The pale man breathed fresh air with gusto. His white flesh glowed dully in the dim moonlight, like white stones on a beach. Max stared at him as his spider silk hair was lifted and tossed by a strong wind whipping down the tunnel. Max flared her nostrils and inhaled roughly.
"Smells like snow, we'd better stay here until it passes." Max said wearily.
"You need food." The pale man said. Max didn't argue but waved an impatient hand.
"We can't leave the mountain, we'll get caught in the open before we can get to real shelter."
"If we are trapped here you will starve and die." The stranger said.
"Okay, then what do you suggest? Starve to death or freeze to death?"
"Fly." He said softly. Max looked troubled.
"You can still do that? You don't need to sit in the sun?"
"No. Gather what you will need." He said softly.
She began digging through her gear and selecting hard to find or valuable items. As she worked she ignored the man.
He knelt on one knee and pressed a closed fist to the ground. He lowered his face and breathed deeply. After a few moments of breathing there was a loud wet ripping noise and wings literally sprouted out of his flesh. They were massive, ten feet long apiece, and dull dirty grey black. They were damp with unknown fluid. He remained still for awhile while the wings stretched wide.
Max stood silently, a bag of gear in hand watching the pale man in silence. Finally he stood and folded his wings back.
"Ready?" He asked and extended his arms. Max nodded minutely and took a step toward him.
"I've never done this."
"I will not drop you." He said gently. He wrapped his cool rock hard arms around her holding her close and firm. She shivered slightly in his alien embrace and laid her cheek against the shirt of his defunct uniform. He felt like polished granite, cold, hard and so smooth. As he walked into the falling snow flurries she watched his silvered eyes flash in the dim moonlight. He winced slightly and blinked.
A small peaceful smile creased his white lips. The sunlight, dim though it was revealed the true depths of his pallor he was literally white, like a new marble statue, his eye were the same unrelieved white only his silvered pupils revealed his ability to see, his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes were the same white as his flesh. What humanity he had seemed to have been bleached out of him. He unfurled his dull storm cloud wings and ran forward as he sprinted faster he dropped in to a lunge and with an effort that rocked his granite body sprung upwards. His wings sliced and chewed at the air gaining height.
Max gasped involuntarily and clung tighter to the man as the air fell away, the only sound the wind and a low thrum as his massive wings clawed at the air. Soon the mountain was falling behind them. Her eyes watered in the cold air.
"Where do we go?" He asked his voice still soft and mild but somehow perfectly audible over the wind and wing beats.
"Colorado Springs." She said. He banked and began to drift toward the city, spiraling downward in massive lazy circles. Soon she knew she would have to bring him home, to her people, to Seacouver, then what? Could he, would he, do the unthinkable? Save her people at the cost of humanity? She shook her head against the cold and the future and clung to Simon's chest.