DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN RIO OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IN IT. ALL RIGHTS GO TO BLUE SKY STUDIOS. THE ONLY THING I OWN IN THIS STORY IS MY WIDE VARIETY OF OCS.

Again, I just have to say that I am so grateful for all of the love this story has been getting. It means so much to me guys, you have no idea.

WARNING: This chapter contains mild adult themes! Please enjoy! Or don't! Fuck you! :D

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

To Walk Without: Light

Chapter 7: Something There... (Day 3)


Oz's feathers felt soft against his body as Nigel kissed up and down Oz's neck and chest. Oz moaned softly, and Nigel chuckled lowly, sensually, into his ear. Nigel slowly moved his beak up to Oz's neck and nibbled at it. Oz moaned a little louder, and Nigel felt him grow heavier in his arms, loving every little bite he left. Nigel lowered him slowly onto the nest, his beak never leaving his neck for a moment. He pulled away eventually and he stared deeply and hungrily into Oz's eye.

"I've never... done this before..." Oz said, fidgeting, uncertain.

"It's alright... Let me guide you." Nigel shifted his body, repositioning himself that his cloaca was perched dangerously close to Oz's. Nigel returned his beak to Oz's neck, deeply inhaling his scent. A pure and intoxicating smell.

"Ready?" Nigel purred. Oz nodded slowly.

"But... what if-" Nigel placed a wing tip over Oz's beak, quieting him in a heartbeat.

"No more worries... no more words... just relax." He hummed. He drew his beak closer and closer to Oz's.

"Nigel... I..."

With his eyes shut in ecstasy, Nigel's beak touched Oz's, and a cold feeling ran through his veins. He opened his eyes and fell back in horror at the dead skeleton of what used to be Oz. A mysterious, dark, bird-like figure stepped into what faint light there was, crushing Oz's hollow skull beneath his talons. Terror filled Nigel, beak quivering as this menace smiled the most sinister smile he'd ever witnessed. As it began moving towards him, Nigel frantically scrambled backwards, unable to find his footing. His back hit a wall, and chains shot from it, wrapping around him, binding his neck, wings, and legs. The bird brought his face close to his and gently slid a cold blade down the side of Nigel's face, chuckling softly.

"PrEtTY, pReTTy, PRettY..." It rasped, its voice laced with venom.

"hE StaNDS wITh yOU... foR CoMFOrt... SecURiTy... suCH NOnsEnsE..." It swiftly brought the knife beneath Nigel's neck, applying a gentle pressure. Nigel wanted to look away, but he simply couldn't. The mesmerizing look in the bird's eyes... the entrancing evil that shined through them hypnotized him into holding his gaze.

"WhAT sAFEtY coULd SomEONe LikE YOU oFfeR soMEone likE hiM? YoU tALk oF reTuRNIng his kiNDnESS... tHE fAVoR of SAvIng yOuR LIfe..." the bird moved to the side, revealing a terrified Oz, bound in chains just like Nigel. Nigel tried to call out to him, finding that his voice was gone. The bird walked over to Oz, stroking him with the blade, just as he did with Nigel. The bird began raising it to the sky slowly.

"LeT mE ShoW YoU... JuST hOw PowERLeSS yOU are... tO KeEP THat PRoMiSE!" Oz desperately called out to him.

"Nigel! NIGEL!" The bird brought the knife down with great speed plunging it into Oz's chest.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"NIGEL!" Oz shouted. Electricity shot through Nigel's entire body as he threw himself up in alarm. His eyes darted quickly towards his side, seeing a rather displeased Oz.

"Finally! I thought you'd fallen into a coma. Has anyone ever told you you're REALLY hard to wake up?" Nigel almost didn't understand him. The shock of being woken up so suddenly from such a deep sleep made it almost impossible to process anything. Nigel struggled to clear his hazy mind from the residual drowsiness that pervaded him.

"W-What...?"

"I've been trying to wake you up for almost an hour! Talk about sleeping like a rock..." Oz huffed. Nigel had never felt like this when waking up before. But then, nobody had ever snapped him out of sleep so suddenly. He felt like his mind was suspended between consciousness and sleep. Everything seemed to blur together, like one of those paintings humans made by throwing paint on a spinning wheel. Colors and sounds collided in a twisted spectrum that he was desperately trying to sort out.

