Who Are You?

  It was weird how I met her... She wasn't like any human I've ever met. She risked her life just to save a cat...

After the words faded from the air, Tamian placed the seashell on his lap, "That's unusually, Troy doesn't get interested in humans... He tends to stay away from them, I wonder what's so special about the one he met?"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

  Sitting on bench with nothing to do but gaze at the blue sky was Troy Leon. He really had nothing to do. He had already finished his tasks that were set out for him so he really should have been heading home. For some strange reason, something kept his body from moving off the bench. Of course, he had no idea what it was so he decided to stay for a bit before trying to leave again.

  He shifted his position on the bench in boredom and listlessly gazed at the trees. He tried to remember why he was here again to pass time. After a while, he gave up trying to remember what made him sit on the bench and glanced around his area. He really was not expecting for anything to catch his interest as he scanned his surroundings. But a girl caught his eyes. A completely strange, dark girl. Everything this girl wore was black, as if she came from a funeral. Almost her whole body was covered in black clothes except for her face which was white as snow. Her eyes and hair were a different matter since they were also charcoal black.

  He sniffed the air to figure out what she was and concluded that she was human. The girl stared off into the distance as she stood by the edge of the cliff.  Naturally, he became concerned since humans rarely came to this mountain and this was the spot that most weak-willed people chose to do to suicide. She was immediately marked into his mind as suicidal woman.

  Without trying to get her notice, he got up from the bench and slowly made his way towards her. As he made her way towards her, a cat ran from the bushes, clearly frightened of something. The cat was not paying attention to where it ran as it stared behind itself. It appeared to have being chased by a raccoon. Since its whole focus was on the raccoon, it ran over the edge of the cliff from the lack of attention to its surroundings. Unlike the cat, the raccoon stopped a couple of feet away from the edge. Once it noticed the girl, it turned back to forest and ran away. All the while the girl watched in stunned silence.

  After the girl processed what had happen before her eyes, she gasped and leaped down the cliff to save the cat. The cat swiped wildly at the air. The task of grabbing the cat was a bit difficult but she managed to soothen it enough to let her hold it in her arms. She succeeded in catching it but she was falling with it. To bring less harm to the cat as they fell, she hugged the cat and kept her back to the ground. She clutched her eyes closed as they fell.

  Sigh... Foolish woman...

  Troy jumped off the cliff to save the strange girl with the cat. He leaped off the edge of the cliff with his face towards the ground. It appeared to the cat that he would fall too but his wings sprouted from his back as he caught the girl effortlessly in his arms. Inwardly, he scowled himself for using his wings, he should have just grabbed the girl and landed on his feet; he was used to falling off of cliffs higher than this one. But his instinct had kicked in before he could process anything. This was one of his favorite shirts, now he would have to get a new one. He frowned as he slowly glided to the ground. 

  He sighed since he knew the girl would panic because she would realize that he was not human. But instead of hearing screams of shock and fear or being hit and threaten, the girl merely stared at him in open-curiosity. Her eyes rubbed him in a weird way that he did not know how to react to their curiousness. He waited for her to say something as he placed her on the ground. The cat tore itself from her arms, but she did not pay any attention to it, as the demon and human gazed at each other. The cat was probably frighten by his appearance so he ignored it as it began to run away from the two.

  The girl slowly stood up and held her hand out, "Thanks for saving me. I'm Night Anne Shade. Pleased to meet you."

  Even her name was dark. Troy couldn't help but think that because well, almost everything about this girl was black or dark with the exception of the girl's eyes, he had realized this when he stared at the girl more closely. Her eyes were actually azure; he could have sworn they were black, maybe her darken overall appearance made him assume her eyes were black too. Her skin was extremely pale as if she never been out in the sun. He could not tell if her skin color was unhealthy or healthy. So he asked as he shook her hand, "Why are you so white?" He released her hand after he had asked.

  The girl's eyes widen causing him to think he had offended her somehow. Before he could clarify what he had meant, she giggled. Once her giggling was subdued, she spoke, "You know some people would think you're racist for asking that." He tried to explain what he meant again but she interrupted him. "I really don't go outside much that's why. But I don't know if my skin should be this white or if it's even natural. I guess I should sunbathe more often to get some color in my skin." She smiled as she talked to him; something he found really strange since his wings were still out. None of the humans had ever stayed near him once they gazed upon his black, feathery wings. It was a bit nice to have some one not pay attention to them.

