Sin:
Sin was all too happy to be back at school, she exited the family limo with all due haste and picked up her own bags. All her furnishings and wardrobe had been sent ahead and her room properly cobwebbed and dusted. She gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek and eyed her mother warily before offering a goodbye. Sin still hadn't forgiven her mother for pulling her away from Amityville and cutting her off from all outside contact. She turned and headed happily onto campus dying to go up to the demon dorms and find Rosc.

Of course...returning to Amityville meant returning to all it's little quirks and oddities. Thanks to being trusting enough to sample some potions being offered outside Sin had been forced to spend the first hours back at school locked in her dormroom as a minipet. Now that she was no longer a pink fuzzed Unmentionable, and her craving to snatch underthings was gone, she was finally able to find Rosc. The moon was high and bright and she had brushed out her hair and eyed a hundred styles in the mirror before going with a black dress in her usual style. She noted the small changes that time had wrought, the once small spines on her shoulders had curved upwards into long sharp points. Her wings flexed a bit before pulling in, they were large enough now to allow her flight...though she had yet to try such a thing. In her relfection she noted the way her pupils had faded and the glow there was more intense then she remembered. Hopefully Rosc wouldn't mind these small changes...she felt odd to see the physical growth that had crept up on her.

With a final glance back at the mirror she turned and walked out and down the hall. She paused infront of Rosc's door for a second before lifting her hand and knocking softly her stomach doing small flip flops of excitement.

Rosciel:
Rosc was working on a letter to Akariel about sending him the right things from his room and the list he had given him, not more practical jokes. He had expected more medical supplies and just a little bit of contraband, and instead had been instead sent a horde of Dustbunnies and a fairly antagonistic Treat. Along with Ban and several of her blasted jackrabbits, the dustbunnies had made a mess of his room, as usual, and had hidden all of his few personal effects. Ban, of course, had found this hilarious and no doubt the retarded kitsune would feel the same when he found out. His room was no longer in shambles and covered in a layer of tan dust, but he still had yet to recover some of his things.

A knock came from his door and he frowned even more. He really was not in the mood for visitors, hell he was never in the mood for visitors.
Well, he always liked to see one someone in particular, but at that moment Sin wasn't who he thought might be out there. He thought it would be a few more days until she got back to school.

When he opened the door and found Sin standing there, his world skidded to a crashing halt.
Without a word, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the room, pulling her against his chest in a manner somewhere between tender and desperate and kissing her like he had been dying to since the day her parents had taken her home. The hand that had been holding her wrist moved to cup the back of her head, while his free hand slammed the door shut behind her.

Sin:
She was tempted to turn back to her room and change into something nicer, but Rosc had never minded her looking casual before. She chewed on her lip a second torn, but before she could flee the door opened and she felt his hand on her wrist. For a second she was worried he hadn't recognized her, but before she could manage an 'I missed you so much' he had yanked her inside. She felt his lips press against hers in the most familiar and comforting way possible and Sin knew, she loved Amityville, but it had really been Rosc who was her home. When the time did come for them to leave school she would be happy to go as long as where he was she could be too.

Her arms came up to hold him close, but dropped low on his hips instead not wanting to touch his back and spoil the kiss. Her wings spread a little, eager to enfold him in her personal space and create a world of their own. She found herself all too eager to match the passion of the kiss since she couldn't speak to explain how much she had missed him, how happy she was to see him, how she wished they hadn't been forced apart, it was all there on her lips. She finally had to break away for a moment of laughter as her emotions ran unchecked.

"I'm so jack damn happy to see you..." She managed breathlessly.

Rosciel:
He didn't know if he was dreaming or not, but whatever this was, Rosc was in the best place in the world. He felt Sin's hands on him and knew she had missed him, too.
He studied her when she pulled back. She was different, her wings were fuller, her spikes larger. But nothing had changed between them. Nothing. She was still his, that letter had been fake, he hadn't lost her.
Rosc sighed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.
"Your mother's trying to kill me." Okay, so it was a stupid thing to say. He followed it quickly with, "I felt like I was dead all over again when I couldn't hear from you."

