Author's note: Once again, thank you Inu-midoriko for all your help! I would also like to thank Selverwulf and Ashleighjacinta for their wonderful and insightful reviews! We hope that this chapter was worth the wait.
'Flying never gets old.' Arianna thought as her white wings beat the air mercilessly. She wasn't in a good mood since Terry had turned her down, and had decided to get some air. It made her smile when she saw how peaceful her territory was tonight, aside from a few petty robbers who had ran away when she called them. "I think I scared twenty years off their lives." Arianna murmured aloud as she smirked. Hearing an alarm nearby, the girl wasted no time folding her wings and dove toward the sound. She wondered if this one would run too.
The man Arianna found was indeed running. But not only was he running, he was someone she knew. Chaos Blaze, with a bag filled with credits from the bank he stole from, was loosing the cops that were chasing him. He darted into dark alleyways and somehow ended up on the other side of the wall, successful in confusing his pursuers.
Mentally shaking her head, Arianna flew over his head and landed in front of him. "Good evening... I believe that isn't yours." Her voice was soft as she spread her wings for balance and pushed her glasses back up her nose.
A surprised Chaos frowned as he skipped to a halt. "This isn't any of your concern." he said simply and turned around. The cops were too far behind to catch up to it wouldn't hurt to retrace a few pathways.
"On the contrary sir. This is my territory." She took a slow but regal-looking step towards him. "If you give me the credits so that I may return them, I'll let you go." Privately she was pleased that he attempted to stand his ground. Arianna looked like an angel in her white outfit and gentle demeanor and knew it. The only sign that she was expecting trouble was her honey-brown hair that was styled in a braid tightly down her back and the braces on her legs.
Chaos gave her a cold once over. "Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but I worked hard to get these creds so if you don't mind I'll be on my way, your territory or not."
She sighed. "Well, I tried to be nice." Arianna climbed the fire escape and spread her wings as she jumped, hitting him with her right wing and shoving him into a pile of trashcans in the process.
He was obviously caught off guard because his head flew into the wall, which wouldn't have happened if he had been paying attention and not been knocked over into the trash cans. He wasn't one to hit a woman but if it was a fight she was looking for, she would get a little roughing up. He stood with the bag wound tightly around his hand. "Don't make me hurt you." he stated, obviously a bluff but she didn't know that yet.
Her mismatched eyes only laughed at him. She landed in front of him and pushed him against the wall. Now, that she was this close, Chaos could see that the girl pinning him to the wall only came up to his chest. "You were saying?" She asked politely, as though she did this every night.
He placed a hand on her head and pushed her off of him and held her at an arm's length away so her arms wouldn't reach him. "On the contrary, you were saying?"
The laughter in her eyes died as quickly as it had appeared. Now they grew cold as her lips pressed together in anger. Although her hair had felt soft against his palm, he had left his arm exposed, and this angel wasted no time raking her nails across the skin. She winced as a nail broke, but didn't waste the opportunity to try and snatch the bag in his hand.
Chaos merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't be a fool. You couldn't possibly reach the bag from here."
In answer, she ducked and kicked him hard, not bothering to speak.
The dark haired teen grunted and let go of her. She somehow managed to kick his knee hard enough that it popped slightly inwards. He bent over to try to pop it back into a bend but that was his first mistake.
Arianna smiled and nipped the bag out of his hand before lightly kissing his forehead. "Thank you." She said simply, backing away to climb the fire escape again.
His was surprised that she kissed him but it didn't change the fact he was in pain. With a great thrust and a loud crack, his knee was back in it's place. By then the girl was long gone. "I will find out who you are and when I do," he stated, mumbling to himself. "You'll wish you never crossed me."
Dropping the stolen credits in front of the police, she soared away humming softly. She was in a much better mood now. Coming back into her new place, she folded her wings back and yawned, happy just to go to sleep at last.
