Chapter Text
Cold air hit Winston’s face like a slap of offense- as if the Gods were angry at him for running. Damning him for being a gutless coward.
One step. Two step. Crunch. The ground wasn’t even, but he just had to keep running. Not knowing where he was going, or where he was, Winston knew he couldn’t continue exploring the neutral zone between the two empires any longer. Especially with the new light weight in his arms. The only thing grounding his rising anxiety.
The weather conditions were poor with the wind blowing and the slight rain falling, there was no chance Winston could spread his wings without risk. He had to keep going. Keep on his feet and run.
They kept following. No matter how fast he went, no matter how many turns he took. He could hear them. Cold, angry yells. Some enjoying the hunt laughing distantly, but rapidly creeping closer.
Risking it all, Winston stopped. Adjusting the black cloak on his shoulders, the only thing protecting his wings and the small body he was holding from the weather, he spread his wings a little. Letting the wind take them.
“… Keep going.” He gritted to himself as his body tensed. The fear of this working against him mixing with the anxiety. His wings lifting a bit and just enough to let the wind take them more.
Winston tried to guide them to the tree he stopped near. If he could just get to the leaves, he could hide.
He could be safe.
They both could be safe.
This was his only hope.
Being so close that his fingers were kissing the leaves, but the contact ending just as briefly as he reached nearer was a sliver of hope slipping from his chest. The wind seemed to grow harsher- challenging his already drained strength. A reminder of the fact that the odds were not in his favour. The ache pulling him down.
”Come on..! Please..” A desperate plea slipping from cracked pink lips. A man who rarely had to beg before, knowing the Gods wouldn’t hear him out, still tried a tactic he knew others used in hard times.
Not out of hope, but out of despair. No one was coming. No one could magically change the situation. So who else to turn to, but the Gods?
This time, Winston’s fingers caught the moving branch. Clinging tightly around it as a life saver. The tightening in his chest eased little however. With his other arm fully uses carry another living being, Winston had to pull out every strength he could muster.
Tensing more as he pulled closer to the tree branch, to the thicker points, his body felt heavy. The arm he was using to pull began to feel like lead. He feared that he would lose strength and let go of the branch, or worse, let go of the child. Winston’s limbs were beginning to resist his wishes. He felt like he was going to collapse. Feathers flapping harshly, trying not to slow down too fast.
Winston reached to the main part of the tree. It was slightly less windy there. The foliage protecting him a bit from the elements. Not just that, protecting them both from the group that was following stalking them.
Sighing with a shaky breath, Winston leans against the bark to his side. As he’s adjusting the cloak to cover his wings and the better half of his body again, he hears them.
“Where did that bird go? He couldn’t have gotten far! Not in this weather.” An amused man said aloud, his voice slightly tinged with anger.
“Not like he could fly high with this weather either. Hah! That birdie would have injured wings if he did that.” The other man paused a moment, “however, that would make him much easier to catch.”
Winston shivered. He could practically hear the second man purr the last sentence out. He pulled the child closer to himself under the cloak. All this for a fight he intervened in? All for a child?
“Keep going!” Another voice hollered with a smug laugh. “Not like he could get far compared to us.”
”Look around men.” The first man commanded with the trace of pleased satisfaction. It was like he knew he was close to his prey.
Winston sucked in the breath and pulled the kid closer to himself again- anymore and he might accidentally smother the child, he feared. He just needed the small bit of warmth to stay quiet until they were safe.
A sharp crunch could briefly be heard in the distance. A twig breaking, or perhaps a leaf being stepped on. Either way, it was hard to tell with the wind picking up again. However, it had still caught the groups attention. To a larger degree, Winston’s. They stilled like beast waiting to properly target their target before pouncing. Another snap, this time, it seemed to be coming closer. Winston froze and cautiously peeked around the center of the tree to look through the moving leaves.
“What are you doing near my camp.” A voice ordered. The tone was sharp and clear, even through the rush of rain and the howling of the wind. They couldn’t be identified as either man nor woman by voice alone.
