Vawn Fione *It had been a week. He had wanted to come sooner, when he learned that his pet had been taken. But he couldn't leave. He was sore for days, but pampered and kept by the demon. He proved his loyalty. But if Vawn was one thing, it was a conflict of interests. But now. Now he needed to get his pet out of the pound. It toke some creative bluffing and some nice forgeries to get her out. Pain in the ass....but it worked. They brought her to him. She was bandaged and brushed but he could see it in her eyes,* "Imogene..." *He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close to his chest. * "God.. im sorry... Im so sorry. Come.....lets go...This place gives me the creeps." *He held her close to him, trying to sooth her, and probably himself in a way.* "Here." *he hands her a backpack, brushing her hair out of his face with his free hand.* "I brought you some clothes.. Go ahead and change while I finish the paper work."

Imogene Anan I'd been sedated most of the time. Tears tumbling. All I could do is think of Vawn. The pain. All I could think of. All. My eyes were empty. Empty like me. Until ...Until I saw him. Then they held pain. Such thick bloody pain. But no tears. They made all my tears come when they strapped me down. When they tried to quiet me. Hush me. Hush. I don't move from Vawn's side for a moment. I feel so little. So incomplete. This was my hell. My fiery blazing burning hell. And now Vawn was my savior again. Again. I take the back pack, and I go to change. Clothes over bandages. I wonder if he saw the walls. The bloody walls. The glass. The door shattered. And when I emerge, I still look so hollow. Like a shell. A shell. A cocoon without the butterfly. An oyster without the pearl. A heart without the beat. I come to stand beside Vawn again, and I'll follow him wherever he leads. Because I am his. You just can't see the leash.

Talia McNamara There are amazing things that one can do once one has the swing of things. I mean, absolutely amazing things when the anger becomes replaced with the cold steel of hatred. I couldn’t wait any longer… It had been nearly impossible to stop myself when I happened to catch a glimpse of Vawn out of the grocery store window… Instincts had taken over… I had replayed the conversation with Glaide in the back of my head. You see… I know what I have to do now. From the grocery store, I’ve followed Vawn, my movements easily masked by the natural business of D.C. My hair is back in a ponytail, my too-dark eyes shaded from view by the brim of a baseball cap. I’m not the Talia that Vawn once knew… I’m a different creature all together. Bolstered by love, and steeled by hatred, I’m the master of my own abilities now. I can juggle six butcher knives with my mind, while chopping veggies with my two hands. There are other things too… things I’ve trained for, and things that I’ve prepared for. I’m pretty damned confident that a disciple of Gabriel has no chance against one of Michael’s own in combat. I may not know my Name yet; I may never know my Name… but I know what I was. Hrm.. an asylum... Why am I not surprised that Vawn is going to an insanity ward? It’s what he comes out with that stokes the righteous fury inside my chest. That’s not Hailey. My flesh practically crackles beneath my skin, the prickles running down the right side of my body. No, I tell myself forcefully. Not yet. There are too many people around here for me to confront Vawn… so I remain silent, hidden… lurking like a shadow… Vawn’s so wrapped up in his new toy that he doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell to notice me. I have a lacrosse stick bag over one shoulder… inside that bag.. is Vawn’s own saber. I will wait and follow once more… until the crowds thin… or a prime and perfect chance arises…

Vawn Fione *He held his pet close to him, walking with her. His face turned to her head. He talked about mundane things. Like the fact that the hospital shampoo made her hair smell like the hospital. He sighs softly, the slits in the back of his coat flapping in the breeze. He didn't take her home. He was afraid that would set her off. Instead he lead her to the roof of a building, Somewhere they could sit and be calm. He stayed away from the edge. Though. choosing instead to sit on one of the odd plaster boxes that held in various bits of the buildings entrails. He gathered her into his lap, kissing her hair softly.* "Im sorry sweet one, I would have come sooner..."

Imogene Anan I don't say a word, really, I stay quiet as a tomb. I know, I know it all, without really knowing why, or how. I curl up in his arms. I feel like a child, safe with him. But it's fleeting, I know. It's always fleeting, everything in my life is. Everything. I lay my head on his chest. I curl my fingers into the fabric of my clothes. "I felt it." I finally break my silence. "Every little bit. Your wings. It hurt so." I close my eyes. I'm trembling as I glance up. "And then the pleasure after." But now the addiction's run its course, and I won't feel from him again, because I choose not to. He wants to keep me, and I want it to be more pure than what I tried to make it. "I had to feel your pain." I then trail off into silence. I trail off into the thoughts in my head.

