Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

“This storm is pretty bad Maki…”

“Yeah, just keep your eyes out for any lightning, Ryn. We’re close to Drahgo.”

“Like I’d be able to tell you in time!”

“You know what I mean!”

“Mhm…”

CRACK BOOM!

“The wing!”

“Shit!”

“Maki! Let’s jump! Forget the plane!”

“No! I can save it, just trust me!”

“MAKANIIIII!”

Eh…?

Is this… the end?

No... this was the beginning of it all, at least for me.

Black feathers fluttered down from heaven, surrounded by a canopy of trees. A small hand desperately reached upwards, trying to grasp the sky that rejected her.

“Ma..ma..”

It all went black.

The feeling of falling. For a bird it was a sensation she was wholly familiar with. After all, what was flying but falling and constantly avoiding the ground? Gravity was the eternal enemy of all those who defied it and flew.

Yet even as a little fledgling, this cruel master showed no mercy. Even baby birds knew to fly if they didn’t want to meet the ground personally. Despite it all, mother birds shoved their innocent children out to face this formless beast in the hope that they would defy the odds and soar.

Some birds weren’t meant to fly.

Even so, the meddling of humanity defies the natural order of things.

“Hey! Hey!”

“Are you okay?”

“Wake up!”

Yellow eyes shot open. “Where?!”

Sitting up, the bird girl looked around. It was someone’s bedroom at night, though the lack of light didn’t seem to bother her. Not that her night vision helped identify where she had ended up, nor who the owner of this room was.

In fact… she had zero memories to go off of. Her head pounded whenever she tried to recall anything she had been doing previously. There were mere fragments of what used to be her memories. A few loose words that meant something to her.

Resonator, Lunar, Slashing…

Rynda…

She was sure that was her name, but everything else failed to make any sense. She flexed the digits of her hands, all her fingers seemed to be there. Same with her feet. That just left one more pair of limbs.

“Ow!” the girl yelped loudly. Stretching her wings only gave her searing pain. “Ow ow ow ow!” Tears streamed down her face in an instant. It hurt so much. Now that she was aware of the state of her wings the pain wouldn’t stop.

The door to the room suddenly burst open, the light from the hallway flooding in. “You’re awake!” a male voice exclaimed. With a flick of the light switch, the entire room was illuminated, allowing the girl to see the owner of the room for the first time.

A boy probably no older than fifteen stood with concern on his face. “Are you hurt? I found you in the forest,” he told her, stepping over to the injured bird.

“Wh-who are you?” the girl pushed herself back further on the bed, trembling as the pain-laden tears continued to streak down her face.

“I’m Makani, what’s your name?”

The bird girl lowered her head, hugging herself tightly. “I… don’t know,” she admitted quietly.

Makani frowned, unsure of what to say. She was clothed in essentially rags, a dirty blanket, or something with crude holes torn in it to allow her wings to poke out. He wasn’t even sure if she was decent under there. Thankfully he didn’t find out when he carried her back to his home. All this plus the way he discovered her only made him wonder who she was and what happened to her. The girl spoke up, snapping him back into reality.

“Rynda… I think my name is Rynda,” she spoke quietly.

“Are you okay?” Makani asked.

She shook her head slowly.

“What’s wrong?” came the next question.

Despite her reluctance, the girl’s eyes darted to her left wing, telling him all he needed to know. He crossed the room and flicked on his computer. “I don’t know much about how to fix a hurt wing, but thankfully we have the internet for that,” he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

And it worked! Rynda remained wary but allowed herself to relax ever so slightly. She studied the boy at the computer closely. His skin was darker than hers, looking at her hands she noticed how pale she was. Her gaze shifted to the window – it was dark outside. So, it was night currently which brought her some peace.

Makani turned back and forth between the girl on his bed and the computer screen. The way she held her wings, her left wing was hanging slightly lower than her right. She didn’t seem to be in pain from what he could tell… but the only reason he rushed back upstairs was because he heard her crying.

“Hmmm,” Makani hummed again. He stood and slowly approached the bed, the girl shrinking back as he drew closer. “Is it okay if I touch your wing?” he requested, his eyes studying the drooping appendage.

Rynda didn’t respond one way or another, she just stared back with trepidation.

Inaction wouldn’t ease her pain, so Makani drew close. She didn’t reject his advance but closed her eyes fearfully. Comparing her left and right wings, there didn’t appear to be an obvious break. Still, though, he had to be sure. “I’m gonna touch your wing now,” he warned. Rynda remained tense but didn’t reject him.

Her feathers were soft, he ran his hands down the top of her wing where the largest bones lay.

“Ow!” she yelped.

