Felinis: The passion is just burning so deep right now that I can't stop.

His kind didn't take well to human forms. Lowell was beginning to learn that the hard way. The more he stayed this way for Hanna the less he could feel the movement of aer in the world or the power he had. Love had in a clichéd twist of irony made him weak.

Lowell's true form was now hard to hold for long periods of time. It seemed that the human shape was now replacing his old one. He wondered if this was what his brethren had been meaning when they told him not to linger. In three years, he'd already lost so much strength.

It felt odd to need a sword in battle and to rely on human artes. Hands were another oddity that Lowell had a hard time getting used to seeing when he woke up. He used to drift back into his form as he slept, but now he woke each day looking like a Krytian male. Lowell still didn't feel hunger though. If he started craving human food, then it would mean he had lost himself to this form.

At first, he took the form to spy on humans, but then he met Hanna. He fell for her and instead of being a phantom that spied on the knights he became a fixture who watched her. He loved her truly and didn't want to leave her. But, without that power how well could he really protect her.

Lowell thought of the pregnancy she had just announced. He'd never be able to protect that child like he could in

"Does it hurt?" Norien asked as she shaved at the base.

Yuri shook his head as he sat in the chair. "Not much. It sort of stings."

She hummed as she smoothed them over so they'd be better hidden under his hair. They'd grow back, but for now, he looked like a normal boy. "It's a shame."

"What is?" He asked as she fluffed his hair.

"The horns are quite pretty." Norien's smile shined from behind and Yuri fidgeted happily. "It's just sad that no one can see them."

Yuri handed Flynn the knife and leaned back in the chair bitterly. The horns never went away. By fifteen shaving them was an exact science for the boys. Flynn cut them down and held the horns in his hands. A few days prior Yuri had another flare. During those times the horns would grow back furiously and had to be sawed down completely. Most times Yuri could get away with only sanding the stubs down every few weeks. The bases stayed there always just out of sight as tiny bumps.

"You're enjoying this way too much," Yuri said as Flynn happily placed the horns into a knapsack before setting to sand. "Do you like it when I suffer?"

Flynn smiled as he took the rough paper to the stub. "I like it when we can make some cash." Over the years, the blonde had become rather devious. Sometimes, Yuri thinks that had they not already decided on the path of knighthood Flynn could have become a powerful member of the underground circles. Flynn had taken to selling the horns for quick cash over the years under the guise that the horns were a type of coral or some other oddity. "Your 'condition' hasn't acted up for a while."

Yuri sighed and stood from the chair. "Yeah." He walked to the dresser and slipped on a shirt. "I was hoping it wouldn't." He'd managed to go over two months without any problem.

He headed out to do odd jobs around the city. They had to make a living and surviving here was tough. Yuri put his efforts into making sure there was food and that Flynn didn't cook. The man was a disaster in the kitchen.

While doing a job that had him walking around in the sketchier parts of the city he walked by the scruffy looking man. Tanned skin and messy hair. Something about gave him a sense of déjà vu. Yuri was carrying crates into a shop for delivery. A hard job as the boxes were heavy, but nothing he couldn't handle.

The man was watching him closely and headed towards him. "Hey, kid ya need a job?"

Yuri rolled his eyes at the man. It was too early for this. "I'm flattered, but I don't do that." It wasn't uncommon for people in this part of town to partake in the unsavoriness of prostitution. For some reason, Yuri was often asked. Maybe it was the hair. "Besides, I am working now. Piss off, old man."

"I'm not old!" The man yelled and pulled back his hair to show off his features. "Look at this face? Does this look old to ya?"

He ignored the man. "Yeah, you look thirty. That's old."

The man pouted. "Brat." There was something about the look in his face that made Yuri uncomfortable. "I gotta ask, but how's life treating ya?"

Yuri looked at him speculatively. "Fine." Where was this geezer going with this?

"Good to hear." The man leaned against the wall. "Hate to see a kid like ya suffer."

"Says the man asking for a prostitute." Yuri hissed.

"I wasn't gonna ask for that." The man leaned back and eyed Yuri slowly. The man sighed inside. The kid was the spitting image of his father. Long dark hair, androgynous face, and a lithe frame. Hanna's crisp eyes saved the kid from looking like a carbon copy. He'd seen Yuri around over the years. The boy looked to be growing up well despite his conditions. He tried each time to talk with him, but the kid usually ran. "I just was offering a way to make some extra cash."

Yuri raised a brow slowly. "What you have in mind?"

"Just transporting some goods. Nothing too fancy." He wasn't lying about the job and he owed Hanna's son at least this much. No, the man owed him more. Far more than any amount of good deeds he could collect in a lifetime. "Ya see there's this package I need to get from some folks."

"Then get it yourself." Yuri was five seconds from walking away. This sounded like bad news. These kinds of deals usually led to someone disappearing and if that happened… Well, Yuri always figured if his secret got out then he'd either be killed as a monster or tortured as a lab rat. Both options sucked.

"I can't!" He said and blocked Yuri's path sporting a large grin. "See, I can't let these guys know it's me. But, I have to get it for my boss. I'm in a bit of a bind." It wasn't exactly a lie. Not entirely the truth.

"Sounds like a personal problem."

"Look, I'll pay you four-hundred gald up front and another two for delivery." The man jangled his coin purse and Yuri thought it over with a sigh. Six-hundred gold was a lot of money around here. Which meant this was risky as hell or a lie, or Yuri found someone who could help feed everyone he knew for a month. A lot of people were having troubles lately.

"I'll do it."

