Rehteah overheard the last part of the conversation and glanced over at Cleo in confusion as they came back into the common room. Cleo carried two pillows, and Rehteah had a thick blanket draped over her right arm.
"Are they always like that?" she asked.
Cleo nodded. "Yeah, but you get used to it after a while. Xan, Ping, leave Jin and Rehteah alone, ok?" she said.
Ping still laughed at his own joke as he and the others started to leave the room, bidding Rehteah good night. Cleo put the pillows down against the arm of the sofa, taking the blanket and draping it over the couch before saying good night and leaving the room.
Jin and Rehteah were alone now. An awkward silence passed between them, but Jin finally spoke up, easing the sudden tension in the air.
"Will you be comfortable enough here?" he asked.
She nodded as she sat down. "Yes, thank you," she answered.
"Hey, no problem. If you need anything, just let me know. Sleep well," Jin said.
"You too," Rehteah whispered softly.
Jin nodded and left the room. Rehteah found herself admiring the fluid, almost feline grace of his movements. She sighed and lay back, tucking her wings under her protectively as she did so. She pulled the blanket over her, being careful of her broken arm.
She was about to fall asleep when she felt something bump against her leg. She glanced over at the other end of the sofa and saw that Blondie had jumped up on the couch and was making herself comfortable on the blanket. Rehteah shook her head in amusement and let herself drift into a healing trance.
Her last conscious thought that night was the hope that Qui-Gon was all right.
The next morning she woke up feeling a little better. Her arm hadn't healed completely, but she could move it without being in quite as much pain now.
She stood up gracefully, being careful not to bump the still-sleeping Blondie off the couch. Her black wings unfurled as she stretched luxuriously, running a hand through her hair.
Then she headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. She turned on the light and realized that one of the girls had left some clothes in there for her. She glanced down at them. There was a shimmery silver t-shirt and dark blue shimmery skirt. Rehteah shrugged and stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long minute. The bruises and other wounds that had marred her face were gone now except for a small scar on her cheek. She sighed.
"Well, I suppose it's not as bad as it could have been Teah," she muttered to herself, shuddering involuntarily.
Again her thoughts turned to Qui-Gon, and she wondered if he was all right. She could still feel their bond, but it was tinged with pain. Whether it was hers or his, she couldn't really tell for certain. She hoped it wasn't his.
She tried to reach out to him, but there was no response, almost as though he was trying to block her for some reason. ~Probably doesn't want me to feel whatever pain he's in~ she thought with another sigh as she turned on the shower and undressed, stepping under the flow of warm water.
She emerged a short time later, wearing the shimmery silver shirt and blue skirt that went just past her ankles. Her red-gold hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail except for her braid, which hung undone past her shoulder. She grabbed the band that bound the braid from the sink as she left the bathroom, redbraiding the strands as she walked, not really paying any attention as to where she was going.
Suddenly she was startled out of her reverie just as she tied off the end of her braid when she bumped into someone. She glanced up, intending to offer an apology, but then she got a good look at who she had run into and gasped, backing up just a bit.
~No~ she thought.
It was Torran. How did he get here? And why was his braid missing? She started shaking and tried to force herself to be still.
"Hey, nice wings, beautiful," he said smoothly.
"Umm, thanks. If you'll excuse me, I need to go," she said warily.
She tried to move past him, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned back towards him, a trace of fear in her eyes as she stared at him.
"The name's Shane McCormick," he said.
Shane McCormick? So she'd been wrong. It wasn't Torran, but rather someone who bore an eerie resemblance to the one who had tried on more than one occasion to kill her. It wasn't much of a comforting thought, though. Something was still wrong, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"You want to go down to the lake later? We can...get to know each other better," hesaid softly, all but purring like a cat.
"No. I have things to do," she said, again trying to leave.
Shane wouldn't let her. He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her a little closer.
She tried to push him away from her, but he grabbed her other arm and squeezed it tightly. She cried out as a white-hot pain shot through her arm. It wasn't completely healed yet, and he had probably caused even more damage to it now.
"Let me go!" she screamed, struggling against him.
