Sylvia squinted as she tried to spy who the avian in the distance was. It did appear that whoever they were had four wings, two on their back and two extending under their arms. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was. "It's Rhys...and he has Mattie's wings!" she said. Gilbert and Mathias cheered, spreading their wings and taking off to help Rhys carry the wings back. Sylvia turned around and raced into the cave where Alfred was apparently filling in Matthew on his fight in the village.
"And I was like 'Crap, I'm out of ammo! But she was like, here you can borrow one of my knives! Dude, Nat's totally awesome! I hope you can meet her soon! Her sister is pretty nice too!'" said Alfred. Matthew had a smirk despite his face looking a bit pale. Sylvia also smirked. "I think you two would be glad to know that Rhys is here and has your wings with him," she said, grinning.
Alfred jumped up. "Really? C'mon Mattie, let's go!" he shouted, making Mattie flinched as his head throbbed. Before Matthew could politely ask his brother to quiet down, Alfred picked up his brother and flew out of the caves. "Alfred!" yelped Matthew, cheeks turning red. Syliva smiled and ran after them, wings fluttering. When they got out to the ledge, Rhys was doubled over with hands on his knees, panting.
"You got the wings? Mattie's doing pretty bad so we should get them back on him right away!" said Alfred. "I'll get the glue," chuckled Gilbert, making Mathias laugh. Rhys made a face. "Give me a moment to catch my breath first. While I'm doing that, place Matthew in the circle and have Sylvia help you set things up. We're lucky that the wings have grown as you two have," said Rhys. Alfres snickered. "Matthew with baby wings…" Matthew's cheeks went bright red.
Sylvia led her brothers over to the circle and had Alfred set Matthew down in the middle. "Where do you want the wings at?" she asked Rhys. Rhys looked up from where he was leaning against a stone. "Place them on either side of him then clear out from the circle. Sylvia, I'm going to need you to help power the circle while I reattach his wings. Alfred, I'm going to need your help lifting the wings as I reattach them," said Rhys. Gilbert and Mathias nodded, putting each wing on the corresponding side of Matthew. "Anything we can do?" asked Gilbert. "Rest," said Sylvia, raising an eyebrow. GIlbert gave her a grin.
"I'll rest when all of this is over liebe," he said. Sylvia rolled her eyes but wrapped a wing around him. Rhys struggled to get up on his feet. "Rhys, are you sure you're up for it right now? You look a bit exhausted," said Tino nicely. Rhys ran a hand through his hair. "I'm fine. I'll be able to finish the spell before it fully drains the five of us since it's already been initiated," he said.
Sylvia backed out of the circle but stayed closed to its boundry lines. "I'm ready when you are Rhys," she said, glancing at him. Rhys nodded and walked inside of the circle, gesturing that Alfred should join him. Alfred ran over to him and gave his twin a smile. "Okay, what do I do?" he asked. Rhys glanced at Matthew. "Matthew, Alfred and I request permission to touch your wings. I apologize for touching them earlier when I carried them back," he said, following procedure. Matthew gave him a weak nod. "Do what you need to do," he said.
Rhys nodded and turned to Alfred. "Hold the wings from the type and help me maneuever them to their proper spots. Follow all my instructions exactly and be ready to do what I need you to do when I need you to do it. We may not have much time once I start chanting the closing spell. That means we may need to hurry. Do you think you can do that? I need you to take this seriously," he said.
Alfred looked at him without humor. "Of course I can. This is my brother we're talking about. We've been hoping he'd grow his wings back all his life. I'm not screwing this up," he said. Rhys smiled. "I know you won't. Let's get your brother his wings back," he said before picking up the part of Matthew's right wing that would connect to his back. Alfred picked up the tip and glanced at Rhys, waiting for instuctions.
"Sylvia, I need you sto start focusing your energy on the circle, channel it into the circle and don't stop until the spell is done. Can you do that?" asked Rhys. Sylvia nodded and crouched down, placing her hand on the outline of the circle. "When do you want me to start powering it?" she asked. "Now. The minute it starts glowing, I can officially start the chant," he said. Sylvia nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on the ring.
