Chapter 72
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Ren fired up her jetpack and practiced hugging the terrain like the Songbirds had taught her.
"You are a very good flyer Ren." A soft voice spoke from above her.
Ren startled slightly and hovered in place. "Hi Angel."
Angels warm green eyes stared at her as she landed near the youngest songbird. "I'm sorry to hear you won't be going on the mission Ren." Her light brown hair fell to her shoulders, she was dressed in black armor.
"Where did you get armor that small?" Ren had been given some basic medium leather armor, it was nothing special.
"My Remmy made if for me." Angel clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm going to need it when I save Quinn."
Ren looked stunned, "they said you can go?"
"Hmm? said I can go?" Angel shook her head, "no they definitely didn't say that."
"So you aren't going?" Ren cut the power on her jetpack, letting her feet touch the ground.
Angel shrugged, "There's only two requirements for me to go, thankfully I fulfill both of them."
Ren stole a glance over her shoulder and lowered her voice, "what requirements?"
"I can fly and I can stealth." Angel gave her a small smile.
Ren pursed her lips together, the gears turning behind her pale blue eyes, "I can do both of those too."
"Oh.. I see." Angel flapped her wings the tiniest bit, her small feet coming off the ground.
"They said I couldn't go." Ren stomped her foot in frustration.
"Right .. Right." Angel patted her arm sympathetically. "I'm sure if the positions were reversed, Quinn would probably take a nap or something."
Ren stared at the ground for a moment. "No.. He wouldn't do that."
"Oh I see..." Angel smiled sweetly, "you sure?"
Ren nodded, "he'd pretend like he was listening but he'd ignore them and come find me."
"You sound very sure..." Angel stealthed suddenly, her voice moved away a bit. "Perhaps Quinn loves you more then you love him?"
"What?" Ren crossed her arms and frowned at the voice. "No, I love Quinn the most."
Angel dropped stealth, she was hovering a few feet from Ren. "Me too."
***********
Quinn and Leah sat in the same chairs they had previously occupied the first time they visited the Barrister's office. Maia was walking around the room looking at the different books. She pulled one down and opened it up.
"A book on Gryphons .." Maia made a face as she went to put it back.
"Hey, let me see that! "Quinn stood up and reached for the book.
"Take it, those foul things will end up eating you." Maia shivered as she continued to look at the various books.
Quinn opened the book and started reading. "This talks about raising Gryphon's, that will come in handy. "
"Oh? Is Kawa expecting?" Leah wrinkled her freckled nose at him. She had let her braid out and was rummaging through her bag.
"You really have a Gryphon Quinn?" Maia's cute face was frowning at him. "Didn't you hear me? Those things will eat you!!"
Quinn nodded, "We both do, but mine is super awesome. Kawa is exceptionally well behaved, very gentle. "
"I'll take your word for it." Maia said, her voice full of doubt.
Quinn stood up.. "Fine, I'll prove it." He pulled the harness out of his bag and summoned Kawa.
The big black Gryphon looked around the office, then it's attention focused on Maia.
*peck*
"Hey!!" Maia jumped out of the way just before Kawa's beak made contact. Instead Kawa destroyed a shelf and sent a few dozen books crashing to the floor. "Stow that beast you idiot!"
Quinn stood up and moved in front of Kawa with his hands out, Maia retreated by jumping on top of Zy's desk. Kawa stepped around Quinn.
*peck*
Maia jumped off the desk and hid behind Leah, everything that had been on Zy's desk was scattered. "You feathered bastard! I'd kick your stinky butt sideways if you weren't so big!" Maia shook her fist at the gryphon.
Quinn unsummoned Kawa, just as Barrister Zy entered the office.
The barrister's eyes were wide in shock, "I was only gone a few minutes, what happened here?"
Quinn pointed at Maia, "she chased my Gryphon around your office like a crazy person.
"…." Maia.
"Why was your Gryphon out?" Zy started to pick up some of the papers that were scattered about.
Quinn sighed heavily. "Hey Zy… Let me do that." He started picking up the various documents that had been knocked off Zy's desk, after a moment Maia and Leah also pitched in.
Leah took the last of the papers from Quinn and sat them on the desk. "That was really odd though. Kawa has never shown any kind of aggression."
"Sorry Maia," Quinn apologized. "Did he hurt you?"
Maia shook her head. "It's okay. Sorry for yelling."
Quinn looked up, only just noticing the person Zy had brought back. "Who is your friend?"
Zy pulled the girl forward and introduced her. "This is Nia, she is quite an accomplished healer."
Nia wore a green robe, her long white hair hung between furled wings. Her eyes were crystal blue and she smiled when she stepped forward.
