Dragon Wing and Demon Claw
(By "I have da amazin ability ta turn almost any idle idea inta a actual fic" Zar)
(Warning: I am not responsible fer any mental damage caused by reading this fic.)
Where...?
He was always around this area...
He shifted his spear in his claws, holding it tightly so the wind could not wrest it from his grasp. His bright blue eyes scanned the ground as it moved underneath him. He was looking for a telltale splotch of black, a sign that he had found what he was looking for. He knew the exact shade of black as well, although that had not been required of him...
They had sent him to take care of the problem, to take care of the threat they knew nothing of, because he was strong, because he didn't volunteer, and because he appeared to also be the most emotionally repressed regarding what had happened.
Of course he cared. Just for the wrong party. Not that he would ever say that. But he supposed that they thought that would make it easier for them, to think that he didn't care...
But secretly, he believed they were just as stupid as those they were fighting against. But he really had no choice of what to do.
They told him to do it, so that's what he would do...if he could...
Which he knew he couldn't...
A flash of movement caught his attention and he stopped, large, webbed, green and metallic blue marbled wings beating the air behind him smoothly to keep him aloft. Had he seen...?
It must have been him...no one was that shade of ebony except him...
It moved again. He tightened his grip on his spear, his claws scratching across the green and blue scales that covered his hands up to the elbow.
That had to be him...that had to be.
He took a deep breath and angled himself downwards, folding his wings towards his body to increase the rate of his descent. The ground spiraled towards him, and it took his breath away, but this was what he lived for, the freefall. He loved to fly, but he loved the exhiliaration that came with it, which sometimes came at the threat of death. He watched the world move around him as he came closer to the ground.
The black splotch clarified as he came closer, and he knew it was him. He knew now.
He expanded his wings outwards, causing him to stop just before hitting the ground, his shoulders tingling with the effort it had taken to keep his wings extended against so much pressure.
Alighting on his talons, he kneeled, holding his spear out in front of him defensively, just in case...his tail lashed about behind him angrily, blue and green scales shining in the fading light. He shook his head once, to clear the blond strands that fell over his goggles to obscure his vision at an inopportune time.
The black creature in front of him was curled into a ball, only the tips of it's bloodstained wings protruding, and the long black hair falling in thick waves. It was hard to discern with the rapidly fading light, but he knew the shade too well now.
At the rush of wind of his arrival, the curled figure slowly turned, and the scarlet eyes met again with sky blue.
The look on the demon's face was painful and sad and lost, his face streaked with tears, his mouth stained with dried blood, the tips of fangs protruding slightly, the hands dark black, extending from the elbow, ending with claws that matched his own save for color, and a thick tail that extended from his back, the same length as his own, only without spikes. The demon's left arm up to the elbow was made of gleaming gold metal, which made him so easy to find, even among his own kind. Dressed in black rags, the demon stared at him, the only other color the red bandanna that kept his hair away from his face. He stared at him, asking him what he was trying to do without using words.
They stared at eachother.
He folded his wings behind his back, thudding his spear into the ground. He walked towards the demon, finding his quarry standing awkwardly and walking towards him, as if he had not walked in a long time. Knowing him, he most likely had not. He had probably been hiding in this area ever since what had happened...because it hadn't been safe for him before, but now the world was an even more terrifying place for his kind...
"#$^# Vin..." The dragon could not help but mumble the words that escaped his mouth as the taller demon enclosed his arms around him, seeking and giving comfort in one gesture that was returned with the same deliberation. "What are we supposed to do now...?"
He could feel the scales on his tail coming in contact with the flesh of the demons. Their tails entertwined slowly, seeking comfort that was so hard to find in this world. The claws held onto his back, and he could feel the demons muscles underneath his thin pale skin underneath his own hands. He closed his blue eyes, trying to forget what he had been told to do. Ordered to do.
The demon's voice was so soft, like a whisper on the wind, a slight trace of smoke on a moonlight night, a lone feather being carried off in the wind...he shivered because he wasn't sure whether or not he would ever hear it again, and the thought was always enough to frighten him.
"I'm not sure, Highwind, but...I can't do it alone..."
There was a rush of wind around them as the moon began to rise, the sun finally disappearing and the land around them settling into night, and the two expanded their wings, meeting the tips and covering eachother from the chill breeze. They held onto eachother, a meeting that was forebidden by almost every law that they knew. The fact that they were touching was enough to merit death...
To need eachother this much meant much, much worse...
"Highwind, I'm scared."
They both were shaking.
"#$#%, me too, Vin..."
~~~
The dragon race and the demon race had been enemies for a long time. This wasn't unusual. A lot of races were enemies with the demon race, blaming them for the problems in the world that were in fact cause by their own selfish behavior, but the clearly evil appearance of the demon was enough to permanently condemn them as the world's scapegoat. Their race became few and weak, and those that survived remained hidden, trying to keep a low profile lest they be destroyed to help "further the advancement of the world" in general. The demons were not as evil or as bloodthirsty as everyone supposed...in fact, due to the race's almost total genocide, the demons had become somewhat meek and shy, desiring privacy and quiet more then anything else, although legends about their cruelty and desire for blood circulated without stop.
The dragons were an immensely proud race and the existence of demons seemed to them to be proof that they had accomplished nothing in ridding the world of evil. The dragons were very particular about details, about perfection, about purity, and the fact that at points a demon would surface was enough to send the dragons into a frenzy, sending out their fastest and strongest warriors to hunt down the rogue demons that had been foolish enough to reveal their existence.
Cid Highwind was one of those soldiers.
He didn't seem to quite fit in with dragon society. Although his blood was pure, his actions were not. His addiction to nicotine, his foul language, and his overwhelming love of sky were deemed peculiar by his friends and disrespectful to his elders. Cid did not have any respect for anyone and wasn't about to let some old lizards try and push it into him.
Cid's coloration, a metallic blue-green that marbled over the webbing between his wings, the scales on his feet, hands, and tail, was an extremely rare anomaly. Metallic colors were common, but they had never been mixed in this way before. Cid was known for that and also his outrageous behavior. And his prowess in battle.
So Cid was sent out in one of these rages to find a demon and slay it, wherever or whatever it was. He was also instructed not to come back until he had proof, which Cid basically took as a polite way of saying "#^$# off". He didn't care, as the dragon society had never appealed to him, so he spent his time leisurely, coasting along air currents and occasionally stopping to look around.
It was an accident that brought him into contact with his first and only demon.
He had been flying for a long time and he felt tired and, once he landed, sweaty from flying so close to the sun. Cid loved the sun, it's warmth and the color it lended the sky. He had found a lake and had decided to have some fun in it, although most dragons were naturally wary of water because it extinguished their inner flame if it was ingested. Cid wasn't stupid and therefore did not get water in his mouth, so he enjoyed his short sojourn in the lake.
When he came out, however, water running down his scales and skin, he noticed a pair of eyes watching him from the bushes, as red as the legends had warned him.
He seized his spear quickly and backed away, getting into an attacking crouch and expanding his wings, trying to appear larger then he was. He was aware that he was small for his species.
The creature that walked out from the bush walked on all fours, thin limbs that ended with the same claws as his own walking with quiet precision. He was only clad in a pair of very loose black pants, from the back of which protruded the thick, black tail. The wings were folded quietly against his back. The red eyes never left his as the demon sat next to where he had put his clothes.
There was a very awkward silence as the two stared at eachother, Cid not sure what to think and the demon just regarding him emotionlessly.
Finally the demon moved, standing on his hindlegs and picking up Cid's shirt. Walking with the same grace that he had on four legs, he walked over to where Cid remained crouched, holding out the shirt in what Cid recognized as a variant on a gesture of friendship among his kind.
"I think you want this, correct?"
Cid blinked and lowered his spear, confused.
"Yeah, I guess."
He straightened and felt a typical flash of anger when he noted that the demon was taller then he was. It figured, everyone was. He could feel the heat in his chest as he automatically began to generate flame, a typical reaction to anger among his kind, but he forced himself to keep it down.
He took the shirt from the demon's claws, expecting to find some stain or something where he had touched it, but the shirt was just as it had been left. The demon put his hands behind his back and watched as Cid awkwardly pulled the shirt over his wings and body, realizing how he must appear. Trying to hide the fact he was blushing, he turned to ask the demon to retrieve his pants...
Only to find that the demon already had them and was holding them out.
After Cid was fully dressed, he stared at the demon awkwardly, not sure of what to make of the silent, stoic expression on it's blank, pale face.
"Well, what?" He couldn't take the silence. The demon cocked his head slightly to one side, as if regarding what he had said.
"Well indeed. Are you going to attack me?"
Cid felt really awkward now. The demon had made no threatening movements toward him, and at the moment he felt no malice towards him. Unlike the majority of his species which harbored an intense dislike of demons just from stories and legends, Cid was cynical enough to decide that he would make up his mind when he actually found a demon. Here was a demon, and it hadn't attacked him so far...
Wait, why was a demon asking if he would attack IT?
"Um...#^$#, why? You haven't done nothin' to me yet." He took a cigarette from the goggles that he had refused to remove even when bathing and lit it with a focused breath. He inhaled deeply and tried to keep himself calm. "What about you? Goin' to attack me yet?"
The demon shook his head slowly back and forth. "I have no real reason to. You haven't really threatened me with harm yet, other then your battle stance, and I think that was because I startled you..."
Despite the demon's emotionless voice and face, his tale was moving back and forth very sharply. He was nervous, Cid knew that movement well...
"Well, what's your name?" Cid asked, breathing out a cloud of smoke. The demon stared at the smoke with strange eyes.
"Vincent. Vincent Valentine. And you are?" The demon held out a claw towards him almost in mockery of the elder dragons that Cid knew. Cid shrugged.
"Cid Highwind." Cid decided to go for it. He grasped Vincent's claw in his own and shook it, noting the shocked expression that came over the demon's face. "Nice to meet you, Vin."
"Vin...?" Vincent thought for a moment, then a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Vin..."
He brushed a strand of black hair out of his face, tucking it behind one of his ears. Directly above his ears Cid could see small horns, curling upwards, the same shade as his hair. Unconsciously, Cid brushed his own hair away from his ears, where the small greenish-blue horns that swept towards the back of his head. Technically his horns should be longer and more elaborate, but again, he was strange for his species.
He had heard that demons horns were longer though as well. Maybe Vincent was different too...
"I think I like that..." Vincent's voice was so soft and quiet, it was nothing like Cid had expected. Despite all his efforts not to hold any preconceptions, some still snuck into his mind. He tried to force them away. "Vin..."
"$%&#, if you don't mind me askin'..." Cid wasn't one to try and be subtle. "Don't demons have longer horns...?"
Vincent stared at him for a moment, then returned his hands back to his head, running his fingers across the small horns that were hidden against his black hair. He gave another ghost of a smile, then responded with quiet amusement that matched his voice perfectly.
"Don't dragons have longer horns as well...?"
Cid scratched his head absently, noting his claws sliding across the small horns above his ears. "Yeah, good point. $#@%."
Vincent scratched his chest absently with his claws, staring at Cid in silence. Cid noted the sharp contrast. While Cid's arms and feet were covered with scales, the black areas on the demons arm and legs were smooth and unbroken. Cid self-consciously put one hand over the other, running his hands across his scales nervously. Luckily the scales on one hand prevented him from getting cut. When rubbed the wrong way, dragon scales could slash up ones hand quite easily.
Where had this nervousness come from? He had never been nervous before, not around any of his own species. Why did he feel so awkward? He could sense his tailtip twitching back and forth shortly and quickly. He wished he could stop that movement, but the tail was something that could betray emotions very easily, even when your face was expressionless.
Vincent scratched his chest lightly with his claws, leaving slight white marks across his chest from the pressure. Vincent was pale, almost white, and the sharp black of his hand was hard to comprehend.
Cid took a nervous drag from his cigarette and turned away, not sure of where to look. He looked back at the lake, which was shining with the light of the fading sun.
#$^#, where had the time gone?
"Night is approaching." Vincent's voice simply stated the obvious, soft and quiet. Cid looked back at him and found the scarlet eyes kept searching his own, as if asking something.
"Well, um...#$^#. Um...I don't have anywhere to go..." Cid rubbed the back of his head, his claws shifting his hair around the band of his goggles. Why was he acting this childish...?
I don't want him to leave until I know everything...
"Do you want me to stay?" Vincent's soft voice. Cid coughed sharply, unintentionally releasing a small fireball that dissiapiated into the air. Cid cursed himself mentally. Releasing fire unintentionally was a symbol among his kind of the lack of control. He waved away the smoke.
"Sorry 'bout that..."
He turned to Vincent to find he had taken a few steps back, staring at where the smoke had been in alarm. When Cid's eyes found his again, there was a touch of fear in red.
Vincent shook his head slowly, as if trying to bring himself back to reality.
"I'm...I'm sorry..." There was emotion in his voice that had not been present before. "I...I kind of...I must have forgotten you were...a dragon." Vincent closed his eyes and turned away, his tail curling around his legs, a common sign of shame and embarrasment among all tailed races. "I'm sorry, Highwind..."