Just then, Jin happened to be walking by when he heard Rehteah's scream. He ran to find out what was going on and finally found her trying to get away from Shane. This angered him, and he barely registered the change into his Black Mask form: a creature that resembled a black panther on two legs, with arms and with a tail.
"Leave her alone, McSlimeball! She doesn't want to go with you!" Jin snarled and lunged at Shane.
Startled, he let go of his hold on Rehteah just as she was trying to pull away from him again. She felt herself falling and cried out as she landed on the ground, hitting her injured arm against the wall. She backed away quickly, shielding herself behind her dark wings, shivering violently.
"Stay out of this, Jin! This isn't any of your business. It's between me and her," Shane snapped.
This only angered Jin further. He grabbed Shane by the front of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall as hard as he could. The golden pather's eyes narrowed and Shane flinched, but he didn't let Jin see this.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip you to shreds right now, McCormick," Jin growled.
Hearing the threat, Rehteah peered out from behind her shield. "No, Jin. Don't. Not on my account," she said softly, her voice pleading with him.
"He hurt you, Rehteah. Why shouldn't I? It's what he deserves," Jin said, never taking his eyes off Shane as he spoke, his protective streak coming out.
"No, Jin. Don't. Please, it's all right," she whispered.
Finally Jin relented. "All right." He turned his attention back to Shane. "The only reason I'm not going to do kill you is because of Rehteah. But if you ever go near her again, you won't be so lucky. I won't be so merciful next time," Jin growled.
Shane sighed in relief, but then yelled in pain as Jin slammed him against the wall again and hurled him away into a table further down the hallway. His back made contact with the hard mahagany wood, and his head hit the wall. He slumped down to the ground, unconscious.
Jin shifted back into his natural form and hurried to Rehteah's side. She unfurled her wings as he knelt beside her, taking her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, trembling, and he held her close, stroking her hair. Silvery tears slid down her cheeks. Finally she calmed down and Jin lifted her face to his, wiping away the shimmering trail on her pale skin. She smiled faintly at him, grateful.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
"How bad did he hurt you?"
"Not too bad. I'm all right, Jin. Really. He just hurt my bad arm. Nothing that a healing trance won't fix," she answered.
They sat in silence for a long minute before Jin spoke again. "Why did you want me to spare him?" he asked.
Rehteah hesitated. "I couldn't bear to see anyone get hurt just because of me. I appreciate the gesture, but..." her voice trailed off.
"But what?" Jin asked.
"I'm not worth it, I guess," she said reluctantly.
Jin was startled. "Why would you say that? Of course you are," he said.
Rehteah shook her head. "No I'm not, Jin."
"You are to me," he replied softly, the words startling him as they came out. He could tell that his statement had caught her off guard as well.
"What?" she asked, her voice a barely audible whisper that she hardly recognized as her own.
"I..." Jin started, not really sure how to tell her how he felt about her. "I...that is, I..." he stammered.
"You what?" Rehteah asked softly.
Jin didn't answer, but instead placed his hand gently on her cheek and brushed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. It was a light, questioning touch at first, but then it became deeper as Rehteah kissed him back, letting her wings surround them like a cocoon.
Finally they pulled away, and merely sat there, gazing at each other in silence. Jin mistook the silence for disdain and started to stand up.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so impulsive," he said quietly.
"No, don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for, Jin. You just caught me off guard," she replied as he helped her up.
Jin was about to say something more when Kit and Ping came up to them.
"What's wrong? We heard yelling..." Kit started when she noticed her older brother standing there with his arm around Rehteah.
"Nothing. She just had a run-in with Shane," Jin answered.
"Are you all right?" Ping asked, looking from Rehteah to his brother and back again.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My arm's just a little sore. Nothing that a healing trance won't take care of though," she responded.
"Are you sure?" Kit asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay. Come on, Ping's got the car fixed. I'll take you to the mall."
"All right." She turned back to Jin and whispered in his ear. "Thank you."
"No problem," he whispered back.