'Damn.. she looks like an angel.' "Nice to meet you Nia, I'm Quinn and this is Leah and Maia.
Nia curtsied, the tips of her white wings brushing the floor."You are injured Maia? Would you mind if I examined you?"
Maia shook her head, "I don't mind"
Nia used a few minor healing wards and then stepped away.
Maia smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you."
Quinn watched them. "Aren't you going to fix her wings?"
The young healer sighed in frustration. "They've already started to mend, there is nothing I can do now, other then speed up the process." Nia gave Maia a look filled with sympathy. "I can't bear to speed up the wretched act they committed."
Maia stared at the ground, her eyes red. "It's fine right? They would never let me fly anyway."
"Wait a second!!" Quinn stepped around Maia and looked carefully at her wings. "Can't you just reset them?"
"Reset them?" Nia asked? "What do you mean by that?"
"You break them, and then set them straight before healing." Quinn scratched his head, it didn't seem too bad.
"Quinn?" Leah's face had turned ghost white.
"I'm a healer.. I can't do something like that." Nia put a hand over her stomach, her color suddenly bad.
"Can you give her something that would make her sleep?" Quinn looked at the twisted wings, if she isn't able to fly anyway, what's the harm in trying?
"I do have something," Nia leaned back against the desk looking faint. "I already told you I can't do something so horrid."
Quinn looked at Maia, "what they did, it's not right. I want to try."
Maia stared at him, her face expressionless. "You want to break my wings?"
Q nodded. "Nia can heal them as we go."
"I won't do such a thing!" There were tears forming in the young healers eyes, she was afraid.
"Quinn, are you sure about this?" Leah's trust for Quinn ran deep, she knew he would never hurt Maia.
"Either way, will it be worse?" Quinn watched Maia carefully. "It's up to you."
In her heart Maia wanted to trust him, he was reliable. 'I should rely on him.'
Maia nodded, "I want to try."
Leah and Zy walked to the far end of the office, dragging chairs with them, they faced away. They had silently agreed this wasn't something they would want to see.
Nia gave him a reluctant look. "I know you are trying to help your friend, but this isn't right Quinn."
"Please give her something to make her sleep." Quinn cleared off the desk, while Nia used a ward to make Maia sleep.
They gently lay her face down, and Quinn started examining the wings.
"The right one is much worse, initially it was broken in at least two places." He stepped behind Nia and carefully looked at the clerics wings.
"W-What are you doing?" Nia's face turn red as Q traced her wings with his finger.
"Sorry, I need a comparison." Quinn nodded to himself as he made some mental notes.
"You want to look at my wings?" Nia looked at Zy who was facing the wall. She frowned, Zy wasn't even looking at them.
"Yep, could you extend them?" Quinn traced the different bones that moved while they were unfurled. He grabbed some paper and started a simple sketch. "
Nia looked over his shoulder, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"We should start on the right one first," Quinn numbered the different bones. "These three larger ones can be treated while they are furled, but for the smaller ones, we will have to extend them."
Nia picked up the drawing and started adding details, "There is actually three here, they form a socket that houses the anterior wing support."
Slowly they formed a plan, several times Nia used her own wings as examples. She had forgotten any thought of modesty, and was carefully writing every step they were planning. After half an hour they were ready to start.
"Sorry Quinn, I know I'm the healer." Nia gave him helpless smile. "I can't bring myself to do the breaking."
"It's fine, we'll follow the plan, leave the breaking to me." Quinn moved over to the right side of the table.
Nia took a deep breath, guiding Q's hands to the exact spot. "Let's begin."
The first crack made all three women jump. Leah and Zy immediately covered their ears.
"Sorry Quinn," Nia was shaking. "Let's continue, three more in succession and I will heal."
Slowly Quinn and Nia progressed through all the furled bones possible on the right side. Nia's color was starting to look better, as they progressed she began taking a bigger role in the treatment. By the time they had moved to the left side, she was able to brace the bones as Quinn broke them. After another hour they stepped back.
Nia was carefully examining the wing base. "Quinn, this doesn't look too bad!!
Quinn was looking at the notes they had made, the rest of the breaks require them to be unfurled.
"I.. I will do this part Quinn."
Quinn nodded confidently. 'a bit of faith here… and she'll take us home.' "Good plan Nia, I'll keep the wing extended and stable."
Two hours later, after a few missteps that caused them to reset small errors, they finally finished. Nia set the last healing ward as Quinn gently furled the wings.
"We're done…!" Nia stared at the brown wings, she gripped the procedure's notes tightly to her chest.
