Feather’s Blossom Read online

  He looked up and saw the hole. “The heat created an updraft.”

  “Very good. Now, drop your bags, and I will unwrap you. We need to get you soaking as quickly as possible.”

  She removed her pack and set it down carefully. After she was sure how it was doing, she kicked off her boots and skinned out of her leggings.

  She took the packs from him and set them to one side, using a nearby rock to get a better angle on the wraps.

  She perched on the rock with her wings out and waving for balance as she undid her work. When he was free of her handiwork, she stepped back. “Did you need some help getting out of your suit?”

  “I think I can manage.” He started to open his suit, wincing as his wing moved.

  Shrugging at the silliness of men, Ty headed to her personal favourite. It was deep enough to soak her wing muscles and had a series of rocks on the sides for her to sit on. She opened the tie at the back of her neck and slipped her gown down her arms. With a quick push, it puddled on the floor, and she sat on the edge of the pool before turning and letting her wings dip down. She scooted to the rocks and took a seat on the smooth surface. Ty groaned and leaned back against the edge.

  She heard a splash and opened her eyes.

  Seldrin was easing his way into the pool, and his suit didn’t do him justice. His back was rippled with muscles, and those muscles were bruised and in pain.

  Ty thanked her impulse to bring him here. He needed the soak more than she could have imagined.

  His groan echoed her own as he settled down with only his chin above the water.

  “How does it feel?” She came to the conclusion that he might not enjoy the soak as much as she did.

  “Wonderful. You do this a lot?”

  “Every month or so. Too many soaks and you lose your ability to fly in the rain.” She smiled at the image they must present. Two disembodied heads in a pool.

  He groaned and with the ripple of water, she guessed that he was stretching his wings under the water.

  “Do you always bathe with the opposite sex?” His tone was casual.

  “No. I am usually alone.”

  “Why?”

  “I told you, I am the only one who can fly. This is one of my little moments of privacy when I can escape my siblings and just enjoy the dimness and the quiet.”

  “Do you have many?”

  “Six. My parents say that I must have been the hint that they needed to start reproducing. My eldest brother is twenty-one. He was born two years after my arrival.”

  “So, you are twenty-four?”

  “More or less.” She shrugged. “We don’t really know. How old are you?”

  “I am a wise and ancient thirty-two.” He opened his blue eyes and stared at her. “Why? Has my bruised torso captured your attention?”

  She blushed. “No, you are simply the only one of my kind that I have ever seen.”

  He sat up with a slosh, and he leaned toward her. “Of course. I am sorry. Do you have questions?”

  She laughed. “Sit back and relax. What are the wing colours that are customary for our people?”

  “Well, the royal families generally have black or white wings. The population at large has grey and brown. There are no true hard and fast rules, but the colouration seems to fall along bloodlines.”

  “Have you ever met something that could change its size?”

  “No, but I have heard of a race that could do it. They are called the Swiits.”

  “Sweets?”

  He spelled it out. “Swiits. They are shape changers who have been known to compress themselves. They also have wings, but they usually manifest into more of an insect form of wing. Some even have it in their normal form, mimicking fairies of ancient myth.”

  “Swiits. Okay, I will write that down.” She raised her hands and splashed. “Somewhere.”

  He laughed. “You have a funny way about you.”

  “I have to. I am the only one of my kind and most of my conversations are held with sheep. Having a new adult to play with is a wonderful opportunity, even if your back is in agony.”

  “Actually, it feels much better.”

  “Good. Another ten minutes and then it will be time for lunch. After that, I want you to sleep. I can rig a bed for you out of moss covered with blankets.”

  “Where will you sleep?”

  “I can sleep on my wings. They will be stiff, but I don’t need them for flying right now.”

  “We will deal with that later. For now, I am enjoying this soak. These waters are truly working magic.”

  Ty leaned back and closed her eyes. Her internal mental clock was depending not only on itself, but also on her fingers and their tendency to get all pruney. It was her most reliable method of telling how long she had been soaking.

  She pushed herself out of the water and splashed inches from Seldrin. It took some doing to climb out of the water with dripping wings. They weighed ten times more than they did while dry.

  She couldn’t put her dress on, so she picked it up and pattered across to the packs that were safe and dry. She flipped open the camp stove and heated one of the ration packs. His supplies were really thorough; they even included drinkable water.

  When the food was hot, she went to the pool and reached in to shake his shoulder. “Seldrin, wake up. You need to eat.”

  He blinked awake and sat up straight. “Right. Food.”

  “Come on out, I heated your rations for you.”

  He nodded and hoisted himself out of the pool, using an impressive display of muscle.

  She sighed and returned to the food, prepping another pack for him before she gathered moss from an adjoining cavern and stuffed it under her blanket. It was a comfortable pallet, she knew from experience.

  He stumbled to the ration packs, rubbing his eyes and dripping everywhere. The heat and humidity in the air would keep his muscles from seizing again. It was a good thing; they didn’t need the workout.

