Bird of a Wing (Bow 1)

Chapter 32

The hut was a standard k'nairi style building, which gave Ryraso a weird feeling in his stomach, making him stop in the doorway. Tai'ray put Eyeri down on the bed and pulled his boots off, Eyeri going along with the treatment sleepily.

First because of the nostalgic mixed with the almost painful reminder that it was about to become his normal again. It was one large room with a fire pit at one end of the room, a pit which had a fire going and warming up the hut nicely. There was a symbol on the wall showing whoever had lived here, had left the supplies for travelers to use freely and Nel'os had obviously set up a nest earlier when he had come up by the looks of how the blankets and pillows were spread. The room smelt of burning incense, a type used to promote sleeping well.

Which was the second reason why Ryraso's stomach was twisting anxiously. There was only one nest. K'nairi families co-slept in nest type structures. Often huts which were actually homes to large families had side rooms with smaller nests for when children were old enough to sleep with their brothers and sisters rather than their parents but this hut didn't have that. There was just the one nest for all of them.

"Ryraso, we're not going to bite," Nel'os murmured, wrapping his arms around Ryraso's waist. "Please don't panic."

"Nel'os, I hardly think you are going to rape me in front of two younglings and another caw," Ryraso replied dryly in k'nairi so Eyeri wouldn't understand the dark words, stepping forward into the nest and away from the embrace.

Ignoring the interaction, Tai-ray kicked off his own boots and gently pulled Eyeri to the pillows before sliding under the blankets beside the boy. Eyeri made a confused noise but Tai'ray just wrapped an arm around him and lay down behind him. Eyeri subtly tried to shift away from Tai-ray, but the Winglord only rolled his eyes and hugged him closer. Eyeri was going to have to get used to being petted and hugged. K'nairi were very physical when it came to their children and as Ryraso's foster child, he was now also in Tai-ray's domain.

Aw'endo stumbled in and pretty much just fell by Tai'ray back, curling up in his feathers and yawning. Tai-ray let go of Eyeri and turned over enough to kiss Aw'endo on his forehead, murmuring a loving sentiment in k'nairi before switching back to human tongue. "Rest now little ones," Tai'ray hummed, turning back over to pull Eyeri back to him. Aw'endo nodded, closing his eyes and burying himself into Tai-ray's back, feeling completely safe in his feathers. For all appearances, Aw'endo drifted off to sleep, his muscles completely lax, knowing he was completely safe where he was. Eyeri was not so content.

He shifted uncomfortably, pinned to Tai-ray's side. Tai-ray's talons resting gently on his stomach, rubbing in gentle circles. The Winglord could sense the human's distress but was unsure of the cause. He could understand being worried about being harmed but surely the fact he had carried the child for a day in the air and put up with him peeing over him, surely that was enough to prove he was not about to harm him. Eyeri had also relaxed enough to fall asleep in his arms. This wasn't much difference[different]. In the end, Eyeri let his head rest on Tai-ray's chest but the Winglord knew he wasn't asleep.

Nel'os could see the boy's tense shoulders not relaxing but he wasn't too concerned. Eyeri was in no danger after all and he would likely fall to sleep from exhaustion if nothing else soon enough. Nel'os reasoned the boy was just unused to sleeping with people he didn't know. Most humans were, it was only a few siblings or friendship groups who slept together and even that, unlike the k'nairi, was only normally when unfortunate souls, who had been though a trauma, had nightmares.

'Ryraso...' Tai-ray murmured though the link, it opened up so all but Aw'endo could hear. Tai'ray didn't want to disturb the youngest from their sleep or, in Eyeri's case, peace in which he would fall to sleep.