after-the-fxll

"I do not regret this fate that I have chosen. I only wish that time could lessen the pain of it." | Indie Fandomless Fallen Archangel OC, Aryx | FC: William Tyler | Penned by Silence Leaflin | Non-selective | OC Friendly | Side blog of fallxnprxnce | Mun is 40+ | 20+ Only Please!

[matialonsorphoto]

[books-n-quotes]

“Remember, darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good.”

— P.C. Cast, Betrayed (via books-n-quotes)

[after-the-fxll]

Why do some angels have no eyes?

{out of flight} I... I have no idea. XD I imagine it would depend on what religion/mythos/fandom the angel is from and what type they are (common angel, archangel, seraph, etc.). That might explain why they either don’t need eyes or why they evolved or were created without them. There are some angels that don’t even have bodies, they’re just balls of light or energy. In some cultures and religions, eyes are considered a very human organ that angels have no need for, because they are either omniscient themselves or are granted omniscience through their relationships with their higher deities.

[after-the-fxll]

Although they don’t show him much in the movie (the prophecy), Uzziel is supposedly one of the fallen angels who bedded human women. Do you have headcannons of how he’d be with a human lover?

{out of flight} Uzziel isn’t one of the angels I have studied in great detail, unfortunately, and yeah, we didn’t see very much of him at all in the movie. There was that angel in the second movie (Danyael I think his name was?) who kindof filled that role, so maybe they took some of Uzziel’s history and used it for this other fictional angel’s story instead?

This isn’t actually a Prophecy blog, my muse isn’t a Prophecy OC, he’s fandomless. He is actually from a series of original books I wrote. So I haven’t over-analyzed he Prophecy films all that much. I do like them for their angel biology, psychology, and habits, though, and I do tend to draw on that when I write Aryx, but he is actually inspired by Michael in Legion (2010). I recommend that movie if you are really into angels, along with Gabriel (2007), which inspired other characters in the series Aryx is in.

But anyway, having said that, just from my own perspective in writing fantasy angels for a number of years, I would imagine that it would depend upon the angel’s motivation in coupling with a human how they treated said human. If they had an ulterior motive, such as being angry about something or needing to create a child for some reason, he might be pretty cold. But if he has developed feelings for a human, then it might be more affectionate.

Angels are not humans with wings, however, so they are psychologically and culturally different from humans. Their affects may seem cold or distant or strangely inappropriate to humans when that might be normal behavior for an angel. Their sense of time is different, for they live a lot longer, and having seen great wars and different planes and things, their sense of the grander sense of life and the universe is vastly different from humans. So they might be dismissive of things they consider trivial, or insistent with things they feel are important, and those things might be completely different from how a human would approach a situation. I guess it depends upon how many years the angel might have spend on earth mingling with humans, whether or not he would blend in with them socially or not. These are just some of my ideas on the subject. =)

[after-the-fxll]

Not Your Average Assignment || closed with jaquelinesylvia

@jaquelinesylvia

“Do all angels not wear shoes, or is that just your own unique personal style?” asked Nick Fury as he walked with the archangel down the busy hallway. He was half calling him out for it and half joking.

“I do not know, you would have to ask them,” Aryx said with an awkward smile. “I find them restricting and uncomfortable.”

“Mm-hmm. They can be, I suppose. But running full speed on asphalt while barefooted is also pretty damn uncomfortable,” Fury said.

“I do not do a lot of running,” Aryx said. He shrugged.

Fury looked over Aryx’s attire. The graphic T-shirt (he was fairly certain Aryx didn’t know what the hell the Hard Rock Café even was…), the beat-up blue jeans with the ripped knees, the various bracelets and things… Combine that with the angel’s rather long hair and Fury just shook his head. “You’re supposed to be an agent of SHIELD, not a hippie hobo.”

“Is there a clothing requirement? If so, I was unaware,” Aryx said.

“Yeah, I’ll say so. How is it that you don’t smack more people upside the head with those things, anyway?” Fury asked, watching as each of Aryx’s four wings seemed to move independently out of the way of people walking by them.

“For the same reason humans do not accidentally walk into each other. Situational awareness,” Aryx stated matter-of-factly.

“Humans do walk into each other. On a regular basis,” Fury said flatly. “Some more often than others.”

“Oh,” Aryx said, truly baffled by that. His brow furrowed as he imagined that actually happening.

Fury chuckled. “And it’s pretty damn funny when it happens, too.”

