Broken Wings, Healing Heart
Chapter One
Icy pain shot through him as he dragged himself to his feet. Vague memories came and went of a former life, a life before the pain; a life of power and majesty. All he had now was the pain, the fever that went with it, and a pair of broken wings (and various other broken bones, as well). It was raining, of that he was certain. He could feel the water running freely down his back, chilling him to the bone. It dripped from his fiery red hair till it hung limp against his pale skin.
"Where am I going? I don't even know where I am!" the winged man thought, as he sank to his knees in defeat. Dizziness, fever, and extreme cold were taking their toll on him, and even if wanted to, he couldn't walk any farther.
"Someone……………………..please help me." The winged man thought, before finally succumbing to his wounds.
Jan grumbled as she walked home in the pouring rain. She hated the rule against having parents pick up students from school, and even growled out several fairly nasty expletives in response to the snotty teachers. Sure, she was a transfer student, but she didn't have to enjoy it. At first she had leaped at the chance to go overseas to study, and it had been going great until monsoon season had started.
"Stupid rain." Jan grumbled, as she walked along, hating every moment of it. She would have continued on like this if she hadn't tripped over something that sent her sprawling into the mud.
"What the…………………?!" Jan started, then stopped when she saw just what it was that she'd tripped on.
"Omigod I've just found some murdered guy! Just my freakin' luck!" Jan shouted, stopping her tirade when she heard the man groan.
"Okay, so he's not dead……………….how'd he get here of all places?" Jan muttered, as she checked for a pulse.
"Sheesh! He's burning up! Man, the landlady's gonna have fun with this!" Jan said, as she attempted to haul the unconscious man onto her already overburdened shoulders. It wasn't until she nearly dropped him a second time that she noticed something strange about the man.
"Either I'm going crazy, or this guy has wings!" Jan again muttered, as she set him down, reached out, and touched the wings themselves. The man jerked in response to the touch, his face taking on a wince of pain.
"Oh yeah, they're connected all right. Sorry buddy." Jan apologized, when she'd noticed the pained look. She got no response from the man, but she was more careful from that point on. With unprecedented strength, Jan hauled both man and backpack back to her small apartment. Thankfully enough, the landlady was nowhere to be seen.
"But that doesn't mean she's not there." Jan thought, with a rolling of eyes. Sure, the old lady meant well, but she was incredibly nosy. With a resigned toss, Jan threw her backpack behind the couch, then gently set the man on it.
"Hmm………………I think the bed will work better, since those wings won't fit on the couch." Jan murmured, as she again lifted the man up and made her way to the bedroom. As gently as she could, she positioned the man and his wings on the bed, stood back, and shook her head.
"What is this guy? Some sort of Tenkuu no Escaflowne reject? He's certainly got the wings for it!" Jan thought, as she took the man in.
"Still, he's pretty damn cute, for someone who looks like he's been mauled by a Doberman Pinscher." Jan mused, as she went to get what she could to dress his wounds properly. When she returned, she was surprised to see that his eyes were open, but he didn't appear to be aware of his surroundings.
"Hey, are you awake?" Jan asked, then felt somewhat silly for asking that. He looked directly at her, his eyes immediately clear. She was stunned by the immense sadness those eyes held, and also the pain she saw alongside it.
"Who are you? Where am I?" the man asked, in a soft, yet melodious, voice.
"You're at my place. Do you remember what attacked you?" Jan asked, completely taken in by his voice and eyes.
"Not exactly. It came from behind…………..broke my wings first, then started trying to destroy the rest of me. I escaped……………….barely." the man replied, grimacing as Jan started cleaning his numerous cuts.
"I see. So somebody set their attack dog on you?" Jan asked, not meaning to sound teasing. The man gave her an odd look.
"Attack dog?" the man asked, his pain-fogged mind now completely confused.
"Never mind. So, what's your name?" Jan asked, as she started cleaning on of the many cuts on the man's arms.
"I can't remember." The man replied, after a few moments.
"Well, since you can't remember your own, how does 'Tama' sound?" Jan asked, as she finished with one arm and moved to the other one.
"Isn't that a name you would give a pet cat?" the man asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess so. But I can't think of anything better right now since my brain is still fried from school." Jan said, dabbing gently at one of the deeper cuts with a cloth soaked in alcohol, stopping when she heard a strange 'crackling' noise. To her horror, she saw the man's wings disintegrate into two piles of brown dust. And from what she could tell, the man was just approaching the threshold of all the pain he could take.
"Your wings……………." Jan muttered, dumbstruck by what had just happened. He looked up at her, his eyes glazed by pain and nodded weakly.
"Gone……………." The man whispered, before retreating into unconsciousness.