She looked at me with wide-eyed incredulity after hearing my invitation and i couldn't blame her. The words had left my mouth before I even had the chance to think about what I was saying.
"I have to get back to Kristy,"
"She's going to be in the hospital for the weekend anyways," I said; I had spoken to the paramedics before they took her away.
"Still," the woman countered but I shook my head.
"It's not like you can walk out of here like that," I said gesturing to the wings which shook and fluttered with what felt like indignation, a flash of it crossed her eyes a well. I stood up and stuck out a hand towards her.
"I'm off duty for the next two days anyways." I said, this time in a softer tone. She looked up at me, studying me and then with a sigh she gave me her hand to help her up. She winced and I heard a soft whimper as her injured wing bumped into the sofa behind her. I steadied her and then motioned for her not to move as I went into my room. I grabbed a spare belt off a hook on the wall. When I returned to the room another flash of terror crossed the woman's eyes as she saw me holding the belt. It made me feel like I had been kicked in the gut, because with a bitter realization, I knew that there had to have been a reason behind her terror.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you with it or anything, I just want to bind the broken wing." Her panic seemed to dissipate but not completely. She turned with her back towards me one wing folded neatly against her side, her other hanging limply and askew.
"This might hurt a little," I whispered and she nodded in understanding as she reached over to pull her silky black hair, which hung to the middle of her back, out of the way. I held the belt between my teeth as I used both hands to gather her broken wing and fold it, like her good wing, against her body. She sucked in a harsh breath and once again I heard a whimper but could tell that she was fighting the pain. I took the belt from my teeth with one hand and wrapped it around the wing, tightening it to make sure the wing stayed folded to avoid it bumping around.
"How'd you know to do this?" she asked and I could hear the pain that she was trying to hide.
"I grew up on a ranch in Montana," I said softly, "We sometimes had geese or ducks with broken wings." Then to try and distract her from the pain I reached for the broken wing again and gently ran my fingers through the feathers. Once again, her whole body shuddered as a shiver ran down her spine and I couldn't help but chuckle while I admitted to myself that something about the action made my whole body feel like it was burning. I smoothed the feathers down and she turned around slowly. I never noticed before, but she was relatively tall. She was nothing compared to my six foot five frame but compared to most woman she was above average. In many ways. But in regards to height, she was probably just under six foot. She looked up at me, her wings tucked neatly behind her, her body inches from my own. Her face was once again red and her eyes were hooded and guarded. She clenched her jaw tightly as if trying to hide the fact that her chest was heaving with ragged breaths. I rather liked the affect I had on her and couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face.
"You're not afraid," she finally said, but she said it in the form of a statement, as if she couldn't believe it. My smile faltered and disappeared.
"Should I be?" I asked, holding her gaze until she looked away. She walked away from me then towards the window in the loft. She looked outside it and for one panic-stricken moment, I thought she was going to leave again. But instead, I heard her sigh softly as she leaned against the window.
"You would be," she said, "if I changed into the body that matches these wings." It was so soft I almost didn't hear her.
"I don't know about that," I said and she turned around, her wings blocked the window and the room darkened significantly, especially since my only lamp was in pieces on the floor. I saw her eyes glowing despite the darkness, the blue in her eyes seemed alive, it was as if it was flickering like a flame and her pupils which I had sworn were normal, now looked slit, like a cats.
"You don't seem dangerous." I said softly, leaning against the kitchen table that was behind me. She rose an inquisitive brow.
"I believe it was pretty easy to get you on your back earlier today," she said and there was a lilt in her voice that let me realize she was teasing.
"Oh, so she does have a sense of humor." I said and I lunged towards her, jumping over the sofa that separated us and landing inches in front of her.
"In my defense," I said softly, leaning in and placing hands against the window on either side of her so that she was effectively pinned there, "I would never get in the way of you getting me on my back." I leaned in closer until I was eye level with her again. Her cheeks flamed and she looked down. I leaned in,
"For someone who is 'significantly older'" I whispered in her ear, "you're surprisingly innocent." I felt her chest rising and falling against my own. She then placed her hands on my chest and even through my thick cotton shirt I felt pleasant tingles of electricity from her touch. She pushed me away and stared at me with wide eyes.
"You're incorrigible," she snapped and I realized I had knocked some of that protective wall down, although I wasn't expecting the vocabulary. I grinned down at her,
"Big word," I teased and a huff of breath escaped from her and for a moment I thought I saw smoke trailing from between her lips but she clamped her mouth shut with agitation.
"You," she hissed through clenched teeth, "are the most obnoxious... brash human I have ever met." There was something about the way she said human, it was as if she was born frustrated and in love with them at the same time. She pushed me away and moved to get away from me but I realized she was heading for the broken glass from the lamp that hadn't been cleared yet. I lunged towards her and wrapped my arm around her waist, lifting her of the ground, which was not easy as her one good wing pounded against me.
"Let me go," she snapped. And I felt her hand on my arm, the electricity ever present.
"No." I said, "I'm being brash." I heard a growl in her chest that sounded inhuman and chuckled against her. If I let her go I wouldn't feel that electricity anymore, and I was beginning to develop an addiction to it.
"Tell me, oh winged one," I whispered against her ear, smiling inwardly as I felt her body shiver against my own. She stopped fighting me and I felt her body relax against me.
"Do you feel that too?" her body tensed up again and it was as if I could hear the wall going back into place. I released her and ducked under her wing to face her. Sure enough, her face held an impassive mask and she clenched her jaw tightly shut refusing to meet my gaze.
"I'll take that a yes," I said with a mixture of emotions. I was happy to know I affected her just as much as she did me, but felt sad and disappointed at the walls that were back in place.
"Alright," I said as I stepped away from her in defeat, recognizing the end of our banter. I swatted at my pant leg at dust that wasn't there, a habit from spending several years in the desert.
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