She frowned before closing her eyes tightly, looking away from him. Her white hair fell over her face and she pushed it back with her free hand. “Okay,” she said, grimacing. “Go ahead. Do it.”
He gently pressed the needle in, glancing up at her with curiosity as he began to draw blood. It was done quite soon, and he pulled it back out. "You okay?"
Her blood was a dark, silvery blue and she shook her head, her fist clenched. “Is it over?” she asked, keeping her eyes shut.
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked down at her arm, a slight frown on her face as if she were surprised that it was still there. “Is that my blood?” she asked, pointing to the syringe.
He placed a small bandage on the spot her drew from, giving a small nod. "It is. It looks very different from human blood."
“Does it?” she asked with interest, floating a few inches above the ground and pursing her lips as she peered at it thoughtfully. “What’s different about it?”
“That sounds...” she trailed off, squinting at him. She rubbed the bandage thoughtfully with her gloved pointer finger. “That sounds like it’s weird. Is it weird?”
"Not to me," he replied, removing the needle and throwing it away before sealing the vial. "Maybe to you."
“Yeah, well,” she began, shrugging slightly. “Humans are weird to me in general.” She straightened up and looked at him expectantly, tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear. “What next?”
"Just one more question before you can leave," he replied, putting the vial away. "Your wings react to touch. Like.. a golden color. What is it?"
She glanced at her back with a small smile, her eyes thoughtful. "Well," she said slowly, taking it in her hand gently. "You've dealt with samples of wings, right? You've felt them when they aren't attached to our body?"
"That's right," he said, thinking back. "I don't quite recall it, but I do the remember the fine dust that covered them."
"You remember how fragile they were, yes? Almost like tissue paper. Our wings in their natural form are very, very delicate." She was quiet for a moment, considering her words. "The 'gold stuff' you saw was my Enryli. Mine is gold, but it changes for everyone. When the sensors in my wings tell my brain that someone other than myself is touching my wing, my Enryli acts as a defense, fortifying the structure and material of the wing. It makes it difficult to fly, though, which is why it's not just doing it constantly. If my Enryli wasn't working, that little stunt that kid pulled today would have ripped my wing off."
His expression seemed curious and interested, his head cocked before looking down at his notes. He stuck out his tongue as he wrote, his brows furrowed. "Do you mind if I speak to your Alyndar eventually?" he asked, glancing up. "It'd be quite helpful.
She seemed hesitant, tugging on her fingers nervously. She didn't seem to want to meet his gaze. "Uh... Alyndar Aspen doesn't really..." She sighed before her eyes flickered up to meet his. "Well, she doesn't really like humans all that much. Plus, she doesn't leave the Sanctuary very much."
She pursed her lips before nodding slowly, her brow furrowed. “I’ll ask her,” she said eventually, “but I don’t think she’d be into it.”
