You smell like wet dog.. (Adam)

[Raphael]

The forest was relatively quiet. There was no indication of any sort of life, no human, or animal there of. It had just rained, and caused moisture around the trees and the soft palette of the forest floor. For some people, it would be humid and frankly boring, however, for one Angel in particular, it was like a playground. The forest was her home, well sort of. It wasn't as if she had money to spare, in fact she had none, therefore things such as this were considered her home now. Yet, that was what she got right? For ditching her own Race. She was now in hiding, in fear that if she were to ever find herself near her race again, they would not hesitate to kill her. Why? Because she didn't think that killing the others without a proper reason wasn't the best choice that her race had made. Therefore, she was an outcast. She was known as Raphael.

Her bare feet slightly skipped against the damp floor, her hand occasionally brushing past each tree trunk as she hummed. Frankly, Raphie was happy that she had run away. She was a bit happier now that she wasn't pressured into being in an army of sorts. She had only joined because her family had forced her two. She had respected her family, but she hated the choice. She wanted to be free, without such rules. Raphael had got what she had wanted.

She had left her bow and arrow along with her belongings at an abandoned cabin about three miles back. It was next to a clearing and a small lake where the water was abundant and clear. It would be easy to simply fly to find it again, thus why she wasn't worried on wandering away for too long. That didn't mean she was unarmed, however, her guard was down. After all, who was going to attack in the forest? Let them try, she was still a trained fighter.

[Amadeus]

This has been the longest since Amadeus had been away from home, not that it ever was much of a home. He had finally escaped his prison, and he hoped to the heavens that everyone thought him dead along with the others from his pack. Adam wiped the sweat off his forehead, he had been walking for hours, only stopped once when he had found fair game, and decided to have lunch. Transforming into his lycan form at night, Adam was paranoid of everything around him. From the way the wind swayed the trees, and even the grass that touched together to make a soft chorus, and called to wanderers. But here, in this empty forest, there was nothing. It was relaxing and unnerving, if that was even possible. Adam took his ratty old black shirt off and wrapped it around his head, hiding away his hair, just a few coppery locks peaking out. He was thirsty, and tired, but he had to keep going, Adam just didn't know where that place would be and when he would stop moving.

His life had been one tragic twist after the other, just as soon as he had found happiness, it was taken away from him, just like everything else. Adam sometimes if it was still worth even trying, there really was no point for him to go on. But something in him would just not let him go that easy. Yes, it had been a rough life, from the day he was born, he had been treated like nothing but a piece of property. Although, not all of it was bad, he had Adele, which was the closest thing to a mother he would ever have, but life took her too.

He closed his eyes, trying to bring himself back to the present. Adam's face looked up, and that's when he smelled it, that scent was familiar and yet so foreign. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, warning him that something wasn't right, he wasn't safe.

Adam crouched in all fours, he debated over transforming into his lycan form, or just going at it his machete that was hanging from his waist. It only took Adam a second to make up his mind, and he wished that he had made the right one. His leather boots left impeccable prints on the ground as he pushed himself off, Adam's figure went soaring into the air. Whatever the thing it was that was causing all of his nerves to on alert, he would be damned if he was just going to go down without a fight. Adam swung his machete, bringing it down to kill. Something white flashed in front of him.

[Raphael]

Raphael wasn't really on guard in the forest. Yet there were reasons for that. There really wasn't anyone that resided in this area of the woods, mainly because that was where she had been staying for awhile now. Also, she didn't really draw attention to herself. Why would anyone want to hurt an angel for any way? She hasn't hurt a soul since she had arrived to Earth. However, that didn't mean she didn't come unprotected. Hidden under her yellow sundress was a dagger attached to her upper thigh. She might not hurt someone, but she would use it in defense if her life was on the line.

