The Angels' Rose: Chapter eight

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Lea gasped in astonished outrage.

"I don't believe it!"

Legan, still glowing from his last change, stood staring at her.

"You killed it" Lea gasped. She didn't know what to think, she was shocked and rightly so. Not five mints earlier she had been frozen to the spot staring into the jaws of what had to be the largest bear on earth. It wasn't that shed known she couldn't out run the enormous animal just that the thought had never entered her horrified mind. Fortunately for lea Legan had come to the rescue, unfortunately for the bear he'd slightly over done it.

"It could have killed you, you know" Legan stated dryly.

"S...So" she said franticly grasping about to gather her shattered nerves. She needed no reminding of how dangerous the situation had been. "Y… You didn't have to kill it. You could have… scared it away, or something." Lea took a steadying breath. "I mean the way you came charging out of the woods like that you were more frightening than the bear. I'm sure heed have been willing to run if you'd just given him the chance, now its… dead."

Legan concealed the hurt Lea's innocent rambling caused. He had only meant to scare the animal away but, then he'd seen Lea in danger and that all consuming fear that he was about to lose it all again had overcome him. Close on its heels had come the rage. He'd lost control again.

"Of course it's dead" Legan growled, covering his shame with irritation. Leaning down he grabbed the thick folds of the bear's fur and proceeded to drag it away as if it didn't weigh a ton.

Lea watched Legan disappear into the bushes aware that she had said something wrong but had no idea what. Sighing sadly she made her way back to the cabin. Legan had opened up to her and made a lot of progress in the short time shed been there but she could still see the shadows lurking behind his eyes, could still sense his reluctance to trust her.

Arriving at the cabin lea sat down to wait for Legan. It wasn't long before he came stomping out of the woods muttering angrily. A laugh escaped her before she could stop it earning her a withering glare from Legan as he approached. She couldn't help it. He looked so comical with all those twigs and leaves sticking out of his hair like that. he must have gotten stuck in a bush again. It happened a lot, she noticed, as his wings filled out.

"What is so amusing" Legan snapped when he was before her. Hands fisted at his sides he glared own at her. Lea knew he was purposely standing so close to be intimidating and took chance to put him of guard.

She hugged him.

"Thank you," she side, further confusing him, "for rescuing me. It was very heroic."

Once she'd released him Legan took a step back, no longer interested in being intimidating. Just as shed hopped he was thoroughly befuddled.

Instead of responding he chose to simply shake his head witch caused lea to notice the long strands of black hair that fell over his shoulders; the dark color opposite that of his beautiful evolving wings.

Disturbed by the look in Leas eyes legan broke the moment by brushing past her and entering the cabin. Lea watched with curious amusement as one of those beautiful wings stretched out, Legan's body leaning under the weight causing him to stumble. Righting himself and looked down as if it had been the ground that had tilted and not him he mumbled something that sounded like. "Dammed mountain"

Lea couldn't help but smile at his awkwardness. He obviously hadn't gotten used to his wings yet.

Legan however seamed totally unaware of his awkwardness. Reaching back he tried to rub his aching shoulders. Lea watched as his hand passed above where the base of his wings disappeared beneath his shirt without notice. It was as if he had no idea they were there.

It would explain why he was getting them caught on things all the time, lea though. But no, surely it's impossible to miss something so… so… obvious.

After a moment of watching him awkwardly trying to rub his own shoulders Lea walked over and pushed his hands aside.

"Let me" she said. Reluctantly Legan let her and soon was relaxed by the soothing movements. After a while he let his head fall forward and lea moved to rub his neck. Pushing his long silky hair aside she stopped, shocked to see a tattoo on the back of his neck.

"Legan?" lea asked, "Do you know how to spell your name?" Feeling as if he should be offended yet too relaxed to care he answered.

"Angela once told this one his name was spelled L.E.G.A.N"

Lea nodded as if she had known this already.

"Did you ever wonder why it was spelled that way?" Legan frowned and shook his head.

"This one did not know there was any other way to spell it. Angela taught this one every thing he knows about your civilization. Although most of it this one has for gotten." Legan didn't want to talk about his name. He would have much preferred lea resume rubbing his shoulders but he was not to have his was for lea was deep in thought.

Tattooed on the back of Legan's neck was the word Angel. It didn't take a genius to see the connection between the two names. All the same letters. It made sense after all, he didn't know what he was so who was to say he wasn't an angel. In lea's opinion the name was more than fitting. When she told Legan this however he was surprised and a bit angry.

