The next morning Alfred and Matthew sleepily made their way to the kitchen when Gilbird flew out of nowhere and hit Alfred in the head. "What the heck?" he asked, rubbing his head. Gilbird flew excitedly around the boys' head, peeping. Reiley sat up, rubbing his head. "Am I not allowed to sleep? Is that it? Who's bloody bird is that?" he asked.
"Gilbert's. I don't know why it's here," said Matthew. The bird started flying around Reiley's head, who started trying to swat the bird away. Francis walked into the kitchen, digging around for pots and pans, before he looked up to see the bird. "Is that Gilbird? Any idea why he's here?" asked Francis. Everyone shook their heads.
Francis sighed and reached out a hand for Gilbird to land on. The bird immediately started chirping to him. Francis rubbed his face, looking weary. "He's going to be here in two days. He says, and I quote, 'Nothing will stop the awesome me from coming. Prepare for my awesomeness!"
Reiley frowned. "What's wrong with that? Gilbert's a good drinking buddy of mine. Though he and Allistair should not go drinking with each other after last time," he said. Francis rolled his eyes. "He said somethings he shouldn't have about Matthew's wings. He didn't know how he lost them, but it was still upsetting. Arthur punched him for what he said," said Francis.
Reiley winced. "That bad? I haven't seen Arthur go pirate on someone for ages. That must have been a sight. How long did the fight go for?" he asked. Francis shook his head. "It didn't turn into a fight. We left so we could try to catch up with the boys….The hunter had shot Alfred shortly after," he said. Reiley made a face. "No wonder Arthur punched the guy. If another fight breaks out between them I might join," he said.
Franciis rubbed his face. "No more fights. We can't be letting the boys think it's alright to punch whoever decides to be a jerk," he said. "We're not babies. We already know that," protested Alfred. Matthew mumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'Too late.' "To us, lad, you're still a wee one. We've seen hundreds of years pass by. You two are still pretty young," said Reiley.
Francis frowned at Matthew. "What's this about starting fights?" he asked. "In my defense, that guy totally deserved it. He was pulling on my feathers when I was trying to get a drink. I told him to stop first," said Alfred. "You're too young to be drinking," said Francis, frowning even more. "Neither of us get carried away Francis. One of us is always sober if the other is drinking," said Matthew.
Arthur grumbled as he entered the kitchen. "Someone said something about getting a drink? That sounds bloody fabulous about now," he said. "How long until Allistair gets here?" asked Reiley quickly, not wanting to hear Alfred and Matthew get chewed out. Arthur sighed. "That depends on how many books and supplies he feels necessary to bring. Hopefully he'll be here in an hour or two," he said.
Rhys walked into the kitchen, grumbling under his breath as he set to make a pot of tea. "Morning Rhys. Did you sleep well?" asked Matthew politely. "It's hard to sleep when everyone is too busy yapping when you're trying to get some shut eye," he said. Arthur rolled his eyes as Francis got up to make breakfast. "Rhys isn't really a morning person."
"Shut it Arthur. Not like you're all sunshine and daisies in the morning either," snapped Rhys. The pot whistled and he quickly sat down with his cup of tea. "Oi Rhys. It looks like you, me, an' Allistair need to go rustle some feathers," said Reiley, sitting down next to his brothers. Rhys lowered his teacup, looking annoyed but intrigued. "Why is that?" He asked.
"Apparently Gilbert said something he shouldn't have about Matthew. He's the reason they left and Alfred got shot," said Reiley. "You really don't have to do that. Arthur already punched the guy," said Matthew hastily. "Besides, we can hold our own. If anyone should beat up the guy it should be me, but that's not exactly going to change anything," said Alfred.
"Lad we look out for our own. Only we are allowed to hurt members of our flock," said a voice in a Scotish accent behind them. They all turned to see Allistair dump a sack of books onto the ground. "Besides, Gilbert should be used to us walloping him. I've got the books. There's others in the cave, but don't expect me to keep lugging books back and forth. My wings are sore as it is," he said, rubbing a shoulder.
"Besides, it's not like Mum would have already shot an arrow in Gilbert's arse by now. She hated when fledglings from other flocks would pick on us, well, mostly Arthur," muttered Reiley. "Well I was already getting it from you three! I didn't need everyone else picking on me growing up!" said Arthur. "We wouldn't have let everyone else pick on you. We only did it to toughen you up you git," said Allistair, smacking his brother upside the head.
