heart Its Just a Little Crush! (The Assignment) heart
Nadine slipped out of her room. She was wearing a simple black night gown. She'd spent one night there and wasn't exactly sure what time it was or where she was even. Ezzie had pleaded to spend the night with Dia and since she felt ten times closer to him now she let him. The blond had brushed her hair quickly and was investigating where she could find food. She was rather nervous since she had debated getting dressed a million times over but this was a 'dress' so tectonically she was 'dressed'. She padded throughout the hallways in bare feet, scared that she'd forgotten the directions that Rouge had hastily told her.
The ship, having a soul, was quite willing to oblige and let her into the mess hall before she stumbled around for too long. In the kitchen, making an ice cream sundae for some reason, was a being who looked somewhat like a tall thin woman. His hair was bright pink as were his eyes and he was amazingly thin. He wore a white robe like thing that was off the shoulder but had long flowy sleeves. He preferred robes to pants when he slept for some reason. Something Steve liked to mark off to him being rather....badly endowed, for a male but Sasha said it was because he liked to move.
Nadine took in the scent of blessed ice cream and walked over to the man, clutching gown closer. Ice cream wasn't really a 'breakfast' but Nadine was a teenager and not picky about such things. "Excuse me miss, do you mind if I have some?" She asked having made the mistake from behind due to the hair and body type. "I'm lucky I found this place at all..."
Sasha jumped and blinked several times looking around. Then he looked back at Nadine. "oh! You mean me. Sorry. I'm not a miss actually. The name's Sasha and yes you can have some. Just don't eat it too fast or you may get a headache and I'm running out of herbs for those." he said cheerfully. His voice was a bit high pitched as well, like a teenage boy's which had never broken.
Nadine flushed deeply and turned her head away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to insult you... " She really hoped she didn't just kill her chance at a new friend on the ship. To distract herself she busied herself searching for the bowls. "I just came here yesterday..."
“Oh no it's fine. I'm used to it. just letting you know." he said cheerfully, making her a sundae after she found a bowl. "If you got here yesterday then I'll take it that you're Nadine. Rouge mentioned you. I'm the ship's doctor."
The French woman giggled into her hand. "Yes, my name is Nadine, I'm from France." She let her accent strengthen slightly then found a spoon. "Would you care to eat early morning ice cream with me, Doctor?"
"Certainly." the young man said cheerfully, sitting down at one of the tables with the woman. "I'm from Nurika but my father was half Dahi. Sad that I lost my wings though. They were pretty." he said with a light laugh.
She blinked in worry. "You lost your... wings? They fell off? When? You aren't hurt are you?" She stirred her sundae then looked at him with concern dancing in her hazel eyes. True she didn't know this man save for his name and job but she didn't like pain.
"Well you could say they fell off I guess. But no no I'm not hurt." he laughed. "They fell off YEAAAAAAAAARS ago." the memory was painful but no need to bring that up. "Nurika is a realm of fairy like beings. I was an oddity anyway. My Dahi blood made me tall so I wouldn't be able to fly with my wings but they were still pretty. Pink. I liked them a lot." he said cheerfully again, eating his sundae.
She relaxed a great deal knowing whatever pain he'd been in wasn't recent. Everyone had scars. "You like pink? I don't think I've ever meet a guy who likes that color." She wrinkled her nose, "Most boys I know think its a bad color but I love it." She started to eat her sundae.
"Well I have to love pink. My hair is pink, my eyes are pink, my wings were pink, and the same with my mom's hair eyes and wings. So I got raised to love it." he laughed.
Nadine touched his hand with hers and smiled comfortingly. "Well I think it suits you." She returned to her sundae, removing her hand. Taking a bite, she shivered from the cold that was slithering through her body.
Sasha smiled again, a bit differently this time, as if he were thinking. The two finished their sundaes, chitchatting about their homes.
Nadine pulled back her hair and stared down at her finished sundae. She really did think this man was interesting. "So if you're a fairy... can you do magic?" Her eyes lit fire as though she craved magic herself.
"Fairy magic some, Dahi magic a good bit and Witchcraft quite a lot. I did a lot of magic study during my years of being a sl-traveling."
She caught the word he wanted to say but didn't comment on it. He didn't want to talk about and she didn't really want to know. But the magic part... "Witchcraft?" The hunger for knowing literally poured out of her. "Do... I mean if its.... not too much trouble ....um, could you.... show me?" She nervously fiddled with the edge of her dress and wished she had thought to bring a jacket.
