Birds of Paradise - 9. Chapter 9

The first town they clattered up to was a fairly large trade town, accustomed to the many travelers who used that route. They had no need for a tinker, but Cy was able to trade some of the wagon's wares for fresh supplies.

With his growing beard, travel grime, and the intermittent rain showers, he was a disheveled, soggy mess that he didn't think anyone would recognize, but he was worried about the lack of soldiers on the road so far. He had assumed that the Shah would have sent his guards after them by now. Was it possible they hadn't guessed what route he'd taken from the capitol? Had the master's plan worked that well?

As a Bard or Loremaster, Cy could have easily provided for himself and the others by setting up for the night at one of the bustling inns, but he didn't dare sing or play. He had to keep true to his tinker's disguise lest they all be discovered and imprisoned, if not killed outright.

He used the provided supplies sparingly, haggling firmly, but not so well as to make himself memorable. When he returned to the wagon, there was plenty of time left in the day to get further down the road. Crowds made him nervous, what with all the noise the chicks made. His and Ries' disguises were still too new and the chance that one of them would slip was currently quite high. The more distance they could put between themselves and rumors of the theft, the better.

Ries was proving handy with a needle, setting himself the task of altering their borrowed garb to better fit. He worked every minute that he wasn't learning and practicing the language of the scouts, and Cy was of a mind to give over some of the fabric they carried for more clothes. They could use flashier attire, suitable for a tinker and his apprentice, but they would also need good, hardy traveling clothes for when they must set aside the wagon.

They traveled with the door open between driver and the living space. Ryubyn's sharp eyes and sensitive hearing alerted them long before any towns or other travelers came into view. The songbird was also the one who first spotted the spring-fed stream off through the trees, a tiny trickle that was too small to be marked on any of the maps Cy had seen.

The more signs he taught to Ries and Ryubyn, the greater their focus on each other, and the greater their frustration. Very soon Cy would have no more signs to teach them, and he worried that the tension between the two would escalate faster than their ability to communicate. It was distracting; but more than that, Cy felt rather like he assumed a parent would when his children squabbled. He'd never been adept at relationships himself, so trying to counsel these two, a more different pair he couldn't imagine, was out of the question. All he could do was attempt to translate and hope for the best.

Ryubyn's interest in learning astonished Cy. He knew that the birds' songs were very rich, their histories passed down verbally, but seeing the speed at which Ryubyn memorized the signs was still astonishing.

Ryubyn tugged on Cy's sleeve, pulling him out of his thoughts. He followed the songbird's pointing finger to the East. Beside him on the seat, Ries made the gestures for snake and water: a river.

Smiling, Cy signed back, 'How far?'

Distances still confused the songbird. Cy knew from Ryubyn's song that the songbird didn't know, but he still waited for the hand signs.

Ryubyn pointed again and gave an exaggerated shrug.

Cy nodded and steered the wagon off the road through the trees. When they grew too dense, he hopped down from the seat to lead the pony along a path they made up as they went along. He was as eager to bathe and clean his clothes as he imagined the songbird was, fastidious creatures that they were.

There was just enough room by the bank to set the wagon and hobble the horse. The water was clear, if cool, and moving quickly enough that Cy didn't fear watery predators despite the shallow depths.

They worked quickly as a team now, setting up their little camp. Ryubyn lifted Indivriar from inside while Cy saw to the horse and Ries gathered underbrush and wood for a fire. They left the doors open on the wagon and gathered by the river, taking advantage of the brief spate of warm weather to wash the clothes and blankets, and then hanging everything to dry.

Ryubyn, Cy learned, had no concept of modesty. Of course, he normally wore next to nothing. Ries was also comfortable in his skin, giving Cy a curious look which left Cy feeling both foolish and lecherous, embarrassed by his own modesty. He let the boys, as he was beginning to think of them, head out to the water and reminded himself to lecture them on the dangers of the outdoors later. Freedom had its risks as well as rewards, and naivete would not save them.

With the chicks carefully bundled near the fire to stay warm, Cy was free to dote on his mate. He sat with Indivriar in a sunbeam for awhile, watching over the boys splashing enthusiastically in the water. They stayed on opposite sides of the stream at first, until an errant splash spattered the other, and then the water war was on! Cy was just grateful to be out of the splash zone.

He eased into the water once the blankets were dry. He found a sheltered nook that allowed him to just sit on the rocks and let the rushing water pass over them, washing away the grime of the past few days.

Indivriar gasped at the coldness, keening softly as he shivered against Cy's chest. Cy crooned back in reassurance, working the water through the feathers as quickly as he could to dislodge the dead feathers and allow the water to circulate.

In the sunshine through the trees, the blue songbird's skin looked almost translucent, stretched tightly over his bones. The water made the feathers soft again where illness had turned them dry and brittle.

