I reach out hesitantly to touch them. My eyes meet his, asking permission before I make contact. He nods his head, in an unsure manner and I finally lay my fingers lightly upon them. He flinches at first but then all is good and I'm amazed at how smooth and silky they are; so completely different from mom and dad's fluffy, soft feathers.
But what's a Demon doing with wings? What does this mean? What is he?
“Wow,” is all I can manage to choke out.
“Yeah, I know.” He sounds so forlorn, like he is apologizing for having these wings.
All that's going through my mind is that I'm the only one who has ever seen them, other than his own parents. So that means Bimbo hasn't seen them. I smile in satisfaction and whisper, “I won't say anything to anyone.”
“I didn't think you would. Thank you,” he replies and his eyes slide shut. He sighs.
He seems so burdened by them, but I don't understand why. They are so amazing, the only ones of their kind. I can't believe it's even possible.
He turns his back to me fully so I can get a good look at them. I start rubbing them with both hands now and inspecting each individual black feather. I can’t help myself, they’re just so smooth.
“You don't mind me rubbing them?”
“No, it's fine,” He clears his throat. “It feels good, actually.”
“Okay. Just making sure,” I whisper. “You flinched at first and just seemed unsure about it…”
“I really don’t like to be touched. I’ve had a problem with it since I was young. But with you, it’s…not bad,” he decides at the same time he says it.
“You’re actually the only person I have let touch me since my parents died.”
I’m taken aback with this. Why me? Just knowing that softens my heart and chips away yet another barrier I had in place. “I feel...” I struggle for a fitting word. Words can’t describe, really. No, Alexia that will scare him away. “I feel very lucky. Special. Thank you.”
He nods and bites his lower lip to play with one of the snake bites and I bite back a moan at how much I want to play with it. I keep massaging these wings instead.
They are the softest, slickest, shiniest feathers I have ever felt. It would be like feeling an icicle except not wet or cold. They’re slick yet soft. I go from running the pads of my fingers down them, to my whole hand, then both hands. I notice a shiver run through him, and I can see from the side of his face that his eyes are closed again. He's trembling and it's not cold out here and I notice he has his fists balled at his sides. Is he okay? What’s wrong with him? Maybe I'm making him uncomfortable or something. I mean geez, I’m practically a stranger and I’m molesting his secret wings.
It's then that I remember how sensitive wings are to the touch. Dad used to rub mom's wings as an affectionate gesture sometimes when they were cuddling. Sometimes they would go up to their room after that for privacy.
Suddenly, embarrassment becomes me, for being so innocent and naive.
“Sorry, ah...” I choke out. I immediately lift my hands.
He shakes his head and swallows as if saying it's ok, but he can't form the words. He clears his throat and stands up straight. That's when I notice a lot of bad scars. I was so distracted by his wings that I didn't notice all the scars he has. They are all over his back; he even has one especially nasty looking one in a jagged, circle shape around where each wing meets his back. I give him a gentle tug to turn him back facing me.
His cheeks turn red and I hate that he’s embarrassed. It’s suddenly very awkward and I feel the chemistry radiating between us. I wonder if he's having as hard of a time swallowing as I am. I give up on speaking, because I've been dumbfounded too many times in one day. I run my finger along one of the worse scars on his pec, and it flexes involuntarily. He turns his head to the side and shuts his eyes. Is he embarrassed of the scars? I don't want him to be embarrassed about them; they don't change how handsome he is to me. They actually make him more appealing. It shows that he's been through something horrible, and I am really dying to know everything about him.
“Come on, we should get going,” he says huskily.
“Did you put your flying gear on?” he asks.
“I couldn’t get it on without help. I brought it thought. It’s in my bad. I was thinking you could help me buckle it,” I say, sounding more like a question.
He raises an eyebrow and gives me an unsure affirmation before he comes closer and grabs my waste. I think he says something about holding on tight but I wasn’t really listening with him this close to me. I put my arms around his neck and my legs wrap around his waist. His wings rise at the same time his knees bend, and in one powerful thrust he forces his wings down and we dart up towards the clouds, over the wall, into freedom.
