Chapter Text
The feeling of uncertainty grew with every passing minute. While they allowed her out of the birdcage for the first time since the last auction, nobody told her why. They bathed her without saying a word. They even used warm water for once, but the unusually comfortable treatment was too foreign for her to enjoy. Her hair was braided, her feathers groomed and her claws polished before she was led to yet another cage on the back of a carriage. As they clicked the locks in place, relief flooded her - the cage was safe, albeit different. The bars were ornate, golden and shiny. A stark contrast to the rusty, tiny cage that could barely contain her wings.
A silken blanket was thrown over her enclosure and she closed her eyes.
The air smelled different, saltier. A harsh breeze played with the soft fabric around her, allowing her scant glimpses of the road travelled. In the distance, she heard an alluring melody carried by the wind.
While she has lost her sense of time in the darkness of her cage, she knew they travelled a long distance, assumingly to the coast.
Once the carriage came to a halt, her cage was placed onto a gravelled floor. The melody, now closer, ended abruptly.
Behind her, a door opened and polite conversation was held. She learned to ignore human exchanges, as the information gathered from those was liable to only cause despair.
The gravel crunched under the wheels of the carriage as the horses set in motion. She quietly listened to the sound becoming quiet in the distance. Her mind wandered as she listened to the sounds of nature, fantasising how soothing the wind would feel in her feathers - if only she would be allowed to spread her stiff wings.
“Go on, my love. Unwrap your present.” A smooth, measured voice resonated behind her and she immediately recognised it - It was the tall, slender man from the last auction. His face concealed by a smooth, pale mask that lacked emotion. Flowing garments of ivory and crimson hung from his frame, adorned with gold accents, giving him the air of a performer on stage. She could only hope he was once again accompanied by the younger man.
She remembered him clearly. Beautiful, dark teal hair with a faint violet sheen, falling across his face. Mesmerising, half-shadowed eyes seemed lost in thought, until he caught hers. The way he looked at her was almost affectionate.
“Jhin… Is this..?” The soft voice, almost weightless, as if spoken from a distance, joined in. He was here, too…
“The little bird, yes. She's all yours.”
It was difficult to ignore them, no matter how hard she tried - their words held no malice, much like back at the auction, but she knew cruel intentions could be hidden behind gentle words.
The young man carefully lifted the blanket. After so long in the dark, her eyes would sting whenever light touched them. She flinched in pain and closed her eyes shut. “Oh no, poor girl! I didn't mean to blind you. Let's get you inside.”
Once again protected from the bright light outside, she felt the cage being moved.
The two men quietly talked about how to make life more comfortable for her. She was taken aback by this level of consideration for her needs. However, humans that would even consider buying a living, thinking creature, especially a Vastaya, couldn't have a good soul, even if they seemed kind so far.
“We will lift the blanket now. Cover your eyes if necessary.” The man with the smooth voice, Jhin, said. Fear froze her in place, but she mustered the courage to slowly open her eyes. There weren't any blinding lights anymore, only a few candles scattered across a rustic, colourful room. The walls were cluttered with painted canvas and dried flowers. As she looked around, her eyes fell on the two men. She hurriedly lowered her gaze, scared there may be punishment for her curiosity.
“Say, do you remember us?” The young man asked hesitantly. He seemed too gentle to buy the life of another being, yet Jhin said she was a present for him... Maybe he was the one with the cruel intentions.
In her time being held captive she didn't speak a word, and for the time being, she would stick to it. She had no reason to trust the unique pair.
Whether the man in front of her took her silence for denial or shyness, he introduced himself and his partner. “I'm Hwei, this is Jhin. We saw you at the… auction…” The excitement in his voice faltered and took up a hint of melancholy.
Jhin, who observed their interaction from the corner of the room, took a few steps closer. “I can imagine you're not exactly thrilled about your current situation, but we can guarantee that you will live a better life with us than you did with your previous owner.” With fluent movements, he unlocked the cage and Hwei offered her his delicate hand. “You should rest a bit, but feel free to explore your room as much as you like.” Hwei vaguely gestured around them. “For now, we will lock the door…” He seemed hesitant to finish his sentence, but Jhin continued for him. “It doesn't have to stay that way, but you surely understand that trust is to be earned.”
Startled and still frozen, she watched Jhin embracing Hwei’s waist with his robotic arm, guiding him out of the room.
The lock of the door clicked and she was once again left alone with her thoughts.
As interesting as the pair was, the uncertainty of why they had bought her left her anxious. So far, they did not lie. Having a room definitely beats being imprisoned in a cage. Here, she could spread her wings and even walk around. It was an impressive room. It would be flooded by sunlight, if it weren't for the thick curtains. Across from the covered windows was a rustic studying desk adorned with all sorts of dried flowers, the same that decorated the walls. The part that piqued her curiosity the most was a large bed topped with soft and fluffy cushions. Not once had she seen such comfortable bedding, much less slept in one. Hwei even called it her room. Despite all of that, she couldn’t help but long for the only safety she knew - the cage.
The following days went by with frequent visits from both men, sometimes together, sometimes alone. While Jhin was reserved, Hwei did his best to make her feel comfortable - he brought her food, blankets and encouraged her to nest in the bed, outside of the cage. It seemed that he put a lot of effort into researching her race. He even invited her to watch his art and it was the most beautiful thing she ever witnessed.
