Chapter 1: Burdened Wings

It was a cold and rainy night in the Jade city of Quetzal, and Teo had to fly home to his roommate, Aurelio.* "Ugh... these stupid wings are practically useless when wet..." Teo stated to himself. He also accidentally fell earlier when flying due to becoming off balance from the excess weight on his wings, so his wings were covered in mud as well. And not like the special clay masks they had in some of the Gold cities. This was a thick, wet mud that smelled like a swamp. Teo hated it. He wanted to get home as soon as possible so he could wash them off properly.

After he fell, Teo's wings became practically immobile due to the thick coating of mud in between his feathers. "Ugh... This texture is so annoying to have in my feathers..." He thought to himself. After 5 more minutes of walking in the cold rain, he finally made it to his house. He knocked on the door, waiting for his roommate, Aurelio to answer. "Yes? Who is it?" He asked.

Teo responded with slight annoyance, "It's me, Teo. Can you open up the door already? It's cold out here." Aurelio quickly opened the door, surprised at Teo's appearance. "Oh my gods, what happened?!" He shouted. Teo looked down in disappointment. "I... fell while flying in the rain. My Quetzal feathers can get heavy when wet..." Aurelio nodded in understanding.

"Well... I could help you clean off if you want..." He offered. Teo looked at him with slight hope and hesitation at the same time. "I don't know, Lio... My feathers are pretty hard to wash out..." He replied. Aurelio thought about it for a moment. "I can get some warm water and a brush if you want me to..." He stated. "It would be nice to have some help... but no one's ever touched my wings other than my mother or Huemac..." Teo replied with reluctance.

Aurelio knew that Teo didn't have to if he didn't want too, but he felt bad that his wings were so dirty. "We don't have to..." He said softly. Teo shook his head. "No... I think it would be nice..." Teo thought. Aurelio nodded his head, grabbing a large bucket of water for Teo to place his wings in. He set it down on the floor, motioning for Teo to lie down with his wings spread out. He attempted to extend his wings, but it was practically impossible since they were covered in mud.

"Right..." Aurelio said in remembrance. Teo set his wings in the water, flinching a bit at the cold temperature. Aurelio felt a pang of sympathy, quickly using his powers to heat up the water to a more comfortable temperature. "That's better... Just... make sure you use the right products on my wings if you decide to wash them..." Teo stated. Aurelio nodded, stepping away for just a moment to grab the supplies.