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Greetings, my dear audience! We're almost at the end of the month, so I figured I'd just release this in full. Hope you enjoy!

Read Windborn here!

Artist: BassyBefuddle

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Leaving a Mark

It wasn't quite a rude awakening. That's not what I'd call it. My feathers were matted and damp, and my head was a pike in the sand. My throat was dry and cracked and my left arm spazzed with pain when I tried to rub the sleep off my eyes. The strange, hollow square of light around the nearby curtain stared me down, as if to say, "Go on, move your arm. I dare you." I tried again, but something was latched around it. All was silent, and silence breeds a certain shadow. There was a woman at the end of the room. The usual panic of "I'm alive" was followed up with, "for now." If I knew her, I'd have to protect her. And if I protect her, I have to hurt her.

I lurched up and found something wrapped around my arm. White strips soaked with red. I heard the sweep of a curtain, and the light passing over the woman to its close. I saw brown leather on her tunic and skirt. Worry crossed her face as quickly as her intrigue.

"Breezes! You're awake!" she cried, a voice airy and motherly. "How do you feel?"

I didn't know. It was hard enough to tell if this was Hell, though I didn't think it'd be a house.

"Hello?" she mused. "Is everything all right?"

"Who are you?" I demanded as if she was the real intruder. "Don't come any closer."

"It's a bit late for that. You approached us in the woods, and you were bleeding. I don't think you were lucid. Did you come from Havarda?"

I hated what she's insinuating. "No. Siroon, I think. It doesn't matter." Also, who's "us"?

"It does if I should expect more treatment."

This wasn't safe. I tried getting up, but she stopped me.

"No. No. No you don't. You need to rest. The bandages are soaked and I'm worried they'll rip if you move around." She knelt down. "Listen. You're in a safe place. If anyone's coming for you, they'll have an army and a wall to get through. Just lay low for a while and I'll protect you."

"I...thank you."

I was still stuck on the bandage part. If anything, my awful pants would rip first. If you get wounded as a Windborn, nobody saves you. You use what you have with the forest and outwit the world to stay alive. So I guess I feel silly now, thinking I'd just walk the arrow off. She took it out without a thought. And now she showed all this tenderness...I didn't know what to do with it.

"You're welcome," she said. "My name's Amara. And you are...?"

"Don't say that," I warned. "You don't know what you're doing. Think of me as a nomad and leave it at that."

"You are. What's the problem?"

"Lots, and it's better for all of Avia that I keep to myself."

"Yourself? What do you think would've happened if someone else found you?"

"She did."

"All I asked for was your name!"

"Please! Stop. I know you want to be nice, but I'm fine. This is not the worst I've been through. If you care about yourself and others, then as soon as I'm gone, never think of me again. Please." I rolled to the other side. "And...thank you. For this."

Breezes. It hurt to say that to the avin who saved my life. But if I'm not strong enough, she wasn't, either. If it weren't for these wings, I'd have a thousand arrowheads in my back. She doesn't have to know about that. Ignorance is bliss.

She left me alone for some time. I watched her mess with her supply boxes and rest on a hay sack. I watched her fade in and out of dozing off. Maybe she thought I'd hurt her. Silence breeds a certain shadow. Guilty with that, I looked at the ceiling, instead. It must have been an hour before I heard her talons brush the floors, and I shied away from her gaze.

"You're a Windborn, aren't you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, that's just it." She took a seat by the curtain. "I always assumed they'd talk like that. Everything must feel so fragile since the Great Storm. I know what it's like to be lost, away from purpose and self-worth. That's how I grew up. Breezes, that's how I was born. All my life I wanted to fly away. I'd run around in circles in the backyard flapping my arms when I was a child, thinking one day I'd just grow up and look just like you. And I was sure that because of this mark-"

What mark?

"-maybe I was special. But I wasn't. And that was a phase of its own. The thing I loved-and still love-about Windborns is they can't ever stay in one place. With wings like that, you've got anywhere to be."

"Don't flatter me. You don't want to be in those places."

She looked sad. I was afraid I hurt her. I said, "Look, what I meant was-"

"That's guano and you know it." Her eyes were full of desperation. "Trust me. I've never seen anyone like you."

I noticed something about myself. The fact another arrow hadn't pierced through that window made me oddly frustrated at her. That didn't add up. So for once, I got the courage to look back at those bright, blue eyes. They were beautiful. I got chills from her head feathers in the light of the window.

"I have a lot of questions, if you're okay with that," she said. "I'll skip the name part."

Her voice was a whisper. This was the tone she'd have the whole night. I have to admit, it loosened me up. "Okay," I said, and it was pure honesty.