"Sure." he said, holding up a hand. Closing those pink eyes he began a spell, whispering unknown words under his breath. A pink compass appeared in his palm, pointing to Nadine. And then the compass of shining pink dust began to spin like rapid fire, spinning up into a spiral and bursting into a flower shape, leaving two white lilies, the purest she had ever seen, standing straight up in Sasha's palm.
Nadine's eyes went wide in amazement. "They're so...they're amazing!" She gingerly reached out her hand to take them. There was a warm glow to her face, as if she'd experienced pure joy from watching the display. It was the truth, Nadine truly loved magic. "Could I learn....?" Her voice was lower now, almost hoping he hadn't heard her.
"That spell would probably take a bit of training to do. I used a bit of Nurikan charm on it but the actual spell requires more preparation even if it is possible. I could show you some simpler spells if you want though."
"Tha-that would be great! I'd love that...." She held the lilies close to her and touched their petals. "I love magic but I've never seen anyone actually do it...I've read about it countless times though..." Her eyes sparkled with respect for Sasha.
"You're probably gonna see a ton here. The ship is half run on a much stronger magic then I have. Rouge can show you that and introduce you to Anna later. But that magic is inherit so neither of us could learn it. But I can show you whatever magic you'd like to learn."
They were both done their sundaes so Sasha stood up to wash them. "If you want we can look through the spell books in the library. They're all in different dialects of Tison and Dahi but some I can translate for you."
"That would be amazing!" She rushed over to help him wanting to do something in return. "You would really do that for me? I mean I hope I'm not wasting your time... I'm not sure if I have any magic at all." She stared down at her hands willing just a spark. Nothing came.
Sasha laughed a bit. "Everyone's got a bit of magic in them. Even mortals. You just need to learn how to use it. And it's no trouble to me. My main activity is sitting around the library and Dartsmoore's treasure room and try to sort things. Kind of like the girl in the book Dealing With Dragons but that's another matter. Company would be much enjoyed." he told her with a nod.
"Don't you get bored?" She asked watching him clean the dishes. Was he really a guy? He seemed so personable compared to her father and the kids at school. He was nicer and his girlish features gave him a wonderful grace. In fact she liked the way he-- She paused then blushed considerably. Was she checking him out? She knew girls did it all the time but Nadine had never really found anyone TO 'check out'. Nadine allowed herself to dismiss it as her excitement. "What kind of spells can I learn?"
"I get very bored sometimes." he laughed. "But usually I find something to do. And you'll probably have to learn simple exercise spells at first, like minor levitation spells."
Once again she bubbled with joy. Without much thought she tackled him into a hug of thanks. "Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to me!" Realizing what she did, she froze. Decidedly, she blamed Dia for his obsession with hugging people. It rubbed off on her.
He smiled and hugged her back quickly. Sasha, having lived on the ship for several years, was well aware of Dia's habit of tackle hugging people and was used to it. "Well if you're tired I'll let you go back to bed. Or I can show you to the library now."
Nadine's face burned when he hugged her back and jerked away. "Um ah um....it um, hehehe... I would like to go but do you mind if I get changed first? There's no way I can sleep now but I'm cold."
"Certainly." he laughed. "I need to get on some regular clothes myself." he was blushing a bit too. "One thing though. You may wanna try this." he told Nadine before walking to the door. Before he opened he looked up and said. "Anna, I'd like to go to my quarters please." and the door opened to a lighted bedroom and closed once more behind Sasha. It was strange. how did the ship know to do that and how had his room gotten there and who was Anna?
"Anna....?" She questioned but he was already gone. She licked her lips nervously, realizing they didn't establish a place to meet or anything. "A....Anna? May... may I go to my room please?"
Certainly you may, kid. A strange voice(which a slightly Brooklyn accent) said in her mind. The doors opened and there was her room ready for her to change in.
Nadine jumped and shouted a small thank you before bolting into her room. Now she had a problem. What did one wear to learn magic? Her fingers slid over each of her dresses then to her other clothes. Picking an outfit, she dressed quickly then went to the doors again. She was liking this safer way of getting around. "Um, Anna, may I please go wherever Sasha is?"
A small laugh was heard in her mind. If you insist. Anna laughed.
Then the doors opened to Sasha's room where he looking through his closet for a shirt, wearing only a pair of tight black pants which showed both that he was male(though not too big) and that he had a great a**. And his chest, while very thin was still rather nice. But it was his back that was the most interesting. On his back were two long burn scars that were obviously very old. Blushing a bit he glanced at her. "Sorry. I forgot to tell you where to meet didn't I?"
