[$] The King and his Pawn

[VampuricWerewolf]

Niom opened his eyes, forcing himself to stop the connection. he couldn't risk it, he couldn't let himself be sensed right then. especially if Edwin told Liki about his name. Liki would be coming after Niom anyways, but if he was inside Edwin's mind when he did it, things would only escalate. he sighed and resorted to simply shutting his mind down, locking everything away and laying on his bed for however long it took for his mind to restart again.  

[Your Missing Period]

"Niom?" Came a small voice a few hours later as the door opened. "Niom are you okay? Master said he hadn't seen you all morning." and looked at the man in the bed. "I brought you a small snack. Are you sick?" and walked over with the plate and drink, looking at him and setting them down. "Griffon and I were watching birds all morning and we did wing stretches and tried to copy birds." and looked at him a bit longer before climbing into bed with him. "We didn't know that there was a cemetary here, so Griffon and I went searching for it." she looked at the wall, tucking her wings in to her back. "Are you okay, Niom?"  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Niom was slowly starting to come back, a distant voice bringing his subconscious back to the surface.

"Are you ok, Niom?"

he blinked, his mind waking back up and stared at the girl for a long moment before remembering who she was. "Nymphet." it was a statement, not a question, "right, i'm fine. sorry." he shook his head and sat up, looking around. "Sorry, didn't hear what you said before. and, um-what time is it? i seem to have lost track."  

[Your Missing Period]

"It's lunch. I brought you a snack because I thought you were sick." and motioned toward the small plate with toast and some rice, "Do you still want to be alone still?"  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Niom sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "no, i'm fine i just-" he looked at Nymphet before looking down, "i would have thought you wouldn't want to be around me considering what i did." he felt a little sick, bringing it up. she was coming to him and offering him friendship and he was just pushing her away. what kind of jerk was he? he just prayed she wasn't going to hate him forever. but then again, maybe that would be best. then she could leave without feeling bad.  

[Your Missing Period]

"We're friends aren't we?" she asked. "And you're going to teach me and Griffon how to fly, right?" and smiled a small child smile at him. "We're friends. I'm supposed to come back. You're my only friend here now, Niom."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Niom felt tears fill his eyes and once again he was crying. "thank you," he whispered, pulling Nymphet into a hug. "i'm sorry, i'm so sorry for what i did. thank you for being so kind to me, Nymphet." he wiped his eyes and sat back, "let me eat really quick and i'll show you how to fly. ok?" he picked up the plate she'd brought him and ate the rice using the toast, his stomach appreciating being filled after so long of being empty.  

[Your Missing Period]

Nymphet frowned in worry. "You're crying again. Do I always make you cry?" and allowed herself to be hugged, hugging him back tightly. "I'm sorry for always making you cry, Niom." and let go, smiling and nodding. "if you're still hungry we can go get more. Me and Griffon already ate so there's food left over."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Niom shook his head, "it's not your fault, my dear. please don't blame yourself, it's my fault for being so weak." he gave her a tiny smile before finishing the food. he didn't think he could eat anymore without getting sick, especially with the pain of the spell he would be using. "come, let's clean up the dishes and then i'll make myself a pair of wings so i can show you two fledglings how to fly. ok?"  

[Your Missing Period]

You're not weak, Niom. You've just been really strong for too long." and smiled back, kicking her bare feet happily as he ate before nodding. "Okay! That'd be fun! Griffon and I just sort of flapped our wings like the birds but we didn't know how to take off. We tried jumping but that sort of hurt our wings." she said, following him down the hall to the kitchen.  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Washing the dishes didn't take nearly as long as he would have liked. "alright, time for the spell. it hurts a bit, so don't mind if i look like i'm in pain, ok?" Niom idly wondered how high his pain tolerance would become if he continued like this and then suddenly didn't want to know. they went out into the courtyard and Niom make sure to stand several paces away from Nymphet. the spell was just a chant after the first casting, the initial spell needing ruins written over the body in a special fluid, but once done, the spell was in place for life. he removed his shirt before he closed his eyes and softly chanted, "Crescere ventus ascensorem." Pain shot from his shoulder blades, but to his surprise, it didn't hurt as badly as he remembered. maybe his pain tolerance was already higher than what it was back then. he did spend an excruciating night having his back carved into not so long ago, in comparison this was nothing. soon he had black feathered wings protruding from his back, an impressive nine foot wing span stretching out and fluttering a bit. "that feels odd, not matter how you think of it," he muttered softly, wondering what they looked like with the newly carved marks surrounding their base. "there we are, ready for lessons?"  

[Your Missing Period]

Nymphet ran outside happily to Griffon, pulling him out of the stables and hugging his giant beaky face. "Niom's going to teach you how to fly! My wings are still fluffy so I can't fly yet." and grinned. But I can practice with you!" and looked as Niom spouted large black wings. "Wow! They're so pretty!' Nymphet said adoringly as the wings fluttered, girl reaching up to touch the silky feathers. "I want wings like this! But mine look like they'll end up a boring white." and frowned at this, looking at her partially downy wings.  

[VampuricWerewolf]

"White wings are beautiful, Nymphet," Niom said softly. "My master had white wings, but because of my tainted blood i was never able to produce them." he gently ran his fingers over her white fluff before stepping back, "Right, let's begin."

Niom called it to an end when the sun was starting to set, "you've done really well Griffin." he stroked the creature's beak, "and you too, Nymphet. how about we head inside and start dinner, i'm starving!"  

[Your Missing Period]

Griffon was laying on the ground, wings limp on either side of him and Nymphet beside him in a similar position. "I'm dead."

Griffon made a similar squawk.

"I'm hungry."

Griffon gave a growl of agreement.

"My wings hurt."

The beast flopped onto his side, staring at Niom.

"Niom we need food."  

[VampuricWerewolf]

Niom laughed, "alright, alright. i'll go make us something. here," he summoned some meat for griffin from the kitchen, knowing that Liki had an almost unlimited supply thanks to his experimenting. "i'll make something quick, Nymphet. be right back." he tucked his wings in, still debating about deactivating the spell and regrowing them every day. the pain wasn't really all that bad, he could handle that much at least. the quickest thing he could think of for Nymphet was a sandwich so he set to making one for both himself and for her, humming softly as he firmly pressed what had happened that morning to the back of his mind