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Snuffing a small cigarette butt out using his shoe, Nickolai put his hand over his eyes and looked up at the sky. He longed to be able to fly again... He could fly short distances... But it didn't used to be that way. He could fly all he wanted and never get tired. He sighed softly as he looked towards his shoulders. He didn't have his wings out at the moment. He was walking through the woods, headed for a small field. He was planning on giving his wings a little exercise. All he could hope for was that his wings just weren't ruined... He wanted to be able to use them as he wished... But he knew that wasn't going to happen. He was just doomed to a life on this mortal plane... A life that was never ended.

Seeing the edge of the woods, Nickolai began to unbutton his shirt down the front. He didn't want to ruin it when he decided it was time to bring out his wings. He closed his eyes for a moment when he undid the last button. That was when he broke the canopy of trees and looked out over the field. He flexed his shoulders lightly and then held his breath. His wings shot straight out of his back and it left his body a little shaky. It had been a while since he did this, so it hurt him a little to have them out. He got over it and he stretched them a little. They felt stronger than normal and he liked that... He liked it a lot...

Pushing upwards with his wings, it only took a few flaps for him to be off the ground. He got up a few feet and felt an updraft... That was what he wanted. He closed his eyes and rode that draft as high as it would take him. He then opened his eyes and looked down at the large field and the small farm house. It didn't used to be small... But he was just up so high... Then he saw some black feathers below him... Looking back at his wings, he realized the holes in them had gotten larger... His eyes widened and then before he knew it, the ground was rushing up to meet him. He extended his wings and they took most of the speed from his fall, but not enough to keep him conscious after he hit the ground.

[M e w]

Sarah had been outside feeding the various animals when she heard a faint thud. The sky was just beginning to darken and her curious spirit couldn't resist the call of the sound. She figured that she had enough time to check it out before the sun went completely under the horizon.
She looked to make sure nobody was outside to see her and quickly pattered over to the stables to get her faithful horse, Yams, who had been named by her when she was.... not so good at names.
After quickly putting a saddle and bridle on Yams, Sarah pulled on her riding boots and led him out of the stable and towards the grassy field just outside of her home.

It wasn't a long ride, maybe ten minutes or so, but by the time she got to where she heard the sound the sun had sunk further down the sky. She began looking around and stopped almost immediately; at the edge of the field was a man. He was obviously hurt and Sarah automatically jumped off of her horse and ran over to him, only noticing the ripped and tattered black wings protruding at an unnatrual angle from his back when she got about five feet away from him. Her small hand went up to her mouth as she gasped at the sight.
She cautiously stepped towards the winged man and asked to herself, "Are you an angel...?"
The thought that this was something to be afraid of didn't even touch her mind. This man, or angel, was hurt, and she had to help him. She obviously couldn't carry him, he was enormous, so she called over Yams and lifted him up on the horse's back as gingerly as she could. She was out of breath by the time she got him settled onto Yams's back.

She led the horse on foot back to the farm. The guest house would be where this man would have to stay, her brother and father would have a heart attack if she brought him in their house. After she finally managed to get to the guest house without being seen she took the man down from Yams's back and pulled him inside the door. The house was small, and Sarah didn't have to walk far to get him to the bed that was way too small for him. She layed him down on his stomach so that she could take a look at his broken wings.
She had mended birds' wings before, and this couldn't be much different. She set her jaw and took a look at the bones in the wings underneath the feathers. Both were fractured or cracked in several places.
"Good thing you're unconscious..." she said as she placed her hands on the fractured bones. She winced a bit as the bones' crack sounds filled the room. Once the broken bones were set she got to work on wrapping them with bandages she found in the small bathroom.

When she finally finished wrapping up the man's broken wings she sat down, exauhsted, in the wooden chair next to the bed. After several deep breaths she just stared at the man, amazed and awe-struck.

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Everything was black in his world as he was carried back to the guest house. Had he been awake, he probably would have been in horrifying pain and he didn't want that, obviously. He couldn't bare the thought of his wings being damaged, much less broken. With them broken, he wouldn't be able to hide them at all... He would most definitely freak out when he realized that. He didn't want any mortals to know he had wings and here he was, having his wings set by a human that had not only seen his wings, but found the kindness to take him somewhere semi-safe and actually set his broken bones...

