Chapter 9: Recovery
(Azure's P.O.V.)
Wolf had been asleep for half a day now. I couldn't help but feel this was my fault, I had kept him up the night, and it was to dry me. I felt the tears running down my feathers, and I was fighting a losing battle against a sobbing fit. I missed my parents, but I missed Wolf even more. I looked over at Wolf, and I scooted closer to him and wrapped his un-bandaged wing over me, and pressed my face into his feathers, and cried even more.
I could feel myself slowly slipping away, but I didn't want to sleep when Wolf was possibly dying. I tried to focus on what the doctor, Túlio had told me; Wolf was lucky he had still been moving. The wounds he had accumulated within the last week testified to just that; he had multiple lacerations, a few bruised ribs, and he was overall fighting with his reserves. And in other terms, he had cuts everywhere, he was hurt on the inside of his body, and he was close to quitting. Everything I just thought about made me even more mentally exhausted, and I slowly drifted off into slumber.
…
A soft groan disturbed my nightmarish sleep, just to bring me into another nightmare. I looked at Wolf, to see if he was awake, or showing any signs of like besides breathing. I slumped when I realized it had just been a false alarm, and I settled my head back down in defeat. Another groan, this time louder, brought my full attention to Wolf, and I carefully watched his every movement. He slowly shook his head, and when he tried to stand up, I quickly moved out from under his wing, which he didn't seem to notice.
When he opened his eyes, he looked at me, and he grinned. I smiled weakly in return, and I felt fresh tears spilling down my facial feathers. Wolf's smile disappeared instantly, and as he walked up to me and wrapped his wings around me, I did the same, and started sobbing into his shoulder quietly. "Shh… sh… what's wrong Azure? Tell me and I will fix it."
After I settled down a bit, I looked into his eyes, and I said, "That strange doctor said you were almost dead… when we brought you in… how did you go through everything?"
Wolf looked at me confused, and then he glanced around the room. I followed his gaze, and I could see all the birds sleeping, minus a few watching us every once in a while. He faced me again, and as I looked back at him, he said, "First of all, I have a special soul, you know that. Secondly, I'm a tough piece of… never mind… and the main reason; is you. You give me the strength to fight through every day, but everything finally caught up with me, and you know the rest." He finished, and he just rested his beak on the end of my beak.
(Wolf's P.O.V.)
After I had finished telling Azure how she was my light in the night, I rested my beak against hers and looked into her eyes. She seemed stunned, but she stopped crying, and that is what made me smile, and even in the dark, I could see the sparkle in her eyes return.
A cough made us both look over at the hallway, which had a human with large glasses standing in the light. He slowly walked towards us, and Azure whispered, "That's the strange doctor that fixed your cuts."
I looked back at her, and when the doctor was close, she fluttered onto his shoulder. He slowly and gently picked me up, and he turned around, and walked towards the lit hallway. When we were in the hallway, he opened a door, and inside was a sort of coffee room. He set me down on the round table in the center of the room, and closed the door behind him. Azure fluttered down to the table top next to me. The strange man turned around and sat in a chair across from us, and took a shaky breath in.
Turning to Azure, I asked, "What is wrong with him?"
"You turned into a human in front of him, but before you fainted, you turned back into a bird like me." Azure stated.
I chuckled, and when I glanced at the man, he was studying me intensely. I turned around, and when I jumped off the table, I turned myself into a human, and instantly felt a huge energy drain in my body… or I really was using my reserve energy. I turned around as the man gasped, and I chuckled. I pulled a chair out, and sat in it, and I held an arm out to Azure, and she jumped on it. I brought my arm to my chest, and when she leaned into my chest, I wrapped my other arm around her, and she laid her head across my arm I just wrapped around her.
When I looked up at the man, I said, "hello doctor Túlio. My name is Wolf, and this here is Azure. I can communicate with birds while I'm a human, but I can assure you that I am very much human. I can answer any questions you have, but just know that if I feel that I don't want to, I won't answer some questions."