The next day Chaos stormed the halls in fury. He hadn't slept because that girl... angel... thing was still in his mind. Everyone stayed clear of him, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his foul mood. He passed by the windows to outside and happened to look out the same time Terry McGinnis was approaching Angel's table. She noticed and started packing up her books in a hurry. Obviously, she was trying to avoid him. She turned in his direction and it was at that moment he saw a close resemblance to the girl he had encountered the night before. He stopped mid-stride and did a double take.
"Hey Chaos, what's shakin'?" asked Max and when he didn't answer right away she looked to see what he was watching and then grinned. "You like the Angel girl huh?"
Chaos turned to her finally. "Nonsense. She just looks like someone I met last night." he replied. When Max saw Terry approaching Angel she frowned in anger and turned away. "Come on. We can both stand here and stare like creeps or we can get a bite to eat."
"You don't mind eating with me huh?" he asked, finally turning from the window to face her.
"No, why?"
"You're about the only one who isn't afraid of me when I'm in a bad mood. I don't know if that's foolish or bravery."
Max shrugged. "If you didn't want me around you would have told me so."
"True enough."
"Come on, lets get something to eat before McGinnis and Angel see us and think we have nothing better to do than creep on them." she said and started walking to the cafeteria.
"Someone sounds a little bitter." Chaos strode up beside her. Max only gave him a look that said to drop the subject and they moved on to get their food.
Her back itched like a thousand biting ants. It made her want to rip open her skin with her bare nails, though her broken nail still hurt like hell! Gritting her teeth, Arianna watched Terry approach even as she quickly packed her things to leave. The last thing she needed was for Terry to get near her! She made as though to stand, hoping that Terry was going to go back to Dana or something.
"Hey Angel. You got a minute?" he asked.
'Shit!' Arianna cursed silently, but she couldn't start a scene now, she owed Terry that much. "Only a few minutes, I need to get to class early. What's up?"
"About last night. I wanted to make sure you were alright."
"I'm fine." She said, grinding her teeth in silent agony.
Terry nodded. "I'll have Batman swing by tonight to make sure you have everything you need."
She returned the nod, not trusting herself to speak as she started to shuffle away.
Privately, Terry knew she was more or less avoiding him and it was making him less than happy to let her walk away like that. He sighed and looked into the windows and spotted Max, who was now eating lunch with Chaos again in the cafeteria windows. His eyes narrowed. If Max thought their conversation was over, she was sadly mistaken.
Arianna flinched as she passed by the pair, wishing that just this once she dared to skip the class she shared with Chaos. He was just plain creepy, though he could hide this very well when he so chose. Her back itched even more when their eyes met, and Arianna was grateful for her disguise.
When their eyes met, he held her gaze for a moment longer than he intended and smirked at her before he broke their gaze. Max turned to see who he was looking at but her expression was unreadable. She turned back to Chaos and mumbled something to him that had him raise a skeptical eyebrow at her.
For an answer, Arianna turned away and didn't see Chaos again until the class they shared. However, this time she sat as far away from him as she could. She prayed that he would leave her alone today. The last thing Arianna needed was more trouble from him.
Chaos sat in his usual spot and immediately started typing on his computer. He noticed she was ignoring him but he didn't say anything to her, not yet at least anyway. After thirty minutes of IMing Max in her computer course and switching to typing the reports every now and then, he sat back and looked over at Angel. "What have you got done?"
She handed him a thick notebook, though not the one she'd been writing in, without looking at him. It contained the detailed outline of their new project as well as quotes and key points. The girl had also taken the index cards and re-wrote them in the notebook so that he wouldn't need to keep flipping though the cards.
The dark haired teen took them from her and thanked her. "Does your name have any significant meaning?" he asked, without looking at her
"In Greek 'Angel' means 'Messenger of God'. Why do you ask?" She replied while her head bowed again over the notebook she was writing in.
For a moment, Chaos considered the possibility that she was the winged girl from the night before. After all, out in the sunlight, she looked exactly like her except using crutches, and with different hair and eye color, not to mention the girl looked just like an angel and this girl's name happened to be the same. A 'messenger of God'. Chaos narrowed his eyes and shrugged, deciding to take a chance to prove himself right. "I just thought that maybe your wings and name went hand in hand together."
