[FoF] Scars of Yesterday 6/24

[dracoqueen22]

Scars of Yesterday
Chapter Six

It was the most comfortable bed Sideswipe had ever had. It would have been more comfortable if Sunstreaker didn't insist on wrapping around him, but still. It was comfortable. It smelled good. It was warm. And there weren't bars or locks, just a curtain for a doorway, and the whole place was full of openings and no security.

It was almost too good to be true.

"I think I like it here," Sideswipe said.

Sunstreaker snorted and buried his face in Sideswipe's neck. "You don't know anything about it."

"I know this bed is soft, and Laserbeak is adorable, and we're not in a cage. It's a good start," Sideswipe said. He petted what he could reach of Sunstreaker, which ended up being an elbow. "Right now, we should just wait and see."

Sunstreaker didn't reply. But he didn't argue either. He snuggled closer, which was as close to a verbal concession as Sideswipe would get.

The curtain over their door rippled and a familiar face poked in -- Ratchet. "Good, you're not sleeping," he said, then came inside, carrying a woven basket covered in a towel. The curtain swished shut behind him.

He set the basket on a small wood table nearby, and pulled up a stool. "I'm a healer," he said, though Sideswipe wasn't sure what the last word meant. "My job is to make sure the harpies in this flock are healthy. If you'll let me, I'd like to take a look at you."

Sideswipe caught the gist of what he was saying. His voice was rough and gravelly, but his tone was gentle and his body language open. He seemed nice, and Laserbeak had spoken well of him.

"My hip," Sideswipe said. He shifted on the bed, trying to show Ratchet, but Sunstreaker clutched him tighter. "Sunny, let go. He wants to help."

A blue eye glared over Sideswipe's shoulder, not that Ratchet seemed ruffled. "Don't hurt," he said.

"You can watch me the whole time," Ratchet said.

A low growl rose in Sunstreaker's chest, but he gradually unwound from Sideswipe, freeing him from the suffocating, protective clutch. Geez. Sideswipe wriggled free, cringing as his aching hip protested the motion. The sharp smell of fresh blood filled the room again.

Great. It was never going to heal at this rate.

Ratchet's gaze fell to his hip, and sympathy flickered over it. "Someone got you, I see," he said, as if measuring the three, long, talon gashes with his eyes alone. "I'll need to clean it. I have some salve to help with the pain and prevent infection."

Sideswipe was exhausted. He was tired of fighting. "Just do it." What was a little more pain?

Ratchet nodded and flipped the fabric off the basket. He pulled out a small jar and twisted off the cap, but he handed it to Sunstreaker first.

"Smell," he said. "It's for cleaning."

Sunstreaker narrowed his eyes, but sniffed it obediently. He made a pleased sound in his throat and held it under Sideswipe's nose. "It's good," he said.

Sideswipe sniffed. It was a bit sharp, but citrusy, like the fruits the humans sometimes gave them, and had a bit of a mint smell, too. Very pleasant.

"It's good," Sideswipe agreed.

Sunstreaker handed it back, while Ratchet pulled out a handful of square cloths and a bottle with a nozzle on the tip.

"It's just water," he said, giving it a shake. He showed it to them, and Sunstreaker unscrewed the cap to inspect it first.

Sideswipe appreciated Ratchet in that moment. Rather than scowling at them or cursing at them, or calling them terrible names, he let them approve every action. It was simultaneously odd and thrilling.

Sideswipe wasn’t used to having so much opinion regarding his own body.

“It’s water,” Sunstreaker murmured as he handed the bottle back to Ratchet.

Sideswipe nodded and fell back into Sunstreaker’s arms, trusting his brother to protect him, and tentatively trusting this harpy not to do any harm.

“Clean first, then salve,” Ratchet said. He gently rested on hand on Sideswipe’s hip to keep him still, while the other trickled water over the wound.

Sideswipe hissed. It didn’t hurt, but it was uncomfortable. The water was chilled, and it dampened his feathers, making the scent of blood stronger. The water ran pink, hard to see over his feathers, and Sideswipe closed his eyes, tucking his face into the pillow. Sunstreaker warbled behind him, stroking his thigh.

Ratchet took a towel and dabbed at the wound, with a gentleness Sideswipe could not remember receiving from anyone save his twin. He didn’t know other harpies were capable of such gentleness.

