Stare's eyes went large. Suddenly she was awake far more than she had been in the past hour as horror swept through her. Hugin, the old rival of Vitruvion had ended Reign's life. She, princess of the pixie folk, who Vitruvion had captured for his own initial amusement in the hell hole sex slave nightmare called the Hollow. Hugin had taken a shine to her and the two 'brothers’ had shared her for a while before Hugin began to take liberties and actually moved her to his quarters. Now he had killed her, likely by rape or torture, Stare was sure, and committed a terrific crime of not feeding the city when he could have.
Her beak halves opened as she gazed at Vitruvion in shock. No wonder why the human form-bound god had been so mad the last few days …
No wonder.
“Ansaldo's great tiny balls,” she whispered.
“Hmm,” Vitruvion grunted, eyes still dark. “That and I have found a pattern in the killings. I need you to help me tonight try to find the culprit and stop them.”
Stare blinked. Tonight? But all she wanted to do right now was sleep for a hundred years.
“To-tonight?” she replied aghast. “You mean …”
“Now,” he grimly nodded. “I don't have Raevin as he is in Corone, so instead I need you. You will take one side where I believe the being or beast comes in and I will take the other. Together we will hunt them, following what we find. I do not want to cause too much hassle so will not let anyone else get involved.”
Stare swallowed and stared at him. Her beak worked and she was gaping in silence for a while before she shoved her utter exhaustion at the forefront of her mind and began to desperately stutter.
“Vitru- sir. My lord. Please. I need to rest. I haven't stopped for - for - for,” she began to feel apprehension and anxiety, her heart beginning to race. Swallowing, she tried to find herself, to find her plot and train of thought, raising a hand to drag it through her feathers. “I am - can't -” her eyes looked around wildly. “I'm absolutely no use to you like this. I can barely stand, I-”
“Stop,” he sighed.
Then one moment he was in the chair, the next he was - not. She blinked, thinking she had maybe gone mad. It would make sense in the circumstances. Her brow tried to furrow but it was already too high in stress and she began to try to look around, desperate …
Smooth hands slid around her from the back, one around her waist, the other just under her arms above her breasts. They were rigid and powerful, having no hesitation in their destination. As Stare felt herself on the verge of tears a strong, firm frame appeared behind her, giving a support for her weak limbs. The hands and their arms encircled her body until they were wrapped around her completely, and pinned her with no hope for escape against the body.
Her breathing was still irregular but her heart began to slow, steadying until the familiar - Ansaldo's balls, it was familiar now - hold took over her. She felt his chin chin come to rest on her head, a slow breath easing from him. From his chest being so close she could feel his calm heartbeat and hers began to match it, on point and exact until the perfectly synchronised.
Boom, boom, boom …
And then she felt the flow of energy begin.
At first it was a trickle, but then it built. Focused, genuine strength moving into her body. It was just a tingling feeling at the start, that danced in her fingertips. Then it was a tickle, a soft vibration that hummed up her arms. Then her toes were filled with a little hope, her ankles, calves and knees, and it flowed up her appendages and into her torso, where she breathed deeply. Heavily. But not gasping. Never gasping.
Up the energy went into her shoulders, where it meet her neck. Swallowing she felt a warm sensation running down her throat before she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Then - and only then did the brilliant flow spread up, right up until it was in her mouth, nose, ears, eyes, crown …
Feathers.
She opened her eyes, her body suddenly now humming with energy like it had been the day she was born. Pure, divine power was living in her, granted by the genuine source of it in the first place - her god. As she was released she was grateful to find it was all still there, inside her and now she was awake, no longer shaking. She was …
“Ready?” he whispered.
Her bright, awake eyes beamed at him.
“Yes, I am,” she said with determination.
And it was the honest truth.