After a few seconds, the outline of the circle starts glowing a bright white. Rhys nodded at Sylvia before starting to chant under his breath, eyes starting to glow. He took the wing and lined it up with the scars on Matthew's back, Alfred working quickly to help align the wing from his end as well. Once the wing was lined up, Rhys started chanting lounder, his left hand glowing. Holding the wing up with his right hand, he placed the left one on the meeting place between the shoulder blade and the wing, the gap between them glowing at the contact.
Rhys held his hand there for a few seconds before pulling his hands away and nodding at Alfred. Alfred's eyes widened when he realized that the wing was now attached. Rhys gestured that Alfred should move to the other side and take his poistion by the left wing. Alfred got up and scrambled to do so, picking up his end of the wing. Rhys nodded and started to do the same as before. Once the left wing was attacked, Rhys gestured that Alfred should move aside.
With Alfred out of the way, Rhys placed both hands on the two joints where the wings meet the back. Closing his eyes, he started chanting more intensly, concentrating on completely healing the wings. Alfred leaned forward, ignoring Mathais and Gilbert's running commentary on what was going on. After a few minutes, Rhys stumbled back, panting. "Sylvia, the spell is done. You can stop powering it," he said. Sylvia nodded and dropped her hand from the outline.
"Matthew, we need to know if it worked. Can you move your wings at all? Can you feel them?" asked Rhys, watching as Alfred gently helped his brother up into a sitting position. Matthew nodded before twitching his wince once. Both brothers stared at each other, stunned. "Try flapping them Mattie," said Alfred quietly. Matthew closed his eyes and concentrated, managing to do so. Alfred let out a shout of joy while his brother started crying, hugging him tight.
Alfred squeezed him, laughing while he pat his brother's back. "Mattie, don't cry. We finally did it!" he said, still laughing. Mattie chocked out a laugh and hugged his brother tighter. "T-Thank you," he mumbles. "Don't thank me. Thank them," said Alfred, still grinning. The two brothers pulled apart, grinning at each other. Matthew weakly got up and hugged Rhys, startling the Welsh. After a split second, Rhys hugged Matthew. "It's alright Matthew. I'm just happy that you've returned to us. No need to thank me," he said when Matthew kept muttering thank you's.
Sylvia squealed and ran forward, bearhugging the two of them. "Group hug!" yelled Alfred before running forward and hugging Rhys as well. Gilbert and Mathias grinned and ran forward to join the hug. Tino smiled. "I wish I had something to record this moment," he said before walking forward and joining the hug. Rhys's face was bright red. "A-Alright...I-I get it. I appreciate the sentiment," he stuttered.
Grinning, everyone pulled apart from the tomato faced Rhys. "When Artie and Francis getting back? They're going to want to see this," said Gilbert. "They were fighting Alecai when I left. They sent me ahead of them just in case that something happened that could have prevented them from being able to reattach the wings. That, and they were afraid that you'd only get sicker while they were gone. I'm sure they're fine," said Rhys.
Sylvia frowned. "I'm going to double check that they're fine," she said. After a few seconds of concentrating, she opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. "They're fine. They're in Alfred and Matthew's village. They're on their way. They said Alecai is no longer a problem. We'll be seeing them in a few minutes, depending if Arthur has the energy to fly on his own. At least, that's what Francis says," she said.
"Are they all okay? What happened to Arthur?" asked Matthew, concerned. "Arthur is drained from doing a spell that gave Ivan his wings back. He should be fine once she has some rest," said Sylvia, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Mattie relaxed, wings sagging. "That's good to hear...T-Thanks for everything guys. You don't know how much this all means to me…," he said. Sylvia hugged him. "No need to say thank you. You're family. It would have been cruel to not help you," she said.
Matthew hugged her back and Alfred quickly jumped in. "Group hug part two?" he suggested. "No," said Rhys plainly, still blushing. Sylvia smiled. "How does it feel Mattie?" she asked. Matthew blushed. "Uh, um...heavy. I'm not used to having something on my back...and awkward. I feel like I might accidentally knock something over or hit someone with them," he said. Gilbert chuckled. "They'll take some time to get used to I'm guessing," he said. "But don't worry Mattie! I'll be there to help you figure out how to actually use those things," grinned Alfred. Sylvia smirked. "We all will be," she said.
