Ranvir stepped out of the tunnel and into the middle of the forest. The slight path of hundreds of passings marking a trail. The trail he’d walked over the years. Shifting, he stretched his chest and back. Every move felt slightly off as his wings shifted.

Ranvir glanced down the trail, catching the gray and black feathers in his periphery. He could hear Vasso crying, his irregular running footsteps nearly stumbling on every uneven patch of soil and exposed root.

A pit gaped within Ranvir, sending fumes of black regret rising, corrupting his stomach and neck.

Finally, Vasso came around the corner. Red-faced, cheeks wet, one pant leg torn at the knee. Dirt clung to his shoes and the elbows of his shirt and hands. He didn’t see Ranvir immediately. Vasso ran, barely noticing the world around him. The trees passing by in a blur of emotions.

I have not handled this well, Ranvir realized, feeling the dread weight of the hole in his stomach. “Vasso,” he called.

The kid stumbled, kicking his own heel and tumbling to the ground. Instinctively, Ranvir rushed forth, stretching space to slow his fall. Landing on a knee, he grabbed Vasso’s shoulder and righted him.

“Hi,” Ranvir licked his lips. “I-“

Vasso threw his arms around Ranvir’s neck and pulled him close.

“I’m sorry,” Ranvir whispered. Vasso choked him, he was squeezing so hard. Ranvir hugged him back just as hard, his wings instinctively mimicking the motion. Kneeling, however, Ranvir couldn’t get the wings around and instead splayed them on either side. “I’m sorry.”

Ranvir wasn’t sure what he could’ve done differently. How could he have warned Vasso and Frija about what was going to happen? He didn’t understand the process fully, but he could’ve taken further precautions. Something as simple as not practicing near them would’ve helped.

Vasso had fully devolved into sobbing hiccups, struggling to gulp in air between sobs. Wrapping his arms around him, Ranvir rose to his full height and stepped back through his tunnel.

Returning to the kitchen, he found Frija still sitting on the table. She had a puzzled look on her face, like she couldn’t quite understand what was going on, nor how she should feel about it. At least Menace was helping. The cat must’ve returned from where it had gone to hide and was now standing on its rear legs, paws on the dining table and gently sniffing Frija’s face and neck.

Ears perking up, it turned to Ranvir as he stepped in. It glanced at him for a long time, sniffing and looking, before deciding that he wasn’t Graywing. Still holding a bruising choke on Ranvir’s neck, Vasso eased slightly. Perhaps he recognized something in the environment, the scent or noise, that helped him relax?

Ranvir rubbed his back before putting him in one chair. Seeing this, Frija crawled down from the table and into the chair next to him. Taking a moment to consider, Ranvir sat opposite but offered his hands to them. His bird-like arm, which he now saw was feathered down to the elbow from which looked scaly and weird, offered to Frija. Vasso seized on his normal hand, clutching it in both of his though he stared at the other one.

Frija, as Ranvir’d guessed, was fascinated by his new limb. Her mouth making an ‘o’, she started fiddling with it. Running her fingers up and down the scales, reaching for feathers but being just a little too far away, testing the talon’s sharpness. Ranvir was careful not to actually get her hurt, though perhaps he considered himself blessed vultures didn’t use their talons to hunt with.

Ranvir’d seen the claws on a hawk in the shop on Belnavir. Those were used for hunting. Not so much these, thankfully. “I feel I should explain what happened,” Ranvir said. “You deserve to know, and I’m at fault for not properly preparing you. I am very sorry, to the both of you.”

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“It’s fine,” Frija mumbled, looking away and stroking Menace. Unlike dogs, the cat didn’t like to be scratched, only stroked, and occasionally a good tummy slap. Ranvir doubted she really understood much of what was going on, but he figured he’d be seeing much of her later. It was an exhausting experience, and she was likely still riding the adrenaline and shock. Perhaps a midday nap was in order. Maybe they should all take a nap, then.

Vasso didn’t reply, neither did he look Ranvir in the eye. He responded by squeezing his hand. Ranvir smiled. “When I first bonded with Graywing at the lake, we were already going to merge at some point. Like you saw with a lot of the locals. I didn’t fully understand the process and foolishly thought most of the violence had passed after the fight. I didn’t anticipate Graywing’s reaction.