Sadly, it wasn't only his wings that were injured by the fall. As soon as he woke up, the first pain he noticed was in his left arm and leg. They were definitely sprained and possibly fractured. He groaned lightly and shifted some, realizing he wasn't on something hard... He was expecting to be on the ground when he woke because that was the last thing he saw... Why was he warm and on something as soft as this? He didn't even feel a breeze, which was also something he was expecting. He was insanely confused as he stirred lightly. He wanted to stand, but everything was hurting him. He put his right arm up to move himself and as soon as he did, he couldn't help the rather loud groan that escaped his lips when his wings moved. They hurt... And they hurt a lot.

What was going on here? Finally, he was able to focus his eyes enough to realize he was in a room. He looked around in the direction his face was turned and found himself even more confused. He'd never seen this place before in his life. He was thinking that maybe it was all just a dream, but the unfamiliarity and the pain in his body was proof that he'd really fallen... But why was he here? He'd fallen into the dirt. He finally gained the strength to turn his head and he winced at that movement as well, his spine hurting from the fact that he'd landed onto the ground so heavily...

Then he saw the girl that had helped him here. As soon as he saw her, he froze. He didn't know what to do now. Then he looked up and saw his wings sitting there folded neatly on his back. There were bandages on them and they were wrapped tightly, obviously having been broken by the fall he'd suffered. When his eyes landed on the wings, they teared up because he was so attached to the thought of flight. He was almost certain he'd never be able to fly again now... It already took too much stamina to do just that. He then turned his face back downwards and let out some of the sorrow.

Sadly, he knew he was going to be immobilized until the wings were healed... Since he didn't want anyone to see them... So, he'd have to stay here. He wondered if this girl knew what she'd gotten herself into by helping him. He turned his tear stained face back to her and gave her a faint and thankful smile. He knew she was the one that had helped him to get here and everything. Though, she was so tiny. How did she get him on this bed? Then he heard the neigh of a horse and it all made sense.

"Are you the one that helped me? Thank you... So much," he said and then shook his head. He knew it must have been a bother for her to do this... It made him feel pretty bad about it. He didn't want to have to be a bother to someone... Especially not like this. He felt insanely useless being injured like this. He'd already felt useless before because he wasn't even able to use his wings... Now this was even worse.

[M e w]

As soon as the man woke up, Sarah could feel the sorrow pouring from him. Just like a bird, when his wings were not usable he felt empty and useless.
Seeing the tears falling down his cheeks made Sarah feel miserable and defeated herself.
When he spoke to her with his thanks she felt water brimming her large blue eyes.
She quickly blinked her tears back and whispered back to him, "It was no trouble. There was no way I could leave you there... "

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"Well... Most people would have left the winged freak there to rot for eternity," Nickolai said and shook his head. He then relaxed himself and laid back down, noticed his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed close to his knees. He figured he was just too tall for it... Which wasn't uncommon. He had an abnormal bed in his own apartment... So, it was fine in the end. Though, he wished he could roll over onto his side. His wings were hurting to be moved for now though, so he wasn't going to attempt.

"My name's Nickolai... For future reference," he said and then laid his head back down on the bed. He closed his eyes and sighed, his heart racing from the pain he was trying to get over.

[M e w]

So. Nickolai was his name. Sarah didn't think she liked Nickolai's view of himself very much.
She frowned and scolded him, "Hey now, you shouldn't say that you're a freak. You're far from it!"
Sarah hated it when people bullied others and called them names, but it was just as bad when people said such things about themselves! She wasn't going to have it. This man was... breath-taking to say the least, how could he possibly think of himself any less? She wouldn't allow it.
Puffing out her cheeks and furrowing her brow, she stood up and walked next to the bed.
"Listen Nickolai. I don't know why you could possibly think that, but while you're staying here you can't be so negative," she told him with a mom-like tone.
"You might feel dejected about your injuries, but don't you fret. I'm a master at anything first-aid related. I'd say you'll be up and moving in no time!" she said entergetically.