Cid walked towards Vincent, noting the falling of the sun with little concern. The setting of the sun brought a sharp blast of wind across the planet, a cold, powerful wind for only a few moments, then night was total. A equally powerful hot wind brought the dawn. The wind shouldn't be a problem. Vincent was his concern at the moment.
"Vin, what?" Cid was confused. "Wait, what's wrong...?"
Vincent's scarlet eyes looked at him for a moment over his shoulder, but he didn't turn to face him. "Highwind...this is very wrong, for both of us. We shouldn't even be speaking. This is not good..."
The black demonic wings that protruded from Vincent's now visible back melded in so smoothly with his skin, but Cid noticed that there were some dark lines crossing around their base, scars and such that lined his bare back.
Cid then realized that Vincent had turned his back to him, and apparently didn't think he would be hurt.
He trusts me...
He could see from where he was that Vincent had crossed his arms across his chest, holding his elbows in worry. He walked forward, hearing the grass rustling as the sun was finishing it's descent from the sky.
"Vin, c'mon."
"No, no, I shouldn't be talking to you at all, I should have...I should have listened to what they had told me..."
Cid circled Vincent until he was standing in front of him again, expanding his wings and holding his tail upright in a show of confidence. He gently took hold of Vincent's arms, being careful not to pull his hands the wrong way, fearing cutting his arms with his scales unless he was careful. The taller demon stared down at him confused and frightened.
"Listen, Vin. Why didn't you run away? Why did you even stay to talk to me?"
Vincent paused for a moment, and Cid saw uncertainty appear on his pale features. His response was soft and frightened.
"I...you weren't like them..."
The sun set, and the blast of wind swept across the area quickly, sweeping away everything that was not securely tied down.
The wind buffeted the two, and Cid found his natural ingrained reaction come into play. He moved in front of Vincent, pushing him downwards toward the ground and wrapping his wings around the both of them. The wind pushed against him sharply, but could not penetrate his scaled wings.
When Cid opened his eyes after the wind had stopped, Vincent was hanging onto him tightly, his own eyes closed. Cid withdrew his wings, the world outside now almost completly black except for the dim light of the moon.
"Vin, the wind's died down." Cid wasn't exactly sure what to say. He gently touched Vincent's shoulders to bring him back to the world, but Vincent refused to let go, his eyes still shut tightly and his claws still clasped across Cid's back. "Vin? Vin, you okay?"
Vincent was shaking, but he wasn't sure why. He kept his claws on his shoulders waiting for a response.
"You know...you're the first person...ever...to show any kindness to me like that..."
"Kindness?" Cid was confused as Vincent continued holding on. "What'd I do...?"
Vincent finally opened his eyes, which were now soft and lonely compared to their previous cold appearance. He stared at Cid in a way that he had never seen before. "You sheltered me from the wind..."
Cid shrugged, trying to keep an air of nonchalance, but it was difficult considering his position. "#$^#, anyone would've done that, it's nothin' special..."
Vincent stared him directly in the eyes, his face trying to stay serious, but the pain it took for his next statement was obvious.
"Highwind...I am a demon."
Vincent closed his eyes, as if expecting some kind of punishment.
Cid moved his claws away from Vincent's arms and instead interlocked them around his chest, holding him close. He could feel the confusion enamanating from the demon at the gesture. His own voice was soft in response.
"$#%# Vin, do you really think I care?"
"We're enemies..." It was almost impossible to hear him, but Cid was listening.
"No, dragons and demons are enemies-"
"And what are we?" Vincent pulled away sharply, curling into a small ball and wrapping his wings around himself. Cid sat back, taking a deep breath from his cigarette and looking at the now black sky.
"I'm Cid. You're Vin. Simple as that."
Vincent shook his head slowly. "They never told me it would be like this to talk to one of your kind..."
Cid laughed slightly. "That makes two of us. Hey...if you don't mind me askin'..." Cid took another deep breath to try and calm himself. The last few moments had been emotionally stressful, but he wasn't about to show it. "What happened to your arm...?"
Vincent managed to curl up so far that all he was was black, his wings hiding all of his flesh, including the metallic arm. His voice seemed to come from far away.
"I'm not supposed to be like this..."
"Really?" Cid blinked in surprise, leaning in closer. Vincent uncurled slightly and stared at him with sad eyes.
"No...I wasn't a demon...I became one."
Cid scratched his head slightly. "I didn't know that happened."
Vincent pushed his black claw into his hair, as if he had a headache. "I...I don't really...remember most of what happened...just...that I'm a demon now because of it..."
"#$^#, that's not fair at all." Cid shrugged unhappily. "They have a reason?"
Vincent dragged his metallic claw against the ground. "I've done...some bad things in my time...I guess...that's why, really."
Cid made a derisive sound at that and turned sideways. "No one deserves that, Vin. Really."
"I did...or else they wouldn't have done this..." Vincent apparently found something comforting or nonthreatening about Cid's presence and was removing himself from the ball. His wings moved away from his body and folded back against his back, and he let his feet move forward, his tail unwrapping from around his body.
Cid made another noise. "#%#@, 'course they would've, some people are just plain $%^#$s."
"Aren't you frightened of me...?" Vincent asked, looking at Cid sidelong from where he was sitting. Cid started slightly but hid it well.
"Scared? Why the #$^# should I be? I mean..."
"Highwind...I AM a demon...and...if I ever...if someone ever got me angry...I would lose control completely...and..." Vincent's pauses were accompanied with deep breaths inward, trying to keep his composure while he was talking.
"#^#%, Dragons do that too, Vin. Make a dragon mad and poof, whole town is completely toasted to #$^#. Everyone loses control when they're angry, Vin, it's no big deal."
"I don't know..." Vincent turned slightly so he could see him clearly. "You don't react...you're not like anyone I've ever talked to before. Most people want me dead on sight..."
Cid rolled his eyes. "#$^#, a lot of people want dragons dead on sight too. Blindness, that's all it really is if you ask me."
Vincent came closer and sat next to Cid, so that their shoulders were touching and Cid could feel the webbing of Vincent's wings rubbing against his own.
"They're going to kill us for this, you know that..." Vincent sighed deeply. Cid could sense the motion from where he was sitting and shrugged.
"#$^#, they would've killed me for lettin' you touch my clothes. I was dead the minute you talked to me. Why stop now?" Cid laughed for a short time. "They hated me anyway, this would be the perfect excuse for them to get rid of me..."
"I'm sorry..."
Cid was silent for a moment, staring upwards. "#%^#...I guess I kind of wanted to die...considerin' how pointless my life really is..."
Vincent was silent for almost the exact same amount of time. "Highwind...I felt the same way...my life really...has no purpose but to be ended by someone..."
"No way, Vin." Cid shook his head. "No way, you got to have someone in your life, right...?"
Vincent was silent for a long time. Cid felt Vincent's tail brush against his own.
"No...I don't have anyone anymore..."
Cid didn't think it would be wise to ask any more questions. "Well..."
Vincent remained silent, his tail still moving behind him. He was nervous or awkward or just upset, Cid could tell by the movements. He also knew because his tail was moving in almost the same way.
"I don't know, I'm glad I met you anyways, Vin."
Vincent stared at him in surprise, his voice holding a slight tinge of humor to it. "You're glad you met a demon?"
Cid turned and smirked at him. "What, is there something wrong with that?"
Vincent looked upwards. "I don't know, I guess having the opinion of the entire world against you kind of would make it wrong..."
"Yeah, and you know what?" Cid smiled to himself evilly, his fangs showing in the dim light. "You're too god#$^# serious!"
With that, Cid turned and grabbed Vincent, pushing him to the ground and sitting on his back, running his claws lightly across his sides. "And not only that, I bet you're $%&#in' ticklish!"
"No!" Vincent gasped and tried to wriggle away, laughing helplessly. "Stop it! Agh!"
Cid's laughter soon joined along with Vincent's as he continued tickling him until Vincent used his tail to knock him away. Cid was back on his feet in seconds, watching as Vincent reared upwards, his wings expanding behind him, blending in perfectly with the night sky.
"You're going to pay for that, Highwind!"
"Got to catch me first, #$^#er!" Cid laughed and lept into the air, a flash of green and blue against the sky.
With a silent fluttering of wings, the two took to the sky, darting back and forth among trees and clouds, playing a game of tag that was common only among children of their races. Laughing and playing in the sky, the two spent most of the night trying to catch one another.
The game finally ended when Vincent had managed to conceal himself in a cloud and pounce on Cid from behind. Latching onto him from behind, Vincent flapped his wings and forced the dragon downwards, laughing the entire time.
"C'mon, Highwind, break out of this one!"
"God$%# you, you're too tall!" Cid struggled against Vincent's grip, but couldn't escape him without the proper leverage. "And you're goin' to ram the ground!"
"Oh am I?" Vincent's voice had the touch of amusement it had before as he changed course abruptly to the lake.
"$^$#!"
The two landed in the lake with a large explosion of water, splashing everything in a twenty foot radius. Underneath the water, Vincent let go of Cid and swam easily to the surface, using his tail for speed. Surfacing easily, he brushed waterlogged hair out of his eyes and looked around for the dragon.
Cid surfaced a short time later, gasping and panting heavily. He was glaring at the demon, who was now laughing softly.
"Sorry, I guess I should have warned you."
"Warned me my #$^!" Cid lifted his wings free of the water causing another rain of shimmering droplets to fly in the air as he lept at Vincent, dragging him down in the water. "Don't you know dragons are vulnerable to water?"
Vincent laughed along with Cid as he wrestled against him in the water. "Yeah, you weren't too weak to it when you were bathing in it, were you?"
"Just for that, you're in for real trouble now, Vin!"
The two sent water cascading everywhere as the two playfully pushed eachother underwater or splashed eachother, laughing brightly and caring for nothing but the amusement the moment gave them.
Finally, the two pulled out of the water in exhaustion. After shaking off as much water as possible, the two sat together under a nearby tree. Vincent was wringing out his hair, trying to rid himself of the water that it had been weighted down with, while Cid was letting the liquid run out of his goggles.
"$%&$ Vin, once you let go you're actually pretty fun, you know that?"
"Let go?" Vincent squeezed and watched water run down his hands. He brushed the strand of hair back behind his ear, his horns more visible now that his hair was shining brightly and was closer to his head due to the moisture.
Cid put his goggles back on, sweeping his hand across his hair before hand to try and rid it of water as well. His small horns gleamed in the light. "Yeah, you know, stop being so god#$^# uptight about everythin'."
"I'm not uptight." Vincent pushed his hair back and stared at Cid quizzically.
Cid breathed a cloud of smoke into the air in response, this not from a cigarette. He laughed. "^#$%, you're as uptight as the grand high council of fogies that run my town."
"I am not..." Vincent stared down. "Or at least, I don't intend to be."
Cid stared at him for a few moments before speaking. "Aw c'mon, Vin, don't get like that."
Vincent held his own arms, leaning against the tree heavily. "This is so wrong, Highwind...it shouldn't be so much fun to be with you, you shouldn't be this nice or make this much sense...it's not fair. Why do you have to be a dragon..."
"#$^#, why do you have to be a demon?" Cid put his hands behind his head and leaned against the tree in a good imitation of Vincent. "Why the #$^$ ask questions we can't answer, eh?"
Vincent stared down. "What's going to happen when they find out..."
Cid put out one hand, staring at the gleaming clean scales against the stars. "Simple really. They're goin' to torture us. They might kill us if we're lucky, but we're in for some serious $%^# before they do that."
Vincent stared at Cid in amazement. "Doesn't that frighten you...?"
"#^#$, we all got to die sometime, kid." Cid smiled. "I forget where I heard that. Either way, it doesn't matter. It's true anyway. I'd rather remember havin' fun with you and dyin' badly then livin' long and havin' nothin'."
"I guess..." Vincent sighed and turned towards Cid. "I still don't understand why you want to be with me...I'm a demon..."
"Okay, that's it." Cid turned and made Vincent face him, staring him directly in the eyes. He moved his claws upwards and touched Vincent's horns.
"Look, you got horns."
Cid moved his hands to his own green horns. "So do I."
Cid took Vincent's hands in his own, careful not to move the wrong way. "I got claws, you got claws."
Cid put his arms around Vincent's neck and touched the wings that came from his back. "You got wings..."
To his surprise, he found that Vincent returned the gesture, his hands gently holding onto the arm of his wings, their faces only inches from eachother. "And so do you, Highwind."
Cid wasn't sure what to do. His tail lashed sharply, then was caught by Vincent's, which seemed stronger and more prehensile then his own. He stopped moving almost completly.
"You have a tail..." The breath from Vincent's lips seemed too soft to actually produce sound. "And I have one as well."
"Right." Cid nodded slightly, Vincent's hair brushing against his forehead as he did so. He looked upwards at him. "What the #$^# makes us different?"
Vincent pulled him close, holding onto him. "Curse you and your perfect logic, Highwind. You don't know how having someone care feels..."
"Sure I do, Vin..." Cid awkwardly returned the gesture. "You care 'bout me, right?"
He could feel Vincent's breath coming in slowly against him. "No one has ever cared about a demon like me..."
"#$^# Vin..." Cid held onto him tightly, not sure of what else to do. "You're not a demon, you're just a dragon in a different form."
