Exiled

[Saren]

"Saraph Vireo, I hereby sentence you to exile for life for the death of Hanshi Ranir."

"You have made a mistake! I did not kill her."

"We have spoken. Saraph, I am sorry to see you go, but this must be done."

"Do not do this to me. How can you expect me to live? You said yourself that humans do not appreciate us."

"With your study and fascination with them, I am sure you will think of something."

Saraph woke up in a panic. He bolted upright, panting as he remembered falling. He flew well enough, but being thrown from the sky by his own people had been too much to handle and he'd nearly crashed into the ocean.

Since that time two weeks ago, Saraph had been holed up in an alleyway, afraid to leave. He didn't know where he was or who to talk to. No one would accept a Cloudi, a humanoid creature with wings. He looked like an average human, except his eyes were especially dark and tinged with purple. He had a pair of glossy black wings, like a raven's. He was tougher and stronger but his bones were light, giving him the ability to use his wings.

However, no one had seen him since he'd flapped awkwardly into New York, since that's where he'd ended up. His people had told him that humans were fearful and angry creatures, and they would not accept someone who appeared superior. Saraph was far from that, but these humans didn't know any better.

He sighed, standing up and stretching one wing. The other had been sprained or broken when he'd crash-landed into the alley while trying to avoid the tall buildings. He ducked into the shadows as humans passed by the alley. There were so many of them! Saraph didn't know how he was going to escape this trap in between the two buildings. He'd only survived by taking semi-rotted food from the restaurant and water from bottles when a human came by to deliver them.

For the first time in his life, Saraph was truly afraid of what was going to happen next, because he knew it would be impossible to stay there forever, especially with his injured wing. Someone would eventually discover his location.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie flew through the streets of New York, her little backpack bobbed against her back as she ran. She was going to be late for work and her boss was definitely going to fire her if she was late again. Huffing she threw the doors open to the quaint diner that sat in the midst of tanning, and beauty salons. Totally weird if you asked Kyrie.
"Kyrie, you're late, again!" Tony gruffed out angrily.
"C'mon, its only been five minutes! You know I come from school!" Kyrie pleaded but Tony was an old Italian man, dead set in his opinion.
"You know what would happen if this was to occur again." Tony preluded.
"No, Tony. C'mon, have some mercy! I'm only a freshman!" Kyrie pleaded again and again. Then, he said it.
"You're fired."
Kyrie was speechless. She actually got fired. From her only job close enough from school that would hire at nineteen.
"Are you serious!" Kyrie went from pleading to angry in a mere second. "This is complete bull! You knew I had school when you hired me! How the hell can you expect me to get here when you know my school is at least ten minutes away for a normal person who doesn't sprint here!" Kyrie yelled her case at Tony as he quickly ushered her to the back door so she didn't disturb the few customers he had.
"Kyrie, you knew this would happen. I'm sorry but this is what must be done." With that, the heavy metal door slammed shut and Kyrie found herself in a dank alleyway.
"This is bullshit and you know it!" Kyrie kicked the metal door in anger, immediately regretting. Her foot stung with incredibly pain. Hopinng on one foot, holding the other in her hand, Kyrie swore in a hushed tone.
"Today just really isn't my day." Kyrie kicked a can behind a dumpster before plopping herself down on the back steps of her, now old, job.
"Damn, how am I supposed to pay rent now?" Kyrie held her chin in her palm as she sat on the stoop rying to figure a way to get out of this.

 

[Saren]

Shouting and arguing drew Saraph's gaze to the back door of the eatery he was hiding near. A young woman slammed her way out, but not before kicking the door. He didn't know why she was so angry, but it had to do with someone inside.

His thoughts were scattered as her foot connected with the can and it flew in a perfect arc to hit his injured wing. With a screech of pain, his good wing flapped, black feathers flying into the air. Saraph pressed himself farther into the darkness so she wouldn't find him. However, he knew the noise was likely to attract her or other humans.

