Wren Picks Up Guys (Wren)

Elliot let out a small, muffled noise of surprise as the aerial Digimon made direct contact with his ribs. Before he knew it he had been snatched away, the ground rapidly vanishing as he was being brought above the treeline. Normally, people likely responded to this by flailing in a panic, but Elliot knew better. He needed to make sure that he didn't drop the two items currently serving as his lifelines. Without his walking stick, he wouldn't be able to walk. Without his Digivice, he wouldn't be able to fight. For that reason, instead of panic, he simply clutched those items close. It was almost as if he was curling himself more inward.

He looked up at the Digimon currently holding him, thinking on her statement. "Is it okay if I say neither?" he asked. "In fact, I think I'd just prefer landing. That might be easier for both of us." It was a totally inane statement to say to a Digimon that was currently in the middle of attacking him, but he needed to buy himself time to assess the situation. He was fairly confident that if the Harpymon made good on her thread to dash him in the rocks below, he could just Digivolve to MagnaAngemon and catch himself first.

The first thing he noticed was that the Digimon was very small by Digimon standards. In fact, she wasn't much bigger than he was. However, Digimon were often smaller than their size indicated, and Elliot wasn't exactly ready to take a chance on this. He kept his finger hovering over the button of his Digivice that helped him Digivolve, fully prepared for a fight if it came down to it.

However, the second thing that he noticed was that the Harpymon was flying in a very particular way. As someone with a limp himself, he knew what favoring a limb was like. His time as MagnaAngemon trained him to look for any and all nonviolent ways of resolving a situation, and this was a pretty big sign that one might have been available. "Wait. Your wing," he said, leaning a little to try and look the Harpymon in the eye. "Are you okay?"

Yeah, no. The Harpymon definitely was not okay. She was struggling to fly even worse than it originally seemed like she was before, having apparently reached the limits of her altitude only to strain as she tried to pass it. Even stranger, she ignored that fact to focus on . . . Elliot? Immediately he blushed as the Digimon that kidnapped him now talked about how cute he was, even if confusion at this fact was still shining in his eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by the sudden feeling of being flung. As if on cue he hit his Digivice, the world around him giving way to white as a cocoon of light surrounded him.

His wings burst out from the back of the cocoon first, followed by MagnaAngemon's sleeved arm dispelled it into fragments of light. Where a handsome boy once stood, now there was a handsome angel, wings flaring out to catch him before he hit the ground. He blinked, his vision reasserting itself as he saw that the Digimon was caught in a tree. "Do not worry. I will get you out," he promised, flying towards her slowly and non-aggressively.

Once he was there, he would gingerly set his hands on the tree branches. Slowly he would feel along their length, looking for the points of contact that they were stuck along. Each time he found one he would start to untangle them, doing his best to avoid any further damage to the Harpymon's wings or tail. "It is okay," he assured her, keeping his voice as soft and gentle as possible. "I promise, I am here for you."

The Harpymon's strikes may have been easy to dodge, but Elliot didn't expect the reaction she had being aimed at a Digimon that was an avowed pacifist. The first claw lashed right across his face, Elliot putting a finger to the cut to gingerly expect it. A few pixels of stray data floated off of it, but otherwise he seemed fight. "I apologize for startling you," he said. "But I promise you. I mean no harm. Unlike most, this form does not even have armor or weapons." Most MagnaAngemon did indeed have holy armaments and a brilliant purple armor, whereas Elliot was currently wearing little more than robes and a mitre. He hoped pointing this out would ease her, but judging by her constant lashing it was not.

Fortunately, her strikes being furious and predictable in equal measure meant that Elliot could gently lean around them, keeping his dodges slow and obvious so it didn't seem like he was a master combatant plotting his strike. It would probably wound the bandit's ego, of course, but that was the risk you ran when trying to attack someone while literally entangled in branches. With each dodge he approached a little closer, finally hoping to start getting to work on the Harpymon's injuries.

Then she changed up her attack plan, and sunk a talon right into Elliot's robes. Whereas she likely intended to start swinging and throwing him around, the fact was that she didn't have very good leverage in her current position and was currently losing in both size and wingspan. When she thrust her claw to the side something had to give, but it sure as heck wasn't MagnaAngemon.