Vawn Fione "What?!" *He stared at her, then his face crumbles. He hugs her closer to his chest.* "God, Imogene....im sorry....I didn't know. I never meant to hurt you. " *It was a gesture of loyalty...and now he'd harmed her in the process. Then it dawned on him* "Oh god.....that's why you had a break down isn't it?"

Imogene Anan I nod. Wordless. Breathless. Tears anew. How can there be more tears. I should have no more left. But I do. I turn a bit, I curl up more tightly in his arms. His embrace. And I sob. I break a little more. "I didn't understand. It was blinding. It was fiery. It was so...much." I reach to touch what was there, I wonder if they grew back, if that's what happens with them. "I found a feather. I was looking at it. Then there was pain. Nothing but pain. All over. So strong." I try to pull myself tighter to him. I have no idea there's anyone around. No clue. All there is ...is Vawn. And I am his.

Talia McNamara Vawn and his damned roofs. Could he be any more predictable? I knew where he was going before he even turned the strange, obviously simple woman in that direction. I knew what he was up to before he did… yes, that sort of knowledge comes with living with a person for as long as I did… and being what we are… I watch as he disappears into the building, and I wait, counting the steps to myself… listening for his footsteps to fade away. I want to give him enough time to get comfortable… to get complacent. I slip into the stairwell long after he has disappeared, and I slowly climb up the steps. As I move, I unzip the lacrosse bag and extract Vawn’s blade. It shimmers in the light of the stairwell, the edge gleaming with deadly, well-cared for love. In Vawn’s absence, I have doted upon the blade… shared everything with it, poured my hopes and dreams, and focused my anger upon it until the very weapon helped me overcome the blinding rage. This blade was my brother, where Vawn could not be bothered. I curl the fingers of my left hand around the blade, as I pause behind the roof access door. I focus myself then, gathering every reserve into my heart that I possibly can. Holding myself steady, knowing, that what I am doing now, is going to be the right thing. I want my ‘brother’ back. I want my friend back… no, it’s definitely not a want, anymore. I need him. And I realize that I’m the only one who can save Vawn now. No sooner are the Girl’s last words escaping from her lips than the roof’s door slams off its hinges, lifted by a wave of unseen force, and flung straight across the roof, past the two, and over the edge of the roof. It makes a reverberating crash as it impacts the building next door, shattering brick and mortar. I don’t say anything… I don’t need to say anything. The look on my face tells it all… and unlike Vawn did with Glaide, I won’t throw a sucker punch. It’s now or never. In two steps, I’m on the roof with them. My hat has already been discarded; my eyes gleaming with the fire beneath my skin as I wait for Vawn to respond to my wordless challenge.

Vawn Fione *He flinched, turning his shoulders slightly so Imogene couldn't feel what he had done. He didn't get time to reassure her though. He held her protectively, turning to look at the other.* "So its come to this has it..." *He sighs heavily. Then stands, helping Imogene to her feet before pushing her to the ground next to the air ducked* "Stay down, pet. " *He stepped away from her. hoping to keep Talia's attention away from the poor human.* "What do you want, Talia?"

Imogene Anan My eyes are wide, peeking out from behind the duct. My fingers curl against the metal, and I hold my breath. What is this? Why does she want to hurt Vawn too? Why does everyone want to hurt Vawn! I get angry. So angry. And it probably won't help. It'll probably put me in danger. It'll probably just make it all worse. But I don't listen. I dash out from behind the air conditioning duct and I try to move around Vawn. To stand between them. "Why does everyone want to hurt Vawn!?" That's my question to the angry girl. My heart is naive despite all the pain I've been through. I don't' know half as much as I think I do about this world. About anything. "Stay away. Or hurt me instead. Just ...don't hurt Vawn."