Arianna's pencil suddenly snapped in two, and for a split second, fear flashed across her face before she covered it with a laugh. "Wings? Me? Very funny Chaos. I'm no angel, and I never will be."
Her reaction was enough to make him grin. "If that were true, you just proved my suspicions right. Fear was in your eyes, you stopped writing, and your pencil snapped in two. The reaction of someone caught off guard from shock. You wouldn't have to be shocked if you had nothing to fear or hide."
"I was just holding my pencil too tight, That's all." Arianna snapped, pulling her bag on the table to paw though it for another one, tossing the broken one in the bottom. "Besides, if I had any secrets, I wouldn't admit them to you here of all places."
"I wasn't looking for admittance. Just reactions." he replied and gave her a knowing look. "By the way, I intend to get those creds back."
"You got your outing already, don't push it. I'm not in the mood to play." Taking out another pencil, she tucked the bag in at her side. "One meal with you was enough." After a minute of thought, she added: "Besides, if I was really an angel, I wouldn't have gone out with you at all. Humans and angels can't breed, let alone date. If you think I'm lying, look it up." Her smile was sweet, but had a nasty- even hateful, edge. "I'll even give you a hint; it's in the book of Genesis."
"What I saw wasn't an angel, but a mere stereotypical look alike. Besides, despite the fact you're handicapped you don't seem the 'praise the Lord, Jesus Christ' type of person. More of a... splicer if you will." he kept his voice down low so no one but Arianna would hear. "I know about splicing and I know about it being illegal. I also know you of all people would have a very good reason to splice yourself and find a way to hide it." he gave her a condemning look. "You may be able to fool everyone else, but you can't fool me. I've been brought up to analyze everything thoroughly, look at every possibility and expect the unexpected. You know how the saying goes, it's always the quiet ones you least expect."
Arianna's eyes widened slightly in respect, but she refused to give any ground. "This changes nothing you know. If you try to rob anything in my territory again, you will regret it. I promise you that much." Her voice was equally quiet, but still held an edge to it.
"I intend to take it back. We both have one on each other. You're illegally spliced and I'm a thief. Even if you wanted to go to the authorities about me you couldn't. Looks like you have to deal with me alone."
"Perhaps." Forcing herself to relax, Arianna returned to the notebook she'd been writing in. "But I'm not the only one who protects the city at night. Just remember that." Taking a deep breath she tried to focus. "You have a paper to write."
"Batman won't be an issue." was the last thing he whispered to her before turning back to the paper he was almost finished writing.
That night seemed hot, at least to Arianna. As she paced slowly back and forth waiting for batman to show, a pad of paper and a pencil in her hands. The brunette ignored the fallen feathers that marked the path of her pacing. She was wearing her flying outfit in the interest of modestly, but she kept pulling at the clinging fabric in distaste. Arianna had left the back door open so that her guest could come right in.
Finally making it inside her home, Batman emerged from the corner of her room when he was sure no one else had decided to accompany her inside. "You seem a little on edge tonight."
"I am. I've got a thief in my territory that won't quit." Arianna replied. "And I can't fly out tonight since my feathers are falling out." She smiled tightly. "Could you stake out the bank?"
"Alright. I'll see what I can find." he promised. "Take it easy."
"Will do." he replied and left using the window. He made rounds until he saw a man in a wolf mask running from a bank. 'How the hell did he steal something without setting off an alarm?' thought Batman and swooped down until he was face to face with the man. "Those don't belong to you."
"Beat it Batman."
"Sorry, I took up a personal request for me to watch out for you."
"Well thanks but I don't need a babysitter." Chaos, who had a slightly bigger frame than Batman, started to step around him.
"Apparently you do." Terry replied and stepped in Chaos's way.
"Look, I need these creds so either you move and let me go or I kick your sorry ass."
"I bet you twenty creds that it's not going to go down."
"I bet you this whole bag it will."
