A/N: Hey guys, I might very well be typing this in my class… while learning about APA formatting… but I feel like getting started on this.
Disclaimer: Bah.
Show and Tell
Madeline was sure that her eyes were about to bug out of her head and she couldn't help the sharp gasp that escaped her. If she didn't know better she'd say that someone had come into the room and replaced the boy she'd been taking care of with a monster.
"A-anthony?" she whispered, the blue devil in front of her nodded. He was far beyond anything that Madeline ever would have imagined, long silver horns on either side of his head and small black wings twitched weakly on the sides of the chair. She took a deep breath and scooted her chair closer to him. Eyeing him up and down, taking it all in, she touched his shoulder and he twitched slightly, nervous and afraid.
"Can you fly?" she asked, looking around his back to see how his wings were attached to his body. Vergil shook his head before, lifting the small black wings to look at them himself, Madeline could see the strain it took for him to lift them from the chair
"They're too weak." He said, his voice very much distorted by the change, it sounded deeper, echoing strangely. Madeline nearly jumped at the sound but quickly masked it by looking at the wings herself.
"If they were stronger do you think you could?" she asked and Anthony nodded
"My dad could, I think I probably can too, if I try." There was a flash of light and Anthony was nothing more than a ten year old boy again, just as human as the rest of them, though he looked much more worn down now.
"Does it hurt to change?" she asked, she would make sure not to ask again if it did hurt him to alter his appearance. He thought about the question for a moment
"Not really, it did the first time but… now… now it's like stretching, it hurts a little bit but not bad." Madeline nodded, that was something she could relate to "It is tiring though, I can't hold onto it for very long." He said, looking down at his hands and flipping them over, the older woman could nearly see the same black scales and claws that had been there moments before.
"How many times have you done this now?" Anthony held up three fingers and Madeline's eyes widened
"Only three?!" she asked, utterly baffled, it had only been the third time and yet he'd done so with such confidence… as though having a completely different form didn't bother him in the slightest. Though, now that she thought about it, he'd grown up knowing that demons were very real and likely knowing what they looked like too.
"Yes, this time was the easiest though." He said simply, looking back down at his now empty plate "It seems to get easier with practice." Madeline sighed, holding the bridge of her nose with her fingers, how had she gotten roped into something so crazy again? When she looked back, Anthony was looking at her expectantly.
"I can help you practice if you want." She said with a small smile "I don't know much about demons or devils but I can certainly try to help you if you want to get stronger, or get better at all of this." Anthony gave her a small smile and then rose from the table, taking his plate over to the kitchen.
"I would like that." He said when he came back with more orange juice. Madeline smiled back at him and ruffled his hair as she got up to take care of her own things.
-The Boy in Blue-
It was a short time later when both of them had had the chance to get around for the day and they were both sitting in the small living room when Madeline suddenly sighed and closed her book. Vergil looked at her expectantly, he was still mildly wary of her but since telling her about his heritage he felt some trust growing in the back of his heart. Yamato warned him of the dangers that posed but he couldn't help it, he was young and wanted support from someone and this woman seemed willing to provide it. That didn't mean he still wasn't expecting sudden and rapid rejection but he wasn't surprised by her acceptance anymore either.
"So." She started but she didn't seem to know where to go with her thoughts and paused for a moment before continuing "Where do we start with all of this?" Vergil was pretty sure she was referring to her offer to help him practice control over his demonic change
"I should go back to the house and see if any of my dad's book survived the fire." He said quietly, he didn't want to go back there, didn't want to risk finding his brother's body by accident, didn't even want to be overwhelmed by the memories of that day, of that wretched day.
"Are you sure you want to go back there?" her eyes looked soft, like she felt for him in some way
"No but I need to…" he whispered, biting his lip and drawing support from the ancient katana within his mind.
"I'll see what I can do, they're still investigating there, trying to find out what happened."
"They won't figure it out."
"I know but they still have to try. By the way, there's something I have to talk to you about." Madeline put her book on the table and now Vergil was starting to get a little worried, she sounded serious
"I'm perfectly willing to continue to look after you, especially now that you've opened up to me in a way that I know was hard for you but social services have started asking if they should take you, they would put you in the system, you would probably end up in a foster family, do you want that?" she asked, Vergil looked at her with wide eyes
"No, can I stay with you?" she smiled at him again
"Of course."
A/N: Kind of an awkward place to leave off but eh?
Till next time,
-Winged Element