“Why… is it that I am in need of a guardian, again?” Aryx asked. “I am used to being the one who guards, not the one who is guarded.”

“Because your angel ass means a lotta things to a lotta people, and right now, we want you on our side… and alive.”

“Do you believe that I would defect?” Aryx asked, sounding a little hurt.

“Not willingly,” Fury said, “but there are ways to do it unwillingly. Among other things. It’s not every day people see one of your kind, you’re a rarity. Angels don’t just fall out of trees nowadays.”

Aryx’s brow furrowed again. “Was there ever a time in history when they would normally?”

Fury silently cursed his choice of words. He forgot how literally Aryx always took what people said. “What I mean is… you stand out, you attract attention. Some good, some bad. We’d like to keep the bad at bay.”

“I am fully capable of-” Aryx began.

“I know you are. This is just… some extra eyes and ears and skills for good measure. It’s also not negotiable,” he said with a little smirk. “Hey, Jackie!” he called, now that the woman was in view. “I got a little project for you.” He was already grinning as they approached her. “I am officially placing this very important albeit underdressed archangel in your care. Don’t think of it as babysitting, think of it as gaining an interesting friend.”

[jaquelinesmyers-deactivated2020]

One does not simply ignore Nick Fury, so when she hears him calling her name she turns to face him. She quirks an eyebrow at the sight of the two men, namely the archangel in question. Jackie is unsure of what she would have expected an archangel to look like, but this certainly wasn’t it. “Babysitting is your words, not mine,” she counters evenly. 

Unamused, Fury regards the young agent with an expression saying if she knew what was good for her, she would stop with the wise cracks while she was ahead. “This is Aryx. I’m sure you understand how important it is to keep him under the radar, with his being an archangel and all,” he says while crossing his hands behind his back. 

Deciding not to get on Fury’s bad side, Jackie conceals her apprehensiveness at the situation of a mutant guarding an archangel. “Nice to meet you,” she smiles, extending her hand for him to shake it. He seems familiar to her somehow, but she brushes it off and decides she definitely would have remembered stumbling across an archangel. “I like your uh, wings,” Jackie adds then, blue eyes flickering to the bright white feathers protruding from his shoulder blades. Their wing span was absolutely massive and it takes her a couple of minutes to completely take them in. 

Fury shakes his head at Jackie’s comment about the archangel’s wings. “Now that you two are acquainted, I’ll leave you to it then,” not leaving her with further instructions on how to watch over Aryx, he turns on his heel and heads back down the corridor from which they had came.

With Fury gone, she turns her attention back to Aryx. “He has quite the way with words, don’t you think?”

[after-the-fxll]

Aryx had the distinct feeling that he had met this woman before, and yet he knew he hadn't. It wasn't that he recognized her visually so much as he felt she was familiar to him. Odd, he thought. He stayed quiet while the humans conversed, smiling politely when he was finally addressed and she said she liked his wings. "Thank you," he said graciously, flaring his wings out high and wide so she could really see them. The lower pair spread outward to his sides while the upper pair flared upwards.

"He is... a very animated human, yes," Aryx agreed when she commented on Fury. "I am sorry if this arrangement is at all inconvenient for you. I am not certain how necessary it is, but... he seemed intent, and so I have decided not to argue."

"Jackie, was it?" he confirmed. "Aryx... as you know." Far be it from him to not introduce himself properly, even if it had already been done for him. He ran his fingers through his long, wavy hair and smiled. "It is very nice to meet you."

[after-the-fxll]

Not Your Average Assignment || closed with jaquelinesylvia

@jaquelinesylvia

“Do all angels not wear shoes, or is that just your own unique personal style?” asked Nick Fury as he walked with the archangel down the busy hallway. He was half calling him out for it and half joking.

“I do not know, you would have to ask them,” Aryx said with an awkward smile. “I find them restricting and uncomfortable.”

“Mm-hmm. They can be, I suppose. But running full speed on asphalt while barefooted is also pretty damn uncomfortable,” Fury said.

“I do not do a lot of running,” Aryx said. He shrugged.

Fury looked over Aryx’s attire. The graphic T-shirt (he was fairly certain Aryx didn’t know what the hell the Hard Rock Café even was…), the beat-up blue jeans with the ripped knees, the various bracelets and things… Combine that with the angel’s rather long hair and Fury just shook his head. “You’re supposed to be an agent of SHIELD, not a hippie hobo.”

“Is there a clothing requirement? If so, I was unaware,” Aryx said.

