2.16 Dmitrim
"Fiyero, do you hear that?" I asked, stopping Spirit and cocking my head towards the sound. It had sounded like someone screaming and being cut off forcefully. I didn't like it. Fiyero wasn't paying me any attention, getting off his horse and studying the ground intently,
"Shanny," he said, completely ignoring my question, "I think I lost their trail."
"What?"
He looked around panicked, "I have no idea where they went. It just suddenly cuts off- it's-"
I cut him off, the distant sound of a muffled scream drawing my attention, "I heard it again!" I hissed.
"It's almost like…"
I didn't hear what it was like, nudging Spirit towards where the sound had come from, "I'll be back," I called over my shoulder. We were both preoccupied and he waved his hand at me, walking around in a growing circle, trying to pick their trail up once again.
Wondering how much longer the annoying forest would go on for, I listened closely for the sounds I'd been hearing. Adjusting the direction of Spirit every once in a while, the howls of pain were getting louder and I slide off the horse when I came to the point where I could distinguish what sounded like a man's voice. Tethering him to a tree and murmuring a soft condolence, I hunched over and tried to stay as low as possible.
My face flushed when I came to the source of the screaming, seeing a man tormenting a small animal. Actually, at first I thought it was a bird, but it looked too big to be a bird. But then again, I was in Oz, and I wasn't exactly the expert at all things Oz. Yet. Fiyero had taught me while we trailed our two captured friends, but he never said anything about gargantuan birds.
The top of its head was covered in feathers that seemed to cover its entire body. Short fur covered its face and even though it had some resemblance to a human, its nose looked more like a beak and also housed its mouth. It was wearing a shift, trousers and a pair of solid boots, but its arms were bird-like coming out of the shift, and it had what looked like three talons instead of fingers.
"Stop it!" I yelled as the guard hit the small bird-thing, jumping out of my hiding spot without thinking. The bird-thing let out a small wail of pain that I recognized and the guard turned towards me, surprised for a second. I ran forward rashly with the intent of punching him but he caught my wrist easily, grinning. As I wiggled to get away, I saw a rock about the size of an orange at my feet. Nudging it with my foot onto the heel of my other, I kicked it up like I would a soccer ball, hoping I wasn't too rusty after years of inactivity. To my complete surprise the rock soared over our heads and before the guy knew what hit him, the stone was earthbound, conking him solidly on the head.
He dropped to the ground, knocked unconscious. It took me a second to realize that my nifty soccer trick actually worked.
"Thank you, Ms," the odd bird-thing said after we stared at the lifeless body for a moment. I nodded absently and then stopped mid-nod – did the thing just speak?
"What?" I asked, taking a step back,
"I said 'thank you, Ms'," it repeated cocking its head and I was still fixated on the fact that it could talk to me,
"How- yo-you can talk?" I stuttered out, sinking to my knees just in case I passed out.
The thing grinned, "Of course I can. My name's Dmitrim."
"But you're a bird," I said faintly, unable to tear my eyes away from its hard, curved mouth- beak- whatever it was. It was a bird; a disproportioned bird that looked an awful lot like a human, but it was a bird!
"I'm a Bird, Ms," he enunciated, a little deflated, "Haven't you ever seen an Animal before? Why did you knocked him out?" he asked, pointing to the man who was moaning on the ground.
Registering the guy I suspended my disbelief for a second and quickly got up, "You said your name was Dmitrim, right?" I confirmed and he nodded,
"Yes Ms,"
I took his feathery hand in mine, careful to mind his… talons? "We've got to get out of here before that guy wakes up,"
"But I can't Ms," he resisted softly as I started tugging on his hand. I didn't know how young he was, but he reminded me of the twins that I baby-sat sometimes. They were six.
"Why not?" I asked exasperatedly- surely going with a stranger who had just knocked out the man who was beating him was better than waiting around for the man who beat him to wake up. Although I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case- things were going very bizarrely lately. "And don't tell me your parents told you not to talk to strangers," I forewarned.
The… boy, shook his head, "I haven't had parents for a long time. But my feet- I can't walk on them," he said as he sat down, hanging off my hand until I came back to him. I released his hand and he pulled up his pant leg, showing an odd pattern of scales instead of normal human-boy legs. The boots on his feet were locked on through the eyelets. I had a feeling that his hand-resembling feet must have been locked painfully into them.
"How do you get around then?" I asked, kneeling down beside him, saddened by the cruelty of the boots. How could he stand to stay balanced?
