Chapter Text
Wemmbu hugged himself even tighter in pain. His plucked wings twitched on his back, his whole body trembled from the pain and and cold. As a creature that does not feel cold when he doesn't want to, he never thought the cold would hurt him that much. There was burn marks on his clothes in places but at the same time, the clothes were completely wet because he had just come out of the water. His skin, once a same color as the purple hyacinths beside the cave he used as his home, now not only looked weird but was also frighteningly pale and darkened.
Althought there was no scent of a stranger in the underwater cave where he had taken refuge, he was constantlu sniffing air. Even though he didn't have the strength to open his eyes, he was trying to find Egg using his sense of smell. They had separated and most of the hunters had come after him but with every minute he had no certanly that Egg was alright, his mental anguish outweighed his physical pain.
Wemmbu heared a sound at the part of the cave that opened into the deep water and held his breath. Wemmbu wanted to cry, he felt weak, he wanted to run away. His instincts told him he was almost dying, that he needed to move but he had no strength left in his body. With his last ounce energy he felt as if he were wrapped in his torn wings. He knew he was not camouflaged among the gray stones with his dark purple wings, but at the moment the only thing he could control in his body was his breathing.
Something, someone; came out of the water. The smell of what was approaching was neither like Egg nor like the hunters, there had no smell other than the salty sea smell. The sound of heavy footsteps hitting in the stone and the dripping water echoed through the cave. Whatever was coming, Wemmbu was fully aware of it but couldn't react. He was trembling in the hollow where he was hiding, his ears has begun to ring.
A warm hand touched his wing; the hand wasn't actually warm, Wemmbu was so cold that even the slightest warmth from the cold hand was too much for him. He couldn't make a sound, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anyting to protect himself from the touch.
''Oh Godness, you are freezing,'' The whispering voice wasn't familiar, the caloused hand on his wing wasn't familiar but Wemmbu had heard something in that voice before. This stranger was worried about him.
The rest was hazy in Wemmbu's clouded mind.
Somehow his body was laid on a surface softer that stone, the smell of burnt moss and the warmth of the fire relaxed his limbs. Even though he couldn't open his eyes, he could tell that the light behind his eyelids was the broken blue light from the underwater. A diferent healing potion than the one Egg had made was flowing through his veins. It must have been ineffective because he could still feel all the pain from the burns. When he wants to move his wings-
His wings.
He could not feel his wings.
______
Egg woke up his light sleep when he heard rapid breathing sounds in the room. Before his mind fully awakened, his body instinctively moved towards where Wemmbu lay. His friend, lying face down, was tring to stir, but more importantly, he couldn't breathe.
He couldn't move his weak body under the weight of his wings, his mouth was open as if he wanted to suck in all the air in the room. His eyes narrowed in panic, his inability to take breaths was heard as muffled wheezing sounds.
Egg quickly went to his side and helped him sit up, pushed back the hait that had fallen across his face, strocked his back. Wemmbu's purple wings, numb from the painkillers he'd been given later, hug down from the other side of the bed.
''İt's okay, we found someone who can help us, you are safe.'' Egg's calm voice and familiar scent made Wemmbu feel a litle more at ease. As the adrenaline left his body, his nerves relaxed and tears began to stream from his eyes. Not through words or obvious expressions, but when his body sensed that all the stress was being relased, he finally revealed his fear.
After regaining his composure a little, Wemmbu noticed the dark haired young man watching them from the doorway. The salty smell of the sea filed the entire room was coming from him and he didn't seem any bigger than they were. With his large black eyes, he resembled a curious fish, this thought helped Wemmbu to calm down a little. Instead of struggling his limp limbs, he allowed to Egg hold him.
There was something Wemmbu hadn't noticed, Egg's image was flickering. After what had happened, Seraphim began to have difficulty maintaining his ''harmless angel'' form. Like a play of light, the tree pairs of enormous wings behind his was visible, albeit transparent when the viewed out of the corner of the eye. For Wemmbu, Egg was at that moment only his dearest friend, holding him tightly, but for the young man standing in the doorway, thought trying to appear calm, was beginning to turn pale. The urge to kill in the cramped room was directed at the only person who didn't fit the definition of a ''friend'' there, himself and even though he had nothing to the two people opposite him, and had even helped them, he felt ready to endure any kind of torture to atone for his mistakes. With great difficulty, he tore his eyes away from the hyacinth haired boy and looked at the Seraphim. Even though his eyes were barely visible through his hair, it was enough to make him tremble.
''You don't need to be afraid Jaden, you are not one of our enemies.'' Jaden was absolutely certain he had not told these two strangers his name, but he sensed the celestial being before him had his own methods, he didn't comment.
Seraphim leaned down and whispered something into the purple-skined boy's ear, Although Jaden couldn't hear, he could see moment by moment how the frail body trembled and tensed.
''Egg, how could i-''
''It's okay, you have to rest. Leave what you have behind so that something better can come to you. Just like a moth, remember.'' And the purple, feathery wings, like an extra part of body, seperated from his body before Jaden's eyes and fell to the ground, turned to ash in seconds, leaving behind a smell of sulfur.
Wemmbu was crying again; not because of the pain, because of the psychological distress brought on by the sudden and forced change. His shoulders moved backward, but the slender, bony wings he could spread and flex were nolonger there.
''You see, we can't leave here because of the hunters. I hope it won't be a problem for my friend to retreatin to his shell here, Jaden.'' Okay, as someone who has a close friendship with sirens, Jaden could certainly understand that Seraphim was now adding the power his voice but even if polietly asked, he would mobilize all his resources to help this hyacinth smelled boy to compose himself.
''It's okay. There is a darken room in the back, it might be better for him to move there.'' He was surprised for a moment by how weak his own voice sounded, but Seraphim didn't care much. He helped his friend get up and guided him in the direction Jaden had pointed.
The opening for his wings was still on the back of Wembu's clothing, although there were no visible wounds on his pale purple skin, faint marks remained where the wings had joined the spine just minutes before.