I originally made this story to be five parts, but I wrote so much that it turned out to be six! @BassyBefuddle will draw for the last one, as well. You can see this picture on his page right here. Hope you enjoy!

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Part 5

Obliteration of Privacy

Unfair.

The radiant sun. The Breezes unbound. Arms limp, we made our way towards the horizon: wounded, naked, unbroken, my head fuzzy. The shadowy forest we'd conquered was shrinking in the distance. How long had it been since we entered? How long had I been nude? Weeks? Months? I was glowing, as though I was becoming the sun itself. This light had been off since I left the watchtower back in Gira. This horizon was real. It's over.

All the hardships we'd faced to get this far…were they actually worth it? We hadn't found Phyris; it may very well not even exist! It didn't matter. We made it.

With ten shades of excitement roaring through me, I touched my vagina. All the love we've grown from filling this. Without me, the Windborn would be fully extinct, and without him, I'd be dead. I felt my tits, still swelled from the forest's magic. The way they swayed made me proud of my body. The memories of his hotness washed over the blood and gore. Sex was only a game to start, and now it had transformed us both. I no longer saw Gael for the Windborn he was before. Our connection was permanent.

Gael was a beast seeing true light for the first time. No words came from his once troubled face, now frozen in disbelief. Yet his confusion was calm and admiring in the warm, orange embrace. Uncovered by feathers, his long, huge swinging dick received a full blast of sunlight. The horizon had defined him by his nakedness.

There was no correct reaction. The tenderness could only be embraced. Felt. And loved. Our eyes met with similar levels of shock bouncing between us. I was blushing. What he was feeling, he couldn't hide. My hands were reaching for the spaces between his wounds before I even knew what I was doing. When he grasped my hips, I had never felt more safe in my life.

And when he leaned in, my heart jumped like a virgin's would. We wrapped tongues in an exploding sunrise, genitals touching through a radiant stress of danger, learning on the spot how not to care. That's what our kiss communicated. That we'd reached the end, and he loved me for it. Feather to feather, we pressed beaks, fingers in the notches of each other's muscles. One accidentally rolled over a scar of mine, and I winced. A reminder: we had to trek. And yet, the touch was too addicting not to care.

Huddled together we walked, though our hands hadn't cared to move position. Between the sunlight, his digits, the relief and my hyper-sensitive vulva, mine were trembling. The strokes I gave him were slow and careful, letting him know how much I loved him. Later he told me he came, but I hadn't noticed—that's how entranced I was. I wanted him to touch all the goosebumps on my body. Squeeze my tits until the forest's wrath milked out.

Those brown feathers became more addicting than his dick. I turned into the cup of his hand on my big tit, thumb circling the nipple. A single warm drip rang my vagina. Now my tongue was warm, again. He'd found every nook and cranny of my beak and made it his.

Now, our hands were locked. I laughed, hunched and fell to the grass. My pelvis rocked. I still can't believe how natural it was to open my legs and offer myself to him. How blank my mind was, and how his face calmly lit up when he saw my pussy. I pushed my pelvis up. He grabbed my hips. His tip was brushing my opening, and my thighs flexed, and every muscle in my body agreed that this was the pinnacle of what love had to offer. I was a waterfall turning into a river.

A wave of pleasure told me he put the head in. Slowly he made me shake until his dick filled me to the brim. Then he took it slow. I lowered us and leaned into his beak. Kissing him, his muscular body stirring me inside and out. I only wanted him closer. If I could make him grow limbs to play with my tits, I would have done it right away. His dick dug a little deeper; I squeezed him around a little harder, and somehow I realized that this was it. Our love would burst its wings, right here in this field.

Taking him was an orgasm that never ended, and he knew it. He knew I wanted it rough, but he also knew how big he'd grown. So even in his roughest thrusts, he struggled to go all the way in. Wordlessly he realized how endowed he'd become. I scratched his hands. He took the challenge.

We made love in the roaring sun, tears in our eyes. The way he fucked me knocked out all my thoughts; all passion and honesty, my legs wrapped around him. A ravaging, angled thrust told me he was shaking, too, staring back in those needy eyes. I could tell how badly he wanted to fit it all in. To hold me so close I'd never lose sight of him. His fingers clenched harder; I liked it rough like that.

And in one sudden motion, his hips smacked and shot up off my labia. Balls deep. I hadn't flinched. And the look of aroused, realized shock on his face made the sunrise click together. When he fucked me in that rhythm, I think we were both on another level, gasping in air we used to be able to breathe. He pushed until his balls touched and his bronze feathers nuzzled in my clit before he wrapped his arms around me. Whispered in my ear, “I love you, babe," and I knew he meant it,

Juices ran between my ass cheeks, his heart beating on my sensitive tits. And when his arms flexed, he pulled out, exhaled hard and shot white streaks all over my belly. I was still moaning just as loud. He knew what to do. He pulled out, aimed it, squinting while he erupted, wiped it off and thrust back inside.

By then, he had me moaning out loud. Hot, white drips rolled and flew off my tits and belly to the impact of him smashing into me, afterglow tingling all over my body. The white gobs on the top of my labia splashed and sent waves from pussy to neck. All I wanted was more, more, more, It was the hottest thing I've ever seen, and I'm not kidding. Pleasure pulsed through my lower half to my talons until I started gasping!