She smiled shyly and slipped out of his embrace, following Kit down the hallway. Jin watched her leave, and Ping gave his brother that same irritating knowing look. Jin noticed it and rolled his eyes.
"Oh for crying out loud, Ping! Would you knock it off with that look?" Jin asked irritably.
"No. You know you like her, Jin. Don't even try to deny it. I think she likes you too, though," Ping said smugly.
Jin rolled his eyes again and smacked his brother upside the head. "I barely know her. Cut it out," he grumbled as he walked away.
"You're in denial!" Ping called after him.
Jin flipped him off without even stopping. Ping's amused laughter and teasing remarks followed him down the hall. Jin ignored him.
***************
"What shop do you want to go to first?" Kit asked as she and Rehteah entered the huge mall.
Rehteah shrugged. "I don't know. You pick," she said, then noticed the odd stares that people were giving her. "Umm, what's wrong with these people? Why do they keep staring at me that way?"
Kit glanced over at Rehteah, then at some of the people who were walking by. "It's probably because of your wings. I don't think anyone around here has ever seen anything like them," Kit answered.
"Oh," Rehteah said quietly.
Just then Kit saw two people staring at Rehteah strangely and whispering with their heads together. "Hey, knock it off! Leave the poor girl alone! Why don't you go screw each other behind that plant over there?!" Kit yelled to them.
The couple glared at her, the girl flipping her off and they stormed away. Kit just rolled her eyes and walked away with Rehteah following her.
"I hate getting that reaction," Rehteah muttered as she followed Kit into a large store.
"Do you get it a lot?" Kit asked.
Rehteah didn't answer for a long time as she started to rummage through some of the racks next to her. Finally she looked up and nodded. Her blue-gray eyes seemed almost haunted as she spoke.
"Yes. Where I come from, everyone at the Temple has white wings, except me. I'm kind of an outcast because of it. The only one who's ever really cared about me was Master Qui-Gon. He took me as his Padawan when I was ten. He's basically all I've got," she said.
"Padawan?" Kit asked, tilting her head slightly to one side in confusion.
Rehteah nodded. "Yes, it means apprentice," she answered.
"What about your family?" Kit asked.
Rehteah shrugged. "I've never met them. They left me on the front steps of the Temple right after I was born. They must have figured I belonged there or they didn't want me or something. I don't know."
"Why would they just abandon you?"
"They must have known I was Force-sensitive. Only those who are have these wings. But everyone despises me because mine are black. It's been said that only darksiders have the black wings. But I'm not a darksider. Nobody believes it, though. I think most of them would rather see me dead. A few have them have actually *tried* to kill me," she explained. "Torran tried just before my Master and I were sent on that mission and I somehow ended up here."
Kit put her hand on her arm. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right. It's not your fault."
"Hey, would you extend your wings and let me see them?" Kit asked.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Kit. You saw how people were reacting," Rehteah said hesitantly.
"Come on, just for a minute. If anyone tries to mess with you, they'll wish they hadn't," Kit said.
Rehteah hesitated for a moment longer, then finally relented. She took a step back so she wouldn't knock over any of the displays. She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes for a second and then opening them again as she extended her ebony wings to their full length. The black feathers draped almost to the floor and gave Rehteah an almost mystical appearance.
After a long minute of expecting the crude remarks that never came from anyone, she tucked them back behind her again where they were a little less visable.
"Wow. They're really pretty," Kit said.
"Thanks," Rehteah said.
Then she went back to rummaging through the racks until she found a pretty emerald green shirt and black pants. She held them up for Kit to see. "What do you think of this?"
"I like very much. Here, try this too," Kit said, handing her a light blue tank top and a long skirt of an even darker blue, and another shirt that was a garnet red.
"Oh, I like that."
"Yeah, I figured. Jin probably will too," Kit joked.
Rehteah blushed. "Why do you say that?" she asked innocently.
"He likes you. I think you like him too."
Rehteah shrugged, evading the statement. "Eh, he's all right. He seems like a nice guy," she said, walking past Kit towards the fitting room.
Kit rolled her eyes and laughed. "All right? What do you mean, all right? You two couldn't have gotten any closer earlier!"