Matthew swallowed. "You guys are going to get a kick out of watching me lear how to fly, aren't you?" he asked. "It's not everyday that you see a fully grown avian learn how to fly! So yes," said Tino honestly. "You know what this calls for? We should crack open a few of those waterskins of mead you and your brother cooked up!" said Mathias, elbowing Gilbert. Gilbert smirked. "Let's wait to see how banged up the others are first. I'm pretty sure they don't want to come home with broken arms and find us flat out drunk," he said.
"Speaking of flat out drunk, look at Artie over there. Looks like he's been hitting the keg a bit," snickered Gilbert, looking up. Sylvia, Matthew, and Alfred blinked before turning around. True to what Gilbert said, Arthur kept losing altitude while flying only to attempt to climb again and lose more altitude. Francis flew over in attempt to help Arthur only to be pushed away and immediately chewed out. The Frenchman scowled before getting into an argument with the Englishman.
Alfred grinned. "Be back in a sec guys," he said before flying up and over Arthur without the Brit noticing. When Arthur had his wings down, Alfred dived down and grabbed him by the armpits. "W-What?! What is the meaning of this! Francis, I told you not to bloddy carry me around like some injured bird!" he fussed, squirming. "Dude, careful otherwise I might drop you. Besides, This way you can see Mattie faster!" said Alfred, flying forward.
Arthur blinked. "Alfred?!" he asked. "The one and only!" came the cheerful reply. "You are in so much trouble young man! You think you can just wander off whenever we give you plain and clear instructions to stay put? I have half a mind to give you such a talking to!" said Arthur, clearly fuming. Alfred smirked. "And I have half a mind to drop you to save me the trouble. Artie, I couldn't just stand around in the village knowing my brother might need me. What kind of brother would I have been?" he said.
"He does have a point lapin. Go easy on the boy," said Francis. "Aye. I don't want to have to hear you two sniveling if you get into a fight. Besides, you would have done the same thing if it was one of us that needed help. Don't get you're trousers in a bunch over it, Arthur," said Allistair. Arthur sighed. "Fine...I'll skip the lecture. But know that I'm still upset….so no more scones for the rest of the week," he said.
Francis chuckled. "Are you sure you're not doing him a favor?" he asked. "Must we have this argument anytime my cooking is brought into subject? I am not that bad of a cook! I'm sure he'll absolutely dread the thought of losing it!" said Arthur. 'Mon chou, I would lie if you want to avoid his cooking for a week,' said Francis, winking at Alfred when Arthur wasn't looking. Alfred immediately groaned. "No Artie, anything but that. I can't bare the thought of not having to eat your...delicious scone-things!" he said.
Arthur grinned. "See that Frog!" he said. Reiley rolled his eyes and landed, opening his arms. "Just drop my wee brother here," he said. Arthur's eyes widened. "Aflred, don't you dare…," he said. Alfred grinned and dropped Arthur into Reiley's arms, resulting in Arthur getting a nuggy and a bear hug. "Let's get ye to bed. Remember how we used to tuck him in Allie-Cat?" Reiley asked Allistair. Allistair hit him upside the head. "Don't call me that," he said.
Rhys cleared his throat. "In case you haven't noticed, Matthew has his wings back," he said. Francis let out a squeal of joy and immediately ran and gave Matthew a bear hug. "Mon petit! I'm so happy for you! How do you feel? Can you feel your wings? Can you move them? Did everything go the way they should have?" he asked, bombarding Matthew with questions and affection. Matthew's face turned red.
"O-Oui frere. Everything's fine. I can move them just fine," said Matthew without thinking, overwhelmed. Francis grinned. "That is just so good to hear! We're going to reach you how to fly as soon as we know you aren't feeling so drained," Francis pulled away from Matthew before giving Rhys a bear hug. "Merci beaucoup! You did it! You have my thanks!" he said. Rhys's face continued to be bright red and he gave his brother's a look of 'help me'.
Francis released Rhys, to his delight, and proceeded to give the other Kirkland brothers a bear hug as well, resulting in three older Kirklands being called tomatoes by Antonio. Francis then proceeded to thank everyone else, promising he'd take Antonio and Gilbert out drinking in thanks. Mathias grinned. "You're going to end up regretting that decision after the first three rounds," he said. Francis chuckled.
Got a couple more chapters but we're getting pretty close to the end guys. Please let me know if you think this is wrapping up well! Read and Reviews appreciated!