Quinn walked over and placed a hand on Leah's shoulder. "It's okay, bad parts done."
Zy noticed Quinn's presence and turned to look at his desk. "How did it go?"
Leah looked at Quinn apologetically, "I'm sorry, that sound was too much for me."
Maia was slowly starting to wake up, "t-they hurt a bit."
Nia nodded encouragingly. "That isn't a bad sign, stand up please."
"They didn't hurt before?" Quinn asked, at the very least, they weren't a twisted mess anymore.
"No.. I haven't felt anything since they were broken." Maia started to cry, her small shoulders shaking as tears spilled down her face.
Nia traced her fingers along several of the bones, "extend your wings please."
Maia shook her head.. "I don't wanna, it's fine like this."
Quinn stroked her brown hair gently, "she worked pretty hard helping you. Can you show us?"
Maia slid off the desk and took a step back, slowly she unfurled her wings.
Nia stared for a moment before moving closer, "your wings are enormous Maia, I didn't realize it until now."
Maia was staring at Quinn in shock, she had stopped crying.. "I unfurled them… even if they never work.. I can feel them."
"To be honest Maia, I'm hopeful." Nia was continuing her examination, scribbling notes as she used her fingers to trace the mended bones.
"They are so lovely." Zy was watching from the side. "The soft brown color is really quite nice. I don't care what anyone says."
"The muscles have to be strengthened before you try flying.. try your range of motion,very gently." Nia stepped back to give her room.
Quinn and Leah moved to one side. Leah had an arm around Quinn's waist, silently watching.
Maia nodded and gave a small flap, a gust of air sent all the loose papers flying as her feet left the ground for a moment before settling back down.
"Hey…. Nice job!" Quinn was wearing a huge smile, "You must be very ...."
He was interrupted by Maia falling to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed hysterically. Leah immediately moved forward, put an arm around her shoulders and held her close.
Nia was staring at Maia, her eyes wide.. "Just like that.. feet off the ground and everything."
Quinn scratched his head. "It's good right?"
Nia nodded. "It's great Quinn! I can use this technique and restore people's flight!" Tears were streaming down her face.
Quinn sighed as he took note of the room full of crying women. 'Damn.. I thought there would be more cheering and less wailing.'
"Who are you Quinn?" It was Barrister Zy who spoke, she had also been crying. "You can do things.. ridiculously insane things, that no one else would even attempt."
"It was just an idea, nothing more." Quinn picked up the Gryphon book that he had been looking at earlier, "hey can I have this?"
Anna leaned quietly against the brick wall of the Sunset. The Sunset was an adult establishment, not particularly well thought of. It was in one of the poorer parts of Fenway. Her assistant's had dug up one clue. It was from a forum that had long since been forgotten. A certain reference to a 'winged man.' It was a sketchy clue at best. The kind of story you can't believe. I heard from a person who heard from another person.
She checked the time on her hud.
"Are you the one asking about the winged man?" A feminine voice asked quietly. Her face covered as she stayed in the shadows.
Anna pulled a leather pouch from her belt and tossed it to her. "That's a five thousand credits, give me something I can work with."
The mystery voice tossed her a piece of red cloth and then fled down the alley.
She picked up the cloth and examined it. "This I can work with."
************
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Ren fired up her jetpack and practiced hugging the terrain like the Songbirds had taught her.
"You are a very good flyer Ren." A soft voice spoke from above her.
Ren startled slightly and hovered in place. "Hi Angel."
Angels warm green eyes stared at her as she landed near the youngest songbird. "I'm sorry to hear you won't be going on the mission Ren." Her light brown hair fell to her shoulders, she was dressed in black armor.
"Where did you get armor that small?" Ren had been given some basic medium leather armor, it was nothing special.
"My Remmy made if for me." Angel clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm going to need it when I save Quinn."
Ren looked stunned, "they said you can go?"
"Hmm? said I can go?" Angel shook her head, "no they definitely didn't say that."
"So you aren't going?" Ren cut the power on her jetpack, letting her feet touch the ground.
Angel shrugged, "There's only two requirements for me to go, thankfully I fulfill both of them."
Ren stole a glance over her shoulder and lowered her voice, "what requirements?"
"I can fly and I can stealth." Angel gave her a small smile.
Ren pursed her lips together, the gears turning behind her pale blue eyes, "I can do both of those too."
"Oh.. I see." Angel flapped her wings the tiniest bit, her small feet coming off the ground.
"They said I couldn't go." Ren stomped her foot in frustration.
"Right .. Right." Angel patted her arm sympathetically. "I'm sure if the positions were reversed, Quinn would probably take a nap or something."
