“Holy shit”, Daecon said. “You mean that all gay guys...” 

“...all gay men are Shifters? No. There are some Shifters living among humans, and they present themselves as gay people, but not all gay people are Shifters."

“Oh. Ok. I think I understand. But one more thing bothers me. If we fertilize the eggs by having sex with each other... well, HOW?!? How does the sperm from one guy fertilize the egg in another?”

“Did you take any biology in school?”, Owen asked.

“Yes, I did, but I didn’t pay much attention. I do know that nothing like this was ever covered though.”

“I find that hard to believe, that you didn’t pay attention”, Owen said as he rolled his eyes. “Well, the quick and dirty answer is that our ovary duct opens into what humans would call our colon but is really a ‘cloaca’. When sperm is deposited there it swims up the duct and fertilizes the egg. The fertilized egg then emerges from the duct and passes out through, well, it passes through the anus.”

“That makes no sense at all!”, Daecon said. “How can ovaries empty into your butt hole?”

“It is actually very common in nature”, Owen said. “Birds, lizards, fish, insects – almost all of these animals combine the anus with the reproductive tract. It’s actually called a ‘cloaca’ and it is far more common than the reproductive organs of mammals. Think of a chicken. The egg exits from the same opening that the feces does. All birds are like this. I think the wings on your back should be evidence enough that you share some physical similarities with birds.”

“But I’ve never seen an egg come out of my butt, and, at the risk of sounding vulgar, I have been ‘fertilized’ many times. I’m not exactly a virgin”, Daecon said. “In fact, back home I’m considered to be quite a slut”, He added with a grin.

“Of course you wouldn’t see them. You’ve only ever had sex with human males. Human males cannot fertilize our eggs. Even if they could, however, the eggs are nearly microscopic, only a few cells by the time they emerge from the cloaca. Our reproduction people separate and handle them”.

“This is quite possibly the most fucked up thing I have ever heard. And that’s saying something, considering some of the things I’ve heard.”

“Well, that’s how it is. Granted, it’s only a very basic biology lesson, but you should get the gist of it. Anyway, we’ve talked enough for now”, Owen said. “Your wings should be dry enough that you can walk. Come on, on your feet. We’ve got to get out of here before those humans find us.”

Daecon stood up, feeling no small amount of relief that he was actually able to. He tried walking and was also pleasantly surprised that he could easily drag the now mostly dry wings behind him. They still felt dead to him, meaning that he couldn’t feel or move them, but at least walking was now possible. It felt like he was simply dragging a large tarp behind him.

“Excellent, excellent", Owen said. "Now, follow me. We must hide.”

“Couldn’t you just use your cloaking spell to hide us?” Daecon asked.

“No, I couldn’t. I could cloak myself, certainly, but I cannot cloak another person. My magic just isn’t that powerful.”

Daecon followed Owen into the forest. It was fairly easy walking at first, as the huge trees were spaced far apart. His wings weren’t causing much problem, but he was angry at their mere existence. What was the point of having wings that couldn’t be used? He tried concentrating on them, but it was no use. His brain was simply not registering the fact that they were even attached. 

After a few hours of walking the going started getting a little harder as they started climbing a steep hill. Daecon was becoming tired now.

 “Can we stop for a rest, please? I’m beat!”

 “What? Tired already? We’ve only gone a few kilometers.”

 “Really? It seems like we’ve gone a hundred. I’m all in, I tell you! And thirsty, too.”

 Owen thought for a moment.

 “We are still too close to that lake. We don’t want to be anywhere near it when they start searching.”

 Daecon asked “What makes you think they’ll be searching, especially on this side of the lake? The cliff I went off is miles away.”

 “Yes”, Owen replied, “And at the base of that cliff is your smashed up car and the smashed-up truck that pushed you over. And inside that truck is a smashed-up body. And, need I remind you, there were three witnesses that watched you disappear into the lake after sprouting your wings.”

 “The police would never believe them, though! Who would believe that I sprouted wings and flew away? Jeez, I was there and I still don’t believe it! Besides, I’m pretty sure those hillbillies were drunk or stoned.”

 “Maybe the police won’t believe them, and maybe they were intoxicated, but your body isn’t there with your vehicle. Those police will search for you on the possibility that you need rescuing. They will search the bottom of the cliff, they will search the lake, and they will search the shores of the lake. They’ll search the whole valley with their helicopters, and probably with dogs, too.”

 “Oh, shit. I guess you’re right. But honestly, I don’t think I can go any further. I’m not used to walking in the mountains like this, and dragging these wings isn’t helping.”

 Owen considered. “Well, you do seem to be weaker than most...”

 “Hey”, Daecon said. “I’ll have you know that I’m considered to be quite strong...”

 “...among humans, yes. I’m not surprised. I saw you fighting those ones back at that bar. You did quite well against them, but I’m afraid that among us you would be considered quite weak, at least until you master the powers of your animal form. Now, just let me think for a moment, will you?”

Daecon was sulking now. He still hadn’t decided whether or not he liked this Owen fellow. He seemed friendly enough, but he was so damned condescending!

Finally, Owen looked at him and said “Ok, there’s simply no other way. There’s a cave halfway up this slope that we need to get to. It’s still a few kilometers away. If you can’t make it there under your own power, I’ve got no choice but to...”

POOF. He was gone, and there was the bear in his place. Daecon was almost getting used to this by now, so he only startled a little bit.

Owen the bear knelt down so that his belly was touching the ground. “On my back”, he directed Daecon. “Just like before. Let your wings trail behind us. Do not pull my hair.” 

Daecon did as commanded and climbed onto the big brute. The bear stood up and started moving easily through the woods. He wasn’t exactly running, but he was moving faster than a normal bear would walk, and much faster than any human could have run. 