"U-Ugh..."

"...Nigel? Are you okay?"

"Unnh... No, the... I..." What the hell is wrong with me? He puzzled. This wasn't just shock and grogginess, his mind was in total disarray. Memories were scattered and out of order, faces and names meshing together all wrong. He felt a heaviness in his chest... a foreboding doom that he just couldn't explain. Wait... I had this dream...I think.. What was it... Nigel tried his best to remember, but the details and visions of his dream were lost in the bustling crowd of his erratic thoughts. He shook his head, trying to jog everything into place, but to little avail. Nigel remained plagued with blinding mental static and harsh internal white noise. Oz saw the pained, dazed expression on Nigel's face, and sighed in realization.

"I know that look... Here..." Oz pressed his forehead gently against Nigel's, and warmth coursed through Nigel's being. The fog began to clear, everything quickly and calmly moving itself back where it belonged. The white noise died down, the static cleared, and the first thing he made out was Oz's smiling face.

"Better?" he chirped.

"...Yes, much better." Nigel huffed. "Thank you."

"Let me guess... you had a seriously bad dream didn't you?" Nigel's eyes widened. With his senses regained, he could say for certain that he did in fact have a dream.

"Well, I did have a rather... biting dream, but... I don't recall if it was good or bad... just... emotionally shaking..."

"You can't remember?"

"No... I can't for the life of me recall what it was about." Oz sighed again, this time in disappointment.

"Figures... Well, don't sweat it too much. Happens to me all the time. Really bad dreams make you feel awful for a while, then fade out. Lucky for you, and for me I guess, my powers help to clear your head right up." Nigel smiled with Oz.

"Again, thank you."

"Don't mention it. Now get ready! Today, we're gonna see how well you can fly!" Oz turned to leave, stepping out into the morning sun. Nigel sat for a while longer, lost in his thoughts. Part of him wanted so badly to remember what his dream was. He felt as though he'd forgotten something direly important... but what was it?

"Nigel, come on!"

"C-Coming!" Nigel got to his feet, and stopped only for a moment, a small detail resurfacing in his mind.

A pair of haunting...

sinister...

silver eyes.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Okay, one more try!" Oz shouted from the ground.

"You do realize that this exercise is monotonous and pointless? I haven't managed to sustain so much as a hover for the past 3 hours!" He yelled back.

"Practice makes perfect! The fact that you're feeling okay enough to move around and actually try to flap your wings says a lot about your recovery! Unless, of course, you LIKE being cooped up in a quaint little hollow every day?"

"Of course I don't!"

"Well, then you're going to have to get back into the rhythm of flying! Try again! You know I'll catch you if you fall!" Nigel quietly growled in defeat. He knew he really didn't have any reason not to try flying again, but he still hated the feeling of falling, even though he knew Oz would still catch him. Nevertheless, he was right. Being cooped up in a nest had lost its appeal. He took a deep breath and leapt off the branch, flapping his wings with all the strength he could muster. To his surprise, he was actually hovering a bit.

"That's it! You're doing great!" Oz shouted. Nigel was quite pleased with himself. After hours of failures, he had finally managed to hold a bit of lift. With a tiny surge of overconfidence, he tried to ascend... only to lose his rhythm and fall. Scattered orbs of light formed a cushion beneath Nigel as they slowly lowered him down to the ground. Oz began walking towards him.

"Overconfidence can make you clumsy... you should really try to keep that in check-" Oz was cut short by a stray vine that caused him to trip and fall onto Nigel. Nigel chuckled.

"What was that about being clumsy?" He teased.

"Cheeky..." Oz teased back. Oz took a breath and threw himself off of Nigel, grimacing.

"What is it?"

"You... SERIOUSLY need a bath..." Nigel raised a brow before turning his head to sniff his wingpit.

"EUGH!" He gagged, pulling his head away. Oz chuckled at the sight.

"Well... ever since these injuries, I've not had a chance to bathe..."

