Chapter 8

Nyx

Chapter 8

            A few hours later, Nyx poked her head into the tent. “Finished.” The smith was holding a bright white piece of metal up to his eye.

            “Finished what?” He nodded in satisfaction, turned it over and began sharpening the other side.

            “Finished selling!” The smith put down the blade and raised an eyebrow at her.

            “The market doesn’t close for two more hours. Is there anyone out there still looking for weapons?”

            “Um… I guess so.”

            “Then go out there and sell!” The smith turned his attention back to the white blade.

            Nyx rolled her eyes. “No you don’t understand. I’m out of stuff to sell! Unless you have some chest full of more weapons, I can’t really do anything.”

            The smith froze, slowly turning to look at her. “You sold… everything?”

            “Yeah! Apparently my fight caught like everyone’s attention. I think half the market was lined up to look at your weapons!” Nyx walked into the tent and hefted a large bag of gold, dropping it on the table.

            The smith laughed loud and deep, standing up and sweeping her off her feet, swinging the girl around the room. “Hah! Look at that! The little hatchling is a trader!” Nyx shrieked at him to put her down, a deep blush settling on her face. The smith dropped her to her feet and turned back to gather up his work while Nyx indigently fixed her hair.

            The smith turned around, a wide smile decorating his face. She pulled the strands back into place, looking at him grumpily, till she saw what he was showing her. He held up two white feathers. Nyx gasped when she realized they were the feather blades, taking one and inspecting it in awe.

            “They look so real! How did you do this?” She slid off her coat and extended one of her wings, matching the blade to her feathers. “This is amazing; it’s the exact same color!”

            The smith took the blade from her hand. “Hold your wing still. I shall show you how to attach it.” He spent several minutes explaining the mechanics behind the blade’s clasp. “You will need to practice. We shall start with the basics. Flick your wings hard.” Nyx did as she was to, eagerly awaiting to see the bladed feather shoot out. Nothing happened.

            She inspected the feather again. “I think it’s broken… it didn’t detach.”

            The smith chuckled at her confusion. “No, that is good. You don’t want these flying out anytime you use your wings. To shoot them out, you must do this.” He took the feather in his hand and moved it into a really awkward position.

            “That feels weird…” She tried what he was saying. “So I have to twist it like this to-” THUNK!!! Nyx paused mid-sentence, staring at the blade now quivering in the bench.

            The smith swatted her wing. “NOT YET! You are not ready to learn that yet.” She tried unsuccessfully to hide a smile.

            “Okay… but that was SOOOO COOL!!!” The smith rolled his eyes at her, clipping the blade to her feather once more.

            “That is enough for today. Go home, eat, sleep. Remember you are grounded till your wing heals.” He pushed her to the tent door.

            “H-Hey wait! You only gave me two feathers. What about the others?”

            “You will train with two, and then I will make you more when you are ready. Go, and no more fighting!” Nyx grumbled and started on the long walk back to Guardian Academy. The trip was uneventful to say the least. The sun was setting and the sky was a fiery orange. The path from the city to the Academy was through a safer part of the forest, and was regularly patrolled by the city watch and the occasional hunter or huntress.

At one point, Nyx became fed up with walking and spread her wings, jumping into the air. A few minutes later, she tumbled to the forest floor in a hasty crash landing. Her injured wing cramped up almost immediately of getting airborne, and she spent ten minutes hugging her wing, waiting for the pain to pass.

            The sun was well below the horizon when she stumbled into her room. The room was dark and empty, and Nyx smiled at the thought of going to sleep without having to deal with her roommates. She didn’t bother change out of her dusty clothes, only taking time to kick off her boots before collapsing into the bed. Her eyes closed and a smile graced her lips as she dreamed of flying through misty mountains and moonlit forests.