Then came the salve. It smelled wonderful, herbal and fresh and clean, like the occasional times he and Sunstreaker were allowed out first thing in the morning, to feel the sun across their wings. They couldn’t fly, but they could sit in the sun, soak the warmth into their feathers. Such things were only offered for good behavior, so of course, it wasn’t allowed often.

It stung at first, but left a tingling warmth in its wake, and Sideswipe relaxed from a tension he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“I’ll give this to you, apply it three times a day, but wash your hands first,” Ratchet said as he capped the salve and handed it over to Sunstreaker.

“That feels so much better,” Sideswipe mumbled, and exhaustion suddenly set in, latching onto his bones and refusing to let go. “Sleep now, Sunny.”

His brother made a worried sound behind him. He nuzzled into Sideswipe’s neck, pressed a kiss, his hand sweeping up Sideswipe’s thigh.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Never better,” Sideswipe replied, and let the pull of sleep tug him under, warm and content and without pain.

~

Sunstreaker gnawed on his bottom lip as Sideswipe closed his eyes and breathed out, slipping into sleep far easier than he ever had in Sunstreaker’s memory. He petted Sideswipe’s thigh to encourage himself.

“This good?” Sunstreaker asked.

Ratchet nodded as he rose to his full, intimidating height. He was wiping his hands with a damp cloth. “He needs sleep to heal.”

Sunstreaker’s stomach chose that moment to grumble noisily, reminding him that they hadn’t eaten much save for the rations they’d been given when the other harpies rescued them. A handful of oats and dried fruits did not a full meal make, though to be fair, it was a far better meal than the ones the humans often offered.

They fed the harpies, save the breeders, the same way they’d fed their livestock. Sunstreaker hated it, but food was food. He’d shove the mouthfuls of rolled grains and raw fruits and vegetables into his mouth, never minding the rotted or bruised parts. Food was food. They needed their strength to survive their battles.

At least it wasn’t slop.

Ratchet chuckled. “I’ll get food. Be back in a moment.” He left through the curtain, it swishing shut behind him.

Sunstreaker relaxed a little, pressing his forehead to the back of Sideswipe’s head. He inhaled deeply, drawing in his brother’s scent, the calm and relaxed way Sideswipe sprawled into the bed. Sideswipe smelled only of comfort, not pain, or fear. He breathed evenly, and the wound on his hip was smeared with that ointment, glistening in the sunlight from the window.

Perhaps this place could be a home after all.

He eased off the bed, disentangling himself from Sideswipe, and stuffing pillows and blankets around his brother’s sleeping form. Sideswipe needed to rest, but Sunstreaker had a restless energy in his limbs. He would see more of this aerie in order to make a better decision.

He wouldn’t stay anywhere Sideswipe might be in danger.

Sunstreaker sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Ratchet to come back. He wouldn’t go anywhere until he had something to eat. Besides, he didn’t want Ratchet to return and find Sunstreaker gone and do something terrible to Sideswipe or send out guards. Sunstreaker didn’t want to raise a stink.

Yet.

He and Sideswipe would fight their way free if they had to. He just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He didn’t know what these harpies wanted, but Sunstreaker had already been prisoner of the humans, and been degraded by other harpies. He refused to let it happen again.

Sunstreaker rested a hand on Sideswipe’s knee while he waited. He listened, but it was hard to hear anything. It was too muffled through the walls and fabric. He could hear the leaves rustling in the trees through the window, and the distant sound of conversations, but they were too far for him to make out any details.

A few minutes passed before Ratchet returned, announcing himself on the outside of the curtain first before he slipped inside, carrying a tray. Delicious smells floated to Sunstreaker’s nose, and his stomach growled even louder.

“I didn’t know what you liked so I brought a variety of things,” Ratchet said as he set the tray down on a nearby table.

Sunstreaker leaned over to look. There were raw fruits and vegetables, but also cups of what looked like water and some colored liquid. There was a bowl of granola and rolled oats, but another plate piled with baked goods. Sunstreaker immediately grabbed a muffin that smelled of cinnamon and raisins.

He took a big bite, and made a sound of delight. Not raisins, but cranberries. He loved cranberries. They were a rare treat.

“He’s good and asleep. He’ll stay that way for awhile. I’ll keep an eye on him if you want to wander around.”

Ratchet talked, and Sunstreaker maybe only understood half of what he was saying, but he got the gist of it. That was enough.

“Want to explore,” he said through a mouthful of muffin. He grabbed another one, and then a clump of grapes with his other hand. He didn’t know if Ratchet intended to take the tray away or not, so he wanted to make sure he had plenty.