"Oh, be quiet."
"No. Besides, I don't shut up just because someone tells me to," Kit said.
Rehteah gave an exaggerated sigh and turned back to her. She waved her hand in the air in front of Kit's face, trying to mind-whammy Kit. "You *will* forget what you saw between me and Jin earlier," she said.
Kit rolled her eyes and scoffed jokingly. "Nope, sorry. Won't work. Besides, Xani-butt's already tried that one. Remind me to show you the tape we made of him when Jin hypnotized him. *That* was too funny!"
Rehteah raised an eyebrow, and it was clear that she was trying to keep from laughing. "Hypnotized him? Is it possible to hypnotize someone who's Force-sensitive?" she choked.
Kit shrugged indifferently. "Eh, apparently so. He kept saying it wasn't, but leave it to Jin to prove the moron wrong."
"I don't trust Xani," Rehteah muttered.
"None of us do, except Clairese. She felt sorry for him for some reason when he showed up here and invited him to stay with us. Why, I don't know, really. Those two are kind of a couple, though neither of them will admit it. They're both harmless though."
"Oh, I get it. Wait. When he showed up here? How...?"
"The same way you did. There was a weird blue light, and then poof! He was there," Kit explained.
Rehteah shuddered. "Do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Don't mention the word 'poof'."
Kit looked at her, confused, cocking her head slightly to one side. "Why?" she asked.
"Because there's this one guy on the Council named Poof who gives me the creeps. He's got this really long neck and his head looks like a half-deflated balloon. It just sways back and forth all the time like he's mocking everyone within a ten-mile range of him," Rehteah explained.
Kit laughed. "Yikes. Maybe someone should pop it or something and see what happens," she said.
"I've been tempted, don't think I haven't. Ay ay ay," Rehteah remarked.
A while later, the girls had found what they wanted, including some jewelry. Kit told Rehteah not to worry about the cost, because it wasn't her credit card she was using. She'd stolen Shane's again, and by the time they left the mall, there was nothing left on it.
Ok, here's my new part. The next part is done by bluefire. R&R please!
"Are they always like that?" she asked.
Cleo nodded. "Yeah, but you get used to it after a while. Xan, Ping, leave Jin and Rehteah alone, ok?" she said.
Ping still laughed at his own joke as he and the others started to leave the room, bidding Rehteah good night. Cleo put the pillows down against the arm of the sofa, taking the blanket and draping it over the couch before saying good night and leaving the room.
Jin and Rehteah were alone now. An awkward silence passed between them, but Jin finally spoke up, easing the sudden tension in the air.
"Will you be comfortable enough here?" he asked.
She nodded as she sat down. "Yes, thank you," she answered.
"Hey, no problem. If you need anything, just let me know. Sleep well," Jin said.
"You too," Rehteah whispered softly.
Jin nodded and left the room. Rehteah found herself admiring the fluid, almost feline grace of his movements. She sighed and lay back, tucking her wings under her protectively as she did so. She pulled the blanket over her, being careful of her broken arm.
She was about to fall asleep when she felt something bump against her leg. She glanced over at the other end of the sofa and saw that Blondie had jumped up on the couch and was making herself comfortable on the blanket. Rehteah shook her head in amusement and let herself drift into a healing trance.
Her last conscious thought that night was the hope that Qui-Gon was all right.
The next morning she woke up feeling a little better. Her arm hadn't healed completely, but she could move it without being in quite as much pain now.
She stood up gracefully, being careful not to bump the still-sleeping Blondie off the couch. Her black wings unfurled as she stretched luxuriously, running a hand through her hair.
Then she headed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. She turned on the light and realized that one of the girls had left some clothes in there for her. She glanced down at them. There was a shimmery silver t-shirt and dark blue shimmery skirt. Rehteah shrugged and stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long minute. The bruises and other wounds that had marred her face were gone now except for a small scar on her cheek. She sighed.
"Well, I suppose it's not as bad as it could have been Teah," she muttered to herself, shuddering involuntarily.