The only thing that escaped her opened mouth was a slight squeak. One: She'd never seen a guy shirtless before, two: she'd never considered an a** 'nice' but he just proved her wrong and three: she suddenly felt much warmer then she had before. She finally came slightly to her senses focused only on his back. That looked so painful... She reached out her hand and instinctively touched them with the tips of her fingers. Her hands were still cold from earlier.
Sasha jumped a bit and turned around. "Gyah!" he said in surprise then calmed down. "Oi. Sorry. wasn't expecting that." he told her. "Though no matter how long I'm alive I don't think I could get used to some one being able to actually touch that part of my back since that was where my wings were."
"They..... those were burn marks..." She whispered shrinking back. He'd scared her when he turned around and she had automatically assumed the position to protect herself from being hit. She'd never been hit before but she knew plenty of girls that did. Still, she felt guilty since Sasha didn't seem the type. "Sorry, I won't do it again, I promise."
"Yes." he muttered softly. "That's what they did after my wings 'fell' off to make sure they didn't grow back." He quickly put on a shirt and smiled. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I just wasn't expecting you to do that is all." he told her with a smile. "This way." he said, offering his arm and mentally requesting to go to the treasure room.
Nadine felt awful. Even after that display and touching him, he was still being so nice to her. She reached out and took his arm carefully. She was now wearing something that fit her finer tastes better. Since the man had admitted to liking pink she had chosen a soft pink dress, a few shades lighter then his hair. The dress fit her figure very well, giving her the famous 'hour glass' shape. While her hair cascaded down the back and over her shoulders like a river of gold. "Can't you use magic... to .... get them back?"
"We have tried. There is no spell a mortal could perform to fix them." Sasha said, showing her into the room. It was stunning. Gold, silver, jewels, etc. It was an AMAZING room. But it was an utter mess. 1/5 the room was neat and orderly with shining objects and the rest was full of a dull dirtied mass of objects.
She let the words stick in her mind. Was she considered a 'mortal'? She decided because of his kindness, she would go to whatever lengths she could to get his wings back. Even if she never did, she would at least try. "Wow... " She muttered when all the jewels caught her eye but frowned. "This room could use a maid. If you would like, I won't object to helping... clean this room."
"That's what we're here for. Almost every object in here is magic. So I'll have to teach you the safety rules for it."
"I think I know the first one: Don't touch anything." She beamed up at him with laughter in her eyes.
"No you kind of have to touch these things." he laughed. "The first one is don't try to TEST anything. Don't put on rings, don't swish the swords, none of it. You clean it, you put it in the pile of that type of object and you move on to the next item." it was said in a teasing tone but he meant it.
She nodded and relaxed considerably. "I thought we were going to learn spells though? How does cleaning a room teach me to levitate?" She asked then spotted a pendant with a violet stone. "Oh wow... Are you SURE about that 'don't try anything on' rule?"
"If an item belonged to the goddess of pranks, it may be cursed to kill whoever puts it on that's not her. If you were to put it on not knowing it's power-and we don't know ANY of the powers of the items here yet-then you would be dead." he told her, with a bit more sober of a tone. "And you learn levitation spells here easiest because when you've cleaned an item and don't feel like leaving your spot or your legs have fallen asleep you can levitate it to the right pile." he told her, bending down to grab a helmet and his cleaning gear, unintentionally showing off his a** again.
Nadine was half listening, VERY distracted by his rear end. Her fingers were already clenched around the object in her hands as she moved it toward herself. It was very pretty... She glanced at the rest of the items there and then back down at the single amulet in her hands. Could any of these help Sasha? They said they didn't know what they did, right? Maybe one of them... While his back was turned, she turned around herself and put the necklace on.
Sadly for Nadine the necklace was in no way a good one. Just as Sasha had said it had been a necklace that belonged to the goddess of pranks. but luckily for Nadine it wasn't the one that killed people. This one just turned them into cats while it was worn and until someone used a simple charm breaking spell. Sasha turned around, saw the pile of clothes, the cat wearing the necklace and knew. "Oh crud. Nadiiiiiiine. I said not to put on any of the items. Come here you." he said taking the necklace off of her and putting it back where it went. "This is going to be embarrassing for you either way I hope you know. If I leave you like this you'll be stuck as a cat which is embarrassing because of how it happened and if I turn you back you'll be naked."
The blond cat put her ears down and gave him a shameful stare. Ear ears went back up at the mention of her being naked.. suddenly she'd rather be the cat. Speaking of which, there was a loose string on his shirt... She watched it being moved by his breath, completely ignoring him now and started to bat at it. "Mreow... Mrow..."
Sasha laughed. "How about I just turn around and change you back?"