Daecon noticed that he seemed to be picking the easiest route, the one that would avoid the most trees and low growth, even though it was not the shortest route. ‘Likely for my benefit’, he thought as he hung on.

After about an hour of steady climbing they reached a small plateau, about thirty feet wide and ten feet deep. On the back side of the plateau, in the side of the mountain, was a small cave. The bear stood up on its hind legs with Daecon still hanging on. “This is the place”, it said. 

Daecon was still hanging on as a funny thought hit him, and he started laughing. 

“What are you laughing at?”, Owen-bear said. 

“Oh, nothing, it’s just that I realized something...” 

“What? Out with it, then!” 

“Well, I’ve had bears, and I’ve had bareback, but this is the first time I ever rode a bear’s back bareback”. 

Owen-bear let out a disgusted grunt. “Oh, for the love of...” 

He then shook himself vigorously, tossing Daecon off his back. Daecon was still laughing as he was tossed, and the laughter stopped as soon as he hit the ground.

 “Ow! Hey, that hurt! My wing...”

 Owen spun around and lunged at Daecon, who was lying on his back and nursing the wing that had just gotten crushed. Daecon was terrified, thinking that he may have crossed a line with that joke. “Wait! I didn’t mean...”

Owen’s nose was inches from his own. “Did you just say that your wing hurt?” he exclaimed.

“Yes”, Daecon said with relief. “I landed on it funny.”

POOF! The bear was gone, and Owen the man was back, kneeling over Daecon.

“Are you sure? Get up, quickly! I must check something!”

Daecon got up, and as soon as he was standing Owen was manipulating his wings again.

“Can you feel this?” he asked, as he moved them at each of their joints. Daecon could feel movement, but the wings still felt dead to him. He shook his head.

“Damn it!”, Owen shouted. “I was hoping... but then, maybe...”

He reached over, grabbed a large white feather, and yanked it as hard as he could.

“OW!”, Daecon shouted, and as he did the wing pulled out of Owen’s hand. “What the hell was that for?!?” 

Owen was delighted. “Excellent! Excellent! It’s just as I had hoped!”

Daecon was confused, and Owen could see this in his expression.

“Don’t you see? If you can feel pain then the nerves in your wings are starting to work! You felt it when you landed on it, and you just felt it when I pulled on that feather. I must admit, I was surprised I was unable to pull the feather right out, but that must mean your wings are getting stronger. Now tell me, how did you pull the wing away?”

“Oh, I... um... I don’t know. Reflexes, maybe?”

“Yes... yes, that’s exactly it! Reflexes! This is splendid!”

“Explain, please”, Daecon said. He was finding this to be confusing.

“OK, I will”, Owen said, “but first, into the cave we go. Out of sight of those humans. Quickly, now!”

He ushered Daecon into the cave. It was quite comfortable in there, with a smooth, sandy floor, about the size of a large bedroom. It was cooler in here than the hot summer air outside, and a small trickle of water emerged from a crack in the wall and disappeared into another crack in the floor. Owen immediately started drinking from the trickle. 

“Try it”, he said when he finished. “Purest water you’ll ever have tasted, I’d wager.”

Daecon made his way toward the trickle and started drinking. It was wonderful. He drank his fill, then sat down, his wings spread out behind him. Owen had some more water and sat down facing Daecon. 

“Ok”, Daecon said. “We’re in the cave. Please, now, explain about my wings.”

“Ahh, ok, let’s see. Where to begin. Oh, I’ve got it!”

Daecon looked at him expectantly. “Go on then”, he urged.

Owen began.

“I’ve been thinking about why your shape shifting failed. I’ve never seen that happen before, but I think I’ve got it figured out. You see, inside your head your brain builds neural pathways. Everything you do, everything you think, everything you learn, everything you remember, it’s all linked to those pathways. Some of them you are born with, some you can control and some you can’t. As you learn new things more links are created, and as you practice those things the links get stronger. Soon you don’t have to think about doing those things at all, they just come naturally.”

“I don’t understand”, Daecon said. 

“Ok, well just think about something that you’ve learned how to do. Walking is a good example. When you are very young you don’t know how to walk. The neural pathways are there, but they are very weak. As you get older instinct causes you to start pulling yourself up to a standing position, and the pathways get a little stronger. A little older still, and you’ve figured out that as long as you’re holding onto something you can move about by moving your legs. Pathways stronger still. Eventually you let go of whatever you were holding onto. You walk a little bit, but very poorly. You’re making stronger pathways. You fall down. Your brain records this failure. You try again, but you don’t make the same mistake, so you walk a little further, still poorly, but more steadily. You fall again. The process repeats itself until you’ve got walking figured out. You practice more and more, and eventually those neural pathways become so entrenched that walking comes natural to you. You don’t have to think about it, you just do it.”

“Ok, I think I understand that, but I don’t see how it affects my wings.”

“Think about it. Your brain learns how to use your legs through your actually using them. And if something happens to change things, say, an amputation or injury that prevents you from walking normally, your brain learns a new way to do things it has always done.”

Daecon just looked at him.

“Right”, Owen continued, “So the brain learns by use. But it also forgets. If you don’t use a part of your body your brain will forget how to do it. This is true for most things. A person who plays piano might be excellent at it, but take that piano away for a few years and the person will forget. They won’t forget completely, but they will be, how do you say it... ‘rusty’? They can still play, but not nearly as well as before. It’s not just your brain, either. If a human works out and gets himself into perfect physical condition, he must continue to work out to maintain that condition. If he doesn’t, his muscles will shrink again and he will become weaker.”

“I still don’t see the connection to my wings”, Daecon said.

“It has everything in the world to do with your wings!", Owen exclaimed.