Feathers, page 17
That was right. Michael and Raphael had mentioned that before. But they’d never met them either, nor had they met the angel who started all of this. “Do you think we’re bad?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Of course not.” Sean replied. “In all honesty, a lot of culture is very wrong with many things. You and your family are the only Nephilims that all of the foxes I’ve known have ever met. There were none before, and there will be no more then the three clans, according to the ones who know what they’re talking about. There was a reason you and your family were created, but it was a good one. I can promise you that.”
I took his words to heart. I never wanted to believe that my father or any of my family were bad, no matter what they mother and grandmother may have believed. But it still hurt too. I pulled my knees up and sighed. “My mother… you asked me that night why I was kicked out. She used to try to hurt me at times. And my grandmother never really cared about me anyways, though she’d stop her if things got too bad.” I confessed.
I felt him tense up, beings he was sitting so close to me. “What?” he whispered.
“I never told Michael or anyone else. Even though my grandmother didn’t like me that much, a lot of times she ended up protecting me. She locked me in my room sometimes when I was little because of my mother. And sometimes now, I think this was part of the reason why she forced me to go back to Michael. She got scared when she realized what was going to happen to me. And even though I thought I blamed her, a part of me really doesn’t now. I feel like she was doing what she thought was the right thing.” I went on.
For a few long moments, it was very quiet. But then, I felt Sean sit behind me and hold me close. “You suffered for a long time alone, didn’t you?” he asked softly.
I nodded slightly. “It wasn’t her fault. She was so sick. It was my fault she was so sick.” I whispered.
“It wasn’t your fault. Sometimes… people just are as they are. I don’t exactly know what it’s like to have that happen, but I can try to understand.” Sean said.
“You won’t tell them, right? You won’t tell them what I’ve told you.” I pleaded, looking up at him.
“Of course not. It is not in me to do so, and I won’t betray your trust. I promised that I’d be here for you, and I’ll keep it forever.” Sean said, giving me a soft smile.
I couldn’t help but smile back as I turned and hugged him. “You do care about me, right? It’s not just because of what I did?” I asked.
“No. I care about you. I cared before, and it’s only grown since then. I told you before that I’d give my life for you, and I meant it. I’m happy when I’m with you, and that’s all that matters to me.” Sean reassured me.
I felt myself tense up at those words slightly. Again, the doubt was in my mind about my breaking him. But for the time, I decided just to let it go. If Sean wanted to stay beside me, I was more then willing to let him. The only thing was, I just didn’t know how much I was going to come to need him in the times to come.
Sixteen
It was the end of October when he appeared.
At the time, things seemed to be going rather smoothly in my life. I’d been dating Sean for about a month, and the tensions over him seemed to have been dying down to nothing. I knew my father trusted him. Michael wouldn’t have allowed me to date him if he didn’t. But also, I knew that he and my aunt and uncle saw the benefit in me having Sean now. He would be my protector when they could not be. Not to say Raphael was too pleased over that one, but he did concede. My uncle himself was extremely protective of Raziel and I, so there was no surprise that he initially had objections to such a relationship when he learned of it.
For Raziel’s part though, I was surprised to see that he was making more of an effort to get along then. I could have guessed that he was facing facts for it all, but also, there seemed to be more of a brotherly connection forming between himself and Sean. They fought frequently, though most of the fights were light hearted and verbal, but again, it was like a pair of brothers. I was actually happy enough to see that. In school and even outside, it was often the four of us hanging out together. Anna was also a fixture by then. In all honesty, I didn’t think life would ever be as good as it had become.
That particular day, I’d just sat down in my last period class with Anna and was looking over my notes. We had a quiz coming up that day, and I was feeling the stress now. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for it. Math had never been my strongest point, and this whole Algebra thing had thrown me a curve ball. Sean had been trying to help me with it, but I still felt lost most of the time. I was just praying I’d pass this quiz. My grades in this class weren’t exactly good, and it sucked for my GPA.
But as class started and the quiz began, the door quietly opened. Suddenly, I had the strangest feeling. Looking up, I saw a guy walk in and hand the teacher a note. Apparently, he must have been a new student. But he was definitely the type who would catch attention right away. He had coal colored hair that fell around his face, which was almost like a handsome doll’s, and was fairly tall. The thing that caught me the most though were his eyes. He had very light brown eyes. I’d never seen anything quite like them, yet at the same time, they looked familiar somehow too.
Our teacher nodded at him, and directed him to his seat. It was right near Anna and I. I couldn’t help but glance at him as he sat down. He glanced back at me, but I quickly looked away again. Something about him made me feel very uneasy.
By me, Anna was glancing over as well. No doubt she was noticing him too. Looking back at my test, I sighed. I couldn’t concentrate now. That wasn’t good at all…
Thankfully, I managed to finish the test before the time was up. As the bell rang though, Anna was immediately looking over again at our new arrival. “Hey, hey. Looks like we’ve got a new face.” she commented. Nope, there was nothing shy about Anna.
The boy just smiled at her though. “You could say that. I didn’t think someone would talk to me this easily though.” he replied.