  Everything about this girl bugged him and he did not know why. He should not even be talking to her. He decided at that moment it was time to for him head home so he spoke his thoughts, "Well I better-"

  She interrupted him as she handed him fifty dollars, "Here, this is for saving me. I would give you more but that's all I have on me right now. Thank you so much for saving me! Good-bye!." She waved goodbye to him as she ran away while he had merely stared at the money in his hands.

  So she was scared of me... That thought alone irritated him as he walked home. He should have expected it but he could not help but wish she was not. He sighed knowing how weird he must have appeared (since he now had two holes on the back of his shirt) as he sealed his wings.

  Little did he know that Night was not scared of him; she just needed to go back to the hospital before the doctors called her parents. 

2: Chapter 2: Stop These Feelings

Stop These Feelings

The whole way home, for an unknown reason to Troy, he was irritated. It was not because of Diana, she had not stalked him today because she had her own mission to complete. So what was bothering him? That girl that he just met? He knew that he disliked her, or at least he thought he did, but was that the reason that made him irritated? He hated this; he did not question anything unless the situation called for it.

Quietly, so he would not let his presence known in his house, he opened the door, and as stealthy as a cat, he walked towards his room.

Mission complete. Was what he thought once he closed his room's door until his brother spoke, "Welcome home."

Troy slightly jumped at the sound of his sibling's voice before he turned to face him, "Stop coming into my room. I may have allowed you to live with me but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. This is still my house so learn to obey my- Oi pay attention to me!"

Tamian lazily stared at his irritated brother before going back to reading the book he had. He was laying on his brother's bed with an erotica wide open, "Shut up. Can't you see that I'm trying to enjoy this book?"

Troy grabbed the book and threw it behind him, "Stop reading those type of books in my room. I don't trust you with them, especially in my room!"

Tamian sighed as if he was dealing with a small child instead of an almost grown man, "Learn to understand their heartfelt meanings."

"What's the hidden meaning behind sex other than for reproducing and pleasure?!"

"Love."

Troy restrained himself from punching his brother, "You know I really wouldn't get mad at you for reading those kind of books if they had plot to them instead of only people indulging themselves in pleasure!"

Tamian listlessly stared at his brother, "But that's what sex is all about."

"Didn't you just-?! You know what, forget I even said anything. What are you doing in my room?" Troy did not to argue with his brother about sex and love. Again.

Tamian blinked as his brain tried to process why he was here, when he could not recall, he asked, "Why am I here...?"

Troy felt like flipping his bed with his brother still on it but he did not act upon his anger, "Then get out if you don't remember." He really did not want his mother to beat him for harming his brother so he restrained himself from placing a hand on him. If he even laid a finger on Tamian, his mother would castrate him.

Tamian laid on his dorsal side, "Now I remember what I wanted to ask. Who was that girl you met today?"

Troy rubbed the tip of his nose, "Night Anne Shade, a human. Now, leave."

Tamian moved into a sitting position with his legs off the bed. He began to say his legs in an repeatable pattern, "She gives me a weird feeling... I wonder why she left so suddenly-"

"Stop -wait, were you hearing my future again?"

Tamian shrugged, "Technically speaking, I did but I also read it on your face. You're like an open-book you know."

Troy sat by his brother, his annoyance fully gone and was replaced with curiosity, "What did you hear?"

Tamian shrugged, "I just heard of what you thought of the girl. Is she pretty?"

"Is that all?"

Tamian sighed, "It's not like I can control what Sherry says to me."

Troy stared at his brother, "You gave your useless seashell a name?"

Tamian corrected him, "Magical seashell."

"It's not even magical. You just like putting it near your left ear when you're predicting the future. So there for, it is pointless to keep it."

Tamian defended his long-time partner, "Sherry has feelings too. You don't have to be mean to her."

Troy threw his hand in the air in defeat, "Forget I said anything about your 'girlfriend' and leave my room."

Tamian laid back on Troy's bed, "No, tonight I'm sleeping with you."