She loved nature. It made her feel a lot better, and it helped to clear her head. Therefore, she had no idea that there was a potential threat that was around. Barefoot in the mud, a smile spread across her lips as she stopped, seeing a single flower admist a bunch of pine needles. She bent down to look at it slowly. Of course, she wasn't going to pluck it from it's home. Doing that would surely kill the flower. Yet, it didn't mean that she could take time to enjoy it either.

However, her stroll amongst the woods was short lived. Raphie picked up a small sound behind her, and as she turned, all she saw was a man coming at her with a machete. Immediately, Raphael tried to move out of the way, the blade coming down against the tip of her wing causing a cut to the upper bone, but not enough to cut it completely off. A small cry escaped her lips as she flapped them suddenly, attempting to get air, but it was too painful to fly, causing her to tumble.

Raphie used her speed to climb up the nearest tree, looking down at her assailant. “Are you bleeding mad?” She questioned, moving to hold her wing. “I wasn't going to hurt you. I didn't even know you were here! Do you really go about the earth cutting into every person you see? That isn't any way to say hello...”

[Amadeus]

Amadeus furrowed his eyebrows together, his eyes were determined, and aiming to kill, he was the sort of guy to attack first and ask questions later. To his surprise what he attacked wasn't what he expected. To be more specific, Adam expected the winged creature that had killed his pack, the scent had been so familiar, he had been sure it was the man.

His deep blue eyes lost some its fire when they saw what he had attacked. It was a woman, albeit one with wings, but a woman none the less. His machete was lightly coated with blood, Adam inspected the red liquid. He looked up at the winged woman in the tree, he couldn't explain why he felt guilty, at least that's what he determined what that feeling was. Amadeus was dumbfounded, she had scolded him. Was that the way he greeted others? He thought the question over. "Usually," he muttered, his voice was hoarse, he licked his dry lips. He was still holding the machete up in a fighting stance, Adam carefully lowered it down.

"What exactly are you?" he asked, Amadeus racked his brain for something define the winged woman, but he came up blank. He wished he would have learned something about everything, all he had known was fighting and sex, which was good enough for a lycan slave who was bound to his master, but now that he was free, he was aware how foolish he might be.

What little education he managed to come across wasn't going to cut it in the real world. The winged woman was right about something, Adam did greet people with his aggressive nature. "My apologies?" he offered, even though it was as close to an apology Adam could manage, it came out more like a question, one could almost say he was being sarcastic about it. Adam wasn't blind, he admired how beautiful the winged woman was, smelling the air deeply, he realized what a mistake he had made in assuming she was the winged man. But there was a linger of something in her scent.

The ratty shirt was still wrapped on Adam's head, he relaxed his body, but there was no way he wasn't on guard. Several scars on his torso were noticeable since he was naked from the waist up, the sun in his eyes caused him to squint while looking up. His head tiled to the side, as if he was generally curious about the winged woman, which he was. Her hair was like gold, just like his, but her features were so delicate, she looked fragile, once again Adam felt guilty about attacking her. His face was blank from any expression, but his eyes now showed a mixture of guilt, curiosity, and fatigue.

[Raphael]

Ever so slowly, Raphael moved to sit on the larger branch of the tree, her bare feet that were completely dirty swinging from them. At the moment, she ignored the fact that he was still there. She was more concerned with her wing. Her hand brushed against the soft lavender feathers, gently pulling to see that damage that he had caused with his machete. Slowly her hand went to her dress, her eyes flickering back to the man. "Do not worry, I'm not weilding a weapon.. see?" She said before pulling out a small kit, going to try and temporarily stitch up the wing with some cotton thread. It was apparent that she won't be able to fly for about a day or two. Which meant she hoped he wouldn't try to attack her further.

When he replied to her question, she sort of frowned at him. "Well that isn't very nice. I guess it would be okay if you knew the person was an enemy or for defense. However, you won't make a lot of friends by cutting them to pieces with that thing... or at least so I've been told.." She trailed off. Here she was trying to help him figure out how to get friends, when she didn't really have any herself. Yeah, that was such a smart move.