Ren stared at the ground for a moment. "No.. He wouldn't do that."
"Oh I see..." Angel smiled sweetly, "you sure?"
Ren nodded, "he'd pretend like he was listening but he'd ignore them and come find me."
"You sound very sure..." Angel stealthed suddenly, her voice moved away a bit. "Perhaps Quinn loves you more then you love him?"
"What?" Ren crossed her arms and frowned at the voice. "No, I love Quinn the most."
Angel dropped stealth, she was hovering a few feet from Ren. "Me too."
***********
Quinn and Leah sat in the same chairs they had previously occupied the first time they visited the Barrister's office. Maia was walking around the room looking at the different books. She pulled one down and opened it up.
"A book on Gryphons .." Maia made a face as she went to put it back.
"Hey, let me see that! "Quinn stood up and reached for the book.
"Take it, those foul things will end up eating you." Maia shivered as she continued to look at the various books.
Quinn opened the book and started reading. "This talks about raising Gryphon's, that will come in handy. "
"Oh? Is Kawa expecting?" Leah wrinkled her freckled nose at him. She had let her braid out and was rummaging through her bag.
"You really have a Gryphon Quinn?" Maia's cute face was frowning at him. "Didn't you hear me? Those things will eat you!!"
Quinn nodded, "We both do, but mine is super awesome. Kawa is exceptionally well behaved, very gentle. "
"I'll take your word for it." Maia said, her voice full of doubt.
Quinn stood up.. "Fine, I'll prove it." He pulled the harness out of his bag and summoned Kawa.
The big black Gryphon looked around the office, then it's attention focused on Maia.
*peck*
"Hey!!" Maia jumped out of the way just before Kawa's beak made contact. Instead Kawa destroyed a shelf and sent a few dozen books crashing to the floor. "Stow that beast you idiot!"
Quinn stood up and moved in front of Kawa with his hands out, Maia retreated by jumping on top of Zy's desk. Kawa stepped around Quinn.
*peck*
Maia jumped off the desk and hid behind Leah, everything that had been on Zy's desk was scattered. "You feathered bastard! I'd kick your stinky butt sideways if you weren't so big!" Maia shook her fist at the gryphon.
Quinn unsummoned Kawa, just as Barrister Zy entered the office.
The barrister's eyes were wide in shock, "I was only gone a few minutes, what happened here?"
Quinn pointed at Maia, "she chased my Gryphon around your office like a crazy person.
"…." Maia.
"Why was your Gryphon out?" Zy started to pick up some of the papers that were scattered about.
Quinn sighed heavily. "Hey Zy… Let me do that." He started picking up the various documents that had been knocked off Zy's desk, after a moment Maia and Leah also pitched in.
Leah took the last of the papers from Quinn and sat them on the desk. "That was really odd though. Kawa has never shown any kind of aggression."
"Sorry Maia," Quinn apologized. "Did he hurt you?"
Maia shook her head. "It's okay. Sorry for yelling."
Quinn looked up, only just noticing the person Zy had brought back. "Who is your friend?"
Zy pulled the girl forward and introduced her. "This is Nia, she is quite an accomplished healer."
Nia wore a green robe, her long white hair hung between furled wings. Her eyes were crystal blue and she smiled when she stepped forward.
'Damn.. she looks like an angel.' "Nice to meet you Nia, I'm Quinn and this is Leah and Maia.
Nia curtsied, the tips of her white wings brushing the floor."You are injured Maia? Would you mind if I examined you?"
Maia shook her head, "I don't mind"
Nia used a few minor healing wards and then stepped away.
Maia smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you."
Quinn watched them. "Aren't you going to fix her wings?"
The young healer sighed in frustration. "They've already started to mend, there is nothing I can do now, other then speed up the process." Nia gave Maia a look filled with sympathy. "I can't bear to speed up the wretched act they committed."
Maia stared at the ground, her eyes red. "It's fine right? They would never let me fly anyway."
"Wait a second!!" Quinn stepped around Maia and looked carefully at her wings. "Can't you just reset them?"
"Reset them?" Nia asked? "What do you mean by that?"
"You break them, and then set them straight before healing." Quinn scratched his head, it didn't seem too bad.
"Quinn?" Leah's face had turned ghost white.
"I'm a healer.. I can't do something like that." Nia put a hand over her stomach, her color suddenly bad.
"Can you give her something that would make her sleep?" Quinn looked at the twisted wings, if she isn't able to fly anyway, what's the harm in trying?
"I do have something," Nia leaned back against the desk looking faint. "I already told you I can't do something so horrid."
Quinn looked at Maia, "what they did, it's not right. I want to try."