"I'm not gay."

"But I am."

Troy yelled, "Just go to your room!"

Tamian faced his brother from his position. He stared at him in silent wonder through his dead eyes before tilting his head in confusion, "Why am I here again?"

Troy huffed, "Do what you want. I don't care anymore."

Tamian pulled his brother next to him by hugging him and dragging him down into a laying position next to him, "Lets go to sleep. I'm tired..."

Troy really wanted to pull away from his brother but he had enough of trying go against his brother. He allowed his brother to pull him close and cuddle him, like a teddy bear. If it was not for Tamian's illness, Troy would have used more of an iron fist with him. Unfortunately, his brother illness was severe, forcing Troy to do most of his brother's bidding. It was tragic really since he would never remember what Troy did for him or anything for too long.

3: Chapter 3: Punishment?

Punishment?

"Night!"

Night gulped; for she knew she was in a pinch. Her father had found out that she had escaped the hospital. Again. This was the fifth time that she had left without informing anyone. Which was a huge deal to everyone who truly knew her. Sadly, the only people who really knew her were her father and grandparents.

It would appear that Night was a regular albino with dyed hair. But in fact, she was not albino. Her immune system was just extremely weak. She could easily get sick from a sneeze from a healthy person. Because of her unfortunate condition, she had lived most of her life in hospitals. She had only recently been allowed to go to a private school and go home for a few days until she had to visit the hospital for her weekly hospital appointments.

Night was tired of visiting the hospital every week and sometimes less than that; she did not want to spend anymore of her life in there. She loved everyone there but the building felt like a prison to her. She wanted excitement; to feel the thrills that teenagers had these days. Her idiotic immune system would not allow her to though. If she even tried to go into an unfamiliar environment, her body would react by getting fevers and colds.

Reluctantly, she faced her father on her hospital bed with a smile, "Hey dad."

Her father glared at her, "How many times do we have to tell you? Stop leaving the hospital without a supervisor. You might get ill without anyone's awareness! You're risking your life every time you're by yourself..."

While her dad ranted, she thought of what to say so that she would not get into trouble. Once she found something clever to say, she interrupted him, "I wasn't by myself though." She paused briefly to connect her thoughts. "Dad, I made a friend today! He's really nice. I meet him as I was going out for some food. He's the first friend I have that's my age. I'm so happy that I met him."

Her father stared at her speechlessly for a moment before he spoke, "I guess that's alright then... I'm glad that you made a friend. What's his name?"

Inwardly she gulped, she forgot to ask for his name, "Hehe, I forgot to ask for his name."

He raised an eyebrow, questioningly, "You forgot to ask for your first friend's name?" This time she gulped for real. Instead of what she had expected to happen, he sighed, "You would be the one to forgot an important matter like that. Whenever you see him again find out his name and try to introduce us." She released relieving air out, she had feared for a moment that he would not believe her.

She nodded dumbly as her father continued to talk. She was not paying any attention to his words because she realized how idiotic she was for not asking such a strange person his name. He fascinated her with his feathered, black wings. She wished she had touched his feathers; they appeared to be soft. But what if they were sharp? Or even had a rough texture feel to them. Did that previous sentence even made sense?

"Night." She blinked as she returned her gaze back to her father. When had she looked away? "You're daydreaming again." She apologized. "It's fine. I can see that you're tired. You can go to sleep here."

"What? Why?" She was not tired but she did want to be left alone with her thoughts, though she would prefer her own bed instead of a hospital bed.

He scowled her, "Because someone didn't want for the doctors to finish their check-up." She nervously smiled in hopes that he would not rebuke her.

He did not say anything but a simple temporarily farewell to her. She blinked as her brain tried to process her father's hastiness to leave her. He would usually stay for the night with her. She was an only child and her mother had died giving birth to her. Perhaps he met someone?

She rapidly shook her head to vanish the thoughts from her mind. It feels weird to think of father trying to get a new mother for me (or was it for him?). Maybe he's lonely...?

A loud smack sounded throughout the room as she tried again to banish the weird thoughts. She hated her mind sometimes. She always ended up thinking or questioning the weirdest things. She sighed since she knew that she would not get a good night's rest.