Wings of Freedom

Chapter Fourteen

"Mommy, mommy, look! Me and Krystal baked cookies! They're rainbow cookies, see? See? Have one!"

"I do see, hunny! They look delicious. How about you go get a plate for me and pick a cookie to give me while I say goodbye to Krystal, okay?"

"Okay! Bye-bye Krystal! I'll be right back, mommy!"

"Alright! Be careful darling."

I remain still as the memory fades, like the tide coming to sweep away the sand. It's not uncommon that memories like these take over in the place of my dreams, and when I wake up, I wish that those memories were still reality. Opening my eyes, I yawn lightly and stand up, ruffling my wings. My bandaged wing itches uncomfortably, the wound blazing a high temperature. I suppose it's normal that it's painful, but the itchiness from being dirty is unbearable.

I turn to face my wing and narrow my violet eyes at the bandage wrapped tightly around it. For the past three days, I've been searching for a way to unravel it without hurting myself and without the pesky Kymari to stop me. Now that Lonuk finally coerced Fenrir into leaving the house, I have the perfect chance to rip off the troublesome white material without interruption.

I clamp my teeth down on the edge of the bandage closest to my body and tug lightly. I wince as it jostles my scaleless wing. This might be harder than I thought. Moving down to latch my teeth onto the farther end of the bandage, I try to yank it right off. It barely budges. An idea hits me suddenly. Swinging my tail up to the bandage, I slide it into the small gap between the white wrapping and my bare flesh. My tail shoots up in the wrap and punctures through to the outside. With a smirk, I drag my tail in closer to my body, effectively ripping all the bandages in half.

As a part of the strength specification group, I was given the body of a fighter instead of a speedster or the other types in case I regained my humanity after the body swap procedure. That means, I have stronger and sharper scales, as well as the fact that I can throw the scales on my tail with a hard whip to the side. They can cause serious damage if you get hit by them. As well as sharp scales, I have enhanced defense with larger scales on my legs that cover more area, and deadlier talons that strike deep.

I shake my wing gently to get the bandage to fall off and gasp at the sight. I knew it was bad, but the mere sight of my mangled wing makes me want to cry. Blood coats the already red flesh, the same crimson as my startling scales. There's a small whole in the skin that's been stitched up, presumably by the Kymari while I was unconscious, where the bone had originally broken through after being snapped. The flesh around the wound is puffy and irritated, stinging with the fresh air that attacks it. There's so much red. A dazzling, vivid vermillion that perfectly embodies beauty and death at the same time. It's entrancing.

The urge to itch the dirt off my wound is so tempting, but I'm afraid to hurt it even more. With a sigh, I gently scoop some sand up in my other wing, and grab a mouthful. Turning my head right over the injury, I let a few grains of sand fall onto the puffy flesh. They slightly scratch my wing as they roll off, sending tiny seeds of pain into my skin. The pain is minuscule though and the relief of the itch slowly going away is worth it. It feels like having a massage for the first time in forever, when the pain from your tense muscles slowly fades into a calming relaxation.

Just as the last of the grime is swept away by the sand grains, I hear something. Light whispers of conversation sneak through the door, preceded by the telltale sounds of shoes hitting the ground. They were back, and sooner than I'd expected. My mind started racing. I was hoping I'd have more time to figure out a way to hide that I'd taken the bandage off. I wouldn't be able to properly put it back on in such a short amount of time. They could burst in at any moment.

Panicking, I quickly lower myself into the sand, using my tail to flick sand onto my wing. If I bury it, they won't be able to tell if the bandage is on or not, since they won't be able to see the wing. The next time they leave, I should be able to find a way to get the bandage back on without them even knowing it came off. I flinch as the grains scrape against the irritated skin of my wing, resisting the urge to shake them all off. My spotted tail swipes a final brush of the yellowish brown minerals onto my wing just as the front door slides open.

Fenrir and Lonuk step into the house, deep in conversation about a subject I don't care to figure out. Unconsciously, my wide eyes follow Fenrir's movements as he walks over, just waiting for him to somehow realize what I'd done. I quickly switch my eyes over to check on Lonuk, only to see him staring at a corner of my cage in confusion. I follow his gaze to an area just a little bit behind me, where the sand is oddly misshaped. There, lying amidst an uneven surface, the white bandage is sprawled out across the sand.

I shoot my tail out and yank the bandage closer to me, sliding it under my stomach to hide it from prying eyes. My eyes narrow as I stare at Lonuk, baring my teeth in a silent snarl. I subtly shake my head, warning him not to say a peep. Obviously, the green moron doesn't get the hint as he immediately turns to face Fenrir, who's still blabbering on.

"She's hiding something," Lonuk states simply, interrupting Fenrir mid-sentence. The other Kymari pauses with his mouth still open, seemingly processing Lonuk's words and trying to see how it connects with his previous statements. When he realizes that it's a completely different subject, Fenrir frowns and peers down at me.

"What do you mean?" Fenrir questions, tilting his head to try and get a better angle at my small form.

"Only one of her wings is buried, and it's the hurt one, plus the fact that she just hid something white under her body, presumably her bandage?" Lonuk explains, turning his assumption into a question at the last minute. I growl grumpily, shooting him a sour expression.

"Well that's all well and good, but how are we supposed to be sure? It's not like we can just pick her up and snatch it from under her to see."

"Why not?"

Because I might actually kill you if you do.

"No harm in trying."

I'll show you the harm all right. Try me, you stupid gorilla.

****

Sorry I've been so inactive! I had a really busy summer and took a little while to properly plan out how the story will proceed. I'm hoping to get back on schedule again soon here when I've got my computer back. Thanks so much for waiting and I'm really sorry that this took so long to get out. I also apologize that this isn't my best chapter, just finishing this was a huge hurdle. Have a good day and thanks for reading!