  Having never seen a member of her own species before, she had the urge to touch and explore him, but she was guessing that it would break the bonds of propriety, and they were already bending them by both being unclothed.

  He hadn’t asked about it, and she wasn’t going to hurry him back into his ship suit. Let him think that nudity wasn’t worth commenting on. She wasn’t complaining if he wasn’t.

  Seldrin was mechanically eating his meal, drinking the water and consuming the second pack. When he was done, he looked up. “What next?”

  “I need to bind you again. If you can remain kneeling, it would help.” She bit the inside of her lip as she did the locking figure eight on his wing base before she bound the wings flat again.

  With him kneeling, she stepped around him a few times, her breasts right at his eye level, but he didn’t comment verbally. His body however, appreciated the view.

  “The pallet is over there. Either sleep on your back or on your stomach, but stay flat.” She bit her lip.

  “Where are you going to sleep?”

  “I am going to tuck myself against the wall. I should get an hour or two that way.”

  “Would it offend you to share the bed with me? You can sleep on my good wing and cover me with yours.”

  She couldn’t fault the logic. “I will put my dress on for propriety. You go and get yourself settled.”

  She stepped into her dress and tied the closure behind her neck.

  He settled himself on his back, and it was a good thing she was using his wing as a bed. There was none of the pallet left.

  It took some doing, but she settled for lying on her side, curled up against his side, with one wing extended out over him as a blanket. He was asleep in moments, and she was right behind him.

  * * * *

  The woman asleep against his side fanned her breath across his chest. There was so much determination in such a small package; he was humbled by her ability to take action.

  Tyhana had swooped in to rescue a stranger, hobbled herself to kee
p him safe and treated his wounds with attention to his comfort.

  Seldrin had no idea what she was, but he knew that he wanted more of her undivided attention. For the last decade, his family had been throwing women in his path in an effort to gain him a life partner. Now, he was broken, damaged and naked in a cave with the one woman that he wanted in his life. How was he to go about convincing her to leave her home, her world and her family to be with him?

  He didn’t believe in love at first sight, but he did believe in a strong-minded, independent woman who had no fear. A woman who trusted him to sleep in his arms the same day that he met her.

  Seldrin leaned back and closed his eyes, wishing for his wings to be healed so he could fly off with her. Her hand moved slowly across his chest, and he placed his hand over hers. With their hands together, he returned to restorative sleep.

  * * * *

  The increase in heat woke Tyhana. She blinked and sat up, looking around the cave.

  With a sigh, she folded her wings back and headed for her pack, bringing out the snacks her mother had packed and opening the canister of tea.

  Seldrin sat up and moved his wings carefully. His bruising was already the yellow of healing, and he had more colour in his cheeks.

  “Would you like another ration pack before we get going?”

  He flexed his wings as much as he could. “Please. I can’t believe how fast this is healing.”

  “Yes, it’s a miracle. Now, go put some pants on.” She flapped her hand at him and kept her gaze down. Now that he was no longer wounded, it didn’t seem prudent to incur his interest.

  Ty started the tiny heating unit and put his rations on top of it.

  “You aren’t eating?”

  “I have my own food. I will delve into yours when I run out, or I will kill something to eat.” She shrugged. “I am used to providing and hunting. The animals around here have no instincts for watching the sky.”

  He blinked. “You hunt? What do you use?”

  “A spear usually. Today, I only have knives with me.”

  He paused with his suit over his hips. “You are kidding.”

  “No. No one here goes about unarmed. It is a dangerous place. The valley is pretty contained, but we still get predators.”

  He knotted the arms of the suit at his waist. “Beautiful and deadly. You are quite the collection of archetypes.”

  She didn’t know what to do with the flattery. “Thank you?”

  He grinned and sat next to her. “Thank you. Your help has saved my life, and as soon as we get to a communication unit, my family will send someone for me.”

  Ty nodded. “Of course they will. You should be able to fly for short distances by tomorrow morning. We can hop back to my family farm in a few hours.”

  Seldrin cocked his head, “So, in just over a day, we will be with your family?”

  “Yup. The day after that, we can make it through the mountains. That will get you to your com unit.”

  “You are going to accompany me?” He looked rather pleased.

  “If you are not with me, you won’t find your way out.”

  “Ah. I see.” He settled back and ate his ration pack.

  “I don’t think you do, but it is nice of you to play along.” She smiled and sipped at her tea. It was cold, but it was better than chemically purified water.

  Once she was done with her tea, she stowed her canister in her pack, and while he ate, she shook out the blanket and flattened it to fit in her pack. She paused and inhaled the scent of the man who had slept on it, but she quickly shook her head and kept packing.

  He packed up his supplies, and by the time she had verified that she had everything, he was ready to go with his suit still tied around his waist.

  “Aren’t you going to finish dressing?”

  He grinned. “No. The bandages cover enough and keep me warm.”

  She would beg to differ. His abdomen was open to her gaze and her fingers itched to trace the minutia of the muscles and their change in topography. There was also a layer of fine down that arrowed to the point where his suit covered him. She wanted to run her tongue down that dark line to see where it led.