"I've been needing one too actually. Taking care of you kind of overshadowed everything. But since we both need one, I know the perfect place. There's this hot spring that nobody but me knows about; really relaxing and super private. It's the perfect place for a bath!" Nigel smiled at the idea. A nice refreshing soak in a hot spring sounded lovely. Just what my aching body needs.

"Wonderful. I haven't had a proper spa visit since my celebrity days." He sighed.

"Good! Then..." Oz hopped up on his back, holding him tight with his talons. Nigel shot him an angry look.

"Look, I know you don't like the idea of being carried, but seeing as how you can't fly yet, this is our only option. just grin and bear it. It's not that far away." Nigel mulled it over. As much as didn't want to be carried through the air like food, he wanted to bathe even more.

"Fine... just... try to fly gently. My body is still in quite a bit of pain." Oz nodded happily and took to the skies.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"How much further?" Nigel asked. Ahead of him, Oz hacked his way through thickets of vines and roots with a blade made of light.

"We're really close, I promise!"

Nigel growled to himself. After little more than a three minute flight, they had landed and been pushing their way through thick vines for nearly fifteen minutes. Tired and impatient, he almost regretted being taken along.

"Why on earth are we walking? It'd be far easier to fly us there, wouldn't it?"

"If we flew right to where it was, it wouldn't be a secret anymore, silly!" Oz chirped. Nigel let out an exasperated sigh.

"Sometimes, you're a bit TOO flighty, Oz." Oz giggled in response.

"Well, here we are!" Oz pushed through the brush. Nigel followed behind, and upon pushing his way through the brush, stepped into a beautiful scene. Before him was a steamy pool of clear, beautiful water surrounded by bright, beautiful flowers. A quietly bubbling waterfall poured into it, sunlight dancing off of the flowing water. Oz hopped into the water, and began to splash around. Nigel's face lit up red as he quickly averted his eyes.

"Sh-Should I leave? W-Wait until you're done...?"

"Nah, you can join me if you want!" Nigel jolted, his face turning even redder.

"W-W-W-W-WHAT?!" He squeaked, his crest flaring up.

"Yeah, no big deal! Besides, I need someone to get my back, and so do you! So, come on already!" He called. Nigel didn't have any idea how to feel about this. Excited, frightened, confused... H-He can't possibly be serious! He looked over his shoulder to see the look on Oz's face, to see if this was just some joke. Oz wore a great, big, welcoming smile. Somehow, I'm not surprised... Nigel shed his leaf bandages and slowly entered the water, gazing away from Oz again. He submerged himself, letting the water rise up to just under his beak. A sigh of pure relief rose up from Nigel as the water warmed him to his depths. All his aches and pains melted away. Behind him, he heard gentle splashing as Oz bathed himself. Eventually, Nigel succumbed to the urge to look. J-Just a peek... Nigel slowly turned his head, nervous and excited. Oz was drenched in water, making his feathers more like a dark crimson than their usual bright scarlet color. He gently rubbed his wings and body, eye shut in peaceful contentment. With his feathers slicked down, it was even easier to see how incredibly shapely and stunning he was. Nigel had only intended to peek, but found himself unable to avert his eyes. He was at war with himself, but his more intimate half began to win out. So cute... sweet... wonderful... As much as he was beginning to admit to himself that he was attracted to the scarlet macaw, he was far too stubborn to admit any sort of love, even to himself. Though he had a feeling brushing it off as just some crush wouldn't last much longer. As Oz began to turn towards Nigel, Nigel faced forward, hoping that he hadn't somehow seen him peering at him. For a moment, the sound of Oz splashing around was gone. The sound then resumed, growing closer and closer to Nigel, until it was right behind him. He felt something gently press against his back. Nigel spun around and fell back against a low wall of rocks that served as the edge of the pond.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Oz looked at him concerned, puzzled.

"I'm... getting your back...?"

