Agony. I could no longer feel my back for the pain, every nerve was howling. It had never hurt this much before; Master was right, they were definitely growing. As the process dragged on, I could practically hear muscles and skin parting to grant them passage. It was taking longer than it ever had, if it continued this way, I would most likely die before long.

Then there was a gentle flapping sound and the pain ebbed, I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from exhaling in relief. It was over. The tissue that had shifted to accomodate my wings returned to normal, adjusting to allow for the newly summoned extremities. I would be sore for a few days, but if I was lucky it would never hurt that much again.

I smiled shakily at my master, once again grateful that he had taken me on, and was teaching me how to deal with my wings. Before he had found me, I kept them in my body all the time, stored in whatever part of me they slept. But sometimes they would burst out, breaking anything on either side of me within two feet and leaving my back a bloody mess. Whenever that happened, I had to hide out for at least a week, waiting for them to retract; I hadn't known how to make them go back in then.

"Very good." Master clapped me on the shoulder. It stung, but I refused to let him see; if he knew he had hurt me, even unintentionally, it would cause him pain.

Still resting his hand on my shoulder, he turned and pointed towards the retreating sun. "It's time to turn in. Just remember to sleep on your stomach, okay?" Guffawing at his own weak joke, he squeezed my shoulder in farewell and ducked into his tent.

As the summary says, this is an old piece of writing, somewhat cleaned up, that was meant for a story series I hope to write someday. It was written quite a while ago, and still looks rather jerky...