Cy caressed the small, cute nose, tracing the sharply upturned end with the pad of his finger. The songbird's features were definitely male, all sharp corners unlike the smooth curves of the women Cy was generally attracted to. He knew every inch of the songbird after having cared for him so completely the past few weeks. He could see and feel how the illness ate away at his features, thinning the long, lithe muscles and making the once-strong body seem brittle and small.

It puzzled him how the strange creature had taken complete control over his affections, until the large, round eyes opened. He stared down into the dark depths, with their thin, surrounding circle of blue, and found himself smiling. It was stupid, perhaps, but he didn't care. If he'd ever stared into another's eyes like this they were forgotten in an instant.

The songbird smiled slightly, dull eyes brightening, and a lump rose in Cy's throat, making his chest ache abominably.

::Indivriar,:: he crooned. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

Indivriar was shivering from the cold, but his smile grew wider. His little, pink tongue darted out from between his lips where he lay as usual with his head tucked against Cy's chest and shoulder.

The light, teasing contact made Cy groan. The songbird's tongue was harsh and raspy and Cy knew he was beyond infatuated, because the minute, non-sexual gesture sent a spark of desire straight to his cock, making him stiff and uncomfortable in an instant. Words of apology, of guilt died before they could be voiced, however, because the look which appeared on Indivriar's face was nothing less than wicked.

Cy stared; and then he laughed. "You minx!" He leaned over to kiss Indivriar's forehead and cheeks, delighted by the play even though Indivriar was already drifting away again, eyes fogging over, body limp where Cy held him.

Holding back a sob, Cy lifted his mate and stepped from the stream. He kneeled on a blanked, placing Indivriar in front of him to gently brush the water from the blue feathers with another blanket.

Above them, the sun disappeared behind some clouds and Cy held his mate and tried not to weep.

Ryubyn and Ries watched him, but Cy didn't notice, so intent was he on holding back frustrated, grief-stricken sobs. They glanced at each other, songbird and falconer's apprentice, connecting for a moment over mutual concern.

::Na'Ries?:: Ryubyn twittered softly, taking care to pronounce the name correctly. His reward was a dark color appearing on his mate's cheeks. He wasn't sure what caused that blush, and he wanted to touch, but he dared not; touching was forbidden.

Ries made a gesture, a combination of signs they had learned and Ryubyn frowned, watching intently as his mate repeated the gesture twice more, changing each one just slightly, until the question clicked.

::My mate is the smartest, bestest ever,:: he trilled, but softly so as not to disturb the bard and ill songbird. His song dropped off to a frustrated hoot as Ries got that look that Ryubyn had learned meant he was going to receive a scolding in a minute. He wanted to curl his hands into frustrated fists, and they jerked as he started to do that, but his mate actually flinched back a step.

Ryubyn took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. His parents would surely be laughing if they could see him now. He shook his head, shrugging with his palms out. He had practiced this one, too, adding a calming, soothing warble. He could hear the exasperated undertone and winced, but try as he might, he couldn't erase the sarcasm. His mate was too easily frightened, that was all. How could everything Ryubyn did scare the human? It was preposterous!

Something soft fluttered against his ankle and Ryubyn glanced down. The water had momentarily trapped a scarlet and gold feather in the rocks by his feet. His first instinct was to kick out in irritation for the ticklish feeling, but then he remembered: gifts!

He lunged after the escaping feather, sending up water in huge waves, tripping and falling on the slippery pebbles, but he came up victorious! Grinning, he offered the feather to Ries.

The boy had retreated to the far side of the stream, watching the scarlet songbird suspiciously.

Ryubyn didn't have a nest to line with feathers and other soft objects to make his mate comfortable when clutching chicks, but he held out the feather hopefully anyway, singing his intentions with many repetitions of his mate's name.

"Just take it already!" snapped Cy, making the pair jump and stare at him in an embarrassed, guilty fashion that would have been amusing if it wasn't so painful for Cy to watch. "It's a gift. Accept it."

The feather was as long as Ries' forearm and as wide as his palm. He took it automatically at Cy's barked order, curling his fingers around the thin, brittle-seeming shaft. He'd watched Ryubyn bathing and knew that songbirds helped each other, but he was too frightened to get that close.

He'd touched and held feathers before from cleaning out the cages, but he'd never been allowed to keep them. Every shed feather had to be turned in to the Master Falconer because the feathers, like the birds, were Royal property. Having one was illegal, unless you were a member of the royal family or acquired one as a gift from them.