I reached up and touched his cheek to tell him I was going to erupt. Shaking, my hands clenched, the clenching of my walls fighting against his massiveness. He stopped, looking impressed with himself. I begged for him to keep pounding. The way his face looked will never leave my mind. It's the amazement, I think, that hit me the most. He always had a way of hiding it, but now, that impulse was gone. There he was.

When I told him I was gonna erupt, I touched his cheek. Shaking, my hands clenched, the juices of my cum fighting against his massiveness to get out. He stopped, looking impressed with himself. I begged for him to keep pounding. The way his face looked will never leave my mind. It's the amazement, I think, that hit me the most. He always had a way of hiding it, but now, that impulse was gone. There he was.

It felt like days–a lifetime, maybe! But eventually, we got tired. The taste of sweat was overwhelming, the fields smelling of sex. Our feathers were messed up and spiking. We looked at each other and breathed, my body covered in cum. He slouched off to the side and put one arm around me. My legs couldn't stop shaking. I kept them bent and open to the horizon. I lost count of how many orgasms I had, but it was more than him, for sure. It was hardly any time at all before, like naturality, he dove between my legs and made me scream, scream into the Winds.

I saw the whole of his being in those half-lidded eyes. His honest smile as he wiped his semen off me. Even his hand moving across my stomach was enough to bring me to an orgasm. There were no thoughts of the Kreeg or the blood we'd been bathing in. We were warm. In arms. In tongues. Pinching each other's nipples while the muscle returning to my legs did nothing to concern me.

A moment came where we'd have to move.

A moment that got lost in time.

A gap as wide as a feather.

So unfair.

---

The no-longer-distant grassy fields were up to my hips. My legs were stiff, and there was a constant brushing on my vulva. Gael was relaxed, too, though he joked about them tickling his balls. I offered to play with them as we went, but he declined. It's alright. Our brains were too drained by this point.

Unfortunately, Gael's problem had returned. His cock was up and going like it hadn't blown a thousand times in the fields. I had no clue how many orgasms he had—he didn't know, either. Clearly it bothered him, stuck in that blank peer into the faraway lands, beak shut and to the grindstone.

Up to our chests, now, our claws sliced the stalks, spraying bugs. A sudden tan-colored fur patch and a squeal startled us once before it up and disappeared. Only once. There was a shared urge not to fight back, to take things as they come.

Why was it like this? What caused our minds to shift so far to the background that we could forget about each other? The forest had to be involved. That force telling us to second guess every step was still holding its eyes to the treetops. It's not as though we weren't vulnerable. Any strange noise made me reach for a spear. If I couldn't, there would be no moving forward. I left Gael alone for that reason. He was recognizing peace again.

I felt the Winds open up somewhere close. We were covered in reed bits, now sand-colored reeds and twice as tall, buds looking fed and bulbous. Some had purple petals peeling off the side, revealing the inside layer. It was plump and reddish-purple, others had brown spots, not being so lucky. One being pecked at by a feral bird leaked juice. Avin lived nearby.

One last V of stalks revealed the curve of a dirt path, and the plainland where bales of these reeds stood ages apart. A small patch of woods in the distance made me audibly groan. I backed up. Given the sun's position, someone was harvesting in this sea of reeds. For now, it was empty.

A finger of wind drafted between my vulva. I lurched back and covered up. The realization was harsh: that the moment I stepped onto that path, I was officially naked in public. Draya parading me didn't count—those were Kreeg soldiers. I would have to walk around with my belly partially stained from semen and deal with all the stares I'd attract. Was I ready?

Gael was apprehensive, too, searching the wispy clouds. He peered, sniffed and had a sudden bump in his chest. I looked, too, and flinched. Smoke ballooned into the sea of leaves; you could feel the warmth on your cheeks. The source? An orange, fickle dot in the square opening of a wooden hut—-an angry eye in a green haven burning a hole through my skull, the Breezes smelling of poison. I was stuck in place. I had never frozen in fear before. This was new.

I looked at Gael, instead, and found his arm was almost completely healed. The feathers were just inches away from matching the other. He knew. Once they were together, he'd fly us to the shoreline, I thought. The only problem was anybody who looked up. Could we get away as just a legend? A tale? My feathers rose when I remembered the Kreeg soldier's speech by the firepit—battered by wind tunnels, and still in disbelief about the truth. Little did he know a Windborn was standing in one of his own tents, sweat covering him like hay bits from a jump from a watchtower. Crazier things have happened. It just might be possible.

The more I traced the scars connecting around his chest, shoulders and sides, the more my smile faded. I thought of the jab I gave Mother Bird, the shrieks she made, tumbling. And that damn flame in the window, the icon of pain, sealed all this together. Past visions of Gira were tormenting me; I couldn't bear the thought.

Get him to fly you over the canopy. He has enough of his wingspan to spare.

“Hey Gael," I said, “can you fly us around?"

“I'm too wounded, I think. We should go."

“We don't have to. Let's not overthink this. If we set up camp now, we wouldn't have to move. We could heal our wounds overtime and hide out in the reeds when there's daylight. Then when you're ready, we'll leave by the next full moon."

After some pondering, he shook his head. “That would take too long."

“I don't care. We're surrounded by food, Gael. We'll make it."

He didn't seem to hear me. Then he did something unforgivable. He walked out into the open, right where less than half an acre away, a farmer's back was turned. I yanked him back by the tail feathers, lump in my throat.

“What on Avia are you doing, Gael?!" I scolded him. “We don't have to be stupid about this!"