Then came the most common question she would hear whenever she met some one from this planet. What was she? Well she certainly wasn't going to lie to him, after all, he seemed harmless if you got past the weapon that he was carrying. To her he feel interesting, and made her curious to find more about him. "I'm an angel. Well, a version of it anyways. Not the ones you see in your planet's bible, before from a different universe. Just think of me as a human mixed with a bird or something.." Raphie grinned, giggling at herself for calling her a bird, even though she was far from it aside from the wings. She sure as hell wasn't going to start eating worms.

It was then that she looked at him, seeing the emotion from his face. He felt guilty. A small frown appeared on her face as she jumped down, landing lightly in the mud. "Oh, don't feel like that. It was a mistake.. You could of mistaken me from another of my kind. My kind.. well they aren't so nice. I would know. I ran away from them because of that." She tried to make him feel a bit better, but the curiosity of him was a bit overwhelming.

So, with a tilt of her head, she took another step towards him. "So what are you exactly?"

[Amadeus]

Friends? Adam thought. Now that was something he didn't have. Adele was his only true friend, and Kate had been his lover but could not be considered a friend now, not since she was turned into a vampire.

The first time he saw her, Adam knew he wanted her. From the way she walked, her smile, her laughter. It was all intoxicating. Amadeus wanted to know everything about her, he wanted her to smile at him. Adam didn't take her but followed her to her home. She lived in a small apartment on the third floor. Adam waited until darkness fell, then he climbed the fire escape and watched her form the window. When he went back to his master's home, Adam told Adele all about the pretty brunette he had seen. "She's so lovely, Adele," Adam said, "I want to bring her, the master gave us the order to bring humans." He was sitting at the table while Adele cooked and listened. "Maybe she..." Adam trailed off but Adele knew what he wanted to say.

"Adam, honey, I don't think that's what he wants the humans for. You know he's trying to build his army. If you bring that girl here, you are condemning her to death. Is that what you want for her?" Adele was still stirring the pot. The silence between them stretched while Adam contemplated over taking the girl or not. Over dinner, while the others were talking, Adam decided to ask his master if he could keep a human. Specifically the young brunette he was so taken by. His master liked Amadeus a lot, he had consented to his wish.

So it was settled, Amadeus took his time, his pack took two humans to each werewolf, it came to eight humans. They loaded them into a truck, all of them gagged and unconscious. The brunette, Kate, was last. Adam climbed up and went through her window. He hovered over her sleeping body. This is it, he thought, he could go back out that window and never see her again or he could save her form being some vampire's lunch. Kate moaned something in her sleep, which was enough to convince Adam. he leaned in and kissed her forehead, then knocked her unconscious. She weighed next to nothing when he picked her up. The whole ride home, he cradled her in his arms. It took Kate several days to let Adam even near her, she would kick him, punch him, on one occasion she even bit him.

But thanks to Adele, Adam managed to have a conversation with Kate. "So what are you?" was the first thing she asked him. Adam tried his hardest not to smile but failed miserably. He licked his lips, "A lycan, uh werewolf," he answered. Kate raised a brow like she wasn't sure if she believed him or not. "it's true, uh, I was born like this," he was nervous but the grin never left his face, it was just uneasy. Kate gave him a smile, the ones he was so fond of.

He took a step back, Amadeus wasn't sure what kind of powers angels had but if they were anything like the male one he had seen before, then he needed to be extra cautious. His machete was to his side, ready if need be. "I'm a werewolf..." his voice was still deep, yet it came out less forced and more like its natural tone. Adam never read the bible the woman angel mentioned but he had heard of it and God, along with a man named Jesus.

Adam had been abandoned in this life, there was no point in thinking about spiritual beings that could have created him, for all he cared, the bastard that created him could go piss off for making all these horrible things happen to him. Adam focused on the here and now, just seeing this woman angel made him ache for Kate. "...and I'm not very familiar with the bible's angels," he admitted.

