"God#$^# it, Shera, don't you have somewhere else you have to be?" Cid snorted angrily and headed for the kitchen, knowing by her footsteps after him that she was following.
Shera's brown hair swept around her as she tried to circle him, trying to face him, but Cid continually turned away from her, getting more and more frustrated every time. Even she was taller then him, if only by a small fraction.
"Why won't you tell me? What's wrong?"
"Nothin'." Cid fixed himself something, trying to ignore her prodding claws and probing questions. She was predominantly silver in color, a common color considering dragons. Metallics such as gold, silver, or bronze were nothing to be proud of. Metallic greens or blues were rare, but to have both at once was exceptionally so, thus why Cid had so much trouble hiding. The aura wasn't helping. "Stop botherin' me."
"Don't hide things from me!" She put her hands on her hips. "Why are you glowing like that?"
Cid was suddenly filled with burning rage. He had prepared himself for people asking him this in his mind, but nothing compared to actually being asked that. He took the utensil he was using and slammed it point first into the counter, causing it to crack and the utensil to break off midway. "God #@#@ it, Shera, shut the $@#$ UP!"
Despite the fact that now every exhaling breath Cid made contained traces of flame, Shera refused to back away. "What is that? Why won't you tell me? That isn't what I think it is, is it?"
"No it #$^#in' isn't." Cid angrily continued what he had been doing, trying to lose himself in the repetitive motions of cooking. "That #$^#in' aura or whatever it's called doesn't exist, so get the #$^# off my back, okay?"
"That has to be it, it won't go away." Shera moved her claws along the edge of the aura, noting how it seemed to dodge around her claws. "Who did you fall in love with? Who?"
"What #$^#in' business of it is yours anyway, Shera." The cooking wasn't working. Cid's claws were trembling in anger.
"Well, it wasn't me." Shera's voice was acid, her entire speech pattern mocking Cid's completly. "Even after all the #$^# I put up with for you. Who's the little slut, hmm? Who's the whore that stole your poisoned heart?"
"God#$^#in' #&#%IT SHERA!" Cid shouted, flame coming from his mouth and washing over his own scaled hands, which were fortunately protected. He whirled on her, glaring at her in fury. "What the #$^# do YOU know about anythin' ANYway?"
"I know more then you say!" She glared at him as well, refusing to back down. "I can smell someone else on you, I don't know who! I know that glow only comes from one thing, and it's not me!"
"#$^#, of course it isn't you, you're a #$#^in' #$^#^!" Cid shouted angrily and threw the dishcloth he was using to the ground, walking away from her. She followed him angrily.
"What did you call me?!"
"What you #$%^in' ARE! Now get AWAY from me!"
"You turn and face me RIGHT NOW and say that to me!"
Cid did so, glaring at her, his wings completly expanded and his tail shaking with anger. "You, Shera, are a #$#^in' naggy #$^#^! So #$^#in' there!"
The glint in her eye told Cid to back away and prepare himself, and he was wise to do so. Shera breathed a torrent of flame on him, which he used his wings to block, the scales of a dragon particularly evolved for the purpose of deflecting fire. He waited until she paused for breath then sprinted for the door to his own house, not able to stay there while she was in the room.
"Don't run away from me!"
"#$^# you!" Cid turned and flipped her off angrily, backing out of the door. "Burn in #$%@!"
"Fine!" Shera shouted at him as began flapping his wings to take off. "Fine, go run to your cheap whore! See if I care!"
"Shera, I wouldn't give a $^#%in' #$^# if you did anyway!" Cid snarled at her and took off, taking to the sky, pumping his wings faster and faster so that no one would see his aura.
Vincent wandered, alone.
Going back to his hometown in this state would be foolish and deadly. They knew what this aura was and they would kill him for it, because it was so painfully obvious among demons who had it due to their dark black colors, and they weren't so trusting of the lies of legendary heros being the only ones to have a special condition. After all, all the legends were in the end false, once told from the demon's point of view, but the existence of Heaven's Aura was known to at least be true, and it was believed among them, even if not among other races. To go back now, especially after they had made him promise to stay...
He was hiding, his scarred bare back to a tree, holding a small crumpled box in his claws gently, a deep pang in his heart. He gently touched the scars on his chest, flinching slightly at the tingling pain that came from his own tainted claws.
They had beaten and slashed him rather badly as warning after he refused to tell them where he was and who he had been with (they could smell someone on him, but Vincent had the foresight to wash himself off well before heading off). Even after the increased pain of torture, he refused to speak Highwind's name, not one syllable escaped him, no matter what they did to him. Eventually they gave up, and they made him promise to stay, to not go out, and tried to put him under guard...to keep him a prisoner in his own house...
But nothing could keep him away, nothing could keep him from seeing his dragon again...he had too, there was nothing else in his life that meant anything to him now. So he escaped, even after threat of death...
Highwind could at least go back to his home and try to hide there...now Vincent was truly homeless and truly alone without the dragon's comfort.
He shivered in the wind and held his wings closer around his body to try and shelter it. Was there a wind or was he just imagining one in desperation? The wind to him was soothing now, it meant safety, it meant protection, it meant love. He now associated the wind with him, because they always seemed to meet at dusk or dawn, just before the night gave way to light, or the dark gave way to day. It was appropriate, but unintentional.
To go home meant death...to stay here meant death...even to seek refuge in Highwind's arms meant death for him...everywhere he was surrounded by death...
He put a claw on his forehead. No wonder everyone seemed to associate demons with death...
He sighed, wondering about his train of thoughts, letting them go down a more morbid trail as he sometimes felt like doing. He was still a demon, and their thoughts tended towards the dark.