Vincent shook slightly, as if trying to hold something in, and Cid remained with his hands clasped behind him, not sure of what else to do. Vincent continued to hold onto him, as if afraid he would run away, and his tail entertwined even more with his own, the black skin sliding over his scales carefully, as if knowing the consequences if rubbed incorrectly.
"Let's be together forever...can we promise that...?" Vincent's voice sounded very afraid and alone. Cid could think of nothing else that was more important at the moment.
"I promise you, Vin. Nothin' will ever keep us apart."
Vincent's words were so soft. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me..."
Cid wasn't sure how to respond at first, just feeling Vincent shiver against him, his bare chest now dry but cold. He felt almost guilty at the thought that his wet clothes couldn't be helping him. He just continued holding onto the demon, not sure of what else to do.
The two ended up falling asleep that way, waiting in the silence for words from the other. They leaned against the tree, still entwined in eachothers arms, their wings stretching across and protecting them from the hot wind of dawn and from prying eyes, a natural reflex that almost every winged species had.
Black, green, and blue intermingling to provide the perfect cover, with the two tails twisted around eachother tightly.
When Cid woke up, his clothes were dry. This occupied his attention for a good deal of time as he struggled to come back to the world.
After a short period of staring at his shirt and wondering how it had gotten dry when he remembered it had caused him so much discomfort before, he noticed that Vincent was gone.
"Vin...?" He was waking up quickly now and he looked around. The sun was shining brightly on the lake and he could tell by the heat that it had been up for some time. What had happened? Where had he gone? "Vin?"
Vincent's face suddenly dropped in front of his own, upside down. "Yes, Highwind?"
"HOLY $%&$!" Cid rolled to one side and flared out his wings in shock. Vincent was suspending himself by his tail from the branch of the tree that the two had slept under, staring at him upside down as if nothing was wrong. Vincent's hair was so long it nearly touched the ground.
Cid pressed a scaled hand to his chest, trying to slow his rapid heartbeat. "Holy livin' #^#$, Vin, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"I apologize." The emotionless tone that Cid sadly recognized was back in Vincent's voice as he easily and gracefully fell from the tree onto his hind legs. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Yeah, like $%^$ you didn't." Cid turned away from Vincent and coughed, letting lose a short stream of fire. Letting fire flow from his chest was an excellent release of stress for dragons, but Cid didn't want to frighten Vincent again, so he tried to keep it quiet. "Why the $%$% you up so early anyway?"
"I was getting us something to eat." The emotionless tone was so different then the frightened and lonely voice that Vincent had had the night before. Cid turned back towards Vincent, smiling.
"#$^$, why didn't you say so in the first place?"
Vincent was holding a black bundle in his arms. He placed it on the ground quietly and sat down, his wings folded serenly against his back. He picked the bundle apart with his claws with such precision that Cid couldn't help but be fascinated. He sat down next to Vincent.
"I...I wasn't sure what...dragons ate..." A awkward tone came into Vincent's voice, and even this was a welcome respite from the quiet emotionlessness that it only had before. "But I tried to find something..."
Inside the black fabric were several dark roots and various kinds of fruit. Vincent reached down with his long thin claws and picked up one of the roots.
"$%&$, that's fine Vin, really." Cid reached down and pulled out one of the fruit, biting into it readily and watching as Vincent somewhat curled up, holding the root in both hands and eating it very slowly, as if waiting for someone take it away from him.
"What're you eatin'?"
"Oh...this...?" Vincent held the root out, staring at it. "I don't know, really. I just know demons can eat it, and no one really cares."
"What'd you mean by that?" Cid's fangs made a crunching noise as he took another bite. Vincent put his arms around his knees and stared at the root with it's small marks from hesitant fangs.
"You know...demons are...supposed to be killed, really...if anyone sees us eating anything like..." Vincent gestured with his metallic claw at what Cid was busily eating. "Like that...we'd get killed for it. We're not supposed to eat, we're supposed to be spirits that don't really require food."
Cid snorted and finished off the piece of fruit, throwing it to one side and picking up another piece just as readily. He used his sharp claws to slice it into pieces. He took one of them and offered it to Vin. "Never heard such bull%$^# in m'life, Vin. Eat whatever the $^#% you want."
Vin stared at him, blinking once or twice before he reached out and picked up the piece, holding it in his smooth hands in confusion. "Are you sure?"
Cid stared at him and Vincent looked away, what seemed to be a slight tinge of red on his face. "Sorry, I'm just used to...I'm not really used to people offering me things..."
"#$^# Vin, is it really that bad?" Cid rolled his eyes and bit down on one of his own pieces. Vincent nodded slowly.
"Yeah...I mean...there aren't many of us left...the rest of us have been killed, really...our own society has become extremely regulated, because of our rarity, and now more demons wander out to be slain then just to die under such oppressive rule..."
"Is that..." Cid paused, glancing at Vincent, then returned his eyes to the sky. "Is that why..."
Vincent nodded again, but didn't raise his head afterwards, hiding his face. "Yes, that's why I appeared to you...I thought you would kill me...and I'm tired of hiding behind laws that my own kind makes that I don't understand...I wanted to die..."
"Aw c'mon Vin, don't say that." Cid finished his piece and picked up another. "You got a lot to live for."
Vincent was silent, then he sighed and uncurled, staring upwards along with Cid. "Well...I didn't then, but I guess I do now..."
Vincent stared and closed his eyes. "I had no friends, really...not even with other demons, no one even wanted to be near me...I'm such a horrific abomination...I'm not a true demon, I was made this way, no real demon wanted to be near me, but I had nowhere to go...everyday to me meant nothing but more suffering under the claws of people who claimed I never fit in, but wouldn't let me talk to anyone else..."
Vincent turned when Cid's claw rested on his shoulder. "#$^# Vin, I'm your friend, right?"
Vincent smiled sadly. "Which proves that everything they tried to tell me was false."
Cid finished his next piece and brushed off his claws, replacing it back on Vincent's shoulder when he was done. "#$^#, Vin, you know that I never had any friends either?"
Vincent stared at him with an expressionless face, but his tail and his eyes said otherwise. "I find that hard to believe..."
"No, serious." Cid tried to look earnest and failed, earning another smile from Vincent. "I annoy the #$^# out of everyone, especially other drags. They all have a big stick up the #$^, they can't handle any variety." Cid held his blue-green claws up towards the sky. "Can you believe some #$^#ers teased me about my colors? How low can you get, honestly..."
Vincent could sense the sadness and loneliness underneath Cid's rough tone, and sighed as well. "Kind of fitting that we're both outcasts..."
"Well, we're not alone anymore, right?" Cid smiled at Vincent. "I got a friend now, and you got one too."
Vincent nodded, smiling back at him. "Right, that's all that matters. Even if you are a weird color."
"I'm a weird color?" Cid took an incredulous tone, noting the smirk the spread on Vincent's face. "This comin' from Mr. Black over there?"
Vincent just smiled to himself and chose not to pursue the argument. He picked up another root and held it in his claws quietly, his face sobering.
"I wonder how long it'll be before they come looking for us."
Cid had been reaching for another fruit himself, but at this revelation he jerked sharply. "#$^#! You're right...#$^#, I'm supposed to bring back proof that I killed one of you guys..."
"You could kill me now, if you want." Vincent's voice was soft and expressionless. "I'd rather die by your hand then anyone else's now."
Cid stared at him for a long time, then snatched the root out of Vincent's claws and threw it to one side. Vincent stared at him in shock and found that Cid looked almost hurt.
"#$^# Vin, do you really think that I would do that? Give me SOME credit!"
"That's not what I meant..." Vincent shook his head slowly. "I-"
Cid felt a tingling near the back of his head. "#$^#, Vin, run now, I think someone's coming..."
Vincent stared at him in confusion. "Run...?"
Cid stood up and expanded his wings so that Vincent was hidden from sight. "God#$^#it Vin, listen and run! If they see you you really WILL die!"
He could hear Vincent moving behind him, but he was more concerned with the flashes of color that landed in front of him.
They were tall and thin, almost as if they were nothing but bones and flesh, large feathered wings folded against their backs which were covered with clean white cloth. Cid looked for his spear, but found that one of the new arrivals had taken hold of it. He tried to feign nonchalance while keeping his wings as low as they already where, crossing his arms behind his back and holding onto his wrist.
"What brings a bunch of bird-#$^#ers to visit?" Cid smirked, watching the gathered twitch in unison. The angels were a uptight crowd, they hated insults and almost anyone that didn't meet their standards of perfection. If at all possible, they hated the demons even more then the dragons did, which would be quite an accomplishment considering how powerfully a dragon could hate.
When one finally spoke, his voice was like a musical instrument, pleasant to listen to, although this did not affect Cid any.
"Don't speak such foul words to us, lizard. We're looking for a demon."
"Sorry to disappoint you folks..." Cid reached and pulled a cigarette free from his goggles band, lighting it with a slight cough. "But I ain't no demon."
The lead angel, the only one who had spoken so far, stepped forward, expanding wings that were so brightly white that Cid couldn't help but blink.
God#$^# it, even the angels were taller then him.
"Don't mock us. We know one was here."
"And I know you're all a bunch of feathery-$%^ed #$^#ers, now leave me alone!" Cid was rapidly losing his patience with his last revelation. He wanted to turn, but he didn't want to leave Vincent visible...
The angel walked even closer, so only a few feet remained between him and the dragon. "We're here to do our duty, so if you wouldn't mind getting out of the way and letting us proceed, if your overheated lizard brain could comprehend that-"
Cid did NOT appreciate jokes about fire.
Crouching and expanding his wings fully, Cid removed his cigarette and opened his mouth, releasing a large wash of flame that nearly set the angel on fire. He stumbled backwards, trying to keep the grace he had so far, but was unable to in the face of the raging dragon. The irises of Cid's eyes, if anyone had been inclined to look that close, were now fluctuating rapidly like flames themselves, and when he spoke his forked tongue showed sharply.
"You #$^#in' bird-#$#%ers, get the #$^# away from me before I make some #$^#in' angel flambee, okay?" Cid's voice had lowered sharply and had gotten louder, into almost a full-blown roar. He breathed another jet of flame towards the head angel, who managed to dodge it just barely. They took to the sky, fluttering above in a collection of white.
"You'll pay for this, dragon! We're going to tell your elders about this intrusion into our affair! Demons are our personal enemies, you have no right to-"
"#$^# off!" Cid raised both claws and extended one of his clawed fingers in a universal symbol of defiance. "Tell them THAT too, if you can, bird-#$^#ers!"
The angels flew away in bad grace, and even the area seemed different from their abrupty and upset departure.
"Kay, Vin, I got rid of 'em-" Cid turned around and found only the black bundle, with all the roots removed.
Cid stared for a moment where he was sure Vincent had been, but saw nothing. He even walked and looked behind the tree, but it was as if the demon had never existed.
"#$$^." Cid HAD told him to run, but...somewhere inside him he almost didn't expect him to actually just leave that quickly...
"Eh, it's better this way."
He heard a slight noise behind him and whirled around, ready to fight if the need came.
A band of red cloth fluttered in the wind and came to rest at his feet. With a smile, he used his tail to flick it up into his claws.
"Thanks, Vin. I'll come back, I promise."
There was no response to his words, but somehow Cid knew that he had been heard. Turning, he flapped his wings and took to the air, coasting along easily while making a mental note to come back to this area as soon as possible.
He looked at the bandanna he held in his claws and thought. Using one of his claws, he cut off a short length of it and put it in one of his pockets. Even if he never saw Vincent again, at least he would have this. He knew the elder dragons would take the bandanna away from him once he gave it to them.
This way, he'd always have a little part of Vincent with him, which made him feel better. He'd never have to be alone again.
~~~
The angels were a strange race.
As long as anyone could remember, there had always been demons. There had always been evil in the world, so there always had to have been demons. Angels, however...
The bird race was unique in the fact that, unlike most other winged races, their wings took the place of their arms. The birds were forced to adapt to using their clawed and hooked feet to get food, or hold things, or other such functions. Birds varied drastically from region to region, from ice-blue feathered ones in the arctics to bright green and yellow ones in the tropics, but the lack of arms was one thing that remained a constant. The hair of birds almost always matched their plumage as well, even down to patterns, so the race with the wildest hair had always been the birds in terms of color. In terms of behavior, their hair was feather soft and light, and always seemed to float when it moved, but it never seemed too radical in terms of hair. The spiked ones always won in that category.
At any rate, the birds themselves were the ultimate survivalists, as shown by their stubborn adaptation to their lack of arms and ability to live almost anywhere, where no other race could live. Legends of birds that could breath underwater were not uncommon, just unproven, but considering the birds fierce desire to live, most would not be surprised. With birds, everything had to be turned and used to help them survive just a little longer.
Therefore, when the first angel was born, a mutant among birds, they used it to help further their races development.
The child was strange to them when he had hatched...he had bright glowing white wings, but his hair was only a pale blond. His skin was white and thin, and he had arms. That was what was the paramount concern of the birds, that the child had arms. They soon turned this to their own advantage, however, and the child was soon made into a lackey. carrying things or getting things for his parents or his parents friend, or just other birds in general. Within him, he felt that he was destined for greater things, and resented being just a tool to such a primitive (in his opinion) race.
