[hider=Wings][center]Wings[/center] [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWNbcxXDmt0&ab_channel=AnimenzPianoSheets]***[/url][/center] I suppose I’m used to a charmed life, as I stare at the wall opposite me in my recovery room, I am coldly reminded it isn’t exactly a ballroom. Yet here I sit, pretending it is. The soup Gratia brought me is my banquet, perfectly seasoned, with a nice balance of acid and vegetables. I find the lone spotlight illuminating me as I watch from my throne, upon the rest of the ball. My gown is the most obvious, a nice white/blue backless one, scantily tied up with just a single string at my lower back. Surely, many people will be gossiping about it and how it perfectly accentuates my [s][sub][i]wings[/i][/sub][/s]. [right]Right.[/right] The tiles lash out at my eyes and the buzzing of the lights assault my ears. Do not forget, they say. You are still here and you will not leave Bianca. [center]You will leave as a victim.[/center] I am at the foot of a hill that I am unable to climb, and the most beautiful sunset awaits me on the other side. My new team awaits me, Estelle, Vignoble, mom. But it is surely too steep for a woman like me. Who I am now, it isn’t who I was before. There is a commotion outside of the waiting room. Another person, here to pity me. Or Gratia. Neither. A young man, he has a cowlick. He's kind of cute, but his outfit could use some work. I'd have to take him shopping one day. Maybe when I get out of here. He’s talking to me. I look confused at him, I peer back at Ozpin and he returns my gaze. He grimaces and looks back at Ozpin, his eyes pierce me and let me know he knows I’m not listening. "Gratia told me about your wings. If you'll let me, I think I can help you recover." [color=#EFDEFF]“I’m not sure what you can do.”[/color] Some words are spoken. He will come back tomorrow. I nod. Estelle visits, she reads me a novel. I know she is trying, but I’m not comatose. [color=#DEBCFF]“Estelle,”[/color] I start [color=#CE9BFF]“I’m not comatose.”[/color] She nods and laughs, she does that laugh when she makes a mistake. It's cute, she's a beautiful young woman and she has every positive trait I can think of. For some reason I can't think of any of my own positive traits. I know there has to be something... Her laugh, I did something similar when I was younger and before I lost my... “Of course, I’m sorry. Here why don’t you read it?” [color=#BE79FF]“That’s okay. I think I’d like to sleep.”[/color] [center]“Oh, right of course, sorry.”[/center] [right][color=#AD58FF]“Thanks.”[/color][/right] [center]I sleep.[/center] [right]I awake to the same hill as yesterday, the dawn is enticing, perhaps enticing enough to try to go up the hill once more.[/right] I decide not to. That hill is best left alone. I’ll build a home at the base of that hill – it’s where I belong now. My body has pins and needles, the sharp poking covers every inch of my body. Except for my [sub][s][i]wings[/i][/s][/sub]. Napoli comes to visit me. He seems different, maybe he’s been in this position before – visiting someone in a hospital. He isn’t the Napoli that makes Gratia consider murder. He’s the Napoli I would check on, make sure is okay. I suppose that’s what he’s doing now. I wonder what he thinks… He jokes about how I don’t need to worry about the pillow. I think of a way to respond, but he catches my trepidation and waves it away. That was sweet. Beryl visits, she is very kind and I’m glad she has taken my spot on the team. Her hair is delightful, I'm not sure why I stare at it for as long as I do. But I find that it's difficult to look away from. But…. When she is talking, it’s so hard to hear her… From the bottom of this hill. How did she get up there? How does she stay up there? That hill feels so slippery. Gratia comes by afterwards. She doesn’t say much, but she hugs me and her eyes seem to flicker at one point. She gives me more of her food. I thank her, she hugs me after closing some blinds. None must know of her weakness. Bianca Nuit, fucking birdbrain, Gratia’s weakness. I apologize for being a burden. She tells me not to be such a fucking idiot. She’s right of course. I find myself missing the time we spent in Mistral. In the van, she was so warm. She called me Bianca. It was nice. She takes off, climbing the hill. As she climbs it, leaving my room, it seems to grow. She doesn’t struggle for a second. I wish I was that strong. I suppose it’s a mountain now, technically speaking. The boy comes back. I can hear him this time. He breathes in deeply, as if preparing for a big statement. His eyes dart around the room, before slowly settling on me, probably because I'm hurt. It's hard for healthy people to look at you in such a state, usually, so I get it. He could be scared. Angry. Uncertain. It can be a complicated thing to take in. "I forgot to introduce myself earlier," he starts, with a slight air of apology. "I'm Luke, a..." A pause. He's a..? "...an acquaintance of Gratia's." he finishes, with some trepidation. Well, that's Gratia for you, not many can truly say the word friend with her. "May I please see your wings?" Luke’s hair seemingly twitches as he picks up a small scalpel. I want to yell, but a part of me doesn’t. It's better this way. Are they here to put me out of my misery? There's nothing a scalpel will do for broken wings like my own. I must’ve cost the school a fortune. Doctors have been in all week. I suppose that’s how it is. I close my eyes and try to envision my mother. She’s on top of the hill. It’s so big. I feel something wet touch my back, touch my [i][sub]wings[/sub][/i]. [right][sub]my?[/sub] The hill is getting smaller. My mother closer. Am I dying? No. I’m. !?[/right] [center]The hill is gone. A clear lake is below me, my mother, Gratia, Luke. Someone is waiting for me. I don’t know who it is. So I fly down and touch them.[/center] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/VQUfpeD.png[/img][/center] It’s me. I’m back. "Good news, Miss Nuit," he says to me triumphantly, even as his red-stained hand drips onto the next bare patch, doing the impossible. "They're coming back." They’re back. [color=#9D36FF]“I’m back.”[/color] I said, before hugging Luke. My life would be one big thank you from here. I am at the top of the hill and it is both nice and sad. I know that I’ll never be happier than this again. But I don’t know anyone who’s ever been this happy. I have a dress that would look lovely with these wings. [color=#9D36FF]“My [i]wings[/i] are back.”[/color][/hider]