“I'm so tired, Amara. I just want this to finish. No matter the risk."

“That doesn't mean you have to—"

“And I've seen this road before. They're all work-obsessed, andif they see us, no one's ever going to believe them."

He always knew better in holistic terms. Frustrating when a good thing comes and it's not usable. Everything took patience, and I could feel his running thin. A rumble in his stomach made him wince.

Maybe it was better to trust the avin we'd cross, and the food we recognized. Whatever thought nudged me his way, I took it without question. Press on. We're almost there. The canopy soon covered all that was above us, thoughts of Gira punishing me at the rate of shadows to blocks of light we crossed. The sky. Little of it was visible, now. Then again, a day ago, we couldn't see it.

---

I felt as though my clothes had been stolen while I was bathing in the lake. It was embarrassing, but we had bigger problems. The few Oantans we'd seen were surprisingly clothed; chests covered, leather pads on their knees, and we made sure to steer clear of their sight. A dull commotion forming closer and closer bored a pit in our stomachs. Walking around with my pussy out for all to see was a familiar enough feeling, but I couldn't shake the thought it wasn't welcome. Though Gael took it much worse. The sight of his formidable erection made him sweat and beg for it to go down.

All the structures were large, stone crafted behemoths, often pyramids or makeshift caves. The way they were lined up seemed instrumental for both supply-moving and congregations, meaning there was a lot of empty space—not good for us. Any tents were scattered and lonely, mostly lying on the outskirts in the deep (or, deep-ish) woods. The bigger pyramids stood out like sore thumbs, as though they were horns calling their presence. Surprisingly enough, they had the lowest amount of commotion, since most were in the fields for target practice and mingling. We held hands.

Then lay low in a cloak of curling exaltas. Most of the citizens looked hardened, with broad beaks and brows furled. Most were downcast with heavy bags under the eyes, calloused hands clutching a weapon of some sort. Meanwhile, Gael practiced a speech under his breath. His thumb and index wrapped around his cock head, hoping he'd make this quick.

“We can't ask for help," I said.

“Why not?"

“We just can't."

Cock throbbing, I could see the agitation in his eyes. Nervousness, too, as though it meant more to hide than his wings. He doesn't get it. Men have it so easy. The pain of leaving makes them strong, but the same kind makes me look helpless. If they heard my city-state burned and didn't soften, I'd have a fight on my hands.

“Why not just me?" he asked. “I can deal with the humiliation if it means making this easier."

I thought of how fast the Kreeg had brought him away. A voice inside me told me he knew someone else here. It was paranoia. But I didn't want him anywhere but my side. I told him not to risk it. We argued until his mouth movements were nothing but teeth chatters. We held hands. And when we counted down to three, we trotted together into the city. Completely naked.

Avia was a blur. The only path forward was a weave in between the darkest corners and edges of every house. Light, dark, light, dark, close call after close call, our bodies shaking like we'd just released the biggest orgasms of our lives. The space between trees thinned. Our stomachs were growling and our butts were bare. The Breezes made my skin ring; anything wet was enough to get me going. Despite the strife, my pussy was out for all to see, and that had consequences.

The settlement itself was amazing. One huge stone pyramidic temple in the back, commotion and action in nearly every step leading up to it. They'd used stone to bisect it all, whether it was steps, statues or etched-in signs, like boulders in an ocean of grass.

I waved him down a tight path between one of the huge pyramids, this one the smallest of the three. It was near enough to the woods to not get caught. I hadn't expected there to be so little room back there, though. Gael and I gave each other looks. Chatter grew hotter. So I went first.

Backs to the rough end of a pyramid wall, I drew in every ounce of breath until it hurt, and sidled through. Only a few steps in, I was struggling, the thorny bushes brushing past my belly. I thought it could be impossible. I could climb one more step up, but that would mean more exposure. It's either that or my vagina gets pricked, and not in a good way.

I looked back and realized Gael hadn't even gotten to choose, trotting on the step above, his leaking cock waving around as though beckoning me up. A hard way back, but he was there to help me up. That's when I did the best thing I did all day: pointing out the bushes' oddly red centers. I reached out and found they were actual, edible berries, warm and had to be held like a huge bowl. It was a good moment to catch our breaths, at least. With more than a few streams of juice on my chest. Insult to injury.

That fixed our stomachs, at least. Not all problems were so easy. The truth is, I was still ragingly horny. At all times, it felt like a huge, steaming waterfall was pushing the walls just outside my labia—and now I was running around naked in public carrying that. I looked at that raging cock and thought how good it'd feel to sit down on it and let it explode. My legs buckled. I twitched and hissed out loud just as cold juice splashed my pussy lips. I needed to ride him, but the thought of getting caught was a bigger headache than chastity ever gave me. When we finished, I looked around sheepishly and covered my crotch—not from embarrassment, but from anything else teasing it.

Gael peered around a corner and shot back in the blink of an eye. He'd seen bamboo huts all over, every inch swarming with avin. Afternoon was fast on its way.

Eagerness set us in fleet foot. We were constantly split, hopping from public barricade to barricade. Under a cloth overpass when the seller wasn't looking to the empty bamboo pergola, crouching beneath low walls. to the desolate ceremonial sites, our bodies thin against pillar to pillar. This must've been a stage for some purpose. As we heard a crowd up the hill, we ran off to the beds of silt, no trees. It was a mad dash to the next pyramid, my boobs and his cock bouncing around for anyone's eyes. He threw wind at the ground to make a smokescreen of dirt, disappearing as gasps surrounded us.