Again her thoughts turned to Qui-Gon, and she wondered if he was all right. She could still feel their bond, but it was tinged with pain. Whether it was hers or his, she couldn't really tell for certain. She hoped it wasn't his.
She tried to reach out to him, but there was no response, almost as though he was trying to block her for some reason. ~Probably doesn't want me to feel whatever pain he's in~ she thought with another sigh as she turned on the shower and undressed, stepping under the flow of warm water.
She emerged a short time later, wearing the shimmery silver shirt and blue skirt that went just past her ankles. Her red-gold hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail except for her braid, which hung undone past her shoulder. She grabbed the band that bound the braid from the sink as she left the bathroom, redbraiding the strands as she walked, not really paying any attention as to where she was going.
Suddenly she was startled out of her reverie just as she tied off the end of her braid when she bumped into someone. She glanced up, intending to offer an apology, but then she got a good look at who she had run into and gasped, backing up just a bit.
~No~ she thought.
It was Torran. How did he get here? And why was his braid missing? She started shaking and tried to force herself to be still.
"Hey, nice wings, beautiful," he said smoothly.
"Umm, thanks. If you'll excuse me, I need to go," she said warily.
She tried to move past him, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned back towards him, a trace of fear in her eyes as she stared at him.
"The name's Shane McCormick," he said.
Shane McCormick? So she'd been wrong. It wasn't Torran, but rather someone who bore an eerie resemblance to the one who had tried on more than one occasion to kill her. It wasn't much of a comforting thought, though. Something was still wrong, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"You want to go down to the lake later? We can...get to know each other better," hesaid softly, all but purring like a cat.
"No. I have things to do," she said, again trying to leave.
Shane wouldn't let her. He tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her a little closer.
She tried to push him away from her, but he grabbed her other arm and squeezed it tightly. She cried out as a white-hot pain shot through her arm. It wasn't completely healed yet, and he had probably caused even more damage to it now.
"Let me go!" she screamed, struggling against him.
Just then, Jin happened to be walking by when he heard Rehteah's scream. He ran to find out what was going on and finally found her trying to get away from Shane. This angered him, and he barely registered the change into his Black Mask form: a creature that resembled a black panther on two legs, with arms and with a tail.
"Leave her alone, McSlimeball! She doesn't want to go with you!" Jin snarled and lunged at Shane.
Startled, he let go of his hold on Rehteah just as she was trying to pull away from him again. She felt herself falling and cried out as she landed on the ground, hitting her injured arm against the wall. She backed away quickly, shielding herself behind her dark wings, shivering violently.
"Stay out of this, Jin! This isn't any of your business. It's between me and her," Shane snapped.
This only angered Jin further. He grabbed Shane by the front of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall as hard as he could. The golden pather's eyes narrowed and Shane flinched, but he didn't let Jin see this.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't rip you to shreds right now, McCormick," Jin growled.
Hearing the threat, Rehteah peered out from behind her shield. "No, Jin. Don't. Not on my account," she said softly, her voice pleading with him.
"He hurt you, Rehteah. Why shouldn't I? It's what he deserves," Jin said, never taking his eyes off Shane as he spoke, his protective streak coming out.
"No, Jin. Don't. Please, it's all right," she whispered.
Finally Jin relented. "All right." He turned his attention back to Shane. "The only reason I'm not going to do kill you is because of Rehteah. But if you ever go near her again, you won't be so lucky. I won't be so merciful next time," Jin growled.
Shane sighed in relief, but then yelled in pain as Jin slammed him against the wall again and hurled him away into a table further down the hallway. His back made contact with the hard mahagany wood, and his head hit the wall. He slumped down to the ground, unconscious.
Jin shifted back into his natural form and hurried to Rehteah's side. She unfurled her wings as he knelt beside her, taking her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, trembling, and he held her close, stroking her hair. Silvery tears slid down her cheeks. Finally she calmed down and Jin lifted her face to his, wiping away the shimmering trail on her pale skin. She smiled faintly at him, grateful.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
"How bad did he hurt you?"
