Dripping Wings

Yuugi sat in his Magick's History class, listening intently as the teacher stood in the front of the class, as mysterious as usual. There were so many anomalies and strange events that occurred in this country's past, it wasn't even funny. It was one of the classes that Yuugi looked forward to most.

He wondered what the teacher was going to reveal to them that day.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Miss. Lapis," everyone replied in unison. Miss Lapis was an interesting individual. She was, according to popular rumor, a werewolf slash vampire all rolled into one. Unlike the stereotype that Yuugi was familiar with, however, werewolves could change shape at will, and were not violent by nature. Their human form just had an uncanny ability to growl surprisingly well.

"There is an old legend I would like to introduce to all of you today."

Silence. She sure was one for drama.

"As most of you know, wings do not exist on any human like creature that we know of today. It is, for the most part, biologically impossible. However, there is the old stories of the Assai."

Some of the people in the class sat with rapt attention now, looking enthralled.

"What do most of you know about these kind of creatures?"

A girl three desks up from Yuugi raised her hand excitedly. "Oh, oh!" she cried. "I know! The old stories tell of how wretched some of them were! Humans were direly jealous of their wings, and would hunt them down and trap them, cutting off their wings and selling them for a high price. The Assai turned warrior-like and went on revenge killing sprees. Eventually, they were all killed off, and those who did live hid their wings and assimilated themselves into society."

The teacher nodded her approval. "That is, in short, the most correct history we know of them. Does anyone know where they came from?"

More silence. Apparently, no one knew.

"Then here is some news for you. Assai generally translates into 'the sacred moon.' Therefore, we can presume that these creatures indeed came from the ruins that have been found on the silver moon in the night sky."

Yuugi found himself oh-ing. Everyone talked vehemently about those ruins. Old myths and legends fascinated people here. They wanted to know everything about their past, and these ruins were some of the only ones so far unidentified to any specific group or species.

Yuugi was even more astounded to see that the only moon in the sky actually shimmered silver at night.

"It is also said," Miss Lapis continued, "that the Moon Goddess created the Assai in her own image."

Jaws all around the room went slack. Yuugi was also learning about the resident religion here. Apparently, all of those statues he saw were in fact of the Thirteen Guardians, all goddesses from the different planets and in fact a star close to their solar system. Nine planets, which was a number Yuugi was familiar with, and one moon, one sun, one star, and one daughter of one of the Goddesses.

The three most revered Guardians were that of the Moon Goddess, the Sun Goddess, and the Star Goddess, the three lights of their universe.

That close star in the night sky was very bright. It put Earth's north star to shame every night. When the moon wasn't full, it was the brightest thing in the sky.

"It is even said that all Assai were in fact descendants of the Moon Goddess. However, we don't have any proof for this claim."

That didn't matter. It was mentioned, therefore at least some part of it had to be true.

The teacher began to hand out some parchment sheets to the class, filled with a tiny scrawl. "I have a handout for you, and a large chart I will show you up front of how it is thought these wings might have looked on the Assai."

Yuugi was handed a stack from the boy in front of him, took his piece, and handed the rest back. He was amazed at the picture before him. It showed some transparent views of the human body, except there were the largest wings possible extending from the back. Muscle masses were shown wrapping around the extra bone structures jutting out from either side of the spine, just inside of the shoulder blades. He read one of the little notes on the page. It is said that, when stretched, the wings were exactly three times longer than the creature was tall. The wings extended one full body length above their body, and therefore doubled back until they touched the ground another two body lengths.

Wow. Those were some very large wings. Yuugi raised his hand.

"What is it, Motou?"

"Well, wouldn't wings that large be rather heavy for flight?"

"They were large, yes, but the bones were hollow much like a birds' bones. It was true in more than just the bones of the wing, too. The entire skeletal structure of an Assai was hollow."

"Does that mean that they had a smaller amount of blood production?"

