25. Bindings #2
Nyra stood up and spun around, her movement slower and more hesitant than before. She had been scared when they started, but now she seemed more nervous.
“ I’ll be as fast as I can ,” Aeden said, stroking his hand over her scales. As soon as he touched her, he could sense her happiness at the contact. However short lived it was, he could tell she appreciated him and what he was trying to do for her.
He set the ladders up and followed the same process, wrapping her wing as he had done with the first. The second time around was a bit easier for him as he wrapped the base layer around her wing.
“Brilliant!” Lyric said. “You’re getting the hang of it. Switch that fabric around with the black one now.”
Aeden did as he was told and picked up the roll of black fabric. This one had a slightly rubbery texture and was heavy in comparison to the base layer. He switched them around and pulled the fabric tight so that it didn’t trail along the floor.
“Do the same again,” Lyric said. “This fabric is designed to stick to itself as you wrap. It’s more robust, but make sure you don’t let it crease, as that will affect its use. You’ll understand what I mean when you start to use it.”
Aeden took a deep breath. “ We’re nearly there now .” As far as he could tell, they were halfway through the process.
Nyra shuddered in anticipation, and Aeden noticed a raised dark ridge of scales form down her spine and all the way to the tip of her tail.
The texture of this outer layer was almost sticky but without leaving any residue in his hands, and the material was thinner than the other, like fine silk.
As with before, he set about wrapping it around Nyra’s wing, careful not to allow it to crease.
He offered more than a few choice words when the fabric creased, and he needed to unroll what he had done and re-do it. With each binding, Nyra’s breathing seemed to steady as she got used to the discomfort – not that it made it any easier for Aeden to manage through the weave.
When he got to the end, he left enough fabric to fold under her wing and then cut it using some large shears. Afterwards, he pressed it down and smoothed it over with his hand.
He exhaled deeply as if he had been holding his breath the whole time, mopping his forehead with his arm before repeating the process with Nyra’s remaining wing.
When he was done, his legs felt heavy, and he stood by Nyra, stroking his hand over the side of her head. Nyra was exhausted from the process.
“Well done, lad,” Lyric said. “You too, Nyra.” He watched her closely for a few moments before stepping over the railings and into the pen. “For the pain she will have been in, she managed that really well. The fact she hasn’t lashed out is a really good sign of her temperament. ”
Nyra lay in her bed of straw, her breathing laboured and her eyes shut tight.
She wasn’t quite sleeping, but Aeden could feel all too well just how much the process had taken out of her.
Aeden himself felt a weariness come over him that wasn’t entirely his own.
The urge to curl up next to Nyra and sleep became more and more tempting with every second that passed.
“What now?” Aeden asked. “Will she be okay?”
“She’ll need rest, and a lot of it. It’ll take her a while to get used to these bindings, but eventually the pain will stop.
She has been incredible.” Lyric’s eyes were wide as he walked around Nyra to inspect the bindings.
He leaned in close to examine them, all the while remaining cautious in his approach.
“This fabric will harden as it sets now that it’s in position.
The air helps activate it. They should last three to four weeks before you’ll need to replace them. ”
“I’ll have to do this again?” Aeden asked. He hadn’t even given a thought to this matter.
“Aye, lad, you will. She’s growing fast. You’ll need to do this regularly until she is full grown, then less regularly thereafter. But you’ll still need to replace the bindings for the rest of her life.” A solemn look fell on Lyric, one that Aeden didn’t like.
“What is it?” Aeden asked.
“Nyra will never fly. You need to make your peace with that, because your experience at the academy is never going to be the same.” Lyric finished inspecting Nyra’s wing before moving to the coil and leaning against it.
He rubbed his hands over his tired face and let out another deep sigh.
“People will treat you differently now, and I don’t mean that as a positive. ”
“I don’t care,” Aeden said, crossing his own arms. The way he spoke came across as petulant, but he didn’t care.
“This situation is unheard of. In the academy’s eyes – and in the eyes of those who fund the academy – Nyra will be seen as a runt, no matter what she does.
You thought life at the academy was already harsh?
It’s only going to be worse. People will look down on you.
They’ll expect you to fail.” He paused for a moment as he studied Nyra’s body.
Her breathing had changed. It was slower now. “Ah, good. She’s asleep.”
“They can do what they want. I will show them, all of them.” Aeden looked at Nyra. She seemed so peaceful now that she was asleep, and contentment greeted him through the weave. “Whatever it takes, I will find a way to fix her wings. She will fly one day, I’ll make sure of it.”
Lyric’s expression remained unmoving. “Lad, I admire your spunk, I really do, but know this: there is no amount of magic in this world that will allow Nyra to fly. There is only one outcome that awaits you if you were to run off the edge of a cliff with her. The sooner you make peace with that, the better.”
Defiance ripped through Aeden. Lyric was the hatchery master. He knew Aer-Kin better than anyone else, but here he was, already defeated. Aeden wanted to show him that he was wrong.
“I will find a way!” Aeden said defensively. “And in the meantime, we will show everyone that we deserve to be here and that we can hold our own.”
Lyric walked over to the gate and opened it up. “Come. Let’s let Nyra rest. She’s going to be asleep for a while now.”
Aeden examined Nyra’s newly bound wings. They sat comfortably, but they stood out against her scaled feathers. “I think I want to stay with her for a while. I can tell she knows I’m here, I’ll do whatever I need to to make her comfortable.”
“I admire the bond you two already have, and it will only get stronger with every day that passes. However, you have training and classes to attend. I can give you a pass for your next one, but after that, you need to be following your schedule. I can’t express how important it is that you master the weave that binds you and Nyra together. ”
“My focus is on Nyra, my focus needs to be on helping fix her wings.”
Lyric’s shoulders dropped, sensing Aeden wasn’t taking in everything he was telling him.
“By all means, stay with Nyra until your next class. But promise me you’ll keep your head down and study?
If not for your benefit, than for Nyra’s.
There’s a lot to learn about being an Aer-Kin rider, and you need to focus on your studies.
” Lyric didn’t offer Aeden a chance to speak any further.
He turned and headed back to his workstation.
Aeden looked over Nyra once more before sitting down beside her, his back leaning against her side. He would stay with her for as long as was needed.