Nadine really didn't care anymore. Her mind was more interested in the sounds and the way the light entered the room. She started to purr and nudged one of his hands, hoping to get stroked. Changed back...? Did that deal with food? Somewhere Nadine's real mind was trying to over take the cat but she was really to dazed to do anything. She settled for pushing his hand trying to get it over her nose so he'd get the hint. Life was neat. Life was awesome . Life... needed to be itched behind the ears.
Sasha rolled his eyes a bit. "Fine. But then I'm changing you back." he told her, scratching the woman behind her cat ears. However, the goddess had been a silly one. As he scratched her lightly behind her ears the cat form spell wore off and his hand was behind the ear of a nude woman.
Nadine leaned into his hand and tried to keep purring when her eyes suddenly snapped open. She slowly lifted up her head and stared at Sasha. Her arms came up to hide her upper chest region but she dared not stand. Her eyes were wide and her face beat red. "uhm....."
"I'll turn around now." he said and did a strange move. From his kneeling position he spun on his heels, standing and facing the other way again, hands clapped over his face as he flushed brighter then his eyes.
Sadly, before Sasha had been able to remove his hand from Nadine and turn, Rouge entered looking for Sasha to say that real breakfast was ready. Giggling a bit she said "Am I interrupting something?"
Now Nadine REALLY looked like a deer in the head lights. She let out a very loud yelp of protest then dove for her clothes, quickly putting them on. "No-we -I ....I mean... he's um.....I was uh....amulet and then I was a cat and..."
Rouge cracked up. "Nadine you've been here one day and already getting romantic with the doctor. Good going." she teased, winking. "He's been in need of a girlfriend for some time."
"Hey! I-Nothing happened! She just tried on a necklace and-"
Rouge laughed and pat him on the shoulder. "Have fun you two. If I know Sasha you had a sundae for breakfast. But when you guys want regular food it's being served."
Nadine stared at the ground now even redder (if it was possible) then before. Great, she literally just got here and she was proving the 'easy French woman' stereotype. She waited until Rouge left and turned to Sasha apologetically. There were even small tears in the corner of her eyes. "I'm so sorry about that! I didn't mean to I really really didn't mean to!" She put her hand down on the table to steady herself and winced. She closed her eyes as if mentally swearing then lifted up her bleeding hand. "Ow...." Her eyes trailed down to a sword that had been sticking up due to being propped up. She pointed to the weapon with her good hand. "Yes, thank you sword, because that was very necessary."
Sasha smiled softly and walked over, taking her hand and blowing gently on the mark. As was his magic that pink dust flew over the cut, closing it up but not removing the mark. "That's the best I can do for this kind of mark. Magic swords take special magic to heal." he told her gently. "And don't worry. Rouge is a tease. She's just playing around. She knows it was an accident. Those happen when it's your first time in here. She was here when I started cleaning this place and tried to test a ring and got sick to my stomach." he reassured her.
"Thank you..." She whispered in reply watching him as he fixed what he could. The searing pain had left her hand and she felt better. He wasn't mad, he wasn't yelling, in fact he was being just as kind, if not kinder then before. Her mind had finally decided it: No matter what the cost or how much pain she'd go through, she'd repay him. She'd give him back what he'd lost. "Can you tell me...? Can you tell me how you lost your wings?"
"It's a long story so you'll have to take a seat if you wanna hear."
"Are you willing to tell me?" She didn't want to make him upset.
"Of course. I just warn you it may be a bit hard for you to hear." he told her softly, sitting down with her.
Nadine sat down like a child egger for a story. "I can.. handle it." She replied with a soft smile of her own She made sure there were not more sharp objects around before engrossing herself into words. Ready to hang onto to each one as if it were a life line. Unlike most people her age, Nadine listened.
Sasha thought for a bit. "Well I had better start at the beginning because if you don't know why I was where I was it would be odd. I was born in Nurika to a full blooded Nurikan woman and a half Dahi man. My Dahi grandmother always taught me healing spells as it was one of the family traits. My mother often taught me fairy and nature magic as well. By the time I was 13 my mother thought it best for me to go to the Tison Capital and do a bit more magic training. My first night there and my first night away from home by myself I was accosted by a few drunk Faekynans. Faekynah is one of the Tison earth realms, their residents are elf like. Nurikans used to be Faekynans but they believed in the change of seasons and left Faekynah to seek their own way, changing in appearance and nature. Faekynans have a strange hatred for Nurikans because of it. And due to that they decided to take their drunken rage out on me. They ripped off my wings and singed the base of them so that they wouldn't grow back. I passed out from the pain and when I woke up I was in chains in a slave caravan headed to Lolian."