He wouldn't tell her about the letter that had splintered his heart. He hadn't believed she could write such a thing, he had clung to the hope that it wasn't her like he was drowning. Knowing now that it wasn't, the only other person who would do such a thing was her mother. And knowing what it was like to lose a parent, he wouldn't drive a rift between mother and daughter. Sin needed her mom, even if Rosc didn't like her much.

Sin:
Sin rested her head against Rosc's shoulder and spread her fingers gently across his bandaged chest reveling for a moment in being close to him again. She looked up and sighed at his words.

"I know what you mean...they sent me to the Demon Academy. Like it wasn't bad enough being pulled away from you and all my friends here..." A frown crossed her lips for a moment before she hugged him again.

"It's so good to be back, to be able to see you again, I was so worried...I didn't know what you would think."

Rosciel:
Rosc pulled back, looking down to see her face move into a frown when she spoke about the Demon Academy. One hand moved from around her and pressed to her cheek.
"Did anything happen?" They hadn't talked much since her short call asking for help. He had talked to Nic and then a second time after he had called Sin's parents. He wouldn't say that he trusted or cared for his mentor, but... He knew then that Nic had more than just his duty to Rosc's mother driving his actions towards Rosc.

"I... didn't know what to think at first. But I knew you wouldn't just leave me, not on your own terms," he replied, giving her another, smaller, more tender kiss.

Sin:
Sin closed her eyes and turned her face down the memory of her time at the Demon Academy all too vivid. "They pitied me at first, because they thought I'd hated it here. When they realized I had made friends and that I liked Amityville they mostly all looked at me with disgust...or a new kind of pity. None of them could understand how I could tolerate being in classes with monsters or undead or ghosts. They all acted like I had done something awful...so after a few days I just...stopped talking to anyone."

She sighed and then looked up at him the irritation with her ordeal clear in her expression. "The classes were a joke, I was in the highest division classes and all of it was ridiculously below par. I stopped going to classes after a while too because it was so mind numbing to sit through them. Nothing was anywhere near as challenging as what Amityville offered...of course the school field trip was completely uneventful as well so I guess there was that."

She smiled slowly at his kiss and leaned up to softly brush her lips against his cheek. "Enough about me...what have you been up to? Did you take your exam?"

Rosciel:
Rosc could hear the emotions in her voice more than saw them on her face. He worried that she had taken their disgust and pity to heart. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her and who she made friends with. True, he didn't make friends, but then he didn't trust anyone but her. He took her hand and led her away from the door, over to the windowseat where he liked to play his cello. The instrument itself was actually in its cradle next to the window.

He sat down with his back against the frame, stretching one leg out against the window with the other hanging off the seat, his bare foot on the floor. Rosc's head tilted up towards her, offering for her to join him on the seat. A few raindrops pattered against the window, forewarning a storm.
"There is nothing wrong with the friends you made," he finally replied, bringing the hand he still held to his lips.
"Those demons are all trust-fund rejects who know nothing about the real world we live in." He chuckled when she had turned the conversation on him, and he slowly shook his head.

"When you left... It was hard to concentrate. I worked a little here, but a lot of it I took time working on my mother's house. I think you'd like it."

Sin:
Sin moved to follow him smiling at his cello in it's stand, his music a pleasantly familiar memory. She sat down on the windowseat her legs drawn up so she could rest her head on them and face Rosc. Her wings folded inwards and she was surprised again that they had grown out.

"I guess...but they were in the majority there, I thought my attitude towards the other races was intolerant, but now I see I've been...so soft. I feel so torn...I used to want to be just like all those demons, they were all so confident. Now I think all that confidence is just an illusion...if any of them had to face what we have here...they would just...crack."

She smiled and shook her head a little "You really have to show me sometime...maybe next break...though I feel I've fallen so behind. I missed my exam of course so I'll have to take that before I go sign up for any classes."