They'd investigate. As the cloud dissipated, we ran faster and faster. Hearts pounding, I pointed to an open hole in a stone wall near a door. It was do or die—this had to be our exit! As the coast cleared, we dove through and crouched in a supply closet smelling of alcohol. It was cold in there. If you'd have heard how confused the onlookers outside were, you'd understand.

We had to sprint. Broad daylight on our tail feathers never felt scarier. To the silk weaver, to the blacksmith's shadow, behind the fruit carts, until finally, the worst of the worst. Holding my breath, prone beneath a massive bed of flowers, all blooming at waist height.

Gael swore it'd be easy. Once again: penis privilege. Breezes pushed the brushing flower shafts against my pussy. Tiny weeds were crossed fingers around my nipples at times. My fists dug up soil. My eyes were rolling into the back of my head. The light talk was teasing out a disaster at any moment. I pointed a shaking digit out to a path behind more huts—between you and me, my body was about to explode. Gael had already ran.

I ran after him, dripping every step of the way. In the shade of two huts, a column of light separated us. He rested on its bamboo corner, huffing and grabbing his dick watching a crowd gather at a fountain. It's empty. Why was it empty? Something was wrong, but he wasn't telling me what. A spokesavin was on top of its three layers, belting orders. “Keep your eyes peeled, they could be anywhere," she spoke, a spurt of pre spilling in the shaded tall grass.

He was peering out for the next dash, thrusting, muttering under his breath. I was realizing the worst possible thing was about to happen. I whispered loud, shot him every look I could, but it wasn't enough. He came. And I mean really, _really _hard: audible splashes from the body-length white ropes, over and over, thrusting into it. Some of the voices quieted. He burst his eyes open and said, “I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you!", before dashing away, still cumming, a white stream curving with his escape path. I cursed and ran the other way just as avin investigated.

I was furious. Had he lost his mind? A good stretch of land away was a wide field of crops about waist-height. Barrels stacked up in cubes just across from it, no workers around. If I could get inside, I could either hide until dark or find a better place.

Behind me, a rustling pricked all my feathers. I bolted! As several avins' jaws hit the floor, I realized the best case scenario was now somebody calling guano on the story. The stalks of wheat shifted, a feathered body emerging with a scythe. I squealed and dove to the barrels, crawling around them for cover. Knowing their position, they were sure to have some empty ones. When I heard footsteps, I threw myself inside and waited.

My hands were cupped around my beak as I shivered. Someone cleared their throat. Like rain, a bale of stalks showered my head. After that, the ground shifted. I was being moved somewhere. The crowds were getting louder, and my heart was slamming against my chest. It's like my whole body was blushing. I was left just outside someone's hut. Avin entered and left an arm's distance away, not noticing. My legs were shaking. Afternoon was here.

I have no idea how much time passed before I was picked up. The hauler was fast, strong and hurried. My whole body lurched when a blast smacked the barrel's side, wood tearing, my body tumbling before I realized I was rolling. I gasped, bracing myself until the sound of cracking wood filled my ears. One last big smack and the barrel was pieces by my folded legs. I noticed a small pond by an elevated bamboo house. Running down the hill was Gael, motioning me under the deck.

“I'm sorry," he begged, but I wasn't listening. My pussy was on fire, and he promised he'd make it up to me. I asked and he obliged. Had his beak between my legs, fingers tingling on cool grass. My thighs flexed and shook the more his tongue lapped over my labia and jammed inside my walls. Finally, some privacy, though it was fleeting with the footsteps of a couple walking by. It gave us a startle. It didn't matter, though, they hadn't noticed. His arm was around her shoulder by the lake, talking about things we couldn't hear. Later we learned they were the sole homeowners. Too many avin were gathered around the front to suddenly run out. The only choice was to run inside.

“Hide in the wardrobe," I told him as I chose an empty cabinet. My sweat dotted the floor as I caught my breath. Calmed myself down. All the lights were dimming. What the fuck just happened?

---

A hundred snores later, I crept out and met Gael in the doorway to their bedroom. He had a finger to his beak. The couple on the lake slept on a straw cot in their underwear. Candles surrounded them. Just across from it, the wardrobe that made for his hiding place was facing them. Still hard, he weaved the corridor like a guardian readying a spear. A few shadows out the window looked like avin, so we picked the back door.

Something was up. He was distracted and flippant. Honestly, he was acting like an idiot. I had to yank his butt away from walking out into the open multiple times. Even though it was dark, another avin could be anywhere. I couldn't stand how selfish he was, sometimes, yanking our plan in anyone's direction.

What I needed from him was a better peace of mind. It was probably too much to ask, but each day, it got worse. Still he hadn't told me about Draya, so now any time he ignored me was pure agony. Sometimes it felt like he wasn't thinking about me at all.

Eventually I found a pyramid-shaped staircase waterfalling around a short entrance in the center. Its walls were rotten, but I heard water rushing from inside. My throat was so dry. Though he hadn't even considered it, walking towards a path. Inside, there was a small room with a rope, pulley, bucket and a high hole in the stone. Somehow, somebody had built a shower. He went first. We felt noticeably better, if a little embarrassed we looked like savages. Then I went. Remember how I said anything wet gets me going?

I stretched a bit and posed for him as he waited outside. Soon after, we were making out in there. And the longer we stayed, the more we noticed how worked up we were.

