(A/N: the lyrics from 'Superman' are not my own; they belong to Daniel K., and everybody else who I know nothing about)


Before Perfection
by The Great Red Dragon
Chapter 16
"We'll all stand together, for the world to see;
Now the time is right, to live out all our dreams;
Say the words together, your strength will never leave;
If you want to win the fight, say I believe
"

-I Believe,
Manowar
Riley came home a few hours later. By then, the kid had pointed out just about every aspect of the house, and already I had created a mental map in my head. She wasn't all that bad, if she'd just leave out the 'hugging-every-other-second' thing.
I held up to make Riley happy. As long as I was living here, in HIS house, I might as well keep my host happy.
However, there was one host that I simply could not please. Lara was so ferocious around me that you might've thought I had done something awful! Before Riley came home, Rebecca left had me in the hallway while she used the bathroom. Lara came into the hall, and I literally thought that I was to be put through the same punishments I experienced with Jumba!
I ended up taking cover behind a bookshelf and waiting before the coast was clear again.

But that didn't really matter. I had my two friends to keep me company ('my two friends'...I never would've thought I'd ever say that...).
Riley and Rebecca had become my best friends. We could spend hours together, hours and hours, days and days, doing just about anything we wanted to. I liked that, and this was exactly one of those times.
The three of us were 'camped out' on the patio of the second floor. Well, it was actually just a large balcony outside of the second-story of the house, but it was just as nice.
The sun was setting just behind the beautiful Hawaiian horizon, making the entire landscape look like some beautiful oil painting. All of us were seated on an old yet comfortable couch-swing, which was rocking back and forth gently.
It was a moment of silence, even for the kid (Rebecca). We just sat there, enjoying the surroundings.

Then, all of the sudden, Rebecca leaned over and asked Riley why he didn't pull out his guitar and play us a tune? He agreed, and got up to fetch his guitar.
At this, I grew excited. I had caught sight of this odd-looking instrument in Riley's room, but had never gotten around to even touching it; I was anxious to see it being put to action.
Rebecca leaned over to me.

"This is gonna be good", she foretold.

Riley returned a few minutes later, the black-and-red stringed wonder in hand. My eyes followed the beautiful contraption in an almost hypnotized way. Even as Riley sat back down, my eyes remained glued to the piece of both visual and musical art.

"Okay", he said in an opening way, plucking at the strings a bit.
"I'm gonna play some...does 'Superman' sound good to you?"

I hadn't heard this one yet, but Rebecca obviously recognized it, and seemed happy about it. Riley started a fun beat, allowing his foot to tap to the music.

"Okay...now that my audience is settled (Rebecca giggled), I'm gonna begin. Here we go!"

It was a party beat, not much of a bedtime tune, but was entertaining nonetheless. And in this, Riley unearthed yet another talent: he could sing.
"Oh I saw you once, on a Saturday night,
Yeah, I was so strong, in the laser lights;
When I looked at you, in the smoking lights,
Oh I wasn't sure, what is wrong or right;
But I need your smile and you broke my heart oh, baby, baby, baby baby...

I tell you, I'm your Superman forever,
I swear, we'll always be together;
I tell you, tell you baby, I can't get enough
..."
He had a beautiful, entrancing voice that could surround me magically. It was affectionately seductive, warm, and calming, and it surpassed many that I had heard over the radio.
A few more lyrics followed, which still kept their playful nature of a teenage romance. Even though I still kept more towards the side of rock music, this silly little pop tune was still fine.
We applauded at the end, and Riley gave a comical bow (he liked being funny). He checked his watch and grimaced.

"It's almost ten", he remarked, looking up at Rebecca.
"I think you'd better get off to bed."

There came the usual argument, in which I was thankfully allowed to remain neutral. It eventually came as it must, and Rebecca was brought back into the house.

"Wait a second", Riley said to me, urging her in while she waved goodnight to me.
"I'll be back in a minute."

While he was gone, all I did was stare at the guitar.
...It was a drug with an addiction worse than crack. I wanted to reach out and touch it, just for a moment...
Hell, 'touch it', I wanted to freak'in play it!
When Riley had done it, it had seemed so darn easy to create beautiful tunes. Surely I could do it too!
I reached out...barely inches away...oh, the sheer beauty of obsession...

"What are you doing?", came Riley's voice.