"Very good, Motou. That is true. In all mammal creatures the blood is made in the marrow of the bones, but since the amount of marrow inside an Assai was reduced by nearly three quarters, the amount of blood the body had was indeed smaller, therefore causing them to be much lighter still. Hence, flight was possible."

Cool.

"Does anyone know how long they've been extinct?"

A boy to Yuugi's right raised his hand. "About seven thousand years."

"Correct. Seven thousand years. In that time, there has not been another creature in recorded history that has walked this earth like a human that bore wings."

xxx

Yuugi walked out of his History class, surprised with the new information. How strange. With how much magic that was floating around here, no one had any kind of wings that were real. The only thing that even resembled wings happened when a mage created an illusion around themselves, and Yuugi had not yet learned how to do that.

"That was some pretty amazing stuff," the girl next to him commented. Yuugi noted her short brown hair and deep blue eyes, recognizing her as a girl named Anzu, an air element user.

"I agree. This world just keeps on amazing me."

She looked at him kindly. "You're a drop in, aren't you?"

Yuugi had learned that this was the general term used for someone who was sucked in to their world by magick or a portal. "Sure am," he replied.

"My crazy uncle claimed to be an Assai," she remarked. "But he said his wings had been torn off. No one in the family believed him, but he sure had some wild stories about flight." She shrugged. "But even my mum said that when the Goddesses died so did their high lineage."

This world sure was different. Yuugi was amazed every time he turned around. According to the religion, the First Twelve Goddesses were born from the planet, moon, or star they came from. The Moon Goddess, also known as Tranquility, was the only one to bear a child, the Thirteenth Goddess, and it was through this goddess that the royal line of Sekeshan rulers descended from. Supposedly, even the Prince Atemu was of this line, but it was over nine thousand years ago when the throne had first been erected.

The Goddesses were said to have lived a thousand years before they finally left their 'mortal' bodies and ascended to the heavens. But the Assai, supposedly created directly by the Goddesses from the clay of the moon, died out when their creators did.

Yuugi couldn't believe that these tales had stayed in tact for so long.

"It sure would be neat to see one, though."

Anzu smiled brightly in agreement. "Hey, want to go and get some lunch with me? I know a great way to sneak into the kitchens. They hide all of the good teas and scones in there."

"I'd love to," he stated, feeling his stomach grumble loudly.

"Hey Motou!"

Yuugi stopped, snarling where he stood. It seemed that even this world had its own set of bullies, and for some reason he was always a magnet for them. Do I just have this big sign painted on my forehead? Village idiot here, come and release some steam!! "Can I help you," he asked dryly.

"Hey, we heard you're a double gifted, eh? A pretty special pupil of the Priestess." The tall fire user laughed hard, his cronies joining in the teasing.

"Stuff it, sulfur breath."

The guy put his hands up in mock defense. "Wow, easy their tiger. Or perhaps we should say Assai Warrior. Oooooh." He laughed again.

Yuugi's lip curled up in a snarl. "What's the matter, mutt, jealous?"

The laughter stopped. The group of bullies, about four in all, started to crack their knuckles. "You'll pay for that, runt."

Yuugi stood his ground, ignoring as Anzu tugged on his sleeve. "Come on," she whispered. "Just ignore them."

"If you ignore bullies like these they'll do nothing but continue to harass." Yuugi stated. He ought to know, for he certainly had a lot of experience in the matter.

Some bullies got bored. Some got obsessed. These were the latter.

Yuugi watched as the upperclassmen started to glow a faint reddish orange. They were fire users, and they'd been in school long enough to develop their skills to a formidable level. Yuugi was still clueless how to tap into his powers.

Anzu started to get nervous. Air did little good against fire but to fan the flames. If Yuugi knew how to use shadows, he could snuff out the heat quickly and effectively, but he was still a novice, barely noteworthy of even lowly trickery. He had eight years of schooling ahead of him, and the bullies had six years up on him. They were almost to the master level.

