@Fraust
Rowan hiccuped and hid his face again, still trembling. "I hate this…" He whispered. "I h-hate this… I just… I-I wanna be able to do things again… I wanna be able to help…"
Rowan hiccuped and hid his face again, still trembling. "I hate this…" He whispered. "I h-hate this… I just… I-I wanna be able to do things again… I wanna be able to help…"
"I know, Rowan…" Matthew kissed Rowan's head, his wings folding around them more. "I know, and I'm so, so sorry these things happened… But we're going to make sure you're going to be able to go back to normal, I promise."
Rowan nodded weakly, his heart pounding hard in his chest. "I'm sorry…" He whispered. "I'm probably being stupid… I'm sorry…"
"You're not being stupid," Matthew said. He kissed Rowan's head again, large hand cupping the back of his head and holding him close to his chest.
"You're not, I promise. You've been through a lot, are still going through it. Of course you'd feel this way…"
Rowan relaxed a little bit at the reassurances, but still seemed very tense. "It's okay, Rowan… you're still healing, and we don't mind helping you while you recover. We want to help you. You won't heal as well if you keep pushing yourself like this." Rowan sighed shakily and looked away.
Matthew kissed Rowan's head again, rubbing small circles into the human's back.
"You mean the world to me, Rowan," the avian admitted softly. "I would do anything I needed to to help you."
Rowan hiccuped weakly, relaxing a little more. "I-I… I'm sorry… but I… thank you…" He stammered weakly, his voice quavering and soft.
"You're welcome, Rowan…" Matthew held Rowan to his chest as he felt the other relax slightly, still rubbing his back.
"I'm always gonna make sure you're safe…" he mumbled, his face pressed lightly into Rowan's shoulder."
"T-Thanks…" He whispered in reply, closing his eyes and sighing. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for you guys…"
"You're not causing any trouble," Matthew assured, kissing Rowan's head again. "If anything, it's that snake that's causing all this trouble. I'd never blame you for this, Rowan."
"B-But I'm the one who got bit… I shouldn't have let the chicks wander off on their own like that…" Rowan sighed again.
"We were in a place even I thought was safe for them to wander around," Matthew pointed out. "I was okay with them walking around too." Matthew moved to cup Rowan's cheek, kissing his forehead.
"B-But I just… I-I dunno…" He stammered weakly. "I feel like it's my own fault…"
"You protected the chicks," Matthew said quietly. "You saved use from so, so much worse pain." If that snake had bitten one of the chicks… They'd have lost them.
"Y-Yeah, I guess so…" Rowan sighed and buried his face further into Matthew's shoulder. "I'm glad it was me and not them, but still… it really sucks."
"Yes, it does really suck," Matthew agreed. "I hate to see you so distraught… but you saved their lives, Rowan, and that is an amazing thing."
Rowan buried his face further, flushing a bit. "Y-Yeah, I… I guess you're right…" He sighed, tightly gripping Matthew. "We should… we should probably get going…"
Matthew nodded a bit.
"Would you like to walk for a little bit?" He really did want a compromise.
Rowan nodded a little in response. "Y-Yeah… I'd like to try, anyway…"
You promise you won't push yourself?" Matthew moved to stand, setting Rowan next to him without letting go yet.
"Yeah, yeah, I promise…" Rowan rubbed at his eyes, holding tightly to Matthew's hand. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
"The moment you start to get tired, please let me know." Matthew was begging at this point. So, making sure everyone was ready, he started out, still holding tightly to Rowan's hand himself.
"Okay, okay…" Rowan sighed and started walking alongside Matthew, seeming to be at least starting off okay.
Matthew kept a close eye on Rowan, knowing he had a habit of saying he was okay when he really wasn't. His wing lowered itself from his back, draping slightly behind Rowan in a protective manner.
After about half an hour, Rowan seemed to be growing a bit tired. He had slowed down a bit and was breathing a little heavier. He kept walking, though, figuring he could continue on a bit longer.
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