Finally, another angel was born, another anomaly, this one female. When he learned of this, the young angel, only a boy, refused to work anymore, flying off to the east swearing that he would never come back. The birds still had their new angel, and all but his parents didn't mourn the loss of the boy.
The girl, when she was old enough, kept asking where her twin had gone, the only other one of her kind. She had heard from people that there had been another one, but she had never seen him. When told that he had left to the east, she left immediately to find him.
By this time, many of the birds were birthing angels, and her loss was not noticed.
This anomaly, which some thought was the evolution of the birds to a higher being, has never been explained. The original angel seemed to only be a fluke, and yet he was followed by so many of his kind around the same period. It seemed to be some kind of fluke, but had the angels would ever admit they had come from birds, they would claim a miracle.
Although the angels had the pure white feathery wings that were impossible to find in any other species, they did not have the power to create miracles, nor had they the glowing rings of light that also characterized what they were believed to be. However, the angels had the demons ironically to prove them, and they convinced all that their miracles could only be seen and used against demons. The angels had power, because of the "threat" of demons, but in the end it was all political. The angels had no magical gifts, just as the demons could not create pestilence and death. Both species were aesthetically different, and because of this and the growing prejudice, their temperaments and moral beliefs also changed, when originally they had been so alike.
The angels had stoutly denied ever having descended from any other race, claiming their existence was proof that the demons should be destroyed. Any other stories, such as the truth of the birds, or the Bird's Accident Theory as it was commonly known, were vehemently denied by the angels, who claimed such blasphemous accounts could only come from the foul mouths of demons.
If demons had a story, they never had told it and no one had ever bothered to even research. A demon is a demon. The truth about them was unknown, and at the rate their species was disintegrating, it was going to remain that way.
~~~
Cid returned to his town, wondering whether the elders believed that he had truly passed away. When he landed, he noted there was more then the usual share of odd looks and angry glances. Shrugging, he wrapped the bandanna around his own goggles band, smirking as he tried to imagine what Vincent would say.
Cid had never found anyone that seemed to reach him as Vincent had. Every member of his species had completely rejected him, left him to fend for himself because he acted as he believed was right. He never understood why they did this to him and harbored a distinct dislike towards other dragons that he kept well concealed. But in his heart, Cid had always been alone, even when he was only a little one.
Vincent...
Vincent had spoken to him, talked to him, sat with him, and even...
He felt his cheeks heat slightly and he coughed awkwardly. Even fallen asleep with him underneath the tree. Cid had never known that feeling before in his entire life. He had never been able to folic in the clouds or just play with someone. He had never had that freedom around others, always bound by what they believed he should act like. Vincent seemed to set him free, Vincent's presence and soft, red eyes seemed to be so accepting that Cid longed to see them again.
He wished that Vincent was here with him, because even in the midst of so many wings and claws and tails, he felt so alone without the demons presence. He felt so incomplete, as if Vincent was the key to a part of him that he had never known before.
He had shown more emotion around Vincent then he had to anyone he had ever known, and Vincent had not shied away, only closer. When Cid expected to be pushed away, Vincent gently pulled him into an embrace.
Cid smiled and felt himself blushing slightly again as he thought of how many young couples he had seen in his town who had their tails entertwined. He had always wondered what that felt like, and now he finally knew. Despite the fact that Vincent's tail had not been scaled and he had been frightened that he might have cut it inadvertantly with his own razor scales, he couldn't help but feel a certain sense of fulfillment. He had been so certain that he would never experience that, that he would die alone or in battle, and now...
Now everything was different, because finally he had proved to himself that the elders had been lying to him the entire time. He had known it before, but now he had proof.
Feeling the smoothness of Vincent's bandanna around his head made him feel better. It almost seemed to make the nervous flames rising inside him calm a little. Harboring such feelings towards a demon he knew meant death, if he was lucky, and torture most likely beforehand.
He didn't understand why something that made him so happy could be so bad...
He lifted himself into the air and flapped his way into the home of the elder dragons, treading softly on the marble. Another thing he hated about the elder dragons was that they insisted on covering their entire domicile in such fragile things that were obviously not meant for dragon's talons to walk on, but refused to believe such. They kept insisting that dragons had the "control" to walk on such delicate marble or handle small vases, but everyone seemed to know it wasn't true EXCEPT the elders, and the elders did make the rules...
Cid's footclaws made hollow tapping noises against the marble of the great hall, which expanded overhead for some time. Another reason he hated marble...it gave him away.
"Enter, Highwind."
Cid felt a shiver rise along the spines on his tail. He was so used to hearing Vincent say that as his name now...it felt very wrong to have someone else refer to him in that way. He sighed, shrugged, and entered the hall.
The elders were incredibly picky about how their halls had to be flawless. The walls were made of the exact same marble as the floor, giving an odd impression of their being no floor or walls, just one continous flowing color. Cid stood and waited while the dragons in front of him, all one solid respectable color, like black or red or green, stared at him with their tired eyes critically.
He tapped one of his footclaws, lit a cigarette which was stricly forbidden in this area, and breathed a cloud of smoke.
"I'm back." Cid mentally added "old fogy dragon-#$#%ers." to the end of his sentence, but didn't say it out loud.
The elder dragons didn't seem very happy about his return, just as Cid had expected. A large black dragon had apparently been designated as the speaker, his hair as jet black as the wings that hung somewhat limply from his back. "Have you killed a demon?"
No I didn't...I think I brought one back to life...
Cid knew enough to ignore his thoughts. "Yup."
The dragon stared at him critically. "Did you bring proof?"
Cid tried to conceal a sigh as he sadly reached for his headband and undid the bandanna, letting it slide and droop inbetween his claws. He held it out to them.
"The...demon I killed..." Cid almost had to force the words out, struggling to keep his voice from wavering. "He...It wore this in it's hair."
The dragons stared at it in silence for a while, then beckoned for him to bring it to them. Cid complied silently, watching the band of red fabric float through the air to land against the black scales of the lead dragon. He raised the fabric to his nose and sniffed it. Cid almost felt offended that the bandanna was being treated so shamefully.
The black dragon handed the bandanna to the dragon to his left and turned to Cid reluctantly.
"You've done well, Highwind."
Cid smirked and nodded, wishing he could make the painful longing in his heart leave him. He also hoped he had convinced the elders. Noting his tail twitching around rapidly, he put one leg behind the other and stepped harshly on the tip, pinning it. He didn't show any sign of pain, but it stung.
Better then revealing anything...
"However..."
$%$#.
"We've heard reports...." The dragon put the bandanna down on the desk he was sitting behind like it was a dead thing. Cid was glad he had taken a piece of it for himself, he was sure they were going to burn it. "That there's a demon that lives around here, in fact, near the lake."
#%@#!
The black dragon shrugged, which seemed foreign to Cid because of how rigid he had been before. "They are only rumors. I just thought I would like to warn you, since you seem so skilled at destroying demons and it might be something that would interest you."
Cid nodded because he knew his voice would betray him.
"You're dismissed, Highwind."
Cid struggled not to run out of the place completely, letting his tail free from it's confinement, where it stood straight, which was better then the nervous lashing it had been doing before. He walked until he was sure he was out of their sight, then he broke into a full run, diving into the air and spreading his wings so he could coast and try to forget everything except Vincent.
~~~
~~~
When he spotted the lack he saw an assortment of colors flashing in the light nearby. With a sinking sensation he realized that the other colors were other dragons, no doubt also warned about the demon in the area and now hoping to kill it to gain prestige.
Cid felt worried for Vincent's safety, and angry that his race could be so short-sighted and so foolish.
Seeing no use in looking near the lake for Vincent, he landed in a clearing in the woods, not sure of where else to look for the demon.
"Vin..." He felt as if he should call for him, but he decided that would only make Vincent more vulnerable. He simply mumbled the word underneath his breath, unable to think of anything he could really do.
He was reaching for his pocket to pull out the small piece of fabric he had put there when he heard rustling behind him.
Whirling around in case of danger, Cid lowered himself, readied his spear, and flared his wings threateningly.
Glowing eyes stared at him from the cover of brush, but they weren't the red he was hoping for. These eyes glew with a light all their own, an eerie greenish-blue light that blinked out of existence before Cid could really examine them.
From above him, a grey shape seemed to flop onto the ground with some kind of awkward grace, pulling itself upwards and staring at him with confidence and security, arms folded across it's chest.
"#$^#, a cat." Cid put a claw to his hair, scratching his head. He noted again that the feline was taller then he was, but he negated his emotions by noticing that the feline was probably taller then MOST people, even Vincent, so it wasn't far to compare. "Just what I don't need."
The feline's hair flowed gracefully down his back, a shining silvery color that looked almost exactly like the metal. It was so bright at some points that Cid could not stare directly at it and he was having trouble remembering that the reflective surface was true hair. The fact the cats bangs seemed to rest a few inches away and above his face didn't help make it any more believable. The rest of the feline was a pure smooth grey, almost the same shade as is hair excepting that the harshness and reflectiveness was gone, instead replaced with a softness and gentleness that seemed to hide a strong, able frame. The only place where the perfect shade of grey was altered was what appeared to be a large white blotch in the felines fur that traveled down his back, looking like a feathered wing folded against him. Other then that, the feline was a disturbingly smooth grey color, excepting the glowing green eyes that stared at Cid directly, slitted pupils never wavering. A confident smirk hovered around his whiskered face as the long tail waved slowly behind him. He was completely unclothed, as it was common knowledge that felines rejected all forms of clothing on the principle that shame was a weak, foolish emotion, and clothes only furthered it.
Cid was wary. The feline race was not known for their honesty or their tales that involved the entire truth. They would manipulate truth either to further their own ends or for their own amusement. It was commonly believed that felines had no real morals or could ever be trusted to have any deep emotions, but many disliked the felines because it was commonly believed that at the source of every war, there was a feline that was responsible.
"I don't believe we've met." The feline's voice was confident and strong, and held an air of mystery to it that only it's race could ever acquire. "In terms of exchanging names, anyway..."
"What the #$^# do you want?" Cid relaxed but kept his spear in his claws as he sat down on a nearby rock, watching the feline carefully. He didn't trust them, their race wasn't one to be trusted easily, and he wasn't going to let down his guard now. Felines rarely associated in groups, but he wasn't going to let himself be attacked from behind. He kept himself alert.
The feline seemed to ignore his ingracious reply, bowing so that the silvery strands of his hair fell over his shoulders. "I am Sephiroth." He extended a soft looking paw towards Cid, who was not foolish enough to take it. "And you are...?"
"Cid Highwind, though I don't know why the #$^# if matters to you." Cid coughed and tried to conceal the nervous flame that flickered from his breath for a moment.
Sephiroth turned around, his hair still mostly resting on his shoulder, so that the marking on his back was clearly visible. Cid couldn't help but wonder why such a marking had found it's way onto such a silver being.
Which made him wonder why the feline was silver in the first place. That color couldn't be helpful to survival...
"Oh, your name means something to me...now I have something to attach it to."
Cid stared at the feline quizzically.
"What the #$^# are you talkin' about, cat?"
Sephiroth turned and smiled, his eyes narrowing and glowing even brighter then before. Cid was taken aback by what appeared to be sheer malice on the feline's face.
"You and Vincent of course."
"#$^#!" Cid lept to his feet in alarm. "How do you..."
"Oh please..." Sephiroth brushed off Cid's anger like it was nothing, maintaining a deep air of confidence in the face of Cid's fearful anger. "You weren't really trying to hide...you were sleeping out in the open. Anyone could have seen you."
Cid looked down, not sure of what to think.
"Now that I know your name..." Sephiroth put one his paws near his face, smirking. "I know who to blame for this..."
"#$^#..." Cid lowered himself down to his knees, his mind thumping painfully. This was it, because of a stupid #$^#in' mistake, he was goin' to die..."#$^#..."
When Cid looked up, freeing his face from his clawed hands, he found Sephiroth was kneeling in front of him staring into his eyes. "I never said I was going to tell anyone."
Cid stared at Sephiroth in disbelief. "What the #$#%? You don't get nothin' if you don't tell anyone!"
Sephiroth sat back, seeming to enjoy Cid's distrust and anxiety. "I never said I was against the two of you being together." At the sight of Cid opening his mouth, Sephiroth raised one of his paws again. "Never said I was for it either. We've always been neutral, that's what we are." Sephiroth was resting his paw against his chest at this point.
"Now listen. I have not decided whether I'm going to tell someone about this. I have decided one thing."
Sephiroth stood up, closing his eyes for a moment. Cid could almost sense the lack of light. "I can tell you where Vincent will be hiding, now that the lake is being dredged."
"You can?" Cid stood eagerly. "Where is he?"
Sephiroth opened his eyes and looked off to one side. "There's a rock formation some distance to the west of here. That's all I will say."
"Thanks, Seph." Cid gave the feline a grudging smile. "How do you know Vin, anyway?"
Sephiroth paused for some time, then closed his eyes. The silver strands of hair all seemed to hover for a moment, then Sephiroth opened his eyes again.
"Oh, I have my ways..."
When the feline turned, Cid could clearly see that one true wing now came out of Sephiroth's back in the place of the marking. The pure white of the one wing was the same shade as the angels he had seen earlier, and Cid was overwhelemed with confusion and conflicting messages. A feather fell from the one wing near his talons, and Sephiroth disappeared into the brush.
