Hedgesville, West Virginia
Harbinger Academy
Monday, August 26, 1996
7:15 AM

“Shouldn’t you be in class?”

Jennie had recently discovered the garden that high school students took care of for their horticultural classes. And it was her favorite area to run to when dejected. At the moment, she couldn't get any more glum.

Turning her head to the side, she found Reiyl walking toward her with a box in his hands. It appeared he was carrying some small plants that were to be planted in the garden. Instead of wearing his the usual school uniform, he was clothed in a pair of shorts and a ragged shirt that had seen better days. He was even wearing a pair of gloved and old boots that he neglected to lace up.

"You're about fifteen minutes late for first period," Reiyl remarked as he walked past her, dropping the box to the ground and peering back at her.

Leaning up against one of the largest trees in the garden with her wings still painfully protruding from her back, Jennie could only stare back at him. Because of the wings, she couldn’t possible wear her school uniform. She glanced down at the old shirt of Nick’s. He had given it to her that morning, having had the back cut out to allow the wings freedom to move.

Her eyes looked to her side to find Reiyl had dropped into a kneeling position, pulling out an odd-looking knife. He abruptly drove it into the dirt beside him.

“What about you?” she asked, turning to face him while her wings twitched. Her face cringed from the movement, but the ache slowly subsided. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

“Gardening,” Reiyl stated in a formal manner. "It would seem the school received some green tea plants. And the principal asked me to do the honor of planting them since it was my grandmother who sent them."

“Oh,” Jennie whispered, watching as Reiyl took the knife and began digging into the ground. “I’ve been thinking…”

“About what?” he questioned.

“Last night with Nahele," she said, leaning her head back against the tree while staring up through the branches, "I kept thinking about why I released these wings."

Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth for a moment while taking in a deep breath. With a long exhale, she felt her body calm. "I think I pushed myself to not be rejected...again."

When she dropped her head back down, she found Reiyl eyeing her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Jennie gave him a stern glare and stepped forward with a harsh stomp.

“Don’t even try to say I’m not,” she stated. “My dad walked out on me."

She clenched her hands into tight fists. "He didn’t want me. And he still doesn’t."

"You shouldn't..."

"Won’t even recognize me as his own flesh and blood!" Jennie shouted loudly in the middle of the garden, shocking Reiyl to the point that the cat demon fell backward. She stumbled back herself, crashing into the tree. Her head dropped forward while a long sigh slowly escaped her.

"Then Rowen…”

“Rowen has nothing to do with this,” Reiyl said hastily, pointing the knife at Jennie.

“Of course he does,” she replied. “He placed his mark on me."

Reaching up and touching the leather collar around her neck, she cringed. "Now no guy will want me. And he doesn't want me either.”

The corners of her eyes filled with tears then overflowed, spilling down her cheeks. “And if everyone else is going to reject me, then I can’t accept rejection from myself. But how can I accept who I am? Some freak with wings jutting out of my back.”

Whipping her head around to look at Reiyl, a smile was on her lips. “But you know what? I accept who I am,” she said. “And if I accept me, then someone else will, too.”

“I heard my brother say that before,” the cat demon whispered. “Nakatsu, that is.”

“Really?” she questioned as he lowered his head, going back to digging the hole to place the tea plant in.

“Hai,” was his only response as a silence came over the two. She watched him as he dropped the knife to the ground, picked up one of the plants from the box, then lastly place the tea plant into the earth.

“What do you mean?” she finally asked, breaking the stillness.

“It’s a long story,” Reiyl muttered, turning the soil back into the hole. He patted the ground around the plant then looked up to Jennie. “Sit and I’ll tell you.”

“Okay,” she said, sitting nearby.

"Nakatsu was very..." The blue-haired man sat quiet for a moment as if trying to find the right word. "...eccentric."

"Is that really a bad thing?" Jennie questioned.

"For our village," Reiyl replied, "it is. To go outside the norm is frowned upon, but for my elder brother it was a way to escape to the conformities of our lives."

Leaning his head back, he sighed. "To be born a Hidaka means much more than to just be born into the village of Nekomura. And Nakatsu wanted nothing of either. He just wanted freedom. To go as he pleased. To be who he wanted to be."

"And there's nothing wrong with that!" Jennie exclaimed as Reiyl threw up a hand, stopping her from speaking anymore.

"Before I was even born, he would leave the boundaries of the village to play," Reiyl said, "and my parents didn't think there was anything wrong with it. They thought it was okay to let their son have his freedom. One day he would have to leave the village to protect the Seraph, so might as well let him have a carefree childhood now."