BUSTED!...AGAIN!

Riley had returned without me even noticing it, and I felt so humiliated and ashamed.
Here I was, with my clawed hand exceeding the limit of touch, right in front of my beloved host! I could feel my face going red underneath my fur.
Riley first looked at me, then at the guitar, then back at me.

"You wanna play it?"

"...You'd let me do that?", I asked mentally in surprise.

"Okay; sure", he said.

Riley sat back down on the swing and pulled the guitar toward him.

"Come here", he said, motioning to me to come closer.

I climbed over and settled myself in his lap (as I looked down, I finally became fully aware of how far away my feet were from the ground; damn, was I ever short!) Riley brought the guitar over both of us, and held it in front of me, as though it was some kind of a guitar-simulator. He showed me where and how to hold it properly.

"And with this hand...", he said, indicating the one near the head of the guitar.
"This hand controls the ends of the strings, which indicate the sounds made."

"Huh?", I thought in confusion.
"I thought that was the other hand!"

After I had perfected this, Riley demonstrated a quick few tunes. He did it several times.

"Now you try it", he said, letting his hands loose and entrusting the instrument to me.

I assumed the position, and my claws skidded across the cords.
It sounded like a hyena. Riley suppressed a laugh.

"No, no", he said patiently.
"Like this."

He did it again, and I tried again.
There came that hyena again.

It went on like that for some time. Several minutes later, I finally achieved it, in a state of stressed excitement.

"Good!", Riley praised.
"That's really good!...I think we'll leave it here for tonight."

"What, now?", I thought in mock outrage.
"We're just starting to make some progress!"

Well, I guess it was for the best. At the pace I was learning, it would take half an eternity for me to learn. Plus, I could see that Riley was tired; he usually went to bed at the same time as Rebecca. Lara was spending the night at a friend's house, so there was no worrying about her.
The sun had set, so it was almost impossible to teach or learn anymore.
Seemed pretty fair.
I waited while Riley got ready for bed in the bathroom. When he was garbed in boxers and a t-shirt, he led me back to the living-room, which seemed to have become my permanent sleeping-quarters. I had learned to sleep with a blanket now, and it did indeed make things more comfortable.

"You okay?", Riley asked when I was tucked in.

I nodded.

"If you need anything, just say so", he said assuringly.

He reached down and petted my head softly.

"Good night."
Good night to you too, Riley.
He left, and I heard him flick the lights off, go upstairs, and fall onto his mattress as well.
But I didn't go to sleep.
While everybody else dozed off quietly, I tossed and turned alertly. I believe I was made to be nocturnally based, so I would sometimes have problems sleeping: I was restless.
I got back up, hoping that a while in solitude would be gain me some shut-eye.
As quietly as I could (which is almost completely silent, to my advantage), I crept back upstairs and back onto the patio.
The night air was cool in my face, and I saw no objection to sitting back down on the couch swing and killing time. I sat down and allowed the light breeze to rock me back and forth. It was very comfortable, and I thought that I might actually go to sleep right there.
It was an entrancing effect, and I felt myself getting tired quickly.

However, fate had other plans for me.

Several minutes into the silent pleasure, I was surprised by a sudden rush of rain. Thunder rolled grumpily in the distance, presumably out over the ocean somewhere.
I got back up, and made hurriedly to get out of the rain…although I was already wet. As I opened the door to enter back into the house, I jumped high into the air as lightning cracked like a whip throughout the sky. I spun around in what was almost an instinct, and saw a scene that's reminiscent of a horror movie.

Beyond a line of short trees, several dozen feet from the house...stood somebody.
I could only see the figure for a split second in the lightning, but that time enough was to frighten me.
The thing was about seven feet tall and wrapped in a long robe or coat that fluttered feverishly in the wind, as if it were a pair of wings.
What's more...even though I stood a great deal apart from the thing, I could see that it had glowing red eyes.

Defying my so-called courage, I leapt back through the door and locked it tightly.

I managed to convince myself that it had been my imagination, and that I had made that creature up. However, I was not about to go to sleep through the night alone in the dark living room...so I spent the night secretly curled up next to Riley's bed (okay, I slept right next to him in the bed, but what the Hell: we all get scared sometimes).

Only, I didn't know that this was the start of a cascade of terror that still haunts me today.
The dark figure would see to that.