They stood there for a few moments until Batman made to grab the bag but Chaos pulled it away and brought up his knee to Batman's rib cage.
Batman grunted in pain and forced himself to stand up. He raised his fist to punch Chaos in the throat but Chaos grabbed it with his free hand and dropped the bag so he could grab Batman's other hand.
Under the mask Batman could see nothing but repressed rage. He was about to kick Chaos in the gut but Chaos had another idea. He turned and whipped Batman into the air. When Batman was concentrating on trying not to land on his face, Chaos grabbed the bag and high tailed it through the wall next to him, kept going until he found his apartment building, and dashed inside. He put the bag on his bed and plopped down, his chiseled chest heaving up and down.
Bruce's voice came in though the suit's intercom. "Terry, are you all right?" He asked, keeping an eye in the screen the displayed his vitals.
"Ugh, I think so. I think he kneed my floating rib or something 'cause that really hurt." he said and knelt over, holding his side to try to stop some of the pain.
"If he roughed you up, do you think he hurt her during her encounter with him?" Terry's mentor asked. "Are you going to tell her that he escaped?"
"He could, as could I, but he won't hurt her. He could have done a lot worse than he had to me but all he did was hurt my rib enough so I wouldn't be able to run after him and then toss me aside."
"True…" Bruce's voice sounded thoughtful. "What will you do now?" He asked. "Are you going to go report back to her?"
"I have no choice. When the bank finds out they're missing creds it'll be all over the news and she'll find out."
There was silence for a moment. "Terry… I think there is something wrong with her. Be careful."
"No kidding. The tension in that room was unbearable. Can you imagine how pissed she's going to be when she finds out I failed?" he asked and painfully opened his arms so his black and red wings came out and he flew back to Arianna's place. "Damn," he said. "My ribs... I can't fly too much longer."
"Come back when you are done. I'll have the kit ready." Bruce replied before standing and leaving the room to make sure he had everything ready.
Arianna was sweating heavily as though it was the heat of summer, and was now nude as a Greek statue. She was still pacing and writing, but this time she was doing so in front of five test tube vials and two thicker notebooks that were on the counter beside her. Feathers littered the room, which made it look like the aftermath of a pillow fight. A heavy musky scent filled the room that Terry hadn't noticed before. "Is it done?" She snarled at the open door, having heard Terry land, but not bothering to face him.
He held fast onto the wall with one hand and his rib with the other hand. "No, he got away." he said in a tight voice. The pain from his broken rib was getting worse with every breath he took.
Enraged, Arianna turned to face him, but stopped when she saw batman was hurt. Ignoring her nakedness, she tossed the notepad and pencil in her hands on the table next to the couch, Arianna moved as quickly as she could to his side. "We will discuss this later when I have your full attention." This was all she said as she led him to her couch so that he could sit down.
Batman took a seat and hissed on the way down. He tried to hold his breath but he couldn't any longer and it came out in a pained huff. "Can't stay..."
"Don't be a fool. You can't fly in this condition." The brunette snapped. "I'll need to wrap up your ribs at the very least." Ignoring the angry red marks on her skin where she had been touched, Arianna gingerly felt his ribs. "I would help you back to your mentor's lair, but that would be a very bad idea right now."
"Don't worry about it. If he had any objections he would have said something by now." replied Batman and decided to co-operate since he was in no condition to argue or fly away. "Do you know the ass that did this?"
"I recognized him… Terry's gonna be so pissed. His name is Chaos Blaze. I went out to dinner with him the other day." She replied, feeling him with gentle hands. Then stood, cupping her wings for balance, and walked to the bathroom. "I take it that the suit is a one-piece?"
Batman's eyes widened in shock and then in rage. Oh yes, Terry was pissed all right. "Yeah it's a one piece." he replied and winced when he moved.
She sighed and retrieved her medical kit. "In that case, I'll have to bandage you up while you are in the suit and trust that that will be good enough." Returning to the living room, she placed the kit next to him and knelt in front of him again.