"Wait! Wait! Get back here! Hey! I'm talkin' to you, #$^$#^!" Cid shouted angrily, but Sephiroth was gone, as if nothing had ever happened. Annoyed and confused, Cid picked up the feather and turned it around in his claws.
"Somethin' real #$^#ed up is goin' on here..." He looked back at where the feline had disappeared. "Cats don't got wings."
~~~
Cid followed Sephiroth's directions, not sure of what else he could really do. He wanted...
He thought deeply and paused. He needed to see Vincent again...he just didn't feel safe or complete without him...
He missed him...
The cynic that usually inhabited his mind and his tongue began to speak again.
Since when have you been so weak to need someone else like this, Highwind? I thought you could handle yourself...
The problem wasn't whether he could handle himself...he was worried for Vincent...
He found the rock pinnacle, a large collection of stones piled near eachother, forming an awkward kind of tower. He stared up, not sure of what to expect.
From a small hole between two rocks, two flashing rubys blinked at him.
"Highwind...?"
From what seemed to be an impossibly small hole, Vincent extracted himself easily, smiling at Cid with the most relief and happiness he had ever seen. The demon's black hair fell around his face wildly now without the bandanna to hold it back into place, but Vincent didn't seem to notice.
What Cid noticed however were the long scars, new scars, that had now been added to Vincent's chest.
"Hi, Vin." Cid smiled awkwardly, hiding his concern although he felt fire rising in him at the thought of the person who had done something like that to him, and walked towards him. "You okay?"
"What brought you back? Why did you come and look for me? How did you find me?" Vincent took Cid's scaled hands in his own, somewhat awkwardly and hesitantly. Although Vincent's voice was soft and quiet, the questions came quickly, something that Cid wasn't used to the demon doing.
"I...had some help." Cid smiled again, trying to keep his emotions quiet. "Doesn't matter now though, right?"
They stared at eachother for some time, only the twitching of both tails revealing anything.
Vincent abruptly pulled Cid into a fierce hug, holding him and shaking convulsively. Although Cid had wanted to do the same thing, but he had been too frightened that Vincent would push him away. Now that Vincent had made the first move, he had an excuse, and he took hold of Vincent himself.
"You came back for me...you really came back to me...I was so frightened without you..."
"Shh, it's okay, Vin..." Cid was shaking himself, trying hard to keep his tail from thumping against the ground in nervousness. "I'll always come back for you..."
"This isn't safe for us though..." Vincent moved backwards, stepping slowly so that Cid could follow him. "This entire thing isn't safe, but it's not safe here either..."
With a smooth motion and grace, Vincent and Cid managed to find their way back to the small area in the rock tower where Vincent had been hiding before. Cid was surprised to find that the area inside the rock was larger then he had guessed from the opening.
Vincent was still holding him, and Cid could not make himself let go.
"Why did you come back...?" Vincent sounded sad and confused. Cid wasn't sure how to respond.
"I had to...I wanted to be with you again...what happened, Vin...?"
Vincent shivered in Cid's arms and Cid responded, not sure of what else to do. "I...came back...late..."
"Those #$^#ers." Cid snarled underneath his breath, feeling the rage that he should feel for all demons coming forth towards those that had hurt Vincent. "How dare they..."
Vincent pulled back and looked at Cid. "Highwind..."
Cid looked at him in confusion. "Hn?"
"Your eyes..."
"What about them?" Cid self-consciously raised a claw towards his eye, but didn't feel anything strange around it. Vincent shook his head at the movement.
"They're...glowing..."
"Oh..." Cid smiled nervously and he watched the glow fade. "That happens when the fire starts buildin' up inside...it's no big deal..."
He could tell by Vincent's confused expression that he should continue. He didn't feel comfortable in the silence, so this was fine by him. "All us drags got the fire inside, right? That's how we breathe fire and stuff."
"Where...?" Vincent blinked at him. Cid seemed confused at the question at first, then realized that Vincent most likely knew nothing about dragons, considering where he had been and what they had told him.
Cid pointed to the center of his chest. "Somewhere in here, I think. They say it comes from our 'burnin' hearts', but I think that's just #$^#. Somewhere..."
Cid paused when Vincent raised his clawed hand and gently rested it on Cid's chest. Cid stopped breathing even, not sure of what Vincent wanted.
"You're right..." His soft voice finally broke the awkward silence. "It does feel warm..."
#$^#, I am NOT blushing...Cid thought angrily to himself. You're god$%#$ lucky it's dark in here.
"Yeah, it does that." Cid laughed awkwardly as Vincent moved his hand back to where it had been before, resting on his metallic arm. "The eye thin' is just the flames comin' out a different way, really. It's a drag thin'."
Vincent nodded. "Dragons...only breathe fire...when they're angry, right...?"
Cid paused, not sure of what he meant, then shrugged. "Well, we only breathe fire or charge up fire when we're emotional really."
"You aren't...angry at me...are you...?" Vincent's voice became lost and frightened. Cid shook his head vigorously and searched for Vincent's claws, finally taking them in his own.
"No, Vin, $^$# no, I'm mad 'cause they hurt you, that's all."
His eyes were still flickering with his inner fire that had not died, due to the emotions that were raging around in him barely controlled or concealed now. The light of his own eyes reflected softly in Vincent's eyes, which turned away from him, almost like in shame.
"They always hurt me...now they just had an excuse..." Vincent's voice was so soft, but now was shaky. Cid could tell he was trying to keep himself silent, to not betray how hurt he was. He knew because he had used that tone himself.
"C'mon Vin, don't be like that..." Cid wasn't sure of how to respond. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble..."
"Highwind..." Vincent stared down into his sapphire eyes, which caused flickering light to catch on the unshed tears in the demon's eyes. "Highwind, you're the only thing that matters to me now, I'd go through anything to be with you..."
"I am?" Cid cursed his stupid reply, not sure of what else he could really say. "I mean..."
"I never knew..." Vincent closed his eyes for a moment, apparently thinking about what he was saying. "I never knew...I never knew kindness before...not even from my own species, and now that you've shown me kindness...I can't go back to what I was before..."
Cid nodded slowly. "I know what you're talkin' about exactly, Vin. I've never met anyone like you before...now I feel like..."
Cid blushed slightly and looked away. "Like I couldn't really live without you..."
He looked back at Vincent and found him smiling. "What?"
"Your eyes...they're glowing again."
Cid self-consciously turned his eyes downward, trying to think of what to say. "Y'know, Vin..."
"Yes?"
"I'm..." This had always been hard for him to say. "I'm sorry for scarin' you before..."
"Scaring...?" Vincent blinked once then nodded silently. The air in the small cave they were sharing was heating rapidly with their breath and body heat, and again Cid could see through the corner of his eye that the sun was beginning to set. It made sense that Vincent only appeared near night, considering what he was...
Who he was.
"It was my fault for being afraid, Highwind. It's your nature, not who you are." Vincent smiled slightly. "I'm afraid I might not be making sense. But being a dragon isn't who you are. I know that now, but...it's hard to get over that fear...it's been..."
Vincent paused. "It's been driven into us...demons for a long time...it's hard to overcome..."
Cid stared at Vin, noting the light that was coming from his eyes, a soft glow that was deep within the scarlet red. Curious, he could not pull his eyes away as he found a question escaping him despite all his attempts to keep it to himself.
"I don't scare you anymore...do I...?"
Vincent paused, then shifted closer to Cid so that he was right next to him, pulling him close and holding him tightly. "I'm as scared of you as you are of me."
Cid wasn't sure what to do and this time he could feel heat rushing to his face as he blushed slightly, his face against Vincent's soft, cool skin. Raising one of his scaled hands, he gently touched where the new scars had been made across the demon's chest.
"Were you frightened then...?"
Vincent shivered slightly, his wings coming forward to obscure him from view, which was a typical response for winged beings. Vincent fought it back and managed to keep his wings were they were. "Who wouldn't be...after all I heard...and after all I knew..."
Cid could feel the fire within him rising even brighter at the thought of someone harming Vincent, but more so at the fact that it was his fault, no matter how many times that Vincent would deny it. If he had...
If he had just...
"There's no right answer to this..." Cid mumbled outloud to himself, holding his forehead. Vincent stared at him.
"There's no right answer to anything. Nothing has any real answer."
Cid stared at Vincent with a slight smirk. "If you weren't like that all the time, I'd consider that a good answer."
Vincent almost looked offended, but instead he turned his head away, staring out of the small cavern they were in. The space was large enough to hold both of them, but not so large that they could avoid touching constantly. They stayed close to eachother without the restriction of space however. As it was, Cid was in front of Vincent, who was leaning on him, the wall on his other side. Cid had only to look over his shoulder to see what Vincent was staring at.
The last rays of light vanished from the horizon, and the howling wind came rushing through the world, driving away all loose and light things.
Safe within their cave, the two watched, both of their eyes glowing softly, as the wind rushed across the opening, causing a strange note to be produced. It seemed to vibrate deep within the dragon, who waited for the wind to stop before breathing again. It was a custom that had been taught to him when he was young and it was too hard to stop now. That the wind was washing away bad air, and to breathe it in transit...
"Night is here again..." Vincent's voice had again taken that emotionless tone that frightened Cid so much. Cid looked at him, but Vincent was staring outside. With light, soft movements of his hands, Vincent leaned over Cid's legs and moved his head closer to the opening. Cid felt heat rushing to his face again as Vincent's hair moved silkily off his bare back onto his shoulders. "And I can sense someone coming..."
"Someone coming?" Cid twitched. He was normally more alert, how could he have not seen someone coming? He had sensed the angels approach...
What had let him be so careless?
He receieved his answer as Vincent moved again, brushing against his legs softly through the dark green fabric. "If we're careful, they won't see us, but..."
"Who is it?" Cid coughed sharply, noting the bright flash of light that came with the small exhalation of flame. Vincent looked at him and he felt embarassed for doing so.
"I'm not sure...but they aren't looking for us, I'm sure..." Vincent had a tinge of worry in his voice. The slightest betrayal of emotion was enough for Cid. "But we had better be careful anyway. Looking for us or not, if they find us..."
Vincent turned towards Cid, fear almost present in his eyes. "Highwind, don't worry. Don't be afraid..."
Before Cid could ask him why, Vincent put his arms on either side of Cid, and his black tail wrapped around Cid's own. Cid was surprised by how strong Vincent was as he lifted Cid slightly, moving him close to the wall so that their chests were touching. He saw a flicker of black blocking out his only light, and he realized that it was Vincent's wings, blocking him from view.
Of course, he was a dragon! In a dark cavern like this, he stood out painfully...that must have been what Vincent was doing...
He realized that the scraping of Vincent's tail against his own scaled one was moving it so that it was hidden behind them, and Vincent's tail settled, blocking Cid's legs from view.
Everything was completly black now, and all light had been blocked by Vincent's wings. Luckily, because of his coloration, the blackness wouldn't be noticed.
Cid stared at Vincent, who had his eyes closed. He almost looked as if he was in pain, and due to the fact their chests were touching and their faces only inches away from eachother, he could sense how fast Vincent was breathing and how his heart was beating so quickly.
Thinking to himself, he came to the conclusion that Vincent must have cut himself moving his tail against his, as the scales were definitly being rubbed the wrong way. That must be why he was in so much pain...
Why was he doing the same thing?
"I'm sorry...I have to force this against you..." Vincent's voice was small and weak. He was breathing heavily, as if trying to keep something back. Cid was breathing faster as well, unconsciously matching Vincent's pattern.
"Force what, Vin?" Cid's voice was only a whisper, a slight flame against darkness for a moment. Vin opened his eyes, and they were so full of pain that Cid started, his own eyes beginning to water.
"I'm...forcing my presence...I'm forcing you to touch a demon...this closely...and..." Cid's own eyes were glowing brightly now because of the intensity of emotion he was feeling, and he could see in the reflected pinpoints in darkness Vincent's small fangs. "I shouldn't do this..."
"Vin..." Cid now felt fear rising in his chest as he could finally hear the footsteps that Vincent had been talking about. "Vin, you're everythin' to me. I can't live without you now. I could never hate you."
Cid felt flame in his mouth, which was fortunately protected against his own heat. In the flickering light from his eyes, he could see Vincent close his eyes, the emotion on his face so apparent. It was relief.
Cid saw something glimmer near Vincent's face, and saw a small droplet form near the corner of his eyes fall. Against his blue shirt, it made a dark purple stain.
"Highwind..."
"Vin...don't cry..." With those words choking out of his system, Cid couldn't restrain his own tears. They slide down his face and mingled with the red drop that had already fallen. Cid let loose a small sob, and the footsteps outside stopped. Both of them tightened their muscles in fear, but the dragon couldn't help himself. Tears began to fall without control, only now without noise.
"Vin, god#$^# it...I've been so god#$#% lonely for all my life and now...now...you're here..."
He opened his eyes and found that Vincent had red streaks running down his face, his eyes matching Cid's perfectly. The demon was crying blood.
"I can't leave you."
Vincent shivered, he could feel his whole body shaking against his own as he struggled to keep silent as the footsteps walked slowly outside, slowly fading.