It's easy to tease a man who's been hard for so long. Gael squeezed my breasts. Played with them. We toppled over and he smacked his cock on my belly, me playing with my nipples. He squeezed my tits around his cock while he rammed into them, massive fleshy smacks driving him crazy. Somehow, it tickled—I laughed just quietly enough for the locals not to notice. I wanted more. No, I needed more! My cheeks were flaring like crazy. I knew he would cum, and I wasn't about to do a facial. I asked him to lay on his back, keeping his dick against my belly. Messed with the head. When hot ropes started spraying all over me, I felt them drip down on my tits, thighs, hips and everything in between. When it stopped, I slid him inside. All the way down. You should've seen the look on his face.

Time passed, and as I rose up, we gasped together sharply. We were lost in each other's eyes, shaking. A pool was on my pelvis, and growing between my legs. His feathers were a mess. It seemed like he was embarrassed. He shouldn't be. It didn't last. I pushed him back over and slammed my hips to the hilt. Over and over. With darkness brought the urge to do this outside.

We weren't avin at that point, we were animals. I snatched his hard dick by its cum-soaked head and led him outside. Cleaned him off in the middle of the street. One leg on the ground, the other in his grip, he'd split me in two against a tree, a rock or a cliffside and ram to his heart's content. As if it couldn't get dirtier, he made me walk down the street with my hands behind my back, semen streaming off my titties. I didn't think Gael liked humiliation, but nonetheless, it had me riding him again in no time.

A noise from the bushes startled us until we realized it was an animal. He walked behind me and spread my lips apart, then pushed my hips out. His thumb circled around my clit. I wasn't into this whatsoever, but it felt so disgusting and dirty…that was probably the best orgasm of my life. An orgasm so good, I wasn't thinking straight. Breezes! He was an animal for doing that, and he deserved to be punished like one. Gael then declined to walk on all fours, which was extremely mildly upsetting. I needed to take him with my legs all the way up! I needed it now! Lust made us mess with each other all the way to town square!

Then he held my leg all the way up and propped me against a statue of some avin no one cares about, aiming his huge cock like he was planning to ram both of us down. Moaning as it touched my opening, I let him have his way with me. Shaking, I came immediately when it slid in, feeling each inch slowly dip inside. I swear I came again before I even felt the hilt, and when he started bucking, it only made it worse! My thigh was on his shoulder as he rammed me, pulled out, rammed me, pulled out, waterfalls out my pussy with my mouth open. Suddenly, I heard him shush me. What for? A flare of torchlight swept away our portion of darkness. New voices joined the party. All of a sudden, my head hurt. Everything was going black.

---

It was as though I'd never moved. An orange, spinning blur faded in with the heat between my legs. Dull pain in the side of my skull came, next. I yearned harder for what filled me before. Next I noticed my wrists; they were clamped to the forearm by a heavy metal brace. Finally, the brown shape beside me clearing up to a nonplussed avin chained exactly as I was.

“Welp," Gael shrugged, “adventure's over."

I shook out the featherdust. A sharp jangle against the stone wall immediately taught me the problem. The ceiling-high bars striped our cell. Torchlight dimly filled the prison; must've been a basement, and since they kept us nude, we were definitely dealing with some classy individuals. I was right; the faint square hole of the trapdoor leaked the clamoring of avins, all Oantan accents.

“I'm sorry," I started. “I should've–"

Gael shushed me, tense with focus. In the surrounding chatter, a word stood out: _“Windborn". _My heart sank. Soon, everyone in Avia would hear of Gael's existence.

“I don't think we have much time," Gael said. He must've picked up on far more than I did. “They all have the same accents, so nobody outside Oanta knows of our existence. Otherwise, someone would be upstairs to collect us. That being said, we need to get moving. Got any ideas?"

I thought. The way he fought was strong enough to break that tree. Why would iron be enough to stop him? It didn't sound right. And then, I remembered the stone wall in the yellow forest, beneath the golden light, beside a field of old traps waiting to be snared. The hooded figure in it being someone he knew; someone I'd learn to hate. What happened before then? He showed me a trick…

Got it.

“Remember that trick you did with the candle?" I asked. “It was a long time ago."

“Oh, you mean this?" The feathers on his left arm pricked, and light wind whistled on the insides of the braces.

“Yeah, that. Can you give yourself slack?" I asked.

Thumb knuckle knocking against the rim, he tried and tried, other sitting prisoners wordlessly watching. You could taste the grits knocked into the air through his struggles. I looked around and found a tunnel leading around the right. If we were lucky, it just might reach an alternate escape route; another trapdoor, or a mine tunnel. Not great odds, but even if we had to turn, we've fought through much, much worse. If we were going to get out of there, it had to be fast.

Gael closed his eyes and pulled down, brace shaking, teeth grit. It looked like it hurt. Whether it did or not, his arm came sliding the rest of the way out, like yanking a stick out of quicksand. It didn't take long for the second arm, darting his head around to look for any wardens in the shadows.

“Now I'll get you," he turned to me, right hand's fingers in a pyramid over his left shoulder, the feathers wavering. “Hold still."

“Wait!"

I hadn't mentioned: my voice was higher than normal. Breathy, in a way. We hadn't finished fucking, and that got to me like a constant afterglow.

“You don't think there's anything…else we've got to do?" I suggested.