We are flying!
We get so high that when I look down I see clouds. In this position it’s like we're dancing as we fly through the air. This is the time of my life! I'm laughing; he's laughing. This is something I could have never imagined, or even hoped for.
After a while we start descending toward an island with a huge waterfall. There are two rainbows to the right of it, and the sun is shining on the whole island making it a tropical paradise. It’s not dead like they have told us our whole lives, it is very much alive. After seeing this, I know we could live outside the walls of the desert and the City, despite what Overlord wants us to believe.
I'm really enjoying flying right now, but I can't help but think about how close we are. I can smell his skin and it smells so good They could bottle that spicy cedar and make some serious money! I inhale as much as I can and sigh with pleasure. The power of his wings pumping up and down are causing the muscles in his neck and shoulders to flex over and over, right at my eye level. My attention wanders to the furiously pounding pulse at his neck and I have this weird compulsion to kiss it, maybe even bite it. Weird, I've never noticed that on anyone before. Why even look? I'm losing my mind wanting to even put my mouth near it! I don’t know what’s going on with me. I’m so drawn to that frantic flutter of each pulse, under that tawny skin that I can’t summon the willpower to look away. That vein even stands out against his skin, making me want to run my finger over it and push it down.
He groans and I glance up at him to see what’s wrong. I don’t know if I can believe my eyes right now. He has two little fangs peeking out under his upper lip. I can’t say I’m totally shocked, because Demon’s have fangs of course, and he is a Demon, but I didn’t know they came out at random times, I thought they only came out when they needed to feed. I wonder if they're always there or if they lengthen at times. I haven't seen them until now though; even when he smiled that charming smile those few times, so I guess they sharpen or something.
He looks down and catches me staring at them, and then our eyes meet. His irises are glowing red again. It’s so alluring and I’m like the proverbial moth to the flame. I even think I kind of like those red eyes. Probably scary to any other angel, but I'm just so intrigued by him. What is going on with me today and how many times am I going to have to ask myself this same question?
I don't feel worried that he will drink my blood for some reason though, but I do worry if he’s hungry or suffering and I trust him even though he has me completely alone. If he wanted to hurt me, he could have a while ago. If he's going to trust me, and I'm going to trust him, we might as well be honest with each other. If he's hungry it's nothing to be ashamed about, and I want him to know that this is how I feel about it.
“Your eyes are glowing. Are you hungry? Be honest.”
He breaks eye contact with me and swallows. I know this because I'm right at throat level as the muscles work to get the saliva down. Also, I can hear it. If anything, it seems like he is denying his hunger.
“I'm not hungry, ...don't worry.” He swallows again and I see his Adam’s Apple move.
“Well, what's wrong then? And don’t lie to me, I know something is wrong. Shadow, I’m not scared, you can tell me.” I hope I so
unded as sincere as I feel because I truly want to know what's wrong and if he's okay.
He closes his eyes, swallows again, takes a deep breath and opens his eyes a few seconds later. They're back to that dark color that looks so much like his namesake.
“Nothing, I'm okay. I could just feel you staring at my neck and it makes me...uncomfortable.”
I think about how strange that is. “Well I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything; I just don't have many places to look when my face is practically buried in your neck.”
I don't see his fangs anymore either. I want to ask if they're gone, but would that be rude?
“Yeah, I know. Don’t even worry about it; it’s not your fault, and it makes me uncomfortable in a good kind of way.” His voice is deep and husky.
We land softly a few seconds later and I can tell that he's either been flying a while, or has some serious skills. It takes angels a long time to learn how to land this smoothly.
“Wow, it's so beautiful here, this is amazing! Is this where you'll teach me?” I turn in circles, taking it all in.