The group stilled again, but this time, in unease. Yet too prideful to show it explicitly. The first man stepped forward. Winston was too high up to make out the man’s expression, but on body language alone, he seemed tense.
”Answer me. I know you heard me.” The voice demanded, seemingly low in patience when it came to the quietness they received.
”Pardon us.. Sir. We were looking for a punk travelling this way. We want to bring him and what he stole back with us. That’s all, right boys?” The man said, his voice a little shaky, but the smug act was clearly what he wanted to get across. He looked over his shoulder to the group, who all nodded quickly.
Looking between the mystery voice’s direction and the group, Winston shivered again. He had a feeling that the voice was more of a threat, but the group did seem to have some critical thinking with trying to be as polite as they could mange. Another crunch, the voice was moving closer. The group, besides the first man, stepped back.
“A.. punk you say? What do they look like?” The voice scoffed after they asked. Seemingly uninterested, even though they had snapped at the group not minutes ago. “The only ‘punks’ I see here, are you guys. I don’t like crowds in my business. Get out.”
”Hey! There were no signs! Put up signs next time. We just want what’s been stolen back.” A bald man snapped back. The rest of the group sucked a breath before huffing along.
“Yeah. What gives? You hiding the birdie?” Another voice accused. The masses dropped the decorum immediately and began talking over themselves to yell at the voice. Banding together against the person.
“Shut it.” The cold voice said irritated. The twang of a crossbow shooting could be heard before the first man gasped in agony and dropped to the ground. Winston gasped.
”My-my knee! You fucking bitch!” The man snarled. The crossbow could be heard loading again.
“I’ll make an example out of each and every one of you if you don’t leave now.” The voice threatened. The group cast a glance to each other in silent conversation. Contemplating what weapons they had on themselves, which were only knives and fighting skills, only good for close distance really, it seemed like an uphill battle. They could gang up on the person, but who knew what else they had weapon wise. Thus, they nodded to each other before one stepped forward to grab their injured leader.
”Al-alright. We’re outta here! That damn birdie’s not worth it anyway.” A grumble could be heard.
Sighing with a shaky breath, Winston felt he could relax a little when he saw the group retreat and migrate away. It doesn’t last long however, because the voice rings out again. This time, the voice not as sharp, but still guarded.
“I know you’re there,” a pause, “I saw you fly. I saw your wings.”
Stiffening like a twig, Winston didn’t move. Not an inch of movement could be observed from outside the foliage. Crunch. Snap. The voice was coming closer. Speaking gentler than before.
”Look, I don’t mean you harm. It’s just.. the wind isn’t going to slow down until later. Come down. It’ll be safer than lying to me and staying up there.” The person, who now stood in front of the tree, reasoned. Just from looking down at them, Winston could guess they were tall. Almost freakishly tall. They also had short hair.. Odd. Besides that, he couldn’t make out much else.
Tiredness began to creep into Winston’s head. His body ached, each limb felt like it weighed tons. Slowly loosing reason to deny it any longer, Winston groaned a little.
”Alright then. Offer.. proof. Show me that you won’t shoot my wings with your crossbow.” Winston said loudly so the other could hear him. A brief pause, then a hum.
”At least you aren’t as stupid as those guys made you seem.” A mutter could barely be heard. Winston would have taken offence if this was said a day or two ago, but now, he couldn’t find it in himself to argue.
Warily, Winston chuckled. He felt his chest lighten a little. It was nice to not have someone trying to openly threaten him.
”Fine. I have no arrows left. I used most of them foraging. I didn’t have many left and used my second last on that guy.” The voice answered. Then they lifted the crossbow up and began to disarm it. After putting it away they stepped back. “Better?”
A moment passed. The only sounds being the whistling wind, and the leaves dancing with the rain.
“I suppose so. Step back further. I need a bigger landing area.” Winston said. He quieted and looked at the ground. Could he get away with running?
”Fine. But if you run, I’m following you. You won’t get far in that condition.” The voice observed the tension in Winston’s body from the ground. Winston’s eyes widened. However, the other still respected his request and stepped back.
Sighing, he adjusted the cloak to cover the child more and slipped himself off the tree branch.