“What? We can't, we have to–"

I ruffled my hips, splaying my legs out before him. “The chains are doing things to me," I said, heart racing beneath my parted tits. “I don't think we should go without a little fun, right?"

“Babe, you're being naive. I'm not doing that for you."

“You sure, big guy?"

He was leaning into it the more the men argued upstairs. They wouldn't move a muscle. There was guilt. Fear, even. The fact is, though, I couldn't think straight. Especially not with his cock rock hard in my face. The left side of my head was still in searing pain, distracting me further. I could barely even hear the men upstairs. Back in the cloud forest, I came without touching myself, just from the Breezes. So how could I manage to help him if we got out of this prison? Even if we did, we'd still have to hide, and my entire lower half felt as sensitive as my vulva. I couldn't fight in these conditions, let alone fend for myself. That's not a world I want to live in.

It was nobody's fault. The forest's magic had gotten me too well. Until we find a way to reverse it, my mind will be eclipsed with horny thoughts. I was sure: he had to fuck me, or I'd fail him again, and again, and again. Just this once, I had to fail on purpose.

“Alright, just this once," he said.

My forearms jingled in excitement; I only wished those braces were tighter. So tight I couldn't move a single muscle, completely helpless to his big dick. He poked his tip at my vaginal opening, nearly making me squirt on the spot; he must've been longer than a foot! He rubbed it up and down the opening, teasing me further, but I was wet enough to take it all right then and there. It made me so nervous for more.

A couple inches went in. It gathered more eyes upon us, my pelvis flaring. I couldn't tell if it was interest or disgust, it had been so long they'd been under there. Whatever it was, we put on a wild show for them. The ground was so cold, but his cock was so warm, pumping further in, another inch, another twitch of his digits around my waist. And the jangling of chains taunted me all the while, reminding me how helpless I was.

“Tell me I'm nothing," I said.

“Excuse me?"

“Tell me I'm worthless!"

I think half the prison felt how flustered he was, but I didn't care. The ask came from somewhere deep down, a primal urge to let go of the Kreeg camp incident. He clearly didn't think that of me; I just needed to hear it.

“Say it! Say it, say it, say it, come on, say it!"

Gael grit his teeth: “You're worthless! RRRGH!"

A start's a start, and it was a damn good one. It's after the weight of three faster, massive thrusts when things became hazy. Filled up to my navel with him in front of all these other prisoners while I could do nothing to stop it drove me insane. My legs twitched, my tits bouncing harder the faster he fucked my pussy. That's when his grip slipped. A sharp pain tore at my side. I saw three blood lines trickle down my oblique.

He gasped, pulling out, saying, “Oh Breezes! I'm so sorry!"

“NO!" I yelled, pulling him in by the cheek and growling in his face: “Fuck me while I bleed, you filthy animal!"

Younger Amara would agree: a man's cock belonged to you when he followed suit. My opening slashed while he fucked me some more, those long and fast strokes showing how Windborn that hunk really was. Eyes locked shut, he licked my tits and humped the longer I moaned out loud, every prisoner taking notice. I think we both blanked out for a brief moment, there. For me it was longer; my mind was absolutely wiped clean. And the flare around my vagina exploded through my body: thighs, stomach, tits, neck, when I came all over his cock.

I couldn't do a thing about it. I could barely even remember how it went, I was so wet. Except one thing: have orgasms. I came at least twice before Gael had to cum. He pulled out, ravenously took me by the tits and mashed them around his cock. His hard breathing echoed across the cell, and moments later, a white burst painted my face and dripped down to my tits.

Still hard, he grabbed the wall and knelt down, cock prodding my navel, and caught his breath. We left the hard clay ground soaked enough for the greatest prison break in all of Avia in due time.

“That was so fucking fun," I gasped, chest heaving, completely aware of breaking character. “Okay, now get them off!"

Holding his wing up to the cuffs just caused my crest to get messy. It just wasn't the same angle.

“I'll get the cuffs," he said. “Hold them out! No holes!"

I held my forearms out as though blocking an attack and tightened them together. He stood and threw some slicing gusts at the braces. I could feel the recoil rattle me to the bones, but they just wouldn't budge. He threw burst after burst at their place in the walls, the draft ricochets upturning tattered blankets and clothes, but all to no avail. I saw stress in Gael's wracked face grow clearer the more he realized he couldn't do it. The winged creature fell victim to the simple wall. My foot tapped his ankle, snapping him back.

“You can do it," I said. “You've gotten this far!"

A prisoner shushed me. She was nearest the trapdoor, which had closed at some point. It was muffled, now, but a new voice could be heard among the wardens. Someone gruff, frustrated and determined; a voice with feminine muscle in it. Gael and I realized it at the same time: It had to be Draya. She was back to do the exact same deed!

“Why aren't they letting her downstairs?" Gael whispered.

Then one of the men said:

“Curious, eh? Does that come with a price?"

They're shaking her down. It's not going to work, but they were better debaters than expected. She probably didn't want blood to spill. I jingled my braced arms.

“Break the chains," I urged. “Break the chains, come on, we gotta move!"

Unfortunately, afterglow would have to wait. He threw a couple gusts at the chains; these a bit weaker than before, until the end-links were worn and chipped gray. With a pull, they were off the wall, and Gael picked the lock with his claw from around the bars.

“Take the tunnel!" I pointed.