Tears dotted her eyes. Someone could hate that much? To rip off an innocent mans wings and BURN him? Then to make him a... slave? She reached out and touched his shoulder. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry that anyone would do that..." A few tears slid down her face. "I wish I could do something...."
Sasha smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead, a Nurikan sign of comfort. "it's all right. There is a reason Nurikans left." he told her with a smile. "Besides, after I was sold from the family that bought me in Lolian, I was bought by a witch in the outlands who was very good to me and took me as her apprentice. She and are still friends. She's like another grandmother." he laughed.
The kiss caught her off guard. She blushed deeply again then let her eyes grow fierce. "I'll get them back..." The determination was in full force now. She would kill herself if she had to find the right item, the right spell, the right... anything to bring back those wings he wanted so badly.
He laughed and hugged her. "You don't have to." he assured her. "Believe me, I've learned to live without my wings."
She didn't say anything but nodded. She would still find a way. She COULD find away... somehow. She took this time to inhale his scent. It smelled of magic... no words for it just... magic. She loved that smell...
Sasha smiled gently, holding her. He didn't really want to say that he liked holding her like this for fear of getting slapped or yelled at for being a jerk. But he did like being close to her, quite a lot.
Nadine closed her eyes and rested against him. He smelled so good and she was trying to search for her own inner magic. With some hope she could help him. She didn't know to who but she wished there was a way for him to get his wings back.
The blood slid down the blade and onto the snake carved into the handle. It instantly shifted into a rattle snake and flicked out its black tongue. The one who dare survive the blade... she was over there. The snake narrowed its red eyes and slipped down and around their legs, slithering silently, keeping his rattle still.
She shifted slightly in her seat to get closer to him. Now half way asleep. The snake grinned and struck. The woman gripped Sasha's shirt then stared at him with wide eyes. For a moment she said nothing just looked down at the blood now trailing down her leg. "What... was ttha....t...." She suddenly became very pale and started to shake as the venom took effect.
Now the snake let off his rattle. If that man dared make a move to help her, he would strike again.
Sasha's eyes shot open and he looked down at the snake with a dark look in his eyes. Grabbing a knife in his belt he jabbed it through the serpent's head. Though as he did the young man caught the fangs as well.
The two newly acquainted people fell ill very quickly. The snake wasn't designed for torture. Sasha was next to to grow pale and to start shaking. Nadine wrapped her arms tighter around him and closed her eyes once again. He felt the life slipping away and grasped for it but to no avail. His magic and his medicine couldn't save him now. He too closed his eyes after a time. To anyone who walked into the room it would seem as if the two were sleeping after having been talking or cuddling. That was until they realized that Sasha's neck hung limp at an odd angle and there was a dead snake curled at his feet.
However their bodies were soon vanished and repaired. Ezhno, wherever he was sleeping, probably felt a gentle stretch on the bond with him and Nadine. Like someone else was being joined into his bond with Nadine and like another someone had bonded with all 3 of them. The bonding was quick, as this deity's soul as well as the spirits had been expecting this bonding and had actually caused it to happen. The deity which chose them gave the two a special gift that they found upon their waking. When Sasha and Nadine woke up, where they had been before, there was a relic around Nadine's neck that looked ilke a pair of pink wings and she was able to see that-much to both's amazement-they each had gained a large lovely set of wings.
Nadine closed her eyes tighter. She was dead....again. She was bitten by a rattle snake! There was no way she was alive. She'd abandoned her son and now he was going to die too! She felt something new on her back shiver in response to her sadness and opened her eyes slowly. What...? The blond slowly let her hands fall from Sasha's shoulders and too afraid to look behind her own back, sat transfixed at his. Her hands went up to his face, lifting it to see if by some chance, he was alive. "Sasha?"
Blinking a few times those magenta hued eyes opened and then shot open wide, sitting up. "Nadine! you're okay!" he said happily, putting his arms around her and kissing her emphatically. It wasn't really intentional. He was just so glad that she was alive and hell it had been so long since he'd felt complete-though he wasn't sure why he did now.
She went ridged with shock as she was kissed by Sasha. Her newly placed wings flapping quickly and knocking smaller items off behind her. Did she kiss back...? Part of her mind screamed that she just met him and it wasn't right but the other half was louder, telling her that it was alright. He was alive and that was all that mattered. He had his wings! She'd done it! Tears fell down her face as she kissed him back then pulled away. Her sensible side was taking over and it was giving her a scolding. "Sasha...." She breathed moving her hands to her lips. The wings she had acquired spread out behind her. They were bird shaped wings, covered with feathers but completely see through, glittering with magic each time they flapped.
