Stranger POV:

I was starting to worry that the rough ride over the trail roads through the forest would hurt the winged man in the back of the truck. I don’t remember it being this rough when I came into the forest. But here it was, a bumpy road that I would have to travel a few miles before I got to a smoother road.

The winged man didn’t have anything to help cushion the rough road under him other than the ropes around him, the blanket and net he was in. The bed wasn’t cushioned at all for people to be in it. Eh, I figured I would just deal with any pain he has once I got home.

The drive did give me some time to think, as it’d be a few hours before I got home. Well, I would do more of my thinking once I’m off this twisty, turny and bumpy forest road. Had to concentrate on where I was going, to navigate these roads. These roads were more for forest service and trail riders, not a full on pickup truck. I’ll be on these roads for about an hour… maybe more cause I took it slow to try to soften the ride.

Once I got out and onto a more main road, I was able to consider the options on how to keep the winged man while I drove. I did hope no one would come up behind me and see the winged man in the back of the truck, though I knew that would be hard to do. He was tied down in the back pretty good and the tailgate was up. Unless the winged man managed to lift up off the bed enough, he would not be seen.

So I thought of the choices on how I was going to keep the winged man. Again, I thought of a room sized cage. But that would take time to build for sure. And once again, I didn’t want to do that. I wanted for my boy to have direct interaction with his new pet. To be able to, I guess handle him as much as he could.

Keeping the winged man tied up with ropes wouldn’t do. That would leave him unable to move or respond to my boy’s attention. I needed some way to keep the winged man secured as I didn’t want to let him go now that I got him as a prize.

So as I drove, I came up with only one other solution. I would chain the winged man. I wanted him to be able to move around but still be secured so he can’t fly off. I wanted to give him some room to fly with as well so I wondered how much chain I would need.

Then there was the other problem, how would I secure the winged man. The chain would have to be locked or welded. I wasn’t all that great at welding though I had some padlocks I could use. But what would I lock him to? And what part of him would I chain?

I mulled it over more and more as I got closer to our family’s house. I knew I had a few metal clamps that I use on chimney pipes though they were kind of big. Might not fit the winged man too well. The other option I had was just simply wrap the chain around one of his limbs and lock it into place snugly. I didn’t really want to do that as it could cause a pinch point. I figured eventually I’ll take a few measurements then get the winged man secured.

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(My first two part story. Sorry this part's short. The story continues on part B, which is longer!)