Three teachers walked down the hall, conversing with one another. Immediately, the glow of flames died down, and the one to start the teasing, Hanabi, Yuugi believed was his name, glared daggers in his direction. "We'll settle this later, twerp."

And with that they were gone.

xxx

Yuugi sat on the window seat in his room, starring out the window. It was raining again. He couldn't help it, he lowered his head and scratched behind his ear.

It wasn't the act of scratching that made him feel somewhat better. No, he believed it was the ability to curl up and look like he had a good purpose for doing so. The scratching started when people started asking him why he was in a fetal position all of the time.

He always hated it when it rained. It seemed something bad always happened. He hadn't always had these views. He used to like the rain. He would sit out in it for hours at a time in the summer.

But when he was six, and the rains came, and it washed away the blood of his murdered parent's he was never really the same since. And ever since then, whenever it rained, he was forced out into it to hide from a threat, or run from it.

....or kill it.

He curled up tighter.

Nothing should happen to him right now. He knew he would be safe so long as he was here. The Headmistress swore to never let anything happen to him. As long as he was a student here, he was under her protection.

It was going to take a long time to get the paranoia out of his head.

A spark of light outside caught Yuugi's vision. The trees seemed to be rustling about in a way that did not seem very tree-like, even in the wind.

His eyes widened when he heard a cry. He knew, the rain brought trouble. But, he couldn't help that damned good streak his parent's instilled in him at such an early age. He put on a jacket, bundled up, and ran out to see if he could help.

The faculty didn't care if the students left. It was a lot like colleges back in Domino. You're here because you want to be here. If you don't then leave. We won't bother with you, you can live a poor, meager life. It's your own undoing. So Yuugi had no worries about sneaking out as he walked down the halls, shadows hiding in the many corners.

The alcoves with the statues were never dark, though. Those goddesses always gleamed with a light of their own, and Yuugi knew that it wasn't from artificial lighting behind them. It was from the glow within the stone itself.

He was hit with a warm blast of rain as he opened the main front door. Thank the goddesses it was summer here in Sekesha.

But it sure didn't stop it from being dark. Yuugi ran out into the night looking for another spark of light, or a cry, or something to let him know where he was heading. He turned to his left and ran down towards the trees, peering through the darkness to see if he could spot anything other than rain and swaying leaves.

"Hey, Motou! What are you up to?"

Gods, why did he ever leave his room?

"What are you doing out here, twerp? Looking for the beating you missed earlier?"

Yuugi spun around to look at the bullies that had harassed him earlier. "What are a bunch of pyros such as yourselves doing out in the middle of a rain storm," he quipped.

"Practice, stupid. If we can put up with water, we can do just about anything."

Shows how much you know, Yuugi thought. He knew that aside from water, shadows were one of the fire element's greatest weaknesses. Shadows snuffed. Hard.

Yuugi began to back up a bit, no longer aware of just how wet he was getting, as the four of them started to walk closer.

"You're a little over due for a beating, drop in. We'll show you just what training to be a Gifted is all about."

Before Yuugi could react, a tongue of flames grabbed the collar of his coat, and drug him forward. "We heard you were a Double Gifted," his captor hissed, smiling. "Do you have any idea just how rare that is? No, of course you don't, you're a meager little drop in. Why would a runt like you get something that those born here can't get? Hm? Tell me!" He shook Yuugi vigorously.

"How the hell should I know," Yuugi screeched back.

"Why don't we find out if it's true," someone behind him growled. Yuugi's eyes grew wide when they began to rip off his jacket and his shirt, exposing his delicate pale skin to the blowing summer storm.

"I don't believe it," Hanabi seethed. "Shadow and light? You bitch!" He threw Yuugi to the ground hard, causing him to become soaked in mud. Bands of hot fire wrapped around Yuugi's neck and wrists, pulled him up until his chest was exposed, and locked him in place. He tried not to cry out as it stung his skin, but it wasn't working very well.