He swallowed, readjusted his classes, and asked, "How are you able to change into a bird, if you're a human?"
Another one of those questions, "I don't know myself, I just know that I can; I can also turn into other animals as well, but the only one I have tried is well… a wolf."
Túlio nodded, and he asked again, "what were you first? A bird, or a human?"
"I was a human for seventeen years, and I le-"
"You're the same age as me Wolf," Azure said.
When I looked down at Azure, and I smiled, "Are you now? what a coincidence."
After I said that, I looked up at Túlio, and he had a curious, then he asked, "What did she say… pardon my asking."
Azure giggled, and I said, "She is the same age as me, now, do you have any more questions? It has been a long night, and every time I change, I grow more tired."
He seemed to be thinking of one last thing, and he finally said, "How did you get so beat up, and still find the will to keep going?"
When I looked down at Azure, she made a coo-ing noise, and I replied, "I was fighting to protect this one. And for my wings, I flew into a pole when I met Azure's family, and when I came to Rio, I crashed into a tree with the other. As for how I did it…" I lifted Azure up slightly, and she kissed my cheek.
"Tell him."
I looked back at Túlio, "… I love Azure. I spent so much time with her, I slowly grew closer until… well… the love blossomed."
The doctor that healed me, found out I was not only a bird, but a human, and that I had fallen in love with a bird, just stared at me. He nodded, and as he rose from his chair, he walked towards the counter behind him, and slowly took out a paper cut from the cabinet. He shakily turned on the faucet, and filled the cup to the brim. When he shakily raised it to his mouth, he splashed water on his overcoat a few times, and drank all the water. When he finished, he crumpled the cup, and took a deep breath in, and let it out. When he opened his eyes, he looked at me, he muttered a name, and I barely caught it before he collapsed where he was.
I quickly got up, but when Azure yelped in shock, I looked down at her and said, "I'm so sorry Azure, let me just handle this real fast."
I gently put her on the table-top, and I ran to the door. I opened it, and yelled out, "Linda, come to the coffee room! A doctor Túlio needs your help!" I heard many yells of anger come from the room Túlio had taken us from, I was left guessing I woke many sleeping birds. I ran back to the doctor, and I lifted him up, and I have to admit, it was really hard. He may be skinny, but I was exhausted.
I walked him over to a chair, and I sat him down in it. I held my finger up to his throat, and I felt a pulse. I laid a hand on his chest, and I could feel the steady breathing, and after doing all that, I sighed in relief. I looked at Azure, and when she looked back at me, she asked, "Will he be alright?"
"Yea, he just fainted. Guess he didn't take the information in to well."
She nodded her head, and as I sat down, I heard Azure walk up to me. I looked at her, and held my left arm out for her. She smiled as she hopped onto my arm, and I brought it back to my chest to keep her warm. I wrapped my right hand across her body, and I closed my eyes. Today had been a long day.
A soft scuffling sounded outside the room, but I dismissed it as being the angry birds (heh, get it) that I had woken up, so I left my eyes closed. When Azure screeched, "WOLF, LOOK OUT!" I shot my eyes open, and say a woman with a wooden bat swing down at me, all I had time to do was unwrap Azure with my right hand, and bring my forearm up and over my head. A loud clang was heard, and I felt a pain shoot through my arm, but I quickly twisted my arm and hand, and rolled my shoulder, and flung the bat from the woman's hands, and it hit the wall opposite Túlio.
"DAMMIT! OWWW!" I stood up and kicked the chair away from me and pushed past the woman, but before I left, I spat out, "TÚLIOS FINE!" And then I sped off back down the room to where Azure and I had originally been. I gently lowered Azure to the main table top, and proceeded in taking off my over-shirt. I was left standing in only my white under-shirt, but I looked at my right forearm, and quickly pressed my shirt to the bleeding cut and grunted as I felt the pain.
"Azure… do you… see any bandages?"