"This Chaos guy you mentioned," he started. "Have you thought about going out with him again?" he winced as she applied the bandages onto his broken rib.
"No, that was just a one-time thing." Arianna answered, making sure the bandages were tight around him as she went. "He was nice on the date but… time is running out for me and playtime is over. I can't afford to get attached to a human of questionable character this late in the game, especially one that I can't predict or control." Her voice was cold and toneless, hoping that batman wouldn't notice how red her hands were getting. Her mind was already turning back to the notepad she'd been writing in. She focused firmly on her planning in an effort to distract herself from the heat.
As Arianna wrapped the last of the gauze, he thought about everything he did that night that got him in that position. It wasn't smart to stop and talk, and it certainly wasn't smart to stop him and not take into account that he would have retaliated. What he needed then was a friend. A friend to vent and comfort him when he was like this. He couldn't turn to Arianna, she didn't know who he was. Who he needed the most right then was Max. Unfortunately, she was still angry with him. The only thing he could do was take as much of a breath as he could and hope for the best.
"Finished." Arianna sat back on her heels, flexing her burning fingers. "Sit there and rest for a few minutes."
Batman did as he was instructed and gave a sigh. "You never feel like you just want to stop time and take a rest?"
She rose to her feet and sat on the table instead. "Ever since my mother died, yes."
"Glad I'm not the only one." he put his head back. "And to think I do this out of the kindness of my own heart."
"There are days I wish I could leave this city, to start over in a place with no memories..." Arianna shook her head, drawing her wings around herself to be polite to her guest. "But I can't and I won't. I won't run away."
It was then Batman realized she was nude. "I don't mean to pry or anything but, why are you naked?"
Arianna didn't even hide her smirk. "It's hot in here." She replied. "I didn't want to ruin my clothes."
"It's freezing. All the windows are open and it's getting windy outside."
"Not to me it's not." as she spoke, she brushed a feather loose and watched it fall to the feather-covered floor. "It must be a miracle that you aren't killed every night... you aren't very insightful for being batman's heir."
"I'll let that one slide. You sure there's nothing else going on? You're molting like no tomorrow here."
"I'm molting because I'm currently in breeding mode." Arianna replied, rising to her feet to pace in front of the counter again. "No, I'm not going to jump you, you are only a human. Although if you were one of my kind, ribs or no ribs, you would not be sitting there so calmly. I'm surprised that you haven't smelled it…" As she spoke, she stopped her pacing and cocked her head, studying him. "Then again, maybe you have to…" Her mismatched eyes widened suddenly and she burst out laughing.
Confusion ran through his mind. "Why are you laughing?" he asked, not appreciating the fact she was probably laughing at him. After all, she was the one that spilled the beans about being in heat.
Arianna was laughing so hard that tears were running freely down her fragile boned face. After several minutes, she finally took her glasses off and wiped her eyes. "Sorry batman. I'm happy because I just realized that my mother trumped that perverted doctor in the end after all. He may have been creating an army, but she went even farther than that."
"I don't understand you women." he grumbled.
The brunette sobered as quickly as she'd laughed. She was silent for several moments, but when she spoke again, it wasn't to him. "Doctor Able Cuvier used splicing to create his own private army, but mother went a step further. She created a new race: A race of angels." Getting up, she walked over and gently caressed one of the test tubes on the counter. "I don't know what her plans were, even though I saved all that I could before they demoed the house but… I'll try to fulfill mother's dream. All I can do is try."
Batman frowned. "A race of angels? To be an angel don't you have to be holy and sent down here by God? You can't make a race of angels if you have no angel DNA to go on."
She turned and smiled tightly, spreading her wings wide. "Batman, look at me and think about my appearance."
Embarrassed, Batman looked away instead. "Could you not do that? Terry told me you were spliced with a swan."
"I am. To my mother religion was just a tool. All humans can be angels; I was just given the wings." She shrugged and folded her wings again. "If people think I am an angel as well as those I choose, then all is well."
