dycefic:deepwaterwritingprompts:Text: They fell from the sky each winter, burning and beautiful, dis
dycefic:deepwaterwritingprompts:Text: They fell from the sky each winter, burning and beautiful, disoriented, and hungry. There’s never any predicting where they’ll land, within the Nine Circles. But the lights aren’t hard to follow, out here in the desert, and they don’t move around much. This one was crouching in the hollow its impact had made in the sand. Six limbs - arms or legs, hard to tell in that position - and naked wings sticking up like spars from the thin back. I wondered what the feathers would look like when they came in. But for now I went over to it, crouching beside it and speaking in a gentle, soothing voice. “Welcome, cousin,” I told it, not touching it yet. “You’re tired and hungry. I’ll give you something, if you’re ready.” It lifted its head, showing me a still-glowing face, six-eyed and sharp-angled. It opened a mouth full of light and pale blue tongue, and made a confused sound. They often don’t know how to speak, right at first. But I wrapped it gently in a blanket, soft and worn by many washings, and poured soup out of my old thermos and into a cup that looked the right shape for its mouth. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’m good at fitting a cup to a face. It drank eagerly, then reached out a long-fingered hand to touchmy arm lightly, tugging on my sleeve like a child. “Uuuur?”“The words will come,” I told it, still quiet and soothing. I spread outa flat pad – my second largest – and coaxed it onto it, off the stones andsand. It huddled into the soft blanket and watched me while I brought over thefire-pot and lit it. They like the fire, watching its glow as the light thatburns inside them slowly fades. I fed it carefully… more cups of soup at first,then pieces of fruit and flatbread. It ate from my fingers at first, like ababy bird, and I had to be careful. They must not taste blood, during the firsteating, and they don’t know yet to be careful. When dawn came, the glow was gone, and I could see it better. It wouldbe tall, half again as tall as I am, when it stood erect. Two legs, four arms,and the wings, all long and spindly. No obvious signs of sex yet, but thatsometimes comes later. Its skin had settled to a deep twilight blue, but theeyes still shifted from colour to colour, pupils shrinking to cat slits, thenopening to circles or oblongs or ovals. Tiny quills were beginning to sprout onthe long, naked wings, their blue skin stretched over fine bones. It looked atme, when I put more fuel on the fire, and cocked its head. “Who are you?” Thewords came clumsily, but clearly. “My name is Sam.” I crouched down. Once the sun is up, it’s safe forthem to eat meat, so I offered it some. Its teeth had come through at aroundthree in the morning, pearly and square, and now it chewed carefully on meatstewed soft and flaky. “I’ll be here as long as you need me.” “Why?” it asked, when it had finished eating. “Why are you here?” I gave it the simple answer. “Because you need me.” Keep readingWonderful. -- source link
#read it#its good