Maia stared at him, her face expressionless. "You want to break my wings?"
Q nodded. "Nia can heal them as we go."
"I won't do such a thing!" There were tears forming in the young healers eyes, she was afraid.
"Quinn, are you sure about this?" Leah's trust for Quinn ran deep, she knew he would never hurt Maia.
"Either way, will it be worse?" Quinn watched Maia carefully. "It's up to you."
In her heart Maia wanted to trust him, he was reliable. 'I should rely on him.'
Maia nodded, "I want to try."
Leah and Zy walked to the far end of the office, dragging chairs with them, they faced away. They had silently agreed this wasn't something they would want to see.
Nia gave him a reluctant look. "I know you are trying to help your friend, but this isn't right Quinn."
"Please give her something to make her sleep." Quinn cleared off the desk, while Nia used a ward to make Maia sleep.
They gently lay her face down, and Quinn started examining the wings.
"The right one is much worse, initially it was broken in at least two places." He stepped behind Nia and carefully looked at the clerics wings.
"W-What are you doing?" Nia's face turn red as Q traced her wings with his finger.
"Sorry, I need a comparison." Quinn nodded to himself as he made some mental notes.
"You want to look at my wings?" Nia looked at Zy who was facing the wall. She frowned, Zy wasn't even looking at them.
"Yep, could you extend them?" Quinn traced the different bones that moved while they were unfurled. He grabbed some paper and started a simple sketch. "
Nia looked over his shoulder, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"We should start on the right one first," Quinn numbered the different bones. "These three larger ones can be treated while they are furled, but for the smaller ones, we will have to extend them."
Nia picked up the drawing and started adding details, "There is actually three here, they form a socket that houses the anterior wing support."
Slowly they formed a plan, several times Nia used her own wings as examples. She had forgotten any thought of modesty, and was carefully writing every step they were planning. After half an hour they were ready to start.
"Sorry Quinn, I know I'm the healer." Nia gave him helpless smile. "I can't bring myself to do the breaking."
"It's fine, we'll follow the plan, leave the breaking to me." Quinn moved over to the right side of the table.
Nia took a deep breath, guiding Q's hands to the exact spot. "Let's begin."
The first crack made all three women jump. Leah and Zy immediately covered their ears.
"Sorry Quinn," Nia was shaking. "Let's continue, three more in succession and I will heal."
Slowly Quinn and Nia progressed through all the furled bones possible on the right side. Nia's color was starting to look better, as they progressed she began taking a bigger role in the treatment. By the time they had moved to the left side, she was able to brace the bones as Quinn broke them. After another hour they stepped back.
Nia was carefully examining the wing base. "Quinn, this doesn't look too bad!!
Quinn was looking at the notes they had made, the rest of the breaks require them to be unfurled.
"I.. I will do this part Quinn."
Quinn nodded confidently. 'a bit of faith here… and she'll take us home.' "Good plan Nia, I'll keep the wing extended and stable."
Two hours later, after a few missteps that caused them to reset small errors, they finally finished. Nia set the last healing ward as Quinn gently furled the wings.
"We're done…!" Nia stared at the brown wings, she gripped the procedure's notes tightly to her chest.
Quinn walked over and placed a hand on Leah's shoulder. "It's okay, bad parts done."
Zy noticed Quinn's presence and turned to look at his desk. "How did it go?"
Leah looked at Quinn apologetically, "I'm sorry, that sound was too much for me."
Maia was slowly starting to wake up, "t-they hurt a bit."
Nia nodded encouragingly. "That isn't a bad sign, stand up please."
"They didn't hurt before?" Quinn asked, at the very least, they weren't a twisted mess anymore.
"No.. I haven't felt anything since they were broken." Maia started to cry, her small shoulders shaking as tears spilled down her face.
Nia traced her fingers along several of the bones, "extend your wings please."
Maia shook her head.. "I don't wanna, it's fine like this."
Quinn stroked her brown hair gently, "she worked pretty hard helping you. Can you show us?"
Maia slid off the desk and took a step back, slowly she unfurled her wings.
Nia stared for a moment before moving closer, "your wings are enormous Maia, I didn't realize it until now."
Maia was staring at Quinn in shock, she had stopped crying.. "I unfurled them… even if they never work.. I can feel them."
"To be honest Maia, I'm hopeful." Nia was continuing her examination, scribbling notes as she used her fingers to trace the mended bones.
"They are so lovely." Zy was watching from the side. "The soft brown color is really quite nice. I don't care what anyone says."
"The muscles have to be strengthened before you try flying.. try your range of motion,very gently." Nia stepped back to give her room.