Sasha blushed. "I'm sorry. I was just so glad to see you were okay, after seeing you like that-and there wasn't anything that I could-and you just look so lovely right now that part of me wants to kiss you again and-" he was very very flustered, his smaller wings flapping animatedly, a rainbow sheen sliding over the beautiful pink surface. "And I don't know why but I feel strange right now and-ow" he mumbled, having brushed his wings against the wall but not realizing he'd done it or what had just happened.
Nadine let herself giggle the kiss away and put a finger to his lips. "I have a surprise for you..." She whispered not knowing if she was the cause of his wings or not but just knowing how much pleasure it would bring him filled her with even more joy. "First, close your eyes."
Sasha did so, willing to let her take hold of the situation. He was too confused to get it really.
With a smile she got up, tiptoeing passed the dead snake and behind him. She couldn't wait! She paused long enough to look over her own shoulder and gasp. Wings! She had them too! Oh wow.... She shook her head and decided it must have been the sword or the snake. Carefully she put her hands on his back and started to move them down to where wings started. "Feel my hands, Sasha?"
Sasha nodded. "Yes" he said softly, not completely understanding what she was doing.
The woman giggled again then rubbed her fingers along the base of his wings then moved them up over them. "What else do you feel Sasha? Something familiar?"
Sasha's eyes shot open and he craned his neck somewhat and practically fainted. "It.....can't be. How-?!" he asked, staring in shock at his wings and at hers. What had happened?
Nadine just smiled then jumped over the snake flapping her wings once or twice to keep her up for a few seconds longer. Once she landed she sat down in front of Sasha again the tips of her wings fluttering. "I don't know... maybe the snake bit you and made you have wings....?" Her mind didn't think that was EXACTLY right but she didn't care. The new relic hung loosely from her neck and she touched it with her fingers. Her eyes went over the new item. "Oh... is that... a relic?"
"It sure looks like one....but we'd have to ask Dartsmoore. She knows all of the relics by heart." he said, eyes staring at the strange relic.
"It feels like... the relic is tugging toward you... kind of like it wants to be worn by you too..." She commented idly then stood. "Come on, let's go ask Dartsmoore, I really need to know so that I can prepare. I've already got one kid!"
Sasha smiled and walked with her, holding the girl's hand as they walked out of the room and right into the mess hall.
Dartsmoore and Rouge both had their jackets off and their arms bared and were arm wrestling next to a fudge brownie. But after a while the smaller woman won out over the tall blond and as she let go, Rouge grabbed it and took a bite, grinning like a devil. "Loser gets the bro'ni'" she teased.
Dartie rolled her eyes and turned to the newcomers. "Well well well, what's up you two?" she asked.
Nadine's wings flared up in her embarrassment. The last time she'd seen Rouge it had been a compromising situation and now that she was seeing her again... it was still a compromising situation. "I um... think I have another relic... I died again but... so did Sasha and now we have wings..." It was the short version but it was the only thing she could get out of her muddled mind.
Dartsmoore's eyes shot like a hawk's to Nadine's neck and she nodded. "Deity of winged beings. I think that one probably felt sorry for Sasha and because you have a connection with that realm already and because from what I hear you were gaining a connection with him the deity arranged to be reborn in your care and give you a gift as well."
That answered a lot. "Well could you explain something else? The necklace ... it almost feels but doesn't really move but it feels like its pulling toward Sasha. I mean, it gave him a gift but why does it want to be worn by him?"
"Because the two of you are sharing the bond. So far as we've seen anyone who dies at the same time as the guardian or is chosen as well, will be killed along with the main guardian. You and Sasha are bonded together. He's pretty much been joined in your bond with Ezhno and all 3 of you were joined in the bond with the new deity. It's like getting married in a manner that you can't divorce from and didn't have much of a choice in."
There was a very long silence before: "I GOT MARRIED?!"
"Kinda yeah." Dartsmoore said. "Steve catch Sasha before he falls and re breaks his wings." A man from behind Sasha steadied him a bit.
"So... now I've got TWO kids and a 'husband'... Did this deity stop to think that we just met... this morning over sundaes? I mean sure we kissed but--" She stopped in mid sentence, noticing how muh information she just revealed. "Alright, that sounded bad... let me TRY and redeem myself on that one."
"Why? you're in a room with a married man, an eternally young woman whose older then all of us, and a pair who are rumored to have had sex the day they met." the guy who had caught Sasha said. He was 6'5", wore leather pants, had spiky blond hair, dog ears, and a skinny fuzzy tail.
