At the entrance, Kirlan came to greet them. "Cypur, Wescherlie wanted to talk to you as soon as you got back."

"Alright," he answered and caught Daero's tailtip twitch.

Hiding something? Cypur wondered. Probably nothing. He dismissed it as he headed to Wescherlie's room.

Connected to his Faud somewhat, the tingles of his magick, if he concentrated, fizzed at the tips of his fingers. Adrenaline whizzed through his body at top speed. If Wescherlie was ready to try her wings and leave this place, he knew he could tonight.

And if she's not ready, I'll practice magick at the lake. He decided. Floating could determine his magick energy levels, so he did want to see how high he could go in one leap. There were some explosive spells he wanted to try, too. Now that he had access to a large open space, he could finally practice it in full instead of the tiny sparks in his parents' backyard.

Once he got to Wescherlie's room, he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came a cheerful, whispery reply.

"C—Your Narsy friend." He smirked and could imagine her smiling.

"Password accepted," she said, and he went in. Wescherlie was sitting up on her bed, arm still in a sling, and with a white glow hovering around her wing and shoulder. Mint was strong in the room along with several other herbal scents he couldn't identify. He pulled up a chair next to her bed and wrinkled his nose.

"Smells like a teabag exploded," he said, but she only gave a faint smile. Wescherlie not laughing at a joke meant something must be up. He searched her face, her pointed mouth like a beak, her purple eyes, high cheeks from smiling so much, and her hands gently laced together.

She pointed to a corner of the room piled with used ceramic bowls, spoons, and cups, all stained a different color. "That's where the smell's thickest. I went over there out of curiosity and practically sneezed myself to the moon."

Cypur snickered at that. "Good luck getting down from there." But she didn't share the laugh. Silence filled the room. His heart thumped. Was she going to say she would never fly again? Maybe the injury was worse than they all thought? What bad news was she about to drop?

When she spoke at last, she didn't even look him in the eyes. A faint smile played upon her lips. "I've been thinking, you know, how my wing's hurt and, you're having to wait for me to get better and you're perfectly fine. I can tell you have your full magick back."

His heart sank at those words. She was pushing him away. A chill surrounding him, rendering him cold. "No, Wes—"

"Just, I think," she sighed and lowered her gaze, "I'm just being hunted, but you need to clear your name. Your stakes are higher. Bounty hunters? That's normal Rauvuren life. They're always after us."

"But—" He tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat.

"I'll be fine here. They'll take care of me." Wescherlie lifted her head to give a smile that didn't reflect in her eyes, tear blurring over. "You need to go." Her voice dropped further, but in the silent room, it reverberated in his ears. "You don't need me. And I," She paused to blink and met his gaze, "I don't need you."

It was a dagger to his heart. Pain zipped through his chest, an injury that magick couldn't heal. Didn't they promise to see to the end for each other? They were partners in crime, weren't they?

'I don't need you' echoed in his head over and over. Rationally, yes, he knew Daero would take care of her. On top that, he would probably have better chance of not getting caught by police if he went out to Zarkentauf alone.

"Daero said if you wanted, he could arrange to take you tonight. So, I guess this is Goodnight, and goodbye, Cypur," Wescherlie said and turned over to her side.

He licked his lips, finding his mouth dry. Standing there, watching Wescherlie sniffle into her pillow, a hint of anger bubbled up inside. They had promised to be in this together to the end. It was not acceptable. Besides, she was wrong. They did need each other.

Slamming his fist into the wall, he cursed, "Damn you!"

Wescherlie flinched and turned over with widened, teary eyes.

"How could you just shove me away like this?" He shouted. "You think I don't need you? You think I'll just leave you here and then go off about my selfish journey?" Why was he so angry? He couldn't believe Wescherlie would even think he would be okay with this.

SHE'S clearly not okay. He gritted his teeth and stalked to the other side of the room, staring out the dark window, only seeing his knitted brows, scowl, and balled fists. Wescherlie was staring at her hands. He turned around.

"We promised, Wescherlie. I am not leaving you."

Silence stretched on. Cypur grunted and sat down on the chair next to her bed. "And don't," He stopped her before she could speak, "I know what you're going to say, but you are not holding me back. You know what? I could've ditched you any time. Any damn time."

I thought we were friends, he held back those words knowing it would make the situation worse than better. How Narsy of her to think she was such a problem! Either of them could have walked out on the other at any time. He didn't and neither did she. And when he saw her vulnerable side, heard how she couldn't trust so easily, but she gave him a chance, he wanted to protect her.

And how beautiful that is. He let a smile spread across his face and faded. A weight of exhaustion fell on his shoulders. 