Quinn and Leah moved to one side. Leah had an arm around Quinn's waist, silently watching.
Maia nodded and gave a small flap, a gust of air sent all the loose papers flying as her feet left the ground for a moment before settling back down.
"Hey…. Nice job!" Quinn was wearing a huge smile, "You must be very ...."
He was interrupted by Maia falling to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed hysterically. Leah immediately moved forward, put an arm around her shoulders and held her close.
Nia was staring at Maia, her eyes wide.. "Just like that.. feet off the ground and everything."
Quinn scratched his head. "It's good right?"
Nia nodded. "It's great Quinn! I can use this technique and restore people's flight!" Tears were streaming down her face.
Quinn sighed as he took note of the room full of crying women. 'Damn.. I thought there would be more cheering and less wailing.'
"Who are you Quinn?" It was Barrister Zy who spoke, she had also been crying. "You can do things.. ridiculously insane things, that no one else would even attempt."
"It was just an idea, nothing more." Quinn picked up the Gryphon book that he had been looking at earlier, "hey can I have this?"
Anna leaned quietly against the brick wall of the Sunset. The Sunset was an adult establishment, not particularly well thought of. It was in one of the poorer parts of Fenway. Her assistant's had dug up one clue. It was from a forum that had long since been forgotten. A certain reference to a 'winged man.' It was a sketchy clue at best. The kind of story you can't believe. I heard from a person who heard from another person.
She checked the time on her hud.
"Are you the one asking about the winged man?" A feminine voice asked quietly. Her face covered as she stayed in the shadows.
Anna pulled a leather pouch from her belt and tossed it to her. "That's a five thousand credits, give me something I can work with."
The mystery voice tossed her a piece of red cloth and then fled down the alley.
She picked up the cloth and examined it. "This I can work with."
************
Ren fired up her jetpack and practiced hugging the terrain like the Songbirds had taught her."You are a very good flyer Ren." A soft voice spoke from above her.Ren startled slightly and hovered in place. "Hi Angel."Angels warm green eyes stared at her as she landed near the youngest songbird. "I'm sorry to hear you won't be going on the mission Ren." Her light brown hair fell to her shoulders, she was dressed in black armor."Where did you get armor that small?" Ren had been given some basic medium leather armor, it was nothing special."My Remmy made if for me." Angel clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm going to need it when I save Quinn."Ren looked stunned, "they said you can go?""Hmm? said I can go?" Angel shook her head, "no they definitely didn't say that.""So you aren't going?" Ren cut the power on her jetpack, letting her feet touch the ground.Angel shrugged, "There's only two requirements for me to go, thankfully I fulfill both of them."Ren stole a glance over her shoulder and lowered her voice, "what requirements?""I can fly and I can stealth." Angel gave her a small smile.Ren pursed her lips together, the gears turning behind her pale blue eyes, "I can do both of those too.""Oh.. I see." Angel flapped her wings the tiniest bit, her small feet coming off the ground."They said I couldn't go." Ren stomped her foot in frustration."Right .. Right." Angel patted her arm sympathetically. "I'm sure if the positions were reversed, Quinn would probably take a nap or something."Ren stared at the ground for a moment. "No.. He wouldn't do that.""Oh I see..." Angel smiled sweetly, "you sure?"Ren nodded, "he'd pretend like he was listening but he'd ignore them and come find me.""You sound very sure..." Angel stealthed suddenly, her voice moved away a bit. "Perhaps Quinn loves you more then you love him?""What?" Ren crossed her arms and frowned at the voice. "No, I love Quinn the most."Angel dropped stealth, she was hovering a few feet from Ren. "Me too."***********Quinn and Leah sat in the same chairs they had previously occupied the first time they visited the Barrister's office. Maia was walking around the room looking at the different books. She pulled one down and opened it up."A book on Gryphons .." Maia made a face as she went to put it back."Hey, let me see that! "Quinn stood up and reached for the book."Take it, those foul things will end up eating you." Maia shivered as she continued to look at the various books.Quinn opened the book and started reading. "This talks about raising Gryphon's, that will come in handy. ""Oh? Is Kawa expecting?" Leah wrinkled her freckled nose at him. She had let her braid out and was rummaging through her bag."You really have a Gryphon Quinn?" Maia's cute face was frowning at him. "Didn't you hear me? Those things will eat you!!"Quinn nodded, "We both do, but mine is super awesome. Kawa is exceptionally well behaved, very gentle. ""I'll take your word for it." Maia said, her voice full of doubt.Quinn stood up.. "Fine, I'll prove it." He pulled the harness out of his bag and summoned Kawa.The big black Gryphon looked around the office, then it's attention focused on Maia.