Ratchet nodded. “That’s fine. You’re not a prisoner.”

Sunstreaker snorted. It would be a first. He gave Ratchet a wary look and popped several grapes into his mouth.

Ratchet stood again, and Sunstreaker startled at the unexpected motion, nearly choking on his grape. Ratchet gave him a long, confused stare, but Sunstreaker shook his head. He was fine. Everything was fine.

“I’m going to check on the others,” Ratchet said as he frowned, but backed toward the door, slow and careful, as if afraid of startling Sunstreaker again. Sunstreaker didn’t have the words to tell him he didn’t have to be that careful. “I’ll be back.”

Ratchet left.

He actually left the plate of food behind, too. Unguarded food!? These harpies truly were a different sort. The humans never left them food, especially if they took too long eating. Sunstreaker thought the humans preferred thinking of the harpies as mindless beasts, and did everything they could to strengthen that belief.

Sunstreaker finished the muffin and the grapes, but kept the other muffin on hand. He checked on Sideswipe, but his brother was sleeping peacefully. Sunstreaker hesitated. He really didn’t want to leave Sideswipe behind, but he was also curious.

Maybe he just wouldn’t go far.

Sunstreaker poked his head through the curtains and looked to the left and right. He remembered there being other rooms. Vortex was probably in one of them. Or at least, Sunstreaker hoped so. The bigger harpy was a bit crazy, but he’d been the closest thing to kind to them.

He counted three other curtains, two of them drawn closed. The one across from him was open, revealing an empty room much like the one holding he and Sideswipe. It appeared clean, with a small vase of fresh flowers sitting on a small table for whomever the next occupant might be. A nice touch, if wholly useless.

Sunstreaker shrugged and snuck to the curtain sharing the wall with his room. It was a dull blue color with eye-watering swirls of bright pinks and yellows. Awful. Sunstreaker peeked inside, catching a glimpse of red-gray feathers -- Vortex, he assumed. Unless there were other patients here.

He slipped in past the curtain with a wisp of sound, and Vortex’s eyes immediately popped open, zeroing in on him in a corebeat. He went tense all over, like readying for a fight, before a lazy smile curved his lips.

“Heyyy, Sunny,” he drawled, settling back into the lazy swing of the hammock. “Ya look better.”

“So do you.” Sunstreaker poked around the small room, but it wasn’t any different than his own, including a small bowl of assorted food on a table within reach of Vortex.

There was one addition, a small stool near Vortex’ hammock, so Sunstreaker plopped down into it and gave Vortex a long look. “You all right?”

“Can’t complain.” Vortex lazily waved one arm, showing off the bandages wrapped around his mid-section. They were even clean and not stained through with blood. He smelled of something fresh and clean, and clearly, all of his wounds had been treated. “Got to eat. Got to sleep. Might as well be paradise.”

Sunstreaker nodded. “You gonna stay then?”

“Maybe for a bit. Get my talons under me.” Vortex stretched out his legs, flexing his talons as he said so. “Nice place like this, though, ain’t really suited for a harpy like me.”

Sunstreaker tilted his head. “Like you?”

Vortex grinned, baring his fangs, though Sunstreaker could tell it wasn’t meant like a threat. “Dangerous.”

“We’re dangerous, too,” Sunstreaker pointed out. He didn’t want to look at his hands. There was blood under his talons that no amount of scrubbing could get out. “The humans made us this way.”

Vortex shook his head. “Nah, kiddo. I was dangerous before I met the humans.” He shifted on the hammock, wincing as it tugged on his bandages, before he settled back in place. “You and your brother are good kids. Need a home like this.”

“You think we’re safe here?” Sunstreaker asked.

Vortex closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He hooked a claw in the bandage wrapped around his torso and gave it a tug before he opened his eyes again. “Yep. This is a good place. A safe place. You should stay.”

Sunstreaker nodded. He didn’t trust Vortex, not exactly. Sideswipe didn’t want to blame Vortex for what the humans made him do, and Sunstreaker didn’t either. But his guard was still up around the other harpy.

Dangerous? Yeah, Vortex was definitely that.

Sunstreaker gnawed on his bottom lip. “We’ll think about it.” He stood up, and looked around, only to realize he still had the muffin. “Um. Are you hungry?” He offered the muffin. It didn’t look like Vortex had touched much of his own bowl. Maybe he didn’t trust it?

Vortex chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, kiddo. Couldn’t eat right now. Not sure how much of my guts are still in here.” He patted his belly for emphasis. “Rain check?”