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The reaction his words elicited from her were comical to say the least. He laughed out lightly and then shook his head. This girl had some personality to her to say the least... And he was thinking she was just a simple farm girl. He was glad someone else hadn't picked him up. This girl was probably just what he needed in his depressing life. He hadn't gotten close to anyone to talked to anyone in the longest time... So, it made sense that he would be so easily amused by her words.
"Well then. Thank you, I suppose. I'll try to not be so negative. I'll probably be less negative when I don't hurt so badly everywhere... My left leg and arm are hurting me pretty badly too. I'm sure they're sprained or fractured. They're not broken because I can move them easily... But they still hurt..." he said and then shook his head. He sighed and looked up at her. "I didn't catch your name."

[M e w]

When Nickolai revealed that his human limbs were hurting she cursed herself internally, which consisted of the word crud instead of usual curse words.
She started apologizing and fluttering around him like a mother hen until she took in a deep breath.
She put on her serious healer face and commanded him, "Take off your pants so I can look at your leg please."
She went back to the small bathroom so that she could grab some more wrap bandages just in case they needed to be wrapped tight.

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"Alright then. Thank you," Nickolai said, being grateful for the fact she was so caring. He then carefully pushed himself up and then sat down on the side of the bed, hugging his wings tightly and painfully to his body. He then unbuttoned his pants and slid them down carefully, setting them to the side. It felt weird to be void of pants and a shirt, but he was glad it was just the part of his leg below the knee that was hurting.
"It's my forearm and my left leg below the knee hurting," he explained as he sat there and refused to put pressure on that leg.

[M e w]

Sarah speedily gathered whatever things she needed from the first-aid cabinet and came back into the small room.
She set down the supplies and got down on her knees in front of Nickolai. Slowly she began probing his left leg below his kness, searching for the tender spot.
"Just tell me where it feels most tender..." she said as she concentrated on feeling for injuries.

Ever since her mom had passes Sarah had taken over all the responsibilities her mother had been burdened with. That included being a master of aid. Her mother always knew how to make someone feel better and heal any injury. Sarah wasn't near as amazing as her mom had been, but she knew she could do quite a nice patch-up job even though she was only eighteen.
She had even amused the though of moving away from her country-side home and to a big city to go to medical school and become a doctor who helped people everyday. But she always shooed away the though, since she knew her father and brother needed her here. They wouldn't survive without her, and she knew it, she always thought to herself stubbornly.

She continued to press tenderly against the pale skin of Nickolai's leg, waiting for him to tell her where the pain was worst.

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The fact that she was good with injuries made him feel a lot better about life. He was insanely happy she was working on his leg first too because it hurt a lot more than his arm... He closed his eyes and sighed as she moved further down his leg. He was waiting for her to find the spot that was hurting really bad. He winced really badly and put his hand over his mouth when she reached his mid calf.

"That's the spot. It hurts a lot," Nickolai said and shook his head as his body was shaking lightly. It was obvious his leg was really hurting. He still wasn't sure if he had sprained it or if it was hurt more than that. He was glad he'd fallen like this around someone that could help him though. He really hurt and he was sure his wings would have hurt insanely bad had they not been wrapped up as soon as he woke up... He sighed and looked down at his arm.

"And on my arm, it's this spot," he said as he felt on the tender and slightly red area of his left arm with his right.

[M e w]

When Nickolai told her where it was hurting most, Sarah removed her hands quickly and studied the injury. It looked as though it was mostly bruised, as did his arm, and that made Sarah feel a lot better.
Perhaps his wings caught most of his fall... which wasn't better of course, but at least his other limbs weren't injured nearly as bad.
"I think you've just got some major bruising, which is great compared to what could have happened," she told him, reflexively glancing up at his dark wings.
She looked back down at his leg quickly and continued, "I don't think they really need to be wrapped up as long as you're careful, but if you don't want to see the bruises I can wrap them up anyways."