*peck*"Hey!!" Maia jumped out of the way just before Kawa's beak made contact. Instead Kawa destroyed a shelf and sent a few dozen books crashing to the floor. "Stow that beast you idiot!"Quinn stood up and moved in front of Kawa with his hands out, Maia retreated by jumping on top of Zy's desk. Kawa stepped around Quinn.*peck*Maia jumped off the desk and hid behind Leah, everything that had been on Zy's desk was scattered. "You feathered bastard! I'd kick your stinky butt sideways if you weren't so big!" Maia shook her fist at the gryphon.Quinn unsummoned Kawa, just as Barrister Zy entered the office.The barrister's eyes were wide in shock, "I was only gone a few minutes, what happened here?"Quinn pointed at Maia, "she chased my Gryphon around your office like a crazy person."." Maia."Why was your Gryphon out?" Zy started to pick up some of the papers that were scattered about.Quinn sighed heavily. "Hey Zy Let me do that." He started picking up the various documents that had been knocked off Zy's desk, after a moment Maia and Leah also pitched in.Leah took the last of the papers from Quinn and sat them on the desk. "That was really odd though. Kawa has never shown any kind of aggression.""Sorry Maia," Quinn apologized. "Did he hurt you?"Maia shook her head. "It's okay. Sorry for yelling."Quinn looked up, only just noticing the person Zy had brought back. "Who is your friend?"Zy pulled the girl forward and introduced her. "This is Nia, she is quite an accomplished healer."Nia wore a green robe, her long white hair hung between furled wings. Her eyes were crystal blue and she smiled when she stepped forward.'Damn.. she looks like an angel.' "Nice to meet you Nia, I'm Quinn and this is Leah and Maia.Nia curtsied, the tips of her white wings brushing the floor."You are injured Maia? Would you mind if I examined you?"Maia shook her head, "I don't mind"Nia used a few minor healing wards and then stepped away.Maia smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you."Quinn watched them. "Aren't you going to fix her wings?"The young healer sighed in frustration. "They've already started to mend, there is nothing I can do now, other then speed up the process." Nia gave Maia a look filled with sympathy. "I can't bear to speed up the wretched act they committed."Maia stared at the ground, her eyes red. "It's fine right? They would never let me fly anyway.""Wait a second!!" Quinn stepped around Maia and looked carefully at her wings. "Can't you just reset them?""Reset them?" Nia asked? "What do you mean by that?""You break them, and then set them straight before healing." Quinn scratched his head, it didn't seem too bad."Quinn?" Leah's face had turned ghost white."I'm a healer.. I can't do something like that." Nia put a hand over her stomach, her color suddenly bad."Can you give her something that would make her sleep?" Quinn looked at the twisted wings, if she isn't able to fly anyway, what's the harm in trying?"I do have something," Nia leaned back against the desk looking faint. "I already told you I can't do something so horrid."Quinn looked at Maia, "what they did, it's not right. I want to try."Maia stared at him, her face expressionless. "You want to break my wings?"Q nodded. "Nia can heal them as we go.""I won't do such a thing!" There were tears forming in the young healers eyes, she was afraid."Quinn, are you sure about this?" Leah's trust for Quinn ran deep, she knew he would never hurt Maia."Either way, will it be worse?" Quinn watched Maia carefully. "It's up to you."In her heart Maia wanted to trust him, he was reliable. 'I should rely on him.'Maia nodded, "I want to try."Leah and Zy walked to the far end of the office, dragging chairs with them, they faced away. They had silently agreed this wasn't something they would want to see.Nia gave him a reluctant look. "I know you are trying to help your friend, but this isn't right Quinn.""Please give her something to make her sleep." Quinn cleared off the desk, while Nia used a ward to make Maia sleep.They gently lay her face down, and Quinn started examining the wings."The right one is much worse, initially it was broken in at least two places." He stepped behind Nia and carefully looked at the clerics wings."W-What are you doing?" Nia's face turn red as Q traced her wings with his finger."Sorry, I need a comparison." Quinn nodded to himself as he made some mental notes."You want to look at my wings?" Nia looked at Zy who was facing the wall. She frowned, Zy wasn't even looking at them."Yep, could you extend them?" Quinn traced the different bones that moved while they were unfurled. He grabbed some paper and started a simple sketch. "Nia looked over his shoulder, her curiosity getting the better of her."We should start on the right one first," Quinn numbered the different bones. "These three larger ones can be treated while they are furled, but for the smaller ones, we will have to extend them."Nia picked up the drawing and started adding details, "There is actually three here, they form a socket that houses the anterior wing support."Slowly they formed a