Summer dreamt of fire. All around her, the night breeze whispered through the trees with a promise of death. The voices of her siblings echoed all around her, just out of reach.
She stood at the edge of a clearing in the forest. A bonfire roared in the center of the clearing, two wingless figures staring into the blaze. One was even taller than she was, with a lean build and a singed leather suit. The other was curvy and leaned against a javelin, the bone tip glistening a ghostly pale orange in the firelight.
Summer started forward, drawn to the figures. They seemed strangely familiar. Her talons crunched on the previous year's leaf fall, sinking into the soft ground below as she walked forward on the balls of her feet so her curved heel claw wouldn't catch in the dirt.
She reached out for her wind sense, and though she could feel the whistling wind of her siblings messages, she couldn't make out what they were saying. She even closed her eyes, breathing deep through her nose. She coughed as the wind shifted and hot smoke met her lungs.
The figures turned to face her, now only a few paces away. The fire illuminated what Summer could not see before. Proud onyx horns grew tall from either side of both figure's crowns.
Tempest's face was dark, carved into a permanent scowl. Her tribal dress had been ripped into pieces, and silver blood stained her thighs, her arms, her face. She had fought, but she had not won.
Her wing muscles hung towards the dirt. The feathers had been burnt away, and the acrid stench of it lingered in the air. A few stubborn feathers still burned a weak orange. Where they were attached, her skin was charred and black, bubbling in places it shouldn't be. The fragile bones towards the end of her wings crumbled to dust before Summer's eyes.
Bile rushed up Summer's throat and she vomited onto the floor. Her body began to shake, her metal wings hissing. Tempest's voice was rough from smoke and the torment she had endured. "The humans did this to us," she reminded Summer.
It was Gale who spit the human words with vitriol. "You chose them over us." Summer stumbled back a step in shock, her eyes burning from smoke and hurt. His cerulean gaze pierced her, and he bared his fangless teeth. Bruises and blood marred his body and face.
Highlighted by the fire, the bloody stumps where Gale's wings should have been still dribbled his life away onto the leaves. His silver blood turned the shade of heated metal. His stumps twitched as he began to ridicule her, but her ears had quit hearing everything except the crackling of the bonfire.
Discarded amongst the burning logs were Gale's wings, reduced to ash and smouldering bone.
The thump of Tempest's javelin hitting the ground snapped Summer out of her stupor. Her oldest sister pointed an accusing finger at her. Clawless. "We always knew." Tempest prowled forward on human feet. Summer retreated another step backwards. "We knew you would betray us."
"Ever since you were young, you took pity on the weaker kind." Gale growled at her, even as Summer's tears raced to the floor. The rush of wind through the trees rose until it pushed her towards her siblings. She dug her talons into the ground, unable to take another step. "But in the end, you abandoned your own flesh and blood to save a few short-lived humans."
Summer shook her head viciously, but the agony in her very soul told her it was true. She had even lived among humans, once, before they had grown so narrow-minded. "You sacrificed everything for nothing." Tempest stated, grabbing her fallen javelin from the ground.
"Betrayer, betrayer," the wind howled around them, her other siblings joining in. The air was thick with the scent of Avi blood.
"Now you will die for it." Gale gripped Summer's shoulders as Tempest thrust the javelin towards her heart.
~~~
Summer woke breathing hard, fear making her muscles weak. The harsh light of false suns made her flinch, her flight eyes snapping sideways over her blurry gaze. Tears slid down her cheeks as the membrane darkened and her vision returned.
Cold brushed the side of her face, the gentle hiss of crystal against skin. She bared her teeth, gasping for air and raising her claws to defend herself. Her wrists cried out in pain as they struggled against metal restraints, her talons scratching uselessly against the unyielding metal she was resting on.
Summer's blood rushed in her ears as human hands placed something clear over her mouth and nose. She frantically tried to bite at it, to pull away from it, but there was a restraint pressing her head into the table. Her fangs skimmed the soft material without harm. Her lungs pulled sweet tasting air over her tongue and she sputtered, holding her breath. Whatever these humans were doing to her, she would fight it until her last moments.
She curled her feet, her front talons screeching against the metal. A human gave a startled shriek, pulling his hands away from her reach. Restraints wrapped tight around her ankles. "We gave it too little sedative," a female voice chirped. A high pitched ringing started in Summer's ears, the lights turning a shade of grey as her vision crept in on her.
"Then give it more," a sly voice Summer recognized commanded. She growled at Doctor Moore, not even sure where exactly he was. She didn't care. She wanted him to feel the fear he had forced on both Prisoner and her. She would tear him apart herself if necessary. Her lungs burned and she fought to keep from breathing in the sweet air.
She flexed her wings, spread on either side of her. Improvised strapping groaned and finally snapped free. Humans screamed. Her heavy wings complained as they sent things and people clattering away from her. A wet pop echoed through the room, and Summer felt a tug and a burst of pain in her arm. She thought to bring her feathers in front of her to break the thing covering her face too. Her wings rushed to her face, and she sliced through the restraint on her forehead, spraying droplets of silver blood. Air hissed out of the tubing attached to her.
Her lungs gave out on her, and she sucked in an involuntary breath. Stars danced in her vision, her body melting into the table with every passing second. Her wings relaxed, sloping to the floor now that she'd knocked whatever had held them away. Some part of her knew then that whatever she had done was too little too late.
She fought to raise her head. Humans stared back at her with open fear. She narrowed her eyes, trying to find Doctor Moore. One more burst of strength, the beast in her roared. Her eyes fixed on a blob of orange watching from the corner. Prisoner?
Her head was forced back on the table, and she hardly fought it, exhausted from her efforts. Her feral parts quieted within her.
Doctor Moore leaned over her with a slimy smile on his lips. Summer had only enough strength to bare her teeth before she was dragged into the darkness once more.