[Raphael]

The fact that he had taken a step back made her frown. She didn't mean to scare him. She couldn't scare anybody, Raphael wasn't capable of scaring or even hurting anyone. Thus why she was named the Angel of Mercy. She healed people not hurt him. So why would the man be afraid of her. The frown graced her features as her wings drooped. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.” She tried to apologize at least.

Her gray eyes finally looked up, a bit curiously at the man. Apparently he was a werewolf. She knew that he was different by the look and smell of him. She had heard about werewolves from the other angels, but had yet to meet an actual one. Apparently they were also to be hated, but not as much as the other races. They were like dogs to the angels, as long as they left them alone, then there was no real reason to kill them. Naturally, other angels thought differently and some were found torturing and killing the species. Raphie was not among them.

“Werewolf? Oh! I've heard of them before. I haven't exactly met one before though. I've only recently ran from my kind. So you are a human that can turn into a wolf or something like that? I'm not sure. We don't have any sort of books on your race, I would know, I've read them all. You don't look anything different from the human, how exactly do you turn into a wolf? Is there like a trigger word or something... I'm rambling..”

It was then that she noticed that his machete was still at his side. Apparently her conversation wasn't going so well. She didn't want to bother the man, she was just more curious than others. She wanted to learn about everything about this planet, and since he was a part of it, it was just natural for her to get overexcited. Raphael didn't know any better. However, she did know that he wasn't as curious of her as it was the other way around. She knew when she has overstayed her welcome.

“Oh. I see. I'll just leave you alone then.. ” Raphie turned her back to him, taking a few steps forward barefoot in the brush as her wings lightly fluttered behind him. Okay, so perhaps this strive for peace will be harder than she thought. If she can't make friends with other races, then how is she going to strive for her goal? Perhaps the other angels were right. She was nothing more than a failure.

[Amadeus]

Adam blinked, this woman angel talked so fast and had so many questions, he had to sort them through. In a way she reminded him of humans, they were always so curious. So aside from the wings that were on her back, she looked just like a human too. Amadeus wanted to laugh, but decided a smile was enough. She must have noticed something in him, something that she didn't like, because she said her farewells, leaving Amadeus on his own. Alone, that was what he hated the most. It had been days since he'd seen anyone, and he had to admit he missed the company.

He watched her back as she walked away, Adam decided that she wasn't going to hurt him, after all she had plenty of times to do so. Instead of calling out to her, Adam placed him weapon down and took advantage that she had his back to him, he concentrated, just like he had done several times before, and changed into his lycan form. It had been painful the first few times when he was younger, but he either learned to ignore the pain or just got use to it, which could be said for other pains in his life.

It only took a minute, he didn't know if this was fast enough or not, he had only regular werewolves to compare himself at home, and he was always the fastest. It was one of the reasons he was appointed head of the pack, a good way to be singled out in a bad way. Adam's lycan form didn't look like a wolf, more like he remained like a human, but with wolf like qualities. His skin turned raven black, and he was grew several inches taller, bringing him just a few inches shorter than seven feet. His eyes remained the deep blue, but his mouth and nose were slightly pushed out, very similar like a wolf. Adam's teeth were large, and anyone would feel scared to lay eyes on him, anyone that was smart enough to know that this wolf man was vicious and deadly.

But Adam wasn't trying to harm anyone, at least not the woman angel, well not now at least. He ran to her side, which only took him a few steps. Threw himself in front of her and bowed, a whimper sound escaped him, it was his way of apologizing, and to answer her questions. His head remained low, yet Adam dared only to move his eyes up to catch her gaze. This was the most vulnerable he had ever been, and he had never bowed to anyone in his life, aside from his master of course.

[Raphael]

Raphael was kind of sad when she began to leave. It was the truth, she was curious about his kind. How was she was supposed to make peace with every race, if she didn't know anything about them? She didn't know about any race really except her own. Humans were a bit easier to figure out. They were like her, except didn't have wings or the abilities that angels had. The angels didn't like them because they were killing off the resources of the land. Angels were in tune with the nature of the planet, but she didn't think that was a reason to kill them all.