"Not too bad. I'm all right, Jin. Really. He just hurt my bad arm. Nothing that a healing trance won't fix," she answered.
They sat in silence for a long minute before Jin spoke again. "Why did you want me to spare him?" he asked.
Rehteah hesitated. "I couldn't bear to see anyone get hurt just because of me. I appreciate the gesture, but..." her voice trailed off.
"But what?" Jin asked.
"I'm not worth it, I guess," she said reluctantly.
Jin was startled. "Why would you say that? Of course you are," he said.
Rehteah shook her head. "No I'm not, Jin."
"You are to me," he replied softly, the words startling him as they came out. He could tell that his statement had caught her off guard as well.
"What?" she asked, her voice a barely audible whisper that she hardly recognized as her own.
"I..." Jin started, not really sure how to tell her how he felt about her. "I...that is, I..." he stammered.
"You what?" Rehteah asked softly.
Jin didn't answer, but instead placed his hand gently on her cheek and brushed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. It was a light, questioning touch at first, but then it became deeper as Rehteah kissed him back, letting her wings surround them like a cocoon.
Finally they pulled away, and merely sat there, gazing at each other in silence. Jin mistook the silence for disdain and started to stand up.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so impulsive," he said quietly.
"No, don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for, Jin. You just caught me off guard," she replied as he helped her up.
Jin was about to say something more when Kit and Ping came up to them.
"What's wrong? We heard yelling..." Kit started when she noticed her older brother standing there with his arm around Rehteah.
"Nothing. She just had a run-in with Shane," Jin answered.
"Are you all right?" Ping asked, looking from Rehteah to his brother and back again.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My arm's just a little sore. Nothing that a healing trance won't take care of though," she responded.
"Are you sure?" Kit asked.
"Yeah."
"Okay. Come on, Ping's got the car fixed. I'll take you to the mall."
"All right." She turned back to Jin and whispered in his ear. "Thank you."
"No problem," he whispered back.
She smiled shyly and slipped out of his embrace, following Kit down the hallway. Jin watched her leave, and Ping gave his brother that same irritating knowing look. Jin noticed it and rolled his eyes.
"Oh for crying out loud, Ping! Would you knock it off with that look?" Jin asked irritably.
"No. You know you like her, Jin. Don't even try to deny it. I think she likes you too, though," Ping said smugly.
Jin rolled his eyes again and smacked his brother upside the head. "I barely know her. Cut it out," he grumbled as he walked away.
"You're in denial!" Ping called after him.
Jin flipped him off without even stopping. Ping's amused laughter and teasing remarks followed him down the hall. Jin ignored him.
***************
"What shop do you want to go to first?" Kit asked as she and Rehteah entered the huge mall.
Rehteah shrugged. "I don't know. You pick," she said, then noticed the odd stares that people were giving her. "Umm, what's wrong with these people? Why do they keep staring at me that way?"
Kit glanced over at Rehteah, then at some of the people who were walking by. "It's probably because of your wings. I don't think anyone around here has ever seen anything like them," Kit answered.
"Oh," Rehteah said quietly.
Just then Kit saw two people staring at Rehteah strangely and whispering with their heads together. "Hey, knock it off! Leave the poor girl alone! Why don't you go screw each other behind that plant over there?!" Kit yelled to them.
The couple glared at her, the girl flipping her off and they stormed away. Kit just rolled her eyes and walked away with Rehteah following her.
"I hate getting that reaction," Rehteah muttered as she followed Kit into a large store.
"Do you get it a lot?" Kit asked.
Rehteah didn't answer for a long time as she started to rummage through some of the racks next to her. Finally she looked up and nodded. Her blue-gray eyes seemed almost haunted as she spoke.
"Yes. Where I come from, everyone at the Temple has white wings, except me. I'm kind of an outcast because of it. The only one who's ever really cared about me was Master Qui-Gon. He took me as his Padawan when I was ten. He's basically all I've got," she said.
"Padawan?" Kit asked, tilting her head slightly to one side in confusion.
Rehteah nodded. "Yes, it means apprentice," she answered.
"What about your family?" Kit asked.