"O-Oh! Right... of course..." Nigel turned back around, leaning against the rocky wall. Oz began to both gently rub his back, cleaning out bloodstains and other impurities, and preen his back for bad feathers with his beak. The bloodstains dissipated in the water, Oz plucked all of the scraggly feathers he could. He had to once again marvel at the brightness of Nigel's stark white feathers, admiring their mirror-like reaction to light. For a bird at a not-so-young age, his feathers were incredibly soft and pleasant. He expected them to be more firm and wirey, but he was happy that he was wrong. He felt Nigel tense up with every movement he made. He was trembling under his touch. Why is he so on edge? Oz wondered if it had anything to do with that nightmare Nigel had. He wanted to help him relax as best he could.

"Wow, you're tense... might as well make this the spa day you were hoping for." With that, Oz began applying gentle, precise pressure against Nigel's back, massaging out the knots in his muscles. Nigel's eyes shut in bliss, and he bit back a moan.

"You're so high strung, you were shivering when I was cleaning your back. If you don't loosen up and relax, you're just going to feel worse than before. With all the strain your body went through from our little incident, I thought I should give you a real spa day." Nigel allowed himself to get comfortable. Tension poured out of him the more he allowed himself to let go of his anxiousness. Try as he might to keep his composure, Nigel soon felt like putty in Oz's more than capable talons. Every press, pinch, and push forced a moan up from deep within Nigel's core, edging him deeper and deeper into a blissful trance. Knots in his muscles melted away, being replaced with an ease like no other. Nigel's eyes rolled back in his head, losing all his worries and cares, surrendering to the elating water and Oz's touch. He began to laugh ever so slightly, partly because the massage felt so good, partly because the particular spot Oz was kneading was ticklish. Oz moved on to his wings, loosening them up in no time at all. Nigel could only assume that this, too, was taught to Oz by his oldest sister. Oz stopped the massage suddenly, to Nigel's disappointment.

"Ok, now me!"

"O-Oh, right..." They switched places, Oz now leaning against the wall. Nigel started off cleansing trace bits of dirt and such from Oz's back, and preening Oz's back feathers. Nigel poured and splashed water down Oz's back, causing him to sigh contently. Lingering sweat and dirt washed off effortlessly. As he began preening, Nigel noticed that Oz had very few bad feathers, so he didn't spend too much time on it. Before he knew it, he had done all he could. He thought for a moment...

Should I...? N-No! It'd be completely inappropriate! Still... he gave me far more attention... stopping so soon would be terribly rude. Maybe... just to return the favor...

Nigel began pressing gently against Oz's back. Oz looked back at Nigel over his shoulder.

"I... I've finished cleaning your back, but I thought it unfair that I took so little time. I'm no masseuse, but... if you'll let me..." Oz nodded, smiling brightly.

"Okay! Thanks!"

Nigel began slow, keeping a constant pressure running up from Oz's lower back to the center between his shoulder blades, and pushed out towards them. Oz moaned quietly as Nigel repeated this motion. Oz didn't think that the massage was necessary; he wasn't the worried, nervous type. Open and outgoing almost to a fault, Oz never actively carried a great deal of stress, so he didn't really need a massage, but he certainly wasn't going to say no to one. Plus, if letting Nigel give him what he felt was owed made him feel better, Oz would happily accept. Nigel then started to move down, rubbing in circular motions. Oz gave a slight shudder, his muscles slowly turning to noodles. He was REALLY enjoying, to a point that almost surprised himself. His restraint began to fade away, his quieted moans slowly growing louder. Meanwhile, every noise Oz produced made fighting certain urges even more difficult than it already was for Nigel. Deep breaths, Nigel... Deep breaths... just... think of something other than- A sudden gasp came from Oz as Nigel massaged. He pulled away from Oz, worried that he may have hurt him.

"Are you all right?" Oz looked back over his shoulder, trying to assure Nigel. Nigel wasn't positive, but he thought he saw a ghost of a blush on Oz's face.

"Yeah... I'm just really sensitive there..." Nigel cursed himself for not paying enough attention to what he was doing. Not because he COULD have hurt him, but because he was too spaced out to notice where he was pressing.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Ummm... N-No, you can keep going... If you want to, I mean..." Nigel saw Oz's face turn even redder as he spoke.

