Thank you u birthed a new AU
&& Bloody Nose From the Devil - a Mighty Nein Wing AU
A person's wings say a lot about them.
Not in a "everyone's special and unique" bullshitty way, but just...the wings tend to match the person. You see someone with harpy wings and someone with chickadee, you kinda know which one you want to fuck with. In a variety of contexts.
Take Jester, for instance. Fucking hummingbird. One look at those iridescent feathers practically beating a hole in the atmosphere and you just know. Then you've got Fjord. Albatross. Keeps them tucked close to his back and jumps out of his skin if they so much as twitch, even when he's trying to act badass. Molly's a superb fairywren because of course he is. Nott's buzzard wings don't work just right, it's like they're clipped or something. Yasha's another one who's weird about her wings, which is a shame because they're swan and would be gorgeous if she ever just-
Anyway. Then there's Caleb.
Caleb, whose wings are so profoundly, distressingly shitty that Beau can't even identify them. No, seriously, they're not just filthy, they're a crime scene. Raven or crow is Beau's first thought, because the coloring is so dark. It kind of checks out, except it doesn't, because nothing about this guy checks out...except the guy himself, sometimes, but that's a whole other thing.
Then Pumat prestidigitates the poor bastard and oh, gods, it was better with the dirt on. There are feathers- not black, she can see now. They're dull, but there's a coppery, cinnamon tone to them -missing in patches, spots where the bones seem...twisted, almost, broken and badly healed. He holds them at a weird angle, too, like he's constantly fighting the reflex to hide behind them. Everybody mostly manages to be normal about it, except Jester, who gives this little "Oh, Caleb..." that's the most heartbreaking shit ever and Beau is pretty sure makes him want to bolt.
Everyone's shocked when he voluntarily participates at the bathhouse. He slips into the water while everyone's preoccupied with Molly's tattoos and the reappearance of Yasha, huddling close to the edge with his wings steadily drawing in more and more around him as she reveals that people have been talking of the Nein's exploits, until he finally ducks under the water entirely.
Turns out he can hold his breath for a really long time.
He comes up for air when the bathwater is refreshed, gasping about the heat as he shakes his head.
"Caleb," Nott says from the edge of the pool. She pokes out her leg, just enough to nudge his head with her foot. It's a weird visual, considering she still looks like Fjord. "C'mere, lemme get your wings."
And...he does. He shifts and turns, angling so that his back is to Nott and his wings are spread- gingerly, stiffly -to give access. Even cleaned thanks to Pumat, they look like they haven't had a proper preening in years. Under Nott's deft fingers, the feathers find some semblance of order, even with Caleb's occasional flinching. He seems to chill out, at least. So much so that he checks out of the conversation entirely in favor of returning the favor, tending to Nott's wings even through the Fjord illusion she's got going. Eventually, he slips out of the bath, wraps up in a towel, and heads to some secluded corner to huddle up with Nott and do her hair while everyone else talks shop.
Beau catches Fjord's eye across the bath and jerks her chin in the others' direction. Keep an eye on them.
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