Talia McNamara Pet huh? Nice to see that he holds Hailey’s memory in such high regard. “Christ on a crutch, Vawn, I need a damned scorecard to keep track of all the people you fuck. I’m almost glad that Hailey’s AWOL.” Malice is… not an attractive sound. It colors my words black and blue. Behind me, my Soul Wings spread, fanning out to their full transparent glory. It’s done consciously, to a point, to show Vawn that I have… accepted myself. I can see them, and I can feel them. I could care less if the woman at his side can see the spiritual manifestation of myself; she’s… nothing to me. Until she gets in the way. “You’re an innocent,” in more ways than one, dumb simpleton “Get out of the way. I’m not here for you… I’m here for the demon’s ass-puppet.” I hate to do this, but I lift a hand, wrapping the strength of my mind around Imogene’s little form, and I will gently, at least at first, begin to push her out of the way, back toward the duct. “Run now, girl. And you won’t have to see this.” Once Imogene begins to move out of the way, I split my attention. This is part of the multi-tasking that I had trained myself in… part and parcel with the whole, juggling butcher knives while making dinner, routine. I actually drop Vawn’s sword with a clatter, and kick it across the rooftop toward him. “I want to free you, even if you don’t want to be freed, asshole,” I growl as the weapon skitters and clatters toward him. “But I refuse to do it while you’re unarmed, and I won’t involve the girl, if she doesn’t involve herself.” My terms, laid out flat. I’m not joking. “I’m not you, Vawn. I won’t sucker punch you like you did to Glaide.” Dropping names now, Talia? I think it’s best if Vawn knows I ran into his former friend. I think it’s important even. And it’s not anger that radiates off me… it’s hatred… hatred for the thing that touches my best friend on a nightly basis, hatred for what Vawn has let himself become… hatred that I have let him become it. Hatred and anger are two very separate emotions. One burns slow and steady, while the other is a flash-fire, there and gone in seconds…

Vawn Fione "Imogene. I said get down!" *He ignores the blade, moving to get Imogene back under cover.* "Im not going to fight you...your learning more then I could ever teach you. So in the end I've done my job. But Im not fighting you." *The Name toke him off guard a little. He shakes his head.* "Glaide talks to much. There's a big difference between that and this. We were children then, and Glaide was blind. I however, and completely aware of what is going on."

Imogene Anan Invisible hands taking me to the side. Invisible things. Like wings. Vawn's wings were gone now. Gone. Who took them? I want to hurt who took them. Kill who took them. I'm not sure if it was this woman, or if it were this Demon she spoke of. Regardless, I want to fight, because I don't want this to end up with Vawn in pain. Vawn is everything. Vawn can't be hurt again. But maybe she'll stop if it hurts me too? So I reach out. With my head, or what's left of it, and I squint my eyes, I focus on Vawn's innermost self, and I weave an addiction. Not to me. To something simple. I know it won't be strong, because Vawn's too powerful for it to be. And it's something he cannot do now. It is flight I addict him to. A cruel addiction. But the only one that comes to mind. So fast in this moment. I look to the woman. "If you hurt him! You hurt me!" I scream it. My voice is so hoarse still. I am so sore. "We're linked. I feel what he feels." And I leave it at that.

Talia McNamara I move forward now, slowly advancing upon him. A side glance at the woman as she rants at me, serves the inkling of a worm inside my head. Imogene. The Last-Born. A smile that can only be defined as cruel begins to touch my lips. The Darkness envelops me, I can feel it choking me… I’m going to cause an innocent pain… because it will free Vawn. The means to an end, I rationalize to myself. Just the means to an end. I snarl at her then, “Good.” I let her know with that word that she chooses to involve herself, so the consequences will be hers to deal with. She is released from those invisible hands. “You are still blind, Vawn. Blind to the fact that there are people who need you. No demon, who is using you as a nice, toasty sheathe for his cock. How does it feel to be a butt-puppet? To know that you’re on your way to a nice warm bed next to Morningstar?” I’m instigating him, pushing him. Though, the veiled threat to the woman on the ground should have been more than enough to push him over the edge… Fire crackles down the length of my arm, coalescing into the brilliantly burning sword that is my own weapon of choice. I marks me as one of Michael’s disciples, the perfection of the martial weapon, and my simple action of manifesting it, brings the flood of knowledge back into me. The familiarity of a battle.. one foot slides before the other, my shoulders angling, the weapon raising. If Vawn’s job was to teach me how to rescue another Punished from Falling, then he has indeed done a good job. But he’s taught me nothing about being human… about what I am supposed to be fighting for… he needs to realize this, just as he needs to realize that he needs help. “Pick up your damned sword, Vawn.” The fire of my blade begins to tighten, shaping itself into a blazing saber the same size, and shape as Vawn’s own. “Fight me. If you win, you say with the demon; you suck his cock, kiss his ass, toady to him however you like, and I’ll leave you alone…”