Rehteah shrugged. "I've never met them. They left me on the front steps of the Temple right after I was born. They must have figured I belonged there or they didn't want me or something. I don't know."
"Why would they just abandon you?"
"They must have known I was Force-sensitive. Only those who are have these wings. But everyone despises me because mine are black. It's been said that only darksiders have the black wings. But I'm not a darksider. Nobody believes it, though. I think most of them would rather see me dead. A few have them have actually *tried* to kill me," she explained. "Torran tried just before my Master and I were sent on that mission and I somehow ended up here."
Kit put her hand on her arm. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right. It's not your fault."
"Hey, would you extend your wings and let me see them?" Kit asked.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea, Kit. You saw how people were reacting," Rehteah said hesitantly.
"Come on, just for a minute. If anyone tries to mess with you, they'll wish they hadn't," Kit said.
Rehteah hesitated for a moment longer, then finally relented. She took a step back so she wouldn't knock over any of the displays. She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes for a second and then opening them again as she extended her ebony wings to their full length. The black feathers draped almost to the floor and gave Rehteah an almost mystical appearance.
After a long minute of expecting the crude remarks that never came from anyone, she tucked them back behind her again where they were a little less visable.
"Wow. They're really pretty," Kit said.
"Thanks," Rehteah said.
Then she went back to rummaging through the racks until she found a pretty emerald green shirt and black pants. She held them up for Kit to see. "What do you think of this?"
"I like very much. Here, try this too," Kit said, handing her a light blue tank top and a long skirt of an even darker blue, and another shirt that was a garnet red.
"Oh, I like that."
"Yeah, I figured. Jin probably will too," Kit joked.
Rehteah blushed. "Why do you say that?" she asked innocently.
"He likes you. I think you like him too."
Rehteah shrugged, evading the statement. "Eh, he's all right. He seems like a nice guy," she said, walking past Kit towards the fitting room.
Kit rolled her eyes and laughed. "All right? What do you mean, all right? You two couldn't have gotten any closer earlier!"
"Oh, be quiet."
"No. Besides, I don't shut up just because someone tells me to," Kit said.
Rehteah gave an exaggerated sigh and turned back to her. She waved her hand in the air in front of Kit's face, trying to mind-whammy Kit. "You *will* forget what you saw between me and Jin earlier," she said.
Kit rolled her eyes and scoffed jokingly. "Nope, sorry. Won't work. Besides, Xani-butt's already tried that one. Remind me to show you the tape we made of him when Jin hypnotized him. *That* was too funny!"
Rehteah raised an eyebrow, and it was clear that she was trying to keep from laughing. "Hypnotized him? Is it possible to hypnotize someone who's Force-sensitive?" she choked.
Kit shrugged indifferently. "Eh, apparently so. He kept saying it wasn't, but leave it to Jin to prove the moron wrong."
"I don't trust Xani," Rehteah muttered.
"None of us do, except Clairese. She felt sorry for him for some reason when he showed up here and invited him to stay with us. Why, I don't know, really. Those two are kind of a couple, though neither of them will admit it. They're both harmless though."
"Oh, I get it. Wait. When he showed up here? How...?"
"The same way you did. There was a weird blue light, and then poof! He was there," Kit explained.
Rehteah shuddered. "Do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Don't mention the word 'poof'."
Kit looked at her, confused, cocking her head slightly to one side. "Why?" she asked.
"Because there's this one guy on the Council named Poof who gives me the creeps. He's got this really long neck and his head looks like a half-deflated balloon. It just sways back and forth all the time like he's mocking everyone within a ten-mile range of him," Rehteah explained.
Kit laughed. "Yikes. Maybe someone should pop it or something and see what happens," she said.
"I've been tempted, don't think I haven't. Ay ay ay," Rehteah remarked.
A while later, the girls had found what they wanted, including some jewelry. Kit told Rehteah not to worry about the cost, because it wasn't her credit card she was using. She'd stolen Shane's again, and by the time they left the mall, there was nothing left on it.
Ok, here's my new part. The next part is done by bluefire. R&R please!