"Let's give you a little insight about this world, Motou. Here, pain is weakness leaving the body. You have to go through a lot of it in order to attain Adept levels. Why don't we give you a little head start?"

Yuugi's eyes grew wide in fear when a foot was planted on the middle of his back, and two hands grabbed at the skin over his shoulder blades, and pulled.

Hard.

Yuugi screamed. Tears streamed down his face as those finger nails dug into his skin, feeling the warm liquid of his blood streaming down his sides.

One of the bullies got in front of him, and decided to start pummeling his chest with small balls of fire. "I'll get those pendants off of you yet," he yelled.

This was bad. He couldn't stop screaming. It felt like white hot agony and pain and anger shooting through his chest.

The fire users watched, laughing, as their prey was being pushed through so much pain. This was how to have fun.

xxx

The dark figure watched the torture take place from the shadows of the many trees on the compound, anger filling his gut and red clouding his vision.

Bastards. They would pay.

He began to run towards them, watching as the skin of the young boy was pulled taught, nearing the tearing point. Blood was covering the bully's hands at the moment, but all he could do was smile.

He'd pay.

But the figure found himself stopping part way as the skin on the boy's back finally did tear off, and what emerged from him threw the bully off balance and onto his rump in the mud.

A blood curdling scream erupted from the boy's throat.

Impossible. It couldn't be. It couldn't exist.

Blood at first. It was a shower of blood shooting out of his back. But slowly, as that shower grew ever larger in size, it wasn't going down. The rain began to beat away some of the red, revealing a little bit of white beneath.

Yuugi's new wings hovered for a moment, shuddering with the strain. In a flash, they crippled in on themselves, blocking the rest of the boy from view. Yuugi screamed again.

No. This was horrible. I'll kill them! All of them!

The dark figure ran towards the group again at full speed. They were too shocked, looking at what they had just done, that they didn't even have time to move as dark, glimmering shadows suddenly wrapped painfully around them, throwing them against the stone walls of the compound and binding them in place. They looked on in fear as a figure garbed all in black snarled at them, shadows dancing around him. "Do you know what you've done? Do you have any idea? Idiots! You'll hang for this if I don't kill you first tonight!" A blade of shadows extended from one hand. They waited for the blow.

"No!"

It was almost a relief to see the Priestess running up towards them, but their stomachs sank even lower now. She'd just torture them slowly first. "Don't kill them! Leave the wretches to me. Take him to the Healing Ward. Quickly!"

The figure looked over. Yuugi was sobbing miserably on the ground. Running over, he ran to the front of the boy, picking him up carefully. Every time a feather was moved, Yuugi cried and sobbed, and shuttered with pain. "It hurts," he cried, his voice hoarse.

"I know," the figure soothed. "Come. We must get you inside and get your wings cleaned. Now."

Yuugi tried not to cry as he was ran inside, but again, he failed at that, too. "What happened," he cried. "What's going on?"

He didn't receive much of an answer. Just more pain. So much so, in fact, that he couldn't even see properly.

xxx

The priestess looked at the four in front of her, angrier than she could ever remember being. "What you have done is unforgivable. Do you have any idea what has just happened?"

Silence.

"Follow me."

They didn't have much of a choice. They were rather dragged behind her, still confined in what that dark figure had done to them.

"I don't care what you think he is, or what you've found, what is important is that those wings were not meant to come out yet. Right now, they are as tender and soft as a newborn's skull. If we don't get the blood off of them, they will dry in place, and cause them to be crippled as they mature. His muscles are extremely strained, and any movement is a new torture session for him. And this is a pain that a healer won't be able to block."

They went inside, the big doors closing harshly and ominously behind them. Screams were emanating from somewhere a few floors up.

"I hope you're happy with yourselves. You'll be going before a court in a few weeks, as well. I'm sure the Prince will be happy to see to it justice is served." She turned angry silver eyes on them. It was rumored that her eyes turned silver when she was very angry. This was the proof.

Yuugi kept screaming upstairs.

xxx