"Where did you come from?"

"It doesn't matter. Sorry, I know I said I'd open up, but I've seen so much destruction that I forgot what I'm doing in the first place. I wound up in this other place...I don't know, it's personal...and that's when I was attacked."

"What was it?"

"It's personal."

Her jaw quivered. "Okay."

Those eyes. Something about those eyes. I couldn't look away.

"So, how do you make shelter?" Amara asked. "Do you steal an old nest or build a house?"

"Depends on what you mean by a house. It's really just shelter for the night. It doesn't last, and it's not supposed to. You get used to that when you've been on the run for so long."

"The run? Who are you running from?"

I stammered. "Everything." It was hard to speak. "You'd get it if you knew my mother. She thought forgiveness and patience were best for everybody. I wish Avinkind had that same wisdom. I wish they wouldn't default to this era of violence. Agh. You'd think after all this time, they'd know how to live without starting some twister out of their motives, I just..." I groaned loudly. "I'm sick of it! I'm sick of knowing if you stay anywhere long enough, you have to watch it fall. It'd be better if we all just scavenged what little we have for ourselves! Why have faith when nothing works?! Why believe in Avinkind when you can't believe in Windborn?!"

Anger coiled from my head to my fingers. It's the anger avin used to destroy. I dragged a talon across the floor, instead.

"Hey. Look."

As she peeled the curtain open, I flinched and tried to duck, but it wasn't morning. It was night. Blazing firefly-like lights among these giant homes lined from right by our window to a mile it seemed in the distance. Animals snored from their pens, wheelbarrows of hay perched on their fences. Everything was happening, yet nothing at all.

"We built this together," she said. "We built this to protect each other. We've been building this ever since the Windborn led us out of the Nigidesh. And we have everything to give back."

"You can't know what it's like!"

"I understand. My job was to protect these avin."

"Was?"

"They let me go for the same reason. But I can protect you. I owe it to you, and so does everyone else."

"I don't understand. I didn't do anything!"

"You did more than you could ever know." she said. "We never forgot about you."

She let the curtain close. I still didn't get it, but maybe that wasn't the point. If the avin are willing to stick together, it doesn't have to be for the right reasons. What it comes down to is that I've struck the right side of town. I've hit exactly the right avin at exactly the right time. It's almost unfair how lucky I was. Suddenly I realized how inescapably right she was to heal me. Maybe if I let this go, just this once, I could allow myself some peace.

"And as for me, well..." She gripped the bottom of her shirt. "Can I show you something?"

"Huh?"

"Uh, unless you're from one of those places, anyway."

"I have no problem with this."

I had no problem with this.

"Thanks," she said, taking it off.

I was mesmerized. I'd seen breasts before, but those were in places that allowed it casually. No one's ever shown them to me as a gift.

"Look familiar?" She motioned to a sigil on her left breast "My Apana said that this mark was given to me by a Windborn. I was close to dying before I was born, but one of them saved me in time. Whoever they were, they left this behind."

They were so soft and full. The size was immaculate. For some reason, I was imagining them in my face. I also noticed they had a mark.

She cleared her throat. "You okay?"

I blinked. "Sorry! Er, What was your name again?"

She giggled. "You're lucky you're so cute, or I'd slap you."

"You mean, I'm lucky I'm Windborn?"

"Yeah. That's what I meant."

Wait, now. She actually messed that up. I didn't know I was making her so comfortable.

"You look lovely, too, by the way," I said.

"Thank you."

Something clicked with me. I could treat every avin in existence like a stranger, but I won't do it to her. And yet, I felt cute. My beak chattered. She snuck a half-smile as she scratched her temple. Sometimes knowing both of you are nervous cancels it out.

"So," I started. "Can I tell you a..."

"A what?"

"I was going to call it a secret, but I don't know if that's the word. I just feel like I haven't said enough."

"Go right ahead."

"Well...I don't wear clothes often," I admitted. "They're tight and restricting. And they get dirty so easily."

"You fly around all naked?"

"Yeah, I-"

Sorry, I just couldn't. She had this wide-eyed, meek smile, and I couldn't help but chuckle at it. We were soon a mess of laughter, loud enough to wake the town up. Hers was louder than I expected-way, way louder, kind of like she was squawking for mates, and it only made me laugh harder. It was so stupid, but I needed that.

"I figure if no one's going to find me, I might as well live naturally," I said.

"Well, call me jealous. There are some bathhouses where I can't even do that."

I was shocked. "It's the men, isn't it?"

