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Somewhere along the outskirts of Liyue, an unusual coldness spread through the air. A soft breeze waltzed about, tickling the Abyss's thick coat as its plumage bristled in anticipation of a storm approaching. He couldn't tell how, nor ever really wondered why he could tell when certain climate events were coming, like a prophecy of sorts. He only knew his fur was on end at the bitter cold approaching. And despite this, the Mage could not take his mind off the strange...'gifts' he'd been receiving since the start of the season. He hadn't paid any attention to it the first time it had happened. He woke to a green hummingbird lying dead on the grass outside his small hut. At first, he thought it was just a weird but natural occurrence, surely the poor thing had just hit a branch or something and fell to its demise and just so happened to end up there. On the second occurrence, however, he started to reconsider. A few days later, there was yet another dead bird at his doorstep, and this one was a mockingbird. And wouldn't you know it? A few moons later, a Finch. And so the weird gifts kept coming. Every day a different bird. Bluebirds, robins, woodpeckers, sparrows, red cardinals, blue jays, and lastly- an owl. Of course, the Mage felt abashed by these presents that a stranger was delivering. More than anything he was concerned and confused about how exactly this stranger entered their camp without getting noticed by his fellows. He, of course, also completely ruled out the possibility of his secret admirer being one of his Hilichurl companions.
Perhaps to get some reassurance, he turned his pointed beak toward said Hilichurls, sighing softly and relaxing in his floating stance when he noticed they were sleeping peacefully curled up around the bigger Mitachurl, sitting in the middle of the semi-circle with his back to the small make-shift hut they had made when they first settled in that zone and claimed the territory as theirs. The giant furred beast's wooden shield lay discarded at his side as its eyes drooped, attempting to remain awake and on guard but struggling. Floating a bit closer to the ground, feeling tired, the Abyss Mage glanced back at the sandy shore right below the hill where they had set up their camp.
Over the horizon, it saw the salty waves crashing against the gravel and yellow clusters of granules and it let its eyes close, feeling the harsh wind blow on his avian features and moving his cloak as if it wanted to take form and fly away.
Nevertheless, he had to stay on guard in case any of those puny humans decided to try their luck and face the mean end of his wand.
Growing more tired by the second, the Abyssian could barely register as his nimble, clawed feet touched the soft grass bedding of the ground below, nor did he notice a gush of wind speeding against his body as he fell down the edge of the hill and plummeted towards the sand below. Too exhausted to comprehend, too tired.
Everything went black.
Booming ferociously was a thunderbolt, then a second came soon after. The storm drew near, or perhaps he was the one moving closer?
Opening its eyes, the Mage found himself in quite the pickle.
Breaking free from its restraints was impossible. The dark room made it hard to see where exactly he was bonded, leaving the rest of his still-groggy consciousness to try to make out where exactly he was. It was strapped to a cold metal bed of sorts, but he really couldn't make out any other details in the room despite the soft light emanating from the ceiling above him and blinding him slightly. Unsure of what to do and somehow unable to use any of its magic, he struggled helplessly against the leather ropes and metal chains. Could they be enchanted with some seal of sorts? No, humans didn't possess any of the knowledge necessary to perform such witchcraft. The avian creature shook his head, the fur around his collar standing on end and puffing with newfound stress as it fruitlessly attempted to wriggle out of its binds, though, of course, finding no such luck.
*tap*
*...tap*
Uneven sets of footsteps started to echo just outside the room he was trapped in, drawing closer by the second.
The pitter-patter of the stranger's shoes mirrored the soft sound of the muffled rain starting to fall from the sky.
The door swung open and a bright light came from the outside of the Mage's newfound prison. A light so bright that almost made the Mage believe he was dead and about to meet a deity.
However, all he was met with, was more darkness as the door closed behind the dark shape that walked closer to the operating table. A sterile smell followed the person in the white cloak, and when they stepped out of the shadows to stare down at his lying form, the Abyss Mage could finally come face to face with its kidnapper.