"This one is not an Angel. This one is Legan. There is no place in heaving for him. Hated by all of creation and its creator, if this one was to be called by any other name it would be monster." Legan spat the last word, telling lea how much he loathed it. As quickly as the anger had come it was gone leaving angel to remember something he had wished to forget. "Angela used to call this one Angel but that was just her way"

"Didn't you ever wonder why she called you by that particular name?" Lea persisted, causing Legan to tense again.

"Angel was very different" He said, teeth clenched and eyes darkening as he turned to face lea. "She insisted it was this one's name. This one did not argue with Angela but he has known his name for hundreds of years, it is Legan. It can be changed to Angel it is because Angela wanted it that way…no more… no less.

Lea blinked. She was shocked to hear her own words spoken to her. She had learned a lot since then and one thing she knew for sure was that she'd been wrong just as she was sure Legan was now.

"Alright" Lea amended though far from giving up. "It's just that it seamed to make sense with your wings and all. I suppose other…"

"What?!' Legan shouted, startling Lea.

"I… I said it seamed to make sense because of your wings but…" Lea trailed of in confusion as Legan began to twist about in an attempt to look over his shoulder. It took her a minute to realize hr was looking for his wings. All he managed to do however was to become so terribly unsteady that he fell over. Then he saw them.

Legan had fallen on his back so that his wings were spread flat on either side of him. Eyes wide he reached to touch them running his fingers through the soft feathers.

"Y… you really didn't know?" Lea asked shocked that her suspicions could have been true. "How could you not notice?!"

Slowly Legan got to his feet, never taking his eyes off the two silky wings. Experimentally he flexed them finally able to feel the extension of powerful muscles and tendons.

"This one has not had wings since Angela died" he said with wonder.

"So you've had wings before?" Lea asked. Legan nodded. "And… their real?" Again Legan nodded accompanying it with a flap of his wings. Lea was sure she knew the answer to the last inevitable question but she asked any way.

"Can you fly?"

Legan stopped and stared at her, one wing out stretched as if frozen in motion. A faraway look was in his eyes and his mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

"I… I could… once" he finally whispered. The next instant he was stumbling to the door, literally flinging himself through it as he beat his wings madly.

Lea blinked then dashed after him.

She would have been surprised to see him in the air so soon but she was even moor surprised to find he had tripped on the way out and stumbled head over heels into the dirt.

Legan blinked a few times, dazed by the fall. Lea was about to ask if he was ok when he suddenly jumped up and continued, a little more steadily, toward the clearing in front of the cabin. Once he'd reached an opening in the trees he stopped and turned back toward the cabin. Even from where she stood in the cabin door way Lea could see his eyes shining with excitement.

"O please don't hurt your self," she whispered clutching her hands beneath her chin in an attempt to calm her apprehension.

Legan beat his wings once, twice and slowly his lifted of the ground. He rose a little ways but fell back.

Lea cringed. Legan was fine though as he got back up and tried again. This time he made it even higher but once again gravity got the better of him and he fell back to earth where he landed with a crash.

Lea cried out and scrambled of the porch towered him. She was sure he had been hurt this time.

Legan proved her wrong. Before she was half way there he had gotten to his feet, Once again he seemed fine aside from having to spit out some dirt and grass.

Lea stopped as he looked at her fiercely. His eyes weren't just shining they were glowing, molten blue with determination. He had to do this.

Lea took a step back and nodded her head.

"Be careful!" she shouted but it was lost to the wind as in the same instant Legan gave a powerful beat of his wings and flew!

Higher and higher he soared his wings stroking the air faster and faster until he was only a speck in the bright morning sky. Far off in the distance Lea could hear his excited whoops and cries. She was unbelievably happy for Legan and his rediscovery of something he'd obviously missed.

Rapping her arms around herself Lea turned to go back inside. One instant she was staring at the ground the next there was a gush of wind and before she knew it she was seeing the roof of the cabin below her.

Lea screeched in Legan's ear and cling to his neck with a death grip that nearly choked him.

"Legan you put me down! I don't want to fly! O God I'm gonna' fall." Lea could barely hear herself over the rush of wind past her ears.

"The name is Angel" he shouted back, "and you should be a little more trusting." Lea squealed as Legan, who had now decided to call himself Angel, did a dive. Laughing he skimmed the top of the trees then shot up into the air only to dive once more. He finally stopped only when Lea showed signs of throwing up on him. A huge grin on his face and a thoroughly sick Lea in his arms, Legan headed back home, his body exalting in every powerful beat of his wings.