Arthur rubbed his head and glared at his brother. "I hope you don't plan on doing the same to Alfred and Matthew," he said. Allistair shook his head and gestured at the twins with a thumb. "Those two don't need any more toughening up. They already survived two attacks by hunters and lived to tell the tale. They past the test with flying colors," said Allistair. Arthur scowled while Alfred and Matthew shared a grin.
"Breakfast!" said Francis, setting some croissants on the table with jelly and butter. Arthur scowled at Allistair, who gave him teasing smirks thoughout the meal, but it seems like the argument was put to rest temporarily.
After breakfast, Allistair passed out books. "Don't expect me to do all the reading. I already brought that sack of bricks over here. The twins and Francis can read from that pile since those are the only books in english. The rest of the books can be split up amongst us four. If you see anything about wings, ask one of us," he said, dropping a pile of books in English by the twins.
Alfred and Matthew blinked, Alfred reaching toward one of the books. He started flipping through it curiously. "So...how exactly does magic work?" he asked. Allistair snorted. "What kind of question is that?" he asked. "I mean...well, I meanhow does it work? What does it run on? Where does it come from?" He asked.
Reiley started chuckling. "Arthur, did you never teach him about magic before all this happened?" he said. Arthur scoffed. "Not like I had time to. Besides, they don't seem to remember much from before that night," he said. Rhys flipped through a book. "I'm sure there's a spell to fix that somewhere in here," he said.
"Magic is a sort of energy. It's a way of harnessing your life's energy, in some cases, to exert your will on nature via the proper channels," said Arthur. Alfred snorted. "Are you guys messing with me now?" he said. All four british brothers stared at him. Matthew sighed. "Alfred is more into science...It might take him a little while to really understand it," he said. Alfred rolled his eyes.
"Yes, well magic is real lad. Even if you don't believe in it. It doesn't just stop exisiting because you don't think it does," said Rhys. "Do you think we might have magic too?" asked Matthew. Alistair shrugged. "It could be possible. You two share enough of our blood. We can figure that out later if you'd like. Our first priority should be your wings though," said Alistair.
Matthew nodded, flipping through his book. "Y-You think it's really possible I can have wings again. How would that even work out?" asked Matthew. Alistair shrugged. "We'd either find a spell to grow them back or find out if there's a way to reattach your wings. I've never done this before, so it's still up in the air lad," he said.
Matthew sighed "No, it's fine. I just don't want to get my hopes up. It's not like I'd know how to fly even if I had them, anyways," he said. Alfred rolled his eyes and bumped his brother with a shoulder. "I'll teach you dude. Or you could alwas do what I did and jump off of things," he said. Matthew rolled his eyes. "I'd have so many broken bones doing that. I already know from watching you do it that it's a bad idea," he said.
Reiley snorted. "Any one of us would be willing to teach you lad," said Reiley. Francis nodded. "Mon petite, that surely won't be an issue. Everyone here, excluding your brother, has been flying for hundreds of years. We'd all be happy to teach you," he said. "And your brother. It seems he needs help learning how to compensate for that injured wing," said Arthur, flipping through a book. Alfred made a face. He thought he was doing pretty good considering.
Matthew smiled but rolled his eyes. "Neither of us knew that his wing didn't heal completely right. He's doing pretty good so far," said Matthew. Alfred grinned. Rhys frowned, glancing at a book. "I believe I may have found a way to get his wings back…" he said. Arthur frowned. "What's the catch?" he said.
Rhys sighed and passed the book to Arthur. Arthur mumbled under his breath as he read. "To recover wings read the following spell after...Finding the wings and touching them to the back?! We have to have the bloody wings on hand to be able to do it?!" asked Arthur, starting to get frustrated.
"What? How are we supposed to do that? It's not like we have them on hand. Is there any other way to get them back?" asked Francis, his heart tearing into two as he spotted the crestfallen look on Matthew's face. Alfred rubbed his twin's shoulder, wings slumping forward. "Is there anyway he can regrow them magically or something?" he asked.
Alistair shook his head. "Aye lad, I wish that were possible. But for that to happen, we would have to use more complicated, more dangerous spells. Those spells often call for something in exchange. The problem with those spells is that they often twist around the purpose of why you're using it to something else," he said.
