Chapter 10: Two

What time was it when she woke?

She felt her body stirring, the sun peaking through the shades of her hospital room. Something felt odd in her bones. In her body, within the muscle fibers. No pain. No soreness. Her casted arm felt as if nothing had happened to it. Slowly, her head rose, and her toes touched the cold floor.

When she stood and stretched, the IV tube fell from her arm. She watched it, confused as to why it slipped out and looking at where the injection was supposed to be. No entry point. Skin was completely closed off and untouched.

No dirt, no bruises, not a single drop of blood. It was odd, but after last night, Shine was beginning to open her mind to anything.

The nausea was all that remained evident of the day before. Whenever she closed her eyes, her mind would give her images. The picture of Orion on top of her. The feeling of him taking advantage of her, doing as he pleased while she wasn't conscious to really stop him.

How many times? How often? When did it start and how?

Her room door opened. To her surprise, Frannie held a couple packets of homework, her bag slung over her shoulder as she moved towards the wood table. She didn't seem to notice Shine standing until she turned around, slowly lowering her bag to the floor. "Why are you up?"

"I can't stand now," She asked. "I'm feeling better."

"I mean, they pumped you full of painkillers last night. You kept complaining about the pain from what I heard." Frannie pulled out one of the chairs and sat in it, gesturing for Shine to join her. She was hesitant at first.

Someone she trusted so much broke that, and the feeling of doubt was lingering in her heart about Frannie. She loved her, she was her best friend, but the damage done to her was too great for even Shine to completely understand.

Remembering Takabi's words, she flicked her eyes between the ceiling and back to Frannie's tired face. "Hey, you're real, right?"

"The fuck does that mean," She asked.

"Just… Last night, that guy…" She let herself get lost in thought, before shaking her head and sitting down across from Frannie. "Never mind. What do you think of the guys that brought me here?"

"The twins? They're pretty hot, but they look a lot like Justin. Like, a spitting image."

"Actually… Okay, so you won't believe me, but the white haired one. That IS Justin."

Frannie laughed at first, before her eyes fell on Shine's serious expression. "The hell he is. Did he dye his hair or something and get contacts?"

Before Shine could answer, right on cue, the twins stepped into the hospital room.

Kairas and Takabi were in a deep conversation, both boys holding a strong gaze with one another. Frannie watched the two as they came in, holding back her usual self and keeping a straight face. Takabi looked at Frannie first, and smiled softly. She broke, and gave a love stricken smile back.

"You okay, Shine," Kairas asked her, kneeling next to her seat. She nodded, looking between the two. "Good. No pain? Or any soreness or broken bones?"

"No, actually. I feel one hundred percent. More than that actually. I feel stronger, like I could run with the bulls."

Nodding at her response, Takabi pulled up a chair to sit between the girls. He looked at Shine, resting his head on his knuckles. "That's really good. What about your head? Mentally, emotionally. You went through some heavy things last night, and you might haven't the time to process it."

Shine shook her head. "I mean… Maybe a bit, but I think it's slowly digesting. I didn't think I'd be taking this so well. It's pretty jarring."

"Not that much for our kind." He said.

"Our kind," Frannie repeated. "Wanna explain that to the clueless blonde in the room." She leaned in close when Takabi sat up straight and cleared his throat.

Kairas tapped Shine's shoulder, whispering, "I'll get us some lunch."

When he left, Takabi began explaining. His tone was quiet, and calm. A hint of cloudiness when it came to trying to read his emotions, as if he had none. At least in Shine's eyes, he seemed completely detached from what he was going to say.

"Well, I guess I'll be blunt. Shine, you're not human. At all."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"You believe in Angels, right? Christianity and Catholicism and stuff like that. Religion basically. To a degree, I can tell you it's true. There IS a God. There are Angels and Devils, as well as many other types of mythical creatures. We're one of those so called Mythic Creatures, except we're not a myth."

"You sound insane," Frannie said. "A cute face, but I'm sorry, you're too crazy. Shouldn't Shine, or even you, have wings and halos and stuff."

"Well… Yes and no." He stood, walking towards the door and closing it tight, locking it before whipping around and moving towards the center of the room. He rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie, before shaking his head and taking it and his T-Shirt off.

Frannie almost drooled at the sight of his bare chest. Slightly scarred, but trained and worked so perfectly that it looked stronger than diamond.

He flexed his muscle, exhaling, before his skin turned pitch black. His hair lengthened down his back to the top of his pants, large feathered black wings erupting from his back. His violet eyes glowed, and the heat in the room increased so suddenly and intensely, the chairs and materials around began to melt.

Frannie felt her jaw drop, ignoring the fact that the fabric of her clothing was wearing away on her skin. The table, bed, heart monitor and everything around oozed slowly.

Takabi bit his lip, relaxing and changing back. Waving his hand, the melted materials of the hospital room began to fix itself, as if with a will of its own, looked untouched. The heat died down as quickly as it came, and Takabi slipped on his T-Shirt, but left the hoodie on the bed.

"I…" Shine had been silent, but stunned. She had never seen anything so intimidating, yet so welcoming and beautiful. Her blood boiled with a sudden thrill. Heat rose in her body, cheeks flushing with a strong pink shade. "What… Was that."

"Our true form. Well, that's what Kairas says anyway. Personally, I like my human look more since it's how I am most of the time." He crossed his arms. "I said it before, and I meant it. We're not humans, Shine."