"Human's become angels when they die. Specifically by God. No human can change that." he countered. "However, if decide to name the race you plan on creating angels then good luck to you. I know differently."
Arianna shrugged again, then picked up one of the vials. Holding it loosely in her hand, her eyes dimmed sadly. "Only five..."
"What?"
"I only have enough for five people: three males, two females." She set the vial aside, a little apart from the other four. "The first must be my... mate."
Batman raised an eyebrow that went unseen due to his mask. "Any ideas on who you want as THE ONE?"
"No, not now. There's no one I trust." She turned her back on Terry and gripped the counter hard, her knuckles going white as her body tensed up, looking like a taunt bowstring.
"I wish I could help but unfortunately my own love life is non existent." he got up as slowly and as carefully as he could. Batman walked over to her and but stayed a far enough distance away that he wasn't overbearing. "I'm sure you'll find someone who will love you as much as you love them."
"I will be a Queen Batman. Love will not apply to me." Arianna answered. "It is a dream that won't exist to me." She shook her head. "Don't worry, there won't be any inner breeding of my kind and humans no matter how bad my Molt gets."
"How can you be sure of that? Maybe it's bad now but things always get worse."
Without looking at him, she thrust out her arm. "Touch it."
He did as she asked. "Nothing?"
With a pain-filled smile, she moved his hand aside, revealing the angry red mark on her otherwise fair skin. "Only pain will come from a human's touch."
Batman took a step back even further. "I better go. My mentor will want to examine me."
"And I need to get back to my work." Resuming her seat on the couch, Arianna pulled the pencil out from behind her ear, ignoring the mark on her arm. "Plans must be made for the future of my people."
"Very well." he left through the window after he pushed the button for his jet to come to the window. He carefully got in and flew to Bruce's mansion.
Once back at the batcave, Brace frowned at Terry. "She did all right considering what she had to work with. However, you look upset. Did the two of you have a fight?" He sat in his chair, prepared to wait all night if need be.
"It's nothing really. Just her plans for a new race she wants to create. It's complicated. I don't really want to talk about it right now." he said and winced when he moved. "How long do you think I'll have to sit out of being Batman because of this?" he asked, indicating to his ribs.
"You'll be out easily a week, maybe two." Bruce said as he undid Arianna's work. "She did very well bandaging you up." He worked in silence for several minutes. "I did some scouting and research while you were at school today."
"Thanks." he said and sighed. "I can't be out of commission for a week or two. Gotham needs someone to protect it in batman's place until I'm better."
"Why not ask Miss Angel?" Bruce asked. "If nothing else, she can simply keep an eye out for trouble spots and report back."
"She can't go all over Gotham. The cops will spot her. I can only ask her to do her own territory nightly."
"If it's any comfort, her territory is very clean, if filled with candles. I passed though it today." He shrugged. "The candle shops must be doing good business. Either that or they are making their own. I'm not sure." He thought for a moment. "When you are better, I believe that I should meet this 'Angel of Gotham'…"
"No. If you meet her she'll know who you are and she'll figure everything out. I can't risk that. We can't risk that. I don't want to complicate her life anymore than it is. It's best if she knows little to nothing about any of this. Besides, she's trying to keep a low profile. If she comes out in the open all over Gotham she's going to be found. I can't ask that of her."
Bruce favored his apprentice with a sharp glance. "Terry… She isn't the same person that you grew up with anymore. If she is truly trying to choose other people to share her abilities with, she'll pull away entirely from her human cousin. One person can hide, but two or more?" He shrugged. "I thought that I could play the befuddled old man and try and find out what really is making her tick now."
"She's too smart not to figure something out, Mr. Wayne." Terry fixed Bruce with a look of his own. "Besides, she has other things to worry about besides her cousin being Batman and getting the crap kicked out of him."
"True. She needs to find a companion and quickly." Bruce nodded.
"I know. I'm sure she'll find someone soon. In the meantime, I need to figure out how Gotham will be saved until I'm better."
