusting expression in them. "Who said I would be going back?" Eyeri said lightly, putting his bag over his back defensively. "You said if it was just about my freedom you would let me go."
"Eyeri, with Ryraso. I can't let you go on your own," Fl'ex said gently. "You're too young and the only people around here are D'mar."
The youngling scowled, those words firing something up in the pit of his stomach but he moved closer to Fl'ex. Big blue eyes looking up at him innocently, filled with frustration but no hate. "I'm sorry," Eyeri murmured. Then something happened Fl'ex wasn't quite ready for. Something struck his chest, the force of the blow making him lose his breath and stumble backwards. Something pinched his skin and Eyeri supported him to the ground as his body numbed.
"Ey..." Fl'ex croaked, shocked and fast losing consciousness.
"Contrary to popular belief. I am not completely helpless," Eyeri whispered. "I will not be a slave again!"
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Nel'os warped them straight to the injured k'nairi. Tai'ray was already holding his wings, eyes closed as he numbed the pain and stopped the k'nairi from bleeding out. The feathers were almost completely gone and the flesh was burnt and charred, bone showing on the arms which made up the wings. The smell was of burning flesh and blood. Ryraso felt his stomach flip at the smell but kept it down as he moved over to the man. Fl'ex hadn't been exaggerating. This needed a healer to fix.
"I'll get Eyeri," Nel'os croaked.
"You sit and rest, you are about to collapse," Ryraso snapped behind him, pressing his hands to the k'nairi. "Fl'ex will take care of him for now." he murmured as he looked over the extensive injuries. This was beyond the work of herbs and pastes. This was going to take actual healing magic to fix. Ryraso looked up at Tai'ray, the winglord looking grey and unsteady on his feet.
Turning, Ryraso looked over who was in the room. The local priest immediately stood up, recognising what Ryraso was doing. "I can help," the priest promised, moving by him.
"Ry," Tai'ray murmured, his voice exhausted. "I can do it."
"You have done enough," Ryraso said calmly. "I need the extra boost and you can't give that without the links consent." The priest could, a loophole in how the magic worked. The priests could use the link but they couldn't manipulate it.
The priest placed his hand on the back of Ryraso's neck, his hand clammy but power flowed. Ryraso closed his eyes and pulled the knowledge up from the back of his mind of how to do this. It had been a long while since he had healed wings this damaged. Memories of Umin teaching him whispered in his mind and magic burst from Ryraso's hands into the injured k'nairi.
A blue light emanated from Ryraso's hands and the skin began to knit back together, Ryraso's eyes hazed over and his lips moving in a silent prayer. The limbs which made up the wings regrew, the bones disappearing behind fresh new skin and flesh. Feathers sprouted and grew, a pale brown until all that remained of the injury was some scarring on the k'nairi's back.
Ryraso was dimly aware of the priest catching him as he fell, and the world faded to black. He had done it. He had saved the man's wings but at what cost to his son?
"Hush, grandchild of Mafith," the priest's voice entered his mind. "Rest. You have bigger battles to fight yet." Three other presences wrapped around him and Ryraso let his mind go.