Rosciel:
"My mentor used to tell me, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Everything you've been through here, you're stronger than any of them could ever be. On top of that, you have the strength to give others a chance to prove themselves, monsters, ghosts, even surly demons who can screw things up pretty badly." His lip quirked up at one side in a smirk. Rosc had hoped that she would sit with her back to him, lean against him, but this was fine. He could study her face and all the changes she had gone through since she had left.

Her wings had gotten larger, he wondered if she could use them to fly now. It ached inside when he thought about it. Flight was something that would, without some miracle, be denied him for the rest of his life. Sometimes, Akariel would tell him about his mother, how she would sometimes go flying with some of the other winged demons, how she looked like some huge, terrifying bird in the sky. He would never be able to fly with Sin.

"I will, whenever you want to go see it, I'll take you. As long as we have time off from school to do so," he replied, turning his face to look out the window for a moment. He smirked again.
"I promised Nic I'd work even harder, to get him to call your parents. If your mom keeps things up, I might end up selling myself into his service before too long." Oh, he wasn't being serious, and the chuckle that followed the statement made that clear if his tone hadn't.

Sin:
Sin laughed and leaned in a bit more enjoying the view of Rosc smirking. She'd missed him so very much and now she felt like she didn't dare take her eyes off him and miss something. "I didn't feel very strong...I felt like a traitor. I know I shouldn't but it's hard to see everyone set against you..."

She avoided the nipping thoughts that had plagued her ever since she had left the Demon Academy, the battle inside her had intensified and she sought to calm it. Sin knew it would help being back at Amityville, after all Riley was here and she was the best example of the perfect demon with plenty of monster, undead, and ghost associations! She couldn't wait to see all her old friends, and maybe be a bit more open to making new ones.

"I won't have time off for quite a while I have so much work to make up. When we do though we'll go..I'd rather visit there then go back home. My father wouldn't mind he knows how angry I was about being...imprisoned like that. I didn't even realize how cut off I would be until I got into my room and realized all my communication devices were gone."

Rosciel:
Rosc leaned forward just enough to take her hands and draw her to him again, wanting to hold her now more than ever. Those assholes. They had no right to judge her and cause her inner conflict. Sin was the only color in his black and gray world and he hated it when she wasn't happy.
"You're better than they'll ever be. Forget them," he replied, pressing his face into her hair to take in the scent there.

For a moment, Rosc just sat there, taking her in. This was what he wanted, more than anything else in his life and it scared the hell out of him. He had never wanted anything that he could ever possibly have, not since he lost his mother and father. For the longest time he had wanted them back, wanted his sight and his wing back, wanted the aches in his body to go away. But he would never have any of that, he knew.
But Sin... He could have her, though he knew he would never deserve her. He wasn't something she needed. He would never be comfortable and at ease at large parties, would never look like the proper demon his should have grown up to be. And yet against all reason, she didn't seem to mind that so much. She knew the heart of him, maybe that would be enough.

"I think I want to meet your father someday," he finally said, smiling into her hair.

Sin:
She moved closer to Rosc her legs sliding down against his as she relaxed back against him and closed her eyes. Her wings spread down aside so she could feel his chest against her back. She tried to take Rosc's words to heart, forget them, she wanted to do just that and maybe someday she would.

The peace of the moment allowed Sin to relax fully and appreciate being back, she finally had what she wanted. Rosc was with her, she was back at Amityville, what could go wrong now? What field trip could be worse than Red having...died. She swallowed back the sorrow of the memory and tried to ignore the voice in the back of her head warning her. Her parents had pulled her out of school because they thought she was in danger...and now that Sin was back she had to remember that she had seen and been through a lot here, but it had been worth it. She blinked and tilted her head up a bit to look at Rosc out of the corner of her eye.

"My father? What makes you say that?"

Rosciel:
"He seems sensible, and Nic told me he was the driving force that let you come back here." He paused for a moment, listening as the drops increased on the windowpane. It had been replaced a while back, he remembered the evening he'd thrown a lamp through it. Almost hit one of Sin's friends, too, actually. He never wanted to feel that way again.