A few more days passed and Arianna still wasn't at school. Chaos, who had at least another month's worth of creds, noticed her absence not only for that day, but also for all the other days that she had missed classes. Out of curiosity, he decided to go visit her after last period.
Driving up to her small house, he got out of his vehicle, stalked over to the door, and knocked twice.
Shuffling to the door, Arianna freed one hand to open it. "Yes. Who is it?"
Chaos kept silent and just knocked twice more, knowing that if he said something she would completely ignore the fact he was there.
Tying the robe a little tighter over her pajamas, she opened the door. "Chaos? What is it?" Arianna, to put it lightly, looked like hell. There were dark circles under her mismatched eyes, having not bothered with the contacts, and her natural honey-brown hair looked dull and lifeless.
Chaos raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you could use a coffee." he commented.
Shaking her head slowly, she opened the door wider and backed up to let him enter. "That wouldn't improve matters Chaos."
"What matters?" he asked, having no idea of the condition she was in. He stepped into her home and took in the details of his surroundings.
"I'm not feeling very well." She replied, turning to resume her perch in the nest she'd made out of the couch with the help of a few pillows and thick blankets. "How's the project going?"
"It's done, I just need you to look over it and make sure there's no mistakes." he replied. He was silent a moment. "Was it you who sent the Bat after me or was he there by coincidence?"
"I asked him to fly a sweep for me since I couldn't fly at the time." She replied calmly, snuggling into her corner.
"I see. He got hurt in the process." he remained passive for a moment. "Are you feeling all right? You look sick."
"Didn't I already say that?" Arianna asked, pulling one of the blankets around her as though it was cold in the room. "Yes, I know batman was injured, because I patched him up when he reported back to me."
"I know you already said you aren't feel well but what I meant was have you seen a doctor for what you have?" he asked. "And next time, don't send out lackeys, especially when they can't hold up their own."
"No." She gritted her teeth for a minute as pain darkened her mismatched eyes. "A doctor can't help me." Relaxing into her blanket, she turned her mind back to the second part of what Chaos had said. "I am the only one of my kind, but batman was better than nothing at all."
"What do you mean?" he asked, referring to what she said about her being the only one of her kind.
Narrowing her eyes, Arianna reminded herself that she'd already broken one 'talon' on him, and that it wouldn't help matters to break the rest on his annoying hide. "Do you really think that I would send a human to do my job if it could be avoided?" She growled out.
Chaos' eyes narrowed. "Cool down there sparky, it was just a question." he came further into the room. "What's wrong with you? You haven't been at school and you're temper is as easy to snap as a twig."
It hurt far too much to be tactful. "I was in heat, now I'm dealing with the aftermath of it." She let out a deep breath. "The worse the heat, the more I bleed."
"I see." was all he said, not really understanding but at the same time, understanding. "Have you eaten anything?"
"I'm not hungry." She answered. "Besides, it's too much effort to cook anything right now." Arianna fought the impulse to go back to sleep, which was what she had been doing before the knock on the door woke her up.
Chaos raised an eyebrow. "You're going to eat something whether you like it or not." he said and pulled her up off the couch. "You're far too light. Not eating doesn't help, it just makes things worse."
Arianna opened her mouth to say something, but stopped with the effort of keeping her balance. She leaned against him for support, wrapping one arm around his waist while she caught her footing. "My crutches..."
He leaned over and grabbed her crutches for her. "Here." he tried not to blush as she wrapped an arm around his waist. He led her into the kitchen and sat her down. He raided through her fridge and cupboards. "Anything in particular you want?"
"I think I have an apple and some grapes left. There should be some veggie instant soup in the cupboard under the microwave. I think I ate all the noodle bowls already..." She watched him through a pain-filled haze as she pushed her glasses back up her nose, absently noting that the offerings were rather slim since she hadn't been doing her usual rounds.
Chaos raised an eyebrow. "Do you, or do you not eat meat?" he asked. This girl was not going to suffer with just fruit and vegetables if she could eat other things.