Vawn Fione *He felt it take hold, felt it sink into him. Damn it.* "Imogene! You will stop now! This is me. I am Pain. I am suffering, and I am penance!" *his voice was commanding, the voice that Talia would never listen too. The truth was, he didn't want Talia to know....what he'd done, to himself. He clenches his teeth, then moves, dipping down to grab the sword and continues toward her. Pain is both a pleasing and a warning, pain tells us we are alive, and warns us we are in danger. The words once again echoed in his ears, aching against his skull*

Imogene Anan And at the most inappropriate time. Like a child. A child. I repeat it. Tauntingly. Why? I don't know. Maybe it was his anger at my trying to protect him. I am a dancer, it is in every movement of my body. In the way my arms move. I was made to dance. And so I did. As I repeated it. Sing songy. Taunting Vawn. I'm on his side, and then I'm not. "Demon butt-puppet." Over and over. A song that sends me into twirls and spins. One that makes me perform t his dance. This beautiful dance to such vulgar lyrics. I am a child. In my head. Always a child.

Talia McNamara “Can’t control your new pet?” There’s a sneer in that word, and yet, I still bring my sword up, holding it before me, in a salute. I’m saluting my teacher, my brother, my friend. If I have to kill him to free him, then so be it. His angelic half would hopefully have not Fallen too far… perhaps he would simply… stay a Punished, in a different mortal shell. As he scoops up his blade, I set myself at the ready. And… something about me changes.. The Soul Wings lower, draping around me like a cloak, fluttering a transparent gray against the black sky to Vawn’s eyes. The fire rages behind my eyes, scintillating with the temptation of the upcoming battle. When I speak next, my voice is different even… more confident, vibrating with a calm assurance that wasn’t in place a few moments ago… “Paying your penance with a demon riding your ass? Isn’t that what got you Punished in the first place?” Just as quickly as the comment passes my lips… I am back again… the fires only smoldering behind my nearly-black eyes. I don’t bother with any more talk… now is the time for action. My sneakers slap the concrete roof as I close the distance between myself, and the man I have come to think of as my brother. My blade raises, morphing as I reach up with a second hand to grasp the manifested hilt, the saber becomes a two-handed claymore, set and ready to cleave Vawn in twain.

Vawn Fione *Imogene was broken. He knew this, but it didn't make her any less innocent. He had to protect her, had to keep Talia from ruining her own life, and the mortal. He knew he wasn't strong enough for this. He knew this was it. we make the decisions. weather to kneel. Or to stand when judgment comes. He did no claw fire around his blade. Instead he simply brings it up, to block her blow.*

Imogene Anan I quiet some at the clattering of swords. I stand still behind Vawn and I watch this happening. It's surreal. It isn't real. It's fiction. I must believe it. People don't really use swords, do they? I move back to the air conditioning duct, and I start to fiddle with it, trying to break a part free, a bar, it's already loose, already ready to come off. With a couple of jerks it comes off, and I run my hand over it, before I stand again and rush up toward Talia and Vawn. Probably stupidity. But I swing the metal bar at Talia's back. I have to help Vawn. Have to.

Talia McNamara If I had stopped when Vawn knocked my blade aside, then Imogene’s rebar support would have caught me… but as it is… I never stop moving, momentum is something precious that must not be wasted in a fight, so… When Vawn knocks my blade to one side, I spin… the instincts are taking over. The spin carries me around to my left, while the fire sword begins to diminish.. honestly, I swing the shortened blade up around behind me, hoping to score a blow off of Vawn’s Hidden wings, hoping to draw first blood. For all intents and purposes, Imogene gets ignored. I don’t have time to play kids games. I’m here for Vawn. My swipe completed, I skid myself to a stop and spin again to face my friend. Vawn had run Glaide through, from the story that had been shared with me. I need to hit him where it hurts… I need to shock him.. and I can’t let the anger get a hold of me.

Vawn Fione *His eyes went wide as he saw Imogene move around behind Talia. Gods no. He was more worried about protecting Imogene then blocking Talia's blade. Talia's blade passes though where Vawn's wings should have been, without the wings to stop the blade, it bites into his back, scorching is clothes. Blood runs down its length but Vawn keeps moving. Pushing Imogene back, his eyes pleading with her to stay out of the way.*

Imogene Anan But I don't want to move back. This is my fight too, and on some level, maybe, I want her to strike me. I want her to hurt me instead. That is until I feel the pain that radiates from Vawn's back. It knocks me to my knee, and I let out a bit of a cry. "No! Hurt me! Me instead! Hurt me! I give myself, I sacrifice myself. Kill me instead." I try to interfere, I try to push myself into the fight, into harms way. I want this...to end. Whether it's my life of the fight, I'm not all too sure.