“Yeah, I’ll say so. How is it that you don’t smack more people upside the head with those things, anyway?” Fury asked, watching as each of Aryx’s four wings seemed to move independently out of the way of people walking by them.

“For the same reason humans do not accidentally walk into each other. Situational awareness,” Aryx stated matter-of-factly.

“Humans do walk into each other. On a regular basis,” Fury said flatly. “Some more often than others.”

“Oh,” Aryx said, truly baffled by that. His brow furrowed as he imagined that actually happening.

Fury chuckled. “And it’s pretty damn funny when it happens, too.”

“Why… is it that I am in need of a guardian, again?” Aryx asked. “I am used to being the one who guards, not the one who is guarded.”

“Because your angel ass means a lotta things to a lotta people, and right now, we want you on our side… and alive.”

“Do you believe that I would defect?” Aryx asked, sounding a little hurt.

“Not willingly,” Fury said, “but there are ways to do it unwillingly. Among other things. It’s not every day people see one of your kind, you’re a rarity. Angels don’t just fall out of trees nowadays.”

Aryx’s brow furrowed again. “Was there ever a time in history when they would normally?”

Fury silently cursed his choice of words. He forgot how literally Aryx always took what people said. “What I mean is… you stand out, you attract attention. Some good, some bad. We’d like to keep the bad at bay.”

“I am fully capable of-” Aryx began.

“I know you are. This is just… some extra eyes and ears and skills for good measure. It’s also not negotiable,” he said with a little smirk. “Hey, Jackie!” he called, now that the woman was in view. “I got a little project for you.” He was already grinning as they approached her. “I am officially placing this very important albeit underdressed archangel in your care. Don’t think of it as babysitting, think of it as gaining an interesting friend.”

[after-the-fxll]

Your Muse As A Cup Of Tea

Aryx: A rich vanilla bean tea with a marshmallow and a couple cookies for his sweet tooth, with a hint of stars and constellations, reminders of the heavens he loves so much.

Tagged by: @kettuskinchanger

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do this!

[after-the-fxll]

Take This TEST As Your Muse (Re-Post– Do Not Reblog)

Muse: ARYX

Warmth||||||||||||||||||||||||||||90% Intellect||||||||||||||||||||||||74% Emotional Stability||||||||||||||||||||||||||||90% Aggressiveness||||||||||||||||||58% Liveliness||||||||||||||||||||||||74% Dutifulness|||||||||||||||||||||66% Social Assertiveness||||||||||||||||||||||||||||90% Sensitivity||||||||||||38% Paranoia|||||||||22% Abstractness||||||||||||||||||54% Introversion|||10% Anxiety||||||14% Openmindedness|||||||||||||||||||||70% Independence||||||||||||38% Perfectionism|||||||||26% Tension|||||||||26%

Tagged By: Nobody, I stole this from my Nuada blog. XD

Tagging: Anybody who wants to do this!

[after-the-fxll]

Hope Amidst the Horror|| closed with realprojectalice

[realprojectalice]

after-the-fxll‌:

He was thankful that she waited for him, and once he was ready to go, he prepared himself mentally for whatever they might run into on their way. Aryx was a bit curious about what this woman wanted inside the facility if she wasn’t trying to escape, but she seemed be both driven and impatient, neither one of which lent itself to idle conversation. Besides, he was not so certain the other humans within the facility would let him escape so easily. Listening both with his ears and his heart, Aryx tried to sense if there were other beings nearby. Either there were none, or he was too exhausted for such senses to aid him right now.

“Aryx,” he answered her. “And yourself?” He was not sure why he gave her his name so readily, but for all his emotional soreness over what had been done to him by other humans here, he trusted his gut instinct that this woman had no been involved. The way she had attacked the others was perhaps proof enough of that, unless it was some sort of show. But Aryx liked humans for the most part, and in his more than six hundred years on the earthly plane, he had always tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. This woman could have attacked him or even simply coldly abandoned him by now if she had wanted to. Since she hadn’t, that earned her his trust… for now.

He followed her silently but vigilantly, hands clenching and relaxing almost subconsciously as he continued to feel his strength ebb back into his body. Now that he was fed and free to move around, he would glean energy from the environment to replace what he had lost. It would take time, though, so for now he remained calm, trying not to expend any more energy than he needed. 

When they entered a room with… hmm, these are computers? he tried to remember, his eyes widened a little and a gentle smile came to his lips. Aryx had never really grasped human technology, partly because he just hadn’t had the time to learn much about it and partly because he hadn’t ever had a human to sit him down and teach him. It fascinated him, though, and when the woman began to type on one of the keyboards, he watched her do so, his smile widening.