"Guess I just want to tell him in person that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, not if there was anything I could do to stop it," Rosc added with a small shrug. He had already decided that if he was going to get along with either of her parents, it would probably be her father. Something about her mother said that she had already made up her mind about him. It sucked, but there was nothing he could really do about it.
He gave her a small squeeze, reminding her that as long as he was breathing, he'd be there to hold her tight, even if the world started crashing down around them, he'd be there for her.

Sin:
"They sort of argued about it...my parents never yell, but Mother actually came pretty close after she found out I called you. She snapped the case on my phone and she and my Father were pretty tense for a while. They seem alright now, but I know Mother wasn't completely in agreement about me coming back to Amity." She shook her head and then shrugged. Her mother would get over it once she realized how much happier Sin was back at school.

"I think my Father likes what he's heard of you...we talked a lot while he was helping me with some sparring lessons...and I told him we had practiced. I'm sure he knows you wouldn't let anything happen if it could be helped. I'm sure Mother will understand eventually...she just has all these...ambitions." Sin moved her hands to cover Roscs and gently twined her fingers with his.

Rosciel:
Rosc's fingers closed around Sin's.
"Don't let her ambitions get in the way of what you want, Sin. Hell, don't even let me get in the way. If there's something you want, I'd try my damnedest to help you get it, but if I'm an obstacle... Whenever you need me to step aside, ask." It was difficult saying that. In truth he didn't want to step aside, ever, he always wanted to be at her side. But he wouldn't crush her dreams or aspirations, either. If she wanted something, there was no way he could deny her of it. Even if it hurt him.

"I'll never be the social powerhouse your mother wants for you... But maybe a reclusive business tycoon might make up for that? This school could use more classes in that area," he added, the last sentence sounding annoyed. If he was going to excel, he needed proper training and right now he wasn't sure what he was learning here was exactly what he was looking for.
Besides Sin, of course.

Sin:
Her head tilted as she frowned up at him and squeezed his fingers. "Don't say that Rosc...you aren't in my way...my mother thinks that only making some perfect match is important. I can do just fine on my own, but I know I'm a better demon with you by my side...we ARE the perfect match." Her voice sounded confident, perhaps because for the first time Sin was certain of that much, no matter what had happened or what came...she and Rosc did belong together.

"Well maybe once you take your exam you can see if any of the second year classes help with that. I do admit all the classes at the Demon Academy were completely narrowed into what a proper demon is supposed to know...did you know there are over fifteen shades of white and not all are appropriate to decorate with? Oh and that going anywhere without a cravat is completely beneath the demons of the upper classes...unless your so upper class that you don't wear one just to make a statement." She huffed and rolled her eyes. "It was beyond stupid...and I thought my etiquette lessons were rough."

Rosciel:
"Well, I wouldn't know what white looked like, anyway. I don't think I really remember what colors look like." The words were out before he could stop them, and he visibly winced once they were. He didn't like talking about his vision, and he couldn't remember if he had ever told her that he couldn't actually see what she really looked like. It was why he didn't have more than two colors in his wardrobe, and those only varied with his shirts.

His heart swelled, though, when she had said there were the perfect match, no matter what her mother thought. Good, there were no more doubts of that. All he wanted was for her to be happy and to not doubt herself so much. Knowing that his presence helped with at least part of that... He felt better than he had in weeks.

"You know, I think I've only seen a couple demons wearing cravats. And those tended to be the sons of other club members, the ones trying to get accepted themselves." Rosc was the only case of a grandfathered member. The reasoning behind it had been so that he was under the protection of the entire club, rather than just Nicodemus. Not a single member had disagreed.

Sin:
"I'm sorry..." Sin looked at Rosc worried, she had managed so many things, learning not to touch his back for one. Yet she saw him move with such grace and ease that she often forgot completely how limited his vision really was. She worried that she had offended him and looked down.

"I...I think I'm so used to how well you seem to perceive things...I forget." She did remember the illusion of the Raven, deep dark shadows that were a mimicry of eyes. She remembered discovering that Rosc and her Raven were one in the same, she'd caught him without his blindfold for a split second...but he'd covered so quickly and she had been so confused...she had never really seen how little Rosc could see.