Instead it was his robe, a part of which tore clean off of his chest. He was exactly as buff as one would expect a Digimon of his stature to be, and his hair billowing down as if to highlight his figure sure as heck didn't help with matters. Elliot looked down at his one exposed pec and bicep, eyes widening a little in surprise at his own tone. Had MagnaAngemon always been this gorgeous?

Maybe it was a good thing it was MagnaAngemon who this happened to. In any other circumstance, Elliot would've probably been a blushing, panicked mess. Instead, all he could muster was the energy to say a brief "Oh," as he looked down. "Well, this is inconvenient." Nevertheless, there was work to be done, so he would go right back to unsnaring the poor Harpymon.

This Harpymon sure was a strange one. On one hand, she was blushing and stammering just from looking at Elliot. On the other hand, she was ranting about all of the horrible, heinous things that angels had done to people. Talk about being the master of mixed messages. Nevertheless, he worked as diligently as possible, even if he had to slow down due to working with someone who was trembling and flinching.

That said, her ranting seemed somewhat misplaced. "I am not an angel," Elliot reminded her. "I am a human, remember? I am simply borrowing the form and power of an angel who lived long, long ago. And while his thoughts and instincts flow alongside my own, I assure you that I am the one in control today. I can also promise you that he does not have a cruel thought in his mind."

Maybe there were better ways to prove that than talking. He waited until she had been untangled from the branches, then kept a single steady hand on her. "Please, hold still for one second," he said, before a soft golden glow started to pulse through his hands.  If Elliot was allowed to touch the Harpymon, she would find the small punctures in her wings and tail were starting to mend themselves.

"I just wanted a nap," Elliot said, blinking in clear confusion. Somehow he was the bloodthirsty aggressor here, despite being kidnapped and then trying to save his kidnapper. If it wasn't for the fact that the Harpymon was in clear distress, Elliot would have probably long walked away by now. However, his conscience simply couldn't allow that, especially with the lack of mercy that opportunistic predators tended to have for injured Digimon.

With how the Digimon had been lashing out, Elliot was at least prepared for an attack this time. He ducked away from her tail, only to cringe as the wave of pure sound passed right over his head. The physical impact may have missed, but the devastation to his ears was hard to miss. His head rang as if it was a bell, and by the time his focus had returned the Harpymon was already staggering away.

He blinked in confusion as she mentioned killing and purging. Seriously, what was with this bird? "I have not raised a hand from the beginning," he said, confusion and even a tiny bit of hurt apparent through his voice. "I am omly here now because you are quite clearly hurt. Especially for the wings of a flying Digimon, I know that can make it hard to avoid those who wish you harm. I just want to heal you. I promise, again, that is all I wamt."

He landed, keepimg his hands up where the Harpymon could see them. Then he approached cautiously, one step at a time. "I will leave after this," he promised. "You will never have to see me again. But please, just let me look after your wing . . ."

Elliot frowned sorrowfully as he heard what the Harpymon had to say. Did they really do that? He hadn't seen too much of other angels in the Digital World. Were they really so cruel? He knew they could be a little myopic and short-sighted, but to be so dishonorable? To such a small Digimon? It just didn't seem right. "I am so sorry," he said, lost for any other words to say. "I must admit, I have not seen many other Digimon of this kind before. But I promise, I would never dream of taking advantage of another's pain. In fact, if I had the option I would never fight.

Still, my transformation must have startled you. I am terribly sorry for not realizing. It was insensitive of me." As Elliot spoke he continued his slow, peaceable approach. His hands remained up where the Harpymon could see them, and he even made sure to ease off of the golden glow so that she wouldn't be made less comfortable by its presence. If she ever reacted poorly to his approach he would stop, only continuing again if she settled. Whereas previously his approach may have been a little intimidating, if only due to his nature, now he was taking great pains to make it as Harpymon-friendly as possible.

"I will heal you now. Is this okay?" he asked, after finally approaching close enough for the Harpymon to be within arm's reach. "If you are not comfortable yet, I can wait."