“You know how to use these machines?” he asked, half questioning her and half happily acknowledging her very interesting skill. “Computers, correct?” Just that, and then he fell silent again, not necessarily wanting to overly distract her from whatever it was she wanted to perform on the computers. The sooner she finished, the sooner they could perhaps leave the premises. That was what he wanted to do more than anything else right now. He watched the way they had entered and around the room while the woman focused on the computer, watching her back should anyone or anything suddenly threaten them.

Odd name, but I’ve heard worse, she thought as she nodded in acknowledgement. “–Alice,” was all she answered with before continuing on her mission. 

Once in the lab, she stared at various code as it danced along the screens in front of her. She knew the breakers, how to hack into these security walls (thanks to Kaplan), and how to look for what she needed. Intel was most important. In order to go in to destroy the last stronghold of Umbrella, she needed to know the details. Each facility she tore through had different pieces of the puzzle. 

Seemed like here she would find information on weaponry and inventory. Perfect. Schematics appeared, giving her face a green hue while she smiled in minute triumph. Alice nearly forgot about the survivors she picked up until he spoke, causing her to pause and look at him as if he had six heads. 

“You don’t look like someone that out of touch,” she commented, curious as t ow someone his age wouldn’t know what computers are. Yes, it had been a few years since the world ended, but still…

Grabbing a thumb drive, she inserted it into the main computer and downloaded everything she could. Not much time left, she thought, before she heard the familiar blaring of alarms. 

Warning…Warning…Security Breach In Control Room E….Intruder Alert…Warning…Warning…

“That’s out cue to leave!” she called over to Aryx, before snagging the USB and shoving it in her pocket. “We need to leave before the welcoming crew finds us!”

She was quick to move to the exit, eyes scanning the area before breaking out into a sprint. Alice had an escape route planned, but if a horde of soldiers or infected got to them first, it would be a very bad day.

[after-the-fxll]

“Well met, Alice,” he said politely. He had no reason not to trust her, not until she gave him one. Aryx had always given everyone the benefit of the doubt first, a practice he had regretted a few times after the human world was stricken with this plague of undeath.

This….is a very tortured human. The rage and sadness was dripping off of her like heat waves rising up from sun-warmed pavement, and yet there was also strength in her aura as well. Usually from a human that displayed such a traumatized aura Aryx would also feel fragility, fear, and instability. He felt none of these things from Alice. She had apparently been through a lot, but she was still holding herself together. It was rare that Aryx had the privilege of being in the presence of that type of human. They were much more common in the middle ages, to be honest, when justice was relative and times were harder yet simpler. Heroes were needed, and the times seemed to almost breed them, to some extent. Nowadays, humans cared more for coin and convenience than morals. This human, however… she had the aura of one who could be a hero, if her morals were in the right place. His head canted as he considered her. Perhaps it is no accident that we have met.

He smiled at her comment. “It is my own fault, really,” he admitted. “By now I should have made at least some attempt to acquaint myself with human technology, but it is such a new thing, only arising in the last century, that I have not had a need to learn yet. Now I fear it is too late. Most who might have taught me are deceased.” And he was truly very sad about that fact. “Pity, that such an exciting arch of human evolution should end so soon after its birth,” he mused.

When the alarms began to sound and Alice wanted to leave fast Aryx followed her lead. She seemed to know what was going on a whole lot better than he did, so for now, he focused on following here and keeping an eye out for any dangers attempting to sneak up on them. After running for a little while, the air seemed to change for Aryx. Sensing living beings approaching from behind, he instinctively spread his wings, steeling them against any attack. “Behind us!” he shouted to Alice as a barrage of bullets was sent their way. His wingspan was twenty feet wide when fully extended, but the hallway was a bit narrower than that. He blocked as much of it as he could, bending his wings to fit, with one pair spreading low and the other high. The bullets ricocheted off his bolstered feathers, a few of them flying back to strike the soldiers who had shot them in the first place. One soldier ever fell over dead, a bullet having gone right through his helmet.

Angel wings were strange appendages indeed. Soft, unassuming, and almost fragile in their design, they became as hard as steel when the angel employed a method of interlocking the feathers such that the silky fibers meshed together to form a fabric-like barrier that was much stronger than it seemed it should be. They did this by twisting the follicles to move the feathers themselves, much in the same way a mundane bird fluffs itself up when in the presence of predators or a potential mate. This method, however, did not make Aryx look larger, it only turned his wings into shields.