After his outburst, Saraph kept perfectly still, hoping she would ignore him. He couldn't fight if she thought he needed to be hurt further, even though he was taller than her. Still, as a bird was often, he was more afraid of her than she was of him.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie jumped when she heard the screech of pain. Had she hit some animal with the can? Instantly Kyrie felt regret. She often spent her summer's at the animal shelter and the thought of hurting an innocent animal made her cringe.
Slowly Kyrie crept towards the darkness that her can had flown through. At first she hadn't seen anything but she knew that there was something back here. It was a tight squeeze, but Kyrie crawled behind the trash can on her hands and knees until she saw him. 'Wait, what?' Kyrie was beyond confused. What was a person doing back here? "Did I hit you?" Kyrie whispered softly. She wasn't a psychologist but whoever this was looked extremely frightened. Kyrie should have been equally as cautious. This stranger was, from what she could tell, older and stronger. If this was just a ploy to rob her or something. But, Kyrie didn't get that vibe from this man. "Do you need help?" Kyrie asked quietly. She reached out a hand, slowly so she didn't startle him, and gently grabbed his hand. "C'mon, let's get you out of here?" Kyrie posed this as a question even though she had full intentions of getting him out from behind that dumpster and somewhere were he wouldn't freeze to death. It was mid autumn and winter weather would start soon.

 

[Saren]

Saraph had failed in not being seen, despite his best attempts to avoid her. However, she hadn't tried to hurt him, not yet, at least. He backed away from her as her hand came forward, but he nodded at her first question. He was intelligent, but fear had paralyzed his throat. At her second question, he looked away, unsure. Saraph knew he was injured, but asking for help was a hit to his pride. He supposed he didn't have much left after being exiled to Earth, at any rate.

So he responded to her question with another nod, and when she asked him to move from behind the dumpster, he backed up, catching his wings on the metal canister. Another hiss of pain escaped him before he shoved out all the way, able to stand up completely. At full height, he was just past six feet, with a lanky but athletic build. Once he was up all the way, he stretched his uninjured wing, cradling the other one in his hand. He was out in the light, so she could observe his full wingspan, the dark purple eyes, his bare feet, pointed ears with gem hoops, and the feathers woven into his black hair. This would be the moment where she ran or stayed because he was nothing like anything she'd seen before, as far as he knew.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie looked on in awe. 'This so can't be real." She thought to herself. This man has wings....WINGS! and purple eyes? "Woah...." Kyrie had to crane her neck back slightly to see his face. Kyrie took a deep breath to calm herself. "Well, we can't take you out on the main streets..." Kyrie glanced through the alleyway. The sun was high in the sky so even in the alleyway the needed to be careful. "Alright, so there's this way through the alley's I take home, c'mon." Kyrie took the man's hand again and began to lead him towards her house. "FYI, my house isn't the biggest so I apologize." Kyrie glanced back at the man. "So, what's your name and where ya from?" Kyrie tried to be as nice as possible, despite the man's strange appearance. It was strange but Kyrie wouldn't let it stop her from being kind.

 

[Saren]

Saraph flinched as she looked up into his face, but he wasn't sure why. He wasn't used to being looked upon with such awe. However, the human female quickly recovered from her thoughts and got down to business. She took his hand, something he didn't like or dislike, and she led him away from the other humans. He was quiet as she chatted about her home, but he slowed as she asked who he was. It was clear that he wasn't from here, but he answered the question all the same.

"My name is Saraph Vireo. I... I come from the Island of Clouds. You do not know its location. It is in the sky, away from humans." His eyes glanced at the ground, but his longer legs kept up with her easily. Slowly, he extracted his hand from her grip, but he still followed. His fingers held the bottom of his injured wing to keep it from jostling while he walked.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie paused in her steps. "You mean...it's real?!" Kyrie bounced on her feet with excitement. "My mom used to tell be bed times stories about this kingdom in the sky with different kind of people. She said the looked like humans except for some had wings or something extra like that. She said they could do different things and were stronger. They lived seperate from us and very rarely came down and interacted with humans. Omigoshthisissocool!Ican'tbelievethisisreallife!" Kyrie's words slurred together the faster she spoke as she got more and more excited. Just imagine hearing stories about mythical creatures all your life and then, out of nowhere getting to meet one. Yeah, Kyrie was definitely in awe. Then a though struck her. Why was he here. She opened her mouth but something caught the words in her throat. By now she had started walking and they were almost to her home. Kyrie closed her mouth and kept the question to herself.
It had only taken around five minutes for the two to arrive at her home. "Well, here we are!" Kyrie sing-songed her words. Kyrie opened her front door to the small living room. There was a couch and a small television to the right. On the left was a little kitchenette with a bathroom right next to it. A hall led from the living room down to a full bath and the bedroom. "The bathroom is down the hall if you wanna take a shower...I'll make some dinner okay." Kyrie ushered Saraph inside and shut and locked the door. Her neighborhood wasn't extremely dangerous but you couldn't leave your door unlocked at night.
Kyrie went off into her kitchenette and pulled out some ingredients for some sushi. She had learned how to make it off a video she found online. It was pretty good for homemade sushi. "You like fish?" Kyrie called out to Saraph before she started making anything incase he wanted something else.