plan, several times Nia used her own wings as examples. She had forgotten any thought of modesty, and was carefully writing every step they were planning. After half an hour they were ready to start."Sorry Quinn, I know I'm the healer." Nia gave him helpless smile. "I can't bring myself to do the breaking.""It's fine, we'll follow the plan, leave the breaking to me." Quinn moved over to the right side of the table.Nia took a deep breath, guiding Q's hands to the exact spot. "Let's begin."The first crack made all three women jump. Leah and Zy immediately covered their ears."Sorry Quinn," Nia was shaking. "Let's continue, three more in succession and I will heal."Slowly Quinn and Nia progressed through all the furled bones possible on the right side. Nia's color was starting to look better, as they progressed she began taking a bigger role in the treatment. By the time they had moved to the left side, she was able to brace the bones as Quinn broke them. After another hour they stepped back.Nia was carefully examining the wing base. "Quinn, this doesn't look too bad!!Quinn was looking at the notes they had made, the rest of the breaks require them to be unfurled."I.. I will do this part Quinn."Quinn nodded confidently. 'a bit of faith here and she'll take us home.' "Good plan Nia, I'll keep the wing extended and stable."Two hours later, after a few missteps that caused them to reset small errors, they finally finished. Nia set the last healing ward as Quinn gently furled the wings."We're done!" Nia stared at the brown wings, she gripped the procedure's notes tightly to her chest.Quinn walked over and placed a hand on Leah's shoulder. "It's okay, bad parts done."Zy noticed Quinn's presence and turned to look at his desk. "How did it go?"Leah looked at Quinn apologetically, "I'm sorry, that sound was too much for me."Maia was slowly starting to wake up, "t-they hurt a bit."Nia nodded encouragingly. "That isn't a bad sign, stand up please.""They didn't hurt before?" Quinn asked, at the very least, they weren't a twisted mess anymore."No.. I haven't felt anything since they were broken." Maia started to cry, her small shoulders shaking as tears spilled down her face.Nia traced her fingers along several of the bones, "extend your wings please."Maia shook her head.. "I don't wanna, it's fine like this."Quinn stroked her brown hair gently, "she worked pretty hard helping you. Can you show us?"Maia slid off the desk and took a step back, slowly she unfurled her wings.Nia stared for a moment before moving closer, "your wings are enormous Maia, I didn't realize it until now."Maia was staring at Quinn in shock, she had stopped crying.. "I unfurled them even if they never work.. I can feel them.""To be honest Maia, I'm hopeful." Nia was continuing her examination, scribbling notes as she used her fingers to trace the mended bones."They are so lovely." Zy was watching from the side. "The soft brown color is really quite nice. I don't care what anyone says.""The muscles have to be strengthened before you try flying.. try your range of motion,very gently." Nia stepped back to give her room.Quinn and Leah moved to one side. Leah had an arm around Quinn's waist, silently watching.Maia nodded and gave a small flap, a gust of air sent all the loose papers flying as her feet left the ground for a moment before settling back down."Hey. Nice job!" Quinn was wearing a huge smile, "You must be very ...."He was interrupted by Maia falling to her knees, tears streaming from her eyes as she sobbed hysterically. Leah immediately moved forward, put an arm around her shoulders and held her close.Nia was staring at Maia, her eyes wide.. "Just like that.. feet off the ground and everything."Quinn scratched his head. "It's good right?"Nia nodded. "It's great Quinn! I can use this technique and restore people's flight!" Tears were streaming down her face.Quinn sighed as he took note of the room full of crying women. 'Damn.. I thought there would be more cheering and less wailing.'"Who are you Quinn?" It was Barrister Zy who spoke, she had also been crying. "You can do things.. ridiculously insane things, that no one else would even attempt.""It was just an idea, nothing more." Quinn picked up the Gryphon book that he had been looking at earlier, "hey can I have this?"Anna leaned quietly against the brick wall of the Sunset. The Sunset was an adult establishment, not particularly well thought of. It was in one of the poorer parts of Fenway. Her assistant's had dug up one clue. It was from a forum that had long since been forgotten. A certain reference to a 'winged man.' It was a sketchy clue at best. The kind of story you can't believe. I heard from a person who heard from another person.She checked the time on her hud."Are you the one asking about the winged man?" A feminine voice asked quietly. Her face covered as she stayed in the shadows.Anna pulled a leather pouch from her belt and tossed it to her. "That's a five thousand credits, give me something I can work with."The mystery voice tossed her a piece of red cloth and then fled down the alley.She picked up the cloth and examined it. "This I can work with."************
