Hey, a new chapter, early, to make up for not writing for so long. cute and fluffy. pleas r and r

I flew well into the night. By then, there was a hunger that was tearing my insides apart. Not to be dramatic or anything. It made me realize I needed to eat.

I had traveled north/west, following some sense of mine that said "go this way". Probably one of those crazy things that helps birdies know where to fly and migrate.

I landed clumsily and hid my wings under a wind breaker. I had a wad of cash in my pocket from when we had last taken money out of an ATM with my credit card.

I tried, in vain, to make myself look less like I had recently fallen from a cliff. I wiped off some dirt, but, as of now, no one has invented a cure for bruises and exhaustion.

The local supermarket was the mega-chain type, open 24/7. I bought as much dehydrated food as I could, along with some deli meat, bread, apples, ketchup, and a soda. Then, I got a case of bottled water.

I felt a teeny bit guilty for buying so much water in un-reusable plastic, what with the whole global warming thing, but right now, as selfish as it seems, surviving was somehow more important to me. But, plus side, I bought a backpack, instead of using those flimsy plastic bags.

I went into the woods to make sandwiches, with the perishable foods, then went to sleep.

When I awoke, pain blossomed in my body. I felt like I hadn't moved for a year or three. There was a stiffness much greater than one that came from overexertion. I felt like someone had taken half my muscles and knotted them up. The other half had been ripped into shreads.

I shuddered, then winced at the pain. "Crap," I muttered. I had waayy over done it. It felt like some bones were still broken too.

I stood up and opened my wings, they were disgusting. I'll try and spare the details, but, let's just say a bath was eminent. I looked like something from a horror movie, to say the least.

I wondered if I could fly like this. But, since not flying wasn't an option, I had to be able to fly. If that makes any sense at all.

I climbed out of the tree, gingerly and went to a near by stream. Not anything fit to drink from, but, needless to say, picturesque.

There was a twenty foot water fall that fell into a pool about five and a half feet deep. The water came down the hill in gentle trickles.

I shed my windbreaker, leaving only my tank top. Then, I put on old cutoff exercise pants. Off went my ratty sneakers.

I took a deep breath and stepped into the water. It was icily refreshing. The bottom of the pool had nice, slippery pebbles on the bottom. I waded deeper until I was up to my neck, then I opened up my wings.

"Yo," a voice said.

I was so surprised that I slipped on the rocks as I backpedaled. I was dunked into the water. My head hit a stone, as there was a splash, followed by a wave of bubbles as someone entered the water.

I gasped, and choked. A hand grabbed my arm and yanked me free of the pool. I winced. Then, my instincts kicked in and I reeled back with my free arm and lobbed a punch at the person.

I felt my fist connect with flesh, then another hand trapped my wrist. I was pulled all the way out of the water. My arm was released and I spat out water. With my free arm, I cleared the wet hair from my eyes.

I turned and there was Fang. I could only blink for several seconds.

We were in a hollow in the rocky hill. A tiny cave, only four feet above the water.

"Max, what the hell were you doing?" Fang asked as I said

"How could you leave me like that?" We were both furious.

"Taking a bath," was my prim reply while Fang said.

"I didn't have a choice."

I bit my lip, then yelled, "You left me alone you idiot. What on Earth did you think I would do?"

Fang almost flinched, "You were injured," he spat, "Look at yourself," his voice was loud and dangerous; then, he took his own advice and for the first time saw the bruises and blood. His face softened, and he put his arm abound my.

I felt my anger dissipate and leaned against Fang as gently as I could. "How did you find me?" I whispered, "Why did you bother?"

Fang tensed, then mumbled, "Voice."

My mind sped up and I too tensed to pull away, his voice was evil and unreliable.

"No," Fang caught my upper arm and stood me up. He turned me to face him, and put his hands on my waist. "Listen, when the voice told me your location, I defied it to come and find you."

"Oh," I muttered, not quite convinced.

Fang leaned toward me and kissed me gently and quickly. "I didn't want you to get hurt." He said as he hugged me to his soaking chest.