"No, in fact, our Guidance is a woman. But she prefers to cover up, so some of us got confused. Avin go nude as a symbolic way to become one with the farms, bringing good fortune to the crops. Anything else, people see as scandalous, and of course, some idiots bring that to the bathhouse."

I chuckled. "It's not as bad as Koumul."

"Breezes, please, no!" she laughed. "No one talks about Koumul."

"You know what they do talk about, though?" I said, leaning in. "Oanta."

She was suddenly nervous. "The archipelago?"

"Yeah. I-"

"I've heard things," she cut in, drawing a finger over her skirt. "It's a bit of a guilty pleasure. I've heard it's so hot that...um, well..."

I already knew. "Those rumors are true."

Her eyes widened. "You don't mean...?"

"I've never seen so many nude avin in my life. I only fly there when I know no one's looking, and I cover my tracks. They are a different animal. The nights are short and everyone lives close to the sea. The beaches are always packed, and the restaurants are all outdoors. Those on the furthest islands have lived for decades without a stitch of clothing. Wearing even a top is so strange that it's practically a flag for tourists. And the couples...well. You know. They do a lot of poking around. And they're not so subtle."

It was like her creeping smile fixed her posture. "When all this is over, I'd like to go there. Just for some fun in the sun."

I chuckled. "I think I know the kind."

Her nervous laugh was cut short with a sigh, gazing at my pants. "You've really spent time in Oanta, huh?" Then she looked at my wings. "What a life."

I shrugged. "You take what you can get."

She opened her beak, but seemed reluctant. "You don't have to keep your pants on, by the way." It came out oddly loud. "Just a thought."

A strange warmth spread from my heart as she began to stammer.

"I mean, they're all tattered and bloodied, you might be-"

"I know what you meant," I laughed half-heartedly. "It's just, this bad arm. Can you help me out?"

I felt childish asking it, but it made her excited. I had the right end, she had the left. My cheeks flushed somewhat as we shimmied them off my hips, sliding over my pubes, and crumpling like a pile of leaves at my feet.

Her eyes widened as she looked between my legs. She tried to be subtle, but that was my reaction to her chest. This wasn't just comfort. This was flirting. She flustered and took my shorts away, and that was that. Something about it felt shyer. I immediately felt more vulnerable, but I didn't want her to look away.

"It's okay," she said. "This part of Gira isn't so bad about this."

"I'm not going outside." I rubbed my eyes. "Wait. Did you just throw them away?"

"Oh, they were no good, anyway. I can get you new ones in the morning. I think. Until then, uh...well. Stay naked!"

I blushed thinking about it. Wait. I just agreed to stay. Breezes, how did she do that?

"You look a lot better like that," she beamed. "I kind of wanted you out of those to begin with. Breezes, you've spent all those years in the trees and mountains. You must be so lonely."

"I don't think I'm lonely," I said. "I've had myself."

She seemed zoned out. Actually, she was looking at a lot of places. "Breezes, as if I couldn't get any more jealous of those amazing wings."

"They, uh," my voice trailed off. "Yeah. You could call them that."

"You" meaning Her. I didn't believe it, but it was nice to hear her say. Everything was nice. The night was young no matter how long it's been. My head didn't hurt, and that alone made me want to celebrate.

"Gael," I blurted.

"Hm?"

"Gael. That's my name. Nice to meet you."

She seemed taken aback. Silence breeds a certain shadow.

"And thank you," I added. "You're a remarkable woman." And then, "You look amazing, too. I can't stress that enough."

Our trust was growing. I don't think I've ever shared so much with a single avin in my life. I was suddenly aware of how hot it was, and I liked that skirt around her less and less. Warmth surged through my body as I hardened down below.

"You like me, don't you?" she breathed. "Gael?"

I nodded, the words leaving me. I couldn't break from her eyes. We just inched in and touched tongues-the way we avins had to kiss. We pulled away just to spring back in, this time more passionate, her pressing me into my hammock. Then she leapt out of her seat and into me, hugging me into her, rocking us back and forth. I lost balance, so she pulled back and held my shoulders tenderly. And we just stared at each other, both of us softly panting, thinking, that just happened. Or maybe that last part was just me.

She backed up and had her arms behind her head. The way she stood up was like her hips wiggling her to her legs. Her shoulders reeled back to accent her amazing chest.

"Hey," she hushed. "You can touch 'em, if you want."

I guess that's what they call the first move. I reached over with my good arm and kneaded her left breast, and in one move, I'd changed my life. She was a pillow of warm feathers, heart and flesh. You learn that when you touch someone. You learn how they feel, and how you feel, and all the little ways you both react. And then, I never wanted to stop.

