*Familiar~Stranger*

*3~years~later*

Dilandau, the new leader of Zaibach, stood at the balcony of his room that was overlooking the training field for his Dragon Slayers. Folken had been killed in battle a few months ago, so he had been made the leader of Zaibach. He turned away from the field and walked back into his room and looked around. He was still getting used to the size of his rank; it was like being the king of a country. He sat down on his bed with a sigh. He walked over to his door and opened it to see Biore standing there.
"Lord Dilandau? The new Dragon Slayer is here." He said, standing aside so Dilandau could walk by.
"Where is he waiting?" Dilandau asked as he walked down the hall with Biore close behind.
"He's in the training room, practicing while he's waiting for you." Dilandau entered the training room and saw a practicing by the training equipment. Dilandau froze when he saw him going through the paces. *I recognize that form, but where have I seen it before?* Biore glanced at Dilandau, then back at the new Slayer. He stopped, looking at them. Biore froze. *What's he going to do?* Biore flinched as the Slayer ran at them, jumped, turned a few flips in the air, then landed on his feet in front of a stunned Dilandau. He got to his knees.
"I am honered to meet you, Lord Dilandau." Dilandau studied him. The boy had gold-like hair and when he looked up, he saw that this boy had blood-red eyes 4 shades darker then his own.
"What's your name?" Dilandau asked.
"Rafe, sir." He replied.
"Rafe, is it?" Dilandau said questionally. "Well then, I gues that you should lose the show-off act and start acting the way a proper Dragon Slayer should act." Dilandau thought he saw Rafe's eyes start to darken slightly with anger, but then he looked away, bowing.
"Yes, sir." Dilandau ignored him and walked away. Rafe straightened and looked at Biore. "Please tell me he isn't ALWAYS like that?" Biore nodded.
"Unfortunetely, he can be very irritable. You'll get used to it though. Once he slaps you a few times, and he feels like you've settled into routine, he won't be as arrogant. Impossible as it may seem." Rafe laughed and followed Biore to meet the rest of the Dragon Slayers and to get his uniform.
Dilandau sat in his room, thinking. *There's something strange about the new Slayer, I don't know what it is.* He stood and walked out of his room and down the hall to a room set back a ways. Closing the door and locking it, he sat down at a desk, then pulled out a drawer. There were many files in the drawer, and he pulled out one that read: Kanzaki, Hitomi with the Kanzaki crossed out and Fanel written above it. Opening the file, he pulled out a sheet that had much writing on it. Dilandau skimmed down over many stats, place of birth, parents, homecountry, battle skills.
He then found a date: "Born Blue, 23rd moon, Died Red, 15th moon at age 17."
He put the file back, leaving the paper out and started looking again until he found another file that read Rafe.
"That's strange, no last name." He thought for a moment, then opened the file and pulled out a seperate sheet of paper. He looked it over. "What?!" There were many blanks, no place of birth, no parents, no homecountry, just battleskills were filled out, as well as date of birth. He looked closer at the date of birth. "That's not right. Green, 17th moon , that was 3 days ago." Dilandau pressed a hand to his forehead, clearly confused. "I need to have a talk with the sorcerers about this." He got up, put the files back and left the room, locking the door behind him.
He walked out to the hanger and got into his guymelef, then left the anchorage. He landed in a clearing and got out, then looked around the clearing, searching for anyone's presence. Once he was sure that he was alone, he bowed his head. He bit his lip at the sudden sting of pain, but otherwise, didn't react.
bowing his head. He grunted and every on his back muscle gradually flexed, tightened by pressure from what layed folded inside his back. He hunched over, breathing hard, fists gripping his pants tightly.
His shirt started to tear, causing him to cry out slightly as massive wings quickly slid out of his back in a burst of titamium feathers. "I'll never get used to the pain." Dilandau gasped, reeling for a moment before getting his footing again, and stood with his head hanging, panting. "I don't know how Hitomi was able to do it without showing any pain. No matter how many times I let them out, they always hurt. Every time."
"Every time?" A voice from the shadows asked. Dilandau
straightened and instantly reached for his sword when he realized he did
not have it with him. The person watching him must have noticed this
movement. "There is no need for alarm, Dilandau-sama." The stranger
stepped out and Dilandau's eyes ignighted with an inner fire.
"What do you think you're doing, stalking your commander,
Rafe?!" Rafe studied his wings, which he made no effort to hide.
"With all due respect, sir, I wa not stalking you. I have come
down here for a moment of solitude. I had no intention of stalking you,
Dilandau-sama." Dilandau watched him carefully. "May I ask you a
question, Lord Dilandau?" Rafe asked. "Do the rest of the Dragon
Slayers know?"
"Yes, they do. A few years after the Great War, many people who
had kept their wings hidden were finally freed from the title demon, and now
many people know about my wings, and many other people's wings.
Unfortunetely, a small number of people still believe Draconians are
demons, and hunt them down. Therefore, I don't announce my, new aspects,
to every person on Gaea, and my Dragon Slayers are not to breath a word
about them. The same goes for you. do you undestand?" Rafe laughed.
"Don't worry, I understand exactly what you're going through, sir."
"How can you know what I"m going through?! To know what it's like, being classified as a demon?!" Dilandau snapped. He was about to continue,
when he heard a ripping sound.
"Because we share the same blood, Lord Dilandau." He said quietly,
as his wings, equal to Dilandau's in size and radiancy came into view. Dilandau
just smirked.
"Figures. Once people started revealing their wings, then every other person was a Draconian." *But how can he let out his wings without buckling over
in pain?* "Tell me, does it hurt when you let YOUR wings out?" Dilandau asked.
"Yes, as you so well put it, 'every time'. I just hide it well." They both withdrew their wings at the same time, and Dilandau pulled off his tattered shirt, then walked over to his guymelef and pulled out a new one from the control
chamber. He jumped back down and started to pull it on. "How did you recieve your wings, sir?" Dilandau paused for a moment.
"A Draconian who, was close to me, healed me one time, and passed them on to me. She also gave me her powers as well."
"Where is she at the moment, and what kind of powers does she have?" Dilandau's eyes narrowed.
"That is none of your buisness! Now, if you don't mind, I have to get back to the Vione." He got into his guymelef, then looked down at Rafe. "I expect you back at the Vione in 20 minutes." He then left.
Dilandau landed and walked to his room, then stopped as something flashed across his mind and shook his head. "Can we never get a moment of rest?" Dilandau then turned to find Biore.
He found him in the hanger, repairing his guymelef. "Biore!" Biore jumped down from his guymelef and ran over to him.
"Yes Lord Dilandau?"
"Tell all the Dragon Slayers to prepare for battle."
"ALL the Slayes, sir? But we now have over 25 men. Shouldn't-"
"I said ALL the men! Asturia, Fanelia, AND what is left of Fraid are attacking us!! Now go get them ready!"Biore ran off in the direction of the Dragon Slayer's dorm and told them to get ready for battle. Dilandau walked to his room and grabbed his sword, pulled on his armor, then left, thinking, *Now I'll get to see this Rafe's battling skills.*
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