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"Shhh!! She's still asleep! Be quiet!"

"No, look, she's waking up!"

"Finally!"

I groaned and groggily opened my eyes. Four anxious faces peered down into my face, doing a dizzying dance before they settled down into their rightful shapes. A wave of pain hit me, making me sick to my stomach.

"Max? Are you ok?" Iggy asked, sounding concerned.

I wanted to shout at him that no, I was not ok, thank you very much, but I just didn't have the strength. Maybe if Fang was here… Oh no. Fang. Hot tears leaked into my eyes, as much from that realization as from the pain in my wing.

No, I will not cry. Crying is for the weak.

Maximum, they all know you are anything but weak. I hate that flipping Voice.

With a supreme effort of will, I made myself ignore it, and instead responded to my flock.

"I think I'm ok-ish." I replied to Iggy. My voice sounded wimpy and pathetic in my ears.

He looked about a dubious as a bird-kid could be.

I rolled onto my stomach, and the agony that I had felt earlier was reduced to a slow, grinding throb. Nudge and Angel gasped.

"Hey Max, I think you broke your wing." Nudge said. I cautiously turned my head, extending my wing as much as I dared.

It wasn't pretty.

My right wing was drawn back at an extremely awkward angle, four bloody stripes running across its length. Dried blood encrusted the feathers, turning my usually tawny plumage a deep maroon.

"Oh no." I muttered. "Oh no, no, no." How the hell was I supposed to rescue Fang with a broken wing?

Voice? Any suggestions? Ok, I hate that damn Voice, but this was an extreme situation.

You need to set your wing, so it heals properly.

"Hey guys?" I said. "Someone needs to put my wing back in position, so it can heal."

The girls and Gazzy shrunk away. Just because they had dealt with blood before didn't mean they liked it.

Iggy sighed. "I'll do it, you squeamish little girlies." He grabbed both parts of my wing and wrenched it back into place with a crunch. I let out a short yell, then stopped as the pain died down immediately. My head felt much clearer. I maneuvered into a sitting position. My legs hurt too, and I wasn't sure if they would support my weight just yet.

"Hey, uh, Max, there's some blood on your… pants." I had never heard Nudge sound so hesitant.

"What?" I said, looking down. "You've seen bloo- oh."

I had just met another relative- Aunt Flo.

Ok, I feel a wee bit sorry for Max there. Is it just me, or is she having the worst day EVER? I'm sorry it's so short, but it sets everything up perfectly for the next chapter. I'll try to update later today.