He looked at me a little forlorn, "I used to be able to fly, but until my flight feathers grow back in," he extended his arms- they were huge- to their fullest length, displaying the clipped feathers, "I won't be able to. And with these boots on…" he trailed off, for the first time since I met him looking thoroughly miserable.
"Was that what he was doing?" I asked and the boy looked down, nodding,
"He took me out of my cage and we were going to meet up with the rest of the guard somewhere along the road. But I think he got lost along the way, because he started leading me back to the Resistance,"
"How did you manage to get around?"
The boy looked down and I regretted asking him the question as he answered quietly, "He tied my feet together and dragged me."
The man groaned and I stared at the shoes- I wouldn't be able to get them off myself, but Fiyero would probably have some sort of clue as to where to start. "Do you mind if I carry you?" I asked and the boy looked up,
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Pick you up and put you on my back if I have to. Just until we get to my horse," I explained. If I could do it with Elphie, I sure as hell could do it with a bird-boy that probably weighed a quarter of her.
He looked frightened and I didn't really know what the big deal was, "Here," I said, deciding that if the man who had been abusing him was going to be regaining his consciousness, I'd rather he do it far away from us. I put my arms under the boy's knees and around his shoulders, lifting him up easily. He was light, probably because he had to hold himself up if he flew. Go figure such a human-looking creature could fly.
After a soft whimper he relaxed his tensed body, wincing as I adjusted my arms, "Did I hurt you?" I asked, starting to walk away from the guard.
Dmitrim dodged the question, "What's your name?" he asked instead,
"Shandra,"
"Where are you from?"
Hm. Good question.
"I grew up in the Vinkus," I decided, in part because that was the place I knew the most about. It wouldn't be a good thing if I claimed to be from the Emerald City and knew nothing about the Emerald City. And also because my blue would be less noticeable among the chocolate color of Fiyero then among the pasty white of Glinda.
"Why are you blue?" he continued his questioning and I laughed,
"Why are you giving me the third degree?"
For a second he considered what I'd said. He extended his arm- I was fascinated for a moment, watching his joints moving gracefully with each other- and placed in around my neck. I hoisted him up a little more so he'd have a better grip, "The third degree of what?" he asked, genuine confusion evident in his voice.
I smiled at him, "It's just my way of saying that you're asking a lot of questions."
"Oh." He thought for a second. "Sorry. Was that rude of me? Isobel says I'm not supposed to be rude to anyone, even if they're human…"
"I don't mind it, but someone else might," I explained, feeling very motherly as I did so. We were quickly nearing the horse and I could see its outline through the trees, "Would you mind if I rode on the horse behind you?"
"Will she mind?" Dmitrim asked, swiveling his head so he could see the horse. He smiled at it, waving. The horse neighed. I shook my head,
"I don't think she will- she's a pretty strong girl." Was Spirit even a female? I didn't know.
"Then it's alright with me," Dmitrim smiled and I stopped short of Spirit, wondering how on Oz I was going to manage getting the both of us on when I could barely do it myself.
"You go first," I said, shifting him and lifting him up to the saddle. He grabbed the saddle horn and swung a leg over, settling down onto it, "And now I attempt to," I muttered to myself, putting my foot in the stirrup and heaving.
After a couple of failed tries (much to the silent amusement of Dmitrim) I was finally on and groping for the reins.
"So you know where the Resistance camp is?" I asked as I nudged Spirit forward and he nodded,
"But I'm not supposed to tell any one."
"That's okay," I assured, not wanting to do anything to lose his trust, "Me and my friend were heading there anyways."
"You were?" he asked a little awed.
"Yeah, why?"
"Because that's where I live!"
I gave the top of his head a look, "So what do you think I was going to do with you? Not take you home?"
The boy shrugged, "I wouldn't mind being with you. You seem nice," and left it at that. I found it sad that he was so friendly with me even though he wasn't expecting to go home, and briefly wondered if my actions earlier were seen to him as a simple exchange of goods. If he viewed himself as a piece of property.
I wanted to get those stupid boots off of him all the more.
"I'm going to take you home, alright Dmitrim?"
"Mhm," he hummed absently, trying to catch the forest insects that we passed with his extended arms. The talons made it a bit difficult but it was interesting to watch.
I wrapped my arms around his small body, hugging him tightly. He didn't seem to register the gesture, or even feel it.
I wondered what kind of terrors this boy had been through to make him behave like this.