Rain check? What did rain have to do with it?

Whatever.

“Sure,” Sunstreaker said. “Uh. You rest.”

“Will do.”

He slipped out, peering up and down the empty hall, before creeping across to the opposite curtain -- this one striped in pale earthen colors, much more tasteful. Sunstreaker peeked in, but he must have rustled the curtain or something because a voice said,

“Come on in!”

That was way too cheerful for someone who was cooped up where doctors could reach him.

Sunstreaker eased inside, the overwhelming scent of something herbal making his nose wrinkle. It was way more pungent than what Sideswipe and Vortex had. Skids wasn’t in a hammock like Vortex, he was lying on some kind of cot, one of his legs propped up in the air by a thick strap.

“A visitor!” Skids said with a big smile. “And a pretty one, too. I think you look familiar. You’re one of the ones they rescued, too, right?”

Sunstreaker blinked at him. “They drug you?”

Skids let out a belly laugh, a genuine one, and stuffed another pillow behind his head, propping him up. “This is the joy of a bird who’s on the mend and away from his tormentors.” He looked around the room. “I’d invite you to sit but someone seems to have taken my chair.”

“I can stand,” Sunstreaker said.

Skids was wrapped in even more bandages than Vortex, and his featherdown had a weird sheen in some places. Medicine maybe? He had lots of patches of bare skin, too, where the humans had plucked him free of feathers.

Sunstreaker didn’t know what the humans were doing to Skids, but it couldn’t have been good.

“Suit yourself.” Skids shrugged and tilted his head. “So, not that I’m complainin’ or anythin’, but what’s up with the visit?”

It was Sunstreaker’s turn to shrug. “Sides is sleeping. I was bored.” There was a small cabinet in this room so he poked around inside of it, finding bottles and jars of salves and baskets of carefully folded bandages. Nothing interesting.

“Fair enough,” Skids said, only to make an unintelligible noise. “Is that a muffin? Please, tell me that’s a muffin.”

Sunstreaker looked down at the very mangled muffin. “You want it?”

“Very much so.” Skids lifted his right arm, wound in a sling as it was. “Little help?”

Sunstreaker scowled and sat on the edge of the bed in what little room there was, and tore off a piece of the muffin. “Only because I feel sorry for you.”

“I’ll take it.” Skids grinned, and it was just unnatural for someone as beat up as him to be this cheerful. “Tell you what, trade you some answers for that muffin.”

“Answers to what?” Sunstreaker asked as he carefully dropped the piece of muffin into Skids’ mouth. It wouldn’t be the first time he hand-fed someone.

Last year, Sides got tore up so badly, he’d been unconscious for two whole days. Sunstreaker had to coax sips of water into his mouth and mashed up berries, too. It had been the scariest two days of his life.

“Whatever you want,” Skids said around a mouthful of muffin.

“Okay.” Sunstreaker chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Do you think we’re safe here?”

“Oh, that? Definitely.” Skids licked a few crumbs from his lips. “I mean, I was on my way here before those humans snatched me. Kaon is the place to be for the black sheep harpy.”

Sunstreaker’s brow furrowed. “Black sheep harpy?”

Skids made a gesture with his unbound hand. “You know, the harpies who don’t really fit in anywhere else?” He opened his mouth and Sunstreaker stuck another piece of muffin into it. “That’s what Kaon’s about. Or so I’m told,” he added around the pastry.

“Huh.” Sunstreaker thought about it. He supposed he and Sideswipe didn’t fit in anywhere since they didn’t know of anywhere. The humans were all they remembered.

Sunstreaker assumed they’d once had harpy parents, and maybe they lived in an aerie. Or maybe they were born into the life. He knew the humans tried to breed them sometimes, though it didn’t take as often as they wanted it to. That tended to piss the humans off.

“Guess I’m lucky,” Skids continued on without prompting. “Don’t know if I would’ve made it if Lockdown hadn’t come looking for me.”

“Lockdown?”

“The solid black harpy.”

Sunstreaker fed Skids another piece of the muffin while he thought about last night. He vaguely remembered a black harpy standing around with the others. Was it the one who’d unlocked their cell for them? If so, this Lockdown deserved a thank you or two. Though he supposed if the Kaon harpies were going around being generous, they might have saved Sunstreaker and Sideswipe eventually.