"Yes well, the school uniform included them for the boils. The ghouls...ugh sweet Jack everyday was haute couture it was completely impractical! Even the gym uniform was this insane dress...and gym was laughable it was mostly just formal dance or the art of fencing except no one was really fencing they just toyed with one another and stood there shouting out insults on one another's honor."

Rosciel:
Rosc chuckled when she complained about the uniform. That must have driven her crazy.
"Hmm, maybe I should look into this school, see what they'd think of a real demon." He paused for a moment, then sighed.

"It's okay, I couldn't remember if I told you... It just sucks to have to rely on others to make sure the colors of clothes I buy match." His room was a clear indicator of his handicap. While all of the furnishings were a similar style, they were in no way the same color. Rosc had bought them for their shape and functionality and texture, and unfortunately they hadn't been in a set. The only things that matched in the entire room where the nightstands on either side of the bed, which had come together.

The hand not clasped in hers rose and toyed with a lock of her hair.
"It also sucks that I can't see you completely. I didn't even know you had streaks in your hair until you told me in that eee!-mail... What color are your eyes?"

Sin:
"I forget...but I shouldn't..." Sin licked her lips and looked up at him with a slight smile. "Don't worry, someday I'll just pick all your clothes for you and they'll always look good." She laughed a bit and then glanced around the room at the array of colors. Part of her had always just thought Rosc needed the unique colors to stand out so he could see them...she hadn't realized he couldn't distinguish them. The textures she understood, everything in his room felt so nice.

She had to swallow to keep her voice steady at the reminder that he couldn't quite see her. All her fuss over looking perfect all the time was for her own vanity...Rosc liked her for more than her looks...mainly it seemed because he couldn't really see her. It was a strange thought, unsettling to know her beauty wasn't going to effect him.

"Yes...from my mother's side...hers aren't pink though. My eyes...oh well...when we first met they were yellow and orange...but now the orange seems to have faded a bit and they...they've got a bit more glow to them...I'm getting scarier...I guess." She wasn't even sure if words like pink, orange, or yellow meant anything to him and she wished she had a way to explain better.

Rosciel:
Rosc smiled, letting the lock of hair drop so he could wrap his arm back around her.
"I suppose I wouldn't mind you picking out more clothes, as long as I picked the shape," he replied, though what he meant was the style and fabric. Colors he could survive, but he had a certain style, both for formal and informal wear.
He got the feeling he had never really explained to her how he saw things. So he decided to show her.

He brought their hands up, so that she could look at them. He turned their hands so that she could see the back of his, see the small, scratch-shaped scars on his wrist. With his other hand, he traced the shape of their hands.
"I see a solid shape, but also every dip, every rise. I know exactly where your fingers rest on the back of my hand, and I can see the raised marks of ever scar." He let their hands fall, pressing the side of his face to her hair.
"I can see your hair and every single long lash around your perfect eyes. Make-up all looks the same to me, but if you want to wear it, I don't care. And I remember orange, like pumpkins. I... can't think of anything that was yellow. I remember... my mother had blue eyes and blue in her black hair. And my mother said my father's eyes looked like ambers... And I remember red. I don't think I'll ever forget that color."

Sin:
Sin listened quietly as Rosc explained his vision, the things he could see and what he couldn't. She wondered if he could tell that her skin was pigmented so differently than his. He could see the shapes, see her hair but he wouldn't be able to distinguish what color she wore, or her shades of lipstick. All the tiny details she had taken for granted and forgotten completely that Rosc wouldn't be able to share. It didn't make her love him any less, but she did feel badly, because she knew that she had been selfish and self centered to only realize so much of this now. Then she felt guilty, because she pitied him all the things that would be denied to him forever all because of what had happened that...red red day.

She didn't say any of it though, she knew Rosc didn't want pity, and she didn't want to admit how self centered she had been. "Yellow is like a lighter orange...orange is like yellow and red...and yellow is orange without the red." Her voice trembled a bit as she tried to explain the colors, it meant a lot to her to try and share them with him, to try and help him capture some image of her. "My skin is..." She found herself at a loss for words unsure how to describe the faint purple that she saw in the mirror everyday. "flawless..." She finally finished lamely, it wasn't what she had wanted to say, but until she could explain better it was something to fill her awkward pause.