"Breezes," I breathed. "I've never felt this before."

"Oh? You're not a virgin, are you?" she cooed. "Am I about to take a legendary Windborn's virginity?"

It was a question I wasn't prepared for. But why would I back away? Touching her was already addicting. I needed her to touch me back. And that's when she gazed at my erection.

"Ooh," she crooned. "Someone's big."

"Who's big? Is it me?"

"It means there's a lot to love."

Her feathery fingers curled around my shaft and gave the softest strokes. I don't know if it was practice, but it felt incredible.

"You look so good with everything off," she said. "I can only imagine how you look up in the skies. All majestic and free."

I didn't say anything back. That's when she slid her thumb into her leather skirt. Lowered it, just to show the V-line. The pleasure that surged through me-her hand around my manhood, and her hesitance-was taking over. I shook violently, losing myself to that demon. Something was erupting. I threw my right arm forward, and a gale of golden wind flew out, sending her backwards, her letting go of me, along with everything else.

"Oh...oh Breezes, I didn't mean to-!"

"It's alright!" she ruffled and brushed her feathers. "Are you okay?"

"Fine! I'm sorry. I don't want to-"

"That was amazing." Bedroom eyes. It's as if it never happened. "Now, where were we?"

I let her come close. This time, I'd be careful.

The mood was set. She stroked me and let me touch her chest. I felt my muscles relax, one by one. My breath was hollow the harder I got, and I spread my legs further and further. I wanted her closer. Her safety. Her saliva.

She stared at me again, when she knew I was okay. Her hand traced back down to her skirt. "Ready?" she said, in a joking way. This time, it was fast, like water to her knees. I was eye to eye with her cooch. It was cute and soft, like the rest of her. She caught me looking, too, and shook her hips.

"Don't be shy," she teased.

I slipped my hand between her vulva, smoothing a fingertip between it. The more I rubbed it, the wetter it became. I was so nervous. Her hand was at my beak until we were eye-to-eye.

"Gael?" she cooed, her voice rising. "Do you want to have sex with me?"

My heart thudded.

"Yes," I said. "Yes, Amara." I thought it was more formal. "I'd love to have sex with you."

She turned around and held one of my legs up, and for the first time, I saw her rear. She held me by the crotch and lowered herself onto it. The first insert was electric. My cheeks flushed red, feathers quivering as I moaned instantly. I never thought something could be so warm and comfy.

And she was riding me. The language of her hips wanted all of me for keeps. She held the underside of my beak as she bucked herself over and over. Her insides were velvet as mine were a wreck, still confused whether or not this was forgiveness or safety. Maybe both. But it wasn't lust. It was real. I held her back by her hips. Our pelvises smacked together. The hammock sagged with the weight of our love. She breathed with an open mouth, taking in every inch of me while she watched my reaction.

I was safe, relaxed, secure: everything, pressing my fingers into her hip so I wouldn't use my powers to ruin this. That tight, burning grip around my length made my mind hazy. She moaned, and she smacked against me, and she squinted with the thrum of her pleasure.

"Amara," I gasped. "I'm about to-"

"It's alright! Do it inside me! I want this!"

I shut my eyes and let myself loose, squeezing her by her thighs, melting her into me. I was reminded of sinkhole corks popping out of the lakes, and its warm geyser flooding to the skies. She moaned even louder as I felt it seep back down her vagina; happy squawks, so happy that we'd spent this time together.

We gathered our breaths for a while. Then we kissed once again. She laid in the hammock with me, on my good side. She looked so peaceful. I was peaceful, too. It was quiet.

"Did it feel good?" I asked.

She breathed, "Yes," and it felt good on my face.

We weren't done having sex for the night, but I was done with the hard part. As we collapsed again, I watched her fall asleep in my arm, like a mother with her egg, and listened for a curtain that would never burst open.

It was then when I learned something.

Silence breeds a certain shadow. When the sky bursts with horrifying contraptions you'd never imagine, and the clangs of shields and swords litter V-shaped feathers on the ground. We have a word for this. "Forgotten." And the grueling patience of when it won't be so silent, anymore.

This wasn't silence. It was quiet.

Quiet is the feeling that begets itself.

Quiet is a look outside to see everything put together.

Quiet is spending a day without clothes and never feeling vulnerable.

Quiet is a picture of her posing nude against a sunset tree in Oanta.

Quiet doesn't breed a shadow. It leaves a mark.

And a mark doesn't have to last forever.

It just has to keep you together.

The one wrapped in bandages does, I suppose.

I hope the one on her breast does it better.

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Thumbnail: Alt of Amara & Gael