Falling, Falling

It was a perilous job, and one of her least favorite parts of her line of work. Iris checked and triple-checked her equipment before she climbed out in the harness, edging her way over to the broken part. The Nothing was harsh on the wind turbines, especially the ones on the edge of town. There hadn’t been enough materials for the beacons this far out, and so the windtechs often had to go up stories high, like she was right that instance to conduct repairs to the outside of this particular wind turbine’s housing. It was routine by this point, but it didn’t mean it was pleasant.

She flipped down her welding mask once she found the spot she’d been assigned to fix. Iris was vaguely aware of the yellow light glowing in the near darkness from her Technical Display, and she wouldn’t have been surprised if it’d been like that with her suppressor too. This was an extremely stressful situation she was in, but it needed to be done. That didn’t stop her heart from trying to escape her chest, though, or the tingling in her limbs as adrenaline raced around, readying for the worst. All hands on deck and all that. A part of her was reassured as she caught a glimpse of fluffy white cotton - Babbu was nearby, just in case. Still, she had to focus and not think of the hundreds of feet worth of drop that stood between her and the ground below. Nope. Not thinking of that at all. 

The blow torch worked brightly like it was supposed to, and the only sounds she really heard were the wind howling past her ears, the welder hissing in her hands, and her heart slamming in her ears. Of course, over the howling, she could also hear a humming song from Babbu. The Altaria side of the fusion felt a need to hum as a form of comfort to those close to them, and he knew better than to try and perch on her head or come near the white-hot plasma of the welding torch in her hands. Still, the hum was appreciated. The wind cut through her, even through her heavy work clothes and welding gloves. Not a surprise, but also not welcome either.

Iris took her eyes off the welding torch and the spot she worked on for a second to glance up at the skies above. Grey skies - a storm coming up. A second was all it took. A much stronger gust of wind swung her and her harness, and with it, the welding torch went off course.

Snap. The sound of leather breaking apart sank her heart into the pits of her stomach, and the smell of burnt leather only made it work. Gravity grabbed at her, yanking her down now that only one strap held her to the side of the wind turbine, and her breath caught in her throat now that her heart had vacated it. Both hands desperately clung to the remaining strap - she had no idea where the welding torch went - and adrenaline spiked even higher.

Snap. Gravity now had her, and she fell. Everything happened quickly. As was usual, her suppressor short-circuited, the red light of it ominous in the semi-darkness of the welding mask. The length of her spine tingled and itched, and the taste of spearmint filled her mouth. Abruptly, the wind screaming past her ears changed in sound, as if something had blocked it, and her view was further obscured by... feathers? The woman reached out for her Pokemon, who had started diving as soon as she'd started falling.

Help. Help. Help! Panic filled her entirely, and something in her back flexed, and she vaguely became aware of something new attached to her form that desperately flapped to try and correct herself.

Iris shot upright and immediately regretted it, her head going to her hands. A machine beeped rapidly next to her in time with her heart, and an IV line fed into the back of her hand. Scrubs covered her, and again, that comforting hum met her ears. She didn't remember hitting the ground. Didn't remember being found and transported to the hospital.

Babbu. Where was Babbu? Her mind presented a flash of blue and dark grey, her back hitting something solid that wasn't the ground. Babbu. Safe. Where was he? Past a mass of blue hair (Maximus, her boyfriend, passed out on the side of her bed), was a pair of long crest feathers and black, shiny pearls. Relief flooded her, but it still didn't answer what had happened and why she was in the hospital.

Max stirred from her moving around, and his red eyes met hers. Like relief had flooded her, she could see the same reflected in his eyes.

"Iris! Nurse!" She flinched, her head throbbing briefly as he called out for assistance. His hand found hers and she returned the squeeze of affection. She rubbed at her temple with her free hand, smiling at both him and Babbu, who also lifted his head to look at her. A happy trill and a flap of wings, and her smile softened.

"What... happened?" She croaked out, before clearing her throat. So dry and sounded like she'd not spoken in a while. Max looked at her again.

"You almost died, babe. Your harness broke while you were working, I think? You hit the ground pretty hard, but if it wasn't for Babbu and your new wings, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Iris looked up at the new voice, smiling at the nurse and also at her friend, Cerise as she came in. The woman looked exhausted and Iris wondered how long she'd been out.

Wait... wings? She blinked. "What wings?"

"Yeah. You have wings now. Docs think it had something to do with your Nera, but they're not sure. More feathers, too." Cerise sat on the edge of the bed opposite Max, who held onto Iris' hand like he was going to lose her if he let go.

"You're alive. That's what matters."

Yeah... yeah, that's what mattered.