“So maybe I’ll stick around. Maybe I’ll see what Lockdown has going on. Who knows.” Skids hummed in his throat, still with that unbelievable smile. “Right now, I’m focused on not being in a cage, and getting tortured, and other, you know, uncomfortable things. I’ll worry about what happens later.”

“A good way to think, I guess,” Sunstreaker said, popping the last of the muffin into Skids’ mouth and dusting his hands.

Skids was weird.

“Maybe I’ll even meet some nice humans,” Skids mused aloud as he licked at the corner of his mouth to snag the last crumb. “I’m told there are supposed to be some around here.”

Sunstreaker snorted. “Humans aren’t nice.”

“You’re only saying that because you haven’t met a nice one. But there are lots of ‘em out there, just like there are lots of us. They can’t all be bad,” Skids said.

“Doubt it.” Sunstreaker stood and dusted more crumbs from his feathers. “I have to go check on my brother now.”

Skids chuckled and wriggled his fingers in a wave. “Come back anytime you want. I could use the company.”

Sunstreaker made a noncommittal noise and escaped as fast as he could. Skids seemed like a nice enough harpy, but his optimism was both grating and jarring. He turned back toward his and Sideswipe’s room, and his core spiked with fright when he realized the curtain was open. He rushed forward without a second thought, a growl building in his chest, especially when he saw the red and white harpy leaning over Sideswipe.

“Hey!” Sunstreaker snapped.

“It’s Ratchet, Sunny.” Sideswipe’s voice floated up to him in the same moment the harpy turned toward Sunstreaker, his face coming into view and giving Sunstreaker a chance to recognize him. “I’m fine. Promise.”

Sunstreaker sucked in a deep breath to calm down. “You sure?” he asked as he hovered nearby, peering over Ratchet’s shoulder as the healer peeled away Sideswipe’s bandage to poke at the wound.

Sideswipe winced before offering Sunstreaker a watery smile. “I think I’ll live. But just in case, maybe I should write up a will.”

“He’s fine,” Ratchet said, his tone gruff, but his hands gentle as he cleaned the wound again, packed it with gauze this time around, and wrapped it with more bandages than before. Apparently, he hadn’t been satisfied with his earlier work. “His humor could use a little work but…”

“He’s not as funny as he thinks he is,” Sunstreaker agreed. He trusted Ratchet a smidgen, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t watch the doctor like a hawk.

He’d learned not to trust doctors.

“I’m very funny,” Sideswipe argued, and gave them his famous best big grin, which Sunstreaker knew to be a mask for the worry he held deep inside. He knew his brother too well.

“You’re all set,” Ratchet said as he patted the bandage in place and stepped back.

Sunstreaker took full advantage, climbing into the bed with Sideswipe and wrapping himself around his brother. He still felt shaky. That moment of walking in and seeing someone leaning over Sideswipe, no matter how innocently, was not something he’d cared to experience.

“Oof. Geez, Sunny. Take it easy,” Sideswipe whined, but he held up an arm anyway and let Sunstreaker crawl under it and around him. “What’s next for us, Ratchet?”

The harpy doctor dipped his hands in a bowl of water and started to clean them with some soap. “Next, you two keep resting, and I go let our Liege know how you’re doing.”

Sunstreaker didn’t recognize one of those words, but he assumed Ratchet intended to talk to whoever was in charge around here. It was the only thing that made sense.

“We want you to stay,” Ratchet added as he dried his hands before tossing his supplies into a big basket and balancing it on his hips. “But if you want to leave, we won’t stop you. It’s your right to go wherever you want.”

“We’re thinking about it. We don’t know yet,” Sunstreaker said.

It depended on the price they had to pay, he supposed, and what their terms of staying would be. Maybe they could afford it. Maybe it would be better.

Ratchet nodded, and his blue eyes gentled as he looked at them. “Fair enough.” He shifted toward the door, unhooking the tie and holding it open as he paused. “You’re safe here. I promise. Get some rest, and I’ll check on you later.”

He left, the curtain swishing shut behind him.

“You believe him?” Sideswipe asked as he nuzzled Sunstreaker’s head, brushing a kiss over the crown of it.

“I want to,” Sunstreaker murmured. He closed his eyes, burying his face against his brother’s chest, listening to the reassuring beat of his core. “It would be nice.”

“Yeah, it would,” Sideswipe sighed. “Let’s take a nap, eh? We’ll think better when we’ve had some sleep.”

Sunstreaker made a non-committal noise. “Love you.”

He felt, more than saw, Sideswipe’s grin. “Love you, too, bro.”

****