  This was going to be a very long day.

  When they left the cave, the heat of the sun took all the dampness from their clothing in a few minutes. Their trek southward continued with stops every few hours for her to check on the swelling of his wings.

  “Do you want to continue or shall we rest for the night? The sun is going to be down in an hour.” She smiled brightly.

  “Can you make a fire? I flunked out of survival techniques.” Seldrin smiled in return.

  “Start the ration warmer and put some food on for me. I am going to get some firewood.”

  She dropped her pack, pulled out the flat straps that she used for gathering wood and she strapped a serrated knife to one thigh. “I will be right back.”

  Before he could say another word, she launched herself up and toward the sparse tree line.

  She had done this before but never with a waiting audience.

  She found some dry scrub, sawed it off at the base and tucked it in the straps. She moved on to a larger tree and got thicker branches to last the night. When she had about half her available weight allowance, she returned to Seldrin just as the light turned red.

  He had remembered part of his training and dug a pit for the fire.

  She put the scrub in, stacked kindling on top and reached into her pack for the fire starter. The sparks flared and died, and with darkness coming on quickly, she had one choice. She removed some of her insulating feathers and tucked them in for the next fire strike. This time, it worked. The fire caught and flared.

  “Do you always burn parts of yourself?”

  She snorted. “More often than not a feather ends up in there as fire starter. It seems to be my method.”

  He looked at the fire. “I can’t fault your results.”

  She sat back and dusted her hands off. “May I share your rations?”

  “Of course. Just a moment and I will prepare something for you.”

  Ty waited, and when the meal was hot, she took the fork he handed her and prodded at it with distrust. It looked like something her sister had created while she was learning to cook. Her first bite was pleasantly surprising. “This isn’t bad.”

  “They have to be palatable. If not, it would make for a lot of unsuccessful survival attempts.” He smiled. “Water?”

  She took one of the bottles and sipped delicately. “Thank you.”

  “You are welcome. So, you have lived your whole life in this valley?”

  She looked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear her. “I fly out frequently to do private trades for presents for the family. If there is a birthday coming up, I go out stargazing and come back the next day.”

  “If we are so far from your home, what were you doing out here?”

  “Ah. I was actually stargazing. There was the meteor shower that you fell with. It was what I was on the plateau to see.”

  “It was also what crippled my ship. My instruments didn’t pick up on the event until it was too late.” Seldrin grimaced.

  “I am guessing you were distracted. Why were you coming here anyway?” She finally asked the question that had been circling her mind.

  “Oh, I am the new ambassador from my people to yours. With our prince marrying a woman from Orion’s Rest, it was thought to install a member of his extended family here. That would be me.” Seldrin shrugged.

  “So, you are not a fan of the wingless?” She frowned and geared up to defend her family.

  “No. It is not that. I was just sent here alone to take over a position that has been vacant for decades. I am going to be starting from scratch. It is a heavy burden and a great undertaking.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I do not know if I am up to it.”

  “I am sure you will be fine. You seem to be able to adapt to a variety of situations.” Ty smiled, “You are certai
nly good at taking orders.”

  “Ah, you are excellent at giving them. Whatever you have told me to do, I am sure it was for my own good.”

  Ty smirked. “I am sure it was. Now, do you have a sensor pack in that survival kit? It might let us get some more sleep tonight.”

  He reached into one of the med kits and pulled out a handful of sensors. She grabbed them and skipped in a circle, positioning the line twenty feet from the fire.

  “That is quite the distance.” He muttered.

  “If the wolves come in, you need a second to get your knife out.” She reached into her pack and handed him a blade. “Here you go. I will take the other one.”

  She kept her saw blade in easy reach as she flipped out a survival blanket before putting her own woven blanket on top. “I believe I can unravel your bandages now. By the morning, you should be able to do short hops.”

  He nodded and knelt without her asking.

  She hid her smirk at his obedience. She unwrapped the bindings, and when she had completed the unveiling, she patted him between the wings. “There. All done.”

  Seldrin rose to his feet and extended his wings.

  Ty blinked at the span she was looking at. It was exceedingly impressive. Her heart beat a little faster, but she busied herself in rolling up the bindings that she had used for easier storage in the packs.

  He did a few experimental flaps and sparks flew from the fire.

  “Whoops. Apologies.” He settled his wings and looked down at her with a smile. “You have done a phenomenal job with the healing.”

  She nodded. “My mother made sure to teach each of my siblings how to set my wings when they were old enough. My father would stand by in case they got a little too enthusiastic.”

  “You injured yourself that much?”

  “I tend to fly in storm conditions.” Ty shrugged. “It happens.”

  “You fly in storms?”

  “Storms, rain, lightning, if there are lost sheep that need to be brought in to safety, I fly.” Tyhana didn’t bother saying that she also looked for lost hikers, children and caravans that took a wrong turn. It seemed like bragging.