Swiping a torch, he beckoned us down. We ran as fast as we could, fluid running down and flecking off my tits. The further we went, the more the ceiling closed in, our torch's use growing thinner. Visions of my dreams flashed against the jagged rocks, the oceans turning, but I shook it off, can't stop for anything! Racks of pickaxes and rock helmets lined those walls, but nobody made room for themselves, too afraid the roof would collapse on itself. There had to be another way. A faraway creaking sound lashed our feet for a move on.

“Up there!" he yelled. Up a short ladder was another cavern, its walls torn apart with labor. We ran as fast as our feet could take us, echoes of their aggravated shrieks chilling our cores. My legs, still shaking and dripping, were nearly giving out from the stress. Around the corner, a new tunnel was active; one that was small and only waist high given the angle.

Gael held the light to it and realized there was grass on the other side. Down the other way, a thunder of armed avin were looking for our heads.

“We have no choice," I scowled to him.

Gael agreed and we got to our stomachs, his cock tucked in against himself. I went first, crawling as fast as I could. I could see the dew drops in the night as the sound drowned from the scraping of rock against broken shackles. The voice of my Apana:

_ “She has to learn how not to be a hero."_

I coughed up dust, tasting fresh air, and pulled the last leg through, Gael following short after. I still can't believe how lucky we were. We hadn't known who created the passage, but clearly few avin could ever take it. We could only thank whoever carved it beforehand.

We ran until our legs couldn't take it.

“You okay?" Gael asked.

“Yeah. Are you?"

“Don't do that."

“What do you mean?"

“Amara, I'm going to be as frank as possible: you want my dick too much. This time, it almost got us killed."

“You could've just said no."

“I need time to recharge. I don't want to do something stupid in the last stretch. I can't keep up with you, and pretending that I can is a bad idea."

“You did seem like you weren't having fun."

“Then you need to start respecting it!"

In an instant, he'd made it awkward. I knew something was off. Nothing was said until morning.

---

We were beginning to smell the saltwater. It started over the hills; I could hear them and crash over pink sands. Standing, we covered our chests with our arms, greenery shielding our crotches. It was harder than you'd think to survey the land with the Breezes picked up and the leaves stroking my bare vulva. I envied Gael for having a penis, until he said the long grass was rubbing his underside. Unease was on our faces. If we didn't move, it'd tease us all day and we'd become orgasming sub-avins. Yet there was no way we could've made it out there with all the spaced out land.

I thought it would have been harder to sneak, but all the villagers looked worried. Some were crying. I didn't understand. Most of this land looked put together, if a little uneven. Why was it like this?

That smell was replaced with smoke's kiss. Soon the trees lost their leaves. The ground cracked beneath us until the grass dissipated. You could feel the fertility leave the soil.

I couldn't believe my eyes. The next village we'd seen was in ruin. All structures were just piles of stone. The quietness was alarming. “I'm sorry," Gael said. His voice echoed without a sound.

“What happened to these avin?" I asked.

Gael tried to speak. He was doleful and gave a resigning craned spine at the rubble. Even if he'd acted like this earlier, I wouldn't have guessed what would come next.

“I have a confession," he muttered. “I haven't been entirely truthful to you."

“You haven't?"

“I couldn't let you know. It would've been far too hard on your heart. And after what had happened, I don't know if you would have listened."

“Gael," I said, panic coiling through me, “Gael, what are you trying to say?"

“Oanta's not the paradise I said it was. Only half of it is. The part that counts is off the coast to the south, across the ocean. I lied to you."

There was nothing he could do to mend the rage. The pit in my stomach was swallowing up the rest of my body. I never took Gael for a liar, but he clearly fought for what he believed, by all means necessary. He didn't have to throw me under. My heart raced. I felt cheated, yet it's him who was cornered. The warrior in me was studying it like a lost tablet.

“What are you saying?" I demanded. “Breezes, Gael, don't tell me you've—!"

“You won't hear anything but the truth from me," Gael yelled, angry tears welling. “Oanta has been at civil war for years. They can't help it but tear themselves apart. It's not paradise. The place I'm talking about only exists at the southmost island. Cut off from Avia, where only the foolish would go to hide."

I was shaking with anger. His eyes were fresh with agony. He deserved it. Every. Single. Moment.

“And you now want us to trudge through another gauntlet?" I asked. “After all the shit we've been through?"

He nodded. “It's the only way."

“How can I be sure you're not lying to me again?!"

“Look around, I can't afford to do that!"

“How dare you say that to me!"

“It's better to fight a war with an exit than assume there isn't one! I remember how you were, Amara. You were traumatized. It's the only way you would have listened. I'm sorry."

My fingers curled in an open claw, shaking, yet I remembered what he felt like clutching mine. I wanted to go insane. I wanted to rip my heart out and beat him with it until he understood what this was like for me. Every thought I had would stop midway with an answer, flush my face a little further.

“So then," I caught my breath, “what about the—"

No! Don't bring up the damn ferns! He didn't make up our path out, or else he never would've let me lead the way. I felt stupid standing there, shaking in anger without doing anything about it.

“I can tell you're confused," Gael interjected. “We're still going to make it. We just have a little more to go. It'll be tough, but it's the last stretch. Are you ready for that?" He held my hand and paused. “Please tell me you're ready."

Either because I had no choice, or his pleading actually worked, I heard his plea. And suddenly I remembered all the fighting we've done. All the times he held my arms through it all. He cared. I definitely knew him more as an avin, now. And though he was a liar, he'd know how to finish the job.