His fingers patted the barbs mindlessly, watching the water drip free, and Ries reminded himself that he was a dead man. Had been dead from the very first moment he'd been accosted in Ryubyn's cage two years ago. He was a songbird's mate. He lacked the markings, but there was no turning back. Why had he come? He asked himself that every day and was no closer to an answer now as the day he'd made the choice to sneak into the physicians' store rooms and stolen the medicine. At the time, he'd told himself he would just give it to the bard and be done with him, his persuasive words, and the stupid songbird who had ruined Ries' life, but ....

And there his thoughts always stopped. But he'd come anyway. What to do?

"Tell him 'thank you,'" prompted Cy from his position by the fire.

Guilty over his ill manners, Ries bobbed his head, tried a smile, and moved his hand in the 'acknowledged' sign they'd learned.

Ryubyn copied the gesture, grinning happily. Without thinking, he reached out to pet his mate, but the boy startled, leaping back and dropping the feather.

::Ryubyn!::

::Yes, yes, I know!:: he snapped back, adding a rude, blistering retort that he was sure the bard would understand the sentiment behind, even if he didn't know exactly what was said.

::He is your mate, and you will treat him with respect,:: Cy continued in his lecture, words so familiar and chastising that Ryubyn couldn't stop a sharp retort in exchange.

Not understanding a word of the bird song filling the air, Ries glanced between the bard and the songbird. Cy looked exhausted, sad, and angry. The blue songbird, still so ill but somehow still alive lay in the bard's lap, wrapped in blankets so that only the feathers on his head stuck out, and a flash of blue skin from his face.

Ries had cared for mated songbirds, had heard gruesome story after gruesome story about falconers who got too close to their charges. He'd never believed the devotion could be like this. Cyrus was not mad, as all the stories warned and claimed -- unless his desire to escape the capitol and steal two songbirds was madness -- but his plan seemed sensible to Ries. If they could find the cure and bring it back, Cy would be a hero. It didn't seem mad to Ries -- unless he was also mad.

Unnoticed by the squabbling pair, Ries caught the fallen feather, stroking it while he thought. Could he be a songbird's mate? Did he really have a choice?

Ryubyn's arms were as thick and muscled as Ries' thighs and he eyed them sidelong, gathering his courage to reach out and touch, just above the elbow. Quick, he touched and jerked his hand back.

The tumult of song broke off as the other two males stared at Ries. He flushed, staring at his feet, but he made the 'acknowledged' gesture again.

Ryubyn beamed. He bounced on his toes once or twice, cocking his head to try and see his mate's expression, trilling at him happily, but with a note of concern.

:: Slowly,:: Cy instructed, watching the two with bitter interest.

::I don't understand,:: said Ryubyn. Every instinct called for him to snatch up his mate and brush their cheeks together for joy and comfort, but he was forbidden to touch! That, and every time he tried, his mate lunged just as quickly away.

::Lift your hand slowly,:: explained Cy. For once, the songbirds' intricate language was a blessing. Where he might have stumbled trying to explain what he meant in words, Song let him describe in pictures.

So slowly that he felt like Screeching with impatience, Ryubyn followed the bard's Song and lifted his hand, palm sideways, holding it there about shoulder level with his mate.

Ries caught movement from the corners of his eyes, the tips of the songbird's fingers and untrimmed claws making him flinch, but Ryubyn didn't move and Ries dared to glance at him. Hesitantly, after a reassuring nod from Cy, the falconer set his hand in Ryubyn's, guiding him through a hand-shake. Ryubyn let go only reluctantly, but he let go, and Ries smiled at him, blushing to see the songbird's puzzled, frustrated frown flip into a happy smile.

"Idiots," Cy murmured grumpily. He scooped up his mate and got him resting comfortably in the wagon again before coming back to disturb Ries and Ryubyn. They stood as he'd left them, staring awkwardly at each other. If not for the lowering sun and gathering clouds, Cy would have let them stand and do whatever it was they thought they were doing for as long as they wished, but they needed to get the wagon packed up before it all got soaked.

"Hey!" he called to them. "Pack up, it's going to rain again soon." He pointed up at the darkening clouds, making them both look, as if they hadn't realized rain fell from the sky.

Punctuating his words with gestures and song, Cy prodded the others into motion. They had just enough time to pack away their clothes and supplies before the first raindrops fell, fat and heavy upon the wagon's roof.

Cy used the small stove to heat water for tea and Indivriar's medicines, and tried to ignore the other couple. He hated them, envied their youth and health.

Lucky for him, Ryubyn could sing about nothing endlessly, and Ries had his sewing project. They settled down on the two bunks, Ries in the lower and Ryubyn in the upper. This left the floor-bed to Cy and Indivriar. He fed the chicks, fed his mate the medicine-laced version of the stew which was their dinner, and cuddled him close.

::Live, N'Indivriar,:: he sang softly, with all the longing he couldn't quite admit to himself. ::I need you to live. Please....::