Mend the Flesh

Chapter 4

4

The next morning I wrapped my newly formed muscles and sinew slowly, carefully inspecting the new bits of meat that now clung to my bones as I draped myself in a sand-coloured fabric. I had more flesh on the soles of my feet, which was awesome. Maybe now I could venture out of the house during the day. Even with shoes on, the hot desert sand had felt like hell on my bony feet. I wrapped my wings last; they were the fiddliest part of the process and required a lot of time in the mirror. Even though my body was healing, it was still hard to look at my raw form in the glass. Being fully covered made doing my wings more bearable. Another plus from last night's moon bath was more flesh on my fingers; they almost moved normally. Maybe one day they could handle an actual button! What can I say, I'm a dreamer.

Once my wings were wrapped, I picked my gloves up off the nightstand and tucked them into a swirl of cloth. Unless I went outside, I wanted my hands free.

The final step of the whole wrapping process was the headpiece. Royal and I had experimented with a bunch of different wrapping techniques, most of which left me looking like the invisible man. I finally had gotten so frustrated that I ripped the whole thing off, which hurt quite a bit and I regretted later. Big time. Ever had a chapped lip split open? Imagine that all over your face. Yep.

We settled on a loose hood that wrapped around my neck and could be pulled up and over to cover my face if necessary. Royal didn't seem very squeamish about how I looked, and I couldn't see my face as I went about my day, so I left the hood down for the most part.

Standing in front of the mirror in my full fabric glory, I sighed. I had come a long way; I was healing, but even wrapped my frailty was evident. There simply was no meat to me; I was ultimately still a skeleton, now a fashionably clothed skeleton, but a skeleton all the same. And my face, my terrible face. High cheekbones look great when you've got skin, but when you're strips of bacon, they look pretty aggressive. It was super depressing. I pulled up my hood and slipped on the gloves, then went to see what Royal was up to.

Royal was up to the usual, making me a giant breakfast and girding his loins for the inevitable battle to make me eat it.

"Morning," he said as he placed a large bowl of oatmeal and three fried eggs on the counter.

"Good morning," I mumbled as I sat down and grabbed my spoon. I tucked into the oatmeal without argument.

"Hey, are you okay?" Royal stood before me, his hands resting on the counter, his bright blue eyes searching mine. I didn't have the energy to lie.

"Not really," I took a bite of egg. "I thought I'd made real progress last night, but this morning I looked like just another skeleton." I paused, stuffed more egg in my mouth. "I do have more meat on my feet, so that's something."

"You will get better," he said softly.

"I know." I smiled at him, my new lips stretching slightly. "I honestly do know that. Some days are just easier than others." I ate another mouthful of oatmeal. Royal smiled.

"Well, if a bad day makes you eat all that you should, then I guess I'm okay with it."

"So what's the plan for the day?" I asked with my mouth full, a piece of egg fell out.

"Very funny." He tossed me a napkin. "I'll be preparing the Moon Circle for you."

"Moon Circle?"

"Yep, Moon Circle. With the full moon coming, you need maximum exposure. I build a sacred circle out in the desert and you bathe there as the moon hits its zenith."

"Outside? Like in the open desert?"

"Yep."

"Like, where the animals are?"

"They won't come near, don't you worry."

"How do you know that?"

"Well, for one, all the power you'll be throwing off will scare the crap out of them, and two, I'll be putting up a big circle of protection, so you won't be disturbed by anything."

"Makes sense."

"It does indeed." Royal wiped the countertop around me where a few specks of oatmeal and egg had formed a ring around my bowl. "You need to do two things today."

"And they are?"

"You need to eat like a horse and rest like a sloth."

"A sloth?" I giggled.

"Yeah, a sloth, they're very restful."

"Oh, I know, it's just not the animal I thought you'd use."

"Can you name me one that does less than a sloth?" he asked, the corner of his mouth twitched. I'd learned over the last few days, that this was Royal being playful.

"Hmm, snail?"

"Nope, they may be slow, but they aren't lazy."

"Sloths are lazy?"

"Have you ever met a sloth?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Well, I've known a few in my time, and they were pretty lazy bastards."

I laughed a little too hard and felt something rip at the corner of my mouth. My hand shot to my lip and came away with blood. "s**t!"

"Don't panic." Royal came around the counter with a clean cloth in his hand. "Hold still." He put one hand gently behind my head and pressed the cloth to my lip. "Don't try to talk. Just hold still for a few minutes and it'll pass. You've just got to be more careful until this is all healed up."

"Mmmm mmm," I mumbled through my closed mouth.

"Don't talk. Just relax."

I took a deep breath in through my nose and let it out as best I could through the side of my mouth to which Royal wasn't pressing cloth. I could feel tears starting to well up in my eyes; since my burning, their salt felt like acid against my skin, so I tried a few more deep breaths to keep them at bay.

"Let them out, Phoenix," Royal said softly, "you’ve got to let it all out."

I looked into Royal's bright blue eyes, framed in wrinkles and holding the weight of many many years. We were strangers, yet we were kin. The only one of our kind I had ever known. There was trust there: an unspoken bond of pain and longing. The skeletal remains of my wings started to twitch. They wanted to trust him too. And I trusted them. So we all trusted each other. I took a deep breath and let the tears go.

"Good girl," Royal whispered as he took the cloth from my mouth and used a clean edge to catch the tears before they could get too far along my cheeks. His movements were so caring, paternal, unconditional, and with another deep breath I felt my boney frame soften and the tiny flame of power inside me burn a little stronger.

"Is it safe to smile now?" I asked quietly through very still lips.

"Not a big one, but yes." Royal smiled as he stepped away.

"Thank.."

"Nope," Royal interrupted, still smiling. "Don't say that. It's not necessary."

"But I want to thank.."

"Nope!" He laughed. I pulled a face. "You'll rip open that lip again, missy!" he admonished.

"Okay, you win, I won't say thank you."

"See that you don't." He winked. "I'm going to head out and get started on your Moon Circle. I suggest you take a nap."

"A nap? But I just got up!"

"And you just split your lip open. Nap!"

"Yes, sir."

Royal kissed me on the top of my hood-covered head and was gone, his silvery wings dragging lightly on the floor behind him.