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"Well, if you don't think wrapping them up is necessary then I believe you. They can stay unwrapped... They just hurt to be moved. Hopefully that will go away. It would be nice to be able to stand... But it's hard to try to stand when you have such a splitting headache..." Nickolai said and then shook his head, placing his right hand against his forehead. He then shrugged it off some and looked back at his wings as well. He'd notice her look there and he figured she was curious about that.

"I'm sure you want to know what I am... Because it's obvious I'm not a human..." he said with a sigh... He then looked back at her instead of his wings. He gave her a light smile and continued. "I used to be a pretty high up angel, y'know? But then I went against the rules angels have to follow and I was banished from heaven... I'm just a lowly fallen angel now..." He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the floor. He felt pretty damn bad about that, obviously... But he didn't regret what he did... He only regretted that he wasn't there to protect him.

[M e w]

As Nickolai explained to her what he was, she felt her eyes widen but didn't show anymore shock than that. After all, she had guessed that he must be an angel... it wasn't such a shock right? But she couldn't start freaking out about it in any case, this was her patient and his health was her first priority.
Sarah quickly got to her feet and reached out to put her hand on his forehead, feeling for a temperature. He definitely had one, but it didn't seem unmanagable.
"I think the best thing you need right now is rest. I can't say you'll feel better in the morning; you'll probably actually feel worse as all of the pain from the fractures and bruises set in. But it's just a sign that you're healing, don't worry," she told him with a warm smile.
"Now, are you hungry or anything? Do you need anything? If you don't need anything then just go to sleep and I'll be back to check on you in the morning but don't hesitate to ask for anything," she told him in a rush of words. Before she could forget she rummaged through the supplies on the floor until she found a cold compress, unwrapped it, and handed it to Nickolai.
"Put that on your forehead, it should ease your temperature and hopefully your headache in turn. OH!" she gasped and thumped herself in the forehead.
"I completely forgot to tell you my name even though you asked!" she said as she shook her head at herself.
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Anyways, my name is Sarah. Sarah Rice," she told Nickolai with a warm smile.

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It was rather saddening when she said he'd probably feel worse in the morning... Granted, he'd figured that but still. The cold hard truth would always be slightly painful. He just nodded his head and then sighed, turning his body to lay back down on the bed. He tried to adjust himself as comfortably as possible seeing as how he couldn't hide his wings... It was going to be a rough night he figured. He was usually a rough sleeper, but maybe the smaller bed than he was used to would make that different. He was hoping so.

"I don't think I need anything. Thanks though," he said and then shrugged. He graciously took the compress and placed it on his forehead, turning his head so it would stay. He had to lay on his side so he could curl up and have his entire body supported on the bed, so this was a semi-hard feat to accomplish... He could manage though and that was all that mattered... He found her franticness to be slightly amusing though and he just shook his head, knowing he would be fine. He then nodded at her name, completely forgetting he'd asked her for it.

"Thank you then... My name is Nickolai Exeraph, if we're exchanging last names as well... Even though it's one I made up myself I figured it would be appropriate to share it anyway," he said with a shrug. He then thanked her one last time and closed his eyes in hopes to actually fall asleep instead of being knocked unconscious.

[M e w]

Sarah smiled when Nickolai told her his name again. She ran over everything in her head to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything. He just needed to sleep right now, so as long as he could get some sleep everything else could be taken care of in the morning.
"Well, I hope you can get a good sleep Nickolai. Good night," she said to him with another smile as she opened the front door to the guest house and then closed it behind her.
When she got outside she just stood there, leaning against the heavy wooden door for minutes. She was just now taking in everything that had happened, and it took her several moments to compose herself.
Yams was still waiting for her outside the house and she patted his nose reassuringly and took his reins so that she could guide him back to the stables.

After Yams was taken care of, Sarah turned towards her old-fashioned two story house and sighed. She knew what she would hear when she got in there... ever since Narian came here it had been nothing but yelling and arguements. Not that she disliked Narian. He was... different, but she had grown up here in the country all her life. She could tell he had his good points, but where her brother was concerned all Narian had were bad points.
As she expected, the first thing she heard when she walked through the front door was her brother yelling "You know what?! You should just get your little ass OUT OF HERE!!!" at the top of his lungs.