"All right, then..." Oz faced forward once more and Nigel continued. Nigel was still fighting a losing battle with his urges. Weaker and weaker with every second, his willpower was all but gone. Don't, Don't, Don't, Don't, DO NOT.

Oz moaned, volume increasing as Nigel went on. He'd never been so flustered before. Was it just the massage? He'd been given massages by his sister when he was younger, but he never felt so... invigorated. Heat began to collect deep in the pit of his stomach, his breathing intensifying only slightly, trying to expel it.

Suddenly, he felt Nigel's wings wrap around him, now massaging his chest.

"U-Unnn..." Oz moaned, feebly protesting. The heat within him grew even more due to Nigel's fondling. Oz pushed against the wall, pressing himself harder against Nigel's chest, their wet bodies sharing in each other's heat. A strange, wonderful need swelled up within him, his body begging for more, but his mind uncertain. He chose to heed the counsel of both; Enjoy it. said his body. Within reason. said his mind. And so, he let out a large sigh, surrendering himself to this alien feeling. Nigel was both apprehensive and giddy. Inside, a little voice was screaming at him to snap out of it, but it was being drowned out by the overflowing desire that had consumed him. He buried his beak into the crook of Oz's plush neck. He smelled of sunshine, with a small hint of lavender. The tiny voice in the back of his mind fell completely silent as Oz's aroma flooded his senses. Oz's head cocked to the side, falling back against Nigel's shoulder, exposing more of his neck to him. Nigel gave it a tiny nip, inciting a gasp from Oz. Oz could feel Nigel's wings slowly running down his body, continuing his circular rubbing from earlier. Oz groaned shamelessly, wanting more. Oz breathed in, the steamy air around them mixing the smell of the surrounding flowers with the birds' respective scents. Nigel smelled of oak wood, potent and firm. Nigel gave another small nip, and again, Oz gasped, his eyes rolling back into his skull in pure ecstasy. Lower and lower, Nigel's wings moved down Oz's front, leaving no corner untouched. He kept going further and further down... until...

In a split second, Oz's face lit up beet red and his eyes flew open, his mind and body setting off every siren. TOO LOW! TOO LOW!

"W-WAIT, STOP!" He yelped, blocking off his most sensitive area. Nigel broke from his trance, pulling his wings back as fast as he possibly could. Wide eyed, he looked to Oz, whom was shaking like a leaf, covering his crotch area. Nigel had understood what had happened. His crest standing on end once again, his face burning more red than ever before.

"I-I am so very sorry! I just got so carried away... I didn't mean to-!"

"N-No! It's fine! ... Wait, no! W-What I mean is...! You didn't actually touch... there, but you were WAAAAY too close!"

"I have no words to... I mean I never meant to-!"

"N-Nigel, it's fine... I get it. You got carried away. It's not like I established... boundaries. I got carried away, too."

"S-Still-"

"Nigel, it's fine. I really mean that... D-Don't sweat it..." A long awkward silence followed. Neither of them really knew what to say or do. They were too busy trying to slow their heart rate and calm their breathing to think of a "next step." Oz turned to face Nigel. Nigel noticed a strange guilty shame in his eye, like a child who had just broken something expensive. Nigel opened his mouth, feeling compelled to say something, but no sound came out. Oz broke the silence.

"S-So, should we just-"

"Return home? Right now?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

They spent the rest of the day continuing the awkward silence. They ate both lunch and dinner facing away from each other. When they weren't eating, they just sat, doing nothing, saying nothing. Occasionally, they would look over their shoulders at the other almost in perfect unison, and their eyes would meet. Their faces would burn and they'd face forward once again. This pattern continued until after the sun had set. They were both dying to speak, if for no other reason than to make some sort of sound to break this dreadful quiet. Nigel was the first.

"... My wounds have already healed up quite nicely." He said.

"... Oh." Oz said faintly.

"... The massage helped with the aches and pains. I feel much better."

"... That's good."

A pause. Then came Oz's turn.

"... So I guess that means you'll be able to leave soon." Oz said wistfully.

"... I guess it does." Nigel replied in a similar tone.

Another pause. Oz spoke again.