“I also didn’t foresee our bond finishing so early. I’m sure you caught on to some of my studies and realized I thought we would be together for years, instead of months, before finishing. That was obviously not the case,” Ranvir licked his lips. “That does not mean that I couldn’t have better prepared for this moment. I should’ve made you aware of some changes you were likely to see, at the very least.”

“It’s fine, dad,” Vasso muttered. “I kind of understood what you were doing. At least, I got the gist of it,” he didn’t look so upset any longer. Just worn and really, really exhausted.

Ranvir noted his choice of words, though. Despite the situation, he could help the flare of heat in his chest and the light blossoming and warmth filling the edges of the pit. Somehow, it also made the core that much denser and heavier.

“Frija, you know I love you and in a little while, you can play with my arm some more, but for now Vasso and Daddy need to talk,” he said.

“Okay,” she replied, slipping down from her chair, Menace following behind. She stepped outside to play with her kitty. They’d been practicing tricks lately, and Frija seemed to enjoy making Menace do as she pleased immensely.

Vasso looked up questioningly. Ranvir swallowed through a suddenly dry throat. “I… I’m not sure where to start. I understand you don’t want to talk about it, but I have talked to Elpir about what happened to your parents.”

Ranvir looked off into the distance of the cabinet over Vasso’s head. “To some degree, I understand what happened to you. The feeling of certainty getting ripped out from under your feet,” he touched the wood with his new hand. The treated grain smooth under his palm. Ranvir didn’t push into it, he didn’t squeeze on it. He simply let his palm glide over the surface. “When I was a little older than you are now, I experienced something similar. My mother was hit by a carriage and it drove over her leg. Pulped it. I was close enough to hold her hand while it happened.”

He clenched Vasso’s hand a little tighter as the rasp of rough fingers on wood filled the room. He gently traced a pattern on Vasso’s knuckles with his thumb, feeling the smooth child’s skin under his fingers. “You are so young, so much younger than I was… and in many ways, I still don’t really understand what happened that day. Not fully. Not what happened to me,” he worried at his lips, feeling his eyes sting. “I- I don’t know,” he swallowed and forced himself to continue. “I don’t know how to help you, but I want to.”

They sat like that for a long time. Ranvir’s human hand tracing patterns over Vasso’s knuckles as Vasso squeezed and relaxed, the bird's hand passing back and forth over the table, rough skin loud in the empty kitchen. In the distance, Ranvir could hear Frija playing with Menace.

“But maybe I have somewhere to start,” Ranvir said, finally. “Originally, I intended for you to wait. Give you a little longer to grow comfortable with your soul, but maybe it’s time to begin your journey with Amanaris.”

Vasso frowned and slowly he withdrew his fingers from Ranvir’s and straightened. “I don’t want to be a fighter,” he intoned.

Ranvir smiled and nodded, a white sun of relief flickering to life over the dark pit in his stomach. “That’s good. I don’t think the path much agrees with anyone. However, using the tools available to you and learning how to protect yourself doesn’t mean you have to become a warrior or a soldier. I’d much rather you become a farmer or a scholar.”

“Then why are you a fighter?”

Ranvir hesitated. “I…” am afraid there’s an excellent reason that a spirit of war chose me. “Think perhaps we’re getting off topic,” he ruffled Vasso’s hair. The kid tried to avoid it, but Ranvir’s senses easily predicted his movements. “I’m won’t start you on training immediately, but make some thoughts on the mana typings you want to foster, okay? Perhaps, even looking into a career and the kinds of mana they work with.”

Vasso nodded.

Ranvir smiled. “You’re going to do fine, you know that, right? Anything you set your mind to,” he leaned down and whispered. “You already have better handwriting than some of my friends from back home.”

Vasso chuckled. “Are we ever going to meet them?”

Ranvir sighed. “Hopefully. Maybe I’ll find Vednar soon.”

The kid shook his head and stood up. “I’m going to finish my homework.”

“I’m going to convince Frija to take a nap,” Ranvir said, stepping towards the door and dreading what was coming.