Cerulean medical gloves covered the human's hands, a white lab coat adorned their figure, draping along their curves not dissimilar to the avian's own cloak, a facemask rested under their chin, and a set of goggles above the person's forehead.
Before the Mage could flinch, his beak was caressed by the back of a gloved hand, and when it lifted its face, it was met with a wide, almost predatory grin. It shuddered and his fur puffed again like a scared cat making a fuss.
"D'aww, did I ruffle your feathers?~"
Came a sickeningly sweet voice.
"So sorry, dearest" the shape continued, moving a gloved finger to trace the edge of the ropes "these meanies must be hurting your cute little wrists, mmh?" the human cooed at the Abyssian "I promise I'll have you untied in no time!" they chirped with a smile, clearly trying to put the Mage at ease "but not before I have finished my...modifications..." the person's face turned darker and their voice lowered to a murmur as they looked off to the side with a soft sigh.
Before the furred bird could fully comprehend their shift in tone, its eyes widened in fear when the human turned around and came to face him again with a No. 24 blade on their trusty scalpel "You know, my no. 36 broke just yesterday, right as I finished dissecting a cute little Loon" the human chuckled sadistically with a twisted sense of pride, but the Mage could only shudder imagining what that poor bird had to go through, and what he soon would, too.
The human shook their head before moving the scalpel and placing it on the table. Pressing a button hidden from the Mage's view, the table suddenly flipped over until the short Abyssian was facing the pavement. To its confusion and horror, he noticed splatters of dried blood, no doubt of some poor soul who ended up there before him.
With the avian's back now exposed to the light hanging from the ceiling, the human grabbed the scalpel again and started to etch thick lines in his flesh, not caring about undressing the poor creature as the blood stained its cloak.
More and more deep cuts came with seemingly no direction or sense. Pain without meaning. Was that what awaited him until his death? It had tried its best to stifle its whimpers of pain like it was in its animalistic instincts to hide the pain he was feeling. However, the persistent incisions on his flesh made it hard for him to breathe without choking and sobbing. Tears fell to the ground and mixed with the dried blood and the now gushing red liquid out of his new wounds.
After what felt like an eternity, the cutting finally stopped. His back was sore and mangled, whole chunks of flesh were missing from each side of his spinal cord.
But just when it thought the pain might be over, he let out a blood-curdling scream. The human jabbed something harshly into his back, something that filled the holes they had just created. Something fuzzy, something sturdy and weirdly familiar.
With a sharp inhale, the Mage willed itself to turn its head over his shoulder and glance at his mauled back. But nothing could have prepared him for what he would see, for it was a pair of feathery wings that matched the color of his coat, fading to lighter hues at the tips. The Abyssian gasped in both fear and pain, his tears began to cloud his vision making it hard to see properly "I taxidermied these myself, you know?" the human chuckled sweetly as it twisted the wing inside its wound, making the Mage screech at the unexpected sudden sting "They are just for you, my love~" the person would purr out in honied words, though their words fell like thick clots of ichor on fruiting carcasses, like warbles of chics on deaf ears. Despite this, the human continued embedding the wings and sticking them further inside his body, finally leaving them to pour hot wax to cover the wounds. The burning sensation was nothing compared to the utter feel of discomfort the Mage felt. Its stomach twisted, his body felt so...wrong, and he couldn't shake off the feeling. He felt like a clipped fledgling, completely downed before it had any chance to learn the wonders of flight.
Its muscles almost instinctively pulsed and tightened and cramped in his back, desperately attempting to reject the intrusive objects the human had inserted, of course, to no avail.
His body jerked and its entrails felt scorching and tighter than ever the avian's head began to feel lighter but at the same time about to explode from the pressure of the tightness of his skull that felt as if it were closing on his brain.
Before it could register what its body was doing, he threw up. Its puke mixed with the different splatters of blood and tears still striking down his face. His head and heart were pounding, his whole body cramped, and tried a last-ditch effort to twist away from the bindings before he went stiff. And just like that, he had passed out.