The brush dipped into an unseen color and with a jagged stroke he pulled a cliff from the void - stone rising in pale gold, edges sharp against the air. A softer curve followed, silver and azure unraveling into wind that tugged and swirled, playful and unbound.
Then, she appeared. Each stroke breathed her into being: arms lifted, a dress spun wide in the gale, hair like dark ink scattering into the sky. The world itself bent to her, holding her steady at the edge.
The pigments shimmered, alive. For as long as he willed it, she danced there, eternal, caught in the wind he had painted into life.
She watched in awe and, for the first time since she was captured, she felt true joy.
One day, he suggested a walk through their gardens. The prospect of feeling nature around her almost made her thank him, yet she remained silent. They still didn't share their intentions with her, so she would respond in kind.
It was clearly visible on Hwei’s face that he was uncomfortable with the condition that came with her leaving the house - she needed to wear a collar and a leash, but she agreed and silently waited for him to fasten the leather around her neck.
As the first breeze danced through her feathers, tears welled in her eyes. While she was finally able to stretch her wings in her room, she didn't bother with grooming them. In the past it only got her hurt to be caught doing so…
“It feels good right? I love to feel the wind waft through my hair…” Hwei told her dreamily - she liked that about him, his speech so deliberate and never forceful - calm, introspective, and tinged with a subtle fragility, half-absorbed in thoughts she couldn't follow.
“They told us you can't fly anymore… that made me think…” He cut his sentence short and led her through the beautiful gardens that surrounded their manor up to a cliff, a familiar cliff.
The wind’s intensity increased the further they went up the cliff and her gaze was drawn to the soft silk of Hwei’s robe, swirling behind him, much like the dancer's dress in his art.
“I know it will never be the same… but…” Coming to a halt on top of the cliff, he spread his arms and threw his head back - the leash loosely tangling from his hand. She took a moment to observe him, her eyes drawn to his beautiful face, to his melancholic smile… she spread her wings as wide as her severed tendons would allow. One of her wings momentarily brushed Hwei’s shoulder before it unfolded into a colourful display of greenish-blues and dark greys. “I wish you would be able to fly again… I really do.” He whispered before they both fell into a comfortable silence - both enjoying the moment. It was too easy to believe that, maybe, he indeed had a good soul.
After the day on the cliff, both men let her roam more freely. They told her that they locked all doors, and she didn't even try to escape. She would someday - maybe. But for now, she decided to stay and explore the curiosity she fostered for them. Maybe it was the solitude, but at least they treated her well, gave her food and a safe place to nest. That alone was more than she had before she was captured.
On some nights, she wondered how the pair worked out. She remembered how Jhin called Hwei my love, yet the masked man remained mostly secretive about his affection for the young painter.
Most days she spent watching them creating their art. Jhin was truly a virtuoso, the alluring melody she heard on her way here, written by his own hand. It was captivating to watch him fully devoted to his passion, yet he was a man full of secrets. While Hwei told her many different stories, mostly through his art, Jhin rarely shared his thoughts with her. She wondered if it was his punishment for her own silence...
As much as she got used to life around them, she was still unable to trust humans who intentionally bought her. Sometimes, when she wandered around the manor, she noticed how they would stop talking as soon as she was in reach. She couldn’t trust them.
As time went by, the excursions with Hwei became more frequent. Sometimes, Jhin accompanied them and if he did, they would move much farther out, visiting the beaches and the forests. The leash became her constant companion while outside, but she almost didn't notice it anymore. Hwei made sure to never pull on it, holding it more like a statement than a confinement.
A few days ago she decided to finally put the blankets Hwei brought her to good use. She wanted to build a nest, make herself a comfortable place to rest - outside of the cage.
It was foreign to sleep covered in blankets, safe and warm. She never had the luxury of peaceful nights.
The moon had already risen as she heard muffled sobs from across the hallway. The thin feathers in her neck bristled and when the sobs turned into yelps, she left her nest to have a look. It sounded like Hwei… like he was in pain. Jhin should be with him but seemingly didn't do anything to help. “Jhin!” The young artist screamed. There was desperation in his voice. She flexed her claws and reached for the door handle - ready to fight the man whose name Hwei screamed in agony.
To her surprise it was neither agony nor desperation the beautiful young man screamed in. Not in a bad way at least…
While Hwei didn’t seem to notice her, ready to fight, Jhin did.
No longer hidden behind a mask, a sharp jawline and straight nose were revealed. His eyes were piercing, but his beauty was equal to his partners. His lips formed a faint, confident smile, giving him a composed and commanding presence as he watched her standing on the threshold of the door. “Please… Jhin… I need more… I can't… can't wait.” Hwei pleaded, winding in the sheets. His slim waist was held in place by Jhin's robotic arm, while the other worked the fingers of his hands deep inside the young painter, making him yelp relentlessly - his flushed, hard length leaving behind a glistening trail on his defined stomach.
“He's gorgeous, isn't he, little bird?”
Startled and panting, she laid in her nest, eyes wide open as she tried to process what she just witnessed. Hwei’s beautiful, flushed face, twisted in pleasure, desperate for more… Jhin's smile, challenging and inviting at once. He knew she was watching… knew she was as captivated in the younger man's beauty as he himself was. She felt the wetness between her thighs grow as she recreated the obscene picture of him sprawled out in front of Jhin - hips desperately trying to chase the pleasure inflicted by the virtuoso's fingers.
That night, her loneliness felt overwhelming. It's been so long since she had a mate… Sleep didn't come easy…