 

[Saren]

Saraph almost ran into her as she stopped. Her voice pitched higher as she got excited upon hearing about his home. How were there stories of his existence? The Cloudis thought they had erased their history from the human's books, so no one would ever discover them. However, he didn't have time to inquire about it as they came upon Kyrie's home. He pulled his wing away from her hands as she ushered him inside. She said so many things at once that Saraph decided to look around for himself. It was small, but it seemed to fit one person comfortably enough.

She moved away from him, presumably to let him explore, and so he did. He padded down the hall in silence, purple eyes taking every small detail. They had a more advanced plumbing system than the Cloudis did, and their homes were closer together to compensate for all the humans who lived in the city.

He heard her speak, and rather than yelling, he moved through the hall to where she was. "It is suitable," he said. In the light from the window, his injured wing was visible even more. It was bent at an awkward angle, a way a wing wasn't supposed to be.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie flashed a smile before her eyes landed on his wing. "Aw what happened?" She quickly walked over to him and looked at it. "Aw it looks broken, come here sit down." Kyrie guided Saraph to the couch. "Stay here we need to set it." Kyrie quickly walked into her bathroom for some medical supplies. Kyrie returned shortly with what she needed. "This is probably going to hurt." Kyrie said apologetically. Kyrie ran her hand along the injured wing gently to find where the break was. After she rested her hands on either side of the break. "You ready? I have to set them back in their proper place so it heals correctly." She felt she needed to give him a fair warning. "I'll count to three. One...Tw-" With a quick movement of her wrists Kyrie reset the wing. "Sorry, it's easier if you don't know the exact timing." Kyrie eased his wing into its folded position and wrapped it. "That should do it. I'll get you some pain killers." Kyrie stepped into her kitchen and grabbed a bottle of Aspirin and a glass of water. She dumped to pills into her hand before returning the bottle to the cabinet. "Here, this will help with the pain." Kyrie held out the two pills and water for Saraph to take. "Again, really sorry."

 

[Saren]

Saraph sat down in silence, watching her as she walked away and returned with medical supplies. He flinched as she ran her hands along his wing, but there was no intention to harm. He braced himself for the pain, but it came quicker than expected, causing a screech of pain to erupt from him. Out of instinct, he jerked his wing out of her grip, but she was able to press it into a rested state before wrapping it in tight bandages to hold it in place. It was confining, but necessary. The pain still smarted, but she seemed to know that it would linger, for she returned with two small capsules.

"It is not your fault," he said, taking the pills. Instead of swallowing them with the water, he picked one up and inspected it. "You eat these?" he asked, seeming to forget about the pain in his wing. "I do not understand. What is their intention?" Cloudis possessed nothing like them, but they had special recipes for herbal mixtures that would dull pain. "How do you produce something so small like this?"

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie stared in silence at Saraph's question before bursting into a fit of giggles. "Well, we don't necessarily eat them. It's medicine to make the pain go away, or at least dull it. We have doctors who develop them and then big companies process and produce them on a large scale." As Kyrie explained her laughter died down. She gave Saraph a smile as her eyes danced with amusement. "Here. Say ahh~!" Kyrie opened her mouth when she said "ahh" mimicking what she wanted Saraph to do. Kyrie held up the two pills to put in his mouth. "Then just drink the water to swallow them. They should start working in a few minutes."

 

[Saren]

Saraph hadn't been listening entirely, but when she made a strange noise with her mouth, he looked up. She wanted him to swallow the pills, which was strange. However, he still took them from her before popping them into his mouth. He took a large gulp of the water, hissing at the foul taste in his mouth. It faded after a few seconds, but Saraph decided then that he didn't like pills.

"Thank you." Now that he knew her, slightly, he felt like he could ask questions. "What is your name? And... how do you know of my island? We have tried hard to keep ourselves secret from humans. We were not aware that stories of our existence were still told."

 

[k-michelle412]

'He talks funny...' Kyrie thought to herself distractedly. It took her a moment to reply, seeing as she had zoned at while taking in his appearance. "Oh...Kyrie Pizanno at your service~!" Forever enthusiastic, Kyrie soluted playfully before continuing. "Well, it's not a fact. It was just a bed time story. Mom said it was only in our family though, not many knew of it." Kyrie tapped her chin as she thought back to her childhood. "I remember her saying it was like some family tradition to tell our children the story of the "sky people."" Kyrie shrugged brushing off the subject. "Wanna help with dinner?" She didn't want to leave Saraph in the living room by himself. Seeing as he wasn't familiar with their medications, who knew what he would think, or do, when she turned on the television. Kyrie assumed her safest bet was to just ease him into things here.