A laugh escaped Reiyl as he leaned forward, cupping his forehead with his hands. "But things got worse. One day, he decided to cut his hair. Sliced it clean off. To his ears. My parents...no, everyone. They all were worried he was trying to go against the village. Since he was still a child, everyone tried their best to ignore it. Four years after Kasei was born, Nakatsu..."

“My elder brother was very high spirited,” Reiyl replied. “Before I was even born, Nakatsu would escape the shelter of the village to roam the forests, looking for trouble. My parents didn’t see anything wrong with it at first, but things got worse when I came about."

“One day, he cut his hair,” Reiyl whispered. “Sliced it clean off. To his chin. My parents…no, everyone in the village was worried that he was trying to go against the village. But since he was still a child, they tried their best to ignore it. Four years after Kasei was born, Nakatsu…”

“What?” Jennie asked when she noticed Reiyl stop in mid-sentence.

"He wanted Kasei to be like him," he sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, "Nakatsu would take Kasei out of the village, bringing him back late at night. Finally...when my parents refused to allow Nakatsu to corrupt Kasei any further, my elder brother got mad. To the point...he said what you had said. And the story I had told you before occurred."

“How sad,” Jennie whispered, staring at the ground. “Your brother must have been so alone.”

“He wasn’t alone,” Reiyl replied hastily in a gruff tone. “He just refused to see the ones around.”

“Nakatsu sounds like he wanted to be himself," Jennie said, "not what everyone else wanted. And there's nothing wrong with that."

Shaking her head back and forth while staring down at her lap, she frowned then looked up at the boy who sat near her. "Don't you want to make your own choices? Be able to be your own person and not have to follow your village?”

“Sometimes,” Reiyl replied.

“I can say only one thing,” Jennie softly spoke. “And I’ll tell Kasei the same thing.”

She looked to Reiyl to find him staring at her with questioning eyes. Her eyes appeared stern.

“Be who YOU want to be," she declared. "Don’t lie to yourself. If you want to do something, just take it.”

“Take it?” he questioned with concerned eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do!” Jennie shouted. “And I’ll do the same.”

Reiyl’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Jennie with determination. Biting his lower lip for a second, he swallowed then pushed away the box with the tea plants. He began to inch his ways toward her on his hands and knees.

“I want you,” he said as Jennie’s face turned pale. Without hesitation, he reached up his hand, wrapping it around Jennie’s head to pull her face close to his.

The two stared at each other. Reiyl had a look of persistence while Jennie's face was filled with uncertainty. She glanced down at her lap for a moment then felt Reiyl’s fingers under her chin, tilting her head up.

Warmth encompassed her lips as she closed her eyes, feeling the hungry greed of his mouth on hers. What's wrong with us?

Drawing his hand down the side of her body, he urged the Seraph to come closer. She sat up slightly, allowing the cat demon to move her nearer.

“Reiyl?” she questioned into the kiss as she found herself straddled across his legs. Her heart felt ready to burst from her chest.

Pulling away from the kiss, she looked into his eyes. “This is wrong.”

“How?” he asked, staring intently at her lips. “You said I should just take it. And if I want you so much, then I should take you. I don’t want to share you with anyone. And this…”

He touched the collar around her neck. “…I can live with this. As a reminder that I made the mistake of not watching you.”

Jennie’s stomach boiled at his words and intentions while her lips quivered at his words. “You accept me?” she asked.

“I always will,” he whispered, silencing her with a wanton kiss.

A heavily exaggerated cough caught their attention as their embrace was shattered. Reiyl looked past Jennie and her wings to see a Shan standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Now normally I wouldn’t care,” he said as he smirked, “but Mrs. Dashiell sent me out to look for Jennie. After all, our Seraph is very precious. To ALL of us...”

Her cheeks turned a bright red as Jennie looked down at Reiyl’s chest. “I’m coming,” she whispered.

“Alright,” Shan replied with a snort. “I’ll head back ahead of you. I’ll say you had to stop off at the bathroom, okay? Make it quick.”

“No, I’ll go with you,” Jennie said quickly, looking up frantically. Her eyes caught a hold of Reiyl’s as he gave her a cattish smile. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he whispered, staring at her mouth. “We can finish this later.”

“You sure?” she asked as he nodded. Pulling away from him slightly, she felt him grab at the back of her head and push her mouth against his.

“I’m sure,” he replied as the corners of his lips curled. “Go to class.”