While Azure looked around, I heard a bird say, "Quiet down already, we're trying to sleep in here!" I snapped my head towards a cage, and saw a rusty colored scarlet macaw.
"I was just hit with a bat from a crazy woman, sorry if I'm a lil loud!" my voice was dripping with sarcasm. I smirked at when the Scarlet's beak dropped, and I hissed out, "And yes, I can understand you."
I turned back around, and when I saw Azure looking around, I said softer, "Don't worry about it Azure. I just won't be able to turn back into a bird, unless I want my feathers to get blood in them."
She looked at me, and I just sighed, I let my head drop to the counter, and I heard Azure walking towards me. When I felt a wing rub my cheek, I glanced at Azure, and I chuckled. I loved how Azure could make me feel better.
(Linda's P.O.V.)
After the angered teenager stormed out of the room, I looked over, and heard Túlio groan. He sat up, and when he did, he opened his eyes and looked around. When he saw me, he asked, "Where'd Wolf go?"
I looked at him with a blank expression, and said, "Who?"
"there was a kid in here. Where did he go?"
I stared at the ground and said, "OOOoohhh… that kid. He went back to the treatment center…"
He didn't hear my uncertainty, or he was too busy standing up, but when he did, he saw a dent in the wall, and the bat lying on the ground. He made a confused noise, but walked out of the room, and I followed behind him. When we arrived in the Treatment room, we saw the kid slumped over the counter, holding his shirt to his arm. We stopped walking, and I would hear him talking to the slender Hyacinth macaw in front of him, "…feathers to get blood in them." I watched as the female macaw walked up to him, and rubbed his cheek with its wing. The teenager looked up at the female macaw, and chuckled.
Before I could stop him, Túlio walked into the room and asked, "Wolf, what are you doing in here? The birds need to sleep."
I stepped up next to Túlio as the teenager looked over, but when he saw me, he instantly stood up and looked alert. He said, "Keep her away from me!"
Túlio glanced at me, but all I could do was turn my head away, he would soon find out why anyways. I heard his voice directed away from me, and he asked, "Why?"
When I looked back over at him with guilty eyes, and he seemed to freeze, but when he pulled his Shirt away from his arm, I saw a gash in his arm, and he said, "This is why… now do you have any bandages or gauze I can wrap this in?"
I heard Túlio gasp, and when he looked at me in shock, he quickly moved over to a cabinet, and pulled out some dressings, and a roll of Gauze. He walked over and held them out to Tyler, who snatched them away, and tore them open and started to wrap his wound rather fast. He glanced at Túlio as he did this and said, "Sorry, I'm still a little mad," he glanced at me, but looked back at Túlio, "about what happened. And also, could you feed this bird," he gestured at the Scarlet macaw behind him, "more than you do, or better… he's a grumpy little ass…"
The macaw squawked at Wolf, who just grunted. He stared at his shirt, and said, "Also, we need to burn my shirt. It was my blood on it."
After he said this, Túlio asked, "And why do we need to burn it? We can just throw it away."
Wolf shook his head and said, "I did something that changed me… permanently. When I messed around with a home-made lab, I did something that changed my blood type…"
I couldn't hold the gasp back, and Túlio looked at me with a confused expression, and Wolf looked at me… expectantly. He soon continued, "I now have a blood no-one else has, blood X. Blu told me about how you and him saw it on TV before, so I'm not surprised that you know about it…"
He stared at me before adding, "You can fill Túlio in, and I'm going to go to sleep with Azure."
He walked around the countertop, and he sat down in an empty bird cubicle, and he started to shimmer, and when I blinked, there was a Hyacinth macaw sitting where Wolf had been. The Hyacinth macaw squawked, and the slender looking Hyacinth flew over to it. When the Slender macaw landed near the one covered in bandages, it was smaller. That must be Azure, which meant the larger Hyacinth was Wolf.
I glanced at Túlio, and he said, "Well… we both have things to talk with each other about now…"
…
(Azure's P.O.V.)
