Title: The Strength of Difference: Chapter Three

Author: SynsOrion


Content: PG

Discription: A young girl finds that she has grown wings.  She runs away because of her confused feelings and finds another like herself.  Original story.  Please r & r so that I know if I should put up more of it.

~*~

        Hane turned around to see how small Murdory Village had become behind them then turned back, a large grin on her face.  "I'm so glad to be moving on!"

        Suteru looked at the sun.  "It's around ten in the morning.  We have a few hours to walk before lunch."  He watched her for a moment then a thought entered his head and he couldn't resist suggesting it.  "Tenshi-ko."

        "Hmm?"

        "Have you ever tried flying?"

        "What?" she asked incredulously, afraid of where he might be going with this.

        "I mean, with your wings.  Have you ever used them to fly?"

        "No."

        "What's the point in having wings if you don't even use them?  You should try it!"

        She closed her eyes.  Her nightmare...  "I--I can't, Suteru."

        "Why?"

        "I just can't, okay!"

        He seemed taken aback at the fact that she didn't want to fly and how angry she was at the suggestion of doing so.  Suteru closed his eyes.  He hadn't wanted to upset her.  "Let's keep going, eh?"

        She gave a small nod.  "Yes."

*

        Hane stretched her wings out so that they blocked the sun for both Suteru and herself.

        "Man!  It's getting hot, eh, Suteru?"

        "Yes.  It's about one or two in the afternoon.  So it should be pretty hot by now.  Thanks for the shade."

        She gave him a large grin and blushed suddenly.  "Oh!  It's nothing!"

        "You know, tenshi-ko, we should really eat soon."

        "All right."  She glanced around at the trees that surrounded them on both sides.  "We should sit under the trees."

        "'Kay.  Come on."

        Suteru led Hane into the trees.

        "Watch your wings so they don't get caught on the branches."

        She nodded, folding her wings so that they were, more or less, out of the way.

        "Here's a good spot."  He sat down on a level patch of grass and leaned back against a tree.  "Good place to rest."

        Hane nodded as she glanced around.  A nice breeze was filtering through the trees and sunlight danced about as the canopy above was blown around.  She could smell the freshness of grass and plants that surrounded them.

        "You know, this place is so peaceful.  I love it."  She glanced to the left, spotting a small stream.  "Oh!"  She sprang to her feet and ran over to it.  "Cool!"

        He shook his head, a small grin on his face.  "Hane, its just water."

        Hane sat down next to it.  "Wow.  This place is so relaxing.  I feel so--" she couldn't seem to find the words to describe it then blurted it out.  "At peace."

        He nodded as he walked over and stood next to her.  "Come on, we have to find out what we can eat here."

        "Oh, yeah."  She stood up and glanced around.

        She walked around a bit, looked closely at the plants and berries that were growing.

        After a little while she came back over to Suteru, her arms full of things that she was sure were okay to eat.

        "Here, this will do for now.  I'll find some more if we're still hungry."

        He nodded, eyeing the food in her hands with skepticism.

*

        Hane and Suteru walked side by side as they continued down the road.

        "That food that you found back there wasn't half bad, tenshi-ko.  At least I'm not hungry any more."

        Hane nodded.

        "We should eat again when we stop for the night."

        Another nod.

        "Tenshi-ko?  You all right?"

        She said nothing.

        "Tenshi-ko?"  Suteru gave her a poke in the arm.

        She turned to look at him, her eyes refocusing as if she had just been elsewhere.  "Yes?"

        "Are you all right?" he repeated.

        "Oh, yes.  I was just thinking."

        "'Bout what?"

        She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.  "I don't really remember."

        "You don't remember?"

        "Yes.  It seemed really important though."

        "Well, as I was saying; we should eat again when we stop for the night."

        "Yeah, that sounds good."

        "Good."  He looked back up at the sun.  "It's about four in the afternoon right now, so we'll stop at about seven or eight or so."

        "'Kay."

*

        "NO!!"  Hane bolted upright then closed her eyes with realization.  She glanced over at Suteru and saw that he was watching her.

        "Tenshi-ko?  Everything all right?" He questioned, a note of concern in his voice.

        "No..."

        "You had that nightmare again, didn't you?"

        She gave a small nod.

        He moved over next to her.  "It might make you feel better if you tell me what it's about."

        She nodded again.  "I know.  I just don't--"

        "Tenshi-ko…please tell me."

        She looked up into his vivid blue eyes then glanced down at her own hands.

        Suteru set his thumb and forefinger under chin and lifted her head up so that she was looking straight into his eyes.

        "O--okay, Suteru."

        He gave her a warm smile.  "That's the ticket.  Now tell me about your nightmare, tenshi-ko."

        "Y--yes."  She inhaled deeply then looked back into his eyes, as if gaining courage from looking at him.  "I'm back with mother and Soyokaze.  But something seems wrong.  Then I see mother, torn apart and Soyokaze being chased by a dark shadow.  I start chasing the shadow to help Soyokaze and the shadow turns to face me.  It tells me that mother and Soyokaze will be destroyed because I've become an angel.  I tell it that I can't help looking like this but then it turns around.  I watch it kill Soyokaze and then it comes back and raises a sword above its head to strike me.  I see a flicker of your face in the shadow and then I wake up.  What does it mean, Suteru?  Why do I see your face in the shadow?"

        He closed his eyes as he shook his head.  "I don't know.  But we should go back to where you came from.  If you've had it three times at least, then it might just mean that it will come true.  I'm sorry, that's not exactly what I'd like to say, you know."

        She nodded as she grasped the sleeve of his left arm.

        He looked down at her frightened face and gave her a smile as he hugged her.  "It'll all be fine.  Everything will work out in the end.  You just talked to them, right?"  She nodded, remembering her conversations with mother and Soyokaze.  "They'll be fine until we reach them."

        She clung to him, nodded.  He had to be right, he just had to be.

        "Come on, now.  Time to get back to sleep."  He lay her back down and she immediately curled up into a protective ball with her wings shielding herself.

        He lay down next to her.  "It's all right," he repeated, setting a hand on her arm.

        She grasped his hand with hers and held it tightly, as if afraid that he'd suddenly disappear.  She gave him a thankful smile then closed her eyes.

*

        "Come on, tenshi-ko.  Time to wake up!"

        Hane opened her eyes and they focused on Suteru's grinning face.

        She sat up, rubbing her head with a hand.  "Good morning, Suteru."

        "Morning."  He helped her to her feet.  "Guess that we should get a move on, eh?"

        She nodded as she shouldered her backpack.  "One sec and I'll pick us some berries to eat while we walk."

        He nodded.  "'Kay."

        She pulled a large leaf off a tree, twirled it into a cone, then quickly when about picking the wild fruit that was growing around them.

        Suteru appeared by her side.  "Looks like you could use some help, eh?"

        She nodded.  "Thanks."

        They continued to pick the ripe fruit until the leaf was full.

        "All right, we can go now, I guess."

        He grinned at her.  "Come on, the road's this way."

        Hane followed him out of the trees and they set off, eating the wild berries as they went.

*