"I don't want it then!" blurted Matthew. Everyone jumped and turned to him. Alistair had an eyebrow raised and Alfred looked stunned. "A-Are you sure Mattie? I'm sure they can find a way to make it work," he said hesitantly. "It's be a stretch. We'd have to be extremely careful on how we word the spell," said Arthur.
Matthew shook his head. "If it's something that might put you guys in danger, I rather not do it. I-It's not a big deal. I've gone this long without wings. I don't really mind it. I don't even remember having wings," he said ademently. Francis's face soften. "Oh mon petite…" he said, not sure how to respond.
Arthur shook his head. "No. I need to make this right. I told you that we would get your wings back if we can and I intend to follow through on that. A gentleman is only as good as his word. We will get your wings back," said Arthur. Reiley cleared his throat. "Well there is one thing," he said.
Heads turned in his direction. "This is not the time for one of your jokes," said Rhys flatly. Reiley rolled his eyes. "Oi, I know that. But I was thinking, the hunters cut off the wings to turn them into trophies right? They don't rip them off for the sake of destroying them. That's no fun to them. More than likely…." He trailed off.
"They're hanging in the living room of some bloody hunter somewhere," said Alistair, practically spitting. Arthur frowned. "But we tried to track him by the feather. Wouldn't that have led us to his wings?" he asked, a bit upset at the idea of someone hanging Matthew's down covered wings in some living room or hunting lodge.
"You tried to track him by his wings. You weren't tracking his actual wings," said Rhys, leaning back. Arthur scowled. "What's the difference? The spell should have worked either way," he said. Rhys shook his head. "You know spells, especially powerful spells like that, require you to be extremely specific. We might be able to find a spell to find his wings," he said.
Arthur thought about it. "That does make sense I suppose. I'll start looking for that spell," he said. Alfred frowned and raised his hand. "Um, quick question. Even if we find his wings and everything, won't they be tiny little fluffy wings? Like, I'm willing to help him find his wings and everything but I'm just kind concerned about how that would play out," he said.
Matthew's face went slightly pale as Allistair snorted. "Don't worry yourselves lads. We know a few spells to speed up any maturing that needs to be done with the wings. Besides, the spell should account for that when it reattaches his wings to his back," said Allistair. Reiley chuckled. "Though I suppose it would be entertaining to see what'd he'd look like with baby wings," he said. Arthur, Francis, and Rhys shot him glares.
"But what exactly do we do if we find the wings in hunter territory?" asked Matthew. "We storm the place, beat everyone up, take the wings, and go," said Alfred, pounding a fist into his hand. Francis and Arthur shared a grin. Quickly breaking into enemy territory to steal things was something they felt an almost nostalgia for. Allistair, noticing Arthur and Francis exchange glances rolled his eyes. "I suppose you really are related to these two," he said to Alfred.
Matthew swallowed. "I-I don't know about that. That sounds just as dangerous as the first idea," he said. "Nonsense Matthew. Both Francis and I were pirates. We've got experience in ramsacking enemies. We also have spent a few decades, on an off again, acting as soldiers or knights," said Arthur.
"Oui. Those tin suits were murder on my wings. I'm just glad that the chainmail was much easier to handle," said Francis, sweeping his hair over his ear and stretching out his wings. Arthur made a face, nodding. "I swear I still have some bruises from attempting to fly in those things," he said.
"As you can see, both of them know how to be absolute terrors if they put their minds to it. Or, in Arthur's case, without even try," said Allistair. Arthur swatted him. "What is that supposed to mean you git?" he said. "It means you sure know how to be an annoying wanker when you want to be," teased Reiley.
As the three started bickering, Rhys sighed and turned to Matthew, Francis, and Alfred. "Don't worry about all of this. I'll keep the others from giving you fledgling wings. Hopefully you'll be able to start flying within a week of the spell, if everything works out the way it needs to," he said. Matthew smiled. "Merci."
After a few minutes, the Kirkland brothers seemed to settle down. And by settle down, I mean Allistair, Reiley, and Arthur all decided that they needed someting to drink. "So...when do we do the spell?" asked Matthew. "And how does this whole reattachment thing work? Hasn't it been detached too long to be reattached without making him sick or something?" asked Alfred.
Rhys shook his head, watching his brothers carefully out of the corner of his eyes. "No. The wings will still carry some of Matthew's life energy. That's part of the reason why only people who are very close to you can touch them. They'll stay alive as long as he's alive. That's why hunters feel the need to come after us so often even though there's not that many," he said.