Wolf had thrown caution to the wind, again, and decided he would sleep with me as a bird… not that I mind. When he asked for me to come to him, I happily flew over to him. When I was next to him, he pulled me close to him, and smothered me in a kiss. After we broke it, I could make out a bird mumbling somewhere behind us. I was about to turn around and glare at whoever it was, but Wolf gave me another kiss, and this time, he said, "Let them grouch… their just jealous that I have an amazingly beautiful bird like you, all to myself."
I giggled at what he had just said, and when I looked into his eyes, I felt safe and comfortable, all with one look at his eyes. he seemed to melt when I pushed him onto his back, and when I laid down In his older-bandaged wing, I heard him sigh, he turned his head to look at me, and he said, "Not only is my blood type different, but it enables me heal a lot faster to, so that means we should be able to leave sometime around tomorrow morning. I'll still be sore, but I won't have my cuts, just this one on my wing, my ribs, and everywhere else."
When he finished, I scoffed, and said, "No fair…"
"You don't want me to heal?"
I'm glad for the darkness, because I was smiling when I said, "I enjoyed having you be scared of me." I rolled over until I was lying on top of him, and I continued, "It let me be…" I twirled a feather around his chest, "…seductive."
This time, I heard Wolf Scoff, and he said, "You did that on purpose, just to seduce me? Your voice is enough for that." And then I heard him chuckling quietly.
I know this will be way out of my personality, but when am I ever in the presence of Wolf? I pushed both my wings on his, and brought my beak extremely close to his, and whispered in a haughty voice, "I can make life either very pleasing," I kissed him tenderly on the beak, and I pressed myself into his feathers further, "or I can make it very strange for you instead." And with that, I gently bit various parts of his neck.
Before I had met Wolf, my mother had took me aside one day, and said, 'seduction can be any females greatest weapon. You can either scare a male into loving you more, or melting his heart, and guaranteeing his loyalty for you. Remember this, and when the day comes, you will know which male you will want.'
Mother had spoken true words, but I didn't know whether to seduce Wolf into loving me, or to ensure his loyalty. He was already both. I guess I can always do it just to play with him… he won't know the difference if he already loves me.
Wolf made a strangled noise below me, and when I looked at him, he pecked me on the beak, and said, "Maybe you don't need the seduction… I wouldn't know what to think during the day…"
I just sighed, and nuzzled into his neck, and I heard him whisper, "Goodnight my Azure…" and I heard him chuckle before saying louder, "Goodnight grumpy bird…" I couldn't help but giggle into Wolf's neck.
A gruff sounding voice said, "Yeah, whatever…" and when I heard than, I buried my beak into Wolf's feathers and started laughing. I had to keep it within his feathers, or that bird would hear me. I felt and heard the deep rumble of Wolf's chuckle. I stopped laughing when I felt something stroke my tail feather, and when I pulled my beak out of Wolf's feathers, he whispered, "Also, I know about the seduction game as well. I may not be as good at it as you are, but I can make it very," he brought a wing up to the base of my tail feathers, "…arousing… or," he nipped at my neck feathers, "… strange."
I felt a shiver run through my body, and he started chuckling before he asked, "does it make you that nervous?" I nodded, and he chuckled some more before he removed his wing from my tail feather, and said, "Don't worry; I don't really know about the seduction game… only that I'm going to be the target."
He chuckled, but I could feel his heart beat slowing down, and as I rolled off of his chest, I curled up on his wing, and laid my own wing across his chest, to keep him from getting cold again.
A.N.: what did you guys think, huh… and just to let you know, don't complain about the maturity level, I'm keeping it below 'M'… and also, I only know of the 'seduction game' because I read a book on seduction. Just to let all you guys know, (not the ladies) seduction isn't all about love and… 'M' maturity stuff… it also has basic common sense. If you read a body language book, you will start seeing things more clearly in life on how the world works… now, if your below the age of 14… scram, this is for teens and older XD.