“Oh come on. We’re not that unfriendly around here. I’m Anna Smith by the way.” Anna said, hopping up to walk over to him.
“Flint Carlton.” the boy replied, shaking her hand.
“Flint? Now there’s an interesting name.” Anna said.
I sighed, standing up with her. Really, Anna was too much at times. “Anna, I think you’re being rude.” I said quietly.
“I am not. It was a compliment!” Anna protested.
Flint just laughed though. “It’s all right. It is an unusual name.” he said. He seemed to study me for a moment though. “So, what’s your name? You look familiar somehow.”
“Of course she does. You’re probably thinking of her cousin. This is Mia Renaldi. Her and Raziel Renaldi look a lot alike, and we’re in the same class.” Anna said.
“I see. I did meet your cousin in my last class. You two could pass for twins.” Flint commented.
“Yeah, we get that a lot.” I said, glancing at the clock. It was getting later now. And I was supposed to meet Sean out in the lot to go to his house for dinner. “Sorry, but I have to get going. I’ve got someone waiting for me.”
I waited for Anna though. Something about this guy made me feel very uneasy. Anna seemed to take the hint as well. That, or she must have had plans too, because she quickly excused herself too. But I heard about it when we got to the lockers. “What’s with you? That guy was totally cute, and really nice!” she said in a harsh whisper.
I looked down, closing my locker again. “I don’t know. There’s something weird about him.” I admitted.
“Weird? What do you mean?” Anna asked, looking confused now.
“I don’t know. It’s just something. He makes me feel weird.” I said.
Anna was quiet for a moment. But her next words really didn’t surprise me. “You’re just thinking he’s cuter then your boyfriend, aren’t you?”
I sighed at that one. “No Anna. Seriously, where do you come up with this stuff?” I asked as we walked out.
Anna shrugged. “You know me. I’m never gonna change.” she declared.
By then, most of the other kids were out in the parking lot and on the sidewalks, getting ready to head out. As we expected, Sean and Raziel were out there waiting by their cars as well. They seemed to be talking, which was at least a good thing to see. One never really knew if things would stay civil then. Raziel still made it his point to tell Sean what he thought of him here and there. Sean took it in stride, though he usually gave as good as he took.
“It’s about time you two got out here. Did Mr. Lance make that test run later then the bell?” Raziel asked.
“No, thank God. Anna just decided to start talking again.” I said.
“I said I was being friendly. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Anna protested, crossing her arms.
Raziel just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, except when you know you’re supposed to be somewhere.” he said. I watched him glance at his watch. “Come on. We’re gonna be late if we keep waiting around here.”
“Okay.” Anna sighed. She smiled back at me and Sean. “Have fun tonight!”
Of course she knew about everything with me and Sean now. Since Raziel had begun telling her things, Anna was in the dark about nothing. She knew what Sean was, and she knew what we were. I didn’t think that our parents were aware of this fact yet though. Anna had so far kept the secret well. But there was another reason for that too. She confessed to me that she really didn’t want to be away from us now. When they say teenage girls just think they’re in love, they’re only right in about ninety five percent of the cases. Anna’s was the other five percent. She dearly loved Raziel, and actually feared losing him. She didn’t care that he wasn’t completely human. And she admitted that she didn’t really care that Sean and me weren’t either. We were her friends. We accepted her for who she was. And that was the most important thing to her.
Sean just shook his head as they drove off in Raziel’s Lexus. “Sometimes I wonder about her.” he admitted.
“She’s different.” I sighed.
“So who was she talking to in there? It did take a while for the two of you to come out here.” Sean said, looking back at me.
I debated telling him about the strange new kid at first. But then, I decided that maybe it was better just to play it off. “Just a new kid. You know how Anna is when she sees an interesting new face.” I said.
“I see. Well, let’s get going. There’s no reason to stay around here.” Sean said, smiling at me.
I couldn’t help but smile back. Really, I’d found it a little hard to believe that I’d been with him for over a month now. Things had been good too. Sean’s attitude towards everything really hadn’t changed. But the thing that caught me the most was his attempt to get along with my family. By now, Michael seemed to know that he could trust him. They were very friendly towards each other, though Michael would still tell him at times that he expected him to take good care of me. Again, I believe that was a dad thing. And knowing Michael, he probably would harm Sean if anything happened to me because of him.
Of course, there were still some questions about a fox being part of our family. I’d overheard the conversations a few times in the last few weeks. Gabrielle and Raphael seemed a little on edge about the whole thing. But then again, they also knew what had happened before. Before Sean’s bad side was broken, he had tried to harm me. They were afraid he may attempt the same thing if that side somehow arose again. But Michael seemed certain that it wouldn’t. “We’ll give him his chance.” he’d told them. “Mia has her wings, and she knows how to take care of herself. I don’t believe that fox would ever be able to truly harm her now.”
I think I knew he was right. As much as I cared about Sean, in the end, I still had my survival instinct from my childhood. I wasn’t going to let Sean hurt me. But also, I think I just knew that he wouldn’t too. Sean was a really nice person deep inside. He’d just needed help with his other nature before. It wouldn’t happen again now.
