Haylir was angry. How many times will she have to fix Gründ before he realized how dangerous his obsession was? He was being reckless, and he would get himself badly hurt. She was bandaging his nose, which was indeed a bit shorter than it was. Shaking her head, she tried to talk some sense into her friend.

“Gründ, why do you keep doing this to yourself? You come here almost every other pulse now…”

“I just… I just wish to see the world from above for once, you know… Feel free like a Natl! Fly among them, feel the wind on my fur... The ground is all the same after a while. Another ruin, another tree, another Töskr… Another stupid tree…”

Haylir didn’t understand. What was wrong with the ground? And trees were the same up there as down here! She had even seen him trying to climb some, once. He had ended up with a permanently bent tail, yes, but he seemed to be having fun before he fell!

“Ack! That stings! What are you doing?”

“Stop moving, Gründ. I’m trying to get your nose back to its previous length… Not that I have any hope, you’ll probably just hurt it again as soon as you’re able…”

Gründ was feeling a little abashed. He didn’t want to disappoint his friend, but she was right, he would keep trying until he succeeded.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t stop, there is this… This sense of freedom, so close yet so far! This itch in my head that is driving me insane when I think of anything else! It isn’t an obsession, Haylir, it is a necessity for me. I need to fly. Will you help me?”

It was the first time that Gründ talked about the itch. And he felt that he couldn’t tell anyone else. Only Haylir knew him well enough to at least try and understand, maybe even help him. It felt good to finally share his secret with her.

“Help? Am I not doing that already? I am patching you up all the time, inventing new ways to heal you because you keep coming back with wounds that no other Töskr ever had, listening to you, watching you sleep, making sure you will still be able to walk when you wake up… What more can I do? Am I to sew a pair of wings on your front paws and hope that you’ll turn into a Natl?”

Suddenly, it clicked. The two friends looked at each other over Gründ’s too short and bandaged nose. Natl wings. Was that the solution?

“Haylir… You helped Atzi when she broke her wing. You know how they work, you know how they can fly… Do you think you could help me make a pair of wings like hers? Exactly like hers? Same shape, same… everything?”

Haylir sighed. She should have known this was coming, and to be honest she had had the same idea. His obsession, his excitement were infectious, and she couldn’t help the smile that crept up on her face.

“Would it make you stop? If I help you make these wings, will you stop hurting yourself all the time?”

He looked at his friend, serious, trying to refrain his sudden need to hug her.

“... Unless they don’t work!”