Vampires were a bit harder to understand. She had heard about them in passing from the other angels. Apparently they were some sort of creature in the night that lived off the blood of humans. Yet, what if they are simply misunderstood? If this is the way they survive, then why can't there be a compromise between the two. They shouldn't be hunted down just because that is the way they have to get their food.

So what about the werewolves? Once again, she didn't know a lot about them chat all. She knew they were humans that somehow turn into a wolf creature. The angels didn't have too much of a problem with the wolves. That is, they really aren't determined to kill them as much as the other two races. They might even permit to have them still stay on the planet without the others. So then it should have been easy to win over the werewolf as a friend?

Yet, Raphie had failed in that. He wanted her to leave, just judging by his demeanor. She had annoyed him with questions, and would have hurt her again if she persisted, wouldn't he? The man was gripping the machete in his hand, and keeping an eye on her. Why would he do so if she kept telling him that she wasn't going to hurt him. Perhaps he didn't know better, but she didn't want to piss him off. Thus the reason why she had told him go by, and was going to walk on her way.

Raphael moved to grab her hurt wing, to get a better look at it, not really paying attention to what was going on behind her. She had her back turned so she did not see him beginning to transform into a lycan. She was paying more attention in her wing than anything else. Therefore when he had appeared beside her and then stopped her from walking anymore by cutting her off.

At first she took a step back, only because he had startled her, letting go of her wing. However, she wasn't afraid of him, not in the slightest. A soft smile graced her features, as she lightly moved her hand to rest against his muzzle. “No need to bow.. I should be doing that to you. You are even as handsome when in this form..” She tried to make him feel better, moving to put her hand on his arm to get him to stand up before moving to hug him lightly with a grin, only letting go when she realized something. “Oh! I don't even know your name. My name is Raphael. But Most people call me Raphie.. well I prefer it anyway. But if you like Raphael better than that's fine too.. and I'm rambling again sorry..” She apologized scratching the back of her head uneasily. So much for being cool and collected.

[Amadeus]

The way the woman angel looked at Adam, it made him feel warm. She wasn't afraid of him, not like most people would look at him, she had this equal sight he liked. When she touched him and made him stand up, it was all new to him. Kate had seen Adam in his lycan form once but regarded him with fear, so the way this creature before him, there was tenderness in her eyes that was so refreshing. Standing in his full height, Adam towered over her by a foot and then some. His hand were still human looking, but his nails were longer and sharper, which came in handy when in battle. Memories of what his hands had done, blood everywhere, Adam hated that part of himself. He wondered if his past would ever be erased, even if not all the death were of innocents.

"You look awful, why does your skin turn that charcoal color?" Kate asked Adam, it was the first and last time he had shown her his lycan form. There was pure disgust and fear in her facial expression. Adam smiled out of habit, he felt ashamed, and when Kate saw his sharp teeth, she jumped back. "It's just what I am, I can't change it," Adam growled. His anger was taking a hold of him, he knew he shouldn't be angry with Kate, she wasn't use to this, to him. "Don't fear me, Kate," he begged, his voice was weak, almost a whisper. "Then change back, Adam, I love you, just not this part of you," she admitted, at least she was being honest, Adam conceded.

His hand shook as he reached ever so slowly, Adam placed his left hand on Raphael's injured wing. "I'm sorry about this," his voice had a raspy sound to it, "Sometimes I just...my name is Amadeus, but they call me Adam." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, his eyes didn't leave Raphael's wing. He wished he had healing powers, instead of these destructive ones that urged him to harm anything that moved. He found that her wings were very soft. Amadeus stepped back and closed his eyes, he changed back into his human form, he went down several inches and his skin and face went back to normal.