.
Rouge looked at Steve. "Where the hell did you hear that?"
"We didn't do THAT!" Nadine hissed, her eyes narrowing in a cat like manner. A dog. She disliked dogs to an extent, they were loud, noisy and as always stuck their noses where they didn't belong. Her wings echoed her slight angry-embarrassment. "I was turned into a cat, he was itching my ear, I turned back without clothes, Rouge walked in. End of story. I'm only 17! ...that reminds me." Her mood did a complete 180 when she smiled at Sasha, obviously having a crush. "How old are you?"
Sasha blushed. "You REALLY don't want to know." he said backing up. This caused Steve and Dartie to crack up and Rouge to shake her head. "We'd have to explain the Tison aging system to you before we explain that."
Steve blinked a few times. "All I said was why you don't have to redeem yourself. Sheesh lady chill."
Nadine's wings slumped slightly. "Um what do you guys mean...? C'mon he doesn't look THAT much older then me. What are you 20?"
"Nooo...not twenty." he said sheepishly.
Dartsmoore shook her head. "He's part Dahi. He ages very slow. He's a lot older then he looks and acts. Mainly because he only recently hit adulthood by Tison standards."
"Yes but Tison standard adult age is now the human standard adult age." he said in a freaked out exasperated manner.
"Standard adult age....? What the hell does that mean?" Her mind was trying to process exactly what that meant. "So you hit an age in Tison where you're an adult. What do you mean its the human standard adult age? Ours its 18. " She grinned. "Three more months to go and I'm free!"
Sasha was about ready to cry. "Please please don't make me say it. You'll hate me for that." he said. His eyes had that look, that pleading horrified look in them. The others were completely silent about it.
Her eyes softened. "Sasha.....? Hey don't... its alright." She walked over and gave him a smile. "Alright, you don't have to tell me if it upsets you that much. I won't hate you for it though, I promise."
He shook his head and backed out of the room. "If you guys want to tell her go ahead. I need to be alone for a bit." he said softly, backing away.
Dartsmoore blinked a few times and went back to bothering Rouge about the brownie. Steve watched for a sec then shrugged. A pigtails bearing woman whose name wasn't too important right now was the only one who spoke. "I'd say go after him."
Nadine looked back at her then was gone in an instant in a shower of dust from her wings. "Sasha!" She called hoping to catch him before he got too far.
The doors opened to his room once more. He was standing at his desk, head in hand. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to explain to her. How was he to know that he was so drastically older then her? He'd never seen a mortal woman who was of his age or younger besides her. He'd assumed she was about his age since she seemed like it and looked perfectly mature by Tison Standards.
She folded her wings against her back and entered. Was he crying? She hadn't meant to make him cry! She moved in front of him and reached up to his hand. "Sasha... What's wrong...?"
"I didn't know-please, I just didn't know-" he said softly, trying to hold in his tears. It wasn't his fricken fault he'd been raised by females and ended up emotional.
"Didn't know what Sasha...?" She prodded trying to get him to finish his sentence. "I wont' be mad, I promise... I only rounded on that guy because he's a dog person thing and because he was implying something that didn't happen."
"Look, the Tison age when we are counted as adults is the age of 30. We age very slowly, especially ones with Dahi blood. I haven't seen human females before so I didn't' know that you were that much younger then me." he said softly. "The fact that Tisons and Dahi blooded age at several years per one of your years is bad enough anyway." he said softly.
"You're.... 30?" She asked slowly trying to let it sink in. He was 30... she was 17. He was 13 years her senior. Nadine found his bed and sat her self down on it. She was married to a 30 year old man who just just met and now was having another kid. Somewhere she felt her brain explode and fell backward on to his bed. "Wow..." The relic tugged again, reminding the woman they were connected. Did it had faith in the two of them? Did it mean for them to take it to this level? Maybe they were only supposed to act as close friends... but they'd kissed and...
"Remember how I said I wasn't going to be mad? I'm not... but Sasha?"
He looked up at her gently. "Yes?" he asked softly. His eyes were a bit puffy and he had that strange flush to his cheeks that only comes from crying.
"I think I'm going to pass out." Her wings fell limply to her sides and her head tilted to the side but her eyes remained open. What ... was she supposed to do? "Do we... move in together now... what do we do?"
"Well......we both already live on the same ship so it's not really that much moving anyway. And.....I don't' know what we do. I've never even heard of a situation like this before." he told her softly, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
The girl frowned and bit her lip. "Well.... Ezhno should be up.... do you want to at least meet him?" She found it strange that she had to introduce her son to her new husband. "He is your... " Was he his son too?