 

[Saren]

"That is very odd," Saraph said to himself mostly, though his words were out loud. He looked up as she asked for assistance with dinner, and normally, Saraph would have been inclined to help. But nothing was normal for him now.

"I am afraid I do not know how humans make their food. I would only halt any process you have. If you do not object, I would prefer to rest. I was hiding away from the humans in the... alley for a week. I was not able to sleep properly."

It wasn't an odd request, but one he decided to simply do anyway by curling his head on the armrest of the couch. His uninjured wing draped over the upper half of his body while the other stayed wrapped up behind him. As he was just a little too long for the couch, his feet hung off the side. With the little amount of skin he showed, one could see that he had tan skin with slightly clawed hands and feet. Now, if anyone was looking at him, it didn't matter, because Saraph promptly fell asleep right there, the pain killers and his horribly eventful week took its toll.

 

[k-michelle412]

"Oh, alright, the bedrooms..." Kyrie's voice trailed off as she slowly realized that Saraph had already fallen asleep. "That's just adorable." Kyrie mused to herself. She stole off to her room, returning within seconds with the blanket. She carefully draped it over Saraph's form before returning to the kitchen. Kyrie made Philadelphia rolls, her favorite, and even cooked a few spring rolls. It didn't take long for her to finish them. She placed them on a large plate and brought a small bowl of soy sauce, setting them on the coffee table.
Saraph occupied the only seating in her small living room, consequently, Kyrie had to sit on the carpeted floor. She didn't mind at all either. Flipping on the television, Kyrie scrolled through the tv guide until something caught her eye. Always one for the supernatural, Kyrie chose a new episode of "A Haunting" to watch. No matter what that show always had an interesting story to tell.

 

[Saren]

Never having a lot of ambient noise while he slept, Saraph woke up from the television's volume, watching as the pictures flew across the screen. It was depicting dramazations of people who were coming into contact with the supernatural. In one instance of a woman performing an exorcism on herself, Saraph saw a winged man come down and assist her in killing the demon. They had called him an 'angel.' Was that what Cloudis were to humans? Saraph didn't really understand, but his dark purple eyes stayed fixed until the episode was over. He made no motion to show he was awake until he spotted the small, rolled bundles of sushi on the table. Sitting up and realizing the sudden weight of the blanket, he shifted so it was still hanging off one shoulder, reaching over Kyrie to pluck a sushi roll from the plate.

Flipping it over in his hands, Saraph thoroughly inspected the food before he took a bite. It was fish, just like she'd said, though there were other things in it. He decided that it would be good enough for him and he finished it off. Reaching over her again, Saraph took three more, balancing the small rolls in his hand, carefully making sure each one was like the previous one.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie let out a squeak of surprise when a hand reached over her to the plate of sushi. Quick enough she realized it was only Saraph. Kyrie tilted her head back, looking up at him. "Hey there sleepy head." Kyrie laughed at her own joke. "There all the same promise." She picked one of the plate randomly and popped it in her mouth. She swallowed it before speaking again. "See a-okay~." Another giggle and she sat up right. "You can go lay in my bed if you want. It's longer so you won't have to be scrunched up." It's true. Despite Kyrie's small size she had a king sized bed. She moved a lot in her sleep and if she had anything smaller she would fall off. "It's comfy~." Kyrie coaxed.

 

[Saren]

Saraph followed her lead, eating the rest of the ones he had in his hand. Once they were finished off, his eyes drifted to the television. He was still bothered by what humans showed him as, but if Kyrie enjoyed watching the show, he didn't know what he would say.

Any words that might have formed on his tongue were gone as she mentioned how he was too tall for her couch. She offered up her bed, but he only tilted his head slightly. "Is that not considered stealing? If it belongs to you, and I use it for my own gain, would I not be a thief?" She was already showing him an incredible amount of hospitality, and she hadn't asked why he'd ended up on her world to begin with, and Saraph didn't quite understand that or most of her other actions.

 

[k-michelle412]

Kyrie shook her head with a laugh. "No, no. I'm offering it to you, and besides, it's borrowing, not keeping. So no you're not a theif." Kyrie explained with a smile. She turned so that she could face Saraph. "You're so formal when you speak...." It was only an observation but Kyrie was curious as to why. 'Maybe its just a cultural thing...' she thought to herself. With a shrug Kyrie stood up. "Well, I'm gunna take a shower, make yourself at home." Kyrie stretched, reaching her arms above her head as she walked down the short hallway to the bathroom.