“Here?” He questioned, gently rubbing the spot that elicited the response.

“Ow! Yes!” came another yelp.

With that confirmation, he ceased touching her and gave the girl some space, though he committed the exact spot of pain to memory, right in the middle of the larger bones

“Hm…” Makani hummed. Outside of the pain she was experiencing, there wasn’t any visible damage. Most likely it was a thin crack. Thankfully it was something that could be fixed.

“We need to get you to an MA Office,” he told her.

“A what?” asked the confused bird.

“They’re a place that helps Resonators. They can help fix your wing,” Makani said, getting his boots on.

“Oh, I see,” Rynda said quietly, hugging herself tightly and casting a concerned gaze at her damaged wing.

The pair left Makani’s home, the warm, humid air hitting poor Rynda like a sack of bricks. The air had an unfamiliar scent to it, but one which made her sniff in curiosity.

“You smelling the sea breeze?” Makani asked, noticing her raised nose.

She flinched, her cheeks reddening. “What’s that?” she asked.

He raised a brow. “You don’t know?” The two came to a stop, illuminated by a streetlamp. Rynda held herself her head lowered.

After really thinking it over, she shook her head – it just wasn’t familiar to her; none of it was. It all blurred around her until finally, Makani’s voice roused her from her thoughts.

“Rynda? Are you okay?” he asked.

She shot him a glare, her eyes briefly darting to her ailing wing.

“Right, poor choice of words,” the boy chuckled. “We’re here though!” he expertly deflected, motioning to the building behind him.

It was a facility wholly unfamiliar to the winged maiden. A large stone sign sitting just outside the campus told her the name of this building.

Maestro Affairs Office

- Kapro Branch -

Poor Rynda couldn’t begin to fathom what the purpose of this facility was. Supposedly they would help her with her hurt wing, but the real question was how would they be able to achieve such a feat? She’d have to find out.

Upon entering the building, the girl shuddered, holding herself tightly as the cool air-conditioned environment hit her like a blizzard. “C-cold,” she chattered quietly. Makani failed to notice the shivering bird behind her and kept walking to the front desk.

“W-wait!” Rynda squeaked quietly, chasing after him.

Makani was saying something to the pair of attendants who were stationed at the front desk. A human-like Makani, and a dog-eared girl next to the human. Rynda allowed her gaze to wander. There were a couple of other humans milling about with Resonators like Rynda herself.

There were a couple of Resonators in some kind of uniform, dusting, mopping, and just generally cleaning the place. Their work was impeccable, as in their wake the floors were polished to a sheen and the furniture was free of any dirt or debris.

“Rynda,” once more Makani’s voice snapped the bird from her thoughts. “They’re going to see us in the back,” he told her.

The black-feathered girl obediently followed along, hoping that whatever she was about to be subjected to would free her from the soreness that continuously throbbed in her wing. A certain scent stung her nose as they walked along. She couldn’t quite place what it exactly was – it didn’t hurt but was quite noticeable.

Finally, she found herself in a small room with some kind of bed and a couple of chairs. There were cabinets, a counter, and a sink flanking one of the walls.

Besides Makani, another man walked in with them. This human was much older than either of them, probably in his thirties or forties? He radiated a certain aura that put Rynda at ease – she felt she could trust whatever he had to say.

“Hm?” the doctor hummed, raising a brow as he reviewed something on a clipboard. His gaze rose, studying Rynda, then Makani. “Can you tell me what happened?” he asked.

“I’m not entirely sure myself, doc. Found her all alone in the woods a bit north,” Makani replied.

“You’re not the Maestro?” questioned the doctor, his eyes locking on to certain section of the form he had in his hands.

“I’m not.”

Maestro.

What a strange word, thought Rynda. But it felt warm. Just thinking about it made her lips curl up, and her heart thump just a smidge bit faster.

However, a sharp change in the atmosphere jolted Rynda from her thoughts, her attention shifting to the elder in the room.

“We can’t treat strays here,” he stated sternly.

“Why not?” Makani challenged.

“The Registration Modernization Act of 1946 requires any Resonator being treated in a Maestro Affairs Office to be digitally registered with an active Maestro for any treatments. Some private doctors will see strays like her without registration just fine,” explained the doctor. “A benefit of the act however is that any care rendered at an MA Office is delivered at no charge to the Maestro,” he added, seeing how Makani had tensed up at this information.

Rynda didn’t know what any of that meant for her, though she ruffled her feathers as Makani was radiating frustration. His hands were balled up, his shoulders tensed and his brows pinched together. He tested what he wanted to say a couple of times, opening his mouth to speak but stopping just short of vocalization.

Finally, he found his words. “I don’t have the money for that,” he replied.