Coming to his house though, we were surprised to see that Sara had other company as well. I stopped short behind Sean as we came into the kitchen. Sitting at the bar near where she was working on preparing dinner was a man. He had black hair almost like theirs, and a pale complexion. But when he looked at us, I realized that he had golden eyes. Seeing us, he smiled. “Well, it looks like they made it after all.” he said. I knew his voice right away, and almost couldn’t believe it. It was that fox Manake. It looked like he’d come back once again. Only now, he looked almost like a normal person, just like Sean did.
Sean himself smiled back at him. “I didn’t know we were getting your company this evening as well Manake. It’s been a while since you’ve come back to this side.” He said. I felt him take my hand and lead me in there with him. The two of us took a seat at the nearby table. In all honesty, I didn’t feel that self conscious around Manake. But seeing him in a human form for the first time had really surprised me. He looked so young. Yet Sean had assured me before that he was an elder fox. It made me wonder if all the foxes looked like that.
“I’m aware of that. But I have my reasons as well. It’s been a while though since I’ve seen the young lady as well. How are you?” Manake said. It seemed he was still as polite as ever. I couldn’t help but notice how he spoke though. Sean spoke in a similar way. Perhaps Sean’s father Sage had too.
“I’m okay. But I was a little surprised. You look just like a normal human, except for those eyes.” I admitted.
Manake just smiled. “I could change them to a normal human color if I wanted to, but I see no need in this household. After all, I’ve known Sara since before Sean was born. And Sean certainly knows I have nothing to hide in what I am.” He told me.
“This is true. Manake’s always been around when it suited him.” Sean agreed.
“And he’s quite nosy too. Although most foxes are by nature. It’s something you’ll come to learn being around them enough.” Sara said, smiling at me.
“It’s one of our faults in the end. Though if Sage hadn’t been so nosy that one night, you may not have been here now.” Manake commented.
“That’s true. But then again, Sage always was one to stray from what you all considered normal too.” Sara told him.
This would be the first time I’d hear a little of how Sage and Sara had met years before. I’ll admit that it had me curious. “Is that how you met him?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes. Sage saved my life that night. I don’t think I’ve ever truly understood why, but he did. And I guess you could say things just eventually went from there.” Sara said.
Manake shrugged. “As stated, Sage was one of a kind. Although this renegade certainly takes after him at times. How many times have I helped to bail you out now?” he said.
“Renegade huh?” I said, looking over at Sean.
Sean just shrugged though. “It’s been my nick name with him for a while now. He claims I cause as much trouble as my father did.” He said.
“Really? You certainly don’t act like you could do that.” I commented.
“He hasn’t for quite a while now. But I’d say that’s more thanks to you little lady. You’re the best thing that could’ve happened to him.” Manake said.
I felt myself blush slightly at that one. So I’d at least won another fox’s approval. Obviously, Manake was the one who kept an eye on Sean since his father was gone. It sounded like they really had been friends for a long time. It made me wonder what he must have thought when Sage first decided to love a human woman.
“Manake, don’t embarrass her. I told you that you had to be nice if you wanted to stay.” Sara told him.
“I am being nice. I just told the truth.” Manake retorted. But at that time, he also looked back at Sean again. “Also, there is something I wanted to speak with you about. It seems there’s another in our mists now.”
I saw Sean sit up a little. “Another? Here in Madison?” he said.
“It’s part of the reason I also came back. I wanted to see if the rumors were true. If so, it seems he did come here after all.” Manake said.
“Who?” I asked, feeling lost now. Obviously, they were talking about someone they must have known well.
But unfortunately, I wasn’t really heard. “So he did hear about it, didn’t he? You realize that this could be bad now Manake. And not just with us.” Sara said softly. I saw her stop what she was doing and look down. It was almost like she was afraid.
“Wait a minute. You’re not talking about that fox, are you?” Sean said.
“Afraid so. He’s finally decided it’s time to find you.” Manake answered.
So they were talking about another fox after all. I was suspecting as much, though I didn’t like the reactions I was seeing now. Obviously, this one wasn’t going to be as friendly.
“My apologies for dropping this on you when you were just hoping to have a nice evening with your love interest, but you probably should be wary now. You know what his reputation is like. And more then likely, he’s going to try the roundabout approach first with those you’re considered close to here.” Manake continued.
“But he must realize that the Renaldis are here as well. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try something with them.” Sean reasoned.
“Does my dad or uncle know about this? If there is another fox around here that’s going to cause trouble, they’ll probably handle them.” I finally added. I knew that Sean was right about things with my family. We wouldn’t let anything happen if we could prevent it.
“Not really. But I did inform Raphael Renaldi of it. I figured it might be better to go through him first, even if Michael is the head of the clan. Raphael has apparently been the one who handles trouble first.” Manake admitted.
I knew that one to be true. Raphael was more of the enforcer in our family. Michael admitted that one himself to me. He usually left these things up to Raphael because Raphael tended to be so good at resolving them. He didn’t always eliminate threats, but he made sure that things stayed safe enough for us and those around us.