"You...are everything to me..." Vincent's voice broke softly in his whisper, but he tried to conceal it. "You don't know how much I've been through, searching for this kind of...I've been..."
"I was made a demon because of false love...and I've been alone as long as you have..."
"Vin..." Cid stared up at him, not sure of what effect what he was going to do would have. If Vincent killed him, so be it. At least he would have his memories...
"Highwind..." Vincent shivered inside because he was frightened. He knew what he had to do, to prove this. He had to prove this...but he was frightened that he would not be recieved well...but he had to take that chance, that was his species way...
Cid leaned his face upwards, and Vincent moved forward, and the two of them met, kissing with a fervant desperation.
The shock of surprise was palpable by both of them at the other's action, but it soon passed, just leaving the two of them, connected, the dragon's and demon's tears running together.
Within moments, a soft light began to glow from within them as the pent-up emotions and frustrations that they had had for so long passed from one to another through their contact. Feelings, memories, pain, joy, loneliness, loss, everything was shared in that moment, which culminated with the ecstacy of acceptance.
Of love.
There seemed to be an explosion overhead, and the rhythmic pounding of rain came through, pattering with the strength that only such storms knew. When it rained, it rained hard and it rained fast, and there was no pause. The thunder exploded overhead once more as the two arched against eachother, still in contact, emotions flowing with such power after being held back for so long. The walls had been broken, and everything was now gone.
For moment neither saw nothing, only felt, as whiteness overtook both their vision.
The footsteps were gone, but as they slowly broke contact, the soft light dwindled until it was almost imperceptible. Staring at eachother, they breathed in unison, not sure of how to react. They had stopped crying, both of them had.
"Vin..."
"Highwind...is this...?" Vincent looked at his claws for a moment, the white aura more perceptible around his black skin. It was soft and was fading slowly.
"This is...holy #$^#, Vin..." Cid was staring at his own claws, which reflected the light with more gusto then Vincent's. "This is...this is $%^#in' Heaven's Aura."
"But..." Vincent shook his head slowly, his hair floating along with his movement. "That can't be right. We...we're not even the same species...that can't be..."
"$%&# species, Vin..." Cid moved his claws so they wrapped around the larger demon's back. "We're the #$^#in' same and you know it, you felt it too...that only happens with people who really belong together..."
Vincent's tail was trying not to move, but Cid could feel it brushing against his leg, desperately searching for the other tail for it to wrap around as it felt it should. With tailed beings, this level of emotion, this kind of emotion, called for the tail to be wrapped around something, whether the partners leg but more preferably the twin tail. Being deprived of that ws making Vincent's tail move slightly, but quickly. Cid's tail felt the same need, and the scales scraped against the ground softly as it lashed back and forth, Cid trying desperatly to control it. Vincent seemed to have more control over it then he did at the moment.
"Forgive me..." Vincent's voice was soft, but not weak or frightened or sad as before. It was different, confident, but wary. Cid could feel the soft breath touch his face.
"What the #$^# for..." Cid's voice wasn't angry, but he knew was Vincent was asking. Both of them were twitching sharply, their bodies wanting to fulfill what their instincts told them to, but the fear, the thought of it, kept them from doing so, and the tension was building.
Again their lips met, and again the emotions flowed between the two easily, naturally, like there had never been barriers in the first place. Because so much had been released before, there was no pain along with happiness, only the soft pleasure that was comforting, that was safe, something which both had been searching for for so long.
The emotion heightened everything, heightened their sense of touch, as Vincent pulled at Cid's shirt, his claws gently touching his skin, and trembles of emotion flickered through the bond they shared.
They were completely one. Their minds were one, and nothing mattered but them, but them and where they were, not the rain, not the wind, not the sun, nothing. They were eachother. They could never have asked for anything more.
Outside, two figures could be seen, one walking away from the clearing, having gone some distance, and one figure hovering above him, flapping yellow feathered wings instead of arms, sheltering the figure below him from the rain.
"I think I heard something..." The bird said softly. The hedgehog underneath him smiled.
"I didn't hear it, but I felt it in the ground." He ran some claws through his black headspikes. "I felt it, and it was definitly love. The real deal kind of thing."
"You think so, Zack?"
"Sure, I've felt it before." Zack smiled up at the blond bird, who blushed and looked away. "C'mon Cloud, I think there's shelter over here."
~~~
The Heaven's Aura was generally believed by a cynical populace to be a myth, a legend to go along with dead heros and mystical artifacts. Through each species hystery, the Heaven's Aura had appeared at points, rare and inbetween, yet indeniably in every race's experience. In each the description and the requirements were the same, thus proving it wasn't just one species ability, but something every species posessed. But the rarity of the phenomenon had made it become legend, something everyone knew about but no one could ever hope to achieve.
The Heaven's Aura belonged only to love, and could only be achieved through it. Love that was so strong that the two people became one, love so strong that one was willing to die for the other, one so strong that they could not live alone, one so strong that it became all that mattered to them in their life, that the other's happiness was the only concern they could ever have...the strongest and most powerful, the most deserved and appreciated. To those who never thought they deserved love, to those who needed it the most, to those who had never known the warmth that can only come from such love...
Heaven's Aura was a visible manifestation of the joy, the specialness, the wonder that came with such love, such pure and undying devotion. The white aura made whoever had it glow softly with a gentle white light, which was hard to see in the daytime, but easy to see at night. Clothes were useless, as it didn't come from one's skin, but the very air around the person reacting to their soul's power.
It was so rare, that when it was seen it was rarely believed, and to have it be seen meant that someone had found perfect love, had found the person they belonged with for the rest of their lives.
Heaven's Aura had no preference, no knowledge of how it could ruin things. It simply stated to the world their love, and didn't care if that could hurt who it fell upon.
Heaven's Aura had been bestowed on so many historic and imporant couples across species, it always fell on their greatest hero. Who he loved changed for each species, but it was almost always the opposite sex and within the species. It was generally unknown about the spiked one's great hero, but the spiked ones rarely said anything about anything.
But Heaven's Aura was reserved for those who had deserved it through great deeds and suffering, in the eyes of those who had heard the legends, those who had sacrificed themselves to save their country or their species. It was not common, or just a sign of any love, or anything.
Love of that kind was so rare, so strange, that Heaven's Aura had all but disappeared, and to have it was unbelievable. The very presence, if believed, was enough to elevate the couple to high places of power, to places of honor.
Almost no modern couples ever achieved Heaven's Aura. It was something reserved for gods and heros, not the common folk that now lived without any guidance.
The fact that Cid and Vincent were now both afflicted with the aura, which was undeniable, was not going to be easy to explain.
~~~
There was a particular female dragon that liked to follow Cid around, much like, in his opinion, a lost hatchling. Although hatchlings weren't inclined to nag your ears off about everything you did. Which was the problem that Cid suffered.
He had a home, but it might as well have been hers as well for all the time she spent there, cleaning and fixing everything, organizing things, and nagging him. He found that he always smoked more when he was at home with her then anywhere else, because the chemicals helped calm him down in her presence and stop him from outright attacking her to stop her venemous toungue.
Cid had no patience. He knew that. He was surprised that she didn't. But she didn't know a lot of things, although she liked to think she did.
Cid snuck back into where he lived, trying to avoid everyone. He didn't want people to see he was glowing this way, and he didn't want people asking him why. He REALLY didn't want anyone to smell his clothes before he could wash them and himself. If he had smelled vaguely of demons before, he smelled entirely of them now. He couldn't let anyone know.
He managed to make it back to his house safely without anyone seeing him by timing his arrival carefully. The least dragons were about near the high-noon times, when the sun beat down on the earth viciously. With that much heat and light reflecting off the dragons, it was a hazard to look at them and dangerous as well, as touching one could result in severe burns, even from other dragons. Not many people went about at this time more to save themselves the trouble then out of consideration for others.
Cid may have been obvious at this time, but the sun reflecting off of him hid the glow rather well and kept others away from him, something that he wanted.
He opened the door to his house carefully and crept in, locking the door behind him. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he looked down at his claws and noted the soft white glow that continued to play off his marbled scales.
"#$^#." He mumbled to himself. He sniffed the back of his claws carefully and was surprised by just how little he smelled like himself. It was almost as if he had taken Vincent's scent completely...
He headed for the bathroom, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as he tried to stay calm. No one had seen him, so this wasn't a problem yet...
"Captain!"
"#$^#!" Cid bolted for the bathroom door quickly, his claws scrabbling over the doorknob as he locked himself inside, hearing the scraping of claws outside trying to open it.
"I saw you go in here! What was that about? Why did you get here so late?"
Cid secured the door with a stool then headed for the shower, calling behind him irritably. "#$^# off! I don't have time to talk to you!"
"Why do you smell strange? Get back out here so I can talk to you!"
"I said #$^% off!" Cid snarled angrily, flames hissing between his fangs. "I'll talk to you LATER, #$^#@!"
He heard her storm off angrily, and he sighed, wishing that he wouldn't let himself get worked up this way. He went to the shower stall and turned the knobs carefully, so that the steam that came out of the nozzles was not to warm. The threat of direct water down one's throat was a big concern for dragons, who believed their inner fires belied their own life. To have one's extinguished meant instant death. So steam showers, a safer alternative, was introduced and kept ever since, as steam couldn't hurt their inner fire unless they really tried to. And it worked just as well anyway, if only slower.
Cid shed his shirt and his pants, tossing his goggles on top of them carelessly. The pack of cigarettes that he commonly kept in there was now gone, given as a gift to Vincent before he left, to remember him by. Although there were many ways that he knew Vincent now could never forget him...
He stepped in, noting the scales on his feet gripping the floor easily. The substance on the floors of stalls was something that scales were meant to grip, which meant slipping was very difficult. Cid preferred this greatly over the marble the elders were so fond of.
It took some time until the steam was able to smooth down his hair and even longer until his hair was wet enough to wash, but he waited. It took ages for a dragon to shower this way, but it was the safest way. Cid personally would have preferred the lake, but there were still far too many other people there searching for his demon.
His demon...
Cid sighed and worked his claws into his hair, wondering if he could really get rid of the stubborn smell. His claws and feet were lingering, although the rest of his body had given up trying to retain the smell. He felt a kind of sadness as it left. The smell was now associated with happiness, with calm, with peace, with...
His horns were now easily visible, the protective covering of his hair and his goggles gone. He ran his scaled hands over them softly.
His horns SHOULD be longer...HER horns were. He scowled to himself and began washing himself even more thoroughly, hoping that he could get rid of every trace of evidence. She couldn't know, she would never understand.
His tail curled around one his legs. He knew it missed it's black counterparts presence, and he let it cling. He missed his own black counterparts presence as well.
It took a great deal of effort and soap until he was able to completely dislodge the smell. He now smelled like flowers, something which bothered him. The minute he left the shower and began to towel himself down, he lit himself another cigarette, to let that familiar smell mask his own. He sniffed the back of his hand again, and found that underneath everything, there was the faint remnants of Vincent's scent hiding underneath his own.
He sighed as he doubted that he would ever get rid of the smell permanently. Just as he would never truly get rid of this glow. It haunted him even as he put on a fresh shirt and pants, hiding his old ones deep in one of the hampers. He'd find them and wash them later, when he got rid of her.
He opened the door and she sat on the couch, glaring at him.
"Alright, what happened?"
"God#$^# it, Shera, don't you have somewhere else you have to be?" Cid snorted angrily and headed for the kitchen, knowing by her footsteps after him that she was following.
Shera's brown hair swept around her as she tried to circle him, trying to face him, but Cid continually turned away from her, getting more and more frustrated every time. Even she was taller then him, if only by a small fraction.
"Why won't you tell me? What's wrong?"
"Nothin'." Cid fixed himself something, trying to ignore her prodding claws and probing questions. She was predominantly silver in color, a common color considering dragons. Metallics such as gold, silver, or bronze were nothing to be proud of. Metallic greens or blues were rare, but to have both at once was exceptionally so, thus why Cid had so much trouble hiding. The aura wasn't helping. "Stop botherin' me."
"Don't hide things from me!" She put her hands on her hips. "Why are you glowing like that?"
Cid was suddenly filled with burning rage. He had prepared himself for people asking him this in his mind, but nothing compared to actually being asked that. He took the utensil he was using and slammed it point first into the counter, causing it to crack and the utensil to break off midway. "God #@#@ it, Shera, shut the $@#$ UP!"
Despite the fact that now every exhaling breath Cid made contained traces of flame, Shera refused to back away. "What is that? Why won't you tell me? That isn't what I think it is, is it?"
"No it #$^#in' isn't." Cid angrily continued what he had been doing, trying to lose himself in the repetitive motions of cooking. "That #$^#in' aura or whatever it's called doesn't exist, so get the #$^# off my back, okay?"
"That has to be it, it won't go away." Shera moved her claws along the edge of the aura, noting how it seemed to dodge around her claws. "Who did you fall in love with? Who?"
"What #$^#in' business of it is yours anyway, Shera." The cooking wasn't working. Cid's claws were trembling in anger.
"Well, it wasn't me." Shera's voice was acid, her entire speech pattern mocking Cid's completly. "Even after all the #$^# I put up with for you. Who's the little slut, hmm? Who's the whore that stole your poisoned heart?"
