For a while, Summer stared at the bare walls. Her wings tingled. She just needed time, she hoped.
Her tears dried on her skin, leaving a film of salt. She had been returned to her original room. The metal corner where she had pressed against the wall had a dense group of light-colored scratches covering it from floor to ceiling The floor underneath had been washed, but her blood still sparkled faintly in the pockmarked concrete. Dark rings of red remained less than a foot away from where she had stood. Someone had scrubbed at them, leaving the ground around stained pink.
Closer to the middle of the room, deep scratches marked where she had fallen. She crawled forward on her hands and knees, running her fingers over the places her claws had been. The concrete was gouged in thin lines. Grit dug into her knees. Chills ran through her as she allowed her wings to droop to the floor once more.
She settled back into a sitting position, shifting her wings as little as possible. Every movement sent shocks straight through her. It wasn't exactly pain, but it was certainly many notches short of pleasant.
In the sky, her wings could sense a swift current as if they had a mind of their own. A tender spring breeze over her feathers was a sensation Summer didn't realize she loved so much. The subtle yet warm kiss of the faraway sun on her back as she soared through a cloudless day. As the humans had refined their dark arts and colonized the better part of the world, her oldest sister had all but forbidden daytime flying, with very few exceptions.
The quiet bliss of a winter storm, wind guiding the snow's slow descent. Each flake found its destiny in the dead of night. Her feet grew cold and her talons sank into the powder. Nature held a chilly fist over a few months of each year. Summer reached her palm out to catch snowflakes that weren't there, lost in her cherished memories.
A crackle of noise from the corner of the room wrenched her from her reminiscence, and she shook her head, rubbing her horns. She tugged on them, a habit her siblings found unsettling. Her eyebrows furrowed in a deep crease. She was losing her mind in here.
Summer raised her gaze to the source of the sound. A dark crystal globe the size of her fist hung from the ceiling. It held a vaguely disturbing hollow quality, like the glinting eyes of a giant beast ready to swallow her whole. Her feathers stood on end. This eye had not been in the room before, nor had its companions.
Beside it, a thick black box was fixed to the wall, supported by a metal outline. The front face of it was poked through with countless small holes. Above that stubbornly clung a flat white river stone. It was hollow, with many entrances open but with gloom obscuring whatever hid within. Ropes as black as pitch snaked along, connecting each piece with another. A strand as thick as her little finger slithered into the wall.
She pushed herself to her feet. Her wings trailed on the concrete behind her as she cautiously approached the trio. Metal hissed and screeched along. Summer paused, straining her ears.
A low hum emanated from the corner. Whatever human sorcery this was, it was alive and charged with power.
Her progress resumed. She was the only movement in the room, even as she drew close enough to reach first the wires, then the black box. If she stretched, she could probably reach the crystal globe and the stone.
Feathers slowly eased down as her primal instincts faded and her curiosity took control. She carefully touched the ropes, reminded of the deadly cables of the sparking-poles. The humans had tamed lightning and it coursed through the cable like blood through veins. Her palms buzzed with barely contained energy, or maybe that was just her imagination.
Summer stared straight up at the eye, head leaned so far back her tangled mess of hair whispered against her feathers. The crystal globe stared back unblinkingly. She narrowed her eyes at it, reaching up to tap on the dark surface. Maybe poking the beast's eye wasn't her best idea yet, but last she checked, she was the one with claws and quills.
When her talon was less than a few inches away, something bright red flashed from within the darkness of the river stone. The Avi jumped, yanking her hand to her chest, baring fangs. The humming came from the hefty black box, and her scrutiny debated between the two before she once again extended her hand warily, claws ready to pierce and tear if need be.
She poked the black box. The front was covered in a fabric that slid over the rigid surface behind it with ease. Her claw slid over some kind of wire tapestry. She took a deep breath in through her nose, wondering what purpose this… thing served for the humans.
Ruby blinked again and Summer tapped a finger on the bottom of the stone. Hollow clicks echoed through the room. Nothing stirred inside, but something dull glimmered like a hidden gem in the dark little cave.
Summer dug a claw into one of the entrances, rooting around for whatever gleamed like a treasure. She would scoop its innards out and discern whatever purpose it served for the humans.
There was a pop and whatever was inside gave way with a sizzle and crunch. She flinched away, nearly ripping the rock off of the ceiling. Bits of fuzz and little broken metal pieces succumbed to gravity. She stooped down to pick some of each up, sniffing it carefully. What could this stuff possibly do?
She was still examining the wreckage when the door opened and human feet shuffled inside. She whirled around, her hands behind her back to hide the evidence as her eyes met his.
Prisoner had returned, with meat.