The last of my breath was caught up. I grew stoic. “How do we get around them?"

Gael thought. “We can't. We have to go through them."

“You can't be serious."

“I am. Look, we ran into bad luck. There's an active battle taking place here, but this is the fastest way to the shoreline. If we camp now, they'll eventually find us, and if we go the long way, it has to be through civilization."

“And if we turn back?"

“Not an option. That's why you need to be strong."

“I'm naked in a fucking warzone! We need more than strength!"

“I know, but please, find it in you! I promise. You're strong. Please…"

He was resorting to pleading. I thought back to the woods before the reeds. The flame in that window, flickering away. Seeing fire of any kind sent shivers down my spine. The only thing I had was Gael's wind, and now that was ruined, too. Ruined? It happened so fast. I was changing right in front of him.

Was he doing the same?

---

His grip on my hand never would loosen. He took me over the hill where the smoke was blacker than death. Soot, embers and frayed reeds rained down, and the war cries were always followed with screams. Gael had to know how insane this was. It felt like we were inches from a trap or a vantage point's opening. I could've told another chapter's worth of war mistakes he's made just on the trek, but just this once, I let it go. Just this once. What a fool I was.

The smoke filled my lungs. In the blackness that took the skies, I saw Gira again, the screams sounding like children. I wanted to run. I wanted to lose all dignity and scream. And randomly, I remembered something Gael said right before we left Gira._ _Hypocrisy.

“I hate fire," I said, noticing how much harder it was to speak.

“I can put it out for you."

Air feeds the fire. Winds put them out. Breezes were the calm after the storm. Gael was none of those things. So he couldn't be sure. He had to hold out, though, right?

“It's okay," he said, holding my shoulders. “I'm here for you."

He was bringing me up the hill, where smoke plumed and avin yelled in the background. My eyes were wide open. Memories of a melting Gira blocked all thoughts of strategy. This was impossible.

“I can't do that," I pleaded.

“You can. I believe in you."

My thighs ached for all the wrong reasons. My talons shook. All things around me held a tint of red. Something was uncontrollably wrong.

“Turn," I said through grit teeth.

“It's okay. This is my fault."

“Turn! It hurts!"

“There's no time to recognize that."

Then it hit me—he's doing to me what I did to him fighting Mother bird. He saved me at the last minute. This is him giving back to me. And he wasn't thinking about me for one damn second. Smoke filled my throat, the screams of hidden soldiers blending with a burning gate. I knew it was Gael's fault. I knew he was guilty and numb to the core. I knew, and it fucking hurt, because the quote I remembered him say:

“You can't solve a problem by running straight into it."

I growled low and in horror. The redness filled my sight. All I heard was a gasp before I tossed him aside. He tossed me a look of shock. It was a bad reaction. I lunged and slashed my claws at his body. I wasn't thinking. Flesh tore at his chest, the scrapes of my claws like touching him. He threw his arms over to block and almost fell.

Instead, he pushed me. Relentless, I had him knocked away and lunged for his shoulder. He bashed me away with a gasp of wind, I blocked, and a stronger followup knocked me away.

My hands shook as the blood they drew turned the grass red. I was seeing green, now.

The ground. I deserved to be here.

I gripped the soil and suffered.

“How—how could you-?!"

Gael's voice was filled with an instant shrill and disbelief. A yelp he did reminded me of when I was the one who's pinned. The way I'd felt. What had I done?

“Gael, I'm—"

I fought back the red haze clouding up my eyes as much as I could. Even then, it was so hard. My claws begged for more blood. More flesh. I couldn't! Not for this moment…just hold off…

“I'm so sorry…I…"

No. I have to own this. I stood to confront him, my head in pure agony.

“We have to split up," I stated.

Gael began weeping, disbelief sweeping over him. “No. No! No, wait! I'm sorry! I'll never do that to you again! Please!"

“You just said it's the only path forward. You had to."

“Wait, maybe it isn't, maybe I'm wrong!"

Then you should've thought of that earlier.

“It doesn't matter," I said. “This isn't safe for either of us."

The stream of blood dripping down his chest felt as though it was coming from my beak. All the emotion I held in the back of my throat was trying to surface, and I wouldn't let it for a damn moment. This terror I felt was his, now. These were both of our wounds. It was smaller than the rest, and it could heal, but I could never undo what it meant.

That's why I turned. Began walking. Behind me came the patter of running footsteps. Furious. It was time to do the hardest thing I've ever done. I turned and brandished my claws.

“DON'T!" I yelled. “I said don't get near me!"

“Please, Amara, I'm begging you, , we can do this together, we—“

“Stop fucking lying to me!"

There it was. The ball in my throat, now out to the world. Speaking was never his strong suit—I knew this and drove the nail in deeper:

“Don't try to deny it! You only wanted to keep me going out of a lie! That's all you ever do to keep me around! So don't bother following me to Oanta, either! This'll only get worse with the two of us together! Understand?"

The terror in his eyes mirrored when I first found him. The blood was just as fresh. A pang of guilt rang through my stomach to my veins. And the filthiest feeling that came with it were the drips between my legs. A harsh sneer of delight with all the memories, contrasting with the rest of the crumbling fortress that was Gael.

“It was…it was the only way to—"

He'd been doing it for a while. I let my claws down. It's time.

“Well, maybe it isn't," I said. “Goodbye, Gael. Thank you for the memories. And keeping me alive. And nothing fucking else."

I whirled the other way and never looked back.

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