"God#$^#in' #&#%IT SHERA!" Cid shouted, flame coming from his mouth and washing over his own scaled hands, which were fortunately protected. He whirled on her, glaring at her in fury. "What the #$^# do YOU know about anythin' ANYway?"
"I know more then you say!" She glared at him as well, refusing to back down. "I can smell someone else on you, I don't know who! I know that glow only comes from one thing, and it's not me!"
"#$^#, of course it isn't you, you're a #$#^in' #$^#^!" Cid shouted angrily and threw the dishcloth he was using to the ground, walking away from her. She followed him angrily.
"What did you call me?!"
"What you #$%^in' ARE! Now get AWAY from me!"
"You turn and face me RIGHT NOW and say that to me!"
Cid did so, glaring at her, his wings completly expanded and his tail shaking with anger. "You, Shera, are a #$#^in' naggy #$^#^! So #$^#in' there!"
The glint in her eye told Cid to back away and prepare himself, and he was wise to do so. Shera breathed a torrent of flame on him, which he used his wings to block, the scales of a dragon particularly evolved for the purpose of deflecting fire. He waited until she paused for breath then sprinted for the door to his own house, not able to stay there while she was in the room.
"Don't run away from me!"
"#$^# you!" Cid turned and flipped her off angrily, backing out of the door. "Burn in #$%@!"
"Fine!" Shera shouted at him as began flapping his wings to take off. "Fine, go run to your cheap whore! See if I care!"
"Shera, I wouldn't give a $^#%in' #$^# if you did anyway!" Cid snarled at her and took off, taking to the sky, pumping his wings faster and faster so that no one would see his aura.
~~~
Vincent wandered, alone.
Going back to his hometown in this state would be foolish and deadly. They knew what this aura was and they would kill him for it, because it was so painfully obvious among demons who had it due to their dark black colors, and they weren't so trusting of the lies of legendary heros being the only ones to have a special condition. After all, all the legends were in the end false, once told from the demon's point of view, but the existence of Heaven's Aura was known to at least be true, and it was believed among them, even if not among other races. To go back now, especially after they had made him promise to stay...
He was hiding, his scarred bare back to a tree, holding a small crumpled box in his claws gently, a deep pang in his heart. He gently touched the scars on his chest, flinching slightly at the tingling pain that came from his own tainted claws.
They had beaten and slashed him rather badly as warning after he refused to tell them where he was and who he had been with (they could smell someone on him, but Vincent had the foresight to wash himself off well before heading off). Even after the increased pain of torture, he refused to speak Highwind's name, not one syllable escaped him, no matter what they did to him. Eventually they gave up, and they made him promise to stay, to not go out, and tried to put him under guard...to keep him a prisoner in his own house...
But nothing could keep him away, nothing could keep him from seeing his dragon again...he had too, there was nothing else in his life that meant anything to him now. So he escaped, even after threat of death...
Highwind could at least go back to his home and try to hide there...now Vincent was truly homeless and truly alone without the dragon's comfort.
He shivered in the wind and held his wings closer around his body to try and shelter it. Was there a wind or was he just imagining one in desperation? The wind to him was soothing now, it meant safety, it meant protection, it meant love. He now associated the wind with him, because they always seemed to meet at dusk or dawn, just before the night gave way to light, or the dark gave way to day. It was appropriate, but unintentional.
To go home meant death...to stay here meant death...even to seek refuge in Highwind's arms meant death for him...everywhere he was surrounded by death...
He put a claw on his forehead. No wonder everyone seemed to associate demons with death...
He sighed, wondering about his train of thoughts, letting them go down a more morbid trail as he sometimes felt like doing. He was still a demon, and their thoughts tended towards the dark.
At least he would know if Highwind ever died...an innate ability of demons was to sense death, who it was and why. This was part of why they were believed to be so evil. They had to take the message to those who would be affected, because they were the only ones who knew the true story. Messages are so easily mixed...it didn't take long before messengers were made into perpetrators. The angels were all too ready to perpetrate this lie.
Angels...
He sighed very deeply as he thought of her, her dark brown hair, her eyes, her ears, her whiskers...
He stared back down at his claws, noting the soft white glow that reflected off his metallic arm. This glow had not shown up when he loved her, but that had never surprised him. Back then, he thought that such a forbidden romance between species could never generate that glow. He thought that it was the providence of legend...
And now...to think of Highwind made his heart ache for him, and to see the glow made him wish to see him again. The glow meant he was now doomed for sure, but he was proud of it somewhere....
He shook his head, watching his black hair float by. Love had reminded him of what had happened...Highwind must now also know of how he became a demon...the shameful way how he had fallen to this horrible status...all because of them...them...
"You can never stay out of trouble can you, Valentine?"
Vincent whirled around, flaring his wings in alarm and looking about wildly. A lone white feather fell from the tree above him, and he relaxed his pose slightly.
"You're a constant reminder of what I've done wrong in my life." Vincent turned his back, putting the empty cigarette box in his pocket and sighing as he brushed his hair back behind his horns. His bandanna did serve a purpose, even if some strands always escaped. He reminded himself to make another one. "Why do you always haunt me?"
He held onto his elbows as he heard a slight rustle behind him. Just as he expected, when he turned the feline was sitting at ease, one white wing curled around his body easily. The smirk on his face was more evil then Vincent could ever hope to be.
"Because you're the reason my life is a disgrace as well. You're lucky I can hide this..." Sephiroth gestured to the wing. "That Mother taught me how, or else you'd be in a lot more trouble."
"I can't see how things could possibly get any worse then this." Vincent sighed deeply and refused to look at him, turning away and sitting against a tree. "If they had killed me off, I never would have caused this much trouble..."
"I'd do it myself..." Sephiroth's voice took on a disturbingly emotionless tone. The feline stood, brushing himself off. "But I'd rather not die anytime soon for murder or for any other reason. I'm afraid I'm stronger then you there..."
A sadistic tone entered his voice. "But then again, I think I'm stronger then you in every way."
Vincent sighed and pushed his claws back into his hair, wishing that the age-old pain in his heart would stay dead. Sephiroth's presence made it flare back to life, even worse then before with the aura to amplify his guilt. "You even sound like her..."
"I'm here, Valentine..." Sephiroth ignored him and extended his claws, retractable ones that only the felines seemed to possess and abuse, and studied them carefully. "Because I know something of interest to you."
"Nothing you say can be trusted." Vincent's voice was beginning to match the feline's in tone, emotionless and unrevealing.
"Well, for instance..." Sephiroth paused. "I know your 'dragon' is coming soon."
Vincent started slightly but tried to hide it. "I should have figured someone would have seen..."
"I have more respect for people's privacy then that." Sephiroth waved his paw. "A little more. It was obvious anyway, he's pretty much the only feasible reason you'd have that glow. And it wasn't like you two were quiet."
"You live to torment me." Vincent turned his face away and kept his voice even to try and hide his blush from him. "What do you want?"
"You said you wanted to die..." Sephiroth fluttered his wing, a smile crossing his face. "I could tell them right now where you've been..."
"No!" Vincent finally turned and faced him, alarmed. "No, please!"
"Finally got a reaction out of you." Sephiroth pointed at him and smirked. Vincent glared at him angrily."I thought you wanted to die."
"I don't want to die now. He's..." Vincent stumbled on his words and fell silent.
"Yeah, I know. The glow and all that. If you don't want me to tell them, I'll tell HIS people then..."
"No! Please..." Vincent tried to control his voice, but his worry and concern was getting the better of him. Both his and his dragon's life were in Sephiroth's paws. And he knew that Sephiroth was going to wring every last bit of enjoyment out of tormenting the two before tossing them away like a broken toy. That was his way that Vincent knew far too well. "Please don't..."
"Don't get so worked up." Sephiroth smirked as he watched Vincent try and control his emotions. "I won't do anything about this yet. It's amusing, in a strange way, to watch you two try to figure out love..."
"Like you know anything of love." Vincent's words were laced with venom and he noticed Sephiroth's eyes narrowing. The feline stood and began walking away.
"Just know that I'm there. That'll be enough for now."
He disappeared in front of Vincent's eyes, but the demon was used to that by now. Feline tricks...he had seen and been on the recieving end of far too many of them in his lifetime.
He sighed deeply as he returned to where he had been sitting before, the worry that had been hovering over him now increasing exponentially. His life, but more importantly that of his dragons, were in the feline's paws...and there was nothing he could do. He was trapped...
He was always so trapped...
He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, not sure of what he to do. He didn't know what to say, if Highwind should come back...
He kept feeling doubt. He didn't know why Highwind loved him at all...he was a demon, not worthy of love, especially after all that he had done...but...still, the aura proved him wrong. All the doubts in his heart could not make the aura go away, and it meant that Highwind loved him just as much as he loved him back...
No use trying to understand it...all he could do was accept it.
He wondered if Highwind would ever come back to him...and the glow seemed to penetrate even his closed eyes. He knew the answer, deep in his heart, that the two could never truly be apart for long...to be apart was unthinkable now.
So all he could do was wait, wait for him to come back...
Vincent pushed himself back upwards and turned, heading for the rock outcropping where they had hidden during their first night...of...
Highwind would have to find him there...
Or else he was just seeing things...
~~~
Cid found his own town and his own home more unbearable with every beat of his wings. He was just flying at the moment in one direction, hoping that Shera wasn't following him and trying to blank his mind.
His heart was hurting from her words, although he had tried very hard not to show it. To hear Vincent called those horrible names...it made him angry and sad all at once, so he was confused in a jumble of emotions. He didn't know what to do other then fly.
He wondered idly if, at the speed he was going across the sky, he was leaving a faint trail of white.
Vincent...
He gently guided himself downwards towards the outcropping of rocks, changing his direction sharply and lingering so as to throw anyone following him off his track. He thought back to his demon and found that his scent seem to flare up from underneath his own at the very thought. He hoped he was okay...that nothing bad had happened to him...that they hadn't hurt him again.
He landed and his claws burned patches of grass clear. The fire within him raged brighter then ever before at the thought of someone harming the demon. He would not allow that anymore...he couldn't let Vincent get hurt like that!
It just wasn't right...
His aura was flaring around him brightly as the fire burned inside his chest, and unable to contain it he breathed a burst of flame into the ground, trying to keep clear from any brush or trees. The grass died instantly, not even remaining enough to flicker as the ashes scattered, Cid standing in the middle of it, breathing heavily, trying to get his breath back after releasing so much flame. He sank to his knees, closing his eyes and trying to keep himself calm.
So much anger and helpless rage that had nowhere else to go...rage at Shera for forcing him out of his own house, rage at the #$#^#@$ who had hurt Vin, rage at the dragons for being so closed-minded, rage at himself for being part of them, rage at himself because he was so weak he couldn't even run his own life...and was chased out of his house by someone that wasn't even related to him...
"Highwind...?" A soft whisper carried in the wind and he rubbed his eyes before turning. He could only see a glimmer of red amidst the darkness of the black rocks and he smiled carelessly.
"Hi Vin." His voice shook, although he tried to keep it calm. Filled with nervous awkward energy, he put his claws in his pockets and walked towards the rocks, wishing he hadn't incinerated his cigarette with the emotional outburst before. "You okay?"
"I'm fine..." Vincent turned to go deeper into the cave, the red disappearing and the black overtaking the opening almost completely. "Are you alright...?"
Cid walked, finding himself shaking despite his best efforts, and laughed nervously as he entered the small cave himself. "Ah, I'm $@#$in' fine."
"Well, I don't know..." Vincent was leaning against one of the walls when Cid finally settled down on the other side, the cave small enough so that their tails were allowed to intertwine without a problem. "You seemed upset just a little before..."
Cid blushed angrily and turned away, scratching the side of his face absently. "Uf, that was nothin', honest. I was jus' kind of frustrated, that's all..."
He turned to see if Vincent would be disapproving of such an emotional outburst. Instead he found Vincent staring at his own black claws.
"If I could breathe fire...I'd be doing the same thing..."
"Really, Vin?"
"Yes..." The demon nodded slowly. "I'm feeling just as frustrated as you...probably for the same reason..."
Cid nodded slightly. "The same reason deep down...that's not all of it tho', but you're right..."
Vincent thought of Sephiroth, and Cid thought of Shera.
"Are you frightened of death...?" Vincent's question seemed out of place and awkward, but Cid took it in stride.
"What d'you mean?"
Vincent looked at his claws and held onto his arms. "They're going to kill us for this...we don't have much longer for this world...I can feel it..."
Cid looked down as well at his own green and blue claws, watching the soft white light refract. He could almost see different colors inside of the refractions, but he wasn't sure. The aura, when he looked at it, fluxed and changed in such a way that it was impossible to pin it down to one extreme or one depth, how bright or how dull. But he always knew it was there, because even when it almost seemed to be gone, there would be a slight flicker, a reflection of one of his scales, that reminded him that he was glowing. He sighed somewhat.
'Well, #$^#,Vin, I mean...we all die sometime...and I'd rather die because of you then of anythin' else..." He coughed slightly. "Besides, I'd probably die soon anyway 'cause I smoke too much..."
