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It started out as a fever.
Zenith has originally thought it was just a bug he’d picked up somewhere, but his ghost Kyo forced him to go see Aiona. The human woman was talking with some random hunter. Her sparrow wings lazily waved in the wind as Zenith approached. Her face went from humorous to sympathetic as Zenith explained what happened.
He was being led back to his room before he knew it and being ordered to strip off his shirt and lay down on the bed. Not one to oppose the human (she could be pretty scary when she was angry) he did as he was told.
“Aiona, what is going on?” He asked worriedly. “It’s just a virus.”
“No, Zee. It’s your wings.”
Kyo landed on the pillow next to his face. “Yup! I wonder what wings you’ll have!”
Zenith smiled excitedly. He knew he’d eventually get his wings, but he didn’t expect it so suddenly! His happiness was cut short as Aoina placed cold cloths on his back.
“Zenith, I know you’ve heard the stories. You know this is going to be painful.” Aoina warned, not to be mean, but to make sure Zenith was truly prepared. She was right though. Zenith did know what was in store for him. But he was ready. He had his sister and his ghost with him.
It took hours and the novelty of the situation soon ran out.
Zenith switched between states of agony and exhaustion as Aoina did everything she could to comfort him. She’s give him water when his throat go dry, replace the cold cloths with new ones when his skin got to hot, and even gave him back a massage to try and lessen the pain.
When the wings finally burst out on a flash of blood, skin and other essence, Zenith panted and shook from his place on the bed. His eyes were fighting to stay open as Kyo got to work healing the openings with Aiona cleaning up the mess.
“H-How are they?” He gasped. He had heard stories of guardian’s with wings that were deformed when they grew in and while he didn’t hold it against them, he knew it was hard living with them.
Aiona seemed to know this as she ran her hand through his hair. “They’re great, Zee. Now rest. It’ll be okay.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice.
A few days later, Zenith was walking out of his room with a small pair of fluffy grey wings donning his back. It was impossible to tell what kind they were yet, but Zenith was still glad to have them. He didn’t even mind as veteran guardians ran their fingers through his soft feathers.
Aiona laughed at the look of utter glee permanently on his face, but he didn’t mind.