And, Yuri did. He kept telling himself he'd stop after one job, but the money was addicting. The jobs were simple and never seemed dangerous. Just simple delivery jobs every few months. He'd the gald drop it off with folks who needed it and kept the rest stashed away. Yuri kept the jobs a secret, even from Flynn. As long as they could eat it was fine. Of course, the secret didn't last long. Keeping things from Flynn was practically impossible and Yuri was impressed he managed to hold out more than a week.

When he came home that night Flynn had been drinking. Yuri would like to say that this was an unusual sight, but sadly he was used to seeing this tragedy play out. Laws on alcohol were very loose in the Lower Quarter. If you could buy a bottle you could drink. Simple as that. At first, drinking booze was something they did one time for the sake of being rebellious because Hanks disliked it. Then, Flynn would start drinking whenever he was reminded of Norien. Some cases Flynn would drink when Yuri had a flare so strong he lost himself. And today, it was because he was mad.

Flynn sat at the table with the purse Yuri used to hide his gald aside a bottle of cheap booze. Yuri had just come home early from work. His stubs were aching and Yuri had learned over the years that when that happened he'd have a flare. Flynn didn't turn to greet him. "When were you going to tell me about this?"

Yuri stiffened. "Eventually."

Flynn stood up slowly and his body was tense and taught. "How did you get it?" Flynn turned and looked at him with a look of dread. "Yuri, tell me you haven't done anything stupid."

Yuri slumped his shoulder in annoyance and walked past him to the one bed they shared. "It's fine Flynn." He pulled off his shoes and rubbed his head. They were starting to burn. "This old man pays me to get packages for him. It's totally safe."

"No, it's not! If you're getting paid this much for delivering packages then there's gotta be more to it." Flynn yelled. "How do you know this guy isn't a smuggler or worse?"

Yuri glared at him and hissed at the pain in his head. Man, and he'd had a flare just a few days ago. It never went away. "I don't, okay. But, it's no different than what you do!"

"What I do doesn't put us at risk." Flynn's eyes stared back in drunk anger. "What if something happened to you? Did you think of that?"

Yuri lied on his side. "I'll stop, alright! There, problem solved."

"No," Flynn muttered. "It's not solved. You keep hiding things from me and it's not fair." Turned to face the wall and did his best to stay comfy. "Why didn't you tell me it was getting worse?"

Yuri chuckled hollowly. "What do ya mean? I'm fine."

Flynn pulled Yuri over and the halfer cringed at the look on his face. "Hanks said you collapsed a few days ago while helping out in the kitchen. That's never happened before. That shouldn't be happening!"

"I was just feeling sick."

"You don't get sick! You've never been sick once." Yuri swallowed because Flynn was right. Yuri didn't catch colds or flues. Never even a cough. "What happened."

Yuri had to focus because the pain was beginning to burn. "I dunno know." He looked at his hand as the nails started to grow claw-like. That was new. "Look it's nothing." He turned on the bed again trying to get comfy and deciding to just lie on his back and wait. He'd just close his eyes and pretend Flynn wasn't there.

"Yuri!"

"You wouldn't get it." Which was code for 'I don't want to talk about it because then I'd have to figure out a way to explain the weirdness that is my fucked-up life'. It was a very standard code.

"Dammit Yuri, you always say that." Flynn hit the bed and watched as Yuri opened his mouth to speak only for the words to just die on his tongue. Yuri used to have a hang on this to a degree and would stay himself. He'd be in pain and occasionally scream, but he could still function. When this happened, Yuri stopped existing and it was occurring more now. Hanks said that Yuri's eyes had glossed over and he just stood there for almost an hour that day. Flynn had been seeing similar things too. Sometimes Yuri would zone out while looking at the window. One case during a flare he had started talking in some strange garbled nonsense that could hardly be called words.

It all worried him.

Yuri stared at Flynn his eyes somewhat glowing. "Yuri?" Nothing came from his friend's mouth. Empty emotion and then like a snap fury. Yuri jumped for Flynn who rolled off the bed to watch as Yuri bit and clawed at the mattress before looking back to Flynn. Yuri hadn't been aggressive in almost a year. It happened from time to times, but it was never a good sign. Flynn stood slowly as he went to the cupboard for supplies he kept for such times. He grabbed the bone and tossed it at Yuri who gnawed at it wildly a few minutes before growing bored and curling on the bed. Flynn looked at the hands and poured himself another glass. Yuri curled next to him lapped a few sips from the cup. "You're easily the most infuriating person on the planet."

Yuri nuzzled at his neck and Flynn tried to hide the deep red on his face. Even if Yuri never remembered these moments it didn't change how embarrassing it was. The halfer still always said he smelled weird. Like chocolate and hazelnut. Yuri said that sometimes he could tell where Flynn was by scent or because he recognized his breath. An unusual quirk that Flynn kind of accepted. But, then Yuri was unusual in his entirety. Flynn combed his hand through Yuri's hair. It was always soft. Yuri let out a strange sound from his mouth and a somber smile fell on his lips. He'd be okay. Yuri always was.

Flynn still worried. One day Yuri could not wake up. If the claw were any indication this might get worse with age. Then there was the fear of what might happen if Yuri joined the knights. If he got found out, then Flynn could expect the worst. Maybe, it best if Yuri never joined at all. Yuri would though because that was their promise, but this might be one best broken. Yuri began to writhe in pain as the horns started to grow. Flynn grabbed the gag to muffle the cries and kissed him once before stuffing it in.

Yes, that might be best. He could dissuade Yuri with some work and he'd never need to know. Not this or any of the kisses he greedily stole without his friend's knowledge. Flynn sat by and held Yuri's hand with a silent plea.

Please come back soon.

Felinis: Flynn is the type of guy that if pushed in the right (or wrong direction) could easily become that character that always kills people with a smile. A perfect gentleman upfront, but probably screaming profanities at you in his head.