Talia McNamara Where Vawn’s wings… should…. The blood crackles in the flame, filling the air around me with acrid metallic smoke. I know that smell… It fills my nights and haunts my days… its death, the sweet sticky scent of blood… I can feel it push against my ribs, as the scent fights it way down inside me. Perhaps… perhaps this is why I was Punished… the bloodlust that rises in my chest and constricts my air.. But I’m looking at Vawn’s back… and I realize… in a slow, dawning moment, that it’s not wait I had expected to see… I had expected to break the Hide spell on his wings.. I expected to see feathers cut loose, drifting on the wind…instead… I see sliced flesh.. No wings.. just… flesh. “Your wings…” It’s a soft barely audible whisper. I want to scream and rant, I want to demand all sorts of things.. the name of the demon, where I can find him… I’m filled with a sudden rage, that flickers the red flame of my sword momentarily blue… Rage-fueled tears suddenly spill hot down my cheeks, blurring my vision until something sharp, and sudden takes me by surprise. The girl… crying out… I had forgotten about her. Imogene receives a telekinetic backhand for her outcry. My left hand lashes out at the air, the motion that carries the action into fruition. Imogene should feel like I had been standing next to her, and slapped her across the face, open-handed and sharp. “Shut the fuck up!” I fall silent for a breath… dragging my left arm across my face. In that span of a breath, I make my choice… and I lunge forward. Vawn and I are both faster… and stronger, than the average human. I use all that speed, all that strength to my advantage. One shoulder is lowered, the fire of my weapon fighting to be either blue… or red… By the time I have closed with Vawn, the red has won out.. just barely. And I aim the driving blow at the area just under his ribcage… that spot that Glaide had indicated on himself…

Vawn Fione *The spell on his wings...well..what was left of his wings, flicks and fails, exposing... stubs really, wrapped in bandages, and oozing blood slowly. He watches, only for a moment, then spins to face Talia, to protect Imogene....But he wasn't fast enough.* "Stop." His blade clatters to the cement from numb fingers. He swore time slowed down as the fiery blade slide though him like butter. He felt it come out though his back. His knees weakened, then locked and he slide forward along the blade until he could wrap his arms around Talia. Tears slide slowly down his cheeks, sorrow for all things. When he spoke, his voice was soft. Like it had been. All those months ago.* "Stop....Talia... you can stop now..." *He kisses her forehead, then begin to fall. his hands pressed around the wound. *

Imogene Anan The mix of the two. The back hand. And then the sheer pain. It's ..it's worse than the wings. Because the addiction is ...more fresh. More real. If he doesn't scream, I scream for him. It sounds like a death cry. And I tumble to the roof top. And I lay there motionless. Breathing, yes. Alive, maybe I was never really alive. But unconscious, oh yes.

Talia McNamara Everything does seem to slow down… the world feels like it stops as Vawn turns directly into the path of my blade. At the last moment, regret fills my eyes… sorrow, apology… I want to save him.. not kill him… “NO!” It’s a cry of protest, of pain… shared agony really… as his arms come up around me, my whole body is consumed with an emotional agony that forces it way past every defense that I’ve fought to construct. Those tears that had begun moments ago, flow out in a torrent as a sob wracks my frame. It breaks up through my very soul. The fire blinks out of existence in that same agonizing moment… but there is a good thing about being skewered with a fiery weapon… the wound cauterizes itself… Vawn won’t bleed to death. He whispers to me softly… in that voice… I catch him as he starts to fall, but my mind doesn’t process fast enough to stop Imogene from falling harshly to the concrete. A stab of grief rips fresh sobs through me, as I fight to lower myself, and Vawn to the floor. “No.. no.. you can’t… I didn’t mean it like this…” I lay him back, I press my hands over his. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” I can’t stop until he’s safe… until I know this has broken the thrall… My Soul Wings arch up around us, enclosing the two of us in a veil of translucence. Please God, please, let this have worked… free him.. please, I’m begging You. I’m silently praying.. yes… praying. I’m hoping.. I’m fighting, even in this foreign venue. I existed in Heaven to bring down the Adversary at the End of Times… things of that I have gleaned… healing, and helping.. “Vawn… please… stay with me… I don’t want you to Fall.. please, Vawn… heal yourself.. use me… do something..” The words are breaking out through the sobs… my entire body shaking with the effort of talking through my hysterics. “Please?”

