Title: Demon Child

Author: Miasen

Pairing: Angel/Erika (OC)

Rating: M

Chapter two

Warren opened the window of his room. The cold night breeze ruffled his feathers. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the wind on his face. He jumped up into the windowsill and then he leapt out and spread his wings. Gravity pulled him downwards at first, but soon the wind caught him, and he soared to the sky. It had become quite the ritual for him by now. Every night after the lectures were done he would go to his room and then head for the skies. He loved that he had the freedom to do this now, and not have to hide his wings. That was one of his favourite things by living at the institute, he was no longer different as there were plenty of other kids that looked much less human than he did. He felt more and more proud of his wings everyday.

He soared over the surrounding forests and occasionally did a loop or a sudden drop, just to train on his abilities a little. As he was dropping towards the treetops one last time he heard a noise that startled him. It was a horrible scream that echoed trough the forest. He didn't expect it, and almost hit a large pine before he again directed his focus to flying. He slowed down, and his large wings beat as he slowly followed the sound. He landed in the top of a leaf tree and folded his wings to his back.

At the foot of the trunk he saw the most unexpected sight. A girl sat leaning against the tree, occasionally between sobs emitting a scream. She looked to be about eighteen years old. Her dark hair was bushy and her clothes dirty. Warren didn't feel like he could leave her alone in the middle of the forest, and jumped from the branch, floating to the ground. He landed behind the tree silently, and cleared his throat to get her attention. She jumped and spun around. Then he saw that she was no ordinary girl. Big black wings unfurled behind her. His jaw dropped at the sight. The girl backed away from him, eyes wide with terror. She looked ready to run away. He held his hands up to show that he meant no harm. She frowned, and then she turned and ran trough the forest. Warren took off from the ground and flew after her. For some reason she didn't use her wings, so it didn't take long for him to overtake her, even if the trees were standing close together. He stretched his hands and grabbed her around the waist, dragging her off her feet. He rolled over and landed on his back, with her on top, so not to hurt her.

She screamed and tried to kick her way out off his grip, but he held her close. He told her that he only wanted to help, and after a while she calmed down somewhat, no longer fighting his grip. Her wings were folded between them. He let her go under the condition that she would not run away again, and she nodded consentingly. As she tried to scramble to her feet one of the spikes on her wings slashed over Warren's chest, cutting a shallow cut across it. A few drops of blood emitted and dripped down his torso, staining the now ruined t-shirt. He lifted a hand to the cut and wiped away the blood. It was nothing much, it didn't even hurt. When he looked up at the girl he saw that she was weeping. She muttered 'sorry' under her breath. Warren drew the girl close and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his t-shirt and cried for several minutes. Warren could feel her shake, and held her tighter. When she calmed down he held her at arms length and asked who she was and why she was out here in the forest. The girl sobbingly told a story of having wings burst from her back and then fleeing her house last night. She had spent the day walking sitting under the trees, not daring to go anywhere there were people. Warren wanted to take her back to her parents, but she refused. She muttered about being a demon, about being evil while staring to the ground. Warren lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes.

"You are no more a demon than I am an angel. You are just a mutant, like I am. There's really nothing wrong with us, although I have been afraid as well. But there is somewhere I can take you, somewhere no one will see you as anything but a mutant." He told her of Xavier's institute. At first she refused, but after some persuasion she decided to join him. They walked back to school. Warren didn't want to disturb her further by flying. She didn't even know if the wings would hold her up. It took nearer to two hours to get back to the mansion. Most of the windows were dark as it was in the middle of the night, but one of the side doors was open throughout the night, so it was no problem getting inside the castle.

He walked up to the second floor and knocked on the door that belonged to Storm. She had taken control of the institute ever since Xavier had died at the hands of the Dark Phoenix. Storm came out wrapped in a robe rubbing sleep out of her eyes. When she saw the girl next to Warren she felt the sleepiness disappear in an instant. She showed the girl to a room and found some old clothes for her to wear. The girl looked so small and frightened, and she constantly walked with her back towards the wall, trying to hide her wings. Storm tried to convince her that there was nothing wrong with the wings, but the girl just looked at her with big green eyes and kept on walking against the wall. Storm took the girl to a room and left her in the bathroom, laying the pile of clothes on a bench, so Erika could take a shower.