"I can eat meat, although seafood is my preference, most of the time though I just eat what's around that's quick and easy to make." Arianna raised her eyebrow in return. "Why?"
"Because I'm going to make you something to eat, just stay here." he said and walked to the door. "I'll be back in ten minutes," he said, planning to drive to the food store a couple blocks down the road. "Have a little trust in me." was all he said before opening the door and preparing to head out the door.
The brunette looked completely flummoxed, but nodded. "O…kay." She answered slowly, as though agreeing with him was going against her better judgment, but was too tired to fight with him about this.
"Good." was all he said before he closed the door behind himself. As promised, he came back ten minutes later with bags of food. From fresh fruits to raw meats to already cooked seafood. He set everything down on the table. "Anything in particular you want or will the seafood do you for now?" he asked, putting the shrimp, crab, lobster and fries down in front of her.
Her mismatched eyes lit up with interest for the first time that day. "Shrimp." The young queen licked her lips in greed as she eyed the choices in front of her, ignoring the deep growl from her empty stomach.
"Help yourself Angel." He motioned to the food and put the rest away in the fridge.
Needing no other prompting, Arianna dug in with surprising ferocity, all of her attention focused on her meal. Watching her eat this way was a clear reminder and a warning that despite her current appearance, she was not a human. However weak she might have looked, you got the sense that right now it would be worth someone's life to attempt to share her meal.
"Slow down, the last thing you want is to choke." he advised and sat down next to her with an apple in hand.
She snarled softly, but obeyed, using her nails to get every last scrap of meat out of the shell.
Chaos grinned when he noticed that way she was eating. "You know, the way you're scraping at the shell reminds me it'd be talons instead of a fingernail."
"They still have a bit to go; I need to get some nail strengthener..." Arianna paused to eye the middle finger of her left hand with displeasure. "Can't have them breaking on me if I'm in a fight."
"No that wouldn't be good at all." he mused and sat back. Minutes passed as he enjoyed his apple. When he was done, he threw out the core. "When is this aftermath going to be done?"
She stared off into space for a minute, mentally counting the days. "It's been a blur, but I think it's been two days now, so it'll be another day or two before it lets up enough for me to return to class."
"Good. We present everything next week." he commented. "Also, I have a small surprise for you but you'll need to be in top shape for it. No mood swings."
Pushing aside the remains of the shrimp shells, she began to munch on the fries. "Okay. Need me to do anything? And what's the surprise?"
Chaos winked at her. "Wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it?"
She eyed him. "Truth." Arianna conceded. "Yet a little hint would be nice."
"Dress nice." was the only hint he gave her. "I may be a thief, but I know class. My father is, after all, a wealthy business man."
Arianna laughed. "Sounds like a date to me." She teased.
Chaos grinned. "My lips are sealed," he said, not revealing any more information. Especially since she got it right. He was setting them up on a date.
Since her ploy didn't work, she returned to her fries. "Did I miss anything else?"
"No. All he does is give us the period to work. I think he's just lazy. Oh, that McGinnis boy you seem so infatuated with, he and Max got into a bad fight today in the hall, ended with her slapping him and Mcginnis storming off. He was limping though. Wonder what he did to himself."
Her lips twitched. "I wouldn't know. Maybe he was fooling around or something." Pushing away her empty plate, she rose from her chair with a wince. "Could you please put the rest away for me?"
Chaos nodded. "Sure. What's the deal with you two anyway? Every time he's mentioned you get this certain look."
"We were very close once, but we broke up." Placing her wrists in her crutches before standing, she smiled. "His loss, not mine."
"You two were a 'thing'?" he asked, masking his jealousy as best he could.
"I was a rebound." Arianna corrected calmly. "There's a difference." She shrugged. "Like I said, it was his loss, not mine."
Not long after this, Chaos left Arianna's place after making sure that she was going to be all right for the night, vowing that he would soon make her forget about McGinnis. As he got back into his car, he felt a smirk begin to spread his lips. With a little patience, maybe he too could grow wings... he couldn't wait for their first real date...