Vawn Fione *he was limp in her arms, his eyes fighting to stay open, fighting to see her. Vawn..... he knew that voice, heard it, over and over again. the sweetest voice in heaven.  Seifel. You have to want this. I have given you pain, but you have to make the choice Vawn. You have to want this more then you want the pain to go away.. He choked, coughing, tasting blood on the back of his tongue. Small rivulets of blood ran from his ears. * "I..." *he curled in on himself, held there by his student.* "I want this. Don't let me fall father....." *Then stand, stand and await judgment. He opened his eyes, staring up at her. Teach her to heal, Sefiel. He smiles though his pain and moves his hand so that it lays over hers. pressing her palm into the wound. The warm glow of his healing touch spreads over his skin and crawls up her arm.* "Help me. Talia...."

Talia McNamara I’m rocking Vawn… his back rests against my knees, the stumps of his wings pushing against my thighs. I am… unpleasantly aware of them, sticky and lumpy… one of my hands smoothes through Vawn’s hair, raking my fingers lightly through. “I won’t let you fall…” I cry, into his hair, letting my tears fall to wet the locks there. “I promise.. I won’t ever let you Fall..” I’m here to catch him now… but I am terrified… completely terrified that I am too late. And suddenly.. Vawn is smiling at me. That’s the instant I know. I know that somehow.. I succeeded. I made it. That Vawn is safe now… I could maul him with hugs… but first… he’s beaten.. he’s down.. and he needs to be patched up. When Vawn’s hand presses down on mine, I gasp softly at the sensation. My teacher has healed me before. It’s the warm blanket of mercy’s power.. of Gabriel’s power that flows up my arm. I can do this… I can help Vawn. Because I am strong enough to protect him, and I am strong enough to save him. A smile slowly crinkles through the tear-stained soot in my eyes. I press down a little tighter, covering as much of the wide wound with my small hand as I can. And I let myself feel what I had been fighting. I love Vawn. I really do. Love comes in so many flavors… so many colors. I love Vawn as a sister loves her brother. But it is love indeed. My power meets Vawn’s… and feeds into it, tinting the warm white glow with a pale rose. And together… we heal him…

Vawn Fione *He closes his eyes, and then suddenly he tenses, arching in pain. But then he relaxes, sinking back against her. He let himself go, floating in that well of warmth. She toke away his pain, but not in the same way Alex did....when he toke away Vawn's pain...it came back as soon as he left.....but this.....this was different.*

Talia McNamara My face contorts as he writhes in pain.. no matter how momentary… and suddenly.. I realize that Vawn is no longer really… helping me heal him. I feel like I have taken over the action… a soft, unspoken prayer lingering behind my lips that I don’t mess this up… Have I… found my faith again? Or have I simply found my anchor? I hold onto the strains of power, feeding the process.. healing Vawn. A cold sweat breaks out along my back, and shoulders… my breath begins to come in short, shallow pants. Now I know why Vawn never took healing lightly… I don’t know how much is too much… so I hold onto it until I feel the hole in his solar plexus close up into a puckered scar. I shift slightly… lifting my palm to see… And my vision swims… the glow fades… vanishing.. from my hand and arm. I smooth Vawn’s hair… assure myself that he’s still breathing, and then I lurch to my feet… more than a dozen steps away, lays Imogene. I want to apologize for hitting her… for hurting her.. I could have sworn she was bluffing about the link between them. My gut wrenches once… A crack of thunder explodes through the cloudless sky above us. A shaft of lightning forks down from the Heavens. I scream… more out of fear, and shock, than actual pain. Because strangely… this doesn’t hurt… I smell.. singed flesh, burnt hair.. and I can only hope that it’s my own. With a stumble and fall, I land hard on my face, right on the concrete.. Well done, little one… The voice resounds around me, and inside me… warm, generous laughter… I want to mewl his name before my vision clouds over… but the darkness claims me before I can speak Michael’s name… Feathers drift down around me… scarlet and gray against the whitewashed concrete…

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