There are a few white, puffy clouds in the sky and the sun is hot and bright out here. The ocean surrounds this island and sparkles like a billion diamonds on top of its surface. The lush green forest and palm trees are all around us right now, where he landed us on soft pink sand next to a river. There are beautiful birds flying high in the sky, they are yellow and red and even a blue one caught my eye. I hear the rush of a rampant river and look behind me to a huge waterfall. I follow it up to the top and it disappears into the puffy clouds it’s so tall.
“Yeah it is a beautiful view.” He pauses and I turn to him. He's looking at me, not the island. I drop my eyes at once in a flush of embarrassment at his straight-forward compliment. He’s shy and confident at the same time and I can’t really get a good read on him, but I know I like him. A lot.
“I come here as often as I can,” he breaks the awkward silence. “I’ll teach you to fly at the top of the waterfall. It's not far from here, just a short hike and we will be there.”
“Okay, you lead, I follow,” I say cheerily because I will get to check out his butt.
We start up a small hill, stepping over fallen trees and overgrown brush. My legs are a little shaky from the flight and my foot hits a hidden stump causing me to skid into the rough ground face forward. I hiss a few choice words and he runs back to me. I examine my hands and knees to find a gash the whole length of my right palm, and some pretty deep scrapes on my knees.
“Damn, are you okay?” He kneels down and takes my hand gently, wincing when he notices the blood gushing out of it.
I wince. “It hurts...but I'll live. You'd think I just learned to walk yesterday.” I shake my head, not believing how clumsy I am. “Let's hope I'm better at flying.”
He examines my hand with a tight-lipped expression and it occurs to me that seeing blood must be hard for him’ especially if he is hungry.
“Are you okay?” I try to tug my hand out of his. “You don't have to--”
“Am I okay?” He scoffs. “You're the one that fell and you ask me--” he suddenly grunts as if in pain. He quickly covers his mouth with his hand and looks at me with wide eyes, like he did something wrong.
“What is it?” I ask.
He shakes his head, “Nothing ...just bit my lip.” he mumbles behind his palm, sounding a little bit like his tongue is too thick for his mouth.
“Are we ever going to make it through this day?” I laugh. “Here, let me see it.”
Before he has time to object, I pull his hand away from his mouth to examine his lip and find nothing. No cut or bump. This is when it all becomes crystal clear to me. The trouble he had when he tried talking and why he all of the sudden covered his mouth. He didn't really bite his lip, his fangs had elongated and they are way longer than they were when we were flying. No wonder he has a hard time talking. If I had teeth that sharp and long I would be a mute the rest of my life for fear of shredding my own tongue.
He panics at my discovery and covers his mouth again, as if he thinks I'll freak out. He's seems to believe everyone thinks he's a monster or something.
“I'm okay...you're fine. It's no big deal, honest. Like I was going to say before, it must be hard to see...blood. You don't have to help me, I'm really okay.” I ball my fists and stand up, trying to prove my point.
For some reason, I'm trying to sooth his panicked state, but in reality we both know I should be the one panicked. This whole situation is really messed up. He stands up to join me and I grab the hand covering his mouth again, “I want to see again.”
He shakes his head no, but I give him the most determined look I can convey. He glances to the side, weighing his options. He shuts his eyes and slowly lowers his hand in defeat. I can finally examine his fangs at my own leisure. I lean forward and gently raise his lip to get the full view. They certainly look like they're always there, and they don't look very threatening to me, despite their length now. They actually seem really appealing to me, sexy even.
“I kind of like them.” Understatement of the year. This is where I would twirl my hair around my finger, tilt my head, smile, and bat my eyelashes if I were that kind of girl, like Bimbo for example.
He gives me a disbelieving look, “How could anyone like them? Most kinds run screaming when they see a demon, especially angels.”
I grimace. He really needs to learn to love himself as he is. I hate that he doesn’t appreciate who or what he is. “They’re a part of you, just like wings are a part of me. This is how you were made, Shadow, and I think it’s beautiful.” I touch one when I say that and he shuts his eyes and sighs, like it feels good.
He smiles when I poke the other one playfully.
I smile, “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that they're 'beautiful'.” I say as I laugh.
