(AN: A bit of background: This uses the characters and settings from my book The Poison Tree's Gardener. In this particular story, Rides has "reincarnated" as an elf, and Klef as an "avian", a human-figure with wings extending from the shoulder blades. Klef and Rides in this drabble are a couple. As of this point in time my enter key doesn't work, so I will be using ">" in its stead. Thanks for understanding, enjoy!) >Rides woke up that morning to find a few stray raven's feathers on the pillow next to her. She picked them up and shrugged, not paying much mind to it, and stumbled her way over to the bathroom for a shower. Living with someone as good with tools as her mom came with a few perks, one of them being indoor plumbing. After her shower when she was drying off and dressing for the day, she noticed about a dozen or more damp feathers in the trash can. The third and final piece of evidence she found came from downstairs, where Klef was making breakfast, his wings curled up neatly under his shirt rather than stretched through the two holes in his shirt made specifically for that purpose. "Treble?" >"Yeah?" >"You're not stretching your wings?" >"Uh...yeah, I got a cramp in them this morning when I woke up." >"All the more reason to give them a good stretch." >Klef looked down at his feet. "Don't make me say it, Ride, please!" >"Unbelievable," she grinned. "Un. Be. Lievable! You're molting!" >"Sh!" >"Oh, I never thought I'd see something more embarrassing than 'you're not a deer'! But Klef, the grade-A thief, is /molting/!" >Klef buried his face in his hands. "Please stop," he begged. >"Let me see," Rides replied. >Klef looked at her, stunned. "Now?" >She nodded. Klef hesitantly extended his wings, and Rides walked over, gently running her hands over them. Klef stiffened as she got close to his back, but she didn't try anything sexual. She knew it made him uncomfortable. "Does it hurt?" she asked. >"Not really. It itches more." >Rides sighed in sympathy. "I'm not sure what we can do..." >Klef whimpered inadvertently. >I guess we can try /some/thing," Rides muttered, "But I don't know what." >"Think I could fly some feathers off?" >"We can try," Rides shrugged. >They walked outside and Klef spread his wings to their full length. He flapped hard a few times and swung around the house. A few feathers fell off, but not very many. When he came back down he tucked his wings inside his shirt as he saw the queen bees of the town coming closer. "Kleeeef!" the head bee sang. >Klef curled his wings closer around himself and shrank back. Rides blocked her path. "Ali." >"Reese. Out of my way," Ali snarled. >"Can you not see that Klef doesn't want to talk to you?" >Ali laughed. "Please. Everyone wants to talk to me." >Klef stepped up to Rides and put an arm around her. "Sorry, Ali, I'm a bit busy today." >Ali huffed and stalked off. Rides leaned into his shoulder. "Busy with me?" >"You know it," Klef laughed. >Rides dragged him inside. "Should we try water next?" >Klef shook his head. "Shower didn't work this morning." >"...I could help pluck them...?" >Klef hesitated. "...Okay." >Rides gently lifted Klef's shirt and ran her hands fast and hard over Klef's wings, pulling off the layer of water proof feathers and revealing soft, downy ones that wouldn't pull out easily. Klef massaged his wings. "Ow...thanks," he muttered. >"Any time, Treble," Rides said, laying her head on the downy wings. >They were both asleep on each other in the sun-bathed couch within the hour.1234 copyright protection910ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNHiptVK0G 尼

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