Vincent blinked at him, as if this had not occured to him before, which it probably hadn't. The thought of his own addiction killing him bothered Cid a lot. He had never heard of it happening to a dragon, but he knew other species could die from it, and he wasn't sure whether or not it would begin to affect him adversely as well. It was a worry in the back of his mind that he tried very hard to ignore, but he couldn't help but bring it up in the face of talk of death.
"Highwind...I don't want to live without you anymore..." Vincent looked away somewhat awkwardly. "You're the only thing in my life now..."
He closed his eyes and his voice took on a slight shamed tone. "I can never go back home...I never did. After you left I just...waited..."
"You can't go home again...?" Cid leaned forward slightly, confused. Vincent held his arms out, the thin limbs glowing softly.
"Highwind...they beat me before, because I was late...they made me promise not to leave...and now...I can't be rid of your scent, I've been gone for days, I broke my promise...they'd kill me now anyway for disobeying, if not because of you..."
"You...smell like me...?" Cid hadn't been able to tell in the small space where their scents intermingled. Vincent smelled like dusk and loneliness, while Cid smelled of flame and sunrise. When the two scents collided, it was like all times of the day mixed as well, and time itself seemed to warp. It was a pleasant feeling that seemed to last forever, and in such a small space it was impossible to tell which smell came from where.
Vincent nodded in response to his question, and Cid smirked to himself. "Heh, I smell like YOU."
Vincent looked down at himself. "I think it's the aura, actually...look..."
He took hold of one of Cid's claws and ran his own claw downwards, against the flow of Cid's scales. Cid started sharply and took hold of Vincent's claw, lifting it away from him.
"Vin! Don't do that, it'll cut you, you-"
Vincent showed Cid his palm, which was free of any kind of marks at all. Cid looked down at his own claws and saw there was no blood on the edges of his scales. He looked at himself in confusion. "What the..."
"I think the aura also protects me from your scales..." Vincent seemed to smile slightly. "So that I won't hurt myself...I don't think it will let you hurt me."
Cid smiled and shrugged. "Eh, not like I would anyway."
"Watch this..." Vincent took Cid's arm with one claw and poised his other over it. "Do you remember what they say about a demon's claws?"
"Filled with poison and can slice rocks like nothing?" Cid responded automatically, part of what he had been taught as a hatchling. He then coughed awkwardly. "I mean..."
Vincent, instead of looking upset as he had feared, only looked slightly amused. "No, they aren't poison, but they ARE sharp...watch."
He put one of his claws against Cid's skin and slid it downwards with enough pressure to obviously cause damage...
And yet the aura seemed to stop anything from getting through to Cid except a slight tingling.
"That's pretty #$^#in' weird..." Cid took his arm away from Vincent and ran his own claws across where the cut SHOULD have been.
Vincent nodded. "I guess no one ever experimented with it before."
He sighed and leaned back. "Although it doesn't do us much good...our threat is not from eachother, but from those around us..."
"#@%#..." Cid turned his eyes downward and crossed his arms, not sure of what else to do.
Vincent sighed and curled up, pressing his knees against his chest, resting his chin across his arms and letting his tail curl around his footclaws. "I wish we could stay here forever...I wish we didn't have to die..."
Hearing Vincent speak so fatalistically about something that Cid had been trying not to accept caused the dragon to sigh. "Look, Vin, it'll be okay, alright?"
"No it won't..." Vincent lowered his head until his forehead rested against his arms, so that his face was hidden from view. He shook slightly. "It's not going to be okay...it'll never be okay...I have no home, no life, nothing...I can't even have you...and soon I won't even be alive..."
Cid moved so that he was sitting next to the demon and put a claw on his shoulder. "Look, Vin, calm down. I'll think of somethin', I promise." In truth he sounded far more confident then he actually was. He was just as scared as Vincent was, but knew that the last thing that the demon needed right now was someone else to agree with his fears.
"What are we going to do...?"
Cid paused and thought while Vincent's shook underneath his claws. He scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well, first thin's first...you ain't got nowhere to go, right?"
Vincent didn't respond. Cid rubbed his head and felt heat rush to his face as he tried to think of something to say. "Well...#$^#, Vin...you could come stay with me..."
Vincent slowly turned his head and looked at him, his face streaked with blood from his tears. "Stay with you...?"
Cid shrugged and tried to look nonchalant. "Sure, it's no big deal at all. It'll be better for both of us anyway...if I keep comin' out here sooner or later someone's goin' t'follow me an' then..."
"You want me...to stay with you...?" Vincent couldn't understand. Even after everything that Cid had done for him, the offer to live with him, to stay with him...the ultimate in demonic commitment...he was offering him that? He couldn't believe it...this couldn't be real...
Images of Shera flashed through Cid's mind, but he laughed, trying not to think about it. Vincent looked so shaken, he didn't want to bring up unnecessary complications at the moment. "#$^#, why the #$^# not?"
Vincent ran his black claw across his face in an attempt to wipe the tears away, only causing the blood to smear backwards towards his ear. "But...you live with other dragons, Highwind...it won't work..."
He didn't want to impose...
Cid paused. "@#$%, you're right...but I'll think of somethin'. You can trust me, right?" He smiled earnestly at Vincent, who smiled softly back at him. "We just cover you up or somethin' and it'll be fine."
Cid stood and exited the cave, taking his comforting smell and warmth with him. He turned and smiled at the demon. "Stay here, I'll be back soon."
With a flutter of wings, the dragon was gone, and Vincent was alone.
~~~
Please don't be home, please don't be home...
Cid opened the door to his house as quietly as possible, bracing himself for an angry tirade that he knew was coming.
Fortunately, no one came to the door to yell at him. Breathing a slight sigh of relief, he walked over to the coatrack on the wall, looking for one of his larger coats. In the winter, despite their inner fire, dragons still got cold, and their wings were especially subsceptible, which is why several articles of clothing, heavy overcoats and the like, were designed to cover a dragon's wings completely. He took one of his coats and one of his tail-warmers, which was designed with the same purpose as the coats, to keep the tail warm in the cold, and quietly snuck back out of the house, shutting the door behind him and taking to the air, hoping that no one had seen him.
It didn't take him long to make it back to the rock outcropping. He landed near the opening and looked inside, worried that perhaps Vincent had left while he was gone, or had been captured or worse. Fortunately, the ruby eyes were still glinting in the darkness, and turned to see him with genuine relief.
"Where did you go...?" Vincent tried to make his voice emotionless and failed. Cid ducked into the opening and held out the articles of clothing he had retrieved.
"See, look. We can cover up your wings and tail with these. We hide your horns with your hair, keep your claws undercover, an' you can pass for a dragon no problem." Vicnent took the garments of clothing from him gingerly, studying them in confusion.
"What...are these...?"
"It's a coat." Cid cocked his head slightly. "Demons didn't use 'em?"
Vincent shook his head and tried to put the coat on without success. "We just endured..."
Cid walked over to him, taking the coat authoritively and putting the coat over the demons black wings. They were larger then his, but they still fit within the fabric. "See, not too #$^#in' complicated, is it?"
Vincent was able to put on the warmer by himself, and he carefully moved his hair so that his horns were hidden. It didn't take much effort, considering they were rather short.
"This's still goin' t'look kind've weird, 'cause it's not that cold out, but we got a decent chance now." Cid walked back out into the night air, watching Vincent emerge to follow him. "It'll be a #$^# of a walk there, but it's better'n flyin' now."
Vincent nodded, still overwhelmed by what was happening, and the two began walking, Cid close to Vincent's side to make sure the coat and warmer stayed in place. They tried to chat idly during the way, but as they neared the town their voices got more strained and nervous. Vincent's got softer and Cid began to swear more often, but they tried to keep their nervousness under control.
Once the town came into site, Vincent balked.
"Highwind, I can't...I can't, they'll find me, they'll know me, I'm a-"
"Shh!" Cid cut him off. "You're a #$%#in' dragon and that's #^#$in' that, okay Vin?" He stared at him seriously. "You can do it, now shut up an' #%@$."
It took Vincent some effort to move his footclaws forward, but Cid took one of his arms and led him along, refusing to stop. Vincent was nearly dragged along, paralyzed with fear as he entered the city of the people sworn to kill his kind.
Cid was breathing quickly and walking just as fast, mumbling to himself so that Vincent couldn't hear. Vincent couldn't hear much of anything anyway, his heart was pounding in his ears and he heard rushing in his ears. He closed his eyes tightly and clung close to Cid, trusting the dragon to protect him. Without much else of an option, he completely surrendered his fate to Cid, trusting that he would be alright.
They managed to make it to Cid's house without incident and slide inside. Both of them sighed audibly, then heard a slight movement on the couch.
Before Vincent could say anything, Cid put a claw to his lips and dragged Vincent to a closet, opening the door and pushing him inside quickly. Vincent stared at him in confusion, but all the dragon did was signal again for him to be silent. Vincent was left in complete darkness and, still frightened from the entire excursion, curled into the corner, pulling a loose piece of clothing over him in a effort to hide.
"Why are you home so late? What have you been doing?" An angry female voice surprised Vincent, and he twitched. He hadn't expected a voice at all...much less a female one...
"Get the #$^@ out of my house, Shera! I'm not #$^#in' kiddin'!"
"Why are you acting like this? What are you up to?"
There was movement, rapid movement, and Vincent clutched the fabric he was hiding under closer, closing his eyes and trying to keep quiet.
"Get out of my house!"
"No! I refuse! Tell me what's going on!"
"#$^# no! Get OUT!" Cid's voice was strained with frustration. There were sounds of what seemed to be a struggle, and the sound of fire flashing through air.
"Get out! Get out NOW!"
"You're hiding something! I know you are! I KNOW you are! I can smell her on you, she's somewhere in here, isn't she?"
"Shera-"
"Isn't she?!"
"#$^# OFF!"
Vincent cringed against the corner, clutching the fabric close to him and trying to keep his breathing under control. He heard a rush of air and felt the door to the closet open, and he twitched slightly, trying to freeze.
"SHERA! Get the #$^@ away from that!"
"Where is she!?"
There were more sounds of scuffling and the closet door slammed fiercely. The front door opened and there were more sounds of flames, claws scraping on the floor, then the front door slamming. Instantly the sounds of someone pounding on it came to Vincent.
"You let me back in this instant!"
"Get the $@#$ AWAY from me!" There was the sound of the door locking, then some more clicks. The windows.
"You can't keep me away forever!"
"I can sure as #$^# try!"
Slowly the pounding and shouting receded, and he could hear Cid sigh in relief. The closet door opened again, and Cid kneeled, pulling down the fabric that had protected Vincent from Shera's sight.
"You okay?"
"Who was that...?" Vincent's voice shook as he tried to regain his composure. Cid grimaced, his fangs showing slightly.
"Someone I wish would leave me alone. Don't worry, she's gone now."
He held out one of his hands, taking Vincent's and pulling him up. He led Vincent away from the main room and into the bathroom.
"Just ignore her, she's a #^$#$. It'd probably be best if you stayed quiet durin' the day an' #$^#, y'know..."
Vincent was studying the shower with curiousity. "What is this...?"
"Oh, right. That's 'cause water can kill dragons like that." Cid snapped his claws. "We use steam instead. Takes a #$^#in' long time, but it works."
"Very strange..." Vincent walked into the stall and felt around the entire thing, investigating and apparently commiting it to memory as much as possible. "I've never seen something like this before..."
Cid put his claws in his pockets awkwardly and shrugged. "Well, you can use it if you #$^#in' want to...I'm goin' t'try an' get some sleep...I'm #$#^in' exhausted..." He turned and walked away, his tail still twitching in agitation from his encounter with the other dragon.
~~~
Shera was leaning against one of the walls, her arms crossed, as she stared at the sky. She breathed slowly, attempting to calm her rapidly beating heart. She had not been that upset in some time...
She pushed up the small spectacles that adorned her face and brushed some loose strands from her hair. She sighed deeply as she sank to the ground, her arms still crossed against her chest.
Why was she the one who had to deal with him? Why had they cursed her, of all people, to deal with such a delinquent dragon?
It had started out so simply, so easily. When she was young...her mother had asked her what she had wanted to do with her life. She didn't know. All that she knew about at that period was playing with her friends. Her mother asked her if she wanted love. She was only a girl, of course she said yes. And that was how she sealed her own fate.
Shera was not by nature a social person, but she did have friends, a few close friends. Sometimes they were from other species, none as objectionable as say, felines or even, if it was even a possibility, a demon. The dragons, although they had their hideous intolerance of certain races, tried to treat the other races with respect and equality. In a way, they were making progress...in some fields.
Shera had grown up with her friends, listening to their stories. They talked of men who used, or abused, or controlled their wives or girlfriends, and how they, she and her friends, would never be so foolish. She had kept those days in her memory, and even now believed that no man should ever think he had control over her, or presume that she would be their servant to make them happy.
When she was young, her mother tried to teach her otherwise. But as she reached her adolescence, she found that her mother, her parents, were lying more often and she was more aware, and the things her friends said made more sense...and so she went away, turned away from the path of the silent housewife, and vowed that would never happen to her.
She believed strongly in herself as a person. She had deep feelings of confidence that her friends and her family had instilled in her, and she had spent most of her teenage years enjoying hers