He laughs and I get the most warming, happy sensation I have felt in a long time. For that second he smiled and he wasn’t ashamed of who he was or how he felt. He was shy and it showed me a piece of how he might have been when he was a happy little boy, proud and carefree. “Thanks, I would appreciate that,” he says, smirking.
“Do they come out or are they always there?”
“They come out of my gums. I actually don't have any canine teeth, and my teeth shift slightly when they rip through my gums to make space for them.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Well, yes. It actually hurts pretty bad every time...but you get used to it. I hardly flinch when it happens now.”
“Oh,” I really don’t like that he has to suffer just to live. “Why did they come out? Was it because of my hand?”
“Ah, well they come out on different occasions. Like when I'm hungry, scared, threatened, or when I just smell blood. Some other times too. It just all depends.”
“Your eyes are starting to glow red again too.” I smile softly to let him know I don't mind.
“Yeah, I guess the eyes and fangs kind of think alike. It's not usually one without the other.”
“Sorry for all the questions...”
“It's fine,” he sighs, “It just feels good to be accepted by someone, even though I’m a freak.”
“You’re not a freak.” I whisper softly. I lift his chin gently to look him in the eyes. “I think you're pretty spectacular. Haven’t you ever heard that saying, 'what makes you different makes you beautiful'?"
“I've heard it, but I don't believe it.” He slowly reaches out and grabs my hand, lowering it from his chin and then he continues holding it where we stand. “It's just something the freaks made up to make themselves feel normal,” he adds.
“Anyways, if you're comfortable with it, I can heal your hand,” he suggests, obviously changing the subject. I decide I will let him slide this time because I don’t want to scare him away.”
“Really?” Sweet! Heck yes, whatever it is I’m fine with it, Sexy. “How?” I ask just to play the role.
“Well, apparently my saliva
has special healing abilities. Since we bite from the flesh, we also have to close the wound after or our food would always bleed out. Anyways, if you don't want me to, I understand, I just--”
“Shadow,” I interrupt, “that's fine with me. It's a great idea. I need my hand healed so that I can finally learn to fly,” I smile. I hold a hand up close to his lips, silently asking.
“It would literally, be my pleasure.” His deep voice rumbles sexily and he smiles that boyish grin that melts me completely. He brings my hand to his mouth and kisses my palm, so lightly that I can’t feel it. The blood has pooled in my hand and yet he is so patient.
After kissing it a few more times he slowly licks it along the gash, watching me the whole agonizingly, slow time. I close my eyes, feeling how my skin is on fire and my hairs are all standing on end. It's an amazing feeling. Like if lightning could strike you and it could feel good instead of painful. I feel amped and drugged in the best way. My heart's flying a million beats per minute. I pry my eyes open to watch him kiss my hand and it makes everything twice as mind-blowing. He glances up at me through his long top lashes with those red eyes, and I hastily shut me eyes for fear of my heart exploding in my chest. A few seconds later he gives one last kiss to my hand and when I open my eyes my hand is all but healed. Now it’s just a puffy, pink line. “Thanks...” I say huskily.
His eyes are throwing sparks like a bonfire. His tongue flicks over his fangs, and then his red, blood-stained lips.
“Like I said earlier, it was my pleasure. Now let’s get the show on the road. I know an angel ready to fly.” He winks at me and off we go.
*~*Chapter 7-Flying Lessons*~*
We finally make it up to the top of the waterfall, at least an hour later. I look at the beautiful green forest all around us, up at the light blue sky, the sun twinkling in and out of the frilly clouds. I know my world will never be the same again. I feel completely changed, and yet relieved. I always knew there was something more to life, more to what I was told. It just didn't make sense to me, everything staying dead and barren. If I had never met Shadow and he had never trusted me with this, then I would still be lost inside my own mind, wondering about the truth beyond the walls. I fight the urge to run up and hug him, but he's standing right on the edge of the waterfall. Even though he doesn’t seem scared to fall off, I’m scared for him to fall off. I since he knows how to fall it’s not anything to worry about but it’s just instinct to me.
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