Adam removed the shirt from his head and asked as he felt the dryness of his mouth, "You don't happen to know where I can get some water?" From all this excitement , Adam had forgotten that he was really thirsty. He had nothing on to his name now, everything he owned was left back at his master's home. He wondered if they thought him dead, or if they knew he had ran away, and was now being hunted. It was better to be safe than sorry, he only travelled in the day and sought refuge at night, but only managed to sleep a few hours before the nightmares would rob him. I will eventually go insane, he thought. Amadeus shyly smiled at Raphael, darting his eyes behind her and all around him, he thought it strange that it was so quiet, not even a bird call.

[Raphael]

She wasn't scared of any race really. Then again, she had yet to meet all the races. However, what made her better than any of them? What made them so scary? Perhaps they were just misunderstood. Raphael liked to see the good in people. It was just the way her mind worked. It wasn't how she was raised, or how her race was. They saw themselves as better, and liked just as much bloodshed as everybody else. Yet, Raphie thought different. She saw a world where everyone could coexist peacefully, where love would be learned, and not how to properly wield a weapon. Some call it silly, but that was simply the way she was, the way she viewed the world.

She wasn't lying when she had said that she had liked his other form. It made him different, and Raphael liked that quality in people. Sure, his skin was darker, his nails elongated, and his mouth and nose pushed out with sharp teeth. But that was just another part of him, another part that she liked. He pushed her boundaries, it made her all the more curiouser. It also made her heart flutter, and she had no idea what the hell that was about either.

Raphael took a step back, but was still in very close proximity to the man, as he took a hand to place gently against the wing that he had cut. She didn't flinch, her feathers seem to ruffle up with the touch, the same smile playing on her lips. He apologized for it, and she simply shook her head. “There is no need to apologize. I understand. Not everyone is nice as me. Don't worry about it, it will heal fairly quickly.” She explained, with a simply shrug of her shoulders. She has had worse injuries by far, and being versed in the medical field, it won't take long to clean and patch it up as soon as she got back to her cabin.

“Well it is very nice to meet you Adam.” Raphie greeted him, holding out her hand for him to shake it. When he asked for water, she looked to the woods. “Of course. I have some bottled water back at my cabin. It's not too far from here actually. That way.. I think.” She pointed in one direction before looking to him and started to walk. She would only hope that he would follow. “So where is your home? Do you live in the woods too?” Raphael casually asked, not really thinking of it. She wasn't the one to hold back at all. Perhaps she should learn to control her questions sometimes.

[Amadeus]

Adam realized he was starting to like this angel woman known as Raphael, she reminded him a lot of Adele, he took her small hand in his and shook it, and it was very warm. Amadeus gently left of her hand and closed his hand into a fist. He shifted in the spot and walked back to retrieve his machete from the ground when he had left it. He tied it to his waist by a string, and hurried to catch up with Raphael, and started walking next to her.

Adam looked straight ahead as he chose his words carefully, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to reveal some of his past. “I don’t have a home anymore,” he informed her, “So I guess anywhere I go is my home.” He nodded as if that was sufficient for now, Amadeus slowed his pace to keep an even step with Raphael. He walked in silence for a while, to be honest, Adam wasn’t much of a talker. He felt awkward in occasions like these, he was much more comfortable in a fight, because that’s what he knew, what was embedded into him since he was a child.

He sometimes wondered what it would be like to be able to have words just slip off his tongue with no effort, like a charismatic man, that would be something. But instead he was at lost for words, going as far as tripping over them, as if he had a speech impediment and it only happened with people he was attracted to. Adam put his shirt back on, it was getting chillier now that the sun was beginning to set. He wondered if they would reach Raphael's cabin before they were swallowed up by the night. Amadeus bent down and picked a piece of long grass, never stopping. He rubbed the piece of grass between his thumb and index finger. "So, angels, what abilities do you all have?" he broke his silence, Adam felt a drop of water on his cheek. Looking up, he felt another tiny water droplet on his face. Adam glared up at the sky, it was going to rain again.