Prompt
1.6.11
When you come upon the scene, it is a weak and dying Herald that you find, unable even to stand. A few scattered feathers on the ground are the only remnants of the wings it once possessed. It has come to this place to die...or be saved? That, of course, is up to you.
You are alone when you find the angel. The Heralds have long gone unsaved, and though it appears to you, it does not hold much hope of living on. Near to where the two of you meet rests a grey stone slab that the angel seems desperate to reach. With your help, the Herald climbs upon it, needing something from you to save its life. What will you choose to give it? And what significance does that item hold for you? Is it a family heirloom? Something you happened to have on hand? Something you'd purchased earlier that day? A lucky charm?
You may have noticed that many details have been left off. This is because we want you to have plenty of freedom to develop the scene yourself. Consider time of day, weather, season, etc. when you post.
Disbelief. For a terrifying moment, the white-haired shifter's mind refused to process the scene before him as he stared at the motionless form. He'd decided to go through the small stretch of woods on the edge of his neighborhood in order to cut the time it took him to walk home in half. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue and the afternoon sun shone with such brilliance that every color seemed overly saturated. For a moment the situation seemed too ironic for Jakeb to believe: in the soft green grass lay a dying figure. Then his medical instincts leaped to life, along with his feet, and he approached the fallen person so fast that they flinched in surprise.
It wasn't until he set down the package he was carrying, his finger brushing against something soft, that he realized there were feathers scattered around the pale form. His heart danced in his chest, beating so hard and fast that he was sure it was audible even to the one on the ground. The closer he drew to the stranger, his fingers reaching to feel a pulse, the more he felt that this was a being from far beyond his world. Before his fingers touched skin, however, he felt a hand weakly grip his arm and he stared down into a lidded gaze. He didn't need to be a doctor, or clairvoyant, to know that this person was going to die. His clairvoyance, however, did serve to help him recognize the look of desperation in those dulling irises.
"What is it?" Jake managed to croak, throat suddenly dry, his brow furrowing as he leaned a fraction of an inch closer to the herald. He kept his focus fixed on those eyes, searching physically and mentally for an answer - but the dying one was the one to blink and look away.
Quickly, he swiveled his gaze to the left, where a large boulder jutted out from the ground. That was odd - he walked this path several times a week and he had never noticed such a stone. Uncertain, he looked back to the figure with a light frown, and saw that the young one was now gasping quietly. "I'm not sure I should move you...."
A pained look formed on the beautiful features, marring them in a way that made the shifter immediately feel guilty. "All right!" he said quickly as he gently slipped a strong forearm under a slim, bare back of the one he now recognized to be a male. Long, white hair shifted to the side, brushing lightly over Jakeb's arm as he set the limp body atop the boulder. He hoped somehow that the poor, beautiful boy could now die in peace - but it seemed he was wrong.
Pale fingers uncurled, stretching shakily to reach towards Jake. No, not towards the shifter, but behind him. The man turned, looking to the package he had set upon the ground just seconds before. "What? You want to see what's inside?" Quickened breath and a slight pull on the boy's lips answered his question and he quickly retrieved the package, pulling off the lid and revealing its contents; but it seemed the fallen one still wasn't content. His fingers grasped the open air like a child begging for a gift and Jakeb, with a soft smile, pulled out the beautifully decorated horn.
"It's for my wife... It used to be my grandmother's. Her husband gave it to her when they were first married, and my uncle gave me permission to use it as an anniversary present. It's beautiful, isn't it?" The angel's eyes were wide as they stared at the horn, admiring the light pink flowers that adorned the underside of the faded surface. Though his breathing was slowly growing more slower and more shallow, he managed to raise his head and stare pleadingly into Jakeb's icy blue eyes.
"...I guess there's no harm in you holding-," the shifter began to say softly as he handed the gift over, but choked on a gasp when the horn disappeared at the dying one's touch. A peaceful look stretched over the pale one's face as his eyes drifted shut, then he too was gone.
Jakeb stood dumbfounded for a few more seconds, then several thoughts struck him at once: the lithe, seemingly male body; the feathers; the lack of a dying breath. Though he wasn't religious, the shifter entertained a hopeful, childish believe in the idea that something holy lurked in the supernatural realm. Had he really just seen an angel? ...and now what was he going to get for an anniversary present?