At least he would know if Highwind ever died...an innate ability of demons was to sense death, who it was and why. This was part of why they were believed to be so evil. They had to take the message to those who would be affected, because they were the only ones who knew the true story. Messages are so easily mixed...it didn't take long before messengers were made into perpetrators. The angels were all too ready to perpetrate this lie.
Angels...
He sighed very deeply as he thought of her, her dark brown hair, her eyes, her ears, her whiskers...
He stared back down at his claws, noting the soft white glow that reflected off his metallic arm. This glow had not shown up when he loved her, but that had never surprised him. Back then, he thought that such a forbidden romance between species could never generate that glow. He thought that it was the providence of legend...
And now...to think of Highwind made his heart ache for him, and to see the glow made him wish to see him again. The glow meant he was now doomed for sure, but he was proud of it somewhere....
He shook his head, watching his black hair float by. Love had reminded him of what had happened...Highwind must now also know of how he became a demon...the shameful way how he had fallen to this horrible status...all because of them...them...
"You can never stay out of trouble can you, Valentine?"
Vincent whirled around, flaring his wings in alarm and looking about wildly. A lone white feather fell from the tree above him, and he relaxed his pose slightly.
"You're a constant reminder of what I've done wrong in my life." Vincent turned his back, putting the empty cigarette box in his pocket and sighing as he brushed his hair back behind his horns. His bandanna did serve a purpose, even if some strands always escaped. He reminded himself to make another one. "Why do you always haunt me?"
He held onto his elbows as he heard a slight rustle behind him. Just as he expected, when he turned the feline was sitting at ease, one white wing curled around his body easily. The smirk on his face was more evil then Vincent could ever hope to be.
"Because you're the reason my life is a disgrace as well. You're lucky I can hide this..." Sephiroth gestured to the wing. "That Mother taught me how, or else you'd be in a lot more trouble."
"I can't see how things could possibly get any worse then this." Vincent sighed deeply and refused to look at him, turning away and sitting against a tree. "If they had killed me off, I never would have caused this much trouble..."
"I'd do it myself..." Sephiroth's voice took on a disturbingly emotionless tone. The feline stood, brushing himself off. "But I'd rather not die anytime soon for murder or for any other reason. I'm afraid I'm stronger then you there..."
A sadistic tone entered his voice. "But then again, I think I'm stronger then you in every way."
Vincent sighed and pushed his claws back into his hair, wishing that the age-old pain in his heart would stay dead. Sephiroth's presence made it flare back to life, even worse then before with the aura to amplify his guilt. "You even sound like her..."
"I'm here, Valentine..." Sephiroth ignored him and extended his claws, retractable ones that only the felines seemed to possess and abuse, and studied them carefully. "Because I know something of interest to you."
"Nothing you say can be trusted." Vincent's voice was beginning to match the feline's in tone, emotionless and unrevealing.
"Well, for instance..." Sephiroth paused. "I know your 'dragon' is coming soon."
Vincent started slightly but tried to hide it. "I should have figured someone would have seen..."
"I have more respect for people's privacy then that." Sephiroth waved his paw. "A little more. It was obvious anyway, he's pretty much the only feasible reason you'd have that glow. And it wasn't like you two were quiet."
"You live to torment me." Vincent turned his face away and kept his voice even to try and hide his blush from him. "What do you want?"
"You said you wanted to die..." Sephiroth fluttered his wing, a smile crossing his face. "I could tell them right now where you've been..."
"No!" Vincent finally turned and faced him, alarmed. "No, please!"
"Finally got a reaction out of you." Sephiroth pointed at him and smirked. Vincent glared at him angrily."I thought you wanted to die."
"I don't want to die now. He's..." Vincent stumbled on his words and fell silent.
"Yeah, I know. The glow and all that. If you don't want me to tell them, I'll tell HIS people then..."
"No! Please..." Vincent tried to control his voice, but his worry and concern was getting the better of him. Both his and his dragon's life were in Sephiroth's paws. And he knew that Sephiroth was going to wring every last bit of enjoyment out of tormenting the two before tossing them away like a broken toy. That was his way that Vincent knew far too well. "Please don't..."
"Don't get so worked up." Sephiroth smirked as he watched Vincent try and control his emotions. "I won't do anything about this yet. It's amusing, in a strange way, to watch you two try to figure out love..."
"Like you know anything of love." Vincent's words were laced with venom and he noticed Sephiroth's eyes narrowing. The feline stood and began walking away.
"Just know that I'm there. That'll be enough for now."
He disappeared in front of Vincent's eyes, but the demon was used to that by now. Feline tricks...he had seen and been on the recieving end of far too many of them in his lifetime.
He sighed deeply as he returned to where he had been sitting before, the worry that had been hovering over him now increasing exponentially. His life, but more importantly that of his dragons, were in the feline's paws...and there was nothing he could do. He was trapped...
He was always so trapped...
He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes, not sure of what he to do. He didn't know what to say, if Highwind should come back...
He kept feeling doubt. He didn't know why Highwind loved him at all...he was a demon, not worthy of love, especially after all that he had done...but...still, the aura proved him wrong. All the doubts in his heart could not make the aura go away, and it meant that Highwind loved him just as much as he loved him back...
No use trying to understand it...all he could do was accept it.
He wondered if Highwind would ever come back to him...and the glow seemed to penetrate even his closed eyes. He knew the answer, deep in his heart, that the two could never truly be apart for long...to be apart was unthinkable now.
So all he could do was wait, wait for him to come back...
Vincent pushed himself back upwards and turned, heading for the rock outcropping where they had hidden during their first night...of...
Highwind would have to find him there...
Or else he was just seeing things...