He chirped once. *** "Right, but you're not dying." *** She looked up at him curiously. "What is it?" *** Her expression changed slightly, but she still gave him a small smile before standing up and stretching away from him. "You're my best friend too. Unfortunately... you're 'it' in our game tag
She nodded, setting out a small bowl of lemonade. “Fine, then.” *** “I could be. Internal bleeding is an unseen killer.” *** He raised an eyebrow. “How do you feel about heights?” *** “Oh, Lil... don’t do this to yourself,” he said languidly. “You know I’d win.”
He flew over to it, standing on the edge and dipping his beak in. *** He rolled his eyes. "Whatever." *** "I suppose I don't mind them. Why?" *** "You can run faster than me," she admitted, "but with wings were evenly matched."
She went about her work, cleaning the kitchen briskly. She leaned her back against the counter, considering him for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes flashed white and she slid to the ground, twitching uncontrollably. *** “It is. You’ll regret your treatment of me.” *** “Great,” he said, sweeping his arms under her legs and picking her up in one smooth movement. *** “Right. So why bother?”
He looked up, approaching cautiously. *** "No I won't," he said indignantly. "I never make mistakes." *** She gasped, holding onto him in surprise. "If you drop me I'll kill you." *** "...I win by default, then."
She curled up involuntarily on the kitchen floor, twitching with electricity as her eyes glowed that pearly white. After a few minutes, the twitching died down and her eyes returned to their normal color. Her body relaxed as the trembling from exertion set in. *** “Hm. If you say so.” *** “You? Nah, Sparky, I’d never drop you.” He stretched his wings before taking off, carrying her off the ground and into the sky. *** “Sounds like something a loser would say.”
He went to the floor, approaching her curiously. *** "I do say so." *** She held onto him, watching the ground drift further away. *** "You're the one who is quitting before starting. That makes you the loser."
Her gaze was staring fully out into empty space, but as he approached, her eyes flickered to him. She reached out and gently brushed the feathers on the top of his head with her pointer. *** “Fine. Abandon me, then.” *** He hovered about 40 feet up, looking across the horizon. “It’s lovely, right?” *** “You can’t lose if you don’t play,” he replied sagely.
He leaned toward her touch, his feathers rustling. *** "I'm not leaving. Just making fun of you." *** She looked out, her eyes wide. "Yeah, it is." *** She returned to him, squinting down. "This is so mean."
She sighed, sitting up. “I’m going to go to bed, little one,” she said. “I get a little dizzy after one of those attacks.” *** “I’m ill. How dare you insult me like this?” *** “You could learn to fly. You don’t need wings, really.” *** “I’m not a nice guy,” he retorted.
He tilted his head before flying to the window. *** He paused before sticking his tongue out at her. *** "I don't know if I have that ability," she said thoughtfully. *** She sat close to him before lying back and resting her head on his arm. "You're nice to me."
She opened the window for him, her fingers shaking. *** She gasped. “Cassian! You have a reputation to uphold!” *** “I think you could do anything you set your mind to.” *** He turned to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her playfully. “Yeah, well, you’re special.”
He tilted his head at her before flying off. *** "Shush. No one else is in here." *** She smiled at him playfully. "What if I prefer it like this?" *** She grinned, hugging him back. "Hardly!"
“That’s true,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t give you the clearance to go insane. I count too.” *** He glanced down at her. “I would remind you that we won’t know each other forever.” *** “You are to me!”
"No you don't. My opinion of you is different." *** She tilted her head curiously. "Why not?" *** She looked up at him, a wide smile on her face.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” *** “Because friends don’t really stay in touch after high school.” *** His gaze met hers and he gave her a small smile, his expression soft.
"I feel normal around you," he said easily, before squinting at her playfully. "If that's okay." *** "I'd like to stay in touch.." *** She stuck her tongue out at him.
Her flush was widespread and instantaneous and she looked down embarrassingly. "Yeah," she said quietly. "That's great." * * * "I would too," he said, glancing up at the moon. "I enjoy your company." * * * He raised an eyebrow playfully, his arms loosening around her as he laid on his back again. "Hurtful."
He frowned slightly. "You're blushing." *** She was holding onto him, her gaze thoughtful before she laughed in spite of herself. Her skin was cool to the touch, which might seem unusual. "I wish.. things worked out more often. I think I have feelings for you. I know you don't feel the same way, but I thought I should let you know." *** She sat up on her knees, leaning over him. "You won't play tag with me."
She squinted up at him, clearly embarrassed. "Well, yeah. You feel normal around me. I take that as a compliment." * * * His head jerked down to look at her, his eyes wide as he considered her. He quickly began to return to the ground, frowning. "What did you just say?" * * * "And that gives you a right to be rude? I thought angels were supposed to be nice."