"Of course." he said shyly, secretly hoping that the boy didn't' hate him for taking his Mom and for all that had occurred.
Nadine tried to sit up but couldn't due to the weight of her wings. She wasn't used to the them yet and they made her off balance. She flapped as hard as she could trying to get herself back up. Finally she resigned. "Sasha... I can't get up."
Sasha blushed and walked over to kneel beside her and help her up. Though, clumsy as he was, he fell a bit when he tried and ended up on his knees over her, blushing furiously. "Sorry." he said again, trying to get up quickly and help her get up at the same time.
Nadine found herself blushing and staring up at his eyes. He was so afraid of doing something wrong. Just like she was... He needed to know he was alright. She wasn't mad and she wouldn't hurt him. From her parents she learned one thing: Never abandon anyone. She put her arms around his mid second and held him still. "Do you trust me?"
He blushed again and thought on his answer for a moment. Did he? Well he was sure that she was gentle and wouldn't hurt him. And he was sure that he liked being near her. But did he trust her? After a second he breathed out his answer. "Yes." he told her gently.
"I trust you." She used a hand to push herself up and got close enough so that their breath mingled together. "You didn't do anything wrong... you don't need to apologize. Its sudden... but we can at least trust."
Sasha nodded softly. He stared at her for a little while, just treasuring this time between them. The closeness, how it felt being near her, and so on. But after that little while was up he stood and smiled. "Shall we go see Ezhno?"
She took his hand and tried to pull herself up. "Either way, we can be close friends or something.... we don't have to say we're married. " Her wings fluttered at the word. It was exciting here. "He's like a prince..." She said aloud. After so many books this is what she longed for. She smiled to herself when she realized she would never be lonely again.
Sasha's cheeks turned redder then his wings when she said that. "No I'm no prince. The only one of those on board is Diyaka." he said sincerely.
She stood up beside him then tilted her head to the side. "Well... I've decided that you're my prince." She took his hand and walked toward the door, all a flutter. "Anna? To Ezhno please."
The voice laughed a little again and soon they were standing in a room that was neatly furnished and had a TERRIFIC view of that playground and park area Nadine had first seen. Diyaka was on the couch napping away but Ezhno wasn't. he'd woken up a bit ago and was playing on the floor.
Ezhno glanced up at his mother and launched himself at her. "Mama! I..." He stopped in mid step and tilted his head to the side. "Momma... why are you a birdy?" His eyes landed on the man next to her. "BUTTERFLY!"
Nadine covered her mouth to keep from busting out in laughter. Butterfly. What a perfect nickname. "I'm not a bird, I just have wings sweetheart..." She didn't correct him on the 'butterfly' thing. She'd let Sasha do that.
Sasha shrugged and fluttered his wings a few times for show. "Butterfly." he agreed.
"Ezzie.. erm... " How should she say this? "This is Sasha... and he's --"
"Is he a girl?"
"No, pay attention please....He's your... well..." She turned to Sasha helplessly. Did she dare say 'father'?
Sasha blinked. "Um.......we don't know quite what I am to you yet but no I'm not a girl. We know that much. But um....I'm your mother's um..........um...." he looked back at Nadine for help on this bit.
Looking to Ezhno's large and confused violet eyes she could only smile. It was right for kids to have two people taking care of them. "Ezzie... you know how I hada mommy and a daddy?" She asked kneeling down and holding onto him.
He nodded slowly then looked up at 'Butterfly' again.
"Well... He's your......" A sharp intake of breath, "your daddy."
The boy's eyes widened slightly as he surveyed the new man. He wiggled out of his mother's grasp and walked over to him. "Are you my daddy for real?"
Sasha thought for a moment and nodded. "I guess you could say that yes."
Ezzie looked between the two of them then slowly raised up his hands. "Up?" He asked softly becoming his shy self again. Had it just been him and Butterfly he would have turned tail. He didn't care much for strangers.
Sasha knelt down and picked up the boy, smiling as he did. He was a bit taller then Nadine so it was higher then usual. However it wasn't TOO high.
Ezhno broke into a smile and watched the man's rainbow wings then played with his pink hair. "You got colors." He stated proudly as if he'd discovered the rarest fact ever known.
Nadine smiled and stood beside Sasha. "So what do you think?"
"He's good." He nodded sagely, reaching out and touching one of his mother's new wings. "Soft!"
Sasha was glad to be accepted. He didn't want to be hated by her-their?-son.
A touch of hope helps everyone...