Once the shooting had paused for the moment, Aryx lowered his topmost pair of wings and turned around, both of his right wings folding down at his side while the left ones still provided some cover for him and Alice. He did not know how this particular human liked to fight, but he didn’t want to remove the cover until she was ready to retaliate. If need be, he would call his sword into existence and simply walk right up to them, for clearly these humans were of askew moral standing…

[after-the-fxll]

Wing starter- 14. “I broke my wing. Guess I won’t be flying for a while.”  ((my oc has wings i love your stuff! Nice to see another oc blog lol))

@hotelforlostsouls

(Thank you! I love OCs, mine and other people’s. They’re all welcome here. ^_^)

Aryx’s brow furrowed with concern when he heard the other speak. “No, no… I can heal you. Will you let me look at it?” he asked kindly. He was always wiling to help those in need, especially a fellow winged creature. Broken wings were incredibly painful. “No need to bear the pain if you do not have to.”

[hotelforlostsouls]

Kienas large purple and black wing twitched in pain, she was never any good at healing magic and she felt stupid hurting herself like this. With a sigh she answered “if it isnt to much trouble? I dont even know how i got here and now one of my wings is broke”. She felt so embarrassed one of her wings was already metal and now this.

(I drew this and i love all ocs to im looking forward to this :3)

[after-the-fxll]

Aryx had never seen a creature quite like her before. Black wings sometimes indicated fallen angels or demons, but he was never one to judge until he knew someone. It was still possible after all his years on earth that he still had not seen all winged creatures in existence, and so he kept an open mind.

His hands were gentle as he examined the wing, and sure enough it was broken. “Just relax. This will not take very long at all,” he said, and with that he began to speak words softly as his hands covered the site of the break. Under his hands, a yellow-golden light, not unlike that of the sun, began to emerge, and by the time he had finished uttering the words, it had faded away. When his hands were removed, the wing was fully mended. “There you are,” he said with a smile, happy to help.

[hotelforlostsouls]

She felt nothing and she was amazed by this, not even her mother could make it that painless and she was the best nurse on her home realm.

Getting to her feet she streched it out and smiled “woah you are good i cant feel anything at all” she grinned at him “thank you so much….um….whats your name?” She asked giving a small giggle.

[after-the-fxll]

“You are very welcome,” Aryx said, smiling still. “My name is Aryx. What is your name?” He couldn’t help but wonder where she had come from, and how she had sustained such an injury in the first place. 

“How did you injure your wing? did someone hurt you or did you have an accident of some kind?” If someone was after her for some reason, he would prefer to know about it now…

[hotelforlostsouls]

His name was so interesting and she liked it “im Kiena Tiown and as for the wing well um” she looked back at her wings and ruffled the three with feathers. Taking a breath she went on “i was being chased and when i flew threw a portal i kind of um….crashed” she said pointing behind her to the tree with many broken branches in it as she pulled a leaf from her hair.

[after-the-fxll]

“A portal?” he asked, his brow furrowing now with stark confusion. “So you are from another realm?” Aryx had heard of such things existing, but he had never seen one for himself. But that wasn’t what worried him the most about this entire situation... “Do you know if the one chasing you was able to follow you through the portal or not?” He didn’t sense anything right now, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone or something that needed to be deal with.

[onlyrpmemes]

I love answering questions about my muse

🔹 So if you have questions, go ahead and ask!

[notvulcantears-deactivated20160]

[after-the-fxll]

Wing starter- 14. “I broke my wing. Guess I won’t be flying for a while.”  ((my oc has wings i love your stuff! Nice to see another oc blog lol))

@hotelforlostsouls

(Thank you! I love OCs, mine and other people’s. They’re all welcome here. ^_^)

Aryx’s brow furrowed with concern when he heard the other speak. “No, no… I can heal you. Will you let me look at it?” he asked kindly. He was always wiling to help those in need, especially a fellow winged creature. Broken wings were incredibly painful. “No need to bear the pain if you do not have to.”

[hotelforlostsouls]

Kienas large purple and black wing twitched in pain, she was never any good at healing magic and she felt stupid hurting herself like this. With a sigh she answered “if it isnt to much trouble? I dont even know how i got here and now one of my wings is broke”. She felt so embarrassed one of her wings was already metal and now this.

