Chapter Text
The noise Izzy made had an icy chill settle deep in Edwards bones. It was the sound of a choked off scream, and the unmistakable note of tearing feathers.
Izzy was clutching desperately at the mangled rope of the rigging, awkwardly positioned with his back against the rope. One of his hands clutched near his head, bent in a way that looked painful, and the other was down near his side, struggling to push his body weight up and relieve the pressure on the wing stuck in the rope.
His usually black wings had an oily tint to them. Slick with blood.
“You need t’ calm down boss.” Fang yelled, his own white wings flapping even as he stood on the deck.
The winds were too high. Izzy had told Edward that morning. They would need to take down the sails or risk them tearing. The only reason he would be using the rope instead of flying. With winds like these though, the kind that ripped out feathers if you so much as fluttered them from your back, climbing was the only option.
“Iz!” Edward yelled up, rushing forward. “Damage report!”
Izzy’s jaw clenched as he eyed the sail he had been attempting to take down. It was stable for now.
“We’ll lose her at the next gust. The rest are secured or stowed.”
“Not the sails you pillock!” Ed yelled back, frustrated that Izzy would still be thinking of the ship, even as he hung precariously from a mangled wing. “I’m coming up.”
“Don’t, Edward!” Izzy yelled back down, anger and panic in his voice.
Edward had the largest wingspan Izzy had ever seen. It was ludicrous, bordering on indecent. Ed's wings had always been black with speckles of grey, a species that no-one recognised during their travels. Ed had joked once he was just an oversized pigeon. Izzy saw him more like a bird of prey.
“You’ll get caught up, or the wind will take you. We can’t risk it!”
“He’s right, Captain.” Fang had agreed, hand on Edward’s chest to stop him from climbing.
A growl tore out of Edwards throat. “I’m not just leaving him up there-“
“-oh my!” Came the gasp from near Ed, and he turned to see Stede gazing up to Izzy’s trapped body. Stede stepped closer to Ed, and took his lover's hand. The scent of blood was in the air now, and Stede’s gaze turned sour.
“Well? Someone go help him!” Stede commanded.
No-one moved.
“Our wings are too big.” Fang said, his bottom lip fighting a losing battle with a wobble. He wanted to climb up there and help, he really did. But Izzy would only yell if anyone else got injured.
“He doesn’t trust your lot not to make it worse.” Ivan chimed in.
Stede finally looked to Ed then. If Fang and Ivan couldn’t go, then Ed certainly couldn’t either.
The wind picked up again and Izzy yelped, eyes clenching tight at the sparks of white hot pain shooting through his wing and shoulder blade.
Stede slipped his hand from holding Ed’s. He wiggled his shoulders and fluffed out his feathers, bracing himself, and then headed straight for the rigging.
“Stede-“
“-I designed this ship. Every last detail.” Stede said, placing a foot confidently into the criss cross of the rope, starting to climb. “This was designed with my wing span in mind.”
But Ed’s hand on Stedes ankle stopped him.
Stede looked into his lover’s large brown eyes. They were pleading with him.
“I’m bringing him back to us, Edward.” Stede soothed quietly. “Get the room ready, and fetch for Roach. I fear he’ll need stitches.”
It was all of the reassurance that Ed needed. He stepped back from Stede and resumed command of the Revenge and its crew, ordering for the rest of the gear to be stowed, Wee John to fetch Roach, and Lucius and Frenchie to bring up as much hot fresh water as they could spare.
It had Stede breathing a little easier, knowing there was a plan. He’d been right, of course, about the design of the ship. Though honestly when he’d been having it built it had never occurred to him that he might be doing this, of all things.
Unlike Ed, Stede had a much more modest wing span, only slightly above average. Izzy’s had always been on the smaller side, something that Stede had put down to his breed, or possibly lack of nutrition. He’d been regaled with many stories of Izzy giving up his rations for Ed in their younger years.
It was Izzy’s utter devotion that Stede had fallen for, in the end. When he gave himself, he did it wholly. Heart, mind and body. Stede had promised Izzy right there, under the rays of the beating sun, that he would always care for him.
“Izzy darling.” Stede called as he approached, watching how Izzy’s knuckles turned white as he adjusted his grip on the rope. “I’m going to try and get you loose. If I move you too much and it hurts, you must let me know.”
Izzy’s teeth were clenched, but he nodded in understanding.
Stede slowed as he came up Izzy’s legs. His footing was more deliberate now, not wanting to jostle Izzy’s trapped wing and make the situation worse.
When they were face to face, Stede offered a comforting smile. “I always knew you wanted to be tied up-“
“-fuck off.” Came Izzy’s choked laugh, followed by a groan of pain.
“It’s ok, pet.” Stede said in a lower tone, helping Izzy move so that the man was clinging onto him instead of the rope. Izzy’s hands had felt slick, so Stede had no doubt the man had rope burn from clutching too tightly for too long. “That’s it, I’ll look after you.” Stede used his natural strength to hold Izzy in place, balancing them precariously as his fingers tried to pull the mangled wing free.
There was a gust, and Izzy was sobbing into Stedes jacket now. Even though Stede had spread his wings to shield them from the worst of it, Izzy’s caught wing was sensitive in its trap.
After the longest few minutes of both Stede and Izzy’s lives, the wing came free.
It fell limply to Izzy’s side, and they pitched with it for a moment until Stede could right them, shifting his own weight to counter the now dead weight pulling them both down.
“You need to hold on as tight as you can, pet.” Stede said, hands rubbing over Izzy’s sides. It would be a pain to get all of the blood out. The thought was secondary to how long it might take Izzy to heal.
When Izzy’s grip tightened, Stede started the slow descent back to the deck, feeling hyper-aware of every sound of pain Izzy made and adjusting his speed to lessen it as much as possible. Every gust of wind had Izzy muffling a cry into Stede’s neck, Stede’s plush white feathers mingled with the speckled grey, both now dripping with Izzy’s blood.
Ed was at the bottom to meet them, his arms open to take Izzy as soon as he could. It took some work, transferring the man between them while trying not to hurt his wing further, but they managed it.
“Roach set some water aside in the kitchen for you to clean up. Come see us when you’re ready.” Ed said, kissing Stede’s cheek.
Then he was carrying Izzy into the captain’s cabin, ready to receive Roach’s special brand of doctoring.