"... Are you mad at me?" Nigel spun around, taken aback by this question.

"W-What?"

"It's just... I probably made you feel bad about returning the favor. I just thought you might think I was being ungrateful."

"N-No, not at all! If anything, I'm happy you stopped me!" Oz turned to face Nigel as well.

"... Really?"

"Honestly and truly. I'd thought you'd be far more upset with me... what with how close I was to-"

"It's fine. I'm not angry either."

"W-Well, good, then!"

"Fine... good!" They gave each other a half-hearted smile. Another pause, a bit longer than the others.

"It's rather late, and I'm quite tired." Nigel yawned.

"Umm... I'm gonna sleep outside tonight." Oz said. Nigel shot him a quizzical look.

"Look, I think we both need a little... breathing room. You know, just to sort things out. It's just for tonight." Nigel had to agree. He definitely had some SERIOUS thinking to do.

"Very well, then... good night, Oz."

"G'night, Nigel." Oz flew out of the hovel and settled on a branch. Nigel laid back in the nest, letting out a heavy sigh. A familiar unknowing consumed him, the same unknowing that followed his first encounter with the young scarlet macaw. What now?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Oz paced back and forth, racking his brain, trying to sort out the emotions swirling around within him. What was it about the whole thing that made him so flustered? Oz felt as though it had something to do with how Nigel massaged him, not just the massage itself. He began breaking down the situation in his mind, comparing Nigel's massage to the ones his sister used to give. Lily was gentle, smooth, and kind, and her massages emulated those traits. Nigel... Nigel's massage was a bit rougher, but still gentle, and Nigel's body had been kept as close to his as possible. Something about that added roughness, the closeness... it thrilled him. Thinking back on it, it was almost... sensual, the way Nigel rubbed him. Being a virgin, Oz had never experienced contact of that nature. And how his wings moved closer and closer to his lower regions... Oz's eye widened in realization. The massage had to have been of a sexual nature. Did Nigel... want him? His heart began to race at the thought. N-No, that's ridiculous! I-I mean, we're just friends. He's just here because I hurt him. I have to take care of him. He kept thinking about the idea of being desired by him. His pulse continued to race, and his body heated up. He felt a wetness between his thighs, and looked down to see his quickly-moistening cloaca. His eyes widened in surprise. ...I... I guess I should... take care of this. He slowly slid his wing down, and a jolt shot through him as his feathers made contact. His eyes rolled back as he shut them, and leaned against the tree's trunk.

Oz groaned as he pressed his wing against his moistened cloaca. Biting down on his other wing to keep himself quiet, he rubbed and felt himself, lost in dirty fantasies. Nigel... He pictured what might have happened had he allowed him to continue. He pictured Nigel's wings working his opening vigorously, letting his many years of experience bring Oz to realms of pleasure he'd never been. He pictured being turned over, their sopping wet chests pushing against each other as Nigel kissed him deeply. He imagined the sweet taste of Nigel's smooth, overpowering tongue as it demanded Oz's submission. He pictured Nigel biting hard on his neck, marking him, holding him to the ground as he squealed in helpless abandon, his wings continuing to give his flower an intense workout. He pictured him pulling his wings away, hold him down, forcing him to beg for what he knew he wanted.

"Nigel... please..." He whimpered. He imagined Nigel making him scream his name is he teased his filthy hole. Until finally, his cloaca came near to his own. Just before contact was made, Oz let out a muffled cry as his essence spilled out into his wing. He gasped for breath, his weakened legs searching to gain purchase upon the branch where he stood. The cool night air surrounded him, his sweat beading off of him. Before he could get out another thought, he drifted off into a blissful sleep.


HELL YEAH! SEEEEXXXX (technically naughty fantasies but whatever)! THE ONLY REASON ANYONE EVEN LOOKED AT THIS STORY! -cry- So, yeah, I stayed up late to finish this one. I had to make sure it was perfect for you lovely reader types! I'm probably gonna take a break on this story for a while, just so I can work on my other TWW story. Stay tuned for more chapters, though!

Follow and fave, read and review, but above all...

Stay awesome!~

-ritez