(I drew this and i love all ocs to im looking forward to this :3)

[after-the-fxll]

Aryx had never seen a creature quite like her before. Black wings sometimes indicated fallen angels or demons, but he was never one to judge until he knew someone. It was still possible after all his years on earth that he still had not seen all winged creatures in existence, and so he kept an open mind.

His hands were gentle as he examined the wing, and sure enough it was broken. “Just relax. This will not take very long at all,” he said, and with that he began to speak words softly as his hands covered the site of the break. Under his hands, a yellow-golden light, not unlike that of the sun, began to emerge, and by the time he had finished uttering the words, it had faded away. When his hands were removed, the wing was fully mended. “There you are,” he said with a smile, happy to help.

[hotelforlostsouls]

She felt nothing and she was amazed by this, not even her mother could make it that painless and she was the best nurse on her home realm.

Getting to her feet she streched it out and smiled “woah you are good i cant feel anything at all” she grinned at him “thank you so much….um….whats your name?” She asked giving a small giggle.

[after-the-fxll]

“You are very welcome,” Aryx said, smiling still. “My name is Aryx. What is your name?” He couldn’t help but wonder where she had come from, and how she had sustained such an injury in the first place. 

“How did you injure your wing? did someone hurt you or did you have an accident of some kind?” If someone was after her for some reason, he would prefer to know about it now...

[after-the-fxll]

Wing starter- 14. “I broke my wing. Guess I won’t be flying for a while.”  ((my oc has wings i love your stuff! Nice to see another oc blog lol))

@hotelforlostsouls

(Thank you! I love OCs, mine and other people’s. They’re all welcome here. ^_^)

Aryx’s brow furrowed with concern when he heard the other speak. “No, no… I can heal you. Will you let me look at it?” he asked kindly. He was always wiling to help those in need, especially a fellow winged creature. Broken wings were incredibly painful. “No need to bear the pain if you do not have to.”

[hotelforlostsouls]

Kienas large purple and black wing twitched in pain, she was never any good at healing magic and she felt stupid hurting herself like this. With a sigh she answered “if it isnt to much trouble? I dont even know how i got here and now one of my wings is broke”. She felt so embarrassed one of her wings was already metal and now this.

(I drew this and i love all ocs to im looking forward to this :3)

[after-the-fxll]

Aryx had never seen a creature quite like her before. Black wings sometimes indicated fallen angels or demons, but he was never one to judge until he knew someone. It was still possible after all his years on earth that he still had not seen all winged creatures in existence, and so he kept an open mind.

His hands were gentle as he examined the wing, and sure enough it was broken. “Just relax. This will not take very long at all,” he said, and with that he began to speak words softly as his hands covered the site of the break. Under his hands, a yellow-golden light, not unlike that of the sun, began to emerge, and by the time he had finished uttering the words, it had faded away. When his hands were removed, the wing was fully mended. “There you are,” he said with a smile, happy to help.

[after-the-fxll]

Wing starter- 14. “I broke my wing. Guess I won’t be flying for a while.”  ((my oc has wings i love your stuff! Nice to see another oc blog lol))

@hotelforlostsouls

(Thank you! I love OCs, mine and other people’s. They’re all welcome here. ^_^)

Aryx’s brow furrowed with concern when he heard the other speak. “No, no... I can heal you. Will you let me look at it?” he asked kindly. He was always wiling to help those in need, especially a fellow winged creature. Broken wings were incredibly painful. “No need to bear the pain if you do not have to.”

[after-the-fxll]

“Don’t you ruffle your feathers at me.”

Aryx forgot his frustration and worry for a moment and stared at Charlotte quizzically. “Wait, you... you actually noticed that? Are you actually learning wing body language?” He was absolutely impressed with her right now. But he shook himself out of that and back to the topic at hand, the reason his wings had puffed up in the first place. “I’m sorry, I did not mean to be short with you, I just... As your guardian, I am supposed to worry for you, and... you seem not to always care for your own welfare. You take a lot of unnecessary risks, even while simultaneously saying you are being careful. Is there a reason for that?”

[after-the-fxll]

 “May I groom your wings?” 

Aryx had retracted his wings to make it easier for him to lie down with Kettu on the bed while she slept. It was a bright and sunny morning, and she seemed to be in an affectionate mood, asking to groom his wings. He knew she knew how to do it, for he had not only explained to her how he did it, but she had seen him do it on numerous occasions. 

“Yes, you may,” he said, ginning before rolling onto his stomach. “You may want to duck beside the bed for a moment first, though, so that I do not accidentally hit you when I spread them.”