"As a Sorcerer," he began and searched for the words, "we, well, we don't allow ourselves to care. It's always some reason. We do this because it is beautiful. We help because we get something out of it. It's never purely caring."

Cypur lifted his head and looked into her eyes. In that moment, a fullness gripped his chest like someone giving him a loving hug. The emotions swelled and it wasn't the same type as with Arius. This one didn't make him blush, but it made him smile. Without thinking, he leaned in and placed a kiss on Wescherlie's cheek, then hugged her around her shoulders as best as he could without hurting her.

"I care about you, my félagi verskur," he whispered in her ear, "And I'd never leave you behind."

Her one good arm held onto him, rubbing his back. She broke into sobs. "I love you," she said, "so much. I wanted," She sniffled and choked, "the b-best for you. I thought it was—"

"Shush," He pressed his finger to her lips, not wanting to hear any more of that, "we're staying together, right?"

She nodded over and over. "I'm sorry, I was getting weak." She smiled, wiping her eyes. "Thank you."

Cypur let out a breath of a laugh. "Feels so good to be appreciated."

He sat back down in the chair with a sigh, satisfied. He had his friend back and they would continue on as planned. The 'feeling good' song popped into his mind again. Just as he was about to hum it, Wescherlie tapped his arm.

When he turned, she was chewing her bottom lip. For a while she didn't say anything and all that happened was her cheeks turning a slight rose.

"What's—"

"Cypur, I said I love you, but that's—"

"Oh?" he said, catching on and deciding to tease, "You wouldn't consider me?" He did an extra Narsy pose combing his hair front to back in slow motion and strutted around the room. "You know it's not like I don't like females. I'm more into males, well, Arius."

"I was not considering a Narsy!" she scoffed as if it was the worst suggest on the planet. "Look at you!" She gestured to him, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe it. Then she began to laugh.

After a while, he sat back down. On a whim, he thought he ought to say it back to her. "I love you, too," he said.

"W-What?" She blinked, mouth gaping. He tapped her chin to make her close her mouth. Wescherlie groaned. "Cypur, you can't catch me off guard! That's what I'm supposed to do. Since you seem to have passed the test to be like me, I give you special permission to call me Wes. It's a nickname my mother called me."

A nickname for a friend? He had never thought a day like this would be possible. With a giddy smile he said, "Wes?"

"Yes?" She smiled with her signature crinkled nose. "See, and it rhymes with one of the most positive words."

Later, when Cypur returned to his room and closed the door, tears touched his eyes.

"Wescherlie, Wes. Félagi verskur."

A friend. He had a real friend. Not too long ago, his only friends were paid-for friends. They made him feel worthless in a world where he was already an outcast.

Wescherlie gave him control in his life, confidence in himself, and the start of self-love. He couldn't ever thank her enough. But there was one thing he knew he could do.

I'll protect you. We will.

We will, his Faud echoed his thoughts.

"Cypur, dinner!" Kirlan called.

"Coming!" He wiped his eyes and headed out to the dining hall.

* * *

The following day, Wescherlie got the all-clear to fly. It was a bright sunny, autumn morning with the red, orange, and yellow gradients of leaves looking twice as vivid under the sun. Wearing a purple shirt, denim shorts, and a sparkling purple hair band, Wescherlie sat on the railing of the porch and Cypur waited below on the field with Daero and a few other Kathula who had helped nurse her to health.

She stood up on the railing and spread her wings. She was majestic. The black raven wings made her small frame look bigger and the feathers shimmered with slight purple sparkles of magick. Before he could even take it all in, she leapt up and caught the wind.

"I can fly again!" she squealed and zoomed high to the sky, coming down in a whoosh, making leaves flutter after her.

"Wow," Cypur whispered. He had never seen her fully fly like this before. He remembered something from a Human religion that believed there were beautiful, winged people. He had seen drawings and Wescherlie looked like one of them. A beautiful 'angel'.

When she came before him, she gave a smirk, muttered a spell and purple and blue sparkles swirled around her. They collected behind in the shape of a cape, leaving sparkling dust behind when she flew. The Kathula watching gave gasps of awe and trills of excitement.

Of course, he couldn't let her take the show. He launched himself from the porch railing and floated to the ground. Then he sprayed water magick in her direction. Before it reached her, he let it arch above her head and sent a tad of his golden magick sprinkle through. When he released the water, golden droplets fell onto the field. The Kathula cheered with yowls.

"Impressive!" Daero said.

Cypur eyed the Faud coming out of his chest. "I know." He smirked.

"That's my Narsy." Wescherlie grinned and twirled in the remaining golden rain.