Disclaimer: TinySprite owns nothing of Dragon Flyz, which is owned by Gaumont Pictures. Only the plot is hers.
Prompt: Heavy
This is an AU bit, which might show up again in later prompts.
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Wing Storm grunted as he made his way into the clearing surrounding the odd building. His shoulder still hurt from weapons training that morning and that feeling of heavy oppression was back, making his gray tail drag behind him. He missed his wings, though he could manage without them. Still, there were days when the fact that he could no longer fly got a bit much to handle.
Trying to ignore it as best he could, the gray drauman came to the door he normally used and fished the key out of his pocket to unlock it. Opening the door let a whiff of something good come to his nose and Storm couldn't help licking his lips.
As he stepped inside, he called out, "Please tell me that's rabbit stew I smell!"
There was a laugh, then a reply, "It is and it's ready!"
Locking the door behind him, Storm made a beeline for the kitchen that was just down the hall from the door. Stepping through the open doorway, he saw his best friend ladling some of the stew into a bowl, with an already full one on the table. Peak glanced up at him with a smile, handing Storm the freshly filled bowl, "You always seem to get here at the perfect moment Storm, is there a signal or something that I should know about?"
The drauman laughed, accepting a spoon from his friend as they sat at the table, "Nah, just got good luck I suppose."
They gave thanks for the meal and dug in, Storm letting out a happy noise as he ate, "This tastes great!"
Peak smiled at the compliment, picking up the bread bowl to offer Storm a roll, "Thanks, I tried some new seasoning this time. I think it's definitely a keeper."
Wing Storm nodded, feeling his bad mood and pain vanishing as the good food filled his stomach, "So, what's the plan for today?"
Peak shrugged, swallowing his current mouthful before speaking, "I'm not too sure really. I need to fletch some new arrows and there's cleaning that needs to be done, like always. What were you thinking?"
Storm thought for a minute, going through a mental inventory, "Since winter's coming up, I was thinking we could stock up a bit. We could get a deer or two today and focus on vegetables and such tomorrow."
Peak nodded at that, "Good plan. I like yours better."
Storm smirked, "I knew you would. It doesn't involve sweeping up."
Peak lightly flung a roll at his friend's head in mock anger. Wing Storm easily caught it in his teeth, taking it out with one hand to use it to mop up the last of his stew, "Mind if I get seconds? Riptor had us doing early morning drills and I didn't get a chance to snag any breakfast."
The blond human gestured to the stew pot, "Help yourself. I might have some more myself in a minute."
As Storm got himself seconds, he spared a bit of time to think on something. Would today be the day he asked? Ever since he'd found this weird place all those months ago, he'd never actually found out why Peak was living here alone and from the clues he'd picked up, 'alone' had covered more than a few years.
Before he could ask though, there was a softly asked question, "Storm...you're a drauman right?"
Wing Storm nodded but caught that Peak was looking down fixedly at the table and said it out loud, "Yeah, I am. I told you the first time we met."
Another question, just as soft as the first, "Draumen are descended from dragons, aren't they?"
Storm wondered where this was going and got a sinking feeling in his chest, "Yeah, we are."
A bit of silence passed then, "Where are your wings then?"
Wing Storm was surprised that he actually thought to quickly put the bowl down before he broke it in his tightening grip. Taking a deep breath, reminding himself that Peak was his friend and clearly felt guilty about asking, Storm said, "I'll tell you if you answer my question, deal?"
"Deal."
Storm turned around to see that Peak was staring right at him in a startlingly unnerving way. Determined though, Storm made himself answer first, "I used to have wings until the year before last. During a fight with some dark dramen, one of them got lucky and cut my left wing open. It could have been saved if I'd gotten to a doc in time but we ended up getting barricaded in for days."
Storm took a breath and finished, "By the time we got help, an infection had already set in and there wasn't much they could do but try to trim it out. We draumen can regrow parts of our wings if there's not too much damage and they judged that it was a safe procedure to do. But the infection was more wide-spread than they thought and necrosis had set in by the time they'd realized it. At that point, there wasn't anything that anyone could do so it was either they take the wing or risk the infection spreading further."
The drauman moved a bit to the side so he could lean back against a kitchen counter, "They took my wings, both of them. When they told me what they were going to have to do, I made that decision. Draumen can regrow parts of a wing, not a whole one and what's the point of only having one if I can't have both?"
Peak finally spoke then, "I'm sorry Storm."
Wing Storm gave a jerky shrug, forcing himself to cross his arms at his middle to avoid touching the scarred spots on his back, "Like I said, it's been over two years. I've adjusted, more or less. So, now that I've answered your question, you'll answer mine, right?"
Peak nodded, waiting patiently for whatever it was that Wing Storm wanted to ask. He didn't have to wait long as the other male questioned, "Why are you here?"
The human teen frowned, "Huh?"
Wing Storm set his hands free to make a wide-spread gesture meant to refer to the building as a whole, possibly even the surrounding area, "I mean, why do you live here alone? Before I found this place, I thought no one lived in the Southern Forest."
To Storm's eternal surprise, Peak actually reddened and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Do you want the long version or the short one?"
Storm folded his arms again, focusing all of his attention on Peak, "I want the whole version."
Peak sighed and answered, "I'm a wind mage. For some reason, I just can't get my power under control whenever I try to use it, so a few years back I was allowed to move out here until I could control them. There used to be a couple of servants with me, but I dismissed them last year."
The drauman tilted his head curiously at his friend, "Why'd you do that?"
Peak shrugged again, "It didn't seem right to make them live out here in the wilderness with me when they had family back home. I mean, I could take care of myself by then and there wasn't really a lot for either of them to do at that point. Besides, Margret was getting on in her years and it really didn't seem fair to keep her out here when Margret's daughter and her family said they'd take her in."
Wing Storm nodded, an expectant eye on Peak. The teen shifted again before finally continuing on, "I can also hear the dead."
Storm blinked, not expecting that. While hearing the voices of spirits was a wind ability, it wasn't a common one, "Really?"
Peak nodded, looking tired, "Really. It's not so bad most of the time. A lot of them just want to chat and gossip mainly. Many of them don't even realize they're dead or they do but just don't feel like passing on yet. It was pretty rare for any of them to actually seek me out specifically. I could even see them sometimes, not very clearly though and it was easier for the ones that had died recently."
Wing Storm nodded, taking all of that in. Well, it definitely explained why Peak lived alone. It was probably more comfortable out here than back wherever his home was. With that question forming in his mouth, Storm caught the slightly pleading look on Peak's face and changed it, "So, want to have some more lunch first or go hunting?"
Peak brightened a bit, "Lunch first. I'm still hungry."
Storm let out a laugh as he returned to the table while Peak got up to get himself seconds, "I hear ya on that."
Though they ate in silence now, both males felt a little more comfortable with each other now. A good sign for their still developing friendship.