The twins gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?" asked Alfred. Francis sighed. "After we die, any wings turned into trophies immediately start to disintegrate. They turn to dust and collapse on themselves. When that happens, the wings are no longer useable for showing off," said Francis.
"I thought you guys were immortal," said Alfred. "Yes well not many of us managed to get captured and it's often the ancients that get captured if anything. After getting so big or so old and powerful, some of them end up thinking they're invincible until they get ambushed by hunters," said Rhys.
Francis nodded. "It happened to my grand papa and his German friend. Their wings lasted a little bit longer than most wings do after being cut off due to their power, even when they died. Though, with how brutal and despicable some of these hunters are, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't just keep hunting us just for the sake of wanting to hurt someone," he said.
"But are you completely sure this isn't more dangerous than just using a spell to get the wings back? T-These aren't like other humans. They know how to hurt us," said Matthew. Francis ruffled his hair before giving him a hug. "Mathieu, don't worry about us. We wouldn't do anything like this if we weren't sure we could handle it. You'll have your wings back in no time," said Matthew.
Alfred bounced up and down, his wings fluttering excitedly. "Mattie, I know so many tricks I can show you. Ooh, this means I finally have someone I can race against too! I wonder what your wings will look like. Do you think he'll be fast as me or able to fly as high? Dude, wait until the villagers see you with wings," he started rambling.
Matthew nodded, forcing a smile. He had a bad feeling about this but if everyone, especially the older, more experienced avians, felt like it was the best option, he supposed he could give it a try. Maybe they got lucky and the wings weren't even in a hunter's lodge. Maybe they were in an elder's cottage or university or something somewhere. He mentally frowned at that. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was to breaking into something like that either. But he supposed it was better than breaking into a nest of dangerous hunters.
Alfred kept happily chatting next to him. Matthew sighed. If he was honest with himself, he always was slightly jealous of his brother's ability to fly and was sick of having to be carried around like some invalid. If it took a little danger to get his wings back...well he suppose it could be well worth it. It seemed like the older avians had this well in hand and knew what they were doing. He was sure they could all easily work together on this.
Arthur slowly started dozing off before jerking himself out of his sleep and refocusing his attention on the spell book in his hands. His brothers have promised to stick around and help him pour over the books but he was afraid that they'd miss something during all the time they spend bickering with each other.
He could feel his eyelids threatening to collapse. He shook his head and forced himself to read the swimming words on the page. It was well past midnight and everyone else was asleep. Arthur jumped when a hand suddenly touched his shoulder. He looked up, barely restraining himself from punching whoever it was in the gut.
"Angelterre. All this studying is going to be the death of you. Get some sleep. The books will stil be here in the morning. We'll all help you look through them," he said nicely. Arthur frowned, shaking his head. "You and the boys don't know magic. My brothers are always fighting. What if we miss something? It's better if I do what I can on my own to make sure we're seeing everything," he said.
Francis shook his head. "You can't read if you're so tired the words are swimming on the page. Go to sleep. We can keep reading through the books in the morning," insisted the frenchman. Arthur opened his mouth but he scowled when someone in the living room butt in. "Go to bed won't ya? It's hard to sleep with you two flapping your gums," grumbled someone in a Irish accent.
"Your the one who should shut your yap. It's not like anyone can sleep with you yelling you git," grumbled a scotish accent. "I'm not the one having a bloody conversation when others are sleeping," argued Reiley. "I'll give you one last warning to shut your trap or I shut it for you. I already had to fly to the mountain and back carrying those books. I just want an hour without hearing another Kirkland's voice," muttered Allistair.
"And what are you going to do about it?" mumbled a sleepy irishman. There was a yelp and the sound of someone falling off the couch. "There. Now shut up and get to sleep," grumlbled Allistair smugly. Arthur facepalmed. "I can't go to sleep now. I have to separate these two idiots now," he said as he heard Reiley jump onto Allistair.
Francis shook his head. "Let them act like children if they want to. Go to bed before you end up falling asleep on your feet," he muttered. Arthur muttered something before turning to go to bed. Francis shook his head and put the books back into their pile before goint to bed as well, ignoring the fact that Rhys, awaken by his brothers, had gotten up to put them both in headlocks.
I'm glad that you guys seem to be liking what I'm writing so far. Because of that, I decided to throw in some fluff and happy times in the story...for now. I mean, it's still my job as an author to torture the characters a little so that'll be fun. Until next time.