Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zelos laughs nervously as he follows Sheena out the door.

Rhone, who was now trying to divert attention away from his lack of energy, Rhone was looking frantically for something to divert his attention towards, when he notices Azriel's wings again.

Hmmm....well, when's the next time I'm gonna have the opportunity to study wings like this? Probably never, I'd say.....the hell with it.

He walks over to the bed and views the demonic wing while folding and unfolding it.
"Heh...Wonder if I should tell Raine...or at least take notes for her. The wing is very bat-like in both structure and style...and it's very durable....hmm....wonder if Oscuro notices me doing this...."

Grimm, who had been quiet since they arrived back at the manor, ran out after Sheena and Zelos. "Umm, do you mind if I come with you two? I'd really like to see more of this world."

Cerberus laughed as Oro began to drag Schwartz and Cain out the door. "This looks like it will be entertaining." He said as he began to follow behind them.

Zelos grins as he climbs into the Rheiard behind Sheena and held onto her waist, actually being careful NOT to do anything stupid. The last thing he wanted was to plummet from the sky.
"Aaaaalright...let's see what our favorite convict's been doing for the last year."

Rhone, being done examining the demon wing, has moved to the angel wing. He folds the wing over her and back , while examining the texture.

"Wow....this would make a veeeeery good pillow..."

he gently tugs on a few of the feathers.

"Hmm...I don't think she would appreciate waking up with feathers missing...I think I'll leave those alone. ^_^" "

Zelos looks up into the air and thinks for a moment.
"Well...I do recall her picture being on wanted posters a couple times...but I never actually read what for...."

Now Rhone was lifting both wings up and moving them slightly.
"Hmm...the weight of both wings is equal...the density of the demon wing is higher, but the angelic wing is a bit larger to cover for that....quite an amazing biological design...."

"...Hm." Kratos raised an eyebrow at the scene, giving him a skeptical look on his face. It was difficult for him to believe the brothers were what Raine said they were. Gatekeepers to the land of the dead? Such a concept differed from the standard beliefs of the afterlife. He desired proof, but what kind of proof over these sort of matters could exist? Surely not written records. The thought of returning to the world for naught was slightly irritating, but he was here now and there was no turning back. I suppose I'll have to wait for the proof to present itself to me, he concluded in his mind, returning to observing the...now mostly empty scene. All that was left was Cinkel in his chair, whom he now noticed was watching himself and Raine intently.

~

Sheena went on to explain, "Besides Chiaro, that angel-like being you saw...there is a darker being that I've also been able to see, named Oscuro. It's that part of her that's believed to be a demon." A silent pause. "...Despite rumors like that, you don't think Azriel's a bad person...do you?"

~

O_o "... ... ... ..." o_O

The two just stared at each other's wings, blinking in bewilderment as Chiaro's right wing swiveled around; Oscuro's, her left.

Rhone finally lets go of the wings and instead places his hand on Azriel's collar. He then leans over her to take a closer look at it.
"Hmmm....now this is pretty....so this is where Chiaro and Oscuro come from......"
He rubs his thumb across one of the stones and continues to stare at the collar.

~~~

Zelos sighs at Sheena's question.
"No, she doesn't seem like a bad girl at all...more like an unlucky one. I can't help but wonder what got her involved in this mess..."

((As Nine tells me she's become too busy, I am permanently taking Kratos.))

Touching the jewels on the collar offered one such as Rhone a peek into Azriel's mindspace as long as his touch remained there. The view was from a high angle looking down. What could be seen was just pitch-black darkness all around and a blue stone floor that seemed to have a dim glow to it. Of course, Chiaro and Oscuro could be seen there too.

Looking up, the two could see something of a rift open up---but it wasn't the kind that could be passed in and out of. It was just something that provided them an image of whoever was looking down at them, as well as faint images of the immediate space around them. In this case, the dark elf and the room at Zelos' mansion which Azriel slept in the night before.

"...Rhone?" they uttered in a questioning tone, blinking. Their voices could be heard in Rhone's mind.

~

Sheena furrowed her brow as she realized something. "Come to think of it...that's something I have yet to know too. How she got that cursed collar in the first place."

By now, the island that Altamira was on appeared close by. Sheena steered the Rheaird into landing right outside the large resort. Once she and Zelos got their feet back on terra firma, she put the aircraft back into her Wing Pack.

"Well, we're here. Off to Lezareno Headquarters we go," she declared, turning toward Altamira's gates.

~

Kratos continued to observe the boy in silence, now holding his chin in contemplation. That was another thing that came to mind---how could this seemingly ordinary human being resonate such darkness? He didn't possess any sort of modified Exsphere or other enhancement that would give off that kind of feeling.

Cain jumped up and offered his hand towards Cerberus, "Cain Yuzibiyashi, next in line for the title of Elder in Heimdal, the village of the elves. You can call me Cain. Nice to meetcha."

Cinkel turned his gaze towards Cain and Cerberus, "Boy Elder, it seems all those hits on the head with that cane finally did a number on you, eh?" He let out a small chuckle.