“The process is free – everything from the chipping to the tuner,” the doctor allowed his line of sight to fall on Rynda.

She shuddered instantly. The feeling of trust she had for the man was gone. The way he stared at her…

You’re lesser.

Rynda held herself, refusing the doctor’s cold gaze. Suddenly her wing didn’t hurt as bad. Suddenly the world was just that much colder. Suddenly, she felt alone.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Makani’s voice was a beacon in a frigid, uncaring ocean. Where the world had lost its luster, only he shone through.

Why?

The doctor snorted. “Fine,” he mumbled. The man walked to a cabinet and threw it open

He drew out some packaging and tore it open, laying out the contents on the counter. He handed a couple of things off to Makani, a device of some kind and a booklet. He then made his way to Rynda, who tensed upon his approach. She found her head suddenly pushed down. Her hair was thrown to the side, and before she could protest a sharp pain pierced the back of her head.

Her vision blurred, and she ruffled her wing feathers as she gripped the sides of the examination table she was on.

“Hold the tuner at the base of the neck where I made the injection,” the doctor instructed Makani. “I’ll go get one of our healers,” said the doctor tersely.

The doctor left the room as if escaping a bad smell, leaving Makani and Rynda alone.

“Right,” Makani replied quietly.

Rynda was much more alert and wary now that the world refused to stop spinning. She saw a hand approaching her from the corner of her eyes.

SMACK

The clear-bodied device Makani had been holding was launched across the room, clattering to the ground unceremoniously.

Makani wanted to snap at her, but he closed his mouth when he laid eyes on her. Tears streamed down her scowling face; her feathers twitched and ruffled as she trembled and swayed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What’s WRONG?!” she shrieked. “What do you THINK is WRONG?!”

The boy flinched. His lips twitched as he carefully considered his word choice. “Do you not have a Maestro?” he questioned.

“I don’t even know what that is!” she shouted, her voice cracking as she did so.

“Hrm…” Makani hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin as he did so. This was hard, people were hard. “Well a Maestro can send their rhythm to a Resonator so they can cast spells,” he said awkwardly. He paused, Rynda maintaining her tearful glare.

He wracked his brain trying to think of a better way to explain it, but the longer he thought the more Rynda began to twitch and the angrier she grew.

The boy exhaled sharply. “Look, I’m not good at this sort of thing,” he admitted quietly. “And I don’t know much about being a Maestro,” he added. Rynda remained tense but did slowly relax her glare. “The only thing I do know is I want to fly – is that something you want to do?”

Rynda lowered her head, thinking that through. The doctor radiated such a nasty aura – it was as if he hated her for the heinous act of being born.

Makani on the other hand, was genuine. He wanted to help her, and…

He wanted to fly.

She shot a glance at her injured wing. “I wanna fly too…” whispered the nightingale.

“Then-” he extended the clear-bodied device towards her once again, “-how about we fly together?

“Uhhhg, my head…” Rynda shook herself awake. That was quite a trip down memory lane. Did her mind see fit to flash her life before her eyes? Either way, the seatbelt did its job, keeping her firmly in place. Her head shot back, to her left wing. A phantom pain throbbed, causing her heart to steadily beat faster. When she moved it without a sting, she relaxed.

To her left, Makani was conked out. Though she didn’t worry – she could feel his rhythm still steadily coursing into her. She never got to brag about the safety systems they had taken to installing. All around them was desert, that much was obvious based on where they were pointed before the incident.

“What a mess,” mumbled the bird. She unclipped her seatbelt and tested standing. “Maki, get up,” she demanded of her Maestro.

He stirred and shook off his grogginess. “Morning Ryn,” he grinned at her. “Told ya I could save it.”

She frowned at him, only for a moment as she couldn’t help the smile that rose on her lips. “I suppose you did,” she tittered.

Even with the moment of levity, however, they were certainly in a situation.

“Now what?” she asked.

“Good question,” he replied, undoing his safety belt.

Freed from its grasp, he drew their tuner from his flight jacket. “We’re like an hour's walk from Drahgo,” he noted. He snorted in indignation, “Man, Cielto coulda cut us some slack, we were right there!” Makani exclaimed.

“Shouldn’t have tried to fight the sky sage.” Rynda shook her head and shrugged.

“You’re probably right.”

Makani got to his feet, testing his shaken body before nodding shortly.

Rynda held herself for a moment before she acted. Makani smiled warmly as the Resonator suddenly wrapped her arms and wings around him, trembling as she did so.

“We’re alright partner,” he whispered.

“Don’t fucking scare me like that again,” she squeaked, burying her face in his chest.

He reciprocated her embrace, stroking her hair. “Of course.”