She remained quiet, her eyes glossing over him, studying and taking in every feature. His face grew more and more familiar to her as she stared. The idea of them being related quickly warmed up to her, something she was scared of.

She didn't want to trust him, not just yet. "Can I see it? Magic, I mean. I want to… I want to learn as much as I can about you, and what you're telling me."

Frannie looked between the two, puffing her cheeks and standing. "Hold the hell on! Shine, are you seriously alright with this?! I mean, for God's sake, the guy's a LITERAL demon!"

"Fallen Angel," Takabi corrected.

Frannie shot a glare at him. When it didn't phase him, she looked back at Shine. "Girl, come on! This is just insane!"

"I don't know Frannie. He did save me. I don't think he has a reason to really lie about all this." Shine looked her best friend in the eye and put her hands on her shoulders. "And even if something happens, I know you'd rip the world apart for me, so I think it's fine."

Takabi smiled at the two. Shine looked at him, and Frannie followed with her own eyes. "I promise, no harm will come to my sister."

--------------------------------

The snow in the field began to melt. The heat in the air was prominent.

Takabi stood at one end, just under the shade of the trees. His hood on top of his head, he slipped it off and let his hair breathe. Kairas was on the other side of the field, the snow around him untouched by Takabi's heat. It was as if the two were in two different parts of the world. One of heat, the other of cold.

Shine and Frannie stood off to the side, leaning against a bolder in matching boots and jeans, with large black coats.

Takabi exhaled, crouching in place. Kairas raised his fists, a cloud of ice emitting from the pores around his knuckles.

"They're actually gonna fight. I don't know about this Shine."

"It's fine," She said. "You can leave if you want to."

Frannie picked up her head from her lap. "And leave you alone with monsters!? That's funny."

The twins moved. Knuckle to knuckle, the impact shook the silent trees.

Shine narrowed her eyes, watching the two exchange casual attacks. Takabi dropped under Kairas' hook, sweeping with his foot. Kairas leapt upwards, flipping over his brother and landing softly in the melted snow. The two snapped gazes at one another, rushing and slamming their forearms.

Takabi opened his mouth, releasing a breath of flame. Kairas bent back, the fire shooting out over him and cutting through the trees behind him. Falling on his back, he rolled over, raising his fingers and summoning a platform of ice under his twin. Takabi's flames stopped, the boy losing balance as the platform rose higher and higher.

Kairas launched himself upwards, smashing through the bottom of the platform and bursting on the other side. Coming down fast, he connected a punch to Takabi's cheek. Sliding back in response, Takabi slammed his palm against the ice platform and willed a wave of heat through it. At the very bottom, the structure began to ooze water, black ice snapping and shattering. The platform began to fall, Takabi rushing at his brother. Kairas threw blasts of pure magic, striking the platform and blowing it in half. Takabi leapt forward, throwing a punch with enough force to send Kairas flying into the field below, a heavy cloud of dust and snow rising into the air.

The ice began to glow, and suddenly broke into little shards with the sunlight reflecting off the individual pieces. Takabi landed softly, picking his head up and looking at the girls. Kairas rose from the crater in the soil and brushed his pants, speaking loud enough for them to hear. "That's essentially the basics."

"Basics!?" Frannie yelled.

Shine nodded and stood on her feet. The twins approached the two, stretching and yawning loudly. "Magic isn't just used for combat though. There's also medical types and defensive types, as well as battle support. I taught myself  a couple spells like that."

"Self taught? You never seemed the type, Takabi." Shine seemed a bit surprised at her own words. Her head was pounding, as if something that had been locked away was trying to resurface. "My head hurts."

"Amnesia. Don't worry, it'll pass." Kairas rolled up his sleeves. "A lot happened that caused us to separate. Your response now, is most likely some suppressed memories trying to reawaken. Give it time. We won't overload you." He nudged Takabi. "Let's go. We've made too much commotion."

Nodding, Takabi pulled out a small sheet of paper and handed it to her. "My number if you want to get in contact. Call if anything happens again. We'll be there in a flash."

"Right. Thank you again, for what you did. Can I ask something though?"

He shrugged and nodded for her to continue.

"Why are you here? You never told us why exactly."

Takabi mulled it over for a bit, looking at Kairas who had already begun to walk off into the trees. "Well, some things are going on, and we thought we could use your help."

Something about his tone didn't sit right with Shine, but she chose not to question it. "If I really am your sister, I'll do what I can. Will we meet up again?"

"Yeah," He replied. "Give it a week. Next Monday, at seven or so. We'll come get you. Stay safe until then, alright? And lay low. Don't talk to anyone who isn't me or Kairas." Shine nodded at his words, then looked at Frannie. "We'll keep this all a secret too."

Sighing in relief, he opened his arms and hugged Shine tight. Her face was buried in his chest. His scent was like hers. His warmth, the strength inside that he was holding back so greatly. That little contact gave Shine such a strong vision of him as what he claimed to be. He held so much darkness inside, but he remained bright and somewhat cheerful.

Her arms rose slowly, and she hugged him back, a small tear running down her cheek.

A feeling. A feeling of miss. For her brother. For her family.

In her mind, her views slowly split. Takabi and Orion. The man she called a father, and the other one from her dreams. Her mother, Claire, and the creature from her nightmares.

The more she thought of it, the more she began to realize what he said might be true. She lived a life that she knew of, and there was a life before that she had locked away in her memories.