Rosciel:
Rosc chuckled, warmed when she tried to explain the colors to him. It didn't make sense, but he wouldn't tell her that. It would have been easier if she had mentioned something a toddler might have seen that would be yellow, but that was okay, no matter what color they were, her eyes were beautiful to him.
And when she said her skin was flawless, he smirked, running the fingertips of his free hand up her arm. He traced his fingers over her bare shoulders and across her collarbone, her neck, her cheek, dragging them as slowly as possible, as if he was memorizing the feel anf shape of what he touched. Maybe he was, one never knew.

"Even I can tell that it's flawless. You don't need to see colors to be able to tell that," he finally said, dipping his head to kiss her near where her shoulder met her neck.

"Prom should be coming up again soon..." He paused to kiss the side of her neck and then her cheek. "Do you want to go?"

Sin:
She smiled and relaxed at the sound of his chuckle, the smirk, his fingers moving along her skin. All these small things combined made Sin feel incredibly lucky and she found herself vainly pleased by his words. As his fingers traced along her shoulders she glanced at him.

"Careful...my spikes are sharper than before...." She had realized it one morning when she had torn one of her old dresses.

She tilted her head and closed her eyes to enjoy the kiss before they opened again startled. She twisted a bit to look at Rosc and determine what he meant. Was he asking her to the prom? Or was he simply checking to see if she planned to go on her own? Rosc hated crowds, he couldn't be asking her to go with him.

"Yeah I plan on going...but we can do something together after if you'd like? A picnic or moonlight swim."

Rosciel:
"I'm always careful." Okay, so that was a lie for the most part. But he was always careful when he touched her. He never, ever wanted to hurt Sin. And he had noticed, not that he minded. Their growth meant she was growing too, they both were.
Her response confused him at first, it took Rosc a moment to realize that she was assuming he wouldn't go. It was true, he hated things like that, large parties, lots of crowds. But... He wanted to see Sin in a prom dress, he wanted to see her dressed up, to see her happy as she moved around the crowd, mingling with her friends. He knew it would make her happy to go, and he knew she'd be even happier if he was there with her. It seemed like he was doing all of the things in life he hated, just to make her smile. And... he was starting to not care as much.

"A picnic or a swim sounds like a really good idea," he replied, deciding that he would ask her another time, in a more elaborate way than simply asking her to.

Sin:
"I think the theme this year is a masquerade, I might have to call my mother and ask her to send down my dress and mask. Then again she's not exactly in a charitable mood right now so I might just go shopping and see if I can find a new dress." She wanted to ask him to go with her, to be the raven...err dove? to her black swan, but she didn't need to put Rosc into an uncomfortable situation. She had gone to the last Prom by herself and she had gone to the Scarentines dance alone...and he had shown up for the tail end, it was best to leave him to his own devices.

She turned to kiss his cheek and slowly released his hand with a sigh. "I need to go see about taking my exam...and then I should probably find Julian. He sent me some texts about a ghoul and he can probably fill me in on what's been going on on campus while we were away."

Rosciel:
Rosc slipped from around her, pulling her to her feet. He would talk to her later about outfits, maybe they could go as something else. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of going as a bird again, not with his wings white. But she didn't think he was going, not yet.

"You'll do fine on your exam, don't worry about it," he assured her and gave her a kiss. He wondered what she would learn from her little bird-boil. The idea that the shy demon had sent Sin texts about a ghoul amused Rosc a bit, wondering what type of ghoul it was that could push the harbinger into searching for advice. Either way, he'd find out later about all of this, he was certain Sin would tell him at one point.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

Sin:
"Tomorrow seems so far away...but yeah probably tomorrow..." She leaned in to hug him tight her grip mostly on his side as she kissed his jawline softly. "I missed you so much." She sighed and slowly let go, she would have to reign in her emotions. Things